Free Web NovelA priest staggered out, his face flushed bright red.
“Where’s the sick person? The sick person...? Oh, Lord Ian!”
Contacca did not trust this priest in the slightest. The man looked like a drunkard.
Unfortunately, he also seemed to be the only priest in the village.
The moment he realized the patient was Ian, the priest hurried over as fast as his unsteady legs would carry him, knelt beside the stone slab, and began attempting to heal him.
He failed several times.
Meanwhile, the villagers were hugging Sema.
“Welcome back.”
“Even if Sema is incompetent, he’s still indispensable to the village.”
“And who might these people be...?”
Only then did the villagers finally react to Contacca and Momisia.
Their gazes held nothing but suspicion.
That surprised Contacca again.
“Ah! I forgot to introduce them. This is Mr. Contacca, who helped me. And this is Momisia.”
“Are they father and daughter?”
“What nonsense. They don’t look alike at all.”
The villagers whispered among themselves.
Sema added, “Lord Ian accepted them as his subordinates.”
“Even this little girl?”
“Momisia is not a little girl.”
“I see.”
“Momisia, would you like some strawberries? They’re sweet and delicious.”
“I’d like some.”
Momisia blushed.
A few villagers went back into the cave to fetch strawberries.
“Mm...”
Ian regained consciousness.
The chattering villagers immediately fell silent and waited.
As his eyes opened, the faint anxiety on their faces disappeared.
“Lord Ian! You’re awake!”
“Thank you for saving Lord Sema!”
“Quiet... Why is everyone here instead of working?”
“Lord Ian must be fully recovered!”
Sema looked delighted by Ian’s irritation.
Ian kicked him in the shin.
“It’s because of you that I collapsed. Because of you! What is all this fuss about? Everyone, go back to work.”
The villagers grumbled as they returned inside.
Sema rubbed his sore shin and muttered, “Lord Ian is too violent.”
“Even though you came to rescue me... Ouch!”
He smiled sheepishly.
Ian hit him again.
“Momisia, have some strawberries.”
“Strawberries!”
A farmer brought over a basket of strawberries.
Momisia tried to take the basket with both arms, but Contacca, who was holding her, accepted it instead.
The farmer seemed to realize from Contacca’s enormous size that he was a werewolf, but he showed little more than a brief flinch.
Louise, who was apparently a boy from the “Traitor Clan,” spoke up.
“I was accepted here as a subordinate too. So there’s no need to be surprised that Contacca and Momisia were accepted.”
“I see.”
Ian snatched the liquor bottle from the priest, tucked it into his own clothes, and called to them.
“Follow me. I’ll show you around the village.”
“Lord Ian, give that back!”
“No. Unless you want to die of acute alcohol poisoning, don’t drink today.”
“You’ll give it back tomorrow, right?”
“We’ll see.”
Ignoring the priest’s whining, Ian led them into the cave.
Momisia trembled slightly as they entered the darkness, reminded of the prison, but quickly composed herself once she saw the torches burning along both sides of the passage.
“This is the trap zone, so be careful.”
“This area is for luring enemies in.”
“This is where we launch the ambush.”
“And this spot is ideal for overseeing the entire layout. It would be a good place to station guards.”
The cave was divided into rooms, each with a specific purpose, and Ian explained them one by one.
Contacca suddenly felt goosebumps rise over his skin.
This entire cave was one enormous trap.
Anyone who entered as an enemy would not leave unscathed.
“And this is the living area. Momisia will mostly stay here.”
“What about you, sir?”
Having grasped Ian’s position, Momisia now spoke to him with respect.
Ian glanced at her and replied, “You’ll have to join the fighting force when necessary. That’s why you came along, isn’t it?”
Momisia looked frightened and clung tightly to Contacca, as if she would never let go.
Contacca patted her head.
His clumsy strength knocked her red hood back.
After a moment, Momisia loosened her grip.
Ian kept walking without paying it much attention.
“And this is the farming area. The thing in the middle is the World Tree.”
“Oh...”
Contacca and Momisia both let out involuntary sighs.
The tree called the World Tree was still small.
Far too small, in fact, for such a grand name.
And yet, it radiated a brilliant light.
From its roots to its branches, every part of it shone as if it had been made of gold.
“It’s beautiful...” Momisia murmured.
People were working around the World Tree.
What are they doing beside such a sacred tree?
Shouldn’t a tree like that stand in a shrine, revered with pious hearts?
Contacca found the sight absurd.
And yet, somehow, this manure-scented scene of farming did not feel out of place.
This cave—this village—was truly strange.
“How do you like it?” Ian asked.
Contacca turned to look at him.
Bandages were wrapped around Ian’s neck, and his complexion was still pale, but somehow he looked strong.
His face was young, yet his sharp eyes seemed to see straight through people.
They made anyone who met them feel the strength within him.
He was the kind of person who would keep his word.
“We’ll be safe here.”
It sounded like safety in every sense of the word.
Safety from discrimination.
Safety from pain.
Warmth spread through Contacca’s chest.
He wanted to hug Momisia again, but he was already holding her.
Momisia nodded, clutching Contacca’s clothes. Her mouth was stained red with strawberry juice.
She looked adorable, like the daughter he had never dared to hope for.
Contacca rubbed his hair against Momisia’s and answered Ian.
“We may be able to live an ordinary life here.”
He accepted Ian as his master.
Ding!
[Contacca recognizes you as his master.]
[Loyalty: 60%]
Ding!
[People think of you as a benevolent ruler.]
Ding!
[Character]
‘Tyrant’ Ian (★★★★☆)
Reputation
Tyrant, Frail, Strategist, Mentally Unstable, Bastard, Womanizer, Extravagant, Aesthete, Benevolent Ruler(+NEW)
Skills
Purification: LV.5
Horsemanship: LV.1
Archery: LV.2
Not bad for an improved reputation...
But why was the order like that?
Ian was somewhat displeased.
Ian spent the next few days recovering until his HP filled back up.
He had no way to ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) restore his health except the priest’s healing, and that was not particularly efficient, so he had no choice but to rely on natural recovery as much as possible.
When he finally opened his eyes after several days, a system window greeted him with good news.
[The level of the World Tree has increased.]
[World Tree LV.2 → LV.3]
[The maximum number of people the dungeon can accommodate increases.]
Nice.
Ian clenched his fist.
Then he realized there was not much to celebrate.
It was good that the World Tree had grown and made dungeon expansion possible, but where was he supposed to get more people?
Encourage people to have children...
Ian looked at the villagers working hard, sweat pouring down their bodies.
They were all men.
The king, obsessed with efficiency, had left everyone without the strength to defend themselves behind in the castle when he fled.
From Ian’s perspective, having such an idiot for a king was that country’s tragedy.
Of course, the reason such an idiot had become king in the first place was that the developers were idiots too, stuffing in all kinds of mechanisms to nerf the main character.
After spending his customary five minutes cursing the game company internally, Ian thought,
If I bring people from the village, there’ll be a riot.
The Traitor Village already had low loyalty.
Since he was already known as a tyrant, there was no need to give the Traitor Village a real reason to betray him.
That would only lead to an ending where his head got chopped off.
Ian touched his chin.
Then there’s only one option.
There was a traditional method.
Recruitment!
Fortunately, he had just acquired an enchanter.
The population-growth project, “Public Recruitment,” now had a ninety-nine percent chance of going unnoticed. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
“Momisia.”
“Yes—no, I mean, yes?”
Momisia turned her head, strawberries still in her mouth.
“Lord Ian! Are you all better? Sema said I shouldn’t come close because you’re still recovering.”
“Ah. Sema said that?”
“Yes. He said it’s contagious.”
“Right...”
Ian decided he would hit Sema later and sat down in front of Momisia.
Status window.
Ding!
[Character]
‘Witch’ Momisia (★★★★☆)
Reputation
Witch, Enchanter, Clever
Skills
Enchant: LV.5
Craft: LV.5
Appraisal: LV.5
⁝
Ian was filled with happiness.
“Momisia. Would you like to try making something?”
“What?”
