Chapter 27 – The Village that Remained the Same

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Well… I was already used to being betrayed.
The village chief strongly rejected me even though Seto had vouched for me. The villagers surrounded me, but not to appreciate my return. Ahh, those eyes that see me with murderous intent as if I’m some kind of a monster.

Seto came between me and the villagers, trying to calm them.

[Everyone, please listen! Fate has come here to help dispatch the monsters! He doesn’t mean for anything else！]

Even so, the villagers kept coming at me with hoes and axes in their hands.
Alas, the villagers saw me returning to take revenge, seeing the village was in peril. The helping dispatching the monsters might be a lie, since I could just run away with the money.
First and foremost, it’s impossible for a trash who can only eat to defeat those monsters. I’m obviously lying…. Dozens of villagers began badmouthing me.

It wasn’t even a wealthy village before the monsters attacked. So it only served to make their heart even more grim.
The condition was actually much worse than when I was still staying here.

These people seemed to believe that with mere 10 silver, Seto would be able to bring excellent warriors. But in fact, 10 gold was the bare minimum.
Their long awaited saviour turned out to be the good-for-nothing who had been banished out years ago. So the villagers’ anger was actually well justified.

And Seto having delayed off the schedule only served to stoke the flame even hotter.

[Seto, having spent that much time, what kind of result is this? You couldn’t even bring one real warrior to come?！]
[Can you really become the next village chief this way？]
[We don’t know when the monsters will attack next, so be more serious and bring a real warrior！ Don’t you know how we’ve been living in fear all these time?！]

Scoldings also being directed toward Seto who were standing in between. His father, the village chief even had to apologize to the other villagers since it had boiled down to that.

[Everyone, forgive him for not delivering properly……. Perhaps, he’s still too young to be able to employ a warrior. It’s sad to say this. Tomorrow morning, I will go to recruit a warrior myself.]
[But what if the monsters come in the meantime?！ Just yesterday I think I heard monster’s cries from the forest. The village may not be here anymore when the warrior arrived.]
[Indeed. But…..hasn’t Seto brought along a nice food for them? He’s can be good as a sacrifice to buy some time.]

The village chief pointed at me. Oi oi, now you are going to treat me as mere food?
I was just tagging along to visit my parent’s grave, and kill monsters while I’m at it…… That’s it. But, unbelievably……. They actually treated me this way.
Through 《Mind Reading》 Greed was laughing at the dumbstricken me.

『Fate, you……are just a bait in their eyes. Hahahahahaha, bait, bait, bait！』
[Shut up]

But it’s true if this kept up. Should I threaten the village a little, I thought so while drawing Greed from its sheath.

[Fate, wait. Bear with it for now, please.]

Seto bowed to me. Really……these people gave me more headache than when I was fighting a strong monster.

The village chief soon left, leaving the others to continue the talk. Meanwhile I was prohibited to leave the village. And Seto was appointed as a lookout to make sure that I won’t escape.

[Listen, Seto. Watch him properly so this good for nothing doesn’t get away. Before I returned from Tetra tomorrow, if the monsters attacked, just use him as sacrifice. Don’t let him escape, and don’t be a disappointment again.]

After saying that much, the village chief went back to his house. The villagers who consented also returned to their houses.
Apparently, they thought that I was still the old me. A small fry that could be caught easily. Such garbage wasn’t needed, but I was good enough as a sacrifice. Especially since I had no other relatives that would bear grudges towards the villagers after I died.
For those villagers, I’m but a fly approaching fire.

The village became quiet again at night. There were only me and Seto left outside.

[Oi, Seto. This isn’t what you have promised. I was supposed to hunt monsters, but by some miracle I was relegated to mere food.]
[I’m sorry……I’m really sorry.]

Seto said so while covering his face with both hands. What was left of his partially bald head flew around due to the wind. Apparently his youth was eaten away by anxiety.

I’d just give my parents’ grave a visit then leave……at first that’s what I thought. But….the Gluttony skill had begun to show sign of hunger.
It surely won’t let me to simply leave after visiting the grave.
I sighed at the odd feeling on my right eye,

[For the time being, let’s stay at my house. The lookout post is also okay. Since Fate’s old home is already……]

Yes, my house was burnt when I left the village. Perhaps, what remained now is only the frames and some other leftovers.
Certainly not a place where one can sleep.

[If I’m allowed to do so. That said, are you living along？]
[I have 1 daughter. My wife was eaten by monsters at the forest and died……]

That explained why he was so desperate, he wants to protect his daughter. Somehow, I felt that his appearance overlapped with that of my deceased father’s.

[There, my house is just over there. Please follow me.]
[Yeah]

Arriving at Seto’s house, I found that his house was only half of the chief’s, similar to the other villager’s. A family could roughly fit in it.
When he opened the door, a girl, about five years old, jumped at Seto.

[Papa, welcome home. I’ve been a very good child, you know]
[Really?……Good girl.]

The cute girl was also fairly sensitive to her father’s trouble.

[Papa has become bald somehow, Papa…are you alright？]
[Yeah, it will regrow in time…. for sure.]
[I see]

After asking about why he lost his hair, Seto’s daughter stared at me in curiosity.

[Papa, who is this person？]
[About that……]

In the village’s point of view, I’m nothing but a food now.
What will Seto tell to his daughter?

[This person, is called Fate, and he came here to defeat the monsters. He’s a super strong guy.]
[Really!?]

His daughter looked at me in awe. Then she gradually began to cry. Perhaps, she’s reminded of her mother who was killed by the monsters.

It was dinner time when his daughter finally settled down.
In Seto’s absence, she said that the village chief had given her foods. To this little girl, her grandfather and grandmother was scary, she told her father that she was always scared when eating.

[That was bad indeed. I’ll be here from today onward.]
[Yaay, I love you Papa！]

Looking at this sight, I told Seto what’s in my mind quite frankly.

[You……have changed.]

This guy who threw dog shit and stones at me in the past. He’s now a fairly good father.
Seto had a sorry look upon hearing my words.

[At that time, I was but a kid. It was what father…… village chief had said, so I took it at face value. After my daughter was born, I started to think a little differently……I guess, I did changed.]

However, even if 1 Seto had changed, it means nothing if the rest of the villagers didn’t. This village needed to refresh their way of thinking, only then they could start over.

The meal wasn’t that good. It was just grains put inside the juice of wild plants, then boiled together. It couldn’t be said as fine dish. However, it did have a nostalgic taste in it. My father used to cook this food for me.

[Are you guys still eating this?]
[Aye, this village is still poor even after you have left. In body and mind.]

Unable to become rich, staying poor, made their mind deteriorate. In a way, it was good that I left this village back then.

While eating the porridge, I listened to Seto’s story. Mainly about the monster’s attacks.

He said that the monster had grown wings, and is able to fly. Troublesome.
It was the size of goblin. Had sharp fingernails, and horns on its head.
Because it attacked from the sky, it’s nearly impossible to escape it.

[How many of them are there？]
[No idea. But only one has been sighted so far.]

Having heard enough, I reached out to Greed.

[What do you think?]
『Perhaps it’s a gargoyle. A fairly smart monster. Only one will attack to judge the situation. Then, they will attack en masse when the time comes.』
[That’s one bad monster……when do you think that time is?]
『At night. When it’s cloudy and there is no moonlight, those thing likes pitch dark night.』
[…………Wait a minute]

Wasn’t it rather cloudy today? The moon would be blocked if it is.
Also, there was also what that villager had said. Yesterday, they heard monster’s cry from the forest.

Could it be..

My conversation with Greed, to others would seem like I was talking to myself. Therefore, Seto and his daughter’s face had become weird and indescribable. But it’s not the time to think about that, there was something more important.

After a while, the bad premonition came true.
From outside, I began hearing cries one after another.
When I thought that things had become troublesome, Greed said something funny.

『Fate, how about it? To appease the gargoyles will you be the sacrificial, bait, bait！』
[Are you kidding me? I’ll go outside.]