The village meeting hall in Morris was filled with murmuring villagers. Most of their complaints were directed at Barnes, who was standing on the podium.

"Damn it! They're keeping everyone locked up, stopping us from working again!"

"What kind of nonsense is this, calling people together again... tsk..."

An ordinary person might have flinched just from hearing such resentment. But Barnes waited in silence, completely unfazed.

― Creeaak.

The ones who entered as the doors opened were Erich and Frederick. At their appearance, the villagers' whispering subsided.

"Thank you all for gathering here. If possible, I'd like to speak with a representative – may I know who that is?"

At Erich's call, an old man with graying beard slowly walked forward. Bowing his head to Erich, he spoke.

"I am the village chief, Palmer. I've heard you've come from the Black Citadel."

"I'm Erich, an executive of the Watch with outpost captain rank. I've heard there have been some problems in this village; I'd like to know what's happening."

"Whew, keeping the gate between the fields and the village closed at all hours is one problem, but there are other inconveniences too. For example, forcing us into training, collecting all the metal objects, repeatedly repairing the palisade... The villagers are suffering."

"That must have been hard on you."

Erich put on a look of maximum sympathy toward the chief's words.

However—

The more Erich listened, the more he felt the opposite.

'He's just an exemplary guard, isn't he?'

Unlike a typical domain, the relationship between the Watch and the Watch territories was a little different.

Rather than a simple lord-serf dynamic, as long as taxes were paid on time, the people were not treated as serfs.

So, as with this case of Barnes Kebler, one or two guards stationed in the village were just liaisons for the Watch.

In that sense, Barnes's sincerity and seriousness toward his duties as a member of the Watch made a very positive impression on Erich.

Honestly, that's how things ought to be—with liaisons from the Watch posted in such remote places, it was only natural they'd be tempted to slack off.

Negligence was the norm; in the worst cases, some even colluded with certain villagers to play the role of petty gang leader.

But Barnes carried out his duties to the letter. He might be rigid and inflexible by nature, but fundamentally he was a diligent Watchman.

'Besides, Morris village borders the Great Wall.'

In other words, an invasion by outsiders could occur at any time. Of course, if an enemy ever got past the massive Great Wall, it wouldn't be your usual raid.

Even if Barnes's actions made life inconvenient, it would be hard to call them unjustified.

"We kept sending petitions, and others from the Black Citadel have come and gone, but most just left without doing anything. This time, I sincerely hope our problems will be resolved."

Even agents came from the Black Citadel—Erich could guess what had happened.

'He always sticks to the rules, so there's never been anything to catch him on.'

While Barnes's thoroughness may have troubled the villagers, that wasn't a crime. Doing one's job right wasn't wrong.

However, the fact that they had sent repeated petitions was worrisome.

Even if everything was by the book, the Black Citadel wouldn't have left the matter alone if complaints kept coming in.

"The Commander has not forgotten the people of Morris Village. We will try to ensure this issue is properly addressed."

"Oh, thank you. The inconvenience has been more than I can say.... So, will the stationed guard be replaced?"

"That decision is not mine to make. However, I sent a letter to the Black Citadel yesterday. I even wrote that it was an issue that must be resolved."

At that, the villagers waved their hands and cheered. Some even screamed with joy. It seemed they had truly suffered under Barnes.

"Finally! No more sleeping outside the wall!"

"Goodbye to that idiot at last!"

At that moment, however, Erich felt something off. Most cheered at Erich's announcement, but on some faces, Erich caught something different.

'... False smiles?'

Erich quickly picked out those feigning their happiness. Surprisingly, a number of villagers, despite Barnes's 'misdeeds', actually wanted him to stay.

Even the village chief was among them.

"I see. Now things should get back on track. We can only thank you for your concern. That being said, how long do you think it will take until a new stationed guard arrives...?"

"I don't know. That decision lies with the Black Citadel."

"Understood. We'll have to wait, I suppose."

Erich waved along with their cheers. As he'd given them a carrot, it was time to state his own objectives—a classic, effective negotiation tactic.

"But I have another reason for coming here."

"And what is that?"

"A deserter has fled into Morris Village. Is there anyone here who knows anything about his whereabouts?"

In an instant, the room's cheers turned to murmurs. Erich didn't miss the shift in their reactions.

The moment the word 'deserter' came up—

Some villagers looked openly bewildered, while others, avoiding Erich's gaze, stared at the ground.

But what drew Erich's attention most of all—

'Some are watching the chief for cues.'

Then Erich realized the source of the chief's unease.

A polite and cultured manner, highly unusual for a palmer. The chief, just like Erich, was observing the villagers' reactions...

'The chief controls the villagers, and they fear him.'

At any rate, it was clear there was something the villagers could not say in Erich's presence. For now, that was enough for Erich.

"I don't believe anyone like that has been seen around here. If any of the villagers do know, we'll be sure to inform you."

"I see. That's regrettable, but there's nothing we can do. Then my senior and I will stay here until the Black Citadel sends its reply. Is that alright?"

"Of course! That's only right. I'll instruct everyone to minimize any inconvenience and see to your meals as well."

The village chief wore a friendly smile. Erich shook his hand and left the meeting hall with Frederick.

"... Something about this feels off."

"What does?"

"That strange feeling, like everyone's in on something except me."

Erich smiled at Frederick's words.

"They could hear you."

"Tch. So what if they hear a bit? They're just villagers anyway."

Frederick's tone made it clear he couldn't care less about the villagers' suspicions.

By the time you reached Frederick's skill as a Watchman, a few dozen villagers were no obstacle.

The gap between those who hone their combat skills all their lives and those who just scrape by daily was as vast as heaven and earth.

But when they returned to their lodgings, Erich finally spoke.

"The villagers of Morris are hiding something."

"... Didn't I just say that a moment ago?"

"It's possible that Max's coming here wounded was all part of his plan."

"You think Morris Village is a den for those guys?"

"I wouldn't go that far. Judging by the atmosphere, the chief and his cronies seem to have the place under control. Not many villagers actually reacted oddly to what I said."

"True, I did see a few who were obviously uneasy."

Erich sat quietly, sorting out his thoughts. For Morris, Barnes was a nuisance. Yet, the chief didn't want Barnes replaced.

'But they sent petitions to the Black Citadel? Not just once, but several times?'

Just as Erich thought earlier, if multiple petitions were sent, the Black Citadel wouldn't have ignored them.

They would have reassigned the stationed guard or taken some other measure—if only to get rid of the paperwork.

But Barnes was not replaced. Not even after members from the Black Citadel had visited. Erich's eyes narrowed with sudden realization.

"The chief...?"

Unlike the other villagers, he seemed cultured in both appearance and speech. His position matched up as well.

Considering all things, the root of the discord in Morris appeared to be the chief.

A man who was literate and could write petitions, and had the authority over village affairs.

The potential link between the otherwise unrelated Nicholas and Morris Village.

All that remained was to figure out 'why'.

However, Erich already felt he had mostly grasped the situation. There were so many clues; the big picture was already clear in his mind.

***

"Chief, what do we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"We just wanted to silence complaints about the idiot stationed here, but someone really came from above..."

"Hmmm."

Chief Palmer stroked his chin. The plan had become slightly tangled. All around him, the villagers looked to him expectantly. Finally, one spoke.

"Can't we just stick to the original plan?"

"You really say the stupidest things sometimes. Didn't you get a good look at the newcomer? Is your head just for show?"

The chief snapped coldly at him.

"He isn't just an ordinary member. He may call himself a junior executive, but his assistant is famous. That's Frederick the Mutineer."

"So, what does that matter?"

"It means idiots like you could all gang up and not even leave a scratch on them."

"T-then, shouldn't we ask for help? From 'him'?"

"... That guy?"

'That guy' and 'him'—Judging by the context, these two terms seemed to refer to the same person, though one was respectful and one disparaging.

But neither the chief nor the villagers found this disparity odd at all, and spoke of it naturally.

Anyway.

At the villager's suggestion, the chief groaned and massaged his temples before speaking.

"... He won't want to expose himself. Do you know what that means?"

"Huh?"

"If things go sideways, he'll toss us aside without a thought. We can't take this lightly. Let's watch and see how things develop for now."

"D-do you have any sort of plan, chief?"

The chief lowered his head and groaned, then finally spoke.

"... For now, we'll need to get help from him. Going alone, we'd just get played—so take someone with you. Any volunteers?"

The villagers glanced at each other nervously. Going to deliver a message to 'that guy' clearly filled them with dread.

"Tsk. With you lot, I can't get anything done."

The chief sighed and pointed at one villager.

"You go."

"M-me?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. You heard me clearly."

"C-couldn't we just send a letter instead?"

"Idiot. All our letters go directly to the Watch. Never mind the odds of the contents being leaked—obviously, the reply to a message from him would arrive faster!"

"But his underlings are just so...."

"Don't make me say it again."

"Al-alright."

As the chosen man hurried out of the room, the chief sat back in the large chair in the hall and rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought.

'Something is going wrong here.'

And then he closed his eyes, feeling the silent anxiety that came with a faltering plan.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】