Chapter 195: The villagers also want to ship little Petra's CP~

Looking at the concerned gazes the women around him were giving, Natsuki Subaru managed a faint grin and squeezed Elsa’s soft, boneless hands, a surge of resolve rising in his chest.

That’s right — things were different now. The lineup at his side had been completely upgraded, and their party even had a witch in it. Who else could possibly compare?

So what if that Sin Archbishop came back to life?

Having already lived through the battle at Watergate City, he now knew the authorities of the Archbishops of Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, and Lust inside and out. There was no way he could lose to them now.

The thought settled him, and with a decisive wave of his hand, he declared it was time to eat!

Well, things were what they were — better to eat first.

After the meal, once everyone had rested for a while, they set out for the village.

When they arrived, they were surprised to find that much of the buildings Zarestia had destroyed before had already been rebuilt.

The village’s young people were still hard at work hauling timber, cooperating with each other in the bustling activity.

Subaru and the others’ arrival stirred the crowd into excitement.

The villagers didn’t recognize people like Halibel, Reize, or Betty, but Rem and Ram — the two ‘important figures’ who often came to the village to shop — were very familiar faces to them.

And there was Natsuki Subaru too — the great hero who had foreseen the disaster before it struck and spared them from casualties!

So the enthusiastic villagers crowded forward, competing to thank Subaru, and among them more than a few young girls gave him looks of open admiration and adoration.

Beside Subaru, Betty found herself surrounded by a thick wall of bodies pressing in, and her face went blank with a dazed expression.

Rem and Ram, meanwhile, instinctively moved to flank him on either side, doing their best to maintain order so Subaru wouldn’t actually get swallowed up by the crowd.

Just then, a small figure shoved through the crowd with unstoppable momentum, raising a hand to greet Subaru.

“Subaru, you came with everyone!”

“Petra-chan!”

Subaru had been racking his brain over how to disperse the crowd pressing in on him when he suddenly spotted Petra, and he raised a hand in return.

The moment Petra appeared, the villagers around them instinctively cleared a path. Most of them cast meaningful, teasing glances back and forth between Subaru and Petra, and a few of the women let out low, knowing chuckles.

“Petra-chan, what’s going on here? Your popularity in the village suddenly shot way up!”

Seeing the villagers, who’d just been clamoring around him a moment ago, now obediently step aside the instant Petra arrived, Subaru’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

Petra, having just reached Subaru’s side, scratched her head bashfully at the remark and answered with a shy little laugh.

“It’s nothing, really… I just used my ‘Compression’ authority to help rebuild the village, that’s all. Maybe that’s why everyone’s being extra nice to me…”

Subaru nodded in understanding at first — then, once it hit him what exactly she’d used, he startled.

“Wait, you used what? Doesn’t that authority drain your stamina like crazy? What if you pass out again?”

“I won’t! Last time was probably because I overdid it and got too emotional, so I accidentally blacked out.”

“Anyway, as long as I’m careful about how I use it from now on, I’ll be fine! See, I didn’t even transform into my grown-up form this time!”

Petra explained hastily, her face flushed, spinning lightly in place to prove she wasn’t lying.

Meanwhile, Subaru’s concern for her settled sweetly in her chest, like candied fruit.

The villagers around them didn’t understand words like “transform,” but they clearly had opinions about Petra’s claim that they’d cleared the path out of simple respect for her.

“It’s true Petra’s amazing now, and she’s helped us out a ton, but that’s not really the main reason!”

One of the village’s more gossip-loving aunties stepped forward, looking almost indignant as she said it.

“That’s right, that’s right!”

The villagers around her crossed their arms, closed their eyes, and nodded along in deep agreement, echoing her words.

“Eh? Is there some hidden story here?”

Subaru’s face went blank as he blinked, silently inviting them to elaborate.

“Argh, come on, everyone! Don’t say anything extra!”

But at that, Petra — completely out of character — started waving her arms around in flustered embarrassment, apparently trying to stop the auntie from revealing some ‘truth.’

But it was already too late.

“Heh heh, when Petra was helping us rebuild, she told us all about how you, my lord, turned the tide and stopped the wicked Great Spirit’s invasion.”

“Otherwise, why would we all get so excited seeing you? It’s all thanks to Petra telling us!”

The auntie planted her hands on her hips, looking terribly pleased with herself as she took credit on Petra’s behalf.

As for Petra herself? Right now she stood in front of Subaru with her face burning red, hiding it like an ostrich, not daring to make a sound.

And Petra’s silence only egged the villagers on further — everyone started chiming in at once, telling Subaru all about Petra.

“Little Petra told us with such pride how brave and fearless you were, my lord — like a hero… no, you’re our village’s savior, a true hero!”

“Every time little Petra talks about you, her eyes just light up! We can all tell how much she adores you!”

“Yes, that’s right!”

This set off another round of enthusiastic nodding among the villagers, and then someone in the crowd suddenly called out loud.

“Little Petra even told us she likes you and wants to be your bride someday!”

“We cleared that path just now for you two lovebirds!”

The villagers burst into laughter at that, all of them looking at Petra with warm, encouraging eyes, as if silently cheering her on to chase her own happiness.

By village custom, it wasn’t unusual for girls to marry as young as thirteen or fourteen.

They’d all watched little Petra grow up, and though something seemed to have changed about her — giving her this special power — their simple, good-natured hearts genuinely hoped she’d seize her own happiness.

On the other side, Subaru finally caught on to what was happening.

So everyone was playing wingman for Petra, huh?

Still, if he was honest with himself, he did kind of want to hear with his own ears exactly how Petra praised him, and how she talked about loving him.

The thought had him rubbing his chin, his eyes drifting unconsciously toward Petra.

At the same time, he remembered how intimately they’d held hands that very morning, and an itch of restless anticipation crept into his chest.

Next chance he got, he’d definitely have to get Petra alone and hear it from her directly — he found himself looking forward to it.

Subaru caught Petra’s eye for just a moment as she peeked up at him, her face flushed red, before she ducked her head back down like a startled rabbit.

Petra-chan’s reaction struck Subaru as more than a little amusing.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t confessed to him before — why get so shy about it now?

“What are you all doing standing around here? Making our benefactor watch you gawk like this — get back to work already!”

Just then, a slightly hoarse, stern voice rang out from behind the crowd.

The crowd parted once more, and Subaru realized it was the purple-haired village elder granny, who refused to act her age.

By now she had put on a fresh smile, hands clasped behind her back as she nodded toward Subaru and the others in greeting.

“Welcome to Earlham Village, everyone. As thanks for your help dealing with the crisis before, please come inside and let us treat you properly!”