Chapter 369 – The Cotton Field
It didn’t take long for the village chief to show up.
Her forehead was coolly peeled off, and the hair that covered the back of her head and the sides of her head was also white.
He approached with a smile on his wrinkled face and cautiously sat down on the chair across from him.
“Precious people have come to a humble place. It is not common for guests to visit, so I am sorry that the hospitality is not so good.”
“… Are you a curtain?”
“Yes. You’re right. I heard that the customer is the sheriff dispatched from the city guard…”
The curtains blurred the tail and looked at me with a slightly uneasy expression.
“It seems like there are a lot of incidents and accidents that happen in this town. I came to investigate the cause of such a thing.”
Of course it’s a lie.
“Ah… Is that so…”
At my words, the village chief glanced at the Ten Commander behind him.
Perhaps he was looking to the captain of the Ten for an answer to my question, I thought.
Considering the negligence of the guards, the village chief’s reaction is understandable. After dispatching troops to keep the village safe, they were drinking and sleeping.
“As you know, this village grows and sells cotton.”
“Hmm?”
“Undeservedly, the lord made a large purchase before each winter. Thanks to that, our village is getting a stable income other than selling to merchants.”
The village chief suddenly started talking.
I couldn’t figure out why I was talking about what everyone knew, so I listened to what the village chief said in silence.
“I don’t know if that’s why, but it seems like rumors are spreading.”
“Rumor? What?”
“There are rumors that there is a lot of money in our village. Thieves sometimes sneak in for that.”
“So, chief, are you saying that the reason for the frequent crimes in the village is purely because of the thieves who come after hearing rumors?”
“As you know, since you were sent by the guards, most of the criminals caught in our village and taken to the city are thieves, aren’t they?”
“…”
I’ve only heard of Trician’s frequent misdemeanors, but I don’t know the details. So, I couldn’t carelessly deny the village chief’s words.
“But the look of the guards I saw when I arrived today was truly shocking. Like the sun passing through the middle of the sky and it looks like it just woke up. I think it’s because of their negligence.”
At my words, the village chief shut his mouth. He licked his wrinkled lips, contemplating something, then spoke carefully again.
“Well, by any chance, are the guards changing?”
“Change? Guards?”
“Well, since you said you showed a bad appearance, will you be sacked and another unit of the guards dispatched?”
My purpose is to set fire to this place. I never really thought about the treatment of these guys.
But officially, I am a high-ranking person who has been dispatched to check the situation here. If you don’t act high on your nose pretending to have a lot of authority and authority, you might be suspicious.
“If necessary, I will.”
“That, that’s troublesome!”
The village chief was taken aback by my answer and shouted. I couldn’t figure out why the village chief was suddenly so flustered, so I tilted my head.
“Trouble? What?”
“Ah, hehe… That is… The guards dispatched here are people who have been in the village for a long time. Like the structure of the village. You know your weak spots for thieves. When another unit is dispatched, because of the problem of such proficiency… Above all, he maintains a good relationship with the villagers, so if a new unit is dispatched, the villagers won’t be very happy.”
I got the feeling that the village chief was talking strangely. But I don’t know why.
“Soldiers who fail vigilance cannot be forgiven. In fact, the guards here today didn’t know I was there until I arrived and caused a commotion. If we were robbers who broke in with bad intentions, it would have been serious.”
“Bo, did the guards not know that the sheriff was here?”
At my answer, the village chief blinked his droopy eyelids as if he was absurd.
“Yes, everything that happened here will be reported to the chief of security in Westway. And if you decide that a new appointment is necessary, it will be.”
The village chief made a small sound of pain, then smiled awkwardly.
“Haha. You seem to be misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Yes! Ah yes Yesterday, there was a small party in town. It seems that it was because I served a lot of alcohol to the guards. They are usually very hardworking and sincere people.”
“These guys… ?”
It seems that all hardworking and sincere people in the world are behind.
“Really! If you grab hold of any villagers and ask them, you will know that what you went through today was a misunderstanding!”
Is the village chief’s desperate look real? And doubt
Are you saying that all the vicious actions of the guards I saw today were bad timing?
I was unlucky enough to come to you on a day when normally hardworking and sincere people fell asleep after drinking too much the night before? Could there be such a coincidence?
I suddenly remembered the conversation I had with Trisian before coming to this village.
‘It would be nice if crime prevention was thoroughly done, but it’s not a part that the guards can actively deal with if an incident happens and doesn’t happen. Even after the incident, if you think you can reliably catch the criminal, you can see that you are doing a good job.’
Apparently Trisian said so.
And thinking about what he said, I came to the conclusion that if the guards in this village were incompetent and negligent on a daily basis, they probably wouldn’t have known that a crime was happening because the thief hadn’t been caught.
Rather, since these guys usually do a good job and the arrest rate is high, did it feel like there was a lot of crime in the town?
I closed my mouth and looked at the village head thinking.
Now I am in power. Would the village chief have a reason to lie to me while covering up the negligence of the guards?
Let’s not come up with my thoughts. Was I couldn’t imagine what the village chief would gain by taking such a risk.
If a person does not benefit, he will not act.
Therefore, I thought that it would be better to assume that what the village chief said was the truth for now.
But even if you think so, you don’t express it outwardly.
Because now I am a high-ranking person with authority. You shouldn’t easily accept that my opinion is wrong.
“You’ll find out when you stay in this town.”
“Stay? That word…”
“I plan to stay in this village for a few days and inspect it. You said that a thief who came after hearing rumors was the cause, but I only believe what I see with my own eyes. I will stay in the village for a while and see with my own two eyes.”
“Well, how long do you think you will be in our village?”
The village chief smiled awkwardly.
“Do I have to tell you all about that?”
“Oh no!”
“By the way, they say there are no inns in town.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I’ll give you an extra room.”
“Okay.”
“Anything else you need… ?”
“I want to be guided by the village. I want to keep track of where things are.”
“All right. I will accompany you.”
The tour of the village began with the introduction of the ten leaders and the village chief.
In fact, there was no introduction whatsoever.
So far, the only things I’ve seen in the village are the suspiciously well-equipped village head’s house, the shabby thatched-roofed houses the villagers live in, and the white cotton fields surrounding the village.
“Is this the cotton wool warehouse?”
“This is warehouse number 1.”
“Warehouse No. 1? Could it be that the two buildings next to them are also warehouses?”
“Yes, that’s right. They call it a warehouse, but strictly speaking, they all do different things. Here in this warehouse, we proceed with the drying of freshly picked cotton.”
Perhaps the most important place in town, the warehouse was in a location that was difficult to access from Wibu.
There is a fast-flowing river in the back, a wide open field in the front, and thatched-roofed houses. To access the warehouse, one must pass through a street lined with thatched cottages. Even from the thatched house, the warehouse is clearly visible.
As I approached the warehouse with the village chief and the ten leader, several young women with long wooden sticks came out from inside.
“Chief? Even the captain of the ten… What are you doing?”
“Ah, there are a lot of hardships. The sheriff came from the city and was introducing the town. Don’t mind and see things.”
At the village chief’s words, the young women glanced at me and went back into the warehouse. Followed them in
The warehouse was much larger than it looked from the outside.
There was a huge window in the wall, so the sunlight came in and it was quite bright and warm.
Inside the warehouse, wooden poles were erected and the drying racks with nets were tightly packed, and white cotton was spread over them to dry.
I could see some of the young women who had just come to meet me, making cotton with wooden sticks they were holding.
