Ch.9The Gloomy Black-Haired, Busty Menhera Administrator (4)

# The Second Month of the Knights’ Establishment, in Full Spring

Thanks to the steady food supply, the village was beginning to get on track.

The village’s chronic food shortage had been perfectly solved with just two types of potions: fertilizer and feed.

The warehouses were filled with food, and the surplus was sold.

With that money, they bought flour, and finally the smell of baking bread began to spread throughout the village.

In this world, bread holds the same status as white rice in modern life—baking bread carries more than a simple meaning.

The riverside shower facilities I had suggested to the administrator were also completed.

It wasn’t a difficult project—just rectangular posts with thick screens wrapped around them.

Of course, we separated them by gender and equipped them with ladles, soap, and sponges for people to use.

Now that warm spring had arrived, everyone flocked to the riverside to shower, and thanks to that, they no longer suffered from bad odors.

Very good.

“Want to smell my armpits? They have a pleasant scent.”

Except for Mirella, who had just finished showering and was suddenly raising her arms and saying crazy things.

“Oh my! Mr. Jack!”

The village maidens following behind Mirella smiled shyly when they saw me.

“Hello, everyone.”

“What brings you here…?”

As the women blushed and tucked their wet hair behind their ears, Mirella stared at them intently.

Mirella’s gaze moved from the women’s ample bosoms and hips to her own somewhat modest figure.

Then, with furious eyes, she charged forward.

“What’s this?! Why are you flirting, ladies?! I told you! Jack is the man who lives with me!”

When Mirella grabbed Vint’s Opener, the women became frightened and hurriedly fled toward the village.

“A strong woman protects her home.”

Watching the retreating women, Mirella muttered proudly while I could only smile in disbelief.

By the way, today I had an external appointment.

And by external appointment, I mean a truly external one.

It was a day to go outside the village.

I hadn’t left the village since my possession.

My body was too weak, and I was busy settling in and adapting to the village.

Now that things had stabilized somewhat, I planned to go out on an errand.

I stopped by the shop to put on a coat and grab a map, but Mirella quickly followed behind me.

“Brother! Where are you going?”

“I have somewhere to go. Watch the shop.”

However, instead of returning to the shop, Mirella glanced at the map in my hand.

“You’re going somewhere dangerous, aren’t you? I’ll come with you.”

“You? I’m not sure.”

Suddenly, Mirella struck a boulder by the road with Vint’s Opener.

The rock split cleanly in half.

“I could be helpful, right?”

“Wow…”

With the energy typical of her age group and the buff from the opener, such feats were possible.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”

Our destination was Mestopin’s Junkyard, not far from the village.

It was the operating ground of Vint, the named bandit who had tried to rob me but was thoroughly beaten by the villagers.

With Vint gone, the junkyard had become unclaimed territory and was now being used as our village’s exclusive landfill.

I’d heard that occasionally weak monsters and ruffians looking for scraps appeared there, but with Mirella around, there was nothing to worry about.

I was just a Starting Village shop NPC.

I’d be pathetically defeated in a one-on-one fight with a goblin.

So I definitely needed someone to protect me.

But suddenly I became curious about what kind of characteristics Mirella actually had.

Judging by her actions, she seemed like a warrior class, but she was also smart like a mage.

“Status window.”

I whispered quietly, but of course nothing appeared.

Mirella, with her sensitive hearing, turned around and asked:

“What are you mumbling to yourself?”

“Nothing. I just said you’re pretty.”

“Eek?!”

Mirella was extremely startled and hugged her chest tightly with both arms.

“I knew it! You were planning to attack a helpless girl in this remote place and forcibly impregnate me!”

And then Mirella awkwardly started to take off her pants?!

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Hmph.”

It’s fortunate that she’s truly a minor.

When she becomes an adult, I think she’ll be truly difficult to handle.

* * * * *

We continued walking along the northern path and turned right at a fork in the road.

“Wow.”

Mirella couldn’t help but exclaim at the magnificent scene before us.

Mestopin’s Junkyard was literally a wave and mountain range of garbage.

I had visited it while playing the game, but seeing it in person was completely different from viewing it on a monitor.

It was truly an enormously vast place.

From a distance, you might mistake it for a metropolis full of skyscrapers.

It’s no exaggeration that beginners could get lost if they entered carelessly.

If I hadn’t created and distributed multiple maps based on my knowledge of the original work, there would certainly have been missing persons among the villagers.

Of course, I don’t need to explain in detail how creating the junkyard map increased my “followers.”

“Let’s go in.”

As we entered the valley of garbage with the map unfolded, it suddenly grew dark around us.

Amazingly, the garbage piles on both sides were so high that they temporarily blocked the sun.

Where did all this stuff come from?

“Brother. Hold my hand. We absolutely can’t get separated.”

Holding Mirella’s hand tightly, I navigated through the complex corridors of garbage while looking at the map.

“It should be around here.”

I stopped, pointing at a spot on the map.

“There’s nothing here. What’s supposed to be here?”

“We arrived a bit early. Let’s wait.”

As we stood there for a moment, Mirella flinched and looked at me.

“Something’s coming.”

But I couldn’t sense anything at all.

It must be because I’m a basic shop NPC, so my senses are quite inferior.

However, Mirella, though I couldn’t determine her exact class, had superior abilities and detected it first.

Shortly after, I too could hear footsteps as several people appeared ahead of us.

They were a dirty, disheveled group of men and women of all ages.

Covered in dust and dried blood, they were barely clothed in rags and staggered toward us carrying small bundles.

They all looked exhausted, as if they had been wandering through the junkyard for a long time.

“Hello there.”

When I greeted them, they stopped walking.

Their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at me.

“W-who are you?!” “You’re blocking the way!!”

“Please calm down. I have no intention of harming you.”

I showed my empty hands and smiled kindly.

Mirella followed my lead, showing her white teeth.

The people’s eyes moved from me to Mirella.

Mirella was quite pretty, and the tension on people’s faces seemed to ease somewhat.

Seizing the moment, I spoke.

“You’re lost, aren’t you?”

“H-how did you…?”

“There’s only one reason people would be wandering around Mestopin’s Junkyard looking like that.”

“Are you lost too?”

“No. I have a map of this place.”

When I took out and unfolded the junkyard map from my pocket, their eyes widened.

“Y-you have a map?!”

“I’ll help you get out of here. Please follow me.”

But the people didn’t move readily.

Their hollow eyes were full of wariness.

These were people from the Zilke Republic, refugees who had fled from the war that broke out a few months ago.

They were one group among many large-scale refugees who had fled eastward to escape the pursuing enemy army and eventually entered Mestopin’s Junkyard.

According to the original setting and story, the lost refugees here would eventually fail to escape and all die.

In the game, they were depicted as countless skeletons piled up in the junkyard, and if you interacted with them, they were only briefly mentioned as having died in such and such a way.

Going a bit further, certain classes could use skills to estimate when they had died.

Of course, it was meaningless.

In the game, that is.

But now the story is different.

I knew from the game when those skeletons had died, and I remembered it was about a week from today.

So I ordered the scouts to strengthen their reconnaissance around where the skeletons had been, and eventually, we were able to find refugees who were still alive and wandering the junkyard.

I will rescue them and take them to the village.

For two reasons.

First, I can’t just stand by knowing about people’s miserable deaths.

Second, to solve the village’s fundamental problem.

That is the issue of the village’s population.

Our village is a rural backwater, away from the attention of the kingdom and empire.

It’s a small village where all the normal people have left, and only those who can’t go elsewhere remain.

No matter how many clever solutions we’ve used to become self-sufficient, if the population doesn’t grow, this is the end.

I’m not talking about birth rates, but about external influx.

But who would come to a village like this?

There are no jobs, and all they do is farming and fishing—primary industries with a weak domestic economy.

For that reason, with no population influx, I plan to accept these refugees to increase the size of the village.

Anyway, the Zilke Republic will be completely destroyed, and they will have nowhere to return to.

Moreover, the people of the Zilke Republic are known for being diligent and honest.

They are completely opposite to the negative image that comes to mind when thinking of refugees—they’re grade A people.

They will certainly help the village rather than burden it.

Of course, I have no intention of forcing them to settle in our village.

First, I plan to take them in, let them wash, feed them, and give them rest, then calmly discuss matters.

These are the points already agreed upon with the administrator.

Looking at the frightened people, I maintained my smile and spoke.

“It seems you’ve been walking and wandering for quite some time. If you stay here in that condition, I can’t guarantee your lives. There’s a village nearby, so let’s go there together.”

“It’s okay, everyone. We’re from that village, and we’re a married couple living in the same house. We came here to dump trash and happened to find you all.”

Mirella lied without hesitation.

“A married couple…?” “I thought she was his daughter…?”

The people murmured among themselves at those words.

“That’s right. We’re married. I’m even pregnant now, and we’ll have a baby next year. We’re not dangerous people, so please follow us.”

With Mirella’s repeated lies and friendly smile, the people finally began to move hesitantly.

“How was that, honey? Was I good?”

When Mirella whispered, I smiled and pinched her cheek.

“You were excellent.”

Excited, Mirella ran ahead to escort the people from behind.

“Everyone, hang in there! The village is just a short distance away!”

“By the way…”

The man at the very front cautiously addressed me.

“When you say nearby village… do you mean the Starting Village…?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m from there. But how do you know? People who know our village…”

“Then, the Potion Knights…?”

“Uh… yes…”

What’s going on? How does he know about the Starting Village that’s not even on maps, and even about the Potion Knights?

“Oh, God! God has not abandoned us!”

Suddenly, the man fell to his knees, sobbing.

“Huh? Why are you doing this? Please get up!”

The refugees who had stopped in a line looked out with puzzled expressions.

“The Potion Knights! These people are knights of the Potion Knights!!”

When the man shouted, the refugees looked at each other.

“Potion Knights? Really, the Potion Knights?”

“Those Potion Knights?”

People began to kneel one by one.

“God has sent knights to save us!”

People shouted in excitement.

In this absurd situation, Mirella and I exchanged bewildered glances.

What’s going on? Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?