In [A Country Village’s Circumstances], there was a system called village reputation.
The higher your village reputation, the greater your influence within the village. Conversely, if your village reputation was low, people would ignore you no matter how right you were.
Who would have thought the day would come when I cared about this shit?
Village reputation was a system I had never paid much attention to in the game.
True to an NTR game, no amount of village reputation could change the outcome of a bad ending.
And raising it was no easy task, either.
Unlike the Church, where grinding volunteer work simply accumulated contribution points, village reputation required winning over the villagers.
In the actual game, no matter how hard you tried, you could never get beyond [Good Neighbor].
Entiel Village was so insular that the villagers' nature was to regard you with suspicion first, even if you approached them warmly.
But there is no one who dislikes gifts.
I bundled up the leftover meat and headed for the village chief's house.
The village chief had the strongest voice in the village, so if I wanted to raise my village reputation, I had to win him over first.
"Village Chief, are you home?"
"Ian, what brings you here at this hour?"
However, contrary to my plan, the village chief did not look kindly on me.
Apparently, he had not forgotten that I had extorted five gold coins from him.
What a petty bastard. It was money he had amassed through kickbacks anyway.
I had expected this much, so I did not care.
Given the village chief's personality, he would try to recoup what he had lost.
"It seemed a shame to simply throw away such good meat, so I wanted to give it to you, Village Chief, since you have helped me recently."
"You are giving me all this meat for free?"
The village chief eyed me suspiciously.
As the village's greatest intellect, he seemed to have realized that this meat was not truly free.
"If it makes you uncomfortable, I will give it to the other neighbors instead."
"Of course not! It does not make me uncomfortable. I simply do not understand. If you are worried about it spoiling, why not smoke it?"
"That is true, but my wife cannot eat tough meat, so I try to avoid smoking it whenever possible."
"Ho ho... I had heard rumors that you sincerely loved Isabelle, but I did not know it was to this extent. Isabelle is a truly fortunate woman."
"Thank you for saying so."
Perhaps wanting to discern my true intentions, the village chief coughed before asking again.
"Ahem, but I cannot simply accept this and preserve the dignity of a village chief. Tell me if there is anything you need."
"If you do not mind, could you give me some advice about farming?"
"Farming?"
"As a hunter, I am practically ignorant when it comes to farming. I am learning from my mother-in-law, but I am still lacking in many ways."
"You are certainly no farmer, so farming cannot be easy for you. Would it not be better to focus on hunting instead? With your skills, you should have no trouble making a living without farming."
"I wish that were so, but there is no guarantee that every hunt will succeed. When winter comes, most animals hibernate, making them difficult to hunt. It is too late this year, with winter just around the corner, but I want to prepare in advance for next year."
"No matter how hard a hunter like you tries, you will not be able to match an ordinary farmer."
"I have heard that you are the best farmer in this village, Village Chief. Surely you know an answer that no one else does?"
Perhaps my sweet talk worked. The village chief smiled the wrinkled smile characteristic of an old man as he spoke.
"Meat alone is not enough payment."
"The next time I come across good meat, you will be the first person I visit, Village Chief."
Seriously, what a greedy old man.
Well, it did not matter.
I planned to get it back twofold later.
"Monster dung contains dense magical power. If you turn it into fertilizer, even a hunter like you should be able to harvest plenty of grain."
"Monster dung... Thank you for the advice."
"Come see me again if there is anything else you are curious about."
"Should I prepare meat as tuition?"
"Monster dung will do as well."
Giving up all that meat for a few words of advice felt wasteful, but looking at it another way, my relationship with the village chief had changed into that of teacher and student.
If I stay close to the village chief, it should be easier to keep John's gang in check.
Of course, I did not just win over the village chief.
The more people I could use, the better.
I continued my gift offensive to win the villagers' favor.
"Thanks for this. I will enjoy it."
"Thanks, Ian. I will enjoy it."
"Ian, was it? I have never met a young man as well-liked as you. If you ever need anything, just call for me."
Most of them eagerly accepted, but now and then, there were neighbors who gave as much as they received.
"I do not have much to give you, but take this at least. I am sure you will find it useful."
"What is this?"
That was how I came to receive a strange slip of paper.
There was no writing on it, only the kiss mark of a woman.
This is a prostitute coupon.
There were prostitutes in Entiel Village as well, but unlike in the city, having money did not mean you could use them whenever you pleased.
The Church of the Sun, which placed great importance on chastity, stood beside the village.
The Church would not crack down openly, but the villagers could not help being wary of its eyes.
This coupon had been created to use prostitutes without the Church noticing.
And that was what he had given me as repayment.
It was absurd, but in another sense, it felt quintessentially Entiel Village.
. . .
Lately, Isolde found everything irritating.
Was it because talk of marriage with John, her lover, kept falling through?
That was part of it, but Ian, whom she encountered at home every day, was another reason.
"It is already time. It pains me that I have to part with you again today, Isabelle."
"I want to spend more time with you too, Ian."
"I am relieved that you feel the same way. I was worried I might be bothering you."
"N-no, not at all. If I could, I would like to experience many things with you too, Ian."
"I hope that day comes soon."
Look at them putting on that nauseating display.
Ian's manner, as if he were deliberately rubbing it in, made irritation surge through Isolde.
But that was all.
No matter what he did, Isolde did not care much about Ian himself.
What she did not like was Isabelle beginning to harbor hope while spending time with him.
"Isabelle."
"What?"
"Do you really believe what that man says? Do you really think he loves you?"
"Yes."
"How ridiculous. Have you never considered that it might be an act?"
Isolde was suspicious of Ian, who had broken off his marriage to her and chosen Isabelle instead.
Any man, without exception, ought to choose someone as beautiful as herself.
But Isabelle?
What could he possibly like about such an ugly bitch enough to love her?
What could he possibly like about that hopeless freeloader?
Isolde could not understand it, and because she could not understand it, she had no choice but to be suspicious.
But Isabelle, who had watched Ian more closely than anyone else, thought differently.
"I have not. Ian truly loves me."
"Really? And do you think those feelings will last forever?"
"That..."
At Isolde's words, Isabelle's eyes wavered.
"One day, he will find you burdensome, just like Father did. I guarantee it."
Isabelle wanted to argue, but she could not.
As her sister said, she was ugly and could not be of any help.
Even their father, who had once said he loved her, had eventually regarded her as dead weight.
Will Ian become like that too?
Isabelle was not certain.
She did not know why Ian had come to love her.
Isabelle wanted to know what Ian liked about her enough to love her so deeply.
But she did not have the courage to simply ask him.
If he is going to abandon me anyway...
Rose, which tormented Isabelle so relentlessly, oppressed her again today.
. . .
"Adelia, I am going to take Isabelle somewhere a little farther away today."
"Do you really have to go that far?"
"I found a beautiful lake in the northern mountains. I want to heal Isabelle's heart there."
Lately, Isabelle had not looked well.
She did not show it outwardly, but having kept my eyes solely on her lately, I could notice the change in her.
"All right. Do not come back too late."
Perhaps because she trusted me deeply, Adelia readily gave her permission.
Thanks to that, I was able to make my preparations without trouble.
"Then we will be going."
"Be careful!"
I set Isabelle on a carrying frame and climbed the mountain with her.
"Isabelle, please bear with it even if the path is rough."
"Okay..."
Perhaps she was particularly listless today, because there was no strength in Isabelle's voice.
I was worried about her condition, but I could not give up so easily.
If not today, I will have to wait another year.
If my calculations were correct, a lunar eclipse would occur tonight.
It was also the day Angel's Rest, capable of healing Isabelle's [Rose’s Punishment], would appear.
If I am even a little late, I will lose this opportunity. Stay calm.
And so, I climbed the mountain.
Monsters occasionally appeared during the climb, but I was able to avoid them without difficulty using my hunter skills.
However, the more monsters I avoided, the steeper the paths became.
If I had not taken the Big-Dick Herb, I would never have made it this far up.
With my high stamina and sexual vigor, I was able to climb without difficulty while carrying Isabelle on the frame.
I have thought this for a long time, but all hail the Big-Dick Herb.
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