At first, the villagers looked suspicious at the adventurers who had shown up three months after their request, but when they saw that the water had been restored to Lake Arar, they shed tears and bowed their heads.
The adults in the village smiled as they filled their jars with water, and the children took off their clothes and jumped into the lake to splash water on each other.
âThank you so much!ăNow our fields and wells will be back to normal!ăWe wonât have to go for hours to a distant river to fetch water!â
âNo, Donât worry about it. I didnât do anything serious.â
âRight â Onii-san didnât do anything , did you?â
Poking the head of the princess standing next to him, Raidorl put his hand on the shoulder of the village chief, who bowed his head repeatedly.
âIâm more sorry for the delay in completing the request. This is a shame for the guild. As an adventurer, I offer my sincerest apologies.â
âNo, no, no!ăItâs our fault for not being able to pay our adventurers the rewards they deserve!ăPlease donât worry about it!â
âIs that so? Thatâs fine then. âŠâŠâ
Raidorl glances quickly from the chiefâs face to his feet.
It is not only the chief who is thin and bony. The other villagers and the children who were playing in the water were the same.
âThis people must have lived a very poor life. I guess itâs not just the frontier towns that have it tough.â
âHey, Mr. Mayor. Iâd like to talk to you about the rewardâŠ..â
âOh, yes. We will of course give you the rewards we have entrusted to the guild. We would like to thank you more if we could, but we donât have the time and resourcesâŠâŠ.â
âOh,forget about that kind of reward. Iâd like to ask you to do me a favour, if you donât mind.â
ââ Yes, if itâs something we can do.â
The mayor tilted his head and looked at him strangely, and Raidorl held up his forefinger.
âI want you to spread the word to all the neighbouring villages. The kingâs brother Raidorl Zain has defeated a powerful monster that was drying up the lake.â
âHuh..? KingâsâŠbrother??â
The mayor looked at Raidorlâs face then suddenly prostrated.
âIâm sorry!!! What rudeness have I shown!â
âItâs okay. Donât mind it. More importantly, can you do what I favoured?â
âY-yes, Of course. It will be my utmost importanceâ
âUmu, good. Oh, I have one more suggestion.â
Raidorl laughed lighly at the mayor, who had been so frightened to find out that he was dealing with royalty. He held up his forefinger and pointed to an object floating on the lake.
âAfter cleaning that up, You can have it and do whatever you want.â
Floating above the lake is the giant monster, which continues to shrink as it has released its water reserves.
The mayor nods his head at the wreckage of the plant monster, swaying on the water like a floating island.
âYes, of course!ăThe carcass of the monster, the enemy of our village, will be lifted and incinerated here!â
âIsnât that a waste? Itâs a disaster-grade monster. If you bring it to a human with a good eye, it should be picked up at a reasonable price. Itâs a first-class material for magical medicine, and a pharmacist would go crazy for this. If you go to the guild, I supposed theyâll give you a pile up of money that makes your eyeballs pop out, right?â
âEh?â
Following Raidorlâs explanation, the village mayor opened his eyes and looked up as if looking at his complexion.
âWell, does that mean⊠youâre giving it to us?â
âYes, this village seems to have suffered a lot of damage, so itâs a good idea to use it for reconstruction costs. It should have enough savings for the next few years.â
âAhâŠâŠ!â
The chief knelt on the ground and folded his hands in prayer.
Tears streamed from his eyes as he was overcome with emotion.
âYou are as heroic as they say! You are a saint!ăYou are the chosen hero of the sword! We, the people of this village, will never forget your kindness!â
âIâm glad you liked it. Oh, and just so you know, itâs not just this village thatâs been affected.So, why donât you give a share to a nearby village?â
âI will!!â
Nodding his head in satisfaction at the chief who bent his forehead to the ground, Raidorl turned to leave, his work is done.
If he does this again and again, the fame of Raidorl Zain, the hero chosen by the Holy Sword, will grow and grow and grow until it will be impossible for his brother King Granard to stop him.
âItâs easy to just lose your head. I could do it today. But Iâm not going to kill you that easily, am I?â
Once upon a time, Raidorl had all his allies taken away from him and he was banished from his place.
It would not be fair to his brother Granard if he were to suffer the same fate.
âI will show you the loneliness and despair of being an outcast. Iâll cut off every last one of your allies and kick you off your throne, brother.â