Chapter 444: Target 5 Million, No, It's Justice Served

Chapter 444: Target 5 Million, No, It's Justice Served

Little did Rod know that after the lively performance, the next celebration activity would be labor.

The focus of this activity was the village's children.

All children aged 6 to 15, regardless of gender, were gathered together and each was given a custom-made hoe.

The older children had larger hoes, while the younger ones had smaller ones. Wielding their hoes, the children began to till the land in a designated area of the village.

At first, they were enthusiastic, and it was fun to have so many people playing together.

But as time went on, the children quickly became tired, and some of the younger ones even started crying.

Even the doting parents didn't step forward to comfort them; only a few strict ones kept correcting their movements, telling them what they were doing wrong.

After crying for a while, the children realized no one was coming to console them, so they had to stand up and continue working while shedding tears.

Once a small patch of land was cultivated, the adults began to guide them step by step on how to sow seeds and plow the soil.

This time, they were planting winter wheat, and from now on, this small piece of land's weeding, pest control, and fertilization, all the way to next year's harvesting, drying, and milling, would be left to these children to manage.

Lightning explained to Rod and Mira that this was a necessary step for their village's Harvest Festival, and the children had to learn farming skills from a young age, even if it was just for one or two types of crops.

Once they grew up, they wouldn't need to participate anymore because they would be helping out at home or starting their own families.

"What a wonderful tradition," Rod sighed.

Now he understood why the village had managed to plant and harvest crops in time after the disaster.

This was probably what they called passing down the heritage.

By the time the children finished their work, the sky had gradually darkened.

Only then did the parents lovingly take their children home for some much-needed comfort and cleaning up, as there was still a lively evening party to attend later.

Although they felt sorry for the children, if the Harvest Festival continued next year, they would still let them participate in this activity because they had gone through it themselves and felt it was very beneficial.

During a brief break, the Village Chief took Rod to see the people who had attacked their village.

"Over 40 people, all of them mages?" Jasper swallowed, feeling intimidated by the group of uniformly dressed individuals with peculiar hairstyles.

Usually, a gang of 40 thieves would be no match for their village, but these 40-plus mages could probably level the entire village.

Before, he hadn't thought much of the Council of Judges, but now he realized the importance of their deterrence.

"Thank you, we are grateful once again for saving our village."

"Don't mention it, it's our duty," Mira smiled, "I should say you had the foresight to release the escort mission in advance."

"No, actually..." Jasper blushed.

Rod and Mira looked at him, feeling they were close to the truth.

Jasper hesitated but finally spoke, "To be honest, it wasn't until a while after you two left that we learned how exceptional you were as mages. And getting rid of the rat infestation was like a life-saving favor to us... In comparison, the 200,000 J reward seemed insignificant.

So, after the harvest, we specifically released a named task, initially intending to invite you to the festival as escorts and show our gratitude. We never expected something like this to actually happen..."

He had originally planned to keep it a secret, smoothly complete the festival, and then pay them the money.

But now that this incident had occurred, it was no longer appropriate to keep it hidden.

It was meant to be a good deed, but it ended up causing them trouble. Those damn Dark Guilds.

Mira nudged Rod with her elbow, smiling at him.

They had prepared for the worst, but it turned out to be a gesture of gratitude.

"Is that so..." Rod didn't know what to say. Should he blame himself for being too cautious? Being cautious wasn't a bad thing.

He could only conclude that the villagers were too kind.

After some thought, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind intentions, but this can also be considered a fortunate coincidence, and the reward has already been agreed upon, so it's non-negotiable."

The other party had such good intentions that they were even willing to go to great lengths for it, so he felt he should accept it with gratitude.

Jasper quickly replied, "Of course, we won't change it. If I had known this would happen, I should have increased it."

The fact that one person had taken down over 40 mages from an entire guild made the other party seem even more formidable, and Jasper felt his imagination was lacking.

Mila held up a finger, "I'll say it again, the reward is already set, and I can't give more."

All three of them laughed. Rod asked Mila to cast a powerful sleep spell on these people again and then continue to attend the Harvest Festival.

The evening atmosphere was much livelier than during the day. A bonfire was lit, various fresh fruits and vegetables were cut, and specialty dishes were displayed as the entire village indulged in merriment.

Rod and Mila were invited to the bonfire, where they joined the villagers in a simple dance of unknown origin before retreating to the sidelines. They enjoyed the delicious food while taking in the lively and festive scene.

"It's so wonderful," Mila couldn't help but sigh.

The rural Harvest Festival might not be as grand or diverse as the city's, but it had something the city lacked.

She didn't know how to express it, so she snuggled up to Rod, sighing with emotion.

"Hmm," Rod responded simply.

He was feeling a bit sleepy.

After staying up all night yesterday and remaining vigilant throughout the day, he had just relaxed, and now, with a full stomach, the feeling of drowsiness overwhelmed him.

He leaned against Mila, his eyelids growing heavy, his body relaxing, and his head finding the most comfortable position to rest. His breathing gradually slowed.

Mila gently hugged him, a gentle smile on her face.

The next morning—

"Did you sneak attack me yesterday?"

"No."

"Did you use sleep magic on me secretly?"

"No."

"Then did you do something while I was sleeping?"

"Yes," Mila said with a bright smile, "I put on really pretty makeup and changed into clothes you've never seen before, then walked in front of you."

"Oh..." Rod sighed.

Mila looked at him, "Why do you look so disappointed? Do you regret sleeping early?"

"No, I just think you're lying to me," Rod said, burying his head and taking a deep breath. "It's time to get up."

Mila gave him a light punch on the chest, thinking him a pervert for staring.

The two got up and prepared to wash up.

As if taking revenge on Mila, Rod stared at her without any intention of looking away as she changed out of her sleepwear.

Mila met his gaze for a while, then decided to change her clothes unreservedly. After all, she was wearing a special sleepwear underneath, so it was like showing him her swimsuit.

Let him look if he wanted to; she didn't care.

He had to prepare this and that before agreeing to marry her!

After receiving the reward, as they left the village, Rod still looked at Mila with a hint of resentment.

Mila couldn't help but giggle.

When she had enough, she rubbed against Rod, whispering in his ear, stealing a kiss on his cheek, resting his head on her lap, and pillowing his chest...

She kept up the intimate gestures until he had no more objections.

Rod looked up at the sky, defeated. He had completely fallen for this mischievous woman.

He reached back and pinched her, satisfied to see her surprised expression and slightly blushing cheeks.

The price was losing his pillow.

No worries, there would be plenty more in the future.

Rod shared his plans, "Let's go to town first, send these guys over, confirm Aligore's information, and then capture him."

Not a single mistake, a perfect shot, and a secret!

Currently, over forty people were being carried or shouldered by various wild monsters, following behind the Hexie they were riding.

More than twenty wild monsters formed an impressive procession.

"We'll also need to convince the Guild Master when we return," Mila said.

Rod flashed a fox-like smile, "No need. We'll go back later. The Guild Master will leave for the regular meeting at noon at the latest, and we'll miss it if we're any later."

"Regular meeting?" Mila calculated the date, realizing it was the time for the regular meeting only now.

"Hehehe... We can just leave the matter to Erza when we get back, or give it to Macao and Wakaba."

Rod had mentioned avoiding the regular meeting so many times, but this was the only time he actually planned to do it.

Mila laughed, thinking, This guy... Good luck, Guild Master.

She added, "It's fine if Erza is there, but if she's not, Macao and Wakaba probably won't want to deal with this either."

"It's okay, I can bribe them," Rod said confidently. "I have a few hospitality coupons for the Blue Pegasus, and those two won't refuse."

"Oh~ Blue Pegasus... hospitality coupons."

Mira gently embraced Rod's waist, her face pressed against his back. If it were any other girl, this could be considered an intimate gesture or a display of affection. But this was Mira.

This embrace could easily turn into a powerful back suplex or a merciless bear hug.

"That... the hospitality coupon was given to me by Pop, the Guild Master, during the last regular meeting."

Rod placed his hand on her smooth back, her slender fingers. If only she weren't so tense.

Mira remained silent, patiently waiting for him to speak.

"I was planning to tell you as soon as I got back, to give them away or sell them, but I seem to have forgotten due to some matters. I only remembered now."

Rod felt her arms around him loosen slightly, so he quickly turned and pulled her into his embrace, "I never intended to go there, and now it's the perfect opportunity to bribe those two old men."

Mira thought for a moment and said, "We won't give it to them."

"Hmm?"

"We'll keep it and go together."

Rod raised a hand, "I, Rod, swear to the heavens that I will never step into the Blue Pegasus, or else..."

"What are you thinking!" Mira slapped Rod's hand away, interrupting his oath, and gave him a disdainful look.

Then, she couldn't help but laugh, "I mean, we'll go together, and then... we'll specifically request Jenny to serve us tea and wine, chat with us, and entertain us..."

Imagining Jenny's reluctant expression, Mira couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You devil," Rod laughed as well, "I like it."

A long line of wild monsters marched into town, causing a slight commotion, but their orderly behavior kept the situation from escalating into full-blown fear.

This actually made things easier for Rod, as he didn't have to search for the Security Team; they found him instead.

Rod immediately explained the situation to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, "We are mages from the Fairy Tail Guild, and the people behind us are members of the Dark Guild, Black Unicorn, whom we captured yesterday. These beasts are my summoned creatures, so there's no need to worry."

"Oh, I see," the Security Team Captain, who was supposed to interrogate them, now felt like the one being questioned.

"Can you take these guys into custody?" Rod asked.

"Well... we'll need to check our inventory of Magic Sealing Stones to see if we have enough handcuffs. If not, we'll have to request assistance from the Council branch."

In his entire life, the Security Team Captain had never seen so many Dark Guild mages gathered in one place, and although none of them were awake, he still felt a bit nervous.

Rod, however, noticed something of interest, "Has the Council resumed operations?"

The Security Team Captain replied, "Although it's not fully operational, the branch can perform some of its functions without issue."

Rod nodded, "Then we'll leave it to you. Also, there's something else I'd like to ask."

"Please, go ahead."

"No problem!" The Security Team Captain readily agreed. It was a good thing to solve the case sooner rather than later.

Given that the case involved a mage, it was definitely beyond the Security Team's jurisdiction. The Council, being preoccupied, couldn't handle it, so it was a welcome relief to have a concerned mage take the initiative to solve the case.

It would also ease the worries of the nearby residents.

Rod helped escort the Black Unicorn members to prison, and as expected, the town's supply of Magic Sealing Stones was insufficient.

However, Mira offered to stay a little longer, extending the duration of her sleep magic as much as possible.

The captain expressed his gratitude, and soon someone brought the case files.

Rod quickly skimmed through them.

According to professional examinations, the five victims bore two types of wounds.

One type was caused by wind-based magic, likely a highly cutting magic like wind blades.

The other type was inflicted by a sharp weapon, possibly a scythe-like weapon based on the shape of the wounds.

Moreover, the murderer acted without hesitation, executing the moves swiftly.

This confirmed that it was highly likely that Aleigor was responsible.

The combination of destructive wind magic, a scythe weapon, and a ruthless and decisive killing method—these characteristics were most famously associated with him.

The only unknown was the identity of the person who hired the murderer. It would test Aleigor's professionalism to see if he would reveal the truth.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end