Ch.12The Gloomy Black-Haired, Busty Menhera Administrator (7)

“That’s not allowed…! I bought it from the capital…!”

The administrator clung to the knight’s trouser leg, refusing to let go.

The knights were currently moving a bizarre wooden statue almost the size of a person.

It had a strange appearance, like some African native figure, and according to the administrator, it was supposed to bring good luck.

But no matter how much I searched through my knowledge of the original work, there was no such grotesque statue among the luck-boosting totems.

Since it would only take up space and obviously frighten visitors, I told them to throw it away, which led to this whining.

“No…! Be careful with that…! It’ll break!”

This time it was a rather suspicious-looking crystal ball.

It looked like something a witch would place on a purple cushion to show the future, but the problem was its size.

What kind of crystal ball is bigger than a watermelon?

It must be incredibly heavy too, as two guards were struggling to move it.

“Throw it away! What possible reason is there for keeping that in the hall?”

Mirella shouted as she grabbed the administrator by the waist as she tried to run toward it.

The administrator was helplessly dragged back by Mirella’s strength, which was already considerable and further enhanced by the opener buff.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you… I’m sorry for being such an unworthy owner…”

The administrator muttered dejectedly.

A gloomy, depressed dark-haired woman hiding a human-sized mysterious totem and a watermelon-sized crystal ball.

If this were the medieval era, she’d practically be putting on a public strip show in the town square begging to be accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake.

We spent the entire morning taking everything out of the hall, sorting it, and dusting it off.

As this major operation progressed, villagers passing by began to lend a hand, and soon the hall and the square were bustling with nearly twenty people.

One woman gathered the administrator’s clothes into a basket and headed to the river to do laundry, while a man replaced the broken floorboards with new ones.

With all these helping hands, the cleaning was completed before lunchtime.

The hall, now free of dust and garbage, was very clean despite being old.

No strange smells, plenty of sunlight—it was practically transformed.

I gave a Healing Potion to each person who had helped before sending them on their way.

Inside the hall, the administrator was looking around with a dazed expression.

“It’s better now that it’s clean, right?”

“Yes, it is…”

For a moment, a glimmer of intelligence flashed in the administrator’s eyes, which had always seemed lifeless.

“Oh! Isn’t this it?!”

Just then, Mirella pulled out a thick ledger from the administrator’s desk drawer.

It was the building management register we had been searching for.

We’d been wondering where it was, and it turned out to be right in the drawer next to where the administrator had been sitting.

“Thank goodness… It wasn’t lost…”

The administrator collapsed onto the floor, slipping into a gloomy mood and sniffling.

“I was so worried about losing it… Thank goodness… Now I won’t be fired… I won’t become a worthless woman wandering around only to be raped and murdered by bad people…”

Mirella looked at the rapidly deteriorating mental state of the administrator with utterly contemptuous eyes.

“Now, Administrator. Here’s a delicious Healing Potion.”

She took out a potion from her waist and dangled it in front of her.

“Healing Potion… Give it to me…”

“What are you, a dog?”

Mirella clicked her tongue as she watched the administrator crawling on all fours.

* * * * *

The administrator spent the entire afternoon working on supporting the refugees.

I had intended to let her handle it on her own, but she turned into a lifeless seaweed-covered corpse again, so I had no choice but to stay by her side and help.

Looking at the building management register, we decided to turn an entire street at a suitable distance into a settlement.

We allocated houses by family and decided to compile a list of necessary furniture and household items later.

Five village guards were busy moving around, assigning refugees to vacant houses.

In reality, those five guards served as both the security force and town hall officials for our village.

Even the smallest village usually has at least a few administrative officials to handle basic affairs.

But this place is almost completely lacking in administrative capacity.

The administrator is a depressed mental case, and the five guards don’t even have uniform attire, making them look like thugs to strangers.

It’s quite a spectacle.

A weak NPC with only 100 health points can’t feel safe in a place like this.

In areas with weak security and administrative power, powerless people are merely prey.

As they say, law is oppression to the strong but freedom to the weak.

Like when I almost had my lid opened by the robber Vint, you never know when or where you might meet a violent death.

We need to develop the village quickly so that proper guards patrol every alley and a functioning city hall exercises strong administrative power.

Only then can people like me live comfortably and safely.

I found the land register and selected land to give to the settlers.

I allocated a large portion of undeveloped land on the outskirts and left the detailed distribution to the settlers’ representative.

We exchanged documents with the settlers’ representative, agreeing to exempt them from taxes for the next year.

That’s as far as we can go for now.

Our village’s situation doesn’t allow for any more support than this.

“Thank you so much…”

The administrator bowed to me after completing the procedures.

“If it weren’t for you, Jack, I would have just been sighing and crying without accomplishing anything…”

“We need to help each other. The village’s prosperity is also good for me.”

“How can I ever repay this kindness… If only I were pretty, but I’m such a drab and ugly woman…”

What on earth is this crazy woman saying?

“That’s enough. Working hard to upgrade our village is how you can repay the kindness.”

“Yes, yes… I’ll do my best…”

“Well then, good work. Oh, and one more thing.”

I turned back to the administrator as I was about to leave the hall.

“When you’re feeling down, come to our shop and take a Healing Potion. It’s the best for boosting energy. I’ll give it to you for free.”

“Thank you… To show such concern for an incompetent and vulgar woman like me…”

“No, that’s… Oh my…”

I stopped again as something else came to mind.

“By the way, Administrator, I heard the refugees saying some strange things.”

When I told her how the refugees had nearly broken down in tears talking about the Potion Knights and a god after meeting me, the administrator scratched her head.

“It seems that adventurers passing through our village have been spreading such rumors…”

“Hmm, this is troublesome. While we might joke about these things among ourselves, it’s a different matter if these stories spread outside.”

‘A knight order has been established in a small rural village, and a man suspected to be possessed by a god is performing various miracles.’

Most would dismiss this as nonsensical gossip, but there would certainly be some who take it seriously.

Just like some villagers who truly believe I’m a god.

The problem is that among those who believe these rumors might be influential people with considerable power.

For various reasons—arrogance, wanting to verify the truth, coveting the miracle worker—they might come to our village.

They’re more likely to come with swords and spears than gifts.

But even more troublesome is the risk of being charged with blasphemy.

If the church sends Holy Knights to investigate, things could get complicated.

Our village, which is just beginning to rise, could collapse again.

But thinking positively, the church probably isn’t idle enough to send Holy Knights to a remote rural village like ours.

It’s better to prepare for the greedy lords nearby than worry about Holy Knights, whom one might not see once in a lifetime.

“What if Holy Knights come… That would be the end of us…”

I quickly put a Healing Potion to the lips of the mental case administrator as she began to break down again.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in a room at the Grand Temple in the imperial capital.

High priests seated around a round table were discussing a very small village located at the edge of a kingdom within the empire.

“So… you’re saying that in this village, a god who possessed a man is leading a knight order and performing miracles?”

“Yes. Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Potions are invincible, and Jack is god’?”

One of the high priests raised his hand.

“I have heard it. When I was on a circuit mass in the provinces recently, I saw young believers exchanging jokes with similar content.”

“Twisting the content slightly has become quite popular among young people these days. This is a serious matter, my fellow priests. Even if we dismiss the possession, knight order, and miracles as exaggerated false rumors from ignorant country folk.”

“It could be seen as a form of divine misconduct that trivializes the authority of god. So what should we do about it?”

“Let’s send a Holy Knight.”

An order was issued to the Holy Knight Order to investigate the person claiming to be a god and leading this curious group called a knight order.

In response, the order immediately dispatched Holy Knight Liberone to Starting Village.