Download App
0.83% Lord of Caldera / Chapter 3: Chapter 3 The Wicked Village Chief

Chapter 3: Chapter 3 The Wicked Village Chief

Andy often forced Sylas to keep watch while he worked in areas with good lumber

Most of the best wood had already been taken from safe areas, so good lumber was usually found in regions where wild animals and monsters roamed. Andy often came to Sylas's grandfather and asked him to act as a guard while he worked. When Andy came, they had to abandon hunting and help him, costing them time and resources.

The more Sylas thought about it, the angrier he became.

Sylas suppressed his frustration and maintained a calm expression. For now, gathering information was the priority.

"What brings you here?"

"I caught some game this morning. I was wondering if anyone might want to buy it."

"Oh, really?"

Andy's eyes gleamed. In a small village, it was rare to get fresh meat on an ordinary day. But in Brick Village, they could buy Sylas's family's meat for much cheaper. Thanks to that, the villagers had grown quite fond of eating rich meat.

"What did you catch? Let's have a look."

"This guy."

"A pigeon."

Seeing the plump pigeon, Andy's mouth watered. He was already thinking about how to cook it to make it taste even better.

"You came at just the right time. I'll buy this pigeon from you."

"For how much?"

"Hmm, let's see."

 

When Sylas asked, Andy kept eyeing the pigeon, trying to find a flaw to complain about while suppressing his greed. Unfortunately for him, the pigeon was in excellent condition. Finally, unable to find any issues, Andy reluctantly said,

"Well, it can't be helped. How about seven coins?"

"This guy?"

Sylas smirked inwardly at Andy's tone, as if he were doing him a favour. If he took it to the market, he could easily get 15 coins for the pigeon's condition. Yet, here Andy was, offering less than half the price, pretending he was doing Sylas a good turn.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, Village Chief!"

At that moment, an old man appeared, and Andy greeted him enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Sylas had to suppress the urge to scowl. One of the worst villains from his previous life stood before him—the village chief.

"Calling this guy trash would be an insult to trash."

Despite his appearance of a kindly old neighbour, the village chief was filled with greed. He was the one who led the effort to keep treating Sylas's family as outsiders so they could exploit his grandfather. Without thinking, Sylas's hand almost clenched into a fist, but he stopped and took a deep breath.

"Hello, Chief."

"Well, well, you two seemed to be talking about something."

"Oh, nothing much. I was just about to buy some meat from him."

Andy grinned and pointed to the pigeon in Sylas's hand.

"A pigeon, huh. How much are you offering for it?"

"We settled on seven coins."

Even though Sylas hadn't agreed to anything yet, Andy acted as if the deal was already done. Hearing this, the village chief's eyes shot up.

"What! Seven coins for a pigeon?"

"Wh-What's wrong with that?"

"Of course, it's wrong!"

Andy flinched at the village chief's sudden outburst. Pointing to the pigeon all over, the chief spoke quickly:

"Look at this! This one's quite old. And it hasn't even been eating properly recently. Its feathers are in poor condition too, so seven coins is far too much!"

"Oh, you're right!"

'These crazy people…'

Sylas clenched his teeth as the conversation between the village chief and Andy continued. They had already haggled the price down by more than half, and now they wanted to cut it even more? Moreover, the village chief's grumbling was baseless, and as a hunter, Sylas found it laughable.

It was like a farmer lecturing a fisherman on how to sell fish. After nitpicking for a while, the village chief stroked his beard solemnly.

"So, five coins is the fair price for this pigeon."

"Hmm, Sylas, what do you think?"

Both men turned their eyes to Sylas. Though they asked, it was more of a veiled threat—if he didn't agree to sell at this price, he'd face consequences later. Sylas quickly smiled and said,

"Of course, I'll sell it at that price."

"Hahaha! That's right, a man should be honest! Absolutely!"

Andy laughed heartily and patted Sylas on the shoulder. As he watched Andy and the village chief exchange winks, Sylas could only sigh. By this point, it was hard to even get angry anymore.

'Thanks for reminding me of something I'd forgotten, you bastards.'

Before his return, he'd left the village in a rush, without getting proper revenge. After that, he'd been too busy adjusting to life in his family to care. He had long forgotten about it, but now that he was facing this situation again, his perspective had changed.

In this life, these trash bags wouldn't get away without shedding tears of blood.

"Village chief!"

At that moment, a young man from the village came running from afar, panting heavily as if he had rushed all the way there.

"B-Big trouble !"

"Trouble ? What happened ?"

"A knight has arrived !"

Sylas's eyes widened at the young man's words. There was only one reason why a knight would come to such a rural village.

'A knight from the Corleone family !'

The Corleone Count's family. It was the place where Sylas's father served as the head, and it was a noble family with considerable power in the eastern region. When Sylas was fifteen, the Corleone family had visited Brick Village twice.

It was to take Sylas, the illegitimate child, back to the family. This was surely the first of those visits.

"A k-knight? Why would a knight come all the way here !?"

Unlike Sylas, the village chief's face turned pale. What was a Knight? To a commoner, they were nobles whose eyes they couldn't even meet, and slaughterers capable of defeating dozens of soldiers.

If they displeased him, he could easily kill someone like a mere village chief, just like swatting a fly.

"How many soldiers? How many soldiers did the knight bring?"


Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Saving The Knight

The village chief asked in a trembling voice. If a knight visited with soldiers, the responsibility of hosting them lay solely on the village. If the number of soldiers was small, they could manage, but if it was a large group, it would be an enormous burden.

How long they stayed in the village was also a concern.

'If it's only for a short time, it's fine, but if they intend to stay for a long time, the village will be ruined.'

The village chief's mouth felt dry. Just thinking about the behavior of the soldiers and the costs involved made his legs tremble.

"There were no soldiers."

"What? No soldiers? The knight came alone?"

"Yes !"

"Huh…"

The village chief's mind raced after hearing the young man's response. If the knight had come alone, it was unlikely that he was a vassal knight serving a specific noble family. He was probably a wandering knight searching for a lord or a mercenary knight earning his keep by intervening in other people's wars.

"Then, did you see a family crest? Like a picture of an animal?"

"No, there was nothing like that."

"Hmm!"

Not using a family crest meant there was a dishonorable reason behind it. In that case, it was highly likely he was a mercenary knight. Someone without backing, without connections, merely surviving day by day through mercenary work.

'That changes things.'

A mercenary knight without backing or connections was no different from a mere traveler.

There might be a difference in status and strength, but if they handled it quietly, no one would come looking for him.

Watching the village chief's eyes dart around, Sylas clicked his tongue internally.

'So he plans to kill him secretly and steal his belongings.'

In truth, it was not uncommon for mercenary knights or travelers without connections to disappear like that. In fact, Brick Village itself had done this to travelers a few times. The problem was that the village chief was making a huge mistake right now.

The person in question was not a mere mercenary knight but a vassal knight of the Corleone family.

"Ahem, Sylas, you should head home for now."

The village chief waved Sylas away as if shooing him off. It was a gesture indicating he had no intention of sharing the spoils after dealing with the knight.

"Yes, then take care."

"Right, come by again later if you have anything you've hunted."

After saying that, the village chief turned away and began to whisper. He seemed to lower his voice, but Sylas's keen ears caught everything.

"Prepare some good food for the knight. And don't forget to put plenty of that stuff."

"Don't worry. One sip and he'll be out cold."

"Good. I happen to know a fence who can…"

Sylas almost let out a snicker. It was pathetic how greed had blinded them to the danger they were walking into.

'I'd better prepare to cover the traces.'

Recalling events before his regression, Sylasrushed back to his hut. Tonight was the night the knight would escape and come to his hut.

* * *

In the dark dawn, Sylas lit a fire around the hut and organized his tools. He prepared items to erase footprints and bloodstains and cleared out the underground hideout.

'He should be here soon.'

"Catch him!"

"Don't let him escape!"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the raucous shouts from the village. Torches lit up the entire village as shadows moved frantically.

Amidst the commotion, a figure on horseback headed toward him. The horse collapsed as if it had been hit by something, and the rider tumbled to the ground.

"Ugh, cough!" 

'He's here.'

The one who arrived at the hut was a young knight. Dressed in plain clothes as if his armor and sword had been taken, his shoulder bore a wound from a pitchfork.

"Hey, you commoner! Hide me!" 

'Seriously.'

Even when he was near death, he spoke in such a manner. Sylas already knew about the nobles' sense of superiority, but he couldn't help but shake his head.

"If you hide me, I will reward you later! If you want... !"

 "That's not necessary." 

"What!? No...!"

The knight's face turned pale as if he took it as a refusal. Sylas opened the door to the hut and gestured for the knight to come in.

"I don't need a reward, so please come in. There's a place to hide." 

"Th-thank you!"

The knight hurriedly stumbled into the hut. Sylas opened the cleverly hidden door to the basement.

"Go in."

 "I won't forget this favor. I swear on my name..."

 "This isn't the time for that."

There was no time to listen to thanks. Sylas pushed the knight in and urged him.

"Whatever happens outside, you must not come out. No matter what happens, stay put."

"I understand. I swear."

Sylas felt a slight sense of relief at the knight's resolute eyes. The worst-case scenario would be if the knight decided, 'I'd rather die fighting!' and ran out in the middle. If that happened, Sylas wouldn't be able to escape suspicion either. Fortunately, it seemed this knight had enough sense.

'Let's hurry.'

Sylas quickly cleaned up the area with the tools he had prepared. He erased the bloodstains, wiped away footprints, and left a few fake traces. As soon as he finished the final task, the villagers gathered outside his hut.

"Sylas! Come out here!"

The village chief's angry voice came from outside. Sylas poked his head out with a bewildered expression.

"What's going on at this hour?"

"Did anyone come here just now?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, someone did come."

"Is that so?"

The village chief's eyes gleamed with hostility. His nerves were on edge from losing track of the knight. Sylas began to give the response he had prepared.

"He knocked on my door, demanding I come out."

"And then?"


Load failed, please RETRY

Gifts

Gift -- Gift received

    Weekly Power Status

    Batch unlock chapters

    Table of Contents

    Display Options

    Background

    Font

    Size

    Chapter comments

    Write a review Reading Status: C3
    Fail to post. Please try again
    • Writing Quality
    • Stability of Updates
    • Story Development
    • Character Design
    • World Background

    The total score 0.0

    Review posted successfully! Read more reviews
    Vote with Power Stone
    Rank 200+ Power Ranking
    Stone 81 Power Stone
    Report inappropriate content
    error Tip

    Report abuse

    Paragraph comments

    Login

    tip Paragraph comment

    Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.

    Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.

    GOT IT