In the end, Mile drew portraits of the attackers and had a few random villagers whisper their names.
"If you tell a false name, it will be immediately obvious because it will be different from the name given by the others. In that case, the person who lied will also be an accomplice and will receive the same punishment," she explained to them, and everyone's testimony was consistent. It seemed that not a single person had lied.
As expected, they seemed more concerned about themself than their comrades who had mustered up the courage to use force for the sake of the village.
The villagers probably wouldn't flee.
The fate of farmers who abandoned their land and flee was unknown.
And the villagers were probably underestimating this.
No one would gain from capturing them.
The lord would only see a decrease in his population and a decline in agricultural harvest, and therefore tax revenue.
The Hunter's Guild would simply see a decrease in the number of people making requests.
These young rookie hunter girls soon gained the bad reputation of being the jinx that had wiped out an entire village.
They had always worked honestly.
If the testimony of all the villagers, who were citizens of the territory, matched, then the testimony of a few rookie hunters could be interpreted in any way.
If only they could get through this situation.
The town police could get involved and say that these people had started a false accusation and had threatened the village to demand money instead of carrying out their request.
They were thinking such sweet things.
In the end, they were just a group of ignorant people who only thought about what was convenient for them and only knew the common sense of the village...
Then Mile and her group left the village chief and the other villagers behind and returned to the seaside town.
It would be a hassle to get the village chief and his group to town from here, and even if the villagers abandoned the land and fled, they would have no way of making a living.
Therefore, they assumed that the rookie young hunters who had left without catching them would be foolish and would think that their words were merely a threat, so it was left at that.
What to do with the villagers was not up to them to decide.
They thought that it would be best to leave that to those who should be in charge...
"What?! The request from the village was false?" (Receptionist)
The Hunter Guild receptionist exclaimed in surprise at the report from Mile and her group.
Hearing this, the guild staff and hunters' faces turned grim.
"Abandoned. The monsters and wild beasts that attacked the village no longer exist.
These were all staged by the village chief and his group. They deceived the hunters, broke the agreement mediated by the ancient dragon, and tried to get them to break the taboo of the Forbidden Forest... Then the ancient dragon appeared..." (Mile)
"...Wait! Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait waiiiiiit!!" (Everyone)
Screams rang out throughout the guild.
"Wa-wait! Please wait!!
Hunter Guild staff authority prohibits you from speaking any further here!
To the second floor! Please come to the conference room on the second floor!
Please gather guild executives in the conference room! Someone, please run to the Commerce Guild and bring back the Guild Master, who's off making arrangements for next month's caravan escort plan! This is our top priority!!
All staff and hunters here are forbidden to disclose what they've just said!
Any employee who leaks this information before the ban is lifted will be dismissed, and any Hunter will have their Hunter qualifications permanently revoked!"
Silence spreads.
The staff and hunters turned pale.
If they were to leak information and plunge the country into chaos, the Hunter's Guild's punishment might be that, but if they were to be punished by the feudal lord...and by the country, it wouldn't be surprising if they were beheaded or hanged.
And probably, it didn't just involve you, but also the people close to you, your family, relatives, and so on, who you talked about and who triggered the spread of the word...
"What are you doing?! Go and call the Guild Master right now!!"
Then, with a startled look on his face, the young staff member hurriedly ran out the door.
"......" (Everyone)
Silence spread throughout the conference room.
Miles and her group reported exactly what had happened.
This was not a matter of compassion or protecting the villagers.
As a Hunter, it was their absolute duty to report the results of the requests they received and the existence of those who were hostile towards the guild. It was not a rule that could be broken out of some cheap feeling of sympathy.
If the cover-up were later discovered, they would be punished, and the punishment would be severe...
However, Mile and her group did not intend to punish all the villagers and destroy the village.
There were also people in the village who were opposed to the plan.
That was probably the result of the village chief's faction and those who supported them, in other words, a small group of people going out of control.
Therefore, if the masterminds were held accountable, it was unlikely that anyone would try to do something similar again.
...At the very least, if this incident was added to the legend, it would be around for the next few hundred years...
Therefore, it was slightly exaggerated to say that the majority of the villagers were not involved in the incident, or rather, that they were opposed to the village chief's faction.
In reality, the very fact that the village chief's faction was exerting so much influence probably meant that the majority of the village, however reluctantly, agreed with it or tacitly accepted it...
To begin with, the confession was put in writing and signed by the village chief.
The village chiefs thought it would be easy to get away with saying that they were "Threatened and forced to write," so they wrote it without much resistance; but of course, there was a big difference between having this and not having it.
"So, for now, the matter is settled and the matter with the ancient dragon has been settled.
Ah, if anything should happen with the ancient dragon in the future regarding this matter, I think if you call Zalm... the ancient dragon, and mention my name, we should be able to sort it out..." (Mile)
Pffft!
The Guild Master spat out the tea he was drinking in an attempt to calm his excitement.
...Directly towards Reina's upper body...
Reina was shaking with fear, but she didn't blame the Guild Master.
Knowing this, Reina could only tremble and desperately tried to control herself.
And even though it was an act of God, he should have apologized to Reina immediately, but the Guild Master had no time for that.
"Hey, did he introduce?" (Guild master)
"Ah, yes. I thought it was polite to introduce myself to someone I'd met for the first time... an ancient dragon..." (Mile)
"Not you! The ancient dragon! Did the ancient dragon himself introduced himself?!" (Guild master)
"Y-Yes..." (Mile)
It's no wonder the Guild Master was surprised.
Usually, people who play with ants by poking them with twigs don't introduce themselves to the ants.
In the same way, ancient dragons would never introduce themselves to a human.
"......" (Everyone)
The conference room remained silent.
Everyone except Mile and the Guild Master were making noises other than breathing.
"...So, the Ancient Dragon remembers your name?" (Guild master)
"Yes, almost certainly..." (Mile)
"......" (Everyone)
No.
That's impossible.
If there is such a thing...
"Ah!" (Guild master)
The Guild Master remembered a rumor he had recently heard from a sailor from another country.
The content of the story was so ridiculous that he just laughed it off and forgot about it...
"One, two, three, four... four people..." (Guild master)
And then there were the rumors he heard from the sailors.
The Guild Master unconsciously muttered the title of the story.
"...The Dragon Maidens, the Four Sisters..." (Guild master)
Author's Note
Announcement!
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