The Villagers' Plan for the Future

Returning to the moment the Garuda player and his squad had entered the Dwarven Village turned pirate camp, Kirou, and the former captives have now arrived at the shores of the Seaside Village.

He had already guessed what had happened when he found the Village Head's son as one of the captives on the pirate ship, but seeing the current state of the Seaside Village forced a deep sigh out of Kirou's mouth. Even then, he still had a job to finish, so he shook his mind free of their random thoughts and focused on what was ahead of him.

Seeing the pirate ships coming close, the remainder of the village was once again arming themselves for combat. Sadly, there were a lot fewer able-bodied persons capable of fighting this time, so morale was at its absolute worst for the villagers. Even the Village Head, the fiercest fighter in the village in the previous bout, was now struggling to raise his weapon in the face of the returning pirate crew.

From a glance, it was quite apparent to these villagers that they wouldn't be able to put up a decent fight, much less repel these invaders, especially since the Garuda player and his squad are no longer there to provide superior aid. Fortunately for them, such an act was completely unnecessary as it wasn't pirates on the ship.

Upon getting closer to the village shore and seeing the state that the villagers were currently in, Kirou shook his head slightly before making his way over to the Village Head's son. As soon as he got close, he placed a hand on the child's head before both sank into the shadows, leaving behind a startled crew on the ship while both appeared on the shores next to a shady tree.

When the villagers saw the sudden appearance of the man in wolf tribal tattoos suddenly appear on the beach with the Village Head's son, they were so startled that their already weak grip on their weapons loosened, dropping them on the floor. They stayed in shock for a few moments before a figure rushed out from the villagers' side toward the duo.

The figure finally came to a stop, kneeling down before the boy and crying as he held the boy in his arms. As if in response, the boy too broke down in tears, crying in the arms of the figure. Naturally, the figure was the injured weretiger Village Head.

Kirou said nothing to this, opting to lean back on the shady tree he had teleported to. There wasn't much of an expression on his face, not that anyone could see his face since it was mainly hidden by the shade, but it was evident that he was giving the two a moment to let their feelings out.

Not to let this be the family that got the chance of a release, it was at this time that smaller boats coming from the pirate ships arrived on the shores of the village. Alighting from these boats are women and children that were also kidnapped by those pirates, rushing to their husbands and fathers.

Those that found their family members still present in the village cried tears of joy at the reunion. As for those who couldn't find their remaining relatives, they just broke down in tears at the loss they now faced. The women crewmembers of the ships watched on at this with a hint of melancholy in their eyes as they too lamented the loss of their former crewmates at the hands of the pirates.

Kirou looked on at this for a moment before releasing a heavy sigh. His body sank into the shade of the tree, vanishing from the village as they both celebrated the return of their families and mourned the losses they incurred during the entire ordeal. He wasn't going to ruin this moment due to his wanting to return to the <Phantom Palace>, so he chose this time to find a quiet place to look over that book of armor designs he obtained back in Elderwood Village from Tailor Sam.

*******

[Roughly an hour later]

Kirou reappeared in the shade of the tree he had initially left. By now, most families were no longer crying and were instead wondering what they should be doing in the future. While the threat of the pirates is now over, it doesn't change the fact that this village now holds a lot of bad memories for the villages, especially those that lost family members during the raids previously carried out by the pirates.

It was around this time that someone noticed Kirou's reappearance, prompting the rest of the villagers to turn toward him. Seeing this prompted Kirou to raise an eyebrow before he turned his sights to the now-approaching Village Head and his son.

When the father-son duo stood before Kirou, the weretiger Village Head fell to his knees as he spoke up, "Thank you! Thank you, young Lycan, for rescuing our children and dealing with those pirates."

This sudden action and thanks stunned Kirou for a moment as he never expected to receive one such as this. Before he could even respond to the kneeling Village Head, his son and the rest of the villagers also got to their knees and thanked Kirou for what he's done for them. Even the female crewmembers joined in on this kneeling and thanking Kirou for his aid as they too were now on the shores of the village.

With everyone around him being like this, Kirou was admittedly at a loss as to what he should do. On one hand, it did feel nice to be thanked for helping others out. While on the other, he thought that this kind of thanks was excessive, considering his aid was given on a whim and his actions in providing aid weren't exactly..... the kindest, especially when he remembers what he did to those captured pirates and their captain.

Those thoughts went through his mind for a split second before he acted. Kirou helped the Village Head up before addressing everyone, "While I don't think I deserve this kind of thanks from everyone, I'm not one to turn my nose up at another's goodwill. You are all welcome. So..... can you please get up now? It's kind of hard for me to see you all kneeling to me like this."

Following his words and helping the Village Head and his son to their feet, Kirou had a grateful yet helpless smile on his face. Seeing this prompted the rest of the villagers and crewmates to stand up with smiles of their own while facing Kirou.

And it was at this point that the son of the Village Head spoke up, "Thanks again for saving me and my friends, Big Bro."

In response to the child's thanks, Kirou received two prompts from the system.

[System: You have completed the quest <Rescue the Children>]

[You have received the following items: Fishing Skill Book (Uncommon) x1, Fishing Boat Blueprint (Uncommon) x1, Token of the Village Head (Broken) x1]

[System: You have completed the quest <Destroy the Child Trafficking Ring>]

[You have received the following items: Fishing Spear Blueprint (Unknown) x1, Fishing Net Blueprint (Unknown) x1, Sensitive Information (Rare), Fishing Skill Book (Rare) x1, Token of the Village Head (Broken) x1]

Following the completion of both quests, a ring of light flashed around Kirou, signifying that he was now at level 25. Kirou completely ignored the bonuses gained from his level-up as he was more focused on the item currently resting in his hand.

The item in question was a token with the words 'Village Head' engraved on its surface. Apparently, the two broken tokens he had received as rewards from both quests fused instead of appearing separately in his inventory. Along with this whole <Village Head Token> now in his hands, Kirou was given a prompt by the system.

[System: You have acquired a complete <Village Head Token>. With this, you can now create your very own village. Since you have already unlocked the <Recruit NPC> system, the criteria to meet are as follows: ]

Obtain a secure area or base: 1/1

Develop the secure area or base: 1/1

Recruit NPCs: 35/30

Construct a Teleport Gate: 0/1

Looking at the conditions required to make his very own village, Kirou noticed that he met all but the last condition, making the <Teleport Gate>. This made him tilt his head to the side as he never expected that he had already met the conditions required to construct his own personal village.

This discovery made him think back to the conversation he had with Old Wolf back when the server update took place. At the time, he was considering the idea of building his own <Teleport Gate> but this got pushed to the back of his mind since he was busy with so many errands,

Now seems to be a good time to reconsider this idea since it seems like even the system is pushing him to construct his own village, with how his mission rewards kept providing him the things he needed to build one. That said, Kirou knew that the knowledge needed to construct a <Teleport Gate> won't be easy to obtain, so he wasn't gonna try finding it anytime soon, especially since he was already swamped with his other projects.

He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he mused to himself, 'I won't go chasing this information just yet. If I am meant to find it, I'll find it in the course of my travels. And if not, I'll seek it out the moment I am free to do so.'

With that thought in mind, Kirou felt refreshed as a wave of relaxation washed over his entire being. Following this, Kirou focused his attention back on the villagers before him and asked, "What are you guys going to do now?"

The question was innocent enough, but from their reaction, or rather, lack thereof, he could tell that the villagers were mostly lost on this thought. A few minutes went by like this before the son of the Village Head stepped forward.

Kirou could see that the youth had something to ask, so he got on one knee so that he and the child were both on eye level. The youth hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Big Bro... um.... is it possible for us to go with you?"

After the youth said this, there was a slight shift in everyone present as Kirou could hear all of them holding their breaths, as if his response to this question was more important to them than living.

Upon noticing this, Kirou got to his feet and patted the youth on his head as he spoke up, "Have you all made up your minds on this? Even you, ladies?" His last question was aimed at the crewmembers.

Everyone, including the female ship crew, nodded to Kirou's question. Kirou then turned his eyes toward the current leader of the <Seaside Village>, the weretiger Village Head. Kirou looked him straight in the eyes as he spoke, "Are you absolutely sure of this? You're willing to give up on being a leader and now take orders from me, a Lycan Halfling?"

As if he had already expected this line of questioning, the weretiger Village Head spoke up, "I have no problems stepping down from the role of a leader since a more capable individual has made himself known. Especially since it's already a proven fact that my decision-making skills have dulled over the years. Besides, with someone else taking on the job, I can now spend more time with my son."

The Weretiger Village Head had a relieved expression on his face, though his eyes showed the complex emotions he had cycled through. Kirou saw this but said nothing as that wasn't his fight. Instead, he now looked over everyone present, running some numbers in his head while weighing the pros and cons of this action.

All of this sounded like it took Kirou some time to figure out but the reality of the situation was that only a few seconds passed. After he was done thinking, Kirou addressed everyone, "While I do have an area where I can invite you all, it hasn't been developed to the point where I can house all of you immediately. If you do follow me to that location, you will have to aid the residents already present in developing the area. Are you still willing to follow me while know this?"