Chapter 488

"Is anyone there? I'm the captain of the village guard, and I have some matters I'd like to mediate with you."

Paul Greyrat stood before the thick wooden door, somewhat doubtful that the heavy wood had blocked his knocking, so he shouted loudly toward the window opening that was set a bit high.

*Click... *

After a while, the thick wooden door stirred; through the crack of the opening door, some bright light leaked out.

That was not the pale yellow glow emitted by oil lamps or the fireplace, but a brightness closer to the color of the daytime sky.

【Magic Lamp.】

Paul Greyrat, who had once been born into an aristocratic family, very easily identified it.

Having made this judgment, Paul's heart also sank.

Because it was at the request of Elinalise and the others that he came over here to prepare to mediate with this family of outsiders.

Regarding the matter of their family's people beating other families' children this afternoon, but if the other party is a family with money and power, this mediation might not go as smoothly as he thought before coming over.

The man took a deep breath; as the door slowly opened, he hoped his Greyrat surname could serve a bit of function.

However, upon seeing the Big Dog Girl — oh no, the Big Dog Girl — appear after the door opened, this person's serious expression froze stiff.

"Ghislaine, why are you here?"

"I live here; isn't it perfectly normal for me to be here? As for you, Paul, you ran off with the team's final quest reward back then, saying you were preparing to marry Zenith and wanted to find a place to settle down; I didn't expect you'd be hiding in this village."

"Uh, hmm..."

Paul was somewhat embarrassed; back then he had forcefully taken his own team teammates' gift money.

"So, what did you come to do?"

Ghislaine didn't have any strange reaction; she asked directly.

She still wanted to go back to the rice bowl side to eat dinner earlier.

"Won't you invite me in to talk?"

"You can come in, but freeloading a meal is not allowed."

The Big Dog Girl said vigilantly, looking at him.

"I'm not freeloading a meal; Zenith has already made dinner. After handling the matters here, I'll go back."

Paul was somewhat speechless, but Ghislaine's attitude still let him relax a bit.

"Ghislaine, who's this?"

Seeing Ghislaine bring a man in, Alice, who was holding a fried chicken leg and gnawing on it, asked.

"He's my former adventurer team's captain, named Paul; he seems to have something he wants to say."

"What matter, needing to be said at this dinner time hour?"

Roxy found it somewhat strange.

"It's like this, Miss Roxy..."

Because Roxy had interacted with villagers, Paul had seen this demon girl several times.

So, he cut straight to the chase and told her about some villagers finding him, hoping he would give an explanation for their children being beaten, and coming to their house to seek an accounting.

"This is really interesting; we didn't go seek them out, but those people instead came seeking us out?"

Broly put down his chopsticks and said a sentence.

"I've seen those children's injuries; they're not lightly injured. To use such heavy hands on a group of children, Miss Roxy, do you think that's reasonable?"

Among those present, besides Ghislaine, only Roxy looked like the comparatively older person; Paul subconsciously treated the demon girl as the culprit who did the beating.

"Reasonable, I think it's extremely reasonable!"

But before Roxy could reply, little Alice shouted out.

"If that's the case, then I also have to, on behalf of the village villagers, seek justice from you all."

Paul looked at the demon girl who didn't refute, and said.

"You want to make a move?"

Ghislaine meant making a move on Alice; she placed her hand on the man's shoulder.

"If you want to make a move, even if you're my former teammate, I also won't be polite to you."

The Big Dog Girl gave a warning.

"Ghislaine, I know you're powerful, but I have reasons I cannot back down. As someone who is now also a child's father, I know what a precious existence a child is to parents.

Perhaps I'll be beaten miserably by you, but for the sake of my current duty, I'll fight a battle with you."

Just as the scene became somewhat sword-drawn-bow-bent, Roxy finally spoke: "Mr. Paul, shouldn't you first understand the situation?"

"No matter what the situation, one cannot use such heavy hands on a group of children."

This is the man's attitude before understanding the ins and outs of the matter.

"Sorry, I was a bit prejudiced; merely, is this lesson given perhaps a bit too heavy?"

This is Paul's words after understanding the ins and outs of the matter, seriously bowing in apology.

He and Roland have a friendship; he didn't expect the matter was because Sylphy was bullied.

"Alice, did you use heavy hands?"

Hearing this, Roxy looked at Alice and asked.

"I just used a cane and my fists to give those guys a lesson."

Alice didn't feel she used heavy hands at all.

"If there's a need, I can go over to help treat them, but the premise is that those children's parents must make a corresponding guarantee to restrain their own children from bullying Sylphy again."

Paul did not give an affirmative reply; he decided to act as a mediator, bringing the bullies and the bullied, the beaten and the beaters, all together to face each other and speak clearly.

Roxy agreed; Alice was somewhat confused, and after Paul left, asked: "Teacher Roxy, why treat those bad guys who bullied Sylphy?"

"I'm resolving a conflict, because we can't possibly, because of this matter, just solve those people, right?"

When Roxy said this, she looked at Broly with some worry; she didn't doubt that her little husband might, when necessary, do something like disposing of others.

However, Broly didn't express an opinion; most of the time now, he defers to Roxy.

After finishing dinner, Broly and the others went out, arriving at the village center's rice-drying square where they had agreed to meet Paul.

Also accompanying them were Sylphy's parents; they had only just learned that their daughter had been bullied again by the village's other children in the afternoon.

Those who came here included not only the families of the brats who were beaten in the afternoon, but also other villagers of Buena Village.

Correctly speaking, this was no longer a talk between a few families, but a small village meeting.

The topic this village meeting was about to discuss concerned 【Roland's daughter being bullied】 and 【the brats who bullied Roland's daughter getting severely beaten】.

"Before I came to Buena Village to serve as the guard captain, Roland handled the village's guard duties; no one has any objections to that, right?"

"Right, no objections; if not for Roland, quite a few people might have died when the village suffered a magic beast attack several years ago."

The villagers nodded.

"Although his daughter has had green hair since birth, she absolutely isn't a demon; everyone is clear on that, right?"

"Clear; normally we take good care of Sylphy too, and if we discover other children bullying her, we all step forward to stop it."

Regarding such words, Roland also nodded in acknowledgment.

Buena Village's adults are all good people; in another village, given the daughter's green hair, she might possibly have been driven out.

"But even doing that, we have no way to stop some children from bullying Roland's daughter in places where we adults can't see."

Paul's words made Sylphy's mother cover her face and weep; some villagers also looked at her with helplessness and guilt.

"Wait!"

At this moment, Elinalise spoke up.

"My son bullies people, but at most he just throws mud at that child; but look at his injuries now — just for bullying someone he was beaten like this, is that right?"

The village woman didn't deny her son's bullying, but cited his injuries; the chubby Somar was pulled out by his mother, his face bruised and swollen, his body covered in bloody whip marks from vine switches, and his front teeth were knocked out, leaving his mouth completely gaping.

Roxy: "..."

Seeing the beaten boy, she suddenly understood why Paul had come seeking them out.

The other villagers, seeing this, also changed their attitude; they weren't unreasonable, they knew the wrongdoers were those little bastards, but just over a children's conflict, beating kids to this extent was also too much.

"I can make my son apologize to Roland's daughter, but shouldn't the guy who beat my son into this miserable state also apologize to my son?"

"What, you want me to apologize? I didn't do anything wrong; why should I apologize to him?"

Hearing this, Alice flew into a rage and immediately shouted.

The other villagers now looked this way; seeing Alice, they realized the one who beat those brats into such a miserable state was a young girl.

Instantly, these villagers' expressions became somewhat strange; after all, several little boys losing to a little girl — saying that in the countryside is quite shameful.

"Look at her attitude; she beats our kids like this and still thinks she's in the right?

Could it be that just because they're people from the city, they can arbitrarily bully us country folk?"

However, Elinalise is a shrew; she immediately started screaming.

"Yeah, yeah!"

The villagers were incited and chimed in; the old village chief broke into a sweat on his forehead.

"All of you shut up!"

He stepped out and roared.

"Village chief, how can you side with outsiders? Could it be you took a bribe from them?"

Seeing the village chief seemingly standing on the other side, Elinalise couldn't help but turn sarcastic.

"You shrew?!"

Buena Village's old village chief couldn't bear it; he stepped forward and gave Elinalise two slaps.

"You actually hit me?"

The beaten village woman was first stunned; reacting, she then wanted to claw at the village chief, but was held back by others.

"I hit you because you deserve it, you pushy thing; this here is the Boreas family's thousand gold, the granddaughter Lord Sauros dotes on most.

Never mind her giving your wrongdoing kid a beating; even if she beat your kid to death, you'd have to kneel and kowtow, saying 'Thank you, Big Sister!'"

The old village chief's words brought the scene to silence.

"The lord's big sister — why would she come live in our village?"

A villager raised the question, but no one answered him.

"That's right, I am the granddaughter my grandfather dotes on most, Alice Beryas!"

Little Alice, feeling the change in the surrounding gazes, crossed her arms and proudly lifted her head as she spoke.

"Ah, you debt collector!"

Reacting, Elinalise immediately dragged her own son over, pressed him onto her lap, pulled down his pants, raised her hand, no longer caring about anything else, and brought her palm down fast on his snow-white buttocks.

"Ah, Mama, what are you doing?"

Somar froze too, not understanding why his mother, who had been speaking up for him, suddenly flipped and started hitting him.

And just as uncomprehending were the other brats; their parents, seeing Elinalise act, also hesitated no longer, and likewise laid hands on their own lightly injured children.

Can't blame them; in a medieval-style world, even with swords and magic, the status gap between the lord's thousand gold and us country peasants is still too great.

If the old village chief's words are true, then tonight their attempt to seek justice for their children and make the other side apologize could become the lord's reason for hanging them.

"Eh, what's with these people? Why did they suddenly change attitude?"

Little Alice couldn't figure out the reason for the situation's change before her eyes.

"They're in awe of Lord Sauros."

Ghislaine said a sentence.

"What does that have to do with Grandfather?"

Eris still didn't understand; when everyone else could appreciate power and status, she alone had yet to figure it out.

"Anyway, they should know they were wrong; let's just stop."

Roxy felt a bit reluctant and spoke up to persuade the village parents who were beating their own children.

"Miss Eris, do you think that's enough?"

The old Village Chief bent over to ask.

"I already beat them; you beating them now has nothing to do with me."

Eris turned her head away; she didn't care about those guys getting beaten at all.

"Forgiven, forgiven, hurry up and stop everyone."

The old Village Chief hurriedly said.

"Heal~"

Roxy stepped forward and cast healing magic on those brats who had been beaten terribly.

"From now on you can't bully Sylphy anymore; if you bully her again, Eris Red Knight will beat you up again."

"Waaah..."

The brats looked at Roxy and felt that the one speaking gently was the only savior at the Crime Scene.

"Sorry, we know we were wrong; we definitely won't bully Sylphy again."

Tonight, it was still Eris's great Victory.

Compared to fairy tales about Man-eating Demons, the adults revered tangible Aristocrats more, and all promised to discipline their own children and not bully Sylphy anymore.

Roland saw this Scene and couldn't help sighing; the respect he got as a hunter guarding the Village was not as helpful to his daughter as the attitude shown by the lord's daughter.

"Miss Eris..."

"Sylphy, come stand behind me; I'm doing Knight training to protect the Princess, Broly, you play the Big Bad Guy!"

The next day, Little Shilfy, who had been taught at home by her parents to respect the lord's daughter a bit more, hadn't yet developed a thick barrier of pity toward Eris before that barrier was crushed by Eris's enthusiastic desire to play the Knight.

Early that morning, Eris Red Knight fought three hundred rounds with the evil black-haired Saiyan boy until her Physical Strength was exhausted, collapsing into the HuaiZhong of the green-haired Little Princess Sylphy behind her, and with difficulty spoke her Last Words as a Knight who could no longer protect her.

Then...

"Don't Give Up, Sister Eris, Holy Power is Delicious Food, bestowing upon those who have lost their strength the power to Stand Up again!"

The Magic Light of healing lit up; Little Shilfy, at nearly four years old, mastered Beginner Healing because of this drill.

Roxy's Evaluation of this was that Little Shilfy was too simple; although it looked like they were just playing around, the other had truly taken on the perspective of the Princess role, hoping the fallen Red Knight would Stand Up again.

And Eris's Evaluation? Uh, she had no Evaluation; this Red Knight just shouted that this was the Bond between her Knight and Sylphy the little Princess, then charged at Broly the Big Bad Guy.

Although she ultimately lost to the evil Saiyan, she had a look of Satisfaction and sincerely told Little Shilfy: "Next time, we'll definitely beat Big Bad Guy Broly!"

"Broly Brother isn't a Big Bad Guy."

Little Shilfy seriously corrected her words.

(Chapter End)