Soon, the lesser demons were all defeated. We had achieved perfect victory. Yet, inexplicably, the village chief fell to his knees.
“The mountain… Our sacred land…” the chief murmured.
Excuse me? I thought. I practically destroyed that barren mountain and transformed it into a massive grave for hundreds of lesser demons. I think that’s a small price to pay for the peace of this village.
The villagers didn’t seem all too happy. Many were clearly displeased as though I had just committed an atrocious act.
The older villagers were especially furious. When my squires saw their faces, Isabel and Oscar glared back. The atmosphere grew tense. I had gone through all that trouble to get rid of the lesser demons, and this was the thanks that I received?
Should I blow up this village before I leave?
As the dangerous thought flashed across my mind, a young man spoke to the village chief.
“Dad, who cares about that mountain?!” the man said.
“How can you say that?!” the village chief shouted. “That mountain was sacred land for us!”
Are we sure that it wasn’t just a nest for lesser demons?
“We can’t stay tied down to that mountain!” the young man insisted. “Did that mountain ever do anything for us? No! We were shackled by old traditions, and we had to break free! The saintess’s spell destroyed our customs for us so that we could move forward and look to the future!”
No, I didn’t really mean anything like that.
“Is this true?” the village chief asked.
He turned to me. I didn’t know what to say. Should I just tell the truth?
“Of course it is,” Oscar replied in my stead. “This mountain that you worshiped had only become a nest for lesser demons. The previous saintess showed consideration for your faith and simply sealed them up, but that was just a temporary solution. As you can see, once the seal was undone, the monsters once again caused damage. Lady Serena offered a permanent solution to your woes. By destroying it right in front of your eyes, she even freed your hearts that were shackled to that mountain! If this feat doesn’t surpass the work of a saintess, what will?”
In truth, I couldn’t cast seals and had decided to just blow up the mountain instead, but Oscar’s pretty words wrapped this entire incident up in a neat bow. Thanks to his speech, the villagers saw me in a new light.
“Thank you, Lady Serena!” the chief’s son cried.
The other villagers followed suit and showered me with their gratitude.
Not bad. Have I ever received fervent gratitude for anything that I’ve done before?
In my past life, I’d received plenty of words of thanks, but they were more formalities than anything else. I mostly got gratitude for displaying any sort of consideration to those lower than me. But right now, I got heartfelt thanks from the villagers who were genuinely pleased to be freed from the threat of the lesser demons.
Yes, this doesn’t feel bad at all, I thought as I gazed upon their smiles.