Chapter 37

Chapter 37. The First Hero (31)

"What brings you here?"

"This is Tolkan Village, isn't it?"

The man had a heavy build.

From his appearance, behavior, and expensive clothes, he was obviously a noble.

More importantly, there was a highest-grade Rethion Subspace Pouch at his waist.

Definitely a noble.

Taylor carefully studied the man before asking,

"Yes, this is Tolkan Village. May I ask who you are?"

Just as Taylor examined him, Count Thornjer examined Taylor.

He activated his skill, See the Other's Information (B).

[Name: Taylor]

[Condition: Confused, Anxious]

It was a skill that allowed him to see a person's name and current condition.

"So you're Taylor. How has Village Chief Berreo been?"

"Did you come to see Village Chief Berreo?"

"That's right."

Even while looking directly at the settlement, Count Thornjer wondered if he could still call this place a village.

He had never imagined it would change this much while he was away discussing future plans with Lord Vantart.

It's almost like a small fortress.

The walls were made of logs, but they were sturdy.

People were still reinforcing them, making the defenses strong enough that an ordinary Wild Pig charge wouldn't be able to break through.

Why are they digging over there?

There were strange things too.

They were digging a pit so deep that an adult man could stand inside and completely disappear from view.

Just as Count Thornjer was about to think more deeply about it, an aged voice interrupted him.

He turned toward the speaker.

"Count Thornjer? What brings you here?"

At Berreo's voice, Thornjer stopped looking at the people digging and focused on the former Village Chief.

A suspicious light hid inside Berreo's smiling eyes, almost buried beneath his round cheeks and plump face.

Count Thornjer possessed an excellent eye for people, fitting for the head of the Highs Merchant Company.

He's changed.

Count Thornjer possessed Hostility Eye (S).

As the name suggested, it allowed him to distinguish people who were hostile toward him.

A transparent gauge appeared above Berreo's head.

Around seventy-five percent of it was filled with red.

Seventy-five percent meant that one wrong move could turn the relationship openly hostile.

Count Thornjer was the head of the Highs Merchant Company.

He knew better than most how important trust was.

More hostile people meant a greater chance of damaging the merchant company's reputation.

So he needed to restore that trust.

It used to be around twenty-five percent. It increased while I was gone.

A twenty-five-percent hostility gauge generally meant simple suspicion.

Most people began a conversation around that level, so it wasn't especially meaningful.

Seventy-five percent was another matter entirely.

Count Thornjer decided to read Berreo's intentions.

"I heard the Wild Pigs were causing trouble. Village Chief Berreo, aren't you short on food?"

It was a question meant to test their trust.

Behind Count Thornjer stood a long line of carriages.

They were loaded with flour, rice, vegetables, meat, and other food supplies.

"We are short, but..."

Berreo looked troubled.

Count Thornjer had expected him to immediately accept with gratitude.

He looked around and soon found the reason for Berreo's hesitation.

"It seems you're producing your own food now. Are you saying you don't need this?"

People were farming.

Others were harvesting vegetables.

Only a few days ago, their faces had been filled with worry.

Now they looked exhausted but hopeful.

"That's not it. I'm simply not the Village Chief anymore, so I can't decide something like this on my own."

At Berreo's answer, Count Thornjer activated See the Other's Plan (S).

It was a skill that allowed him to read the intentions of someone he was speaking with.

It required concentration, so Thornjer only used it when necessary.

[He finally comes now, after everything's already settled. If he'd come earlier, I might've remained Village Chief. Well, it's easier this way, so fine. But still! He comes now of all times?! If he'd come sooner, I could've handed the position to my son while preserving my dignity! I should stay polite and send him away.]

Count Thornjer saw Berreo's prideful thoughts.

He also understood why Hostility Eye had shown seventy-five percent.

He's sulking.

Berreo simply had nowhere else to vent his frustration, so it had accumulated toward Count Thornjer.

From Thornjer's experience, the gauge would fall over time.

It was the kind of resentment that time could solve.

"Did the village change because Taylor became Village Chief?"

"That's part of it, but the biggest change happened after Hero Kim Seongchan came."

"I've heard rumors about Hero Kim Seongchan too. He seems impressive."

"That's right. Thanks to him, we're safer from the Wild Pigs and our lives have become easier."

"Even if things have improved, surely you still need dried meat."

Count Thornjer smiled.

"And even if you're no longer officially the Village Chief, aren't you still something like an acting chief?"

Berreo wanted to accept immediately.

But he held himself back.

Hero Seongchan said refusing everything at first would lead to a better result.

Again and again, Berreo suppressed the urge to ask for help.

Taylor had delivered Seongchan's instructions.

If Count Thornjer came to the village, refuse until he offered help out of his own goodwill.

"That's true, but..."

"Are you hiding something?"

"No."

Berreo shook his head.

"We're trying to overcome this with our own strength. Please understand."

"I see."

Count Thornjer glanced back at the carriages.

"There were Wild Pigs everywhere on the way here, so protecting all this food wasn't easy. I'd been looking forward to giving it to struggling villagers. What a shame."

"I see..."

"Then I'll simply give you the dried meat."

He continued casually,

"And just in case, I'll assign a few mercenaries to protect the village from Wild Pigs."

"We're fine without mercenaries."

"It still looks dangerous. Are you certain you don't need them?"

"Yes. We'd like to overcome this using the villagers' own strength."

Berreo's heart was pounding.

The day has finally come when I can reject Count Thornjer's mercenaries.

The mercenaries sent by Count Thornjer often caused trouble while demanding special treatment.

Berreo had always hated watching it.

Now he could finally refuse them politely.

He had to fight to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

"Very well. Then I'll leave only the dried meat."

Berreo celebrated inwardly.

They were receiving dried meat without paying anything.

He carefully controlled his voice.

He tried to sound as calm as possible.

"Thank you."

Count Thornjer smiled along with him.

Kim Seongchan supposedly has the ability to predict the future, so I understand that he prepared for my arrival.

But why specifically tell them to refuse until I offered goodwill?

And my mercenaries cause trouble? I'll need to retrain them. They should be building friendly relationships, not harassing people.

Count Thornjer was still using See the Other's Plan.

Because of that, he could peek into Berreo's thoughts and intentions.

Thornjer's small act of goodwill was meant to win over the villagers and show them that only the Highs Merchant Company truly cared about them.

Yet Seongchan had specifically warned them about accepting it.

Count Thornjer couldn't easily understand why.

But something else bothered him even more.

The villagers' attitudes are strange too.

He could see people from several different villages.

All of them looked guarded.

Normally, if someone arrived with this much food, people would gather around cheering.

Count Thornjer watched Tolkan Village carefully.

He concluded that Kim Seongchan cared more about winning people's hearts than showing off his power.

At least, that's what Berreo's feelings toward Seongchan suggested.

Winning hearts, huh? I like it.

Maybe he's similar to me.

Count Thornjer climbed back onto his carriage and left Tolkan Village.

Taylor watched the line of carriages disappear.

"Father, did you do exactly what Hero Seongchan told you?"

"He said to delay accepting as long as possible, didn't he? I did."

"You didn't think about the pit we're digging, right?"

"What? Was I supposed to think about it?! I kept asking you why we were digging, and you wouldn't answer. You just kept shaking your head, so eventually I stopped caring."

"Then that's fine."

"But why are we digging such a huge hole?"

"It's preparation."

Taylor pointed toward the pit.

"Hero Seongchan told us to dig one large enough to fit a hundred Wild Pigs."

"A hundred?! He told you to make it that big?"

"Yes. If Hero Seongchan says to do it, then we do it. Otherwise, I wouldn't."

Taylor trusted Seongchan.

He believed every order had a reason.

He specifically told me not to explain until Count Thornjer left.

Berreo loved information.

He also loved flattering important people.

He had repeatedly asked why they were digging such a huge pit.

Every time, Taylor had wondered whether he should explain.

Then he remembered how strongly Seongchan had warned him.

Shiver.

Just imagining Seongchan's face made Taylor tremble.

Instead of answering Berreo's questions, he'd only shaken his head.

Only today had he finally revealed the reason.

It means enough Wild Pigs are going to attack that they'll break through the walls.

"Squeeeal! Squeal!"

Villagers stood atop the wooden wall, killing Wild Pigs charging with foam around their mouths.

It was completely one-sided.

Looking at the defense, Taylor couldn't imagine the palisade ever being breached.

"I found us a great location."

Seongchan had earned money through his bet.

Na-ye had helped him sell food in the Rice Ball Guild's training ground, but that location had already served its purpose.

So he moved.

I only used the training ground to build Na-ye's confidence and create an opportunity to meet Peuten.

He'd met Peuten.

And he'd shown Na-ye that there were still people inside the Rice Ball Guild who recognized and supported her.

More importantly, staying there any longer would only bring constant interference.

There wasn't much more he could gain from it.

So he relocated.

And moving created a new goal.

Making the children happy.

There were other reasons too.

Seongchan had moved because of his future plans.

"It took some effort to find a place as large as the Rice Ball Guild's training ground."

Peuten wasn't exaggerating.

The building was even larger than the Rice Ball Guild House.

A sign above the entrance read:

[Original Wild Pig Soup]

"I only bought the area around the orphanage. Director Hae-reun did all the hard work..."

It wasn't only Seongchan and Peuten standing there.

"Dean, this is when you're supposed to stay quiet."

"Why? I cleaned and carried things because I wanted Seongchan to praise me!"

Hae-reun gave an awkward smile.

Seongchan walked over to Dean.

"You did well."

"I did, right?!"

"But you know none of this would've happened without Peuten, right?"

Dean thought for a moment.

Then he nodded.

"Yes. When I grow up, I'm going to earn a lot of money too."

"Good."

Seongchan smiled.

"Earn a lot and become an impressive person like Peuten."

Without money, there was no way to increase the available space.

That was simply reality.

Hae-reun and the children had cleaned and moved things.

The location had also been chosen partly because of its connection to the orphanage.

But if Peuten had wanted to buy another place, he had plenty of options.

Considering future plans, buying this building was almost like investing money that could've purchased a better property elsewhere.

That was too complicated for the children to fully understand.

"We bought it with your money, Seongchan."

"What? My money?"

Seongchan blinked.

"I thought Peuten bought it."

"I'm currently buying other properties."

Seongchan had thought Peuten paid for this place.

He'd given Peuten one platinum and eighty-five gold and told him to find something suitable.

Apparently this was what that amount could buy.

For the price, the location and size were excellent.

"Are you really sure? I can keep this entire shop?"

"Yes."

"No taking it back later."

"I won't."

Peuten answered confidently.

There were buildings and pieces of land more valuable than this.

But finding something this good in this particular location wasn't easy.

Looking at the surroundings, I suppose the low price makes sense.

The area was almost on the verge of collapse.

Many buildings were being sold cheaply.

That allowed Seongchan to purchase such a large property at a low price.

Does Peuten think this place has no value? Or does he think it's good?

Seongchan became curious about Peuten's opinion.

"What do you think will happen to this place?"

"I believe it'll become one of the best locations."