Guided by the girl, they arrived at the chief’s house.
Since the village wasn’t large, they got there quickly from their lodgings.
“Is this it?”
“Yes, you can just go inside.”
The girl’s statement probably meant that she wouldn’t be entering.
Yona stared intently at the girl.
Her face, stained with tears, showed clear tracks where the tears had flowed.
Come to think of it, she lost her sister earlier today.
Yet, she didn’t even have the luxury to feel sad.
‘It’s not like I don’t know…’
In this place, the value of life is just like that.
In fact, this is a place where the concept of human rights doesn’t exist.
People in this era are forced to worry about tomorrow’s life before they even have time to mourn the family members who have crossed the bridge of death.
“Alright, I got it.”
Since it wasn’t particularly needed, Yona decided to turn a blind eye.
She had saved this village, and she also saved the girl’s life.
That was enough to fulfill her duties as a priest.
Yona thought Aege would agree that was sufficient.
The meal set on the chief’s table was simple, but it was clear they had prepared the best they could.
Though it looked like common rye bread, it was well-sifted and had no rough grains visible.
A medley of steamed vegetables showed attention to detail as they ensured no earthy aroma remained by thoroughly removing the roots.
The pea and silkworm bean soup, which had a bit of bacon thrown in, was seasoned only with salt, but contained more bacon than usual.
“Please take a seat. We may not have much, but we prepared it with care.”
An elderly man with a shiny bald head awkwardly smiled as he invited them to sit.
The Lizardman Kaiyak and the Orc James struggled to find a place, and suddenly, the table seemed full with five people surrounding it.
“Alright, bring it on.”
No sooner had the chief spoken those words than a middle-aged woman appeared, carefully holding a tray of cups, placing one in front of each of Yona’s party.
Yona peered into the cup.
Inside the small wooden cup was a cloudy, pale white liquid.
“Is this poses?”
“Ah, yes. Since you are such special guests, I brought it out.”
Poses (milk wine) is a drink made by mixing milk and eggs with beer or wine.
While beer is relatively easy to obtain, milk and eggs are not.
Generally, milk and eggs are more valuable for selling than for eating.
Creating a drink with them certainly made it a rare beverage, and Yona’s party was truly deserving of gratitude.
As each of them got a cup of that poses, the sweet yet nutty flavor naturally uplifted their spirits.
The atmosphere warmed up quite nicely, and the chief began to chatter animatedly with broad hand gestures and a big grin.
“So, that giant monster earlier…”
“That’s a Troll.”
“Ah, yes, yes! I’ve never seen a creature that massive in my entire life.”
“Oh, yes, yes. I’ve never seen a monster like that in my entire life.”
The banter continued.
Thinking about it, it was definitely a bit odd.
It’s not common for trolls to raid a village like this.
Why would such a creature, that should dwell deep in the forest, attack a village?
Maybe they did something, just like in James’s village.
“Is there something strange going on in the village?”
Kaiyak was a step ahead of Yona in asking.
“Strange, you say?”
The village chief shook his head after a moment’s thought.
“Nothing strange happened. It was just like any other day for us villagers. We’re always the same, just working the fields day by day.”
“Is that so?”
But why did the troll appear?
It was strange.
‘Maybe it would be better to investigate. It’s going to be a long journey ahead.’
Kaiyak pondered as he finished his posset.
After enjoying a glass of posset, the meal was accompanied by beer.
Yona also liked beer, and this house’s brew was really good, so she kept gulping it down, feeling pretty happy.
“Are you okay, Yona?”
Kaiyak quietly asked Alex.
With her rosy red face, Yona was making a dopey sound of “heh heh,” and it looked a bit worrisome from the outside.
But before her answer could come, the village chief interjected quickly.
“Umm… is that monster’s blood really that expensive?”
He was talking about the troll’s blood.
Kaiyak had collected all the troll’s blood as instructed, filling every tub and bucket in the village, but it just didn’t feel real.
It wasn’t like you see trolls every day in this rural town, let alone know how much their blood is worth.
Besides, the villagers had properly moved the troll’s body to an open area.
“Well, it’s a material used for making potions, you see. So yes, it’s expensive. People will come from the cathedral tomorrow; you can sell it then. Just use that for our payment.”
Yona, already quite drunk, was unpredictable, so Alex quickly responded.
“Oh, um, right… yes… we’ll definitely pay.”
The village chief’s expression grew a bit gloomy.
The request for dealing with a troll is expensive.
It starts at a minimum of one gold coin.
And that one gold coin is just the upfront payment, with additional compensation based on how strong the troll was.
“Er, how much should it be?”
“Four gold coins. You’ll need to pay one gold coin per person.”
Kaiyak, who had been silently observing, glared at the village chief.
Having much more experience as an adventurer than Alex or Yona, Kaiyak had already caught on.
This guy didn’t want to pay up.
To put it simply, he was wondering who asked for this help in the first place.
At this point, it seemed like he would start appealing to their goodwill.
“B-but… with so many dead in our village, we could use some leeway to prepare for the coming winter…”
“Hey now!”
“Eek?!”
Kaiyak abruptly interrupted the village chief and slammed his fork into the wooden table.
The fork lodged deep into the wood, vibrating and groaning as Kaiyak let go of it.
“We fought with our lives on the line. Are you trying to say you want to know who begged for help?”
Kaiyak’s glare was directed at the village chief.
The gaze of a silver-grade warrior bore down on the chief.
The atmosphere instantly chilled.
Compensation, of course, is something that should be expected.
At the very least, it would have been more reasonable to ask for a discount.
If you can’t throw around four gold coins like it’s your kid’s name, you could at least ask for a reduction since we all know the village’s finances are tight.
“No, no, that’s not it…!”
“Then what is it? Selling the troll’s blood and carcass would have netted us way more. It’s cheaper than the price of our lives, isn’t it?”
Yona, who had been giggling like she was drunk, suddenly shot a frosty glare at the village chief.
“You should have asked for a discount instead. If you did, we would have at least considered it, right, Kaiyak?”
“Ahem.”
Kaiyak didn’t respond to that. He just took a swig from his cup.
“What? Got a problem? The troll’s dead, so the near-death experience is off the table. Did you think it was a windfall, but now that money’s coming out, it feels like a loss?”
“That’s not it…”
The chief was flustered.
Seeing him break into a cold sweat made Yona pause to think.
While it was good to set the mood, now she was concerned about how far to take it before defusing the tension.
It would be nice if someone jumped in to mediate here—
“Come on, Chief. Four gold coins is a bit much, isn’t it?”
Alex interjected from the middle.
He winked slyly at Yona and Kaiyak, signaling that they should compromise a bit.
Negotiating reasonably is part of being an adventurer.
Squeezing someone dry is the work of a scoundrel, and Kaiyak and Yona had no intention of doing that.
“To be honest, yes. A lot of the young folks from the village died or got hurt… and we’re supposed to prepare for the harvest right now…”
“Then how about we settle for two gold coins? Honestly, Chief, even if it was the last time, you did help us, so let’s consider that. We’re not so heartless that we’d go all blood and tears on you.”
Alex rubbed his hands together and flashed a somewhat charming smile.
Sitting right next to the chief, he even put an arm around him and made a coin gesture with his fingers, swaying it playfully.
“After all, we caught the troll pretty smoothly thanks to the villagers. Considering that, we’re only cutting it in half. It’s not a discount; it’s a reduction. That’s important, got it?”
“Exactly, right? Got it?”
Alex was persuading while Yona chimed in.
His old skills from haggling at Henson’s General Store were still as sharp as ever.
“Sigh, humans really are something. They don’t even know how to be grateful when you save them.”
“That’s just how humans are. You don’t feel it because you’re one of them; all humans are like that.”
Yona pouted at Kaiyak’s blunt remarks.
No matter what, saying all humans are like that is a bit hard to swallow.
“Hey, not all humans are like that, you know.”
“Oh, come on. Those people are the weird ones.”
“Think whatever you want, Yona.”
As Yona was heading back to their lodging, she spotted an abandoned house.
Among the many forsaken buildings, one in particular caught her eye.
To be precise, it was the little head peeking out from behind the wall of that abandoned house, and as soon as Yona looked that way, it ducked away—
That stood out to her.
“Go ahead without me.”
It’s not like it’s even a monster.
There was something off about this.
“Where are you going? Can I come with you?”
“I’m going to the bathroom, you little punk. You wanna follow me to the bathroom?”
“There’s a bathroom inside the lodging…”
Why is this guy so clueless?
Annoyance surged in Yona, and she shouted.
“Seriously, just go away! I need to take a dump!”
Ah—Alex’s face lit up with a realization.
“If you don’t want to witness the beautiful lady’s take on nature, let’s hurry, Alex. I don’t want to see it either.”
“Yeah, let’s go, Alex.”
Before she knew it, James casually dropped the honorifics, and she caught a glimpse of Kaiyak dragging him along. With a light hum, Yona approached the abandoned house.
“I think I know who it is, kid. But why were you hiding and spying on this big bro?”
As she stepped over the now non-existent entrance, she scanned her surroundings.
No need to look far; leaning against the wall, the kid was hugging her knees and staring at Yona.
Wait, staring isn’t the right word.
Tears streamed down her face, sparkling in the moonlight, yet the rest of her face was a mess, save for the clean trails left by her tears.
Amidst sobbing, the girl continued to watch Yona.
“…Why are you staring at this o… sister like that?”
“I’m… sorry…”
Her whisper was so faint it could barely be heard in the wee hours of the night.
“No, it’s not ‘sorry’… uh, wait…”
She didn’t dislike kids, but in this situation, she had no clue how to comfort her.
Rubbing her head, Yona squatted in front of the little girl.
“Come here, kid.”
Despite that, Yona hesitated, finally reached out, and wiped away the tears streaming down the girl’s cheek.
‘If she gets cleaned up, she might be cute…’
That feeling was definitely there.
If she cleaned her up and dressed her properly, she could be adorable…
Speaking of which, what’s wrong with her clothes?
Is it really necessary to patch them up this much because today was a mess?
No, if they’re already this patched, wouldn’t that mean she’s just ridiculously poor?
“Did your parents go away today?”
The girl shook her head.
“I lived with my sister… just the two of us.”
“…And your sister died today?”
The girl nodded.
“…Do you have any adults to take care of you?”
The girl shook her head again.
Ah.
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