Tensei Oujo wa Kyou mo Hata o Tatakioru Chapter 108

   We stood in front of the estate. The door flung open before Wolf's outstretched hand could have reached it.
   The chief was sitting inside just as I had expected.

"Thank you for your hard work."

   I was temporarily taken aback after being invited so formally and tilted my head ever so slightly. When I entered the room, the unique scent of various medicinal herbs. .h.i.t my nostrils.

   The inside was full and cluttered.
   Three rows of shelves formed a perfect grid on one side of the wall. On the top row, multiple gla.s.s bottles tidily sat, arranged in a neat line, while the second was stuffed full of paper scrolls. The third shelf was a drawer so I couldn't see what was inside.
   On the opposite wall, a bunch of dried plants were being hung upside down. The desk directly below the plants had old books stacked up high around the edges. In the middle sat a tool that looked similar to a rolling pestle and mortar.

"Excuse all the mess. Please, have a seat."

   The chief pulled out a chair from a far corner of the room and started dusting it with his hand. When I was invited to sit down, I turned to Wolf in worry.
   Wolf walked up to me and gently nudged my shoulders forward. I obediently sat down with Wolf standing next to me.

"At least try to clean it up a bit, you s.h.i.+tty father. This is no place to invite a cute girl over."

"You should have seen what it was like before I cleaned it."

"Seriously, I can't sense an ounce of effort from you."

   They both had serious expressions on their faces while arguing over a silly topic. Their tone didn't match their words and the air around them was surprisingly gentle.
   I had only known of their first exchange when I first arrived in the village so I expected their relations.h.i.+p to be more bizarre, but if we remove the chief and successor t.i.tles, they were no different than your run-of-the-mill parent and child.

   I am scared to the bone, but this is the time I overcome my fears.
   *Fuuuuu~* After a small breath, I met my eyes with the chief. Once I promptly corrected my posture, his natural honey-coloured eyes faintly narrowed. But it narrowed because he was laughing.

"Have you gotten used to life in the village?" He said as he tipped a jug of water before pouring me a gla.s.s.

"Yes. Though I'm not very adept at working in the fields and failed a bunch of times, Lily was always there for me, so I've managed somehow."

"Lily is a good girl, isn't she?"

"Absolutely." I nodded after receiving the gla.s.s from him.

   Lily was a very good girl. I didn't really get how she expresses herself, but she was a wonderful young lady that was kind, caring, and always gave her all.

"It seems she took a liking to you too. So please be her friend from now on."

   'Yes'. I was about to nod in agreement but I hesitated.
   It wasn't that I didn't want to be her friend or anything like that, but I just realised it might be irresponsible of me to agree to his words.

"…You s.h.i.+tty father. That's playing dirty."

   Putting his hands on my shoulders once more, Wolf gave a piece of his mind, "Quit trying to test her."

   Looking up, I saw Wolf's eyes seriously glaring at the chief with a sharp glint. The other party didn't lose his ground, however, and simply picked up another gla.s.s from the tray and poured himself some water. He lifted the cup to his mouth and casually took a sip.

"Look who's talking."

"…What do you mean by that?"

"I don't believe that someone as twisted as you would trust others so easily. Are they trustworthy? Are they suitable for me? You would blindly keep testing them over and over again until they pa.s.s the tests you set out for them."

   'Am I wrong?'

   Wolf bit his lip at the question implied by the chief. Seeing Wolf cornered, the chief heaved a sigh.

"…But that's probably also why my rudeness continued until now." The chief placed down the cup before lowering his head in apology.

"Such a thing…" I shook my head in denial and clasped my hands on my knees. "I've also been rude… No even worse than that. What I've done was far crueller."

“What do you mean?” Wolf asked in a bewildered voice. The chief said nothing further and only observed me from a distance.

"I can't become the Kua Clan's master."

   'Haa~.' There was a sigh from the other side, but I kept talking without noticing it.

"I've caused you all so much trouble, and even though I've been wreaking all of this havoc, I must leave. I know I can never seek your forgiveness for my thoughtless actions. However, I cannot remain here any longer."

"…Even if I ask why?" After some time had pa.s.sed, the chief finally opened his mouth.

   Just when I thought he would object with 'you've got to be kidding me!', he instead betrayed my expectations and didn't even raise his voice. He seemed more upset asking me the question.

"Why, you ask. Is it as in 'why don't I want to become the clan's master', or was it 'why don't I want to stay'?"

"Honestly, either one. But let's start with the former. It might be funny to tell you this now, but our village is quite skilled and talented with what we do. There are a fair number of aristocrats willing to pile gold at our feet. But are you saying that we're not even worth that much?"

"No. On the contrary, I think your worth is even more than all of the gold combined." I answered him without averting my eyes.

"It's not that don't want to, but more that I can't become the Kua Clan's master."

   The chief's eyes widened as my words caught him thoroughly off guard. Up until now, I had never seen him make such a face. It was as though his calm demeanour was beginning to crumble.

"If I wish for your cooperation, gold and silver would all be meaningless. What I need is a long time to build sincerity, understanding, and trust. But I can't even offer a day of my own time for that cause."

"…Is this related to the reason you can't stay?"

"Yes." I nodded at his question.

"There's an epidemic spreading through the southwestern part of the Kingdom of Wind. It must be stopped before it spreads throughout the rest of the country."

   Crow's message woke me up from the tranquillity of daily life in the village. An epidemic broke out. One of the flags I was afraid of finally came up.

   I could no longer allow myself to lose my way any further.
   The one who talked up the idea of saving everyone was me, and yet here I was, pointlessly dawdling around doing nothing. If I keep this up, I wouldn't be able to save anyone. I had to act now or everything I've done so far would end up all in vain.

"Epidemic…?"

   Wolf's shaky voice overlapped the chief's. Come to think of it, I had never told Wolf anything regarding the disease. He may have been keeping secrets from me, but he wasn't the only one to do so.

   I'm very sorry.

   My gaze remained fixed forward as I murmured quietly in my heart.
   I'll have to apologise to them later.

"I realise that this is very selfish of me, but would you please consider selling me your medicine?" I said so as I deeply lowered my head.

TN: Hi.

EN1: Omg!!! Cas is back!!! Also, join the discord and stop the Kua Clan's lolicon tendencies! Also, the Kua Clan has an estate in a forest and have rich kids lining up to buy them. This chapter honestly felt like Wolf and his dad were flexing on Rose.

EN2: h.e.l.lo! Sorry it's been so long. Awww thanks for having me back Nev and Womp ❤ I hope you all enjoy this chapter because it was a nightmare to work through. 'Eye's crumbling as if stabbed into a dark hole eyes on guard' so…he was shocked?

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