Chapter 100 For the sake of the town
Saul looked around and found an empty cupboard to hide in.
The cupboard didn't hold any rations or food, and was obviously just a decorative item to hide from the public.
Saul hunkered down and sat inside.
In order to prevent the fluctuation of his mental power from alerting the people below, he didn't even meditate, but just tediously counted the cracks on the cupboard door to pass the time.
After about two or three hours, the dark door behind the stove was finally opened, and two people crawled out from inside.
Listening to the sound of footsteps, there were a total of two people.
They were still talking as they walked out.
"... I'm counting on you for tomorrow."
"Don't worry, as long as there's a lot of stuff, those are minor."
"It's just that that one will be back in a couple days."
"Doesn't matter."
"Yes, congratulations, my lord."
The sound of the two men's footsteps faded away, and Saul cats in the cupboard in a daze.
What were they talking about?
Didn't everyone else just casually overhear key information when they eavesdropped?
Why was he listening forlornly.
But Saul thought back a bit, and it wasn't entirely unproductive.
Something was supposed to happen tomorrow.
One party resolves the incident, the other gets paid.
And one more thing to congratulate.
Saul waited a little longer, and when no one came back, he ran out of the closet.
Perhaps the first two had gone away, he didn't see anyone else outside the house, even the guards on watch had withdrawn.
Saul made another turn toward the clearing where the sound grinding fruit was planted, and turned around and hurried back to Ada's dwelling before dawn.
Ada, who had been busy all day, slept soundly and was unaware from start to finish that his lodger had been out for a full night's turn before returning.
Early the next morning Ada got up to build a fire and cook, and called Saul up to help as well.
The meal was simple, the plainest of green buns and wild vegetables.
The earthen stove is in the house, burning wood, smoke and fire.
They left a midday meal for Penny and hurried out the door.
But to Saul's surprise, Ada refused to take him for a stroll around town in search of work.
"I saw yesterday that you're quite strong, why don't you come with me to farm for the mayor of the town, there's little land here, it's a good job. When you've done it for two years, you'll be able to build a small house outside of town by yourself."
Saul immediately shook his head no, saying he couldn't do it.
Ada asked Saul in return, "Then what do you know? There's not really much of a shortage of labor in town."
Saul didn't say anything, and wanted to wander around the town by himself first.
Ada felt that Saul just didn't want to go farming and wasn't too happy about it, but didn't say anything.
He took Saul to the neighborhood where he could recruit workers.
"Anyway, I'll just bring you to the place, it's up to you to find work. I have to turn the ground later."
But before the two could get to the recruiting place, they bumped into a bustle of activity.
They came to a fairly well-organized street and saw a house full of people outside.
People were standing inside and outside, making Saul realize that the place was still quite populated.
There were cries coming from the crowd, and Ada, who hadn't intended to watch the fun, looked over scornfully, pulling Saul with her to get out of here quickly.
Saul, however, felt that this matter was not as simple as an ordinary hustle and bustle.
Relying on his thinness and strength, he squeezed into the crowd.
Ada wanted to pull Saul, but realized that the other party had disappeared in a puff of smoke. He was too embarrassed to squeeze hard, so he stood on his tiptoes and looked in, his brow still furrowed in some annoyance.
"If it wasn't for the fact that you've got a force ..." he muttered, and wondered if he ever regretted bringing Sol home.
That's when Saul, who had squeezed his way inside, finally saw the reason for the bustle.
At the very center of the crowd was a crying couple.
Next to them was an old man who had sprouted a few strands of white hair on his head and was comforting them with a smile on his face.
Captain Jeff, who he had met yesterday, was expressionlessly holding the scimitar at his waist, standing opposite the couple.
Behind Jeff, two soldiers were holding a girl whose body was so limp that she couldn't even stand up.
The girl looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a blue fine checkered dress. Among the crowd of ordinary people, it was considered a rather beautiful existence.
And diagonally across from Saul, a man wearing a black robe and a hood stood straight there with his hands and sleeves copied.
A large area was empty around him, and there was not a single townsperson watching.
"Alas, what do I have to say for you guys to understand, this is about the survival of the town after all, and it's not a bad thing!" The old man who was comforting the weeping couple said.
Sol looked at the couple who were paralyzed with tears, and then at the girl with a terrified and helpless face, and couldn't imagine that it could be anything good.
But the people watching around them obviously thought otherwise.
A woman with a basket on her arm yelled out in a less than happy voice, "I said what are you crying about? That's a big deal for the whole town, if I had a daughter right now, I'd happily send her there."
Saul recognized her as Aunt Jenny, who had been extremely enthusiastic yesterday.
The weeping woman lowered her hands covering her face and said sadly, "But we only have one daughter, Minnie!"
Someone beside her immediately picked up, "Can't we just have another one in the future? Do you still want to jeopardize the whole town for the sake of your one daughter?"
As soon as these words came out, the people next to them were all talking, all accusing the couple of being selfish and cruel.
The couple was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that they couldn't say anything for a while.
That old man patted the man's shoulder, and a few more smiles spread all over his face.
"You guys are agreeing, right? It's good if you agree, I don't want to force people either. But only Minnie best fits the requirements of the Sorcerer Lord. It's her honor, and it's also the honor of our town. After all, the holy fruit is related to the lifeblood of the entire town, and if the production continues to be reduced and draws the wrath of the Sorcerer's Tower, all of us won't be able to survive."
The old man said this well, and as soon as he finished speaking, the people around him began to blame the couple again for disregarding the lives of the people.
Could it be that the life and death of a town's people was still no better than a little girl?
The wife could no longer speak, and could only lie paralyzed on the ground, weeping mournfully.
The husband, on the other hand, legs soft, kneeling on the ground, I do not know where the courage, tugging at the old man's hand shouted: "But mayor of these years we have sacrificed so many girls, and did not see the sacred fruit production recovery ah! Is it this method ..."
Halfway through the man's sentence, he heard the sorcerer apprentice who had been standing silently coldly snort.
This cold snort could be a big deal, the performer in the center of the stage, and all the people around watching unconsciously covered their ears.
The two townspeople closest to the man even had their ears shocked out of blood, flowing outward along their ear sockets.
Saul followed the people around him and covered his ears, only for him to roll his eyes when he lowered his head.
"This choking spell is also too scattered in its effects, can't he even use his spiritual power to guide him?"
The one who performed the best on the scene was that Captain Jeff. But he too had a twisted face, only forcing himself to cover his ears with his hands.
This shock caused those present to fall silent, and even that couple didn't dare to cry loudly anymore.
And so the young girl was crushed away, leaving only a bag of money for the couple.
The crowd also refused to disperse long after the fervor had passed.
Some people went up to comfort them, saying that at least the mayor of the town had given them some compensation, so they wouldn't have to worry about their livelihood for a few years.
Aunt Jenny, on the other hand, smiled and congratulated the couple, and even advised them on how to use the money as if she were an experienced person.
When the crowd gradually dispersed, Ada finally found Saul who was mixed up in the crowd.
He pulled Saul out with a black face and pulled him to the side of the road.
"Are you that much of a spectator? If you weren't lucky enough to be far away from that lord just now, I'm guessing your ears would have been hurt."
Plus more! Well, nothing, nothing at all.
(End of chapter)