Yove and the other peddlers were tied up and dragged to the village hall without knowing why. Dawn had broken with rain still pouring down, and they stood in front of Rowan soaked like drowned rats. Meanwhile, he'd had a cup of warm soup.
He warmed his body near the blazing furnace where torches hung on the walls.
Most of the villagers went back to sleep. They could hear about the situation tomorrow. Only a few members of the youth association who were extremely curious and enjoyed gossip stayed to watch.
Flash! Rumble!
Sejebon was tied up tight and dragged through the rain, falling and tumbling and rolling over several times until he was a total mess. He didn't even have the energy to sob. He just trembled and shook.
Because it was so cold. He was left there in soaked clothes. His arms were tied so tightly the skin had turned white.
The sight was miserable.
Gulp.
Yove couldn't even make eye contact with Rowan, who gave off the aura of a butcher. He was on his knees, so Rowan towered over him. He was like a bear.
From his low vantage point, the halberd with its large axe section and the round shield loomed large in Yove's vision.
"One of your peddlers broke into my private warehouse and tried to steal a bear hide. The evidence is right there."
The rain-soaked square peddler's box caught his eye. The leather sections covering the corners were worn white, and characteristic of waste oil, dark spots were scattered like dots all over the leather.
'Definitely Sejebon's box.'
Yove wasn't even in the mood to curse. Rather than cursing Sejebon, he needed to find a way to survive.
There was other evidence too—a dagger with large scratches and a damaged blade.
"It was a solo action. I've been with him for less than a month. I had no idea he was such a petty thief. Kill him or make him a slave. Do it according to the village laws. It's got nothing to do with me."
"The person you brought caused damage to our village, and you say it's got nothing to do with you? You call that an answer? Huh?"
Clatter.
Rowan approached, dragging the halberd. Suddenly the round shield came closer. Thinking he'd get hit, Yove struggled hard and fell to the side. In reality, Rowan had just approached, but from Yove's low angle and the arm movement, it created an illusion.
"Hehehe."
The villagers laughed. Yove's cowardly display was truly pathetic beyond words. The laughter made Yove's face turn red. He was a man too. As a peddler who traveled through rough places, his self-esteem was pretty high.
'Sons of bitches.'
Inside he cursed, but outside it didn't show at all. Yove had perfected a merchant's poker face through years on the road. But the other peddlers weren't like that.
"You sons of bitches! Threatening like this, tying us up—what makes you so proud! You robber bastards!"
Thwack! Whack!
"Agh!"
The peddler who ran his mouth got beaten roughly. The youth association members' clubs rained down on him. How dare someone who might be an accomplice curse at good village citizens. They thought it was rude.
More than anything, they were perfect victors in this situation. Moreover, these weren't ordinary peddlers—they were criminals, robbers who'd tried to steal the village's property. The dagger in front was proof of that. Not just thieves but robbers, and they dared to shout back, calling them robbers too.
"Don't run your mouth carelessly. You're the robbers here. There's no way he'd do something like this alone. It's a big bear hide. Naturally that thief bastard would've known he'd get caught too. But he still did it. Which means you guys knew about it too."
With him getting clubbed and vomiting, no more insults came from the peddlers.
"No! No sir! It's not true!"
Yove shouted while shaking his head hard. The youngest, Jekun, groaned and squirmed on the floor. Since emotions were running high, the situation calmed momentarily at Yove's earnest voice.
'I-I could die here.'
"Yove, our relationship won't be torn apart over something like this, right? Next time you come, bring 30 silver coins. I need to get proper value for the bear hide."
Yove nodded frantically.
"Yes! Of course! Yes!"
"And you'll have to pay damages for this robber bastard too. The guy had nothing. We searched the empty house where he was staying but couldn't find a single thing worth money."
It was a lie. The villagers had simply taken everything, so he claimed it was gone. Even in an era of supposed piety and virtue, when famine struck, desperate people committed unspeakable acts to survive.
For Rowan to make up for his loss, he had to squeeze Yove.
'Need more money.'
In this village where the economy was stagnant, it was hard to gather currency. Rowan was actually collecting goods rather than cash.
For example, even the preliminary preparation for making heavy armor later—once he was grown and his height stopped growing—was far from ordinary. By modern standards, his saving methods were bizarre.
First, he had to buy labor from blacksmith Malrux by bartering with leather or expensive-looking things. Most of the time, Rowan had to make losing deals, but since he was the one who needed it, beggars can't be choosers. That alone was like paying high interest.
He had to buy used goods left and right too. When he kept buying iron that looked pretty solid, occasionally he'd spot steel that seemed to have decent carbon content. Finding steel felt like hitting the lottery with scratch-off tickets.
Getting what he wanted was so difficult that it made him appreciate how developed modern commercial systems were. On top of that, currency itself was hard to come by.
"Naturally I should make up for the loss. I'll give you three silver coins."
At Yove's words, Rowan's eyes widened a bit. Three silver coins was big money. From how readily he said it, he desperately wanted to escape this situation.
'Too big an amount to mess around with.'
It matched exactly with the amount he'd already expected, and he couldn't ask for more money for something Yove hadn't done. Among the peddlers coming to Black Mountain Village, Yove was the only one who could handle the most money.
"Let's do that. Go home."
Rowan put down the halberd and gripped a dagger to untie them. The peddlers, without exception, bowed their heads repeatedly and ran off frantically as soon as they escaped the village hall. They were anxious that his mind might change.
Running like crazy, Yove fell face-first in the mud. He got up like a fighting dog on stimulants, gritted his teeth, and ran. Just like that, the peddlers paid up and left the village like they were fleeing.
Rowan claimed he'd handled Yove appropriately, but Yove didn't think so. He gave up all his dreams and disappeared. He vowed never to return to this village and swore to have no connection whatsoever with mountain villages.
'Let's go to the city. Better to work day labor there.'
With his experience, he'd be able to work at any merchant group. He was confident he could prove his skills quickly, even starting as a store employee.
The four peddlers fled like that.
Meanwhile, Rowan pondered how to handle vicious Sejebon.
"Rowan, if you're that worried, just make him a serf. He's a guy with no roots anyway. Make him a serf until he pays for his crime."
"A serf?"
Rowan pondered. Not because he was a modern person who thought human rights were so important. Modern human rights that let guys with sexual assault priors who ruined several women's lives brazenly return to society—to Rowan, that was fucking bullshit. Moreover, when the world was different, bringing in modern laws and ideas didn't even make sense.
Nobody would respond to that. Rumors would spread that Rowan was crazy.
'A serf? It's fine but management is tough.'
He had a lot to do, and he didn't have time to manage Sejebon, who might run away at any time. Rowan looked down at the guy.
Vicious Sejebon.
'If I kill him?'
He'd gain abilities like thievery. Was there a need?
No.
In Rowan's life, thievery was unacceptable. It could only become an obstacle for someone trying to succeed. Furthermore, there was no thievery in Rowan's past life either. It was a modern life where he'd never been hungry.
Modern people were enjoying the greatest luxury and abundance in history. That's why Rowan dreamed of success—because he absolutely couldn't stay in this mountain village. Life was boring enough that he needed aspirations.
For him, living in the mountain village felt like enduring.
Nothing to gain from killing him. And if he cut off his wrist for thievery, he feared future troubles.
'Just looking at him, you can't tell his future.'
Whenever Rowan had sinister thoughts, his eyes gleamed. To Sejebon, who'd lived roughly, that was a look he often saw. It was the look of someone about to kill, something he'd seen several times in his life.
'Gotta survive.'
Trembling from the cold, he mumbled and opened his mouth, then gagged. His throat was parched and dry. Still, he grabbed Rowan's pant leg with both hands.
"...Please spare me. Please spare me..."
Tsk, tsk.
The three remaining youth association men clicked their tongues.
"What if we make him a serf with the village's property?"
At those words, the men immediately liked it. They spoke rapidly like a machine gun, raising their voices loudly. Of course that was good! It couldn't be helped—labor was the most important thing in this mountain village.
Right now, they could think of five or more places to work this guy.
Sejebon's expression darkened. Seeing that, when Rowan picked up the halberd, Sejebon changed his mind completely.
"I'll live as a serf for however many years."
"If you don't want your head taken off by my halberd, you'll have to pay for your crime."
"We'll handle managing him at the youth association."
Rowan agreed. The youth association members decided to hold a meeting tomorrow to assign Sejebon his work.
Sejebon was allowed to change clothes and sleep by the heated furnace. Where he lay was a hard wooden floor, but underneath were three chunks of heated stones, so warmth slowly radiated out.
In a mountain village where the cold was harsh enough to make your lips tremble even in summer, camping equipment was abundantly available in homes.
His legs and arms were firmly locked with heavy iron shackles. Connected to the house pillars, he couldn't even dream of escape. The 10 criminal serfs Rakson had brought also slept in this manner.
A hearing about Sejebon was held at the village hall.
He could see and hear it too.
"We need to consider that even though he committed theft, there wasn't much actual loss. He can't live as a serf for life."
"Ten years! I think that's appropriate. Who would covet a big bear hide worth even 50 silver coins? In all my life, I've never seen such a vulgar thief."
Sejebon, who would become the village's property, had to receive a very heavy punishment. Since they only paid taxes to the tax collector who came annually or biannually, there wasn't even a magistrate here.
Village laws judged everything. Even Black Mountain Village's village laws weren't proper. They just changed according to the villagers' feelings at the time.
Other places were different, but the laws of such backwater places were truly crude. They had a strong vengeful character and significant selfish tendencies.
And so Sejebon was sentenced to serve 10 years as a serf of Black Mountain Village.
Rowan was indifferent about Sejebon's fate. Thanks to him, the village would develop a bit more anyway.