Even on the morning after I became the village's protector, my bed was outside the fence.
Just because someone gains a title doesn't mean their way of life suddenly changes.
The villagers went out into the fields at sunrise, fed their livestock, and cleaned up the areas that had been ravaged by the bandits. I walked near the forest and checked for any strange smells or footprints.
The wound on my right hind leg had healed considerably.
It still hurt when I ran, but it didn't bother me when I walked normally. The peeled scales on my side no longer bothered me unless I touched them.
"Val, good morning!"
Lina waved from the field.
"Guru."
“You look like you’re doing well today.”
That I could understand words was no longer a secret.
The man nearby also turned his head towards me.
"Did you see anything in the forest?"
I shook my head.
"I see. Then it seems all right to go in and gather firewood."
The man put the basket back on his back and headed towards the forest.
Not long ago, the sight of me would have had people gripping hoes and spears.
I think things will change if things change.
However, not everyone.
There were people who watched from a distance, and some houses didn't let their children outside the fence while I was nearby.
That was fine.
Trust isn't something that grows in everyone all at once just because a promise was made one time.
When I was about to look around the north side of the village, a voice rose from the south.
"Someone's coming!"
The atmosphere changed.
Dario stopped his work and immediately picked up his bow.
I also headed south along the fence.
I thought the bandits had returned, but the sounds of the approaching footsteps were scattered.
No one was running.
Among the smells on the wind, there was also the smell of blood mixed with sweat and mud.
"There are children."
Dario focused his eyes on the road ahead.
Eventually, eight figures appeared.
There were five adults.
Three children.
All of them were utterly exhausted.
Very few of them were carrying a proper amount of luggage on their backs. They had only what looked like cloth bundles, pots and blankets, and one man was dragging one leg, leaning on the shoulder of the man next to him.
"Stop right there!"
Dario shouted.
The man in the lead immediately raised his hands.
"We have no intention of fighting! Please, give us some water!"
His voice was hoarse.
The village chief also came out.
“Where did you come from?”
"From the other side of the mountain."
"What is the name of the village?"
The man answered.
It was a name I had never heard before.
“What happened?”
"Rock Apes got in."
Dario frowned.
"The ones from the rocky area?"
"Yeah. There's a rocky area beyond that ridge. They came down from there."
The man in the lead continued with a tired look on his face.
"At first there were just a few of them. They were only taking potatoes from the fields. We thought we could drive them off."
"They increased?"
"There were more than ten of them. They climbed onto the roofs and even threw rocks at us. They ransacked our food store and injured two people who tried to chase them away."
I looked towards the mountain.
It seemed the Rock Apes were not directly visible from Rue Village.
Beyond one ridge.
At least it didn't seem like they were going to rush here right now.
"The ones who stayed behind scattered."
the man said.
"Some went in other directions, relying on relatives. We had children and injured people, so we came over the mountains."
The village chief looked at the eight of them in turn.
"Bring out water first. And look at the injured."
"That's a great help."
"However."
The village chief’s voice did not change.
"I can't yet say that you may live here."
The man looked down a little.
“…I know.”
The village women brought water.
As the eight of them accepted it, one woman noticed me.
"A dragon…!"
She pulled the child she was holding closer to her chest.
Even the injured man tensed his body.
"Why is there a dragon?"
"Don't draw a weapon."
Dario stepped in.
“This guy won’t attack the village.”
"A dragon?"
"He's the protector of this village now."
What appeared on the eight people’s faces was not understanding but confusion.
I thought that was natural.
If I had been given the same explanation, I wouldn't have believed it right away.
I did nothing unnecessary and just stayed where I was.
When the eight of them realised that I wasn't moving, their tension finally eased a little.
For now, they were gathered near an empty storeroom in the village.
Treatment began for the injured man, and a thin porridge was served to everyone.
As I was watching this, I noticed that the villagers' expressions weren't bright at all.
“Eight people…”
A man near the village chief said softly.
"We can manage as long as it's just feeding them today. But letting them live here is a different story."
“I know.”
"We don't have anything to spare here either."
It wasn’t said in a cold way.
There probably really wasn't anything to spare.
Even with the Tusk Boar meat added, the damage to the fields hadn't been undone.
With eight more mouths to feed, of course the stores would dwindle faster.
"Are you going to drive them out?"
Lina asked anxiously.
The man looked troubled.
“It’s not that simple.”
"But they don't have anywhere to go, do they?"
"That's exactly why it's difficult."
He wasn't angry.
That’s why those words were so heavy.
The village chief looked at the eight people.
"Let's hear from the people themselves."
The adults were called over.
“If you want to stay here, I want you to tell me first. What have you been doing for a living up until now?”
The first man answered.
"I worked in the fields. Mostly potatoes and beans. I can also take care of livestock."
Another man opened his mouth.
"I was helping with the charcoal burning. Only…"
He looked at the man next to him with the injured leg.
"This one won't be able to move properly for a while."
The injured man looked down in frustration.
One of the women also spoke.
"I can do a little mending of clothes. But I have a small child, so I can't work all day."
The remaining man didn't seem to have any special trade, and had been making a living by helping out in the fields and gathering firewood.
Of course, the three children couldn't be counted as workers.
Put plainly, they weren't a convenient group who could do anything.
The number of mouths to feed was eight.
Only some of those adults were able to work fully right away.
Still, they were humans who had built their own lives in this world. It wasn't that they could do nothing.
"Are there any seeds left?"
the village chief asked.
The man in the lead brought out a small cloth bag.
"This is all I took with me when we ran. Potatoes and beans."
The village chief opened the bag and checked what was inside.
It didn't seem like there was much.
"This alone isn't enough to live on."
“I know.”
“I can’t decide right away.”
The village chief returned the bag.
"At least you can rest today. I'll provide food until tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll discuss it with the others."
The eight of them bowed their heads.
I watched the exchange from a little distance away.
I had only just become a protector, and already the question of what it meant to protect had come up.
If you accept people, safety isn't the only thing you need.
There’s food.
There’s water.
A place to sleep is needed too.
If I found another Tusk Boar, they might be able to fill their stomachs for a few days.
But that couldn't be done every time.
Even the beasts in the forest weren't infinite, and it wasn't as if I could take down large prey whenever I wanted.
In the first place, I didn't think humans could go on living by eating only meat.
In the evening, there was talk that they couldn't let eight people sleep out in the rain.
They decided to clean out an old, unused storeroom, but it was too small for all eight to lie down in.
"Should we add a simple roof here?"
“There’s one pillar.”
"Can we move this beam?"
The villagers surrounded a piece of wood placed on the ground.
It was thick and long.
Several people were trying to shift it, but with some of them injured in the fight with the bandits, they didn't seem to have enough manpower.
I approached.
"Val?"
Dario looked at me.
I tried hooking my front legs onto the wood.
Lifting it was difficult.
However, it seemed possible to move it if I raised the edge a little and slid it along the ground.
“Are you going to move it?”
I nodded.
"Then take it over there."
Dario pointed out the location.
I put my shoulder against the wood and pushed.
The beam moved, scraping the soil.
"Whoa, slowly, slowly!"
When I was told that, I relaxed my strength.
"Right. A little more to the right."
Since I understood the language, this kind of work was quite convenient.
I carried it to the designated location.
From there, it was the villagers' job.
They hung a rope, fixed it to the pillar, and checked the angle.
I don't know how to do that.
I moved the next piece of wood instead.
"For heavy work, he's a real help."
One of the villagers muttered.
"He can hear you."
Dario said.
"Ah, I don't mean it in a bad way."
I know.
I snorted.
By the time the sun set, a roof had been built beside the storeroom to keep the rain off.
It couldn't be called splendid.
The floor was still bare earth.
Even so, it was much better than sleeping outdoors.
The man who had fled here bowed to me.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head a little as well.
I never thought that the first construction work I would help with after becoming a dragon would be dragging beams.
It wasn't bad.
At night, I lay down a little away from the fence.
A small fire could be seen near the storeroom.
It hadn't yet been decided whether those eight people would remain in this village.
All that had been made was a place to sleep for the night.
Tomorrow they would be hungry again.
Even in this village, there was no room to feed eight people as much as they wanted.
I turned my eyes towards the mountain.
There were still quite a few places I hadn't been to yet.
I can't teach anyone how to farm, and I don't have the skill to build a house.
However, I can walk on slopes that are difficult for humans to cross, move large stones and trees, and climb up to high rocky places to check the surroundings.
If I don't know what's out there, the first thing to do is go and see.
It could be water, usable land, or another road leading to the village.
It had become a place to protect, and I still knew little about the surrounding area.
I thought I’d go a little further up the mountain tomorrow.
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