Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Seris and the Village (4)
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The goblins shouted Woman! Mate! for a while before finally leaving the village. I memorized the direction they headed in and eavesdropped on the village chief and the villagers' conversation.
"Village chief, what did those bastards say?"
"Three days. They want meat and booze prepared within three days."
"Th-three days?! No way, how are we supposed to... Things are already tough for the village these days..."
"We'll have to raid the grain warehouse... Use that to buy cattle from the city."
"Village chief! Isn't that the tax we're supposed to hand over when the overseer comes?! If we use it to buy cows..."
"You fool! We're about to die here—what do taxes matter right now?!"
The conversation continued after that, but they didn't mention the woman the goblins had demanded.
I listened in a bit longer before heading toward the mountain the goblins had gone to.
-Kkik! This sucks! Why do we gotta do this crap?!
-The chief ordered it. If we don't, we'll get in trouble.
-Kkiik...
Three goblins trudged through the forest. They were the same ones who'd come to the village earlier. I tailed them.
I'd originally planned to follow just a short way and turn back, but they turned out to be even dumber than I'd thought. So I decided to stick with them as long as possible.
-Kkik?
The three goblins wandering through the mountains bumped into another group of three.
-Kkik? You guys too?
-You too?
-Kkik! Yeah, but we're almost done. We'll switch with the next group soon!
The goblins cackled and chattered among themselves. I frowned as I listened in.
'Switch?'
So they weren't heading back to their nest? No wonder they'd been looping around the mountain. If not returning to the nest, were they on patrol?
These goblins seemed more organized than I'd expected.
-Kkik! We still got a long way. Gotta go.
-Hang in there.
-Kkik!
The goblin patrol split up. I stuck with the original group.
Even more cautiously now.
After hours of tailing them, I finally spotted the goblins' lair.
It was surrounded by a wooden fence, but even at a glance, it didn't look big enough to house hundreds.
Which meant there were probably several more lairs like this.
I considered following the next patrol group too, but gave up. I'd nearly been spotted several times just getting here.
Avoiding the goblins' eyes, I made my way down the mountain and headed straight back to the village.
I skipped gathering wood. Tailing them had drained too much of my mental energy.
"Huh?"
Back at the tavern, I tilted my head.
"Seris, what are you doing out here? Why aren't you inside?"
"Oh, Yuseong."
Seris, who'd been standing blankly outside the shop, turned to look at me.
"The shop door's locked..."
"Locked? That can't be."
I grabbed the handle and pulled. But the door just rattled—it wouldn't open.
"Huh? It really is. What's up with Uncle leaving the place empty?"
"Probably the village meeting."
"Village meeting?"
"Yeah. You heard the goblins came by this afternoon, right? Whenever that happens, all the adults gather at the chief's place for a meeting. Probably that."
"I see."
I thought for a moment, then turned on my heel.
"Yuseong? Where are you going?"
"To the village chief's."
"The chief's? Why are you going there?"
"Why? It's almost evening. Time to close up shop... Wait, how long have you been waiting out here?"
"Me? I helped Uncle Ron with his field work and came straight here."
"What? That's way past when his work ends. You've been standing here since then?"
"Haha..."
Seris laughed awkwardly.
Yeah, she probably couldn't afford to miss her afternoon pay, or it'd mean skipping a meal.
I sighed.
"Wait just a bit. I'll go grab Uncle for you."
"Ah! I'll come with you!"
Uh, that might be a problem.
I started to refuse, but then an idea hit me, and I nodded.
I headed to the village chief's house with Seris.
"Kara's been saying she hasn't seen you in ages and misses you. Come have dinner sometime."
"Misses me? We saw each other the day before yesterday. You're just saying that 'cause you like me footing the bill."
"N-no, that's not it!"
Seris shook her head vigorously.
"Sure it's not. I'd lose my nerve if I saw your face when you get paid."
"What's wrong with my face?!"
"The way your mouth curls up at the sight of those coins—I thought it was gonna split open..."
"Ah! We've already arrived at the chief's house!"
Seris, her ears red, cut me off with a change of subject. She reached for the door. I grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"Yuseong?"
"Shh."
I pressed a finger to my lips. Once she nodded, I slipped around to the back of the chief's house. I spotted what I was looking for and grinned.
"There it is."
There was a wooden window at the back of the chief's house. That was why I'd come.
I'd only been to the chief's house twice before. First to get permission to settle in the village. Second to give thanks.
The first time, things were too hectic to look around properly. The second time, I did.
The chief's house was big. But not every room was.
'There's only one big room fit for the village elders.'
And that room had a wooden window.
I pressed my ear to the window. Voices from the village elders filtered through the cracks, faint but audible.
"Yuseong, what are you doing?! We'll get in trouble if we're caught!"
Seris whispered as loud as she dared.
"The wall's high, window's shut tight. Stay quiet and no one'll hear."
"Even so..."
"You wouldn't rat us out, right? I put up with Rian clinging to you like a leech."
"Ugh... Fine."
I shrugged.
"Besides, don't you wanna know what the adults are talking about?"
Seris was over twenty, a full adult. But she couldn't attend village meetings—the average age of attendees was in the forties.
That's why she was always curious about village affairs. I was poking at that curiosity.
"If you're not curious, fine. Just don't make noise."
"...Not my fault if we get caught."
Seris said that, then pressed her ear to the window just like me. When I gave her an exasperated look, she turned away, avoiding my eyes.
"I was curious..."
"Who said otherwise?"
"..."
I ignored her glance and focused on the voices coming through the gap.
Inside the village chief's house, in the meeting room.
The village elders, all well-advanced in years, were gathered for a meeting.
The topic was the goblins' demands.
"Village chief, is this really okay? What if the overseer holds us accountable?"
The mill owner asked the chief. The chief snapped back irritably.
"I already sent Rick to the city—what's with the second-guessing now? Are you saying I should take the blame if things go wrong?"
"No, that's not what I..."
"Then shut it!"
"Yes, sir..."
The chief's bellow silenced the mill owner. He had some influence in the village, but nothing compared to the chief.
"That's not the issue right now. The goblins demanded a sacrifice!"
Sacrifice meaning the woman they'd asked for.
The chief's words froze the noisy meeting room in an instant.
"S-sacrifice...? It's not our village's turn yet."
"It is now. The lower village hired adventurers and failed—they got wiped out. Bunch of idiots..."
"No way..."
The elders glanced around at each other warily. Then one middle-aged man spoke up cautiously.
"Uh, didn't I hear Den's second daughter hasn't found a match yet...?"
Den shot to his feet in a rage.
"Shut your mouth! Why drag my family into this? My girl's just picky—nothing wrong with her marriage prospects! Your third daughter's the problem, isn't she?"
"What?"
"No one's approached her at twenty-three, right? I took a peek last time out of curiosity, and damn, what a mess."
"What the hell, you bastard?!"
The meeting devolved into chaos as everyone defended their own daughters. The chief sighed. Normally he'd mediate, but he just watched. Speaking up might put his own granddaughter in the spotlight.
As tempers flared and the room heated up, someone piped up.
"Wait, why are we fighting over this among ourselves?"
"What? You volunteering your daughter?"
"That's not it. There's a kid in the village with no family, right?"
"Hm? Oh... Kara!"
"Yeah, that one! The girl's always sweating over wanting to be an adventurer—why not send her?"
"Not a bad idea... But will Seris just sit still?"
"Might as well ship Seris off to the baron while we're at it. She's been an adult for ages."
He glanced at Gedric as he said it. Gedric was the baron's man. Anything involving Seris meant watching him.
Gedric nodded.
"Should be fine. I hear the fuss at the baron's place is mostly wrapped up."
"Oh, really? Good. Things might work out easy then..."
Bam!
Gedric suddenly shot to his feet. He strode to the window and flung it open. His abrupt move tensed up the whole room.
"G-Gedric, what's wrong...?"
The chief asked carefully. Gedric stared out the window for a moment, then shook his head.
"Nothing. Just my imagination."
Gedric closed the window.
"Nothing. Just my imagination."
Uncle Gedric's voice came with the sound of the window shutting. I didn't let out a sigh of relief.
I just slowly backed away from the chief's house.
Only once it was out of sight did I exhale.
I'd brought Seris along hoping that hearing the adults' situation might make her feel a little less attached to the village.
But the meeting's content was way beyond "situations."
When they suggested offering Kara as a sacrifice, Seris gasped in horror.
Good thing I'd pulled her over the wall right away, or we'd have been caught.
'Still, the outcome's better than expected.'
Seris now had a reason to leave the village. Quest basically complete.
One problem, though...
I glanced at Seris. Her face was pale as a ghost, trembling with betrayal.
"...You okay?"
I asked her in a concerned tone.
"Y-Yuseong, we h-have to go home. Quick, right now!"
Seris clutched my sleeve, pleading desperately. I could feel her hand shaking through the fabric.
"Got it. Let's go home."
Seris and I hurried to her place. But her legs were shaking so badly she could barely run. No choice—I crouched down in front of her.
"Yuseong...?"
"Hop on."
"N-no, I'm fine. I can walk."
"You wanna get home fast, right?"
"Ugh..."
She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around my neck.
I ran with her on my back. People stared curiously, and Rian's eyes blazed especially hot, but I ignored them all.
"Hey! Han Yuseong, you son of a—!!!"
I ignored the cursing too, of course.
At the house, Seris burst through the door.
"Kara!"
"Sis? What's wrong all of a sudden?!"
Seris hugged her tight. Kara panicked. Seris gripped her even harder.
"Kara, you're safe. Sis... Sis will protect you."
"Sis, can't breathe... Huh? Bro? When did you get h—wait, no, what's with Sis?!"
I scratched my ear and replied.
"Beats me..."