episode_0023

“We need to deal with the unnecessary empty houses.”

These were the first words Killua uttered to the Village Elder after greeting him, having visited his house and been served warm herbal tea that was almost like plain hot water.

“Those houses are for the people who will return.”

The old Village Elder, who had taken a sip of the warm herbal tea, lightly raised his white eyebrows and calmly rejected Killua’s suggestion.

“If the village doesn’t change, those who might return won’t.”

However, Killua, seemingly with no intention of backing down, gently held the warm teacup and replied with a calm but strong will in her voice.

Upon hearing Killua’s reply, the Village Elder, realizing that simple words wouldn’t make Killua back down, began to calmly explain the village’s situation.

“As you know, with so few people, we don’t have the luxury of expending unnecessary labor.”

At the Village Elder’s words, I subtly turned my head and looked out the window.

People gathering meager amounts of food or herbs at the edge of the village.

People meaninglessly chopping wood that was almost worthless.

People planting root vegetables, even though they knew they wouldn’t grow.

Everyone was busy, but no one was making an effort to significantly change the village.

“I’m not suggesting demolition merely for aesthetic reasons.”

Killua, holding the teacup filled with warm plain water, approached the village map hanging on one side of the Village Elder’s house.

Then, she dipped her fingertip in the warm water and began to circle a small section right next to the central plaza.

“We plan to build a water purification facility here using the materials from the demolished buildings.”

“A water purification facility?”

At Killua’s words about demolishing the buildings, the Village Elder’s eyes, which had maintained their usual stoicism, began to sparkle at the single phrase ‘water purification facility’.

“There were many problems securing clean drinking water due to the forest contaminated by slimes, right? If we only have the materials from the empty houses we demolish, we can build a water purification facility.”

“No… how can that be? We no longer have a wizard in our village who can use such magic.”

For a moment, the Village Elder’s eyes were filled with surprise. But that surprise quickly faded, turning into a glimmer of doubt and disbelief.

“It’s possible even without magic. I want to repay Rai, who helped me, and the villagers who accepted me, so can you trust me?”

“Mmm…”

The Village Elder let out a low groan, caressing the small badge on his chest, which bore a design of an axe embedded in a tree.

In his groan, a sense of unease could be felt, as if the village, with its few inhabitants, would soon collapse along with the crumbling houses.

“That’s not a decision I can make alone…”

The Village Elder, who had been caressing the heavily scratched badge—as if proving Eton Village’s history—with his wrinkled hands, laboriously expressed his refusal.

It was simply a matter of demolishing empty houses, but there could be even one villager who harbored resentment towards such an act.

And under the pressure that the already precariously maintained community might collapse due to the resentment of that one person, the Village Elder weakly shook his head, once again expressing a strong refusal.

In the end, he had no choice but to choose the inconvenient but peaceful status quo over a risky challenge that would bring change to the village.

At the Village Elder’s stance and reply, Killua twirled her hair around her finger as if in thought, then posed a question.

“Then… would it be possible if I obtain everyone’s consent?”

“Everyone’s consent?”

The eighty or so villagers, though a small community, were no small number to visit one by one.

“What’s the big deal? I’ll do it, also as a chance to greet the villagers.”

But Killua bravely stood up, as if telling me not to worry about her.

The Village Elder also looked at her as if he couldn’t believe her bold and decisive judgment and initiative.

“If I obtain everyone’s consent, may I request your support for the demolition of the buildings and the construction of the water purification facility?”

Before leaving, she politely requested his consideration and patronage, as if respecting his position as Village Elder.

“Ah… I understand. If you’re going to go that far…”

Upon hearing his affirmative reply, Killua, with a satisfied smile, bowed her head once more, bid farewell to the Village Elder, and left.

Having left the Village Elder’s house with her, I asked about our future plans.

“Should we at least prepare for a public vote in the plaza?”

A public vote was the quickest and most effective way to ascertain majority approval or disapproval.

But Killua shook her head at my suggestion.

“We don’t want to know the residents’ pros and cons. We need to seek and obtain their consent.”

“Then… what should we do?”

The Village Elder said he needed the consent of all villagers. That is, a unanimous agreement with not a single dissenting voice.

The Village Elder, who prioritized the stability of the community, would clearly refuse to proceed if there was even one dissenter.

“I’ll have to go myself.”

What she chose was to meet all eighty or so villagers in person and persuade them to agree through conversation and words.

“No… are you serious?!”

“I am.”

Killua showed her will and intent through actions rather than words.

Responding briefly to my astonished and surprised reply, she first approached the women preparing lunch in the village plaza.

“Hello!”

And she greeted them with a radiant smile and cheerful tone, to an extent unimaginable for a White Mage.

“Aren’t you the young lady Rai rescued? Are you alright?”

“Yes! I’m recovering well thanks to Rai!”

The women preparing the meal, having heard many rumors about Killua, recognized her at a glance.

Although her right arm was still firmly bound with bandages, the women welcomed her with bright smiles at the sight of her greeting them with a vibrant face that showed no hint of worry.

“My body is still recovering, but I’ll help a little!”

“No, no, it’s alright! Please recover first!”

Killua, who had approached the women, tried to help them with their lunch preparations.

But at Killua’s offer to help, despite her inconvenient arm, the women were startled and gently refused her assistance.

“I’ll help with something simple, then.”

However, Killua didn’t back down from the refusal. Instead, she tactfully began to tidy up things like vegetable peels and useless root scraps that came from preparing the ingredients.

“Oh dear… don’t overdo it.”

The women tried to dissuade Killua, but she, being perceptive, took charge of the cleanup work that she could handle with one arm without much risk.

“I’ll help too.”

When Killua took on the chores, I, unable to simply stand by, also belatedly went to her side and began helping with the cleanup.

“Thank you! Thanks to you, the work will be faster and easier!”

As vegetable peels and ingredient byproducts accumulated during food preparation, cooking became increasingly inconvenient.

Since Killua and I handled those byproducts, the efficiency and convenience of the women’s cooking inevitably improved.

“Now that I think about it, it seems difficult to obtain clear drinking water here…”

Seeing the women’s great satisfaction with my and Killua’s help, Killua subtly began to bring up the topic of drinking water.

***

“You worked hard.”

That afternoon. On the way back to Rai’s house after finishing our work in the village, I sincerely encouraged Killua.

“Whew… you also worked hard helping!”

Killua lightly shook her throbbing left arm in the air and replied to my encouragement with a bright voice.

Knowing very well how much she had struggled to help the villagers with her inconvenient left arm, I approached her side and gently massaged her left arm.

“Ah… thank you. It was stiff anyway…”

Killua flinched when I suddenly grasped her left arm, but realizing my intention was pure goodwill, she entrusted her arm to my hand without resistance.

“Only 24 people in half a day… Ugh… my mouth is completely dry and my whole body feels like it’s falling apart.”

From lunch until evening, she tirelessly moved around, greeting villagers, engaging in small talk, and then seeking their consent for her planned work.

“You truly worked hard.”

But she didn’t just persuade people with mere words.

If she saw someone working, she’d approach them with a cup of water and greet them. If someone was carrying a load, she’d help them carry even a small portion with her inconvenient arm while chatting.

Her actions of helping with their work and approaching them warmly quickly opened the villagers’ hearts, and she easily gained the consent of those who, deep down, desired change in the village.

“But once you had their consent, you could have just left… why did you help them until the work was finished?”

However, the fundamental reason for Killua’s struggles was her own actions.

If she got consent from someone chopping firewood, she would stay and help them chop all the firewood they had prepared.

If she got consent from someone moving loads, she would help them until they had moved all the piled-up items.

“Consent was indeed a goal… but earning the villagers’ acknowledgment was also a goal.”

“Wouldn’t everyone instantly acknowledge Killua-nim’s abilities if she simply created the magnificent water purification facility she planned?”

Once unanimous consent was somehow obtained, the buildings dismantled, and the water purification facility built based on her knowledge, the villagers would have no choice but to acknowledge her abilities and worth.

I couldn’t understand her actions of needlessly struggling for something that would naturally be resolved by simply demonstrating her abilities.

“Acknowledgment for one’s achievements and abilities is important… but acknowledgment as a human being is also important.”

Although Killua was full of fatigue, she gave me a meaningful smile.

“Acknowledgment as a human being?”

“If one utilizes achievements and abilities, acknowledgment can be easily gained. But what if one loses all of that?”

It wasn’t very common for one’s accumulated achievements and abilities to vanish in an instant.

However, someone who had directly experienced such a thing was right before my eyes, and I, who had even experienced such an event myself, was speechless and could only look at her.

“Just like you. You haven’t been helping me all this time just because of the abilities and power I possessed, have you?”

“Honestly… that’s true.”

If I had been fascinated by Killua’s strength and abilities, worshipping her, then when she lost all of that…

I would have abandoned her without hesitation and fled, or in the worst case, sold her off to the Empress or the Demon King.

But Killua, the White Witch, wasn’t merely exceptional in strength and abilities.

As a human being, she was wise and intelligent, and for those on her side, she was full of consideration and kindness.

As Killua’s secretary, I knew her humanity better than anyone else, which is why I remained by her side even after she lost everything.

“Because now, this place will be my sanctuary and our village.”

Killua, who had paused her steps towards Rai’s house, turned around and looked down at Eton Village.

Eton Village was smaller, less impressive, and shabbier than her past residence, but in Killua’s eyes, a sense of seriousness was apparent regarding such a village.

“I hope that at least the people of this village can trust and rely on each other without reservation.”

Killua, who had lost the overwhelming power and magic of her White Mage days and become an ordinary girl, knew very well that she could never survive on her own.

For her to live peacefully, there was no other way but to be recognized as a member of the village community and to blend in as a resident.

“Killua-nim, you will surely quickly earn the trust and faith of the villagers.”

I also sincerely cheered on the future Killua wished for.

“Of course. Just you wait.”

At my encouragement, Killua smiled brightly and confidently clenched her fists.

And her efforts, for which she had toiled with all her might for half a day, were immediately proven that very evening.