The town of Leonbrave has been governed by the Leonbrave family for generations.
An elder of the Leonbrave family becomes the mayor of the town generation after generation.
Alex didn't find this information too surprising, as he himself is in the body of a prince and is a part of this feudal era now.
It's pointless to argue with these poor people about how they should establish a proper governing body for their town.
To them, filling their stomach is more important than protesting against their town head.
Alex and Ethan were led to the central house in the town, and it was also not that impressive either.
Even the mayor's own house looked dilapidated, so Alex ruled out 'corruption' from the list of problems in this town.
"Uh… Are you sure this old man is the town head?"
Alex was baffled when he found out that the town head was actually a man so old he looked like he was already a corpse.
He could barely even open his eyes and didn't even seem to respond to others' voices.
"Are you kidding me? How do you expect such an old person to lead you all? You are out of your mind to still be thinking about making him work for you all..."
Alex couldn't help but sigh.
"Err… Your holiness, the Leonbrave family only has him left and there are no other people left to become the next town head… that has put us all in great trouble…"
Seeing Alex shake his head in disappointment, the old guard hurriedly explained.
"By the way, does any caravan or anything pass by this town? Is there anyone in your town who's been to the nearby city of 'Ilma'?"
All of a sudden Alex changed the topic and asked a completely irrelevant question, making the old guardsman confused.
"Your holiness, you must be joking… That city is the holy ground of the church of wisdom; how can us lowly folk be allowed to enter it?"
"Some caravans do pass by here but not often…"
Hearing that answer, Alex nodded his head.
'As I thought, the church of wisdom seems like it's in great peril… people in this town are so helpless and just a basic level of kindness can make them covert to the faith of the god of wisdom…'
'But the church hasn't stationed anyone here despite the town being so close; this means they don't have enough people to control the nearby areas…'
Alex knew very little about this world, so most of his thoughts were guesses, but he was trying to prepare a mental map of everything while adapting to this new world as fast as possible.
'Poor people, etc., are not able to enter the city of Ilma, which will restrict even trade caravans and others…'
'This will impact the economy of the city of Ilma heavily… they aren't even trading with people in their local area, and they aren't even spreading their faith…'
'The situation is worse than I thought… I doubt they even have a decent number of troops in the city to send to other towns to help in case of emergencies…'
Alex hasn't even been to the city of Ilma as of yet, but he was already starting to figure out the situation there from just the small clues.
"Who's the most intelligent person in your town then?"
When Alex asked that question, the old man's eyes shone as if he had someone in mind.
"I see, you have an answer for that question. Bring that person to me by evening. Aside from that, arrange a clean set of clothes for me…"
"If possible, bring a small meal for me and this paladin…"
After giving his order, Alex entered the house of the village chief with Ethan and found that there wasn't even a chair inside to sit on.
"Sigh… life really is unpredictable…"
Alex shook his head, as he didn't even have the energy to complain, and he just sat down directly on the floor as he leaned his back against the mud wall.
"L-lord saint, you don't need to sit on the floor… I will go look for a chair or something-"
Ethan was shocked that Alex, a chosen 'saint' and the prince of the nation, didn't even hesitate to sit on the floor, and he felt obliged to do something for Alex.
But Alex waved his head and said,
"Forget it; you have been walking all night on foot while leading the horse. Sit down and relax a bit. Don't you get tired wearing all that heavy-looking armor all day long?"
Hearing Alex's question, Ethan removed his helmet and replied with a smile,
"I am a paladin of the church of wisdom. I have devoted my loyalty to my benevolent god. I am protected by his gaze…"
"As long as I am faithful to my 'Path,' I will always have the strength to be strong and keep moving forward…"
When Ethan mentioned the word 'path,' Alex felt the atmosphere in the dilapidated house become a bit heavier but then it became normal right after, making Alex confused.
"A 'path,' you say?... What do you mean by that-"
Before Alex could finish his question, a little kid walked inside with a sheepish smile on his small face.
He looked scared yet excited at the same time as he made his way to Alex and Ethan.
"L-lord Sait, I-I… Are you really from a big big city?"
Alex looked towards the door and noticed a few other kids peeking inside the house with an anxious look on their little faces.
'I see… they must be curious about the outside world…'
Just like Alex had already guessed, this remote town was cut off from the rest of the world, and they were barely having any trade with any nearby cities.
So, most people didn't even know what cities looked like, and children were eager to hear stories about them.
Thinking about this, Alex put a smile on his face as he spoke in a gentle tone,
"Yes, you can call me big bro Alex! And I am from a big, big city!"
The kid was having difficulty pronouncing the word 'Lord Saint,' and thus Alex didn't mind letting him call him with a nickname.
Ethan could not sit still and wanted to tell Alex that a saint must always be respected, but Alex stopped him from speaking with a glare.
"Hehe! W-what do cities look like then? Are they all shiny and nice? Mom said that everyone in the big cities is happy and gets to eat a lot of food! Ehehe…"
Alex could not break the little kid's heart and decided to tell him only half the truth.
"Well, it's true that there are luxurious houses and lavish foods in big cities… Work hard, and try to become a knight! Perhaps one day you will also be able to go there!"
The little kid was happy after hearing Alex's words and ran away to tell his friends about it!
He had a lovely and happy smile on his face; he was imagining a happy and bright future within his mind.
"Lord Saint… that kid… His life force is very weak; he might not make it past this year…"
Ethan's calm voice shattered that happy and lovely imagination.
"I didn't want to know about that… sigh, forget it… Life is always unfair and unpredictable like that; it's pointless to argue about it.... sigh..."