A stunned expression appeared on Joras’ face.

Exclamations of indignation rose quickly from all sides but the mayor calmed them with a hand gesture, he quickly regained his composure and did not show the least sign of disturbance anymore.

“Be more precise kid, what are you claiming here ? our goods are meager as you said yourself, do you also covet the people of this village ?”

“I do want this village, but not in the sense that you mean. As you know I have lost most of my memory, I am alone in this unknown place and I just killed a bunch of soldiers from one of the biggest super powers around. I need a place to stay don’t you agree ?”

“If that's all you need we can simply give you one of the houses in the outskirts of town.”

“True, but I also want to protect this village and help it to prosper, so I ask you to entrust me with the complete management of this village.”

The mayor burst out laughing, banging on the table as if he had been told the joke of the century. He smiled and gave up his serious look.

“Tell me young man, let's suppose that what you say is true, even if we let you, this village is already under the control of someone you know?”

“The Marquis of Gliver, yes I know. Era told me about it. You are the serfs of this marquis, he is supposed to protect you and give you land to cultivate. In exchange you pay him a tax every month. However... It seems that he no longer fulfills his obligations as a lord, doesn't he?

Joras remained silent.

Moreover, the tax for the exploitation of the land is fixed by the kingdom and does not vary, whereas the tax for your protection depends entirely on the lord and it is obvious that he abuses it. So I ask you, revoke the serfdom contract here and now.”

Joras was not smiling anymore and the tension in the air was growing again.

“Kid... If we do that, anyone who knows we're unprotected will come after us like rabid dogs.”

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“You are already surrounded by those same beasts, the recent attack should have convinced you of that.”

“You don't understand anything, kid!” His face showed anger and annoyance, but these emotions were obviously not intended for Ran. The other residents present all showed the same face.

“You mean the punishment the Marquis has in store for you if you dare to break the contract, don't you?”

Everyone looked surprised that a foreigner could understand this. Political shenanigans were plentiful in the other world, and there was no shortage of abuse of power either, so Ran had plenty of time to study such matters. He continued

"I can defend you against this kind of thing, don't worry."

"I doubt it! This scum has many mercenaries at his disposal and he would crush us with a snap of his fingers!"

Era, who had kept silent until then, decided to intervene on Ran's behalf

"Joras, you can believe him. Ran is strong, he took out 5 imperial soldiers in the blink of an eye and also brought down an alpha tetra on his way back. And all by himself…”

As if to prove his point, Ran took the monster's skull out of his inventory and laid it on the table. Seeing this the mayor appeared to be deep in thought, at least he was starting to consider the question.

“ You are asking us to put our lives in your hands, I cannot make this decision alone. I will talk to everyone and give you our answer tomorrow. Is that alright with you?”

Ran nodded and Joras concluded the discussion

“Then we're done here, everyone go home, I'll check on you later, Ran you can sleep in the house next to the well north of the village, let's just say that after the recent events...Its owner won't need it anymore. "

People started to leave but Ran decided to end on a high note and took out 50 units of meat from his inventory which appeared on the table in an impressive pile.

“Take this and distribute it to your people, think of it as a gesture of goodwill on my part.”

He left under the stunned gaze of the villagers.

As he walked away, Era caught up with him. She was smiling and seemed delighted with his final.

"In addition to an adventurer you might have been a negotiator, they were all blown away when you left!”

”I only told the truth, nothing more.”

“By the way…”

Era had stopped, and the smile on her face had given way to a hesitant expression.

“I supported you because I thought you could succeed, but do you really think you can beat him? If we break the contract, he'll kill us all to make sure the other villages don't revolt, this place will become a mass grave and…”

Ran interrupted her by pressing his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently, he could see the concerns in her eyes. Even He wasn’t certain about what he said, he literally came around days ago and was already playing hero, he may be leading all these people to their death... But he had to be strong, or at least appear to be.

“I swear to you Era, nothing of the sort will happen, I won’t let Gliver nor anyone else attack this place again.”

At his words Era fell tears in her eyes, all those years of servitude, fear and danger as well as the kidnappings had scarred her. She released all these accumulated emotions into Ran's arms, who remained silent.

From the moment he decided to act, there was no coming back.

One thing that no one mentioned until now was that Gliver and his associates would soon notice that the imperial soldiers disappeared. And when that happened...Guess which place would take the blame ?

It was already a do or die situation.