Chapter 332 : Side Story (2)

“Yes. That is me.”

It was a man with a thick beard.

“I am the village chief of Peniteo.”

“I see, at such a young age.”

Obro glanced at the village chief.

Although his beard was bushy, there were only a few fine wrinkles around his eyes.

He seemed to be less than forty at most.

The village chief’s eyes directed at Obro Denoebang were full of wariness.

It was because Obro’s sturdy body, even without a weapon, asserted that he was not an ordinary person.

However, the village chief tried his best to maintain politeness.

“It is a village where people coming and going are rare. What brings you here?”

“You.”

Obro spat out abruptly.

“Your way of speaking is very polite.”

“Because you are a guest.”

The village chief forced a smile.

Instead of smiling back, Obro narrowed his eyes.

Cheshih, who was beside them, felt a sense of unpleasantness.

Obro’s attitude felt somewhat rude.

“I wish to stay for a few days. That would be alright, wouldn’t it?”

“…It is sudden.”

“Of course, I intend to pay for the lodging.”

Obro took out a bundle of coins from his bosom.

He placed the bundle down as if throwing it.

The inside was entirely golden.

Twenty Imperial gold coins.

At the large sum that was nearly impossible to even lay eyes on in such a remote mountain village, the Peniteo village chief shut his mouth.

“…….”

“Is it insufficient?”

Obro took out another bundle.

There were twenty gold coins in there as well.

“…I will accept only one. Even this is a lot.”

“No, Village Chief. There is no reason not to accept it when he’s giving it.”

Cheshih interjected.

The sharp-eyed Horm person quickly grabbed both bundles.

“Since the wooden fence was damaged, there happened to be many things that needed money. We will use it gratefully.”

The Horm person began to speak on behalf of the village chief.

It was because he noticed that the village chief felt uncomfortable with Obro.

“You just need to follow me. It is an empty house, but since we clean it usually….”

“No. I saw it on the way here, and the condition of the empty houses was a mess without exception.”

“…Is that so? Even now, we can clean….”

“No. There is no need for that.”

Obro spoke firmly.

“This house, I saw, has many rooms, so give me one.”

“…You mean you will stay at the village chief’s house?”

“That is what I am saying.”

The White Lord raised his eyes toward Cheshih.

“More importantly, Mr. Cheshih, your tone has suddenly become polite. Even though you were speaking so brusquely at first.”

“…Did I?”

“You are doing so. Was there perhaps a reason to suddenly become polite?”

“…And you have suddenly become sharp on your part. Is there perhaps a reason to suddenly become sharp?”

“You are curious about all sorts of things for a guest.”

A strange tension hovered.

“Cheshih, stop it.”

The village chief touched his bushy beard a couple of times and waved his hand toward Cheshih.

“The guest is right. It might be different if we didn’t accept it, but since we received such a large sum, we should do as he wishes.”

“Village Chief.”

“Go to the big village with that money. Buy some meat so we can share and eat with the children.”

“…Will it be alright?”

Cheshih glanced sideways.

His tone seemed to ask if it would be okay for the two of them to be alone with Obro Denoebang.

The bearded village chief nodded.

“What is there to not be alright about? Go quickly, Cheshih. You have to hurry if you want to return before dinner.”

“Yes. I will do so.”

The Horm person bowed his waist toward the village chief.

Very deeply, and politely.

He glanced at Obro several times with an uneasy look, but soon took his steps.

“…I will be back.”

***

Watching Cheshih leave, the village chief shook his head.

“Anyway, Cheshih worries too much, really. He will return before the sun sets.”

He looked at Obro with a bright face.

Whether it was a truly bright heart or he was pretending to be so, it was unknown.

“More importantly, guest, I have not even heard your name.”

“Obro.”

He revealed his name without hesitation.

“Obro Denoebang.”

……Obro, Denoebang.

The village chief’s face hardened stiffly.

Obro bared his teeth and pulled up the corners of his mouth.

“You have become silent, Village Chief. Is it perhaps a name you have heard of?”

“…I heard there is a hero with a similar name in the West.”

“Is that so? It isn’t a common name.”

A snicker.

“But there is nothing to worry about. Because I am not a hero, but just a sensitive drunkard.”

“…….”

“And even if, let’s say, I am that person, what is the problem? Did you perhaps do something to incur a grudge from a hero of the West?”

“…The room….”

The village chief raised his body.

“…I will guide you to the room where you will stay.”

“Good.”

The Peniteo village chief blatantly changed the subject, and Obro played along as if he found it rather amusing.

He raised his body following the village chief.

“…By the way, guest, may I ask just one thing.”

“And if I say no?”

“It would be troubling.”

Obro snorted.

“Ask away. You may ask two if you like.”

“Do you like children?”

“Children?”

His brow furrowed.

“I don’t dislike them, but children don’t like me.”

“That is fortunate, at least.”

“Why do you ask such a thing?”

“Since you said you would stay in my house.”

Shrieking sounds came from outside.

Obro saw children running and playing outside the window.

“I have quite a few children.”

“Just how many do you have?”

“Eight.”

“…Eight? That is a lot indeed.”

At the unexpected number, Obro opened his eyes wide.

“It’s a large family. Your wife must have had a hard time.”

“I do not have a wife.”

“No wife, but eight children?”

“Since it is such a deep mountain area, magical beasts often come down.”

The village chief forced a smile.

“There were so many children who lost their parents like that, I just couldn’t leave them be.”

“…A good deed….”

Obro narrowed his eyes and looked at the other person.

There was a hint of surprise in them.

“…You are doing a good deed.”

“A good deed?”

The bearded village chief opened his eyes wide for a moment, and soon contorted his face.

As if he had heard something absurd.

His expression resembled a laugh, yet it was too miserable to call it a laugh.

The corners of his eyes crinkled.

He looked ten years older in an instant.

“…It isn’t such a thing.”

“If living while taking in parentless children isn’t a good deed, then where is a good deed to be found?”

“It is self-satisfaction… no, greed. I am just taking them in and living with them out of my own greed even though I can’t raise them properly….”

“…….”

Because deep guilt and sorrow were embedded in every single word, Obro could not retort further.

He had spoken sharply as if to dig into the heart from the beginning, but the bearded village chief’s heart already seemed to have many wounds.

“…I talked too much. Let us go.”

The village chief spoke.

“Unpack your belongings first.”

***

As dinner time approached, the smell of food filled the village.

The village chief came to find Obro Denoebang, who was lying in the room.

“Mr. Obro.”

He was wearing an old apron.

“Do you like potato soup?”

“There are many kinds of potato soup. What kind of potato soup?”

“I put peeled potatoes into boiling water.”

“And?”

“I season it with salt.”

“Next?”

“That is the end.”

“……?”

Isn’t that potato-infused water?

Because his culinary knowledge had been attacked, Obro Denoebang ended up tilting his head.

“I am sorry, my circumstances aren’t plentiful.”

“…No, leaving circumstances aside, wouldn’t there be a way to eat it more deliciously?”

Obro asked.

“When I looked earlier, the kitchen had everything it should. There were onions and carrots, and even Seram fruit oil….”

“Yes?”

The bearded village chief asked back as if wondering what he was talking about.

“But it is potato soup, isn’t it?”

“……?”

Obro stared blankly into the air.

For a moment, he groped through the gap in common sense that had occurred during the conversation with the village chief.

It means he thought about where on earth he should start speaking.

“…No, look, potato soup isn’t potato soup just because only potatoes go in it.”

“Was it not?”

“…….”

Obro eventually ended up springing to his feet.

“It can’t be helped.”

He let out a deep sigh.

While doing so, he snatched the village chief’s apron and ladle.

“Let me use the kitchen a bit.”

***

Obro Denoebang had good cooking skills.

He had lived in a nightmare for 8 years, and since no one particularly took care of his meals, he inevitably became accustomed to cooking.

Of course, it was at a very basic level, and not something to show off to anyone, but he was certain he would be better than that bearded village chief at least.

“Village Chief, it seems you don’t usually cook.”

“It is Mr. Cheshih’s responsibility.”

“Then why did you send him away? Like a fool.”

“…I was foolish.”

Obro snorted.

“Here, look.”

He was stir-frying onions in a small pot.

“Even if it is called potato soup, the core of the flavor is this onion. Since I am stir-frying onions in butter, the smell is incredible, isn’t it!”

“…Oh, so this scent was that scent.”

“Boil the potatoes and then peel them, and be careful since they are hot. If you think the onions are cooked enough… Do you have milk?”

“I do.”

“Good. It would have been better if there was cream, though.”

He poured milk over the stir-fried onions.

And then the boiled potatoes.

He mashed them firmly with the ladle so the potatoes and onions would break apart well.

Salt for the finish.

Around the time they combined and simmered gently, he tasted it slightly.

“Mm.”

“Does it taste good?”

“Taste it yourself.”

“Mm!”

The village chief opened his eyes wide.

In the meantime, Obro Denoebang chopped a chunk of cheese and put it into the soup.

“Now, since it has to boil for a while, you should slice some bread or something.”

“I will do the cooking.”

“…Do you consider slicing bread to be cooking?”

“Is it not?”

“Do not speak to me in the kitchen from now on.”

“You make a person feel daunted.”

“You have grasped my intention clearly.”

As they exchanged a few words, the Horm person, covered in sweat, was seen outside.

Seeing Cheshih return with a chunk of meat wrapped in paper, Obro spoke.

“Now I must start the meat dish.”

***

It became quite a decent dinner.

Cheshih bought five raw chickens, one pig foreleg, and a chunk of beef loin.

Obro cooked with excitement.

He was a born swordsman, and he had a unique view on using a kitchen knife as well.

“With this, it’s finished.”

He roughly sprinkled salt and Seram wood oil on the raw chickens and roasted them in the oven.

For the pig foreleg, he applied a mixture of sugar water and spices well and roasted it slowly over direct fire, and he cut the beef into cubes, stir-fried them, and combined them with the potato soup.

“Now give it to the kids.”

“Wow!”

“-Uwak-!”

As soon as the words were finished, the children rushed in.

As he was cooking, the children had gathered around him before he knew it.

Six boys and two girls, exactly eight.

“What is it? What is it? What does this smell like?”

“It’s meat!”

“Thank you for the meal!”

“Thank you for the… It’s mine!”

“It’s mine, you know?”

Since there were eight children, there were many sounds of bickering.

They lifted their plates, vying to be first without even thinking of greeting Obro.

Obro Denoebang just looked at the children with a pleased face.

In fact, he liked children very much.

Even more so after suffering for a long time.

“…They never did that for my cooking even once.”

“Why do you think that was?”

“…….”

The village chief bowed his head, dispirited.

Among the boisterous children, one small girl walked out ploddingly.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

The girl had her hair tied back tightly, and she had quite a clever impression.

“How old are you?”

“How old do I look?”

“Seven years old?”

“You saw correctly.”

Looking at the girl speaking in a coy tone, Obro ended up laughing deeply.

“I made the food delicious, so why did you come here without eating?”

“To say hello.”

“Hello?”

“Thank you for the meal, Mister.”

“…….”

Obro unknowingly spoke to the village chief as if whispering.

You raised the child well.

The village chief nodded slightly.

“What is your name, Mister?”

“Obro.”

“I am Mano. Goodbye.”

And then Mano returned to her seat.

The way she just tossed out only what she had to say and went back was undeniably a child.

So Obro ended up feeling that Mano was incredibly lovely.

“They are truly cute children.”

“Aren’t they?”

“You should go and eat too, Village Chief.”

“It is alright. My stomach is full from tasting it.”

“You did pick at it a lot.”

Obro looked at the children.

The eight children were tearing into meat, drinking soup, or playing pranks on each other and giggling, or beckoning the village chief to come quickly.

“…Still, go and sit there. They are calling you.”

“Shall I, Mr. Obro.”

“I’m fine.”

Obro Denoebang turned his eyes away.

“Instead.”

The village chief flinched unknowingly.

He saw a demonic blueishness blazing in Obro’s eyes.

That demonic energy harbored hatred, making the village chief tremble.

“When the children fall asleep, come outside.”

“…….”

Cheshih, who was sitting at the table, looked at them.

The Horm person felt the current between them and tried to stand up, but Obro did not allow it.

Just by Obro Denoebang glaring fiercely, Cheshih became as if he would faint right away.

“I tell you in advance,”

Obro Denoebang moved his lips.

“This is not a suggestion, Village Chief.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep