The Very Uneasy Acting Village Chief

"—So, anyway, that's how things went, and now I'm serving as the next village chief and exercising my sharp skills."

"… Hmm? Our village's chief doesn't have such a tough job, right? You just pass everything on to others. You mostly sit in the office as a figurehead."

"That may be true for me and Papa, but it looked pretty tough for Amelia-san since she isn't really used to it. She probably wasn't comfortable in the chair, given that it was just extra work for her."

Soto smiled cheerfully as she answered.

At that moment, I noticed that Soto was holding something that looked like a sleeping bag.

"And that sleeping bag-like thing… is it…?"

"Yep! It's Amelia-san's shed skin! As expected from an A+ God-class Lamia, it's high-quality enough that I can use it as a sleeping bag… Oh, I won't be giving it to you, though. From now on, all of Amelia-san's snake skins are mine!"

"Wait a minute. All of them?"

"I never said it would be just this once."

Soto… she's a terrifying child…!?

"I need to get at least that much in order to keep working, you know! I've been casting healing magic on Amelia-san's snake legs every day while gently rubbing them to help her shed more easily."

"Once we return to the village, you should really let her off the hook, okay?"

"Eh? I'll just let her off with about five of them before you get back then."

Honestly, I can't believe that Amelia-san has entered into such a devilish contract… She must have been under a lot of pressure.

"She should just delegate things to others, but Amelia-san is so serious…"

"Exactly. Well, it's fine though since I get her shed skin!"

"Kehma, Soto, that's enough already. Could you tell me about how things are going in the village?"

"Ah, yes."

Soto replied, prompted by Rokuko.

"Really though, there hasn't been much change. It's mostly just the Four Heavenly Kings and their associates working, but aside from that, not much has happened. The most notable thing is that one of Dolce-san's subordinate Wraiths got seduced and married one of the village men."

"Huh? Wait a minute. We haven't been gone for that long… An impulsive marriage, huh?"

It seems that by settling one of her subordinates, Dolce had embedded a spy in the village…

"Soto, couldn't you have rejected that marriage? If the acting village chief had objected, it could have been prevented or at least postponed."

"Well, it happened under the 'Legendary Tree' at the 'Hero Wataru Confession Memorial Park,' so I couldn't reject it."

"… Ah, I see, that was clever of her."

Right now, it seems that the legend surrounding Wataru Park is being used, and if a confession succeeds there, it's hard to oppose it. It's like my policies were being used against me.

"… Kehma, is this my fault? Sorry…?"

"Don't worry about it. There's nothing to be concerned about. If they're spies, we just keep a close eye on them."

"Oh. Mama, Papa! That wraith is someone I've properly trained, so don't worry! I bought her from Dolce-san when she settled here. She had been trained as a spy, so she was a bit expensive, but now she's a monster under my [Storage] Dungeon!"

Soto smiled mischievously.

"… Well, I guess that's a good job, right? The biggest secret in our dungeon is related to your ability, Soto. Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's fine. And I'd like to bill the amount spent on the purchase as an expense."

"Well, that's reasonable. I approve. How much did it cost?"

I wonder if Soto managed to cover the costs with her allowance.

"Five pairs of Kinue-san's socks."

"… Huh? You bought her with socks?"

"Yes. From my collection… Honestly, Dolce-san pretended not to be interested in socks and used that to drive up the price!"

Wait a minute… There's a spy who was bought with socks?

"… Ah, well, I'll talk to Kinue-san about it. But did Dolce-san really agree to that?"

"Yes. Anyway, Wraith-chan herself strongly wanted it! She was passionately pursued and fell in love. After becoming my subordinate, I confirmed it under orders, and it's real. From now on, she's going to live as a human."

"She's that serious!?"

Who in the world pursued her so passionately? I'm shocked.

"When the negotiation was settled with the socks, Wraith-chan was so moved by the high price that she tears!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it went… but well, as long as there's no danger, it's fine."

"Well, it seems like Kusaan-san has found his spring."

Kusaan's the main carpenter of our village.

… Well, he was apparently sent by Haku-san without realizing it himself originally, so it was fitting in a way.

"Well, with that said, everything is mostly peaceful! You two just enjoy your journey and don't worry about the village!"

"Yeah… Rokuko, do you think everything's going to be okay?"

"Well… I think it'll be fine. If Kehma's not around, even if worst comes to worst, we can keep the secret about the golem stuff hidden."

We spent a little more time as a family and then returned to the ship.

… I guess I'll leave the village in Soto's hands for now.

And then, several days later, we finally arrived at Wakoku.