Atelier Tanaka Volume 3 Chapter 5 part3

After waiting for a while, the black-haired woman returned and guided us to the mayor's house.

Just like the village of men had said, every building in the town looked as if they had just been recently built. The interior of the mayor's home was painted blue and it smelled of leaves and fresh pine. It reminded me of a cozy modern cabin. If amateurs really built this place, I'm very impressed.

Maybe some of the men are experienced carpenters.

We were now in the waiting room which was around eight tatami mats in size and there was no real furniture. This room, in particular, reminded me of the entry rooms to older Japanese homes. There was also a hearth in the centre of the room with small mats that seemed to be made of interwoven ivy.

I was sitting on one of these mats across from the mayor.

"What have we done to deserve such a visit from a member of the nobility?"

The mayor was a woman in her late thirties with brown hair parted down the middle that extended down to her shoulder blades. Her eyes were also brown. She was rather plump and her stomach extended further out than her chest. Before moving to this new town, I'm sure she must've lived a rather lavish lifestyle.

"I don't have any time to waste so I'll get straight to the point."

Ester-chan was the one speaking.

Good opening line. She looks really cool right now.

I wish I could become as confident as her, but I feel like that day is still far away.

"I want you to open talks with the village of men."

"…why do you know about our problem with the men of our village?"

"We spoke with them!"

"I see…."

Even though this woman is the mayor she still doesn't compare to a high-ranking noble like Ester-chan. It must be rare for a member of the aristocracy to come and visit a small village.

"And why would a noble such as yourself be concerned with the problems of us commoners?"

Her question was posed in a way that almost accused Ester-chan of not caring about the problems facing the common people.

But the lolibitch didn't back down. I guess she was expecting this.

"A man protects a woman, a woman supports a man. They work together day in and day. They're each necessary to one another. This is only natural. The way things are between your two villages isn't beneficial to anyone. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"…."

Ester-chan's point seemed valid. By cutting out all of the men, they have less people to help out around town and the same goes for the men's village.

This bitch knows what we're talking about.

Men are necessary to women and women are necessary to men.

But this didn't seem to matter to the mayor.

"I understand what you're trying to say, but we did not come to this decision lightly. There were very serious reasons for us to come to this decision."

"Serious reasons? Like what?"

"The men were oppressive."

"…really?"

"You say a man should protect a woman? Well if they had done that we would have stood by them and supported them wholeheartedly. But the men of our village repaid our support with merciless violence."

"…."

I wasn't expecting that.

If what she said is true, the problem here is much more serious than we had originally thought. It will be more difficult than expected to reunite their villages.

But if these men are willing to beat their women, why would they just hand over the village they had only just finished building?

So is it possible the men are the victims here?

"Do you still wish to bring us together, noblewoman?"

"…I do."

Following the mayor's question, Ester-chan gave a slight nod. Her previous momentum seemed to be gone after this new revelation.

"If that's the case, I won't say it's impossible."

"Thank you for being reasonable. I'll see if I can find out the truth."

The lolibitch stood up after saying this.

In response, the mayor gave a deep bow while remaining seated.

***

We left the women's village after our meeting with the mayor.

After lifting Ester-chan in my arms, we slowly began to rise into the sky and began flying in the direction of the men's village. If it were up to me, I'd have been entirely okay with leaving these two villages to work out their problems on their own, but Ester-chan wasn't satisfied yet.

"What do you expect to accomplish by returning to the men's village?"

"I need to hear it from them myself. I can't accept things as they are."

"I see."

I understand what she means. They didn't appear to be bad men and they were polite to Ester-chan when we were there. They also had to work together with the women in order to build that first village. However, from what I know, a man who is violent towards his family tends to act like the perfect husband in public.

Based on my own experience, a man that's good at home and in public is in small number. In most cases, one area must suffer. Either he has a good family life and he struggles at work, or he excels at work but is distant from his family. This is how balance is achieved. That's why being single is for the best.

Damn it.

"But, if what that woman said is true, these men could be dangerous."

"Are you worried about me?"

"Yeah, well, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ah~, you're so kind. It makes me so happy!"

"…don't most people not wish to see their friends get hurt?"

"But, be careful. There are plenty of women in this world that will take advantage of such kindness."

Ester-chan's expression was serious.

Well, I guess I'll just have to stay with her until she's satisfied.

It only took us a few minutes to return to the men's village. If I look closely, I can see the men have all returned to whatever they were doing when last we visited.

We landed in the village square just as we did before.

And the men all surrounded us once more.

It was just as stressful as the first time around.

"Noblewoman, how did things go at the women's village?"

The same man that we spoke to before asked this.

A brawny man with short brown hair.

Ester-chan quickly responded to him.

"Did you abuse the women of your village?"

She didn't sugar coat it at all.

I would've found a way to ask that without being quite so direct, but I guess that's one of Ester-chan's strengths. So I decided to remain quiet and let the lolibitch continue as she pleased.

"Did we abuse the women?"

"Yes. That's what the women claimed."

"Of course not. I guess I can't answer for every family, so it's possible there may have been fighting in a family, but I feel confident in saying it was nothing serious. We all worked together to rebuild and I know these men are good people."

The same man as always answered her.

But the other men in the crowd nodded in agreement.

"…I see."

Ester-chan looked deep in thought.

Which of them is telling the truth?

When I looked over the crowd of gathered men, all I saw were intimidating, macho faces staring back at me. It's easy for me to imagine one or two of these men turning violent. Even though they're wearing heavy clothing, I can see how massive their chests are and their arms are like logs. Those could be deadly weapons on their own.

This soy sauce face wants to believe the women's village.

"Are there no children in either of your villages?"

"The women kept the children so they're all in the other village."

"…hmm."

"There are only men over the age of ten in this village. Some families refused to be separated, however, so there are some young boys still in their village. But due to their young age, I'm sure they're all working inside their homes. That is why you didn't see any around."

That explains why all I can see before me is a sea of muscle.

If I think about the future of a child, I'd say it's best for them to group up in the women's village. If a boy were to grow up in this village, I have a feeling he'd never graduate from being a virgin.

The village of men is scary.

"I believe I understand."

Ester-chan spoke as I was still unsure of who to believe.

"Then, noblewoman, what do you plan on doing?"

The macho representative asked her while staring at the ground.

Ester-chan responded confidently.

"You will quickly choose five representatives of this village and we will have the women choose five of their own. Your chosen representatives will meet and we will come to a resolution."

"Really!?"

"Hurry and gather your representatives. We'll go speak with the women and tell them about our plan."

"Thank you so much!"

In this village of refugees, the lolibitch has decided to organize a mixer.

***

Chapter end