Chapter 139: Stag Town
In early September, Stag Town at night.
Under the starlit sky and the glowing moon, the lights flickered across the town.
The townspeople, once relying on hunting deer, tanning hides, and selling them to outside merchants, found their lifestyle enhanced by their proximity to Woodward Forest. Resources were easy to come by, so very few of them bothered with the tedious task of farming.
A town like this wasn’t exactly swimming in wealth. In the past, only merchants flipping deer hides and the occasional herb peddler wandered into this place, leaving the town’s transient population scant, with just over a thousand residents, and the only lodging was an old wooden inn.
The town’s infrastructure was bare-bones; there weren’t any streetlights, and the only decent roads led to the church and the central square. Residents usually stuck to these paths, living lives that revolved around hunting, praying, eating, and sleeping.
So, it was no surprise that once the boys of the town hit adulthood, they often ran for the hills. The outside world offered vast opportunities, better jobs, and girls who didn’t smell like deer.
But this year was different.
To be specific, it changed from two months ago. Due to flooding in the south, the nobles in the capital of Nalanjiade rolled out disaster relief policies. The tax collectors started to stabilize food prices by rounding up meat supplies from neighboring villages at a premium, distributing it to the starving refugees. For a place that had never farmed before, this was huge news for Stag Town.
As a result, many townsfolk returned after years of wandering. To ensure they could sell their deer meat at a decent price, the men hunted day and night for deer and wild boar, while the women rallied together to build meat drying facilities, transforming the fresh kills into jerky to sell to tax collectors.
A month later, thanks to the town’s superb yield and quality of meat, the capital awarded Stag Town a disaster relief medal and designated it a relief zone. Some refugees from the south were settled here, setting up makeshift camps in the wilderness nearby, with Stag Town providing food at prices nearly triple that of previous years.
Later, the capital arranged for a troupe of entertainers to calm the spirits of the public. After much discussion, they decided to send a group to Stag Town, doing a bunch of advertising to draw in folks from neighboring villages to watch the show.
This turned the once sleepy town into a bustling hub of activity.
Soldiers from the Republic, members of The Holy Church, nobles from afar, towering knights clad in golden armor, opportunistic merchants—Stag Town was packed to the brim! The once-quiet streets were now a muddy mess, and vendor stalls dotted every corner.
For the first time in its history, Stag Town saw so many visitors, leaving the mayor and townsfolk spinning in circles. Even the tiniest of children found ways to earn pocket change running errands. Naturally, the inn was filled to the brim.
Some nobles with status moved into the church, while townsfolk with spare rooms began offering accommodations to merchants for three silver coins a night, a pretty penny! More visitors came with tents set up outside the town, mingling with the soldiers’ camp, and the flickering torches cast a red glow beneath the night sky.
That night was said to be the final performance, where skilled vagabond entertainers would showcase their best tricks.
The stage was set up in the town’s central square, and even before dusk, the area buzzed with a throng of people. Considering safety, rows of lamp posts were funded by the St. George Currency Exchange, and the roads had finally been repaired, making it less of a tripping hazard.
After nightfall, the square was as lively as any great city. Vendors hawked their wares and laughter filled the air, while the hustle and bustle of the crowd even saw the occasional war chariot making an appearance, creating a festive atmosphere.
“Hey, Ryan, look over there!”
In the crowd, a tiny boy was jumping up and down, excitedly pointing at a shabby booth roasting meat over glowing coals. A shirtless man was grilling unknown beast meat, and the aroma wafted through the air. The boy widened his eyes, tugging at the sleeve of a tall, lanky youth nearby. “What’s that? I’ve never eaten it; I wanna try that!”
“That? Oh…”
Ryan took a look at the booth, frowned, and said, “That’s Devil’s Meat, kiddo. You can’t eat that; only grown-ups can.”
The boy’s eyes went wide in silence.
Of course, ‘Devil’s Meat’ was just a flimsy excuse; Ryan knew the grill master was serving up black-haired wild boar, and given its rarity and delicious flavor, it cost way more than ordinary deer meat—especially since the boy had come out without pocket change. Ryan wasn’t about to shell out for that!
He pulled the little boy closer. “You listen to your big bro and stop running around! Otherwise, I’ll send you back home!”
Such threats, combined with the previous scare tactic, made the kid behave, nodding obediently. But then, eyes drifting back to the stand, he suddenly looked scared.
“Ryan, are there really devils…?”
“Of course there are,” Ryan replied, not missing a beat. He bent down, staring right into the boy’s eyes, looking every bit the trustworthy older brother, “I’ve seen them! They look like people but are super scary, all dark and twisted. Their noses and eyes go crooked, and they have bl**d dripping from their mouths. One bite and they’ll swallow you whole!”
The boy was from Stag Town, and since the village wasn’t far, many stories about the recent disaster had spread, but only some had seen the horrors firsthand, making Ryan’s tales perfect for impressing the little one.
“Once, I got targeted by devils. They ran really fast, but I wasn’t scared! I led them in circles, throwing rocks and swinging sticks. I killed one, but then more came! I couldn’t run anymore, so I braced to face them, and guess what happened next?”
As Ryan animatedly gestured, the boy listened raptly. Ryan’s pride swelled as he continued, “Then a Pope Knight—yes, a female Pope Knight! She swooped in, froze those nasty devils solid with a quick wave, and it started snowing! I was shivering!”
“Ryan, you met the female Pope Knight!” The boy’s fists pumped in excitement, his eyes sparkling with admiration. That’s exactly the effect Ryan aimed for, and his pride swelled even more. “Oh, it gets better! She’s just this cute little girl from my village, and we used to hang out a lot. Then she awakened her powers and became a Pope Knight! She came back not long ago, and I even saw her!”
“Are you for real…?”
“Absolutely! I spoke with her! I even help take care of her grandma!”
“Shut it!”
Just as Ryan was basking in his tales, a discordant voice cut through. He turned to find several teens around his age pushing through the crowd. One of them, freckled and grinning, said, “Ryan, stop feeding that kid lies. With your luck, how would you know any Pope Knights?”
The freckled youth held two skewers of grilled deer meat, handing one to Ryan and one to the little boy. “Forget about the female Pope Knight; we’ve got a bunch of Church Knights in town now. Which one do you know? Always exaggerating…”
“I’m not exaggerating!”
Ryan took the meat and angrily took a bite. “You aren’t even from my village! You’d know if you were!”
The teens were all from Stag Town, and Ryan always loved to hang around and explore. Even though it was a bit of a trek, he had been there many times. Years ago, he had gotten into a scuffle, fought it out till nobody won, and they ended up bonding — just like with the boys in front of him.
Admittedly, his friends were quite the miscreants too.
When he heard about the performance, he couldn’t resist joining the fun, sneaking out a couple of silver coins and coming to town the night prior—his mother couldn’t stop him. After crashing at his friends’ place for the night, they all ventured out to see the show together.
Regarding last year’s incident and his little Pope Knight, Shay, Ryan had bragged about it to these guys before but no one believed him; they just laughed at him for ages. Eventually, he stopped mentioning it. But today, he couldn’t help teasing the little boy with the grilled meat from the brother of the freckled youth.
Seeing the boy’s admiring eyes filled Ryan with satisfaction. But before he could fully relish this win, his friends’ chuckles interrupted, leaving Ryan feeling pretty embarrassed as he chewed on venison and started shouting back.
“She’s in Silgaya now; she just came back! Those Church Knights you talk about would kneel if they saw her! She’s really sweet with me! I’ve been to her place; her grandma often asks me to fetch water! Hmph! If you don’t believe it, go visit my village! Bet you wouldn’t even be able to stand straight when you see her!”
“Oh, the little prince seems rosy!”
“Look at you getting all flustered! Ryan, you said the Pope Knight is a woman? Don’t tell me she’s your dream girl!”
“Just loves all those heroic tales!”
“Hahaha—”
They laughed, and while their laughter wasn’t malicious, it left Ryan feeling humiliated as he stood by the road, arguing loudly. Their commotion attracted plenty of eyes, but the teens ignored it, joking as they continued into the square.
“Ryan, tell me, is that Pope Knight pretty?”
“It isn’t just about looks…”
“Hey, hey, look over there! That’s definitely a noblewoman from somewhere! Her skin is so smooth!”
“Wow, her chest is…”
“Ryan, is your Pope Knight prettier than her?”
“Not even in the same league! You’d be left speechless if you saw her!”
“Is her chest bigger than that?”
“Well, um…”
“Hahaha! I love to hear you brag!”
With that, the teens swaggered through the crowd, one even playfully punched Ryan, draping an arm around his shoulder while laughter echoed behind them.
Ahead, a few Republic soldiers, their cheeks flushed from drink, stumbled through the crowd shouting a ruckus. Their drunken antics made many shy away, parting the crowd. But Ryan and his buddies were too caught up in their own game to notice, not bothering to make way. One soldier, noticing them, laughed and said something before suddenly stopping in his tracks.
Meanwhile, the guy hugging Ryan threw out a few more taunts. As Ryan lifted his hand to punch him for fun, the guy quickly retreated, laughing while darting ahead. He barely took a few steps before BAM, crashing right into one of the soldiers.
“Hey…”
The soldier chuckled, grabbing the youth by his hair and yanking him forward so hard it almost lifted him off his feet, “Watch where you’re going! You got eyes or what?”
Alcohol breath hit the boy, and he screamed in pain, while Ryan and the others looked on in shock.
