The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 16
If the story had followed its original plot, the Rubid village should have been destroyed, but it survived.
After the crisis was resolved, the villagers, especially the village chief, prostrated themselves on the ground and bowed repeatedly. He bowed so much that his forehead started to bleed, so I had to stop him, but he continued to bow his head persistently.
He spoke to me.
“You are our savior! Thank you so much for saving our village… for bestowing such grace upon us… Thank you truly!”
I couldn’t help but find it absurd.
He probably thought I saved the village out of goodwill or kindness. Did he think I did this without any benefit to myself? That was nonsense.
I made it clear to him. I made sure even the old man, who was shedding tears of gratitude, could hear me clearly.
“I will, of course, collect payment. I saved all your lives, so you must pay the appropriate price for that.”
I told them what their village would have to do in the future. Originally, they were destined to be ruined and exited the story. I was giving these burnt-out remnants a new purpose. Even the God of this world would forgive me for pushing them a bit.
Oh, by the way, I was an atheist.
I made a direct contract with the village chief. To put it simply, I bestowed a one-sided curse. Curses, especially illusionary and taming ones, were my specialty, so it was a very easy task.
“It’s a curse that will react immediately if you disobey my orders. It’s filled with potent poison that will instantly invade every corner of your body. The pain is so intense that you’d want to cut off your tongue just to die quickly.”
It was a necessary leash since they would have to move like puppets. If they didn’t rebel, the curse wouldn’t activate, and normally, it even had the benefit of boosting their vitality.
In terms of obedience to me, it was similar to the contract I made with Alicia, but of course, the details were different.
This village would be usefully repurposed in the future. I chose the village chief to lead them. In such a small rural area, age was practically equivalent to rank. He was already acting as the village chief, so there would be little resistance, and since he was good at his job, he was the right person for it.
I also gave him a crystal so he could communicate with me if needed. It made it easier for me to give him instructions from afar.
And there was also a reward for him. It was a mutually beneficial reward, and for him, it was something more important than wealth or people. It was longevity.
He would receive continuous care from my specialized doctor. They would minimize any current illnesses or pains and forcibly train his mana to improve his physical condition and health.
Well, even with this, I couldn’t guarantee he would live another 20 years, but at least he would be able to function properly for another 5 years. He needed to endure that much to be useful.
Now, how about Alicia?
Having safely completed the loop, Alicia should have lost consciousness and fallen into a deep sleep by now, but she was holding on with her strong will.
This loop might seem highly efficient on the surface, but unless Alicia was in a special situation like this, there was no reason to use it because its actual efficiency was quite trash.
Moreover, it required substantial preparations and had the side effect of not waking up for several days, despite its considerable power.
Yet, she was enduring it to keep her promise to a child named Edel and because she didn’t want to hinder me.
She really was someone who required a lot of attention in various ways. Once we got out of here and onto the carriage, I would have to force her to sleep.
“I will definitely hold out until we reach the mansion…!”
“… Miss Alicia, stop being so stubborn. You spend the same amount of time with your eyes closed as you do open, you know that?”
“Princess, you look sleepy. You’re having a hard time, right? You should rest after fighting all those monsters, but you’re holding out because of the promise you made with me, right?”
“No, Edel…! Look, look! I can stand perfectly fine like this!”
“Pwincess… you’re shwaying…”
Freesia’s innocent comment made Alicia flustered as she tried to make large movements with her arms, swaying all the while.
She was so stubborn in the strangest ways.
“Enough, stop that foolish behavior. It’s hard to watch with open eyes. One person doing such ridiculous acts is enough.”
“Master, you looked at me just now…! Why, why did you look at me?! I don’t expect you to show respect to your teacher, but at least don’t ignore me!”
Paula’s loud voice filled the small house. It was a small house where furniture and fixtures were appropriately placed, indicating that the parents of the kids organized it, but there were still some cluttered spots.
It looked like the kids made a mess. This was why I disliked children. They didn’t listen and caused unnecessary messes.
“An evil sorcerer is challenging the chief big brother…! Chief big brother, punish her quickly. If you don’t punish her now, she’ll become even more disrespectful later!”
Edel grabbed my arm with her small body, trying to emphasize her point by pulling me closer with each sentence.
“Edel…! Why am I the only evil sorcerer and the Master is the chief big brother? Anyone can see he looks worse. No, and he used to be the <evil sorcerer leader>. How did that title change?!”
Ever since I eradicated those grotesque red creatures, these kids had been clinging to me annoyingly. They pulled at my clothes with sparkling eyes, seeking attention, sticking to me like gum.
If they were going to be this annoying, it would have been better if I was the evil sorcerer leader.
“Chief big brother isn’t a bad person…! He defeated the scary monsters and protected the villagers with the princess. Don’t talk about him like that!”
“Wight, don’t talk badly!”
“Even Freesia… if I had known it would turn out like this, I should have wiped out those creatures completely…”
Big brother, huh.
I… Vargan did have two younger sisters, but both of them had difficult personalities. Compared to them, having these kids as siblings might be better.
No, at least my sisters didn’t bother me. They didn’t even talk to me much usually.
While I was lost in thought, Paula noticed something on Edel, who was expressing her anger with her whole body.
“Uh…? Wait, Edel. Can you show me the back of your hand? I think I saw something that shouldn’t be there?”
“No! This is a mark that the chief big brother made for us. I won’t show it to the evil sorcerer!”
“When you say <us>, does that mean Freesia too…?! Master, what is going on?!”
Paula looked more shocked than I’d ever seen, her eyes wide and mouth agape.
For the record, I didn’t force the curse on them. After seeing me mark the village chief, these kids pestered me to mark them too, so I did it to shut them up.
Of course, their mother might be furious if she found out.
“They coveted the village chief’s mark, so I gave them each one.”
“Gave them one, as if it’s so trivial… this is a curse…! How could you place a curse on such young children? Miss Alicia, why are you suddenly avoiding my gaze? Did you know about this?”
“… yes.”
Paula widened her eyes even more and covered her mouth with her hands. She was shocked that Alicia knew about this and still allowed it.
“Teacher, it’s not a bad curse. The Master isn’t someone who would do such a thing without reason, and it doesn’t harm the children’s bodies at all. It’s actually a helpful curse…!”
“Ah… Miss Alicia is defending the Master… oh, wait a minute. My head is throbbing. The continuous unexpected situations are causing an overload.”
Paula held her head in her hands and sighed deeply. Then she pointed out something strange in Alicia’s words.
“Alicia, you clearly said it’s a curse. A curse! It’s called a curse because it’s a one-sided relationship, not a fair contract! This is⎯”
“⎯Alicia. Silence Paula.”
“Yes, understood… I’m sorry, teacher.”
Alicia quickly moved and covered Paula’s mouth with a handkerchief. Paula couldn’t believe even Alicia’s current actions as she continued to resist.
She was a noisy one.
***
The time to leave had come.
Finally, I could get out of this rural place.
Since we didn’t bring many belongings, it didn’t take long to prepare. The villagers even came out to help, so it was done even faster.
Once our luggage was loaded onto the carriage, Edel and Freesia started to make sad faces.
They were such affectionate kids. How long were we here for them to be so sad?
As I watched the kids, I saw Alicia approaching them. She tried to comfort them by hugging them, but she had quite a sad face herself.
Who was comforting whom? It seemed Alicia was at the same mental age as these kids.
“Edel, Freesia. Stay healthy. We’ll meet again someday, so don’t cry.”
“Sniff, really…? We’ll really meet again, right? We’ll remember you, princess. You mustn’t forget us either…!”
“Pwincess… I’ll wemember.”
“I’ll never forget. As proof, here.”
Alicia wiped her tears with one hand and held out her pinky finger with the other.
Edel, seeing this, nodded and hooked her pinky with Alicia’s.
Freesia placed her tiny hand on her sister’s.
“I kept the last promise too, didn’t I? This time, it’s just a bit longer. We’ll definitely meet again.”
“Okay, I’ll believe you. I’ll wait…!”
I wanted to say, ‘What if you can’t make time to come see them?’, but I held back. It was just an ineffective verbal promise. There was no point in wasting more time.
“That’s enough, Alicia. It takes a long time to get back to the mansion. We must hurry.”
“Yes, understood… I’ll be going now. See you later, Edel, Freesia.”
“Okay, I understand. But princess, one last thing. Just a moment, it’ll only take a moment….”
Edel guided Alicia’s ear close to her. Then, standing on tiptoe, she whispered something, and I could only hear the last part because it was so quiet.
“… I won’t tell anyone what I found.”
Hearing Edel’s whisper, Alicia blushed and quickly checked my reaction. Then, confirming I hadn’t heard it, she desperately tried to assure Edel it wasn’t what she thought.
Seeing that made me curious. Should I force her to confess in the carriage?
The kid seemed delighted, covering her mouth with her finger and smiling.
“I know, it’s a secret!”