The Patrolling Village Chief: Start

  Well, by the time my head felt a bit better after sleeping till noon, the lord’s messenger still hadn’t arrived.

  … Yeah, sure, let’s go back to sleep.

  … …


  Even after I went back to sleep and woke up again, there was still no news. Did I actually manage to get away from them? I doubt it for some reason.

  “Eh? You’re up? Morning, but it’s only been a day, Kehma.”


  When I walked into the Village Chief’s office, Rokuko was nomming on a melon bread at the desk. It wasn’t one of those cheap Sweet-roll Assortments (5 DP for 6), but one of those super expensive bakery kinds. Our income’s definitely high enough to cover it now though.

  “Morning, Rokuko. Anything to report?”


  “Nope. We’ve been on the lookout though.”


  No way, is there actually a chance that they didn’t notice yet?

  Or maybe they did notice, and they’re in the middle of preparations? In that case, I could sleep a bit more…


  No, thinking about it like that’s bad. I don’t care, I just want to sleep anyways.

  “… I was a bit concerned about it and didn’t sleep too well. I ended up pushing it all on you, Rokuko.”


  “Kehma, you’re actually caring about the details… well, I like that though.”


  “Hm? Did you say something?”


  “I said that I like it when you’re worried about pushing troublesome things over to me, Kehma.”


  “Oh? I like you too, Rokuko… oh, you’re blushing? And a lot at that.”


  Rokuko was hiding her face with her hands.

  “I-I can’t help it! You said something like that, so…”


  “Should I have not said it then?”


  “Say it more! We’re partners, after all.”


  “Okay, love you, Rokuko~”


  It’d be perfect if I also planted a kiss on her right here, but I’m not playboy enough to just kiss her so easily.

  Aah, my ears are burning up. I’m not used to stuff like this.

  *

  Well, I looked into my partner’s situation a bit after leaving the letter to her, so I guess I give looking around our Golen Village a shot. I may be a figurehead, but I’m still the Village Chief.

  I’ve been neglecting it all recently, so I want to check out how things are going.

  “Oh? Goshujin-sama, goin’ on a stroll? Could I tag along?”


  “Ichika? Sure, it’s more of a patrol than a stroll though.”


  Ichika said she’s been working a part time job at some store on her days off from the inn, so she knew the current state of the village a lot better than me.

  She herself says: [I want money! To spin the slots!] She was given permission to work the job so long as it didn’t affect her performance at the inn.

  And it appears that she had a day off from her part time job today as well.

  “I see, so since I’m guidin’ ya, buy me some bakery curry buns.”


  “That’s your goal?”


  “Obviously. I’d do anythin’ to get some curry buns. Ah, wanna rub my boobs?”


  “… You don’t sell yourself to other people like that, right?”


  “Only to Goshujin-sama. I’m not cheap, and more than anythin’ I’m Goshujin-sama’s slave. I can’t say stuff like that on my own… or did you want me to do that? If you’re interested in that, then depending on the renumeration—”


  “No, it’s alright. Sorry for asking you something strange.”


  “Then two curry breads, ‘kay?”


  “Yeah yeah, I’ll buy you two of them.”


  Promising Ichika a reward, it was decided that she would take me around.

  “So, wanna rub my boobs?”


  “Let’s talk about something else.”


  *

  First off’s right in front of the dungeon. [Cave of Desires] has a simple fence set up at its entrance.

  Goblins and the like never really come out of it, but it seems to be something placed there just in the off chance anything does.

  “There’s been more kids here recently, so it’s like tellin’ em to not enter on their own or somethin’.”


  “Eh, more kids?”


  “Merchants’ children and adventurer families, stuff like that. There was a lot of people that came in the winter and started makin’ new families, but those kids aren’t born yet so they don’t count.”


  It appeared that there was quite a number of people who wanted to migrate here because they could spent winters here leisurely in the hot springs. I heard that Village Sub-Chief Wozuma was keeping strange people out of the village, but even so there’s been a lot of people migrating over.

  Even Kusan, the carpenter adventurer, was busy doing adventurer stuff despite building housing.

  “Hearing that, I’m starting to feel that I really am a figurehead.”


  “Really? They seem to go to you for your consent though.”


  “Yeah, I left all the decision-making stuff for immigration to Wozuma and Kusan.”


  “… Ooh, so that’s it?”


  With that, we arrived at our inn, [Dancing Doll’s Pavilion], and the Adventurer Guild’s branch office across the street from it.

  The inn is attached to the Village Chief’s residence and the employee dormitory, so it uses up quite a large area. There’s a warehouse behind the branch office and a bar next to it. Village Sub-Chief Wozuma works as the barkeep there… well, Wozuma was working there from the start.

  “Oh yeah, has the bar been doing well? There’s a lot of stuff a sub-chief has to do.”


  “It’s definitely thrivin’. Bars mainly get busy at night, so… see? There’s construction goin’ on behind the bar, it’s expandin’.”


  Just as see said, it seems like they were building something. I could see a few of the adventurers that stay at our inn helping out the construction work. I wonder if he placed a commission for it at the branch office?

  “Wait, it’s making that much money?”


  “Even if it didn’t, he gets a lot of money as Village Sub-Chief. There hasn’t been any complaints.”


  That so? Alrighty then.

  After that was what was next to the bar, the Dyne Firm. Dyne, the merchant that manages our village’s finances. He’s a competent merchant that’s able to multiply funds after being handed them. Thanks to him, our village easily operates in surplus funds.

  Ah, just in time. Dyna was stocking goods.

  “Hoh? Ichika-yan. You don’t have work today, what’s goin’ on?”


  “Just escortin’ my Goshujin-sama around on his patrol. We’re just window shoppin’, no need to fuss about us.”


  “That so? Then take your time lookin’ around and… wait! Kehma-han, massive thanks for your patronage!”


  “Y-yeah, you seem to be doing well, Dyne.”


  Those two’s Pavueran accents get translated into a quasi-Kansai dialect, it seriously sounds like it. [1]

  “Oh yeah, that magic tool called a [Stove] you got from the dungeon—it’s great!”


  “A stove, huh?”


  The stove is a magic tool that our Apprentice Witch Nerune developed. It’s use is exactly like a normal stove, it simply uses magic stones as fuel. A magic formation is drawn on a clay plate inside it, it’s even possible to adjust the caloric heat output.

  I put it in some treasure chests inside the dungeon as well, but I also brought some directly to his shop. I just said I found it in the dungeon. (It wasn’t a lie either, as Nerune’s laboratory is inside the dungeon.)

  “It’s light and can be used for most kinds of food as-is, they sell like hotcakes even to non-adventurers…! If ya find any more, definitely make sure to bring ’em to my shop.”


  “I will if I find any more. But for now, could I see what you have for sale?”


  “Sure thing~!”


  He lined up several weapons and magic tools meant for adventurers.

  Other than the weapons and magic tools he gets from our dungeon, it looks like some are from Kantra, the person who taught Nerune the basics of making magic tools. Kantra’s a talented guy that’s both a blacksmith and an alchemist.

  … Oh, there were those swords that’re both swords and magic tools too. Are they being sold? Ah, nope. Thought not~. [2]

  “.. Hmm? There seems to be some accessory-type things here too. This ring, is it a magic tool as well?”


  “That’s just a normal accessory. But they’re in great demand!”


  “Heeh, wonder why. Maybe people buy them after coming to sightsee?”


  Our reputation’s been spreading through word of mouth with people saying things like “I came for the hot spring” or “I came for the food”. Is that why they want souvenirs too?

  “No, I sell the wood sculptures to those customers.”


  The wooden sculptures are goods that the succubi in succubi village produce. We collect them and throw them into the treasure chests as fail prizes.

  Furthermore, they only make things shaped like matsutake mushrooms for some reason. He’s been selling them by asserting they’re limbless dolls or something. [3]

  “… Eh, why?”


  “They’re items you get from a dungeon, wouldn’t somethin’ like that be interestin’ for most people? They’re strangely smooth even though they’re made from wood, so they feels curiously good. Well, I sell them for a reasonable cost as amusing curios.”


  … I wonder if they have some lingering succubus scent on them?

  I picked up one of the dolls that had been lined up in a corner of the shop and gave it a whiff. I think I did smell something, but couldn’t figure out what exactly it was.

  Footnotes:

  Kansai dialect tl;dr — they talk super bouncy and bubbly and use waaaay different words. Return

  This line doesn’t seem to indicate whether he’s seeing the swords just then or if he’s only recalling them. Sorry about that. Return

  Kokeshi dolls, like this. Return