With a face filled with aging pigmentations and droopy eyes, he was a gentle-looking old man. He didnât look like anyone to be cautious of.
âI heard that you were looking for me. What is it?â The village chief was wary of Su-hyeun, just like the rest of the villagers.
âI was just passing by and saw a village here. I would like to stay for a few days. Is it possible?â
ââŚYou donât have any other motives?â
âWhat?â
âThereâs nothing to take from us. Not even a speck of dust, so leave.â
Su-hyeun seemed to be regarded as an uninvited guest who was here to loot the village. Persuasion was required.
âNo. I donât want anything; I just hope for a place to sleep. I brought rations with me.â
ââŚReally?â
The village chiefâs eyes brightened at the word rations.
Su-hyeun nodded, answering, âYes, of course. Iâm willing to share my rations, too. Even if the monsters are hereâŚâ
âThe monsters donât come to our village!â a child screamed.
Su-hyeun turned his head immediately. The childâs mother hugged him close to her chest. Then, the village chief spoke. âIf so, alright. There are a few empty houses, so you can use one of them. As for the foodâŚâ
âIâll give it to you.â
ââŚThank you.â
He was greeted with thanks. Do they have problems with food, too?
There were a few severe issues in the destroyed world, and one of them was food. In a world where neither rice nor wheat could be grown again, food became scarce to the point when cannibalism began. This village had yet to arrive at that stage, but it might arrive there soon due to limited food resources.
But⌠Su-hyeun looked at the child who screamed earlier. The monsters donât come.
As Su-hyeun went deep into his thoughts, the village chief turned around and spoke, âFollow me. Iâll show you an empty house.â
âAh, thank you.â Su-hyeun bowed and followed the village chief. His worries did not end.
* * *
The empty house that the village chief brought him to was a shabby tent that could not even keep the wind out. Its shabbiness was worse than his semi-basement apartment. One had to wonder: how could this be called a house?
I didnât know our house could feel so luxurious. Su-hyeun left his bags in the tent. Su-hyeun took out bread, nuts, beef jerky, water, and more rations that filled his small pouch.
âAh.â
As Su-hyeun stepped out, the child from earlier was waiting for him. It was a little girl, about six or seven years old. She looked at Su-hyeun with her filthy face.
âWere you waiting?â Su-hyeun bent down.
She looked at the bundle in Su-hyeunâs hand as she nodded. âYou want to eat this?â
âYes.â
Su-hyeun offered a piece of bread from the bundle.
It was when the girl reached out. âWhat are you doing now?!â The village chief roared.
It was an unbelievably loud and high-pitched voice coming from such a small build. âDidnât you promise me?! If I provide you with a bed, youâll hand me your rations!â
âIsnât she from your village?â Su-hyeun asked, dumbfounded.
The village chiefâs gentle expression was suddenly replaced by an intimidating look.
âWhat does she know?! She only knows to fill her stomach, and thatâs it. You might not know this, but food is equivalent to our lives here.â
It wasnât an incomprehensible remark. ButâŚ
Su-hyeun looked back at the little girl. âDonât cry.â
He patted the little girlâs head as she silently sobbed and held the bundle out towards the village chief.
âTake it. The food that I promised to give you is here.â
âHmm. Donât be too upset over this. Itâs all for the villagers.â
The village chief came up to Su-hyeun and took it. His eyes went huge as he verified the contents. Su-hyeun hated the sight of him, and not just because of the gatekeeperâs words. He seemed indifferent, at least to the feelings of others.
âPlease leave.â
âUh-hmm. Hmm.â The village chief left, making a few exaggerated coughs. The little girl soon burst into tears.
That moment, her mother walked up quickly. âDonât hate the village chief.â
She seemed to have overheard their conversation earlier while looking for her daughter. The mother looked in the direction where the village chief left and said.
âItâs quite tiring on him. He worked hard for this village his whole lifeâŚ. And I believe he has something else on his mind.â
âYou mean he is so preoccupied that he canât share a piece of bread?â
âYes. I â no, we â believe so.â Her voice wavered at the end. There might have been something else that made her hesitate while she said that.
What could it be? Just what did the village chief mean to them? That thought did not last long. Su-hyeun took out a piece of bread and handed it to the little girl who wouldnât seem to stop crying. âHere.â
The childâs mother was startled.
âIs, is this alright? What if the village chief finds outâŚâ
âDonât worry. I took it out from my own rations, so the village chief canât say anything about it.â
âBut stillâŚâ
âIf you still feel uneasy, you can take it. The village chief canât possibly say anything if an adult accepted this, right?â
Whether given to the child or the mother, the little girl would still get to eat it. Su-hyeun forced the piece of bread into her hand. Su-hyeun patted the little girlâs head again and stood up.
As he walked around the village, Su-hyeun looked at the mother who was nagging her daughter. It feels kind of weird.
The villagers had much faith in their chief, but he felt another feeling besides belief from her eyes. It was nothing other than fear. The village chief felt almost like a fishbone stuck in his throat.
Iâll need to verify it.
Protect the village and survive. The trialâs subject was still vague about what he was supposed to protect the village from and what he had to survive.
* * *
There were divided opinions on the village people by those met from the trials.
Some said that it was like a program made for each floor of the trials, much like a Non-Player Character (NPC). The rationale was that when they attempted the trial again after failing it, the people could not remember them.
Some others said they were probably real people living in another world. Their rationale was that the appearances and mindsets did not look like they were made from a program.
Indeed⌠Su-hyeun thought while looking around the village.
Iâm not sure yet.
Were the villagersâ expressions, speaking, lifestyle, and civilization all made up? Or could they be real living humans? Nothing could be confirmed, but Su-hyeun was certain of one thing.
They are, at the very least, reacting based on their thoughts and emotions. So, he would have to treat them the same as humans.
Su-hyeun tried finding out about the village chief â what kind of person he is, how had he lived his life â but everyoneâs response to those questions was cold.
âWhy do you ask that?â
âYou have something up your sleeves, right?â
âDonât you dare harm our village chief, otherwise Iâllâ!â
Full-blown reactions. Nevertheless, Su-hyeun was able to hear a rough story when he approached a mild-looking middle-aged lady.
âPlease understand. We react this way because our village got looted by outsiders quite often. Although I do not know what the village chief is thinking, we do feel uneasy accepting outsiders.â
He had expected that. Weak villages would only get looted in this world. But Su-hyeun was curious about something else.
âWhy does everyone trust the village chief so much?â
âThat is because the village chief is a hero to the villagers.â Su-hyeunâs eyes wiggled at her answer. It was a word so familiar that it felt annoying.
ââŚHero?â That old man? Su-hyeun asked about the details. He wanted to know what had happened to make everyone here regard him as a hero.
âAh, I donât know. I can only tell you this much.â Even the lady who was less wary about Su-hyeun shook her head and turned away. Su-hyeunâs mind got complicated.
Hero. There were a couple things he was sure of if the village chief was called by that title: the village chief saved the villagers, and it must have been through an extreme method.
âŚHe didnât seem to be that kind of person. It was something he would come to know without the gatekeeperâs warning. As he went deeper into his thoughts, Su-hyeunâs mind got more complicated.
Either the gatekeeperâs warning was wrong, or the villagers are blind. It was one or the other, and Su-hyeun was betting on the latter.
Su-hyeun had observed the village for a while. It wasnât long until he started to widen his area of search. There was nothing else he could fish out from the villagers. They were definitely with the village chief. He could only find out new information by himself.
First, Iâll need to find out⌠From what did he have to protect the village from? He required an answer to that.
But as he left the villageâs entrance, a strong smell stimulated Su-hyeun⌠a familiar smell. âIt couldnât be.â
As soon as he smelt it, Su-hyeunâs face cringed. Su-hyeun looked around him, and the doubt soon became the truth.
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ââŚDamn it.â
Su-hyeun had seen the ugly side of men for a long time. As the world was collapsing, he learned that even good men would turn evil, and their smell was evidence.
âBeware of the village chief.â He needed a little more verification.
Somehow⌠Su-hyeunâs eyes narrowed at the source of the smell.