Chapter 9 - Villagers
Finally, I was able to enjoy the soup after waiting for around 20 minutes until it cooled down. Even though it was already cold, the soup was warm....
The taste of vegetables seeped into the soup. No, should it be the other way around? Maybe it's the taste of soup that seeped into the vegetables. Well, anyway, I have never eaten such things in the demon world. Yes, I have never thought there was another way to eat vegetables other than round bites.
After that, I waited the tea to cool down before drinking it. I would never make the same mistake again. The tea was delicious even though it was already cold.
"The representatives from each family will come here soon. I'll introduce you to them again. Please relax in the meantime." (Village Chief)
I nodded to the village chief's words.
Come to think of it, I wonder if Maou-sama has woken up. He seems to have stayed up all night yesterday. I'm sure he hasn't eaten anything. Maybe he will be angry if he knows that I've eaten delicious meal by myself.... No, it's rude to decline the food they had prepared. Yeah, it's just something unavoidable.
It seems like there is still time before the villagers come. I will use this chance to gather some information from the village chief.
"By the way, Village Chief. Why did you build a village inside the forest?" (Fell)
“Originally, this is an intermediate point for passing through the forest from east to west, or vice versa. Because there was a river nearby, many people often used this area for camping. The business started to bloom because there was people gathering. When I noticed it, this place has turned into a village." (Village Chief)
"I feel like I've walked quite a bit from the south to the north though." (Fell)
"Oh, so you came from the west. As you may know, there's Elven Forest in the west, so the road takes a detour to the south. I heard a long time ago some people tried to build a straight road from east to west through the Elven Forest, but the elves warned them to stop it." (Village Chief)
Warned? The elves immediately tried to kill me though.
"Oh, everyone seems to have arrived." (Village Cheap)
Dozens of humans entered the room.
"Everyone, please take a seat. Well then, let me introduce her first. This is Fell-sama of the demon race." (Village Chief)
Hearing that, everyone started raising a fuss.
Not this again. Even though I have such gorgeous horns on my head, why didn't they notice it? I mean, isn't it strange?
"I'm Fell of the demon race. I will be staying in this village for a while. I will abide the rules of human race, so please don't worry.... Also, you don't have to address me using '-sama'." (Fell)
"Fell-sama.... I mean, Fell-san wants a permission to stay in this village instead of monetary reward for saving us from the bandits, and I've accepted it. However, since I thought it was nowhere near enough, I told Fell-san that she could stay at the inn free of charge for a while. I’ve made such decisions all by myself, but any objections?" (Village Chief)
The village chief focused his attention to a certain man. He was a man in his late thirties with a good build.
"Oh, I see. If that's the case, I will treat her as our important guest, so come to my place. However, it's not possible to provide free services forever. How about two weeks? Of course I will provide meals too."
The village chief turned his eye to me this time, seemed to be asking if two weeks were enough.
"No problem. If I stay longer than two weeks, I will pay the lodging fee by myself. I don't have money at the moment though." (Fell)
"Speaking of money, there's a bounty for subjugating the bandit from the adventurer guild. The full amount will be paid to Fell-san in this case. However, it cannot be proceeded until the bandits are handed over to the soldiers...."
The only woman present said so.
I can get money from catching the bandits? I wonder if they will come here again.
"Can I ask a question? Why did you come to the human world? I mean, I've never heard any news about demon for decades."
Next an old man asked such a question to me.
The purpose, huh. I don't know why Maou-sama wants to go to the World Tree, and I don't think it's a good idea to bring up the topic about the demon world's food crisis here.
“The demon race has a new policy of having a friendly relationship with the human race now. If possible, we would like to do business, too." (Fell)
"How did it end up with such a policy?"
"I can only say that this is the decision of Maou-sama. For us demons, his words are absolute." (Fell)
I will keep silent about the food crisis for now. However, it's true that Maou-sama's words are absolute for us demons, so I'm not lying. I hope he won't pursue this topic any further.
"Fumu, I've heard that Maou's words are absolute for the demons."
It's Maou-sama, old man! MAOU-SAMA!
Oh well, it can't be helped since he is a human. Still though, everyone looks somewhat restless. Maybe they're still afraid of me? Now then, I wonder what's going to happen next.
"I understand everyone's concerns, but I hope you could think about it carefully once more. Have you seen the strength of her slimes? No one can't go against Fell-san if she decides to stay in this village. Even so, she's still asking our permission properly. I don't think she is going to do harm to us at least. Some might be worried because Fell-san is a demon race, but please remember that the bandits who attacked this village are fellow humans." (Village Chief)
Everyone present agreed with the village chief's words.
What kind of evaluation is this? Do I have to thank the bandits?
"That's why Fell-san doesn't need to refrain yourself." (Village Chief)
"Understood. Please rest assured because I won't use violence except to defend myself. However, as I've said to the village chief before, I'm not familiar with the common sense of human race. I might cause inconvenience to everyone here. Therefore, if you think I'm about to do something wrong, please let me know before it happens!" (Fell)
Having said that, I bowed to the everyone present. I thought that a demon who knew manners would gain more trust.
"Fell-san, please raise your head! Of course, everyone here believe in you. You can stay as long as you want." (Village Chief)
The village chief said so and everyone else agreed it.
Yeah, I did it, Maou-sama. I've secured our base of operations. Mission completed!