I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Those Who Rage (3)

-Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of numerous footsteps echoed as the villagers marched towards the central hall.

Having just met with Carsein, they encountered Village Head Brem and a small group who had been waiting for them.

“What did the Young Master say?”

As Brem calmly inquired about the outcome, Map stepped forward and scoffed,

“Hmph! More of the same nonsense!”

“Go on.”

“What was it again? That p… p…? What was it?”

“pH.”

“Oh, right! pH! He showed us that Data Scroll, talking about how it’s different for each type of soil, but we can’t just take his word for it!”

Map’s companions chimed in.

“Map’s right. We could have been tricked!”

“Exactly! He could have manipulated the data on that scroll!”

“He’s always been a liar! Remember when he said our territory was in danger? It wasn’t even close to being dangerous! The harvest was just slightly lower than usual.”

“Exactly! The harvest only really became dangerous after Young Master Carsein took over!”

Brem sighed.

Shatrain was currently divided into two factions. The moderates, who believed they should at least hear Carsein out, and the majority, the hardliners, who still distrusted him.

He had tried to persuade some of the villagers, but it had been futile.

The most vocal opponents of change were the stubborn, closed-minded older generation.

“We may be younger than you, Village Head, but we’ve been cultivating strawberries and grapes every single day of our lives! We have plenty of experience! We’re not wrong!”

Even though Carsein had presented clear evidence that the soil properties were different, most of the Shatrain villagers refused to believe him.

As the argument continued…

-Boooo.

The sound of a horn echoed through the air, and the villagers’ faces brightened.

***

“Ooh…!”

“It’s Lusmire!”

The horn signaled the arrival of a Lusmire supply caravan.

The Shatrain villagers, abandoning their work in the fields, rushed to greet the Lusmire merchants.

Shatrain had been struggling lately.

They needed more supplies, but their territory was under lockdown.

They needed to increase their strawberry and grape production to cover their deficit, but they were still operating at a loss.

The arrival of the Lusmire caravan was a welcome sight, a beacon of hope.

But the Lusmire merchants, as they began unloading their supplies, noticed something strange.

“All of these farming tools are broken already?”

“You know how expensive farming tools are, especially for agricultural territories like ours.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you’re cultivating Shatrain strawberries and Shatrain grapes.”

Shatrain strawberries and Shatrain grapes were notoriously difficult to cultivate.

They were delicate crops, and their tools often broke or wore out quickly.

But…

‘These tools don’t look like they were broken during normal farming.’

Shatrain’s main industry was agriculture.

For people who lived and breathed farming, their tools shouldn't be wearing out this quickly.

The Lusmire merchants, who also relied on farming, albeit on a smaller scale, had experience with broken tools. Looking at these damaged implements, they couldn’t help but wonder…

‘These look more like they were used in battle… against monsters.’

The Lusmire villagers shared the same thought.

Their memories of their struggles before Carsein’s arrival were still vivid.

They had often used their farming tools as weapons, protecting the elderly and children from monster attacks while waiting for the knights to arrive.

Their instincts, honed through years of hardship, told them that something strange was happening in Shatrain.

Kiyan, representing the younger generation of Lusmire, stepped forward and raised his hand.

“Excuse me, sirs. May I ask a question?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Have there been any reports of monster attacks in Shatrain?”

The Shatrain villagers laughed at Kiyan's question.

“There haven’t been any monster attacks.”

“Monsters don’t appear in Shatrain.”

“They might appear in neighboring territories, but not here.”

“We occasionally have to call the guards when bandits show up, though.”

“…Is that so?”

The Shatrain villagers were grateful for Lusmire’s concern, but they insisted there hadn't been any monster attacks.

‘…This is strange.’

Kiyan tilted his head, his suspicion growing.

The atmosphere during the supply delivery was amicable.

The strong bond between Shatrain and Lusmire grew stronger with each act of mutual support.

But as soon as the delivery was complete, they resumed their criticism of Carsein.

“Tsk. Our lord issued a lockdown order when he should be opening up the territory.”

“And now he’s given the same order to the guards.”

“How are we supposed to cover our deficit like this?!”

“If it weren’t for Lusmire…”

They voiced their complaints, their words thinly veiled insults directed at Carsein.

The Lusmire merchants felt a surge of anger.

But they had to endure it.

-You must not engage in arguments with the Shatrain villagers, even if they harbor ill feelings towards Young Master Carsein.

Tasha, acting lord of Lusmire and following Carsein’s orders, had instructed them to remain silent.

And there was another reason for their silence.

They had once felt the same way.

They had harbored a deep distrust of nobles.

Their misunderstanding of Carsein had blinded them to his true nature.

That's why they believed that once the misunderstanding was cleared, the Shatrain villagers would change their minds.

“Don’t you think it’s strange? How can a lord issue a lockdown order when the territory needs to be opened up?”

“And now he’s given the same order to the guards!”

“He took our land, blocked all trade routes, and now he’s trying to force his farming methods on us! This is tyranny!”

The more they listened, the angrier they became.

It was too much.

They couldn’t just stand there and listen anymore.

“That’s going too far!”

Kiyan, gritting his teeth, raised his voice.

“Taking our land, ruining our territory… Why are you saying such things?”

“You’re just a kid, you don’t understand. That monster destroyed our village!”

“And there’s nothing to stop him from doing it again!”

They had tried to be patient.

But they couldn't hold back any longer.

“You said you had to buy food from outside because you couldn’t cultivate your own, because he took your land.”

“Uh? Yeah, that’s right.”

“Then you’re the ones who don’t understand!”

“Why did he give you the food he cultivated on that land? He could have kept it all for himself! He’s trying to prevent you from focusing solely on strawberries and grapes, forcing you to diversify your crops!”

“That’s nonsense! There’s no way…”

“Then why didn’t he take all of your land? Why only one-third?!”

“That’s because of the inscription stone!”

“If he really wanted to ruin your territory, he would have taken it all! Are you that stupid?!”

“Hey! You’re going too far!”

The situation escalated rapidly.

Lusmire and Shatrain, once close allies, were now on the verge of a brawl.

A few of the older villagers tried to intervene, but it was too late.

“Explain yourself! Tell us what’s wrong with his theory about acidic soil!”

“His theory is flawed!”

“Ha! He proved that the soil is different! You’re just being ignorant!”

“I can’t listen to this anymore…!”

Several of the stronger villagers lunged at each other, grabbing each other by the collars.

-Ding!

▶ Trigger activated! ◀

▶ The Lusmire villagers have realized the truth about Shatrain! ◀

▶ Affinity settings changed for Barak, Kiyan, and other Lusmire villagers! ◀

[ Lusmire’s Fury ]

[ Current Affinity: 60% ]

They had endured it long enough.

They couldn't just stand by and listen while their benefactor, Carsein, was insulted.

‘This… This is going to turn into a real fight…!’

‘No! This will hurt Young Master Carsein!’

But thankfully, some of the more level-headed villagers from both sides managed to remain calm and quickly called for the guards.

“Stop this, right now!”

The guards, led by Dyke, intervened, and the situation calmed down.

***

On their way back to Lusmire, Kiyan was lost in thought.

‘There was definitely something strange about that.’

Before the Shatrain villagers had denied the possibility of monster attacks…

Kiyan had seen it. A fleeting look of panic on their faces.

And it wasn't just one person.

They had all reacted the same way. There had to be something they were hiding.

It was a reasonable suspicion.

‘I have to ask.’

He was about to voice his concerns to the older villagers when…

“Hey, kid. Wait a minute.”

“Wh-Whoa!”

“Oh, sorry. Did I startle you?”

Dyke offered his hand to Kiyan, who had fallen on his backside.

Kiyan, slightly embarrassed, took his hand and stood up.

“I’m Dyke. One of the guards here in Shatrain.”

“I saw you earlier.”

“Thanks for your help. We would have been in a real brawl if it weren’t for you.”

Several villagers offered their hands.

Dyke smiled and shook their hands.

‘They’re admitting they were wrong, even though we were a bit rough when we stopped the fight…’

They were from Lusmire, Carsein's territory.

They were good people, loyal to their lord.

That's why Dyke felt comfortable speaking his mind.

“You’re right. There’s something strange going on in Shatrain.”

Even though he was a Shatrain guard, he sided with Lusmire.

He explained that there was a reason behind Carsein's actions, that he was, in fact, an excellent lord. He even used the example of Carsein giving all the guards strawberries and grapes as proof of his generosity.

“So, I have a question. How much do you know about the internal affairs of Shatrain?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a guard, but I don’t know much about what goes on inside the village. For some reason, Shatrain has always been extremely reluctant to allow us to patrol inside the village. We’re only allowed to patrol the outer perimeter.”

“They refused to allow patrols?”

“That’s definitely strange.”

“So, you’re asking us, since we have a good relationship with Shatrain, if we know anything?”

Dyke nodded.

“You enter the village when you deliver supplies, don’t you? Did you see anything strange? Anything unusual?”

“Hmm… Even if we did…”

“We don’t know much about what goes on inside.”

“Is that so…”

Then, Kiyan raised his hand.

“I have a suspicion.”

““Oh?””

The broken and corroded farming tools were definitely suspicious.

And the Shatrain villagers had hesitated when asked about monster attacks.

So…

“Could you bring us the contents of the garbage bins?”

If Shatrain was hiding something…

There was a high chance the evidence would be in the trash.

-Ding!

▶ Clue obtained! ◀

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