When I got close to the village headman's house, I could smell the delicious aroma of snow tea.

　This fresh smell is always good. I feel like having a cup of tea, but I don't have time for that right now.

　I go to the village headman's house and knock on his door.



"Chief, are you there?

　The village head came out of the door with footsteps and a grumpy look on his face.



"What?　I just made some tea. If you steam it too long, it will become astringent. If you have something to do, can you wait until after you drink the tea?



　I wonder how fast-paced the village chief is.

　I don't know that this village is in danger, of course, and it's no wonder he's so laid-back, but it seems we're treated lower than tea time.



"Chief, we were playing in the snowy mountains when the Suiju people came using the cave and attacked us out of the blue. They are planning to attack our village tomorrow.



"Hey!　How do you know about the cave? That was a secret agreement with the merchants of the Suiju Kingdom. ......

　After saying that much, the village chief looks at me with a guilty look on his face and averts his gaze from me.

　I already know this, so there's nothing I can do about it now that he's hiding it from me.



"We found the passage to Suiju through their confession. But I'm not going to say anything about that. They are more interested in the snow stones, snow tea, and dragons in this village. If we don't take action, we will be in trouble.



　It's probably best not to mention that we've been looking into the passage.

　There's no good in raising suspicion here. We found it by chance.



　I had been thinking that we had found it by accident, but I had forgotten that the village chief was not happy with us.



"How can that be? We have a good deal with them. Why should we attack this village? It's ridiculous.

"Maybe because no one will notice if this village disappears. They have very little contact with other villages, but their products are sold at a high price. If we release the dragon, we can throw the country into chaos, and it would be natural for this village to disappear.



　The chief looks at me in disbelief, but there is nothing I can do about it. We should be thinking of countermeasures now, rather than just sitting here arguing with each other.



"You, enough!　The village will decide what to do. If you spread rumors I won't listen to you!

"I know you still don't believe me, but you should hear directly from the men we caught over there..."



　On the sleigh Lucky had pulled up, pale and limp, the soldiers had emerged from the sleigh, the contents of their stomachs scattered on the side of the road.

　Lucky was flapping his tail to create wind and blow the smell away. He must have smelled bad, because he was frowning and a little teary-eyed.



　Fenrir has a good nose.

"What have you done!　How could anyone from the land of Suiju do such a thing? Untie me now."

　Did you hear what I just said?

　The chief seems to want to believe the Suiju people more than me.



"What do you mean by that, chief? We had no choice but to capture them when they attacked us. And now they've untied us. It's a problem to have a hidden passageway like that. It's a national problem!



"Chief!　He's crazy! Hurry up and untie this rope!

　The knight man finally looked up and told the chief.



I'm sorry...

"Mr. Mayor, Mr. Locke and the others were really attacked by them.



　It was Ivan, who had come with us, who defended us.　

　Ivan's young body trembled as he stood in front of the chief.

　I am sure he is saying this with a lot of courage.



"You again. ...... I see. I see... I've been subjected to a child's nonsense..."

　The chief goes inside the house and gets a dagger.



"You mean you're going to let them go?"

"Yes, of course. I'm ashamed to believe a boy like that. That's why you can't trust people on the outside.



　Ivan's actions had the opposite effect on us.

　He looked down at the ground and clenched his hands in frustration.



"Chief!　Thank goodness you are a man of understanding. I'm really sorry that these people attacked us out of the blue. We only came here to investigate the cave, but it's really terrible! I'm going to report this to my superiors when I get back!　This may become a diplomatic issue, but be prepared for it.



　The knight who had been so exhausted suddenly came to life.



"It's true!　This unreasonable thing can't be allowed!

　The man with the staff and the other men started to make a commotion and shouted so loudly in the middle of the village that the other villagers began to gather.



"Chief, what's going on, Mr. Locke?"

　Ando and his brother Rista, who lived close to the house, soon arrived.

　They had swords in their hands, perhaps for self-defense.



"And, take Locke and the kid to Gorgol's cave. They'll get in the way of our conversation with the Suiju people.

Why?



It's okay, brother. It's the chief's order!

　Rista pointed his dagger at us.



--Garul----




"Whoa!"



　Lucky intimidated me in a very restrained manner, but not only Rista but also the other villagers were suddenly startled and some of them went straight back inside their houses.



"Lucky, it's all right!"

　Rista fell on her ass, fear in her eyes.

　Not a good trend.



　AND picked up the dagger in Rista's hand and tossed it nearby, saying he had no hostile intentions.



--Rock trust is important,-- he said.

"Yes, indeed."



"Mr. Locke, what is the meaning of this?"

　I explain to him the same thing I explained to the chief.

　He was still listening to me better than the chief.



"I see. If that's true, we're in big trouble.

"And!　Can't you listen to my orders?



----Locke. What are you going to do?　If you keep running, you'll get away.

"No, I'll do as you say. And please take us to the place! If the chief doesn't take these people back to Suidu, we'll find out tomorrow night. Lucky, go inside."

--Aiyo--.



　As soon as Lucky disappeared into the box garden, the chief quickly cut the ropes of the Suiju people. The knight looked at me triumphantly as he rubbed his arm.



Trust is a precious thing, isn't it? It's hard to get people to even trust you when you're doing such a lowly job as an adventurer.

"Yes, yes!　Adventurers are nothing but a bunch of jerks. You'd better wake up, my brother."



Rista shut up for a minute. Mr. Locke, I'm sorry.

"No, I didn't think you'd listen to me this much either.



　Ando seemed to be the only one who believed me, but the stares from the other villagers were painful. Apparently, they thought I was a violent man who had harmed one of their important clients.



"That's how ...... no one listens to me."

　He puts his hand gently on Ivan's shoulder.



"It's okay. We trust Ivan. Sir, tomorrow night we'll know everything. I hope you don't let those men go and that you'll be a little more careful."

"Tomorrow night. And, have Mr. Locke and the others stay in the cave of Golgol until the morning after tomorrow, and if nothing happens tomorrow night, you will be held accountable for this disturbance. I apologize for the trouble the people of Suiju are going to cause you, but please stay with us until the morning after tomorrow. As you can see, we need to punish this guy as well.



What if the Suiju people attack us?

"If they do, we'll give them all the snow tea and snow stones we can get our hands on. But that won't happen.



"Not at all. I don't know what young people are thinking these days. Conspiracy theories and all that nonsense that has no merit. It's just ridiculous."



　The knight guy has a lot to say to us.

　We want to do something about it, but it's hard to gain credibility here.

　I think it would be easier to deal with him if he just attacked us.



　I'm also a bit of a b*tc* for going to ...... the trouble of trying to help this village after being treated like this.

　Ivan and I were guided by Ando to the cave the chief had mentioned.