Chapter 318: The Feelings of the Villagers Who Say "Thank You" for Being Helped

The Feelings of the Villagers Who Say “Thank You” for Being Helped

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Zaan…… Zazaan……

From far away, the sound of waves can be heard faintly.

Louder than that is the flapping sound of small beetles drawn to the magic lamp placed on the desk.

They fly towards the lamp, bump into the glass with a thud and fall on their backs, get up and charge at the lamp again.

“…………Haa.”

Village Chief Toppipappu-gen, brushing away such annoying small beetles, sighed with a tired face, furrowing his brow.

It was already completely dark.

The surroundings were quite dim.

Despite that, what he was glaring at, even wearing unfamiliar glasses, was the ledger of dried fish sales.

The traditional dried fish of Panemo Village has been a very popular product since long ago, starting with nearby cities like Jabba-Jabba.

That hasn’t changed even now, and if you take the product, it will definitely sell.

The reason why the village chief sighs despite that…… is because the taxes are too high.

The tax increase that started in the Daychib Duchy two years ago is truly terrible.

It doesn’t consider the lives of the people at all.

Although Panemo Village is somehow holding on, according to rumors, several settlements have already gone under.

Yet, the excuse for that tax increase being “to raise funds for the 80th birthday celebration ceremony of the Duke” is laughable.

There’s also a fishy smell to it.

However, even such a foolish reason for a tax increase might actually be done.

Duke Daychib is a person who makes even Village Chief Toppipappugen, a commoner, think that way.

After all, despite what happened to the royal family, he is a decorative duke who had already renounced his right to the throne succession and was thoroughly prevented from being involved in national politics.

His credibility as a ruler is almost non-existent.

Until now, even such a decorative duke had a watchdog, and the domain was running smoothly, but……

“…………”

Here, the village chief lightly shook his head and pushed aside the useless thoughts to a corner of his mind for now.

Leaning against the back of the chair, he stared at the ceiling dimly illuminated by the magic lamp.

Now, how to manage and pay the taxes?

The price of dried fish has already been raised as much as possible.

There’s no longer enough savings left to dig into.

Despite that, due to the offerings to the monster that appeared at the cape, a considerable amount of product has disappeared and sales have dropped.

……Nothing comes to mind.

It’s a dead end.

Village Chief Toppipappugen, this time resting his elbows on the desk and slouching, drooped dejectedly.

……It was at that moment.

“Pyurururu……”

From the direction of the sea, certainly.

The cry of that hateful monster was heard.

“……!”

The village chief quietly stood up and grabbed the spear he had been using since his younger days…… when he was a soldier.

That monster should have basically stayed at the cape.

But it’s…… coming near the village!?

Why in the world!?

Even though we gave it so many offerings…… is it saying it wasn’t enough?

Does it intend to…… destroy the village?

Don’t screw with me……!

Blood vessels bulge on the village chief’s forehead in anger!

“V-Village Chief! It’s terrible!”

And a little later, the one who vigorously opened the door of the village chief’s house saying that was Pyunchapong, a young man of the village.

He is a clever young man whom the village chief is currently training to be his successor in the future.

In order not to cause anxiety, Village Chief Toppipappugen has been hiding the monster at the cape from many villagers, but this young man is one of the few who knows that secret.

“It has…… come?”

The village chief asked that and pursed his lips into a へ shape.

His eyes are sharp and filled with fighting spirit.

Pyunchapong held his breath at the sight of such a village chief, but he pulled himself together and continued his report.

“Yes…… that’s right, but! That’s not all!”

Pyunchapong shouted that while sweating, but the corners of his mouth were raised.

Seeing that, the village chief thought, “Oh?”

“Anyway! Anyway, come to the beach, Village Chief!”

Without fully understanding the situation, Village Chief Toppipappugen, holding a spear in one hand, was led to the beach near the village.

The villagers who heard the cry and came had already gathered there, and they were staring at the water’s edge in a daze, holding magic lamps and torches.

“Excuse me…… excuse me, what happened?”

“Village Chief! L-Look at that……!”

Pushing through the crowd and reaching the front row, the village chief glared at where the villagers were pointing with trembling hands.

Seeing what was there, the village chief unintentionally widened his eyes and let out a scream!

“T-This is!?”

It was…… the corpses of a super giant shrimp and squid.

Delicious-looking…… top-quality dried fish ingredients!

How much high-quality dried fish can be made using this!?

“Pyururururuu!”

At that moment, a familiar cry was heard from offshore.

When he hurriedly turned to look, what was there was indeed the monster from the cape.

It was hidden in the darkness of the night, so only its silhouette could be seen, but…… there was no mistake.

>>

And the next moment.

The villagers on the beach received the monster’s 【Telepathy】 voice that sounded almost innocent.

“Huh!?”

“What is this?”

“I can hear a voice!”

The villagers, unfamiliar with 【Telepathy】, started to make a commotion, but the monster continued speaking without minding that.

>>

Hearing those words, Village Chief Toppipappugen opened his mouth blankly and froze.

Until now, he had feared this monster.

He had convinced himself that it was a hateful demon that would threaten and harm the village with its power.

It took a while for his understanding to catch up to the fact that it was apparently a misunderstanding.

And.

“Anego……?”

Who in the world is this Anego……?

>>

“Oh!?”

“This shrimp and squid…… it’s giving them to us!?”

“Amazing! How much dried fish can we make with this!?”

“We’ll make a fortune!”

“Hey! Go wake up everyone in the village who’s sleeping! We’re staying up all night! It’s a dried fish festival tonight!”

“I’ll show you my secret art 【Dried Fish Tornado】!”

“Absolutely don’t eat it raw! You’ll get magical power poisoning!”

“Oh, Sea God! Dried Fish God! Thank you!”

“Someone bring barnacle killer just in case! And a shield!”

Hearing the monster’s words, the villagers on the beach all became excited at once!

They hurriedly start preparing to dismantle the shrimp and squid.

>>

Village Chief Toppipappugen blankly saw off the monster swimming away offshore saying that.

And at that moment.

On top of the monster’s head.

A small shadow wriggled and seemed to wave at the village chief.

“No way.”

Anego.

A small shadow.

That couldn’t possibly be.

It was hard to believe, but.

For some reason, Village Chief Toppipappugen was convinced.

“…………”

With that.

He dropped the spear he was holding onto the sandy beach and lowered his head.

While the surrounding villagers were having a festive commotion, he alone was quietly, quietly, constantly bowing his head towards the sea.

“What’s wrong? Village Chief! Crying with joy?”

From behind, Pyunchapong patted his back with a cheerful voice, and finally Village Chief Toppipappugen raised his face.

And at that moment, he realized for the first time that he was crying.

He roughly wipes away his tears.

“Half joy, half pathetic, I would say……”

“Pathetic?”

Pyunchapong tilts his head.

The village chief, gazing at the sea that was no longer visible, quietly continued his words.

“I am…… pathetic. This time too, I…… was helped again by the “Black One.” From now on…… from now on, I’ve been thinking and trying my best to protect what’s important to me with my own power since then, but……”

“Why mention the “Black One” here……?”

Not understanding the meaning of the old man’s words spoken in fragments like a monologue, Pyunchapong tilted his head further.

What in the world happened in this village chief’s past?

Even Pyunchapong hadn’t heard the details.

However.

As the village chief’s assistant, Pyunchapong had been closely watching this old man’s efforts all along.

So even if he didn’t understand everything in the village chief’s heart, he had words he wanted to say.

“The village chief is…… well, indeed, he’s been working hard all along. That’s something all of us villagers know well.”

Patting the old man’s back, Pyunchapong said.

“So this time, you were rewarded. Is that no good?”

“…………”

Receiving those words, Village Chief Toppipappugen remained silent for a while, but.

“That’s…… right. That’s right.”

Finally, he seemed to have sorted out his feelings.

He straightened his bent back and his face returned to its usual valiant expression.

“In any case.”

And the village chief bowed his head towards the sea again.

The previous bow was from Toppipappu-gen as an individual.

And this time’s bow was from him as the village chief.

“Thank you for saving the village…… little guest.”

Zaan, zazaan……

Of course, there’s no reply.

Only the sound of waves reaches.

Above, the starry sky is shining brilliantly again today.