Ken’s gang in Mushroom Mountain Village was notorious. They were the village troublemakers, pulling all kinds of pranks and causing so pretty serious incidents. They’d even gotten into a head-on clash with the youth association, gotten the crap beaten out of them with clubs, and still hadn’t learned their lesson—basically a collection of problem kids.
"You little bastard! What kind of ss did you get into this ti?!"
Since the village was up in the mountains, they had a solid palisade fence, and naturally there was soone standing guard. The wooden gate was designed with a pulley system so one person could open it, using their body weight to pull it down.
This was only possible because it was Mushroom Mountain Village. They’d helped build Torch Fortress, so they’d inherited so of that knowledge. Since they used a fortress pulley system on their palisade, the gate looked deceptively easy to open if you just watched.
By the torchlight, Ken’s eyes caught sight of the birdcatcher Dobok’s face.
Ken bowed his head low. He fidgeted with his hands for no reason.
’What should I say?’
His childhood friend Regin’s wrist was gone. That thought was all that filled Ken’s mind. He swallowed several tis. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
"...You rember when that rchant showed us armor before? I tried to rob him to buy it, but I got caught instead. They’re demanding ransom. One silver coin per person. Eight silver coins total."
Smack!
Dobok slapped Ken upside the head with his palm in one swift motion. The only reason he didn’t use his fist was because of the shitty affection he’d developed from watching Ken grow up in this mountain village since birth.
"Hey, you crazy bastard. Coveting other people’s stuff! You must be dying to get beaten to death! And what? What?"
Dobok grabbed him by the collar and shook him. Since he spent winters climbing mountains catching birds, his thigh muscles were as developed as a soccer player’s—really built. Unlike his developed thighs, his wrists were almost scrawny.
Because of Dobok’s powerful legs pushing him, Ken got shoved back like a little kid and slamd his back against the palisade wall.
"W-wait! If we don’t pay, everyone might get dragged to Torch Fortress and live as mine slaves for ten years! Ask the village chief for help..."
He hurriedly explained his situation. But it didn’t register with Dobok. When the commotion started, villagers who’d been eating dinner and patting their bellies gathered around. Most were n. Won watched from windows or doorways. So had kids clinging to their skirts.
"What’s going on?"
The woodcutter Axers squeezed between the two of them.
The situation got worse instead of calming down.
"I knew it! I knew this would happen!!"
The usually quiet and taciturn woodcutter Axers repeated the sa words over and over in anger. They’d caused a huge incident that would cut the village’s communal resources drastically.
"Eight silver coins? You think eight silver coins are a joke! You’d have to walk on a waterwheel for a year to earn that much! And that’s without a single luxury!"
"Agh! Ah, ahhh!!!"
Axers grabbed Ken’s hair and tried to throw a punch, but the people who’d gathered stopped him. A whole handful of Ken’s hair got ripped out.
"That son of a bitch! He still hasn’t learned his lesson!"
Axers shouted at the top of his lungs. Since he was so strong, it took three people to hold him back, then another person ca over and lifted one of his legs before they could finally stop his montum.
"What the hell is going on! What’s all this racket!"
A cranky voice rang out. It was Village Chief Mountings, hunched over, who knew the habitats of everything from mushrooms around the village to all sorts of mountain produce. He was old enough to be the village chief, but back when he was spry, he’d even been called the Mountain Master.
That’s how well he knew the mountains. He was also the most influential person in the village. Point to anything, and he knew where mountain produce was. He could even rember places no one else knew because the paths were too treacherous to reach.
These days, with his strength fading, he lived a life of teaching.
Tap tap!
"Ugh."
Walking with just a cane, he tapped away at the feet in his way as he moved forward. No one cried out loudly that it hurt. Everyone had been helped by him at least once.
"Chief! Please save !"
Ken dropped to his knees in an instant. It was very natural, and you could tell this wasn’t his first ti. Village opinion was nothing but criticism.
"This ti we really need to break his legs!"
"He’s too old to learn a trade, and his gang even fought with the youth association once! We can’t let this slide this ti!"
"Enough! Shut your mouths!"
Village Chief Mountings pointed his cane here and there. Every ti he aid his cane, people quieted down. You could see just how much respect the villagers had for Mountings.
When everyone fell silent, attention naturally turned to Ken. He told them everything. Thinking this was his chance, he even ntioned that his childhood friend Regin’s wrist had been cut off.
’This is my only shot.’
He had to count on Village Chief Mountings’s charisma and influence throughout the village. When the chief quieted the villagers and gestured for him to speak, he thought the chief was on his side. But as soon as he confessed everything, curses flew out.
"You son of a bitch!"
With veins bulging and spit flying, the chief started beating Ken like a dog with his cane.
"Gack! Keck!"
Ken curled up like a fetus. What kind of cane hurt like getting hit with a club?
"C-calm down!"
So tried to stop him.
"Hit him more! Hit him more!"
Others egged him on since the chief was beating the scoundrel himself.
"A bastard like that needs a beating to co to his senses!"
The chaos started up again.
"Jeez! That little shit! Ugh!"
It was like a leak that had been inside now spilling outside. The chief sighed heavily. Eight silver coins? That was an absurdly huge amount of money. The village’s ergency fund, saved for when sothing happened, was about to go toward ransoming these brats.
’Damn ungrateful punks!’
He’d forgiven them several tis, thinking they were just lost and wandering.
Cold water was placed before the chief, who was sitting on the ground trying to cool his anger.
"Ken! You crazy bastard!"
Ken’s body lurched violently. It was his father’s voice. As soon as he lifted his head, he was roughly pushed backward. His father Gen had pounced on him. Hands gripped both his shoulders tightly and pulled him in.
"Pull him off!"
The chief shouted while pressing the cane into Ken’s father Gen’s head. The commotion wouldn’t die down.
"Regin’s wrist got cut off? What the hell happened!"
"Where’s my brother Morrison? Hey! Ken!"
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