Boy Who Has Been Reincarnated Twice Spends Peacefully as an S-Rank Adventurer

The character name is not finalized. The character name will be fix once the official English translation light novel is release.

“Area Heal.”

I cast a healing spell over all the West Village residents who had been injured by the monsters.

“Ooh, the wounds… they’re gone!” “To heal this many people at once… what an incredible spell!” “Thank you! Thank you, Sir Mage!”

The villagers, looking at their healed bodies, thanked me excitedly.

“No, no, if you go to any big city, you’ll find plenty of people who can use this level of magic.”

It’s true. An acquaintance of mine could instantly heal an absurdly wide range of people. A healing spell that covers an entire battlefield… that’s beyond “unfair.” And it only healed allies, to boot.

“Wha-!? Is that really true!?” “Mages from other places are amazing…”

Still, for “this many people,” the number of villagers here seemed awfully small. Ah… were these just the ones who were too slow to get away?

“More importantly…”

Karm, who had been waiting for me to finish, walked over.

“You all… you made a ‘hidden field,’ didn’t you.”

“””Gk!”””

At the mention of a “hidden field,” the villagers all flinched.

“What’s a ‘hidden field’?” I asked. The name was pretty literal.

“I’ve heard of it,” Liliera said. “It’s a field you make secretly, to hide it from a lord who imposes heavy taxes. It’s so you can grow enough food for yourselves to eat.”

Huh. So that’s a thing. My village didn’t have any, so I guess our lord must have been one of the good ones.

“No,” Karm said, correcting Liriela. “For us, a ‘hidden field’ means a field we hide from the monsters.”

“Hide from monsters?”

Oh, right. The Sky King did say something about how making large fields attracts them.

“Yes. The food from the village’s main field, even with the portion granted by His Majesty, is not enough. So, some will find a hard-to-see location near the village and secretly start a field.”

I see. The food they’re given just isn’t cutting it. And the reason there were so few villagers here… was because they were in the forest, working that field.

“Even with Bahamut gone, the danger isn’t over, is it…” Liliera murmured, her voice sad. She must have been remembering her own hometown, destroyed by the Demon Beast Forest.

“Making a hidden field is forbidden. You all knew that, did you not?”

“Y-Yes, Sir Knight… We’re sorry…”

Scolded by Karm, the villagers hung their heads.

“You know you’ll be attacked if monsters find it. You must have gotten greedy and expanded the field, didn’t you?”

“””Ugh…”””

The villagers groaned at Karm’s strange accusation.

“If it’s forbidden, why would he ask why they expanded it?”

“You’re right, that is odd,” Liliera agreed.

A nearby knight overheard us and whispered an explanation. “We have a chronic food shortage. As long as the fields are small enough that monsters won’t find them, we… turn a blind eye.”

Huh. So they’re surprisingly lenient. Or, compassionate, rather. Hmm. Maybe the Sky King isn’t so bad after all. I guess not all nobles are evil.

“That said,” the knight continued, “if monsters do attack the field, the crops are lost and the villagers working it are attacked. And if the field is too close to the village, the village itself is endangered. That’s why, officially, they are forbidden.”

“B-But sir… this year’s harvest was poor. Even with His Majesty’s mercy, we didn’t know if we’d make it through the year…”

His Majesty’s mercy… that must be the offerings from the surface town.

“So you expanded the hidden field, and the monsters found you.” Karm sighed, pressing his fingers to his brow. “But… you don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

“Wh-What do you mean…?”

Karm gestured toward me as he addressed the villagers.

“By the wise decision of His Majesty the Sky King, and with the help of our visitors from the surface, the lord of the Forest Island—the one who plagued us for so long—has been subjugated! Once we finish clearing the remaining monsters, you will soon be able to enjoy the bounty of the Forest Island once more!”

“Wh-What!? Is that true, Sir Knight!?”

The villagers cried out in shock, learning that their long food shortage was finally at an end.

“Yes. And that’s not all. We defeated a great many monsters on the Forest Island. The ones that attacked you were likely stragglers that had already left. The Forest Island is not nearly as full of monsters as it was. And we, the Knight Brigade, will hunt down those that remain. In other words… even if you plant new fields, you will no longer be attacked!”

At Karm’s words, the villagers erupted again.

“Ooooooh!!” “Praise be, praise be!” “We don’t have to plant hidden fields, cowering in fear anymore!”

The villagers cheered, shouting their thanks to Karm and the knights.

“However… until we declare a full extermination, I cannot officially condone the hidden fields. You are to destroy the expanded portions immediately.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The villagers hurried off to do as they were told. Their lives seem tough, but he’s not making them destroy the whole field. He’s a good guy.

“This concludes our mission. Sir Rex, shall we return to the Sky Castle?”

Karm called out to me. But I had no intention of going back.

“No, I think we’ll stay here in the West Village for the night.”

“You will?” Karm tilted his head. “Why?”

“We defeated the monsters that attacked this field, but there might be others lurking nearby. Or new ones might come from the Forest Island. I’d like to stay, just in case.”

“That… well, if you insist, Sir Rex, I won’t stop you. In that case, I will leave several of my men as well. You men! Stay with Sir Rex and guard the village for the night!”

“””Sir!”””

Karm accepted my selfish request and ordered his men to stay. …Although, for “several,” that looks like a lot of men. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to leave a guard?

“Well then, we leave the village in your hands.”

“You got it. Leave it to us.”

And with that, Karm and the rest of the brigade flew off, returning to the Sky Castle.

“Thank you truly, for saving our village’s hidden field.”

Later, after waiting for the villagers to dismantle the expanded section of the field, we headed to the West Village. The village chief, having heard the full story, was bowing deeply.

“No, no, it was nothing.”

“It was a great thing! Because you saved our field, our children will not have to go hungry!”

Not just the chief, but all the adults in the village bowed, thanking us.

“And you say the monsters on the Forest Island have been dealt with! Now we can expand our fields without fear!”

Well… technically, we just thinned their numbers, we didn’t wipe them out. But… probably not the time to say that.

“Hold on. The Forest Island is not yet clear. You are forbidden from expanding your fields without His Majesty’s permission!” one of the remaining knights interjected.

“Y-Yes, of course, Sir Knight!” The chief quickly bowed again.

But… if Karm and the Knight Brigade hit the Forest Island with their full force, it probably won’t take long to finish the job. My detection magic didn’t sense any other Bahamut-level threats. The knights’ magic items should be more than enough for the rest. A few more sweeps and this sky island should be safe.

“It is not much, but please, allow us to offer you what hospitality we can!”

The villagers insisted, and served us a meal. It wasn’t particularly delicious, nor was there enough to fill us up, but I could feel how much they were trying to give us their very best.

“By the way, traveler,” the village chief said, turning to me.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Well… we would like to give an offering to the Forest Spirit who saved us. What do you think would please it?”

“…Forest Spirit?”

I had no idea what he was talking about for a second, but his gaze drifted to the grove of trees that had… changed… after I used my plant magic to kill the monsters.

“Uhh… a moderate amount of water, I guess? They’re trees.”

“I see, of course! Everyone, we must bring water to the Tree Spirit!”

“””Right!!”””

The villagers replied energetically, and they all grabbed buckets and headed for the forest. …Ugh. Well, whatever. I just hope they don’t cause root rot.

“It was good… helping them, wasn’t it?” Liliera murmured softly. She was smiling as she watched the villagers carry their buckets.

“Hmm. Yeah, it was.”

It’s always a good thing when people are happy. This whole mess was… complicated… but in the end, the villagers were saved. Maybe that’s all that matters. Yeah, I’ll go with that.

“Ah… knew it. They’re back.”

That night, a new swarm of monsters approached the darkened village. No… to be precise, they were heading for the hidden field.

“I can’t believe they really came back.” The knights on watch with me were stunned.

“They came once, of course they’d come again, right?”

“No, Sir Rex… I’m just shocked there are this many left, after you took out so many!”

Ah… for people without detection magic, it’s hard to grasp the true numbers. I guess that makes sense.

“In that case, it’s a blessing in disguise that we stayed.” The knights readied their weapons, their resolve hardening.

“Alright, let’s intercept them. I’ll hit them with a big spell. Please take care of any I miss.”

“Leave it to me!” “””Sir!”””

Liliera and the knights replied forcefully.

“Okay, battle start! Cyclone Break!”

I unleashed a storm spell, blasting the monsters out of the sky. Most monsters on sky islands can fly, so a wide-area wind spell that messes with their flight and deals damage is the most efficient way.

A few… were outside the spell’s range and kept coming straight for us. Hm? Even after seeing their friends get wiped, they’re still attacking? Is this just a habit of monsters around here?

“Everyone, if you please!”

“Right! Let’s go!” “””Hah!”””

Haha. It almost looks like Liliera is leading the knights.

“Now then… time to clean up the survivors.”

I turned to the monsters who had lived through my spell. They’re not Bahamut-level, but they’re pretty strong. Hmm. If Karm’s knights fought these guys fresh… it would be tough. No, really tough.

After all, their ancestors were just refugees. They became “knights” to protect people, but their magic items were too good. As a result, their actual skill as warriors is low. They just sniped most grunts from a distance with their light-spears. Enemies like Bahamut, who they couldn’t beat, they just… ignored, as long as it didn’t attack the main island. They only fought battles they could win. Their skills never grew.

“…Wait a minute. I didn’t sense any monsters this strong on the Forest Island.”

What’s going on? Had they already left before we started the subjugation? But then why weren’t they in the first swarm that attacked?

“GRAAAAAAOH!”

While I was lost in thought, the monsters attacked. Right, right. Thinking comes after killing.

“Chase Sonic Lancer!”

I fired off tracking magic, piercing the survivors one after another. Being fliers, they’re good at running, even when injured. Tracking magic is the surest way.

“Whew. That was a lot of them.”

After wiping out the monsters, we headed back to the village.

“But why did they attack? The expanded part of the field was destroyed, right?”

“Yes, it should have been,” one of the knights replied.

“The monsters aren’t supposed to attack unless the field is over a certain size…”

Why would they break their own “rules” to attack? And they didn’t stop, even after most of their allies were killed.

“Is something… happening?”

“For now, let’s ask the chief if there are other hidden fields.” Yeah, that’s the most likely possibility.

“No, no, we wouldn’t dare! The Forest Island is one thing, but there are still monsters near the village. We can’t possibly make a field too far away!”

“Ah… right.”

The sky island is an isolated environment. Monsters only swarm from the Forest Island when they find a massive food source, like the hidden field. But that’s not all. There could be stragglers. And more importantly… monsters from other sky islands could settle nearby. Damn it. My thinking was getting rigid, just because this place is special.

“So… there’s a possibility that external monsters are targeting the village.”

The monsters just now… maybe they weren’t from the Forest Island at all. That would explain their strength.

“This means… even after the Forest Island is clean, they might just get attacked from somewhere else.”

“What? Is that true!?” The village chief’s face went pale. I get it. He thought they were finally safe, and now I’m telling him a new enemy might show up. He must be terrified.

“Could this be… because we killed Bahamut?”

“Huh?” Liliera suddenly said something strange.

“Well… if Bahamut’s territory covered this whole area… maybe monsters from other territories are seeing an opening and trying to move in.”

“…Ah.”

She might be right. If so, we’ve got a whole new set of monster territories to deal with. We don’t know their scale. We don’t know their base. This is… way bigger than just clearing out the Forest Island.

And if a monster shows up that Karm’s knights can’t handle after we leave… it’ll be a disaster. And that’s a very real possibility. …I was the one who killed Bahamut, even if they asked me to. I’ve come this far. It feels wrong to not see it through.

“Alright. I’ll prepare a guardian.”

“A guardian?”

“Yeah. One that can protect this village… until we find the source of these new attacks and get rid of it.”

(The Village Chief’s Point of View)

I am the chief of the West Village.

I had a hidden field built to deal with our food shortage… then monsters found it. I was in a panic, thinkin’ the whole village was doomed.

But by the grace of the knights and… some kind of awesome Tree Spirit… we were saved. If the field had been destroyed, the village would’ve been next. And, by more good luck, most of the field was fine! The traveler with the knights even healed our wounded! Truly, a blessing.

And then, the traveler and the knights said they’d stay the night, just to be safe! We’d already torn down the new part of the field, so I didn’t think any more would come, but it put the women and children at ease.

…And then more monsters attacked. Even though the field was small again! Why!? Whyyyyyy!?

If the knights hadn’t stayed, we would’ve been wiped out for sure. Thank the heavens, thank the heavens…

Eh? More might be coming? N-No, that’s too cruel… to give us hope, only to snatch it away…

But then, the traveler said this: “We don’t know when they’ll come. So, let’s make a guardian.”

Make? Not call a guardian, but… make one?

“Luckily, there’s good material in the West Forest. I’ll just go… make one. Be right back.”

And with that, the traveler just… walked into the West Forest. …Can you make a guardian?

That evening, as the sun was setting, the monsters returned. Awa-wa-wa! They really came back!

I expected the knights to fight, but… they didn’t move! Why aren’t you fighting!? Sir Knights!?

Just then, the traveler said… “It’s fine.”

And as the monsters got close to the village… IT moved.

“Wh-What is THAT!?”

At the shout of one of our young men, we all looked. Something huge was moving out of the West Forest, standing between us and the monsters.

“Th-That’s… the Tree Spirit!?”

It was the Tree Spirit that had saved us yesterday! It was massive, and it threatened the monsters with its long, thick branches and roots.

The monsters attacked it. But the Spirit’s body didn’t even flinch! Instead, as the monsters bit it, its thick roots shot out and impaled them!

Monsters tried to flee into the air, but its long branches wrapped around them and slammed them, mercilessly, into the ground!

“Go, Tree Spirit, go!”

We all started cheering for it.

But then… the monsters, who had been attacking randomly, changed. They must have decided the Spirit was a real threat, ’cause they surrounded it and attacked all at once! No! Even for the Spirit, if that many attack at once… it can’t win!

“No problem.”

The instant the traveler said that… the Tree Spirit’s body glowed with a holy light, and all the monsters attacking it were blown away!

“Nice, nice. Not a bad first draft.”

“…Hey. What did you do?” The traveler’s companion was talking to him.

“Well… I didn’t know how many monsters would keep attacking the village. So I figured, I should just make a golem that could protect it forever.”

“A golem!? That’s a golem!?”

“Yep. It was a normal tree, but I… processed it… and modified it into a Wood Golem. I embedded a few magic items for long-range and close-quarters combat. Theoretically… it can easily handle a monster on the level of that Bahamut we fought.”

“You can’t just call Bahamut ‘on the level of’!”

I couldn’t understand a word they were sayin’, but… it seemed the Tree Spirit was going to protect our village from now on.

Ooooh, what a blessing! We all kneeled and prayed to the Tree Spirit. And to the traveler, who had “persuaded” this guardian to protect us… we offered our deepest, most heartfelt thanks.