Chapter 20: A Hero's Welcome
Sitting in the large wagon pulled by three Chocobos, Kaizen Reiya focused his mind on his storage backpack, densely packed with various treasures and secret manuals.
His storage backpack had now upgraded twice, providing a space the size of a small house. The rest wouldn't fit, so he had to ask Ah Wang, a centurion captain, to have his men load it onto the Chocobo-drawn carts for the temporary journey back to the village.
Kaizen's consciousness scanned through the many technique manuals, finally settling on one: Lightness Skill: Water Treading.
This technique was divided into nine levels, further subdivided into the Lower Three Levels, Middle Three Levels, and Upper Three Levels.
The contents of the Lower Three Levels were:
First Level: Learn to jump and remain airborne for five or six meters.
Second Level: Learn to glide for hundreds of meters through the air.
Third Level: Learn to walk on water as if on flat ground.
The pages for the Middle Three Levels and Upper Three Levels were marked as missing.
Only a rusty piece of iron remained, left as a clue for the destined individual who obtained the Lightness Skill: Water Treading to find the subsequent Middle and Upper Three Levels.
Kaizen focused inward, continuously zooming in on the text inscribed on the iron. It was curved, like tadpoles, extremely bizarre, mysterious, and obscure. It might not even be a language from this planet.
After staring at it for a while and truly unable to decipher it, he shook his head, withdrew his consciousness from the storage backpack, and looked out the carriage window.
The moon had already set. In the hazy starlight, the outlines of two large windmills spinning could faintly be seen.
Windmill Village was just ahead.
"Who goes there? Show yourselves!" Suddenly, Ah Wang's shout rang out, followed by the sound of a drawn sword. The beast-drawn carts halted, and footsteps scrambled.
Kaizen's figure moved, flying out like a falling leaf, landing lightly on the ground to observe.
In the forest beside the road, Centurion Captain Ah Wang and the others held swords that gleamed with a frightening cold light under the starlight, pointed at a group of people carrying large and small bundles.
"Don't! Don't attack! We're on your side!"
A man holding his head slowly stood up.
Someone brought a torch. Ah Wang took it and shone the light, feeling both angry and amused. The man in front, wearing a striped hat, was the Mayor.
"Uncle Mayor, what in the world are you doing? Did you think we were all killed by the bandits? Carrying all your belongings, sneaking away in the middle of the night—were you afraid the bandits would come slaughter the village?"
Ah Wang sheathed his sword and said.
Hearing this, the Mayor's face immediately flushed red, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to hide in.
Like everyone who had stayed in the village, he had believed that Kaizen taking these six hundred people to fight the bandits was a suicide mission, that they weren't even enough to be a snack for Higuma.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was a disaster. Considering the consequences of provoking the Higuma Bandits, he had simply fled overnight with the villagers. It was better to hide for a while than be killed on the spot.
Now, seeing Kaizen and the others not only return unharmed but also having raided the Higuma stronghold and seized a vast amount of treasure and equipment, his face burned with shame. He desperately wished he could disappear.
Simultaneously, the shock in his heart was indescribable. He was well aware of the villagers' limited combat prowess. That meant Kaizen had single-handedly taken on 30,000 bandits.
Such a miraculous ability was only possessed by some supernatural Devil Fruit users. He never expected an eighteen-year-old outsider could achieve such a feat, and he was utterly stunned.
The Windmill Villagers hung their heads, feeling deeply ashamed. Previously, they had looked down on Kaizen, sneering and thinking he was leading them to their deaths, angering the bandits and bringing heavy disaster upon the village. Now, the young man they had despised and mocked had saved all their lives.
Thwack, thwack, thwack...
"Mr. Kaizen Reiya, we were wrong! We're worse than pigs and dogs! You saved us, and we spoke about you like that. Please, sir, be magnanimous and don't hold it against us."
Led by the Mayor, the villagers began blaming themselves, slapping their own faces, begging only for Kaizen's forgiveness.
...
The death squad members, like Ah Wang, secretly rejoiced at their fortune in following this god-like man to destroy the bandits, becoming heroes in the Mayor's eyes. Otherwise, they would be bearing the psychological burden of shame like these villagers, feeling especially wretched.
Hmph, serves you right for looking down on God Yi! Now your faces are swollen! Ah Wang cursed inwardly.
...
Back in the village, Makino had been waiting, her head raised in anticipation. When she saw Kaizen return safely, the terror and suppressed emotions of the long night finally released. She rushed over, hugged him, and burst into tears.
Then, she entered the bar, set out a feast to celebrate the destruction of the Higuma Bandits and the lifting of the village's crisis.
Makino kept toasting Kaizen.
Finally, she helped the drunken Kaizen into her room.
Then, biting her lip, she lay down beside him.
Kaizen suddenly turned over, pressing her beneath him.
After a forceful collision, the bed frame creaked and rattled until dawn.
Makino closed her large, beautiful eyes, biting her red lips...