While touring around Leaf Village with Baron Voltman to get a rough grasp of the geography, Reytan decided to meet the village youths.
Their destination was a watermill located by the stream outside the village.
“Right now, there are probably only a few young men who are like leaders. The total force is about fifty people.”
“Fifty people, huh? That’s quite a lot.”
“Considering that it’s a combination of four villages, and I have a stake in it, isn’t that obvious? Here, if you can even lift a hoe, you’re considered a youth.”
At Baron Voltman’s playful remark, Reytan let out a small laugh.
“Have you figured out the strength of the wild dog tribe?”
“Of course. The beastfolk of the wild dog tribe have an exceptional sense of smell for humans, so I asked a chameleon beastman for help. We had a connection from when I released a newspaper article.”
The compensation wasn’t cheap, though.
Baron Voltman glanced at Reytan, gauging his reaction.
“By the way, are you really sure you don’t want a reward?”
“Are you going to give me one? If so, I’ll make a hefty demand.”
“Ugh, if you wait a little, I might be able to manage it somehow—”
“Forget it. So, what about their forces?”
“There are about six young warriors capable of fighting. They’ve gathered the hostages separately in a nearby cave.”
“That’s fewer than I expected.”
“The wild dog tribe here doesn’t interbreed with humans. Since there are no mixed-race offspring, they have to sustain their population solely within their own kind, which isn’t an easy task.”
“…I see.”
“Are you worried? Thinking you might have to fight them alone?”
“No, not at all.”
Reytan lightly turned his neck. For some reason, it felt stiff. Based on his experience with child-rearing, it wasn’t a good sign.
He stopped walking for a moment and glanced back.
In the distance, atop a hill, he could see the village’s oldest oak tree.
Beneath it, a small flash of pink caught his eye.
Since pink hair was rare, it was undoubtedly his daughter, Berry. It seemed Theon was with her as well.
‘What are they doing?’
Reytan narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t worry too much. We’ve got a few strong guys on our side… Wait a minute, who am I even talking to? Standing still like that.”
Baron Voltman scolded Reytan, who had stopped walking. Reytan waved his hand as if telling him to stop nagging, his gaze still fixed in Berry’s direction.
“You’ve turned into a doting father while I wasn’t looking. Does it make you uneasy to be away from her for a little while?”
“That’s not the case.”
There was a point made in Reytan’s favorite book, <Raising my child well on my own>.
If you coddle your child too much, they’ll never grow to be self-reliant as adults. Instead of confining your child to a permanent ‘child’ status, it’s better to step back and watch from a distance.
‘I’m not a doting father.’
That’s what Reytan believed. He wanted to grant Berry’s every wish, but he restrained himself, believing he was fostering her independence.
“You seem to be mistaken, Sir. I’m not the type to pamper Berry.”
Reytan turned to face Baron Voltman, standing proudly with the oak tree behind him.
“…I see.”
Baron Voltman clicked his tongue and said nothing more.
‘He’s totally a doting father.’
He recalled the way Reytan had acted the past couple of days.
“Berry, your twin braids are absolutely perfect today.”
“Berry, you’re not allowed to use the knife yet. Dad will cut it for you.”
“…Didn’t you say you’d give me the first cookie last time? Should I ask Uncle Callet if you forgot?”
Seeing it with his own eyes, it was clear. Reytan was a total ‘daughter fool’ (a father overly doting on his daughter).
Regardless, that wasn’t the most important matter right now. Baron Voltman urged him to continue on the path.
“Come on, let’s go. Everyone’s waiting.”
***
If the villages didn’t want to suffer immediate damage, they had to prevent the wild dog tribe from attacking the village.
Dealing with Marquess Ash or Viscount Roslin would have to come later.
“Prevent the fight?”
“Yep!”
I stood up and answered cheerfully. I was certain. I had absolute confidence that, if this plan went as intended, no one would get hurt, and the village would be safe.
“How?”
Theon asked.
“How are you going to do that?”
Twice.
That was a bit surprising. I had expected Theon to say ‘no’ right from the start.
More than that, his eyes held a faint sense of expectation as he looked at me. It was as if he believed I had a solution.
‘He’s more cooperative than I expected.’
Theon didn’t oppose me but instead listened seriously. That realization made me feel excited.
“I’m going to negotiate with the wild dog tribe!”
“No.”
“Huh.”
Theon firmly rejected it. The anticipation that had been in his eyes vanished instantly.
“It’s too dangerous. Berry, in Leaf Village, children are never allowed to enter the mountains where the wild dog tribe lives. They don’t show mercy, not even to human children. And I’m not strong enough to protect you from them yet.”
Theon was talking more than usual. His determination to stop me was clear.
“Haa, I know. Negotiating isn’t something a child should be doing.”
“Do you really know that?”
“Listen to me, Theon.”
I sat back down on the picnic mat. To get him to listen, I tapped Theon’s arm, who was sitting next to me. He flinched but continued watching me with wary eyes, as if worried I’d get into trouble.
“The wild dog tribe hates humans, so they don’t come down from the mountains, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But now their habitat is disappearing because of land development. Where do you think they’ll get food?”
“You plan to negotiate with the wild dog tribe by offering them food, huh?”
“Wow, correct!”
My eyes sparkled at Theon’s accurate guess. Even though I had some experience from my previous self’s memories, Theon was just a child.
To think he had such keen insight at only ten years old.
“The wild dog tribe must be starving and cornered right now.”
This realization came to me while I was talking with Baron Voltman yesterday.
During my conversation with the coachman, who was originally from Leaf Village, there was more to the story.
My past self was shocked to learn that Baron Voltman had faced the wild dog tribe alone, so I asked the coachman.
— How did he endure for more than ten minutes? At that time, Baron Voltman had already been retired for a long while, and he was quite elderly, wasn’t he? Are you saying he held his ground against the charging beastfolk for that long?
— There was a problem with the wild dog tribe.
— A problem?
— They were so starved that they couldn’t use their full strength.
I now understood why this memory only resurfaced later. My past self hadn’t considered this information to be important.
After all, it was a past event, and after that conversation with the coachman, we had moved on from Leaf Village to another location.
‘But isn’t that strange?’
Depending on the species, beastfolk are known to be able to fight even after not eating properly for an entire month on the battlefield.
The development of Marquess Ash’s land, which encroached on the wild dog tribe’s habitat, coincided with the period when the wild dog tribe started holding hostages.
That means their habitat had been encroached upon for about a week to ten days.
The period wasn’t long enough for starvation to drastically reduce their combat abilities.
This meant that the food shortage had started even before the development project.
‘If I offer the wild dog tribe a way to protect their home and solve their food crisis?’
There’s no way they wouldn’t negotiate.
They might show resistance at first, but eventually, the wild dog tribe would grasp the hand I offer.
I didn’t know why, but I had a strong conviction about it.
Besides, I had always had a knack for these kinds of things.
“Theon, you said it yourself. The wild dog tribe hates encountering humans. But they’re so desperate now that they’re forced to make contact with us humans. That’s where we come in!”
“……..…”
“It’s a solid negotiation, right? We offer them something they want, and in return, they give us something we want. Isn’t that fair?”
After hearing my true intentions, Theon asked me a question.
“…Who’s going to handle the negotiation?”
“My dad!”
“Does teacher know about this?”
A sharp observation. I didn’t have anything to say, so I answered honestly.
“Nope.”
My honesty left Theon speechless. He seemed to think for a moment before he opened up.
“…I just don’t want you to be in danger.”
“For the greater good, a little risk is necessary—”
“Berry.”
Oops, I thought it was Dad talking for a second.
I quickly moved my face right in front of Theon’s. Two dads would be too much to handle.
“I’m not going to listen to nagging. We’re friends, right? So, are you going to help me or not?”
“…You’re going to do it even if I try to stop you, huh?”
“Of course! I’ve already made up my mind to save Leaf Village.”
Theon blinked.
His black eyes reflected my determined expression perfectly.
Looking at it this way, I did seem quite resolute.
Now that he’s seen it, he won’t be able to refuse. Right?
“Will you help me?”
Theon let out a small sigh.
A child sighing — how fitting.
It suited Theon somehow.
“…Fine, I’ll help.”
“Yahoo!”
I raised both my arms in victory.
Theon grabbed my arms with both hands and added firmly,
“But I’m doing the dangerous part.”
“Sure thing!”
***
To negotiate with the wild dog tribe, what’s the first thing I need to do?
‘We need to get them to come down from the mountain.’
And I have to make them meet Dad, away from the village.
Bark! Bark!
At the house of the old lady from Leaf Village who grows tomatoes.
I looked at the dog she was raising.
‘…It looks like Calypso.’
It was a Chihuahua.
The way it barked fiercely at me from inside the fence reminded me of Calypso, my aunt’s only son.
Now that I think about it, isn’t the end-of-month evaluation coming up next week?
Well, that has nothing to do with me since I’m aiming for last place. Hehe.
“It would be nice if the young master could take him for a walk. My knees have been aching lately,”
Said the elderly neighbor while tapping her leg.
Theon, who had received the leash, walked towards me with a sullen face.
“This is the ‘dangerous task’ you were talking about?”
