Episode 21.
Palms’ Request (1)
[The Wise Man’s Words Are Truth!]
Grade: D
Description: The old sage once joked, “When five gather, one or two will be troublemakers.”
Many visitors are coming to your village, so how many troublemakers do you think there are?
Some among them are acting unlawfully.
The residents’ anxiety is rising.
You must establish a guard unit to keep peace and ensure residents can live safely.
Success Conditions: Establish a guard unit.
Success Rewards: Experience points, a title, decreased resident anxiety, increased satisfaction.
Failure Penalty: Resident anxiety sharply increases.
[Do you accept?]
“We have to create a guard unit?”
Things happened just as Kim Minsoo had predicted.
Alfredo, who had been listening to Arlen mumbling, nodded.
“Yes. The number of strangers visiting the village keeps increasing. If some come with pure intentions, surely some come with impure purposes.”
“True.”
“Maintaining village security is the chief’s role. So you need to form a guard unit to reassure the residents.”
The village chief bore the responsibility to protect residents’ safety.
Residents paid taxes hoping for such protection.
“Being a chief is more troublesome than I thought.”
“That’s true. People don’t pay taxes for nothing.”
Nothing in this world is free.
If taxes earned with difficulty were wasted, it would be infuriating.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Now this village belonged to Arlen.
He couldn’t watch the village get ruined by troublemakers.
“Then let’s go to Lete Village. We need a guardhouse to build a guard unit.”
“Understood.”
Arlen came down to Lete Village.
“Potions for sale! Always cheaper than the neighbors!”
“I sell potions too! Always 1 gold cheaper!”
“…What are you doing?”
“You started it first! Today, it’s kill or be killed!!”
Entering Lete, Arlen felt a liveliness absent from his village.
A cozy village.
New players with hopeful faces headed to the hunting grounds, dreaming of adventures ahead.
Of course.
“Damn! I died to a rabbit again!! Ahh! How is this possible? Rabbits use mounts!!”
“Rabbits… scary…”
“Where did rabbits learn wrestling? I got dropkicked!”
“I’m… worse than a rabbit…”
Excitement would soon turn to frustration in front of rabbits.
Arlen took in the scenery and looked for the guardhouse.
Upon arrival, a guard blocking the entrance stopped him.
“Reporting? Surrender? Complaint? What is it?”
“Can you report an owner who overworks the butler? Violating butler labor laws like it’s nothing… ugh!!”
“Haha, Alfredo must be tired. He’s saying nonsense.”
Trying to put the owner in jail?
Arlen glared sharply, and Alfredo averted his eyes, pretending innocence.
The guard looked at Arlen meaningfully.
“Surrender?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the carrot the butler is waving behind you?”
“Emergency rations, probably.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m really not here to surrender.”
“Hmm, then what brings you to the guardhouse?”
“May I have a tour if possible?”
“A tour? Why?”
“I’m Arlen, and I…”
Arlen explained the village incidents and his reasons for wanting to see the guardhouse.
The guard nodded in understanding.
“I see. I heard rumors of a new village in the north… so you’re the chief there.”
“Yes, so I was wondering if I could…?”
“Hmm, I can’t decide that. I need to ask the captain. Please wait a moment.”
The guard went inside and soon came back.
“Please come in. The captain wants to meet you.”
“Thank you.”
Arlen and Alfredo entered the guardhouse guided by the guard.
Inside it was wider than outside suggested, but showed signs of poor maintenance and aging.
“It’s strange. Honestly, I thought the captain wouldn’t meet anyone.”
“Why?”
“He’s strict. Due to the location, contact with outsiders is minimized.”
“Location?”
Arlen understood.
The guard serves as a crime-fighting neutral institution.
Meeting outsiders risks rumors and doubts about their neutrality.
“He’s strict, but works hard to protect the village. Actually, he’s a great person and pride of our village.”
“I see.”
“Ah, this is his office.”
The guard guided them to the captain’s room.
The door looked old and poorly managed.
“Then inside…”
Suddenly,
Bang! Crack!
The old door was smashed, and someone rolled into the hallway.
A storm of shouting followed.
“Don’t call me captain! I get mistaken for being his gang!”
Arlen glanced at the guard.
“A nice guy… right?”
The guard quietly turned away.
“He’s a bit too passionate sometimes.”
Harsh voices came from inside again.
“Instead of this, I’ll break that guy’s leg! Hurry here! Don’t come? I’ll smash your head!!”
“That’s hotter than a forge! Even a short-tempered dwarf isn’t like that. He’s fine, right?”
“…”
The guard looked speechless.
Sometimes, the captain embarrassed him endlessly.
“…But thanks to him, nights are safe.”
“Haha! Sorry about that weird behavior. The guy below made a mistake so I lost composure.”
“No problem, it happens.”
“Thanks for understanding. I’m Palms, the guard captain.”
“I’m Arlen, and this is my butler Alfredo.”
“But…”
Palms tilted his head.
“Why do you cover the author’s mouth with a handkerchief?”
“Sometimes he talks nonsense, so I cover it. Please don’t mind.”
“I see.”
Odd, but Palms took it lightly.
‘But…’
Just by seeing Palms, Arlen was sure of one thing.
‘If I got hit by this guy, my bones wouldn’t break—my wood would.’
Palms had the physique of a mighty oak tree.
His forearms were like finely carved lumber, and his hands resembled a blacksmith’s hammer.
If his muscles were carved along their grain, it would be a perfect sculpture — luckily he was a person, not wood.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Because I think there’s no need to worry about Lete Village’s safety.”
“Haha! Thanks for thinking that! Indeed, there’s no need to worry about our village’s security.”
“It shows.”
It was undeniable.
Think about what would happen to troublemakers who met Palms.
Look at those thick forearms.
‘If you get hit, you die.’
Criminals knew this well.
That’s why the village’s security stayed intact.
Because no one wanted to be beaten to death.
“You know how to read people.”
Ding!
[Guard Captain Palms’ affection towards you greatly increases.]
[He lowers his guard slightly.]
“So you want a tour of the guardhouse, huh?”
“Yes. Is it possible?”
“It’s confidential, but… since you helped Hector, an outsider, it’s okay.”
“You know Hector?”
“Of course. We get all our weapons from him.”
There’s only one village smithy, so it made sense.
“I heard you helped Hector. I can’t ignore someone who helps friends. If you help me, I can give the permit.”
“Help? What kind of help?”
“The weapon rack and shield stand are old and need repairs or replacement. But I don’t have time. Can you help?”
Ding!
[Quest ‘Palms’ Request’ Created]
[Palms’ Request]
Grade: D
Description: The weapon rack and shield stand in the guardhouse are old and in poor condition.
If you repair them, you’ll be granted permission to tour.
Success Conditions: Repair the weapon rack and shield stand.
Success Rewards: Experience points, increased affection from Palms, tour permission.
Failure Penalty: Decreased affection from Palms, tour denied.
[Do you accept?]
“I will.”
[Accepted.]
Arlen accepted without hesitation.
No reason to refuse, and he was already concerned about what he’d seen on the way.
“Good, no hesitation. Let’s go to the training ground.”
“Yes.”
Arlen and Alfredo followed Palms to the training ground.
There, the weapon rack and shield stand Palms mentioned were displayed.
Diagonal worn footprints, torn targets, chest-height marks embedded in walls.
The training ground was larger than expected.
“This training ground is better than others?”
“Because it’s for guards. They need a lot of physical work, so we manage it thoroughly.”
They focused resources where needed.
Support funds had limits, so they chose carefully.
One day, Arlen, as village chief, might have to do this work.
“But where is everyone?”
“Ah, they are on patrol now. Taking care of criminals… uh, excuse me… on patrol.”
“I see, then…”
Makes the work easier.
Arlen laid the weapons and shield from the racks on the ground and examined them.
“The condition is poor.”
“Used long and roughly handled in harsh places.”
“I thought so.”
Arlen carefully inspected the racks.
‘There’s a crack on the support? The joints are in bad shape from rough use. At this rate…’
“If they kept using it, it would break soon.”
Observational buffs revealed many hidden issues.
‘Who made this? The balance is off and it’s leaning to one side. No wonder it’s damaged.’
‘The rack wasn’t built considering weapon weight properly.’
‘The wood condition is also not good…’
Ding!
[You carefully observed the damaged weapon rack.]
[To repair the damaged weapon rack, you need ‘Wood Repair LV. 7’.]
[You do not have this skill.]
Alfredo, who was watching, loosened the cloth over his mouth.
“Hmm, the rack and stand are in such bad shape, high ability level may be needed for repairs.”
“That’s true.”
The problem was Aren lacked the skill.
An ordinary user might be unable to repair without skill, but Arlen was different.
He could repair this much without relying on skills.
‘I’ve done a lot of repairs and builds like this in Dad’s workshop.’
His hands itched.
He’d only made residential wooden houses recently and didn’t get opportunities to touch things like this. He was bored.
“Hehe… where to start? First, I’ll remake this axis… and here too… wow, there’s a lot to fix.”
Aren smiled darkly as he looked at the rack and stand.
Alfredo and Palms cautiously stepped back, observing.
Palms asked,
“Why is that outsider acting like that? Talking to the rack and stand? Does he always do that? Is it okay?”
Asking if Aren might be crazy, Alfredo frowned.
To protect his master’s dignity, he said,
“Does he always do that? Watch your words! The chief is always like that!!”
Though it wasn’t always true.
