Chapter 121: Minus 100 Points There are plenty of forested areas even inside the Barrier.
We call them City A, City B, and so on, but honestly, they're far too vast to be called mere cities; they contain all sorts of different terrains.
Still, they really can't compare to the primeval forests outside the Barrier.
I feel it every time I step outside—the sight of trees so thick that ten grown men couldn't encircle them with their arms, stretching out like common brush, is so majestic it's almost overwhelming.
In my past life, I never even got to travel abroad, so I never understood what people meant by being "overwhelmed by nature," but now I'm feeling it with my whole body.
And looking at the boundary where this majestic forest meets the village gives me a strange feeling.
Majesty is one thing, but there could be monsters lurking in there, yet the villagers don't have a single worry on their faces.
The dense forest blocks the view, and the deeper you go, the darker it gets, creating a natural fear of the unknown. Do they really not feel afraid looking at that?
Even I, with my incredible Mana Barrier, am on high alert, yet they're perfectly at ease.
I suppose that's how much they trust the existence known as the Water God.
If the government could harness this power, humanity could reclaim every inch of territory in the world.
But that's never going to happen. That "Water God" is a monster too.
Why don't other monsters approach? It's simple: they're terrified.
There are monsters with human-level intelligence, though they are few, and the Water God is one of them.
It's not like it can block monsters forever, either. If a monster stronger than the Water God shows up, the village could be reduced to ashes in a territorial dispute.
Or the Water God might simply lose interest and leave.
After that, a village without a Barrier would face total annihilation.
Looking at how they act, I almost wish they'd be annihilated about three times over.
Enough sightseeing. Let's see how the others are doing.
"You thug piece of shit, you've been living the high life in the city, haven't you?"
Oh, look at that. He's rude as hell, but he's a sage who recognized the soul of a thug after barely meeting him.
The first person I spotted was Takeo.
"You trash, sucking our blood while you enjoy the safety of the Barrier. What? You got a problem? If you got a problem, then—"
"… …"
Ah… it's no use.
I guess the terrifying gaze of a former thug is too much for an ordinary person to handle.
Even while running errands, Takeo just stared at him without a word, and the "sage" who was badmouthing him started stuttering out of pure fear.
Thud!
"Eek!"
Flour? Rice? I'm not sure which, but when Takeo dropped the sack as if throwing it, the sage jumped in fright and covered his head with his arms.
"Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"N-no! G-get lost! You thug bastard, all you learned was how to intimidate people."
I see. A thug has his own ways of handling things.
The villager, a classic piece of trash who's strong against the weak and weak against the strong, scurried away while muttering to himself.
He's… holding out better than I thought.
I expected him to have knocked out at least three villagers by now, but the thug is showing remarkable restraint.
Maybe it's because the villagers are too intimidated by his "thug aura" to properly harass him.
The next person I saw was Yukina.
"Put that over there. And then, organize the stuff under here."
"… …"
Yukina silently bent over to look under the bookshelf, and the villager who gave the order slyly eyed her backside.
Yeah, you're dead later. I've memorized your face.
Just as I was suppressing my boiling anger, the villager reached out and touched Yukina's shapely rear.
"… …"
Even when Yukina looked up and glared at him, the villager didn't seem scared. He just gave a greasy smile and gave her butt a squeeze.
"What? You like it too, don't you? I saw that pretty boy who looks like a gigolo earlier; I assume he's your boyfriend. Is he satisfying in bed? If not, I can take his place. Guys like that are all show and no substance. Ah, don't get mad. If you want the Water God's protection, you have to listen to—Gack!"
And Yukina is disqualified. Well done. Good job.
Without a moment's hesitation, Yukina grabbed the villager's throat with a movement too fast to see and slammed him into the ground.
"Wheeze—ke—kaghk! Ah, urgh—"
"Listen carefully."
Yukina leaned in close to the villager, who was struggling to breathe, let alone speak, and whispered in a cold voice.
"Yeon-woo is not a name to be spoken by a mouth like yours. If you don't want to die, don't even mention him. Do you understand?"
Come to think of it, Yukina was a former underworld hitman.
There isn't a single normal person in my party.
Releasing the villager's throat, Yukina looked down at him with murderous eyes, transformed her stick into a dagger, and slammed it into the ground right next to his ear.
"I know people like you don't understand words. Which one do you want? Left? Right?"
"Cough, cough… W-what are you talking about…"
"Do you want to lose your left ear? Or your right? Every morning when you wake up and stand before the mirror to wash your face, you'll see that severed ear and be reminded of what you did today. People like you need this much to make sure you don't forget."
The villager was completely terrified, and knowing Yukina wasn't someone who made empty threats, I rushed over to stop her.
After the situation was settled, Yukina apologized to me, but honestly, it felt great.
Regardless, I comforted her and sent her back to the lodging.
The next person I saw was Park Yu-jeong, and…
"You son of a bitch! I've hated you since we were kids!"
"You pathetic loser! I only hung out with you because I felt sorry for you, and now you think you're my equal?!"
"Kyaa~ Please don't fight~!"
Yukina was Yukina, but Park Yu-jeong was being Park Yu-jeong.
Using her beautiful looks that naturally drew people in, she was playing the villagers against each other and turning everything into a mess.
Soon, another villager jumped in and joined the fray, and the area turned into a full-blown brawl.
And in the middle of it all, Park Yu-jeong stood there with a peaceful, bright smile.
Why are you making a face like you did something good? Did the ethics textbook you studied not mention anything about not sowing discord between people?
You're saying the fight isn't your fault?
Well… I'm not sure how the monster protecting the village will judge this.
In Akito's route, Chika would just punch people, but nothing like this ever happened.
I had no desire to get involved in that chaotic mess, so I quickly headed elsewhere.
"You look disgusting, and you can't even work fast?! You're supposed to be some great mages, right? Can't you fix your faces with that?"
These villagers are all bastards; they're even giving the Comedy Duo a hard time.
However, despite the harassment from the villagers who were kicking their butts and hurling insults, the Comedy Duo remained unfazed.
"Heh… you call that an insult? You've still got a long way to go."
"Oi, oi, don't be too harsh on these fledglings. Heh… and you lot, don't act so tough in front of this guy. One wrong move, and the Black Flame Dragon sealed in his right arm might wake up."
…Just what on earth did the Geezer do to them?
I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd be rooting for the villagers.
Isn't that kick to the butt a bit weak? I could swing an Etiquette Infuser at the back of their heads for you.
Regardless of my feelings, the Comedy Duo is surprisingly doing the best in our party right now.
Having been trained by the Geezer… trained? Anyway, their emotions don't even flicker at common insults, so they're helping people without taking any damage.
If anything, it seems like the villagers are the ones taking damage.
Wait, what happens then?
The reason I took this request was to personally obtain the Starlight Conception, one of the ingredients for the Secret Medicine.
To enter the area where the ingredient is located, you need the monster's protection. Does this mean only the Comedy Duo and I can go in?
…Well, whatever. I originally thought I'd be the only one able to go, so having more people to help with the gathering is a good thing.
Whack!
Feeling an impact on the back of my head, I lowered my head to suppress a surge of anger and turned around.
"Hey! Did you finish the work I gave you?!"
"Yes~ It's all done~"
"Then you should have told me right away! Are you slow? Did you fall down the stairs as a kid? There's a mountain of work to do, and everything's delayed because of you!"
Smile. Just smile. I have to endure.
Just you wait. The time for revenge is coming soon.
*
"Phew—I give up too~"
As soon as she entered the lodging, Park Yu-jeong let out a sigh and flopped onto the sofa.
The villagers' atrocities were too severe to prove Yeon-woo's hypothesis.
Still, Park Yu-jeong had returned after enjoying herself by pitting the villagers against each other.
Yukina had been stuck waiting at the lodging ever since she held a dagger to a villager's ear on the first day.
"Takeo-chin~ Did you earn a lot of points, Takeo-chin?"
"Ah… I was doing okay until 30, but after that, not so much…"
Takeo laughed awkwardly, looking troubled.
Having hung around rough older guys since he was young, Takeo was used to being insulted by those around him.
He could just ignore whatever the villagers said, and if he got angry and glared at them, they'd shut up.
The problem was that his aura was so terrifying that the number of villagers asking for his help dwindled over time, and now they were treating him like he didn't exist.
As this situation continued, Takeo—who was surprisingly diligent despite Yeon-woo's assessment—even went around asking villagers if they needed help, but unfortunately, he had no success.
Park Yu-jeong leaned against the window and looked outside.
In her line of sight, she saw Yeon-woo taking on all the dirty work, bowing and scraping even while being berated by the villagers.
Women, young and old alike, sexually harassed him by touching his body, and the men, seemingly disgusted by him, assigned him filthy tasks or bullied him with malice.
"Yes~ It's fine~ Oh, that can happen. Is there anything else I can help with?"
But Yeon-woo maintained a bright face no matter what anyone did.
Takeo watched him with curiosity, while Yukina glared out the window, radiating murderous intent.
Leaning her face on her arm with a languid air, Park Yu-jeong smirked as she watched Yeon-woo.
"Did you know? This village was originally an isolation zone for criminals."
"It was? It seemed pretty normal for that."
"Takeo, you're surprisingly naive for a delinquent. People usually look normal in their daily lives. Wasn't your idol, Keiji, the same way?"
"… …"
When she brought up the business with the Union that had kidnapped Haruna, Takeo looked away.
Chuckling as if he were cute, Park Yu-jeong continued.
"And besides, there's no way the government would just release anti-social felons. Everyone in this village is just a mediocre person who committed a mediocre crime."
"…There were children too."
"The village has been around for over twenty years. What else would men and women do when gathered in a village surrounded by monsters?"
Answering Yukina's remark, Park Yu-jeong listed the things she had observed while staying here.
"Most criminals are selfish. There might be exceptions, but if you aren't selfish, the probability of committing a crime drops significantly."
There was no way the other two wouldn't understand what Park Yu-jeong was saying.
This was a village created under a government plan to forcibly relocate criminals and create a middle base.
There probably wasn't much support, and the government likely didn't expect much.
The problem was that the existence of the Water God wasn't part of the government's plan.
"Selfish people don't admit they're wrong, even when they are. They won't think about what they did; in their hearts, they'll be blaming the government for exiling them here. That's why they're so hostile to outsiders. 'We're suffering out here, while you lot live comfortably inside the Barrier, don't you?' It's that kind of petty, childish thinking."
"The government is at fault, though. It would have been dangerous if the Water God hadn't been here."
"They're criminals, so isn't it only natural? They came here because they did something to deserve it. Oh, is it because Keiji could have ended up here? Are you feeling a sudden surge of sympathy?"
When Park Yu-jeong smiled brightly and mentioned Keiji again, Takeo shut his mouth with a stiff expression.
Having teased him, Park Yu-jeong turned her gaze back to the bullied Yeon-woo and muttered to herself.
"It's annoying… I'm the only one allowed to bully Yeon-woo."
"What about the children? Why are the children like that?"
Yukina, who hadn't heard the mutter, asked, and Park Yu-jeong smiled again as she spoke.
"It's obvious. What would they learn from adults who committed crimes serious enough to be sent here? They probably grew up hearing nothing but complaints about the government. What can a child raised in a village cut off from the outside world do? They'll think of those pieces of trash as adults and believe everything they say is the truth."
Yukina and Takeo had no choice but to agree with the conclusion Park Yu-jeong had reached after observing the village for two days.
There are good people and bad people in the world, but this village seemed to show a uniform disposition, as if someone had manufactured it.
It made sense if the residents, who held a grudge against the government, were venting all their pent-up frustration now that they had the precious card known as the Water God.
When Yukina saw Yeon-woo get hit on the back of the head, she began to radiate murderous intent again. Takeo watched her closely, ready to stop her from charging out.
It had happened several times already, so Takeo, now accustomed to it, quietly moved to a position where it would be easy to grab her. He was bracing himself when—
"Ahahahaha! Hahahaha!!"
A loud burst of laughter rang out, as if venting all the anger that had been suppressed until now.
Park Yu-jeong looked toward the source of the laughter and smirked, as if what she had been waiting for had finally arrived. Takeo just stared at Yeon-woo blankly.
The villager was momentarily taken aback by his crazed laughter, but remembering how he had been treating him so far, he kicked Yeon-woo.
"What are you laughing at?! You crazy bas—"
What met the villager's eyes was the sole of Yeon-woo's sneaker.
Hitting the villager's face with a dropkick, Yeon-woo sprang to his feet and pressed a button on his watch.
"Minus 1 point!"
Yeon-woo shouted excitedly, a mad smile spreading across his face as he looked around at the gathered villagers.
"Current points: 150. I'm going to pay back 100 points worth of resentment."
"Aha, I knew this would be fun."
The condition to meet the Water God was 50 Good Deed Points.
In other words, Yeon-woo could now commit 100 bad deeds and still meet the Water God.
Watching Yeon-woo go on a rampage, taking down the villagers one by one, Park Yu-jeong clutched her stomach and laughed.
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