Chapter 210: Hey, isn’t that a flagrant abuse of your authority!?

“*Come to think of it, that little chief did say he was thirteen or something. I did think he was a bit small for his age…but is it really because of this girl’s prayers?*”

“By the way, I’m a priest who bears the [Oracle] Gift.”

“*Hey, isn’t that a flagrant abuse of your authority!? This maid’s crazier than me!*”

“I’ve heard that you’re maintaining your youthful appearance through your magic. If that’s the case, I thought you might also be able to stop Luke-sama’s growth…!”

As though excited by something, the maid breathed heavily after saying so.

Meanwhile, Miranda’s face stiffened as she tried to reply.

“W-well, I might be able to…”

“Really?”

“Ah!?”

The maid suddenly grabbed Miranda’s shoulders.

Being glared with such intensity by the maid at this distance made Miranda accidentally leak out a ‘hii!’.

“I beg you! Please, somehow keep Luke-sama’s appearance the way it is!”

Magic of that kind was not simple at all.

Moreover, the magic needed to be applied regularly, at least while the target was still in their growth spurt years.

And to complicate things further, the whole thing must be done without Luke suspecting it.

“*I don’t wanna do it; it’s so bothersome…*”

When Miranda was about to reject that unbalanced deal, however…

“Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please”

Miranda was so terrified that she had little choice but to agree.

“S-sure…”

◇　◇　◇

“Huh? You want us to hold an event?”

“Yes. The village’s population has increased so much, but as great as that is, a result of that sudden increase is that we barely know each other.”

“Well, there are more than 20, 000 of us now, after all…”

“So, I thought, how about we hold an event that would deepen the villagers’ bonds with one another?”

“I see.”

The one to propose that plan to me was Belrith-san, who was a member of the first group of refugees to arrive here and become villagers.

“I think it’s a great idea, but what kind of event do you have in mind?”

“I don’t really know yet…but it would be great if, on top of the original goal, it’s an event that the village would become famous for and attract tourists to visit for the years to come…”

Belrith-san and I then proceeded to come up with ideas for what the event would be.

Each time I proposed an event I recalled from my memory of my previous life, Belrith-san was astonished without fail.

“I don’t know how you can come up with things no one has thought of one after the other! Impressive as always, Luke-sama!”

……it isn’t me that thought up of it though.

“Well, how about we just do them all? One by one, of course. If something gains an overall positive response, we’ll hold that event regularly from then on.”

“Oh, yes, let’s do that!”

As for what we would try first…

“It’s gotta be a fighting tournament, right?!”

Yes, it was a fighting tournament to determine who was the strongest in the village.

As far as events go, it was a pretty standard type. After all, similar events—like contests held in the presence of royalty or martial arts competitions held by local lords to demonstrate the might of their territory’s soldiers—have been around in the kingdom since who knows when.

“But I want ours to be larger in scale than anything before it. Plus, let’s allow all kinds of fighters to participate, regardless of their weapon or magic of choice.”

“Oh! That sounds fascinating!”

“Let’s see…what if we make the only requirements be that participants must be villagers and that they must be 12 years old and above? That way, we’ll accomplish our main goal of making the villagers interact with one another. We’d have to hold a qualifying round or two, though.”

Like that, it was decided that we would hold a fighting tournament before winter.

“I’ll take care of preparing the venue. Can I ask you to take care of letting everyone know of the event?”

“Leave it to me!”