episode_0030

“Grandpa~!”

Dominus, the village chief of Reden Village, hugged his granddaughter Mary, who had come to greet him, tightly in his arms.

Mary, now seven years old, grew up without a mother, but she grew up strong and brightened the atmosphere of the village with her unique charm.

“Why are you late today? When is dad coming? I miss dad!”

“He said he’d be here soon. First, let’s have lunch with Grandpa.”

“Yeah!”

Dominus carried Mary in his arms and headed towards his home on the edge of town.

Today’s lunch menu is a stew with some mushrooms and two slices of bread.

It would have been easy to complain about the same menu as yesterday, but the dignified Mary ate the stew without showing any sign of displeasure.

“Mary. Isn’t it enough?”

“It’s okay! Grandpa eats it while it’s warm.”

“Yeah.”

Dominus ate the bread, dipping it in the warm stew.

As the stew soaked into the soft bread, it became somewhat edible.

Although he was fine himself, he wanted to feed his granddaughter, who was still growing, well.

Dominus looked at the back of the village and let out a short sigh.

The village of Reden was a small village.

A small community where people depend on each other to survive.

When everyone did their best at their assigned tasks, the village ran on with great difficulty.

Then one day.

A dungeon has been created in a small forest behind the village.

The forest behind the village was a very important place for the village of Reden.

The hunter from the house in front, Resher, hunts small animals there and shares them with the townspeople, and Daisy from the house next door cuts trees in the forest to make furniture.

Hasen, who has some knowledge of medicinal herbs, digs up herbs in the forest, processes them, and then sells them in the city.

If a dungeon is created in the forest and cannot be entered, the village’s livelihood will be in danger.

Since they had already seen skeleton soldiers crawling out of there, it became difficult for villagers without fighting skills to enter the forest.

Unable to just sit back and watch, the hunter, Lesher, led the gathering of villagers and headed to the dungeon, but to cut to the chase, we had to run away without even being able to get through the dungeon’s entrance.

In the process, Resher suffered a serious injury to his leg, making it difficult for him to move.

Since everyone would die if things continued like this, the village chief, Dominus, made a decision.

First, inform the Calderon family, the owners of the territory, of this fact.

Although the village of Reden was small, it never neglected to pay its taxes.

It wasn’t a big burden because the amount was so small, but it was a show of sincerity anyway.

However, Dominus did not have high expectations.

The territory of the Calderon family, one of the five great families of the empire, is very large.

In a small town like Reden, there would be no time to worry.

There, Dominus had also overheard rumors about the newly inaugurated head of the Calderon family.

I had heard that he was arrogant and self-centered, so it was strange to expect anything from him.

I submitted the petition because I wanted anyone, even if it was just a small whim or someone from a collateral line who read the petition, to help.

Isn’t it better to lose than to gain?

You have to try everything you can.

The person who headed to the city to submit the petition was Lohar, the son of Dominus.

Three days had already passed since he left his granddaughter Mary in the care of Dominus and headed to the city.

It was almost time for Lohar to arrive in the village.

Dominus entrusted the appeal to his son, Lohar, and asked for one more thing.

If possible, find mercenaries in the city to help the village.

Since the amount of money you can give is small, it is difficult to find mercenaries, but you have to try everything you can.

It would cost money, but the village of Reden did not have much time left to wait and rely solely on the petition.

“… Grandfather. Are the nobles helping us?”

“Okay, if you wait a little bit, I’m sure he’ll help you.”

“Hehehe I hope you come soon.”

Mary smiled brightly, but Dominus did not smile.

Even that young child knows the situation in the village.

When I saw Mary mature at an age that was too young for her age, I felt sorry for her.

I just wanted to show pretty things, not difficult and absurd things.

“Huh? Dad!”

At that moment, Mary found Lohar’s voice in the noisy outside.

Mary immediately ran out and hugged Lohar.

“Are you here? …The three people behind you?”

“Oh, Father. These people are mercenaries.”

Dominus looked at the three behind him.

… The three men, whose appearance did not look healthy, were silently looking back and forth between Dominus and Lohar.

Dominus felt somewhat uneasy at the sight of them.

“Kuuu. Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Dominus, the village chief. Have you heard the story?”

“Then. There’s a dungeon in the forest behind the village. Is it true that skeleton soldiers appear there?”

“Yes.”

“That should be enough for the three of us. Don’t worry, just prepare the money.”

The man said with a bitter laugh.

Dominus thought that whatever happened, he would just hurry up and solve the dungeon and get out.

When you defeat the dungeon’s boss monster, the dungeon will automatically disappear.

I heard that the dungeon where the skeleton soldiers appear is one of the lowest tier dungeons, so it shouldn’t be difficult.

“Brother, shouldn’t we get some rest too? That house looks nice and comfortable. What do you think?”

“We’re all working to make a living, so if we keep doing this, things will get in the way, brother!”

“Really? If that’s what you’re saying, then there’s nothing we can do. Chief. Well, then what do you think? Can we rest in that house for a bit?”

The mercenary said, pointing to Dominus’ house.

… I wanted it to come out quickly, but it seemed like it would take some time.

“Of course.”

Dominus forced a smile and brought them into the house.

It was unfortunate, so there was nothing I could do.

—

“Chief! We’re out of alcohol.”

“Kuhahaha. Drink moderately. Shouldn’t you be heading to the dungeon soon?”

“Hey, bro. If you just sleep like this, you’ll wake up. Hehehe… … .”

“Hahaha! Then I guess I have no choice but to sleep here today!”

“… … .”

Bad intuition was never wrong.

The three mercenaries who had settled down in Dominus’ house started causing all kinds of trouble.

As he watched the scene, Lohar realized that he had brought the mercenary too hastily.

“Those bastards… … .”

“… Son, be patient.”

Lohar, unable to bear it any longer, tried to express his discontent to the mercenaries, but Dominus stopped him.

What they came to was already spilled milk.

Anyway, if you can handle the dungeon well, I could tolerate this much.

“Hey, aren’t you going to close your eyes? Are you going to do this with me?”

“I came with you specifically because you asked me to help, but what’s with that expression? Are you dissatisfied?

“Kuhaha. Little brother, you’re a good person, so bear with it. It seems like a country bumpkin doesn’t know anything.”

“… Sorry.”

Lohar suppressed his rising anger.

As they said, it was Lohar himself who brought the mercenaries to the village.

It was a shame because it was Lohar.

“Dad… … .”

Mary watched the two of them in her room, holding her breath.

As soon as day broke, the mercenaries, as usual, asked for alcohol.

Eventually, they ate and drank until lunchtime.

Dominus didn’t understand how the mercenaries could fight while they were heavily intoxicated, but since he had no other option, he decided to trust them for now.

Fortunately, after lunch, the mercenaries showed signs of heading to the dungeon.

“Please take good care of me.”

“Country idiot chief. Don’t worry and stay inside.”

“Brother, would you like to finish this quickly and have another drink?”

“Of course. Of course it would be okay for the village chief to do that, right?”

“… Of course.”

“Kuhaha. Of course it should be like that.”

Yeah. If it just helps me solve the dungeon, what’s the big deal about that little drink?

If only you could solve the dungeon.

—

“Brother. Are you going to run away right away?”

“Young one. You only know one thing, but not the other. Judging from the state, there seems to be some alcohol left. You have to finish everything, even the bowl.”

“As expected, you are my brother!”

The three mercenaries heading into the forest did not head to the dungeon, but simply spent time hiding in the surrounding area.

They had no intention of clearing the dungeon from the beginning.

I just planned to get some drinks and then run away when I felt like I had nothing left to gain.

The dungeon where the skeleton soldiers appear is a low-difficulty dungeon, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.

The outrageous amount proposed by the village chief does not make sense.

Well, even if I had set the price appropriately, I wouldn’t have had a dungeon.

Why bother hunting? You can live happily just by beating up others.

“Did you see those earnest eyes? You have to use those guys well.”

This was the world of the law of the jungle.

No matter how great a noble’s territory is, it is impossible to pay attention to each and every single fief.

You might not even know that a small town like this in the outskirts exists.

They lay down around the entrance to the forest and took a nap.

I’m going to kill some time, go back to town, and tell him I’ll take care of it the next day.

Of course, I plan to run away as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.

If you sell your face, you might get your tail stepped on someday.

—

“It should be around here.”

I looked at the family estate map and figured out the way to Renen Village.

Before going to the dungeon, we plan to stop by the village first.

If you are going to a dungeon anyway, it is much more advantageous to let those around you know about it.

Reputation is something that is built steadily, and the foundation for it will be laid now.

“Isn’t that it?”

I looked in the direction Libra was pointing.

There was a small village built as if blocking the forest.

As we headed straight there, the entrance to the village was quite noisy.

“They are deceiving us now!!”

“Hey, Chief. Are you noticing things as you get older?”

“… What’s going on?”

“Let’s go once.”

I approached the two who were arguing for a long time.