The Chief and Agu were facing each other across a table.
“Oh, welcome back. Please, have a seat. How were things in the city?”
As the Chief spoke, Enri sat herself beside Agu. For a moment Agu’s body seemed to go stiff, but that must have been a trick of the light.
“Ah, then, that’s it for me. In that case, Chief, please take care of us.”
Enri had no idea who those words were meant for. Since the only others present were Enri, Gokoh and the Chief, it seemed obvious that they had been intended for the village chief.
However, Agu had been looking at her, with a stiff back and pursed lips. Enri looked into Agu’s eyes, and in his steadfast, unblinking gaze, she realised that he was not kidding or playing a trick.
“Eh…eh?!”
Why did it have to be her?
Amidst Enri’s confusion, Agu excused himself and left the Chief’s home.
“Hey! Wait—”
“Then, Enri, can you tell me about it?”
“Eh? No, that… this… ah, yes. I get it.”
It weighed heavily on her mind, but she could clear up her doubts later. The report was more important for now.
After deciding that, Enri clearly and concisely related the events that had occurred in the city. The most important part was that nobody wanted to move to Carne Village. However, the chief seemed to have anticipated this, because there was no regret on his face, only calm acceptance.
“So that’s how it is. Well, it can’t be helped. We’re a frontier village, so people won’t want to move where the monster appearance rates were high.”
The village chief said what Enri had been thinking. It might have well been what everyone in the village had already accepted.
“You’ve done a lot for us. Thank you.”
The chief lowered his head, and Enri said, “It’s all right,” in return. It had been confusing at times, but it had also been a good experience.
“Then―” the chief’s line of sight flickered to Gokoh for a second. “There is one thing I would like to entrust to Enri Emmot.”
“Ah, yes. What is it? You’re being so serious, Chief…”
“…I hope you will carry on in my position as village chief.”
Enri’s expression would have transcended acting in terms of how quickly and dramatically her face changed.
“Haaaaaaaa?! What, what is this? Hey! Don’t tell me Agu was saying those… ehhhh?!”
“You getting flustered won’t help…”
“Don’t interrupt me when I’m flustered! Chief, are you retarded? Why are you saying this?!”
“…Maybe retarded is a bit much. I understand you’re excited and nervous about this — I know that much, but I’m hoping you can calm down and listen to me.”
“Calm down, how can I calm down? I’m just a girl, why do I have to deal with this village chief crap?!”
“Get a hold of yourself!”
The voice was full of power, but to Enri it was just a little loud. Even so, it helped her regain a bit of her composure. No, if she didn’t listen to the chief, she’d never make sense of things, or at least that was what part of her was thinking.
“I understand that you’re very confused. However, I hope you can sit down and consider things with a clear head. For starters, who is the heart of the village?”
“Isn’t that you, Chief?”
“That would be incorrect. This old man feels that you are the heart of the village. The goblins and the newly-arrived ogres all acknowledge you as their leader, right?”
“That’s correct. We’re all loyal to Ane-san from the bottom of our hearts.”
“Then, there’s the goblins you helped. From what Agu’s told me, they also see you as the boss.”
Enri’s mouth turned into the shape of a ‘Λ’. It might be true that the goblins were that way, but what would the villagers think? They would never accept this.
“I can guess at what you’re thinking. The villagers will object, is that it? I’ve already spoken with everyone and gotten their approval. Last night, we had a meeting of the villagers and got their opinions. And it was unanimous — they all wanted you to be the new chief.”
“But, but how?!”
“…That attack was a huge shock for all of us, Enri. Everybody is hoping for a strong ruler.”
“How am I strong? I’m just a simple village girl!”
Although there was some muscle on her arms, she was still a village girl who could barely use a weapon. If they wanted strength, they should have asked the self-defense force, shouldn’t they?
“Strength is not measured by one’s muscle alone. Don’t you think being able to order the goblins around is a form of strength too? The Bareare boy said that while putting your name forward.”
“Enfi!”
Enri let out a sound like someone strangling a chicken to death.
“That, and this old man is getting on in years. I need to find a successor soon.”
“What do you mean, ‘old man’? Chief isn’t anywhere near old. Is that why you’ve been talking like an old man?”
The chief was around his mid-forties, so it was still a bit early to be calling him old. After all, he was still at an age where he could contribute to the village’s work.
“Leaving aside the matter of talking like an old man, you should have noticed by now, but the forest around the village is undergoing a number of changes. Since the Virtuous King of the Forest is gone, there’s a higher chance of monsters coming out of the forest to attack. Under these circumstances, I’m not suitable to be the chief.”
“Chief, this may be rude, but I need to ask. I can’t get out of this, can I?”
“…Frankly? Even if you refused, I couldn’t do much about it.”
What Enri saw was the eyes of a man who was honestly speaking his mind.
“I still remember that day even now. That horrible day when my friends in the village were killed. I knew the Emmots well. If we hadn’t lived idly, if we had built a wall, if we had been on guard, maybe we wouldn’t have suffered so much… maybe we could have held out until Gown-sama came to help us.”
That would be tough, Enri thought. This village also had a lot of immigrants who were survivors from the other destroyed villagers. Their villages had sturdy walls ― though not as strong as Carne Village’s at the present ― but they had still been attacked and slaughtered. But those walls could have delayed the attackers by just a little bit and allowed more people to be saved. Enri agreed on that part.