Chapter 63: This Is Driving Me Insane
An old man was sitting on the terrace alone. Even though his eyes were fixed on the blue sky, his mind was on something else.
His village was still in danger, and the awakeners he requested from the Pillar Organizations didn’t get along with each other.
He felt like his head was about to explode as problems kept coming to him without any of them being solved.
"When will peace come to my village?" Bernard murmured in sadness.
At the same time, Julia stepped into the front yard.
Bernard shifted his gaze when he noticed her. "Do you need something, Julia?"
"Village Head, I came to deliver a message from Clara and the others," Julia replied. "They said they would return tomorrow afternoon."
Clara and her group were the only awakeners they had.
He previously ordered them to monitor the beasts’ lair. This was the reason why they hadn’t appeared yet.
"Nothing bad happened to them, right?" he asked.
"No." Julia shook her head. "They only want to find out about their activities and get more information."
"I see." He felt relieved.
"Village Head, is there something I can do for you?" he looked so exhausted, so she tried to lighten his burden.
Bernard didn’t answer immediately and only let out a deep sigh.
"Should I go to them and ask them to be more understanding?" She was referring to Axel and his group when she said this.
"No. I will think of a way to solve it later." He didn’t want to put her in danger. "Just guar-"
He stopped his words halfway when Mark and the others arrived.
"Hmm?" Julia turned to them.
’What’s going on?’
Curiosity emerged within her the moment she saw their expressions.
"What’s wrong? Why are you coming to me together like this?" Bernard asked curiously.
"Village Chief, we had a discussion before, and we have decided that we no longer want to be under Axel’s leadership." Mark went straight to the point.
"Village Head, you saw his personality, right? We will die if we stay in his group." Emma added. "He is a bad leader, selfish, and only cares about popularity. He doesn’t care about us at all."
Bernard let out another sigh.
’Here comes another one.’
He had just gotten a new problem, and now another one had come to him.
"He would be furious if he knew this." Bernard didn’t grant their wishes immediately.
"Does that mean you want to see us die?" Nolan was unhappy with Bernard’s decision.
"That’s not what I meant." Of course, Bernard didn’t want bad things to happen to them.
It pained him deeply when he saw his people being buried, but the problem could get out of hand if he did what they wanted.
Even though he also disliked Axel and his lackeys, the village still needed their help. Axel would feel humiliated and disrespected if he granted their wishes.
What if they left later?
What if they reported to their faction?
It could be fatal for their village, as they were from the Pillar Organization.
Their only option was to ease the tension and be patient a little longer. Once they killed all the magical beasts, everything would go back to the way it used to be.
"Then, what is it?" Emma raised her voice. "If you still want us to follow his lead, it’s the same as you wanting us to die."
"That’s right."
"Village Chief, how could you be so cruel to us?"
"Didn’t you promise to treat us well and protect the village?"
"Are you going to break all your promises now?"
One by one, they voiced out their complaints.
"E...everyone, please calm down." Julia’s face turned panicked. "Village Head never wants bad things to happen to us. He just wants us to be patient a little longer. Please don’t misunderstand him."
Emma turned to Julia and responded, "Julia, you were also chosen to follow his lead. So let me ask you. Do you still want to remain under his leadership?"
"I don’t want to," Julia answered honestly. "But we will make things difficult for the Village Head if we leave his group."
"You don’t want to either, right? Now you understand how we feel." Emma used Julia’s own words against her.
"But..." Bernard had already faced too many problems, so Julia didn’t want to add another one.
"Now, tell me. What will you do if they decide to leave? Can you take their roles in the upcoming battle?" Bernard almost lost control of himself.
As his people, they were supposed to support him and help him deal with their current problems.
But what they did was the complete opposite.
They kept pushing him to the edge as if everything was his fault and he needed to take responsibility alone.
Nolan and the others could not answer his question. They were not awakeners, so it was impossible for them to take their roles.
"I just want you to be patient a little longer," Bernard said. "They will leave immediately after we eliminate the magical creatures. Just think of this as a test for you. Don’t you want our village to be safe and peaceful again?"
"But we..." they still wanted to leave Axel’s group.
"If you insist, then I will step down from my position. You go choose a new village head. You can do whatever you want later." Bernard was already exhausted by everything.
It was as if he were the only one trying to solve all the problems, while they did nothing but complain.
"N...no. You can’t do that. We still need you."
"That’s right."
"We only ask one thing of you. Why do you want to step down so suddenly?"
They panicked because none of them could do the village head’s job as well as he did.
"Then, listen to me and don’t cause any more trouble," Bernard said with a hint of frustration. "Do you think I want all this?"
One by one, they lowered their heads.
"Go home now and don’t let him see that expression tomorrow." Bernard didn’t want to talk about it anymore, as it would make him explode with anger.
The villagers exchanged glances with each other before finally leaving.
Bernard then shifted his gaze to Julia. "Julia, you leave, too."
"Alright." She listened immediately.
When he saw them leaving, he let out another deep sigh.
’This is driving me insane!’
----
The moon set and the sun rose.
While the children were playing together with happy faces, Jax and Luka were chatting under a tree.
The anger from yesterday was still in their hearts since they felt humiliated by Ren and his group.
"Agh! I need a woman to calm my mind!" Jax said.
"Then, should we find two beautiful women now?" Luka also desired the same.
"Yeah. Let’s lo-"Jax stopped his words halfway when he caught sight of Julia.
Even though Julia was not as attractive as Elara or Virelia, she was still considered a beautiful woman, especially in a village.
"Luka, why don’t we ask her to entertain us?" Jax stared at her as he asked.
"Sure." Luka agreed instantly.
Julia, who was enjoying the morning atmosphere, stopped her footsteps when she noticed them.
’Hm?’
She still acted normally, as she still didn’t know what they had in mind.
"Honored guests, do you need something?" she asked politely.
"Yes," Luka replied. "We need you to accompany us."
"Our feelings are still hurt from yesterday’s events, so we need a woman to heal us," Jax added.
