The next morning, all the villagers had gathered in front of the village chief’s house because the chief wanted to talk about something important to them.
They didn’t know why, but since the village chief had provided them with emergency water yesterday, they needed to attend this meeting.
Finally, after waiting for like five minutes, the village chief came out with the young man that was supposed to handle the problem.
“Good morning, everyone.” The village chief looked at their complexions which had recovered a bit. “This young man is the Apprentice Knight the Demon Banner Army sent to us. He has been observing the dam and providing us with some information that I want to hear.
“First of all, the demons seem to be the beavers. They have infected the beavers in the forest and turned them into demons, but their number is still unknown. Normally, the knight that is sent to this place will only kill the demons and be done with it, but this young man would like to eliminate everything from the roots, making sure that there are no more beaver demons that can build a dam like that.
“This is what he wants to do and I agree because we have no more money to hire another knight in the future.
“However, this comes with a problem as well. To lure the beaver out, he needs a few days, so in other words, there will be a few days without water.” The village chief sighed. 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒆𝒕
“Village chief, I don’t think we can last that long.” One of the villagers raised his hand.
“I know.” The village chief nodded. “That’s why the young man proposes to have two strong and agile men to follow him to the dam. He’ll protect you when you gather the water. Still, the demons are so ferocious that even he can’t guarantee your lives. Hence, I need two volunteers who can risk their lives. Does anyone want to do it?”
“…”
The silence filled the atmosphere. There wasn’t a single person raising their hands. It was to be expected since no one liked to volunteer to die.
They were looking at each other as if asking them to go while they were scared to volunteer themselves. Everyone was hoping that someone would take the role.
Seeing this situation, the village chief let out a long sigh. He was sad and disappointed. Ultimately, he raised his own hand and said, “I’ll be fetching the water. I might be old, but my strength should still be enough to carry the water. I need one more person… is there anyone that wants to go together with me?”
“!!!” The villagers widened their eyes as they felt ashamed and surprised at the same time. The village chief had done everything for them, yet, not a single of them was brave enough to go. In the end, he took everything into his own hands, sacrificing himself again for the village.
Suddenly, a kid raised his hand and shouted. It was the same kid as the one that brought his sister to Noel to get some water. “I’ll do it. I might be small, but I can carry my sister. My strength should be enough to do it.”
“Nico?” The villagers were shocked by his action. Even a little kid was braver than any of them.
Suddenly, a big middle-aged man grabbed Nico’s hand and put it down. Meanwhile, he raised his own hand and said, “I’ll do it. My daughter died of illness and my wife died because of the demons. I’m now alone, so let me take a part to help the village since no one will be sad if I die.”
“I will also do it!” Another man raised his hand, looking at the village chief. “You have sacrificed so much, chief. And it’s you who have been handling all the matters in the village, without you, this village will collapse sooner or later. Let me handle this job for you.”
“Me too.”
“Me too!”
More and more people raised their hands, volunteering to fetch the water.
The village chief finally smiled as he said, “I understand. Thank you for your cooperation. But the young ones can’t go. You have a long future ahead of you, so let me choose a pair of an older men.”
After this situation, Noel whispered the village chief a few things before he went to the dam to get some work done.
Looking at Noel leaving confused them, but the village chief spoke again. “The young man is trying to kill as many beavers as he can right now to lower the danger. And we also need to handle the dam. That’s one of the reason why we can’t go this fast. If the entire dam collapses in an instant, there will be a massive flood.
“Fetching water, hunting, or even fishing will be extremely dangerous, so that’s why he asks for a few days. He knows that our situation is already dire without water, food, and money. He wants to make sure that we’re not troubled by them anymore by solving the problem from the roots.
“And the water I have with me came from him, but he asked me to hide it from you… He just wants to fulfill his job to completion while thinking about us and not receiving the recognition he deserves… I can’t say how thankful I am that he is the knight that is sent to this village.” The village chief told them the entire truth after Noel left.
The people gasped. They thought that the young man was just a knight who would do whatever he wanted and left after killing one or two demons. But they realized he was the one saving the whole village.
They felt ashamed for thinking like that.
The village chief took a deep breath and said, “Let’s distribute the remaining water. And the pair will go to the dam after the sun is on top of our heads. Do you understand?”
“Yes!” The villagers nodded their heads together. Their expressions had changed for the better. Some even clenched his fists, thinking why they didn’t do anything earlier.