"After the graduation ceremony, as the individual with the highest points, I am allowed to ask for anything I want within the Village Chief's power. After careful deliberation, I am neither asking for more wealth nor for the Village Chief to put me in a position I do not deserve. All I am asking is for you to reward me by building a structure for healers and victims, which would heavily impact the Village positively," Orion added, "And yet, I have no idea why I am being refused."
Orion's words dumbfounded the village chief and the other key figures. They thought Orion would use his merits as leverage or find a way to convince them to hand over the structure, given that he and Fifi were the ones to come up with such an idea.
However, they never expected that Orion would use such a method to make them hand the structure over to him.
Nonetheless, Orion's words had placed the Village Chief in a challenging position, leaving them on the sidelines with no chance to refute his words.
Immediately, their gazes turned towards the Village Chief's position, who was staring at Orion with a deep frown. "Are you sure you want this to be your reward?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at Orion.
Meanwhile, internally, he couldn't help but smile. 'Good… Good… Look at their faces. My instincts were not wrong from the beginning. He will make a good Village Chief,' he thought.
The only reason he had initially refused to accept Orion's request, was that, although his proposal was revolutionary, his demands were too irrational. Even an ordinary villager would doubt their ears several times, as they wouldn't have the courage to make such a request in the midst of the key figures.
Coupled with the fact that the rest of the key figures, except for a few, had rejected him, the Village Chief found his demands impractical. However, seeing how Orion composed himself and listened to his words, the Village Chief had no other reason to refuse his request.
After all, Orion was the one who had presented the idea to them, and behind him was the best healer in the Village, Greta, who was also his wife. Added to that, he already had a child with Anara, his partner, another key figure, and Saria's husband, which meant that if he refused his request after such a compelling reason, things would not bode well for any of them.
"Chief…" Caretaker Naida couldn't help but open her mouth to speak, but the Village Chief's words resounded through the room's wooden walls.
"ENOUGH!!"
Caretaker Naida immediately sealed her mouth shut.
"During the graduation ceremony, it is the rule that everyone who comes out on top is given the chance to request anything that is within the Village Chief's capacity, which I am sure you all are aware of, as some of you have all benefited from," the Village Chief said, his eyes staring at them as each lowered their heads and sighed tiredly.
"However, instead of asking for more wealth or something that might benefit his personal interest, he has chosen something that would positively impact the whole Village. He even went as far as presenting the whole idea to us. Even if we refuse his demands, are you all confident that you could recreate everything he has just said?… No, you wouldn't because you would still need his help to do so," the Village Chief asked and answered his question by himself, seeing as none of them had replied.
"As such, I am willing to answer his request," he said, his gaze focused straight on Orion with a smile.
As the Village Chief, it was not only his responsibility to ensure that the order and rules of the Village were intact but also to make sure that there was a worthy person capable of maintaining such order and rules. Without a doubt, the Village Chief was satisfied once again that his judgment was not wrong and Orion would be the person to fulfil such a role.
After listening to the Village Chief's words, Caretaker Naida and the others who had initially opposed Orion's request didn't have anything to say, knowing that everything the Village Chief had just said was correct.
They weren't blinded by wealth; they were the farm's Caretakers. They would be the last people to become poor or grow hungry in the Village. Instead, they were after the opportunity to be the Key figures who would mark their names in the Village's history by developing a structure that could positively impact the Village for several millennia to come.
And that was something they were aware that they couldn't barter for it with wealth.
However, as they gradually regained their composure, they suddenly realized there were other ways to go about this.
After all, they had already made up their minds to give Orion the highest-ranking position in the new structure since he was not only the one who presented the idea to them but would surely need someone to handle and take care of it—something none of them were capable of doing currently.
So, rather than selfishly wanting all the recognition, they realized they were better off being known as one of the Key figures who supported the construction of such a structure.
The Village Chieftess couldn't help but exhale deeply after listening to her husband's words. He was right. She raised her head and observed Orion, wondering if he was taking the bet they had made seriously without any hidden intentions.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Shani and Stronghold Zogar, who had remained, had smiles on their faces, nodding at the Village Chief's words. Neither of them cared about the immense recognition, as they were each satisfied with where they currently were.
However, Seth felt his body gradually losing its strength little by the second as he observed the scene unfolding before him.
With the way his father had defended and with the gaze of approval in his eyes as he looked at Orion, it wasn't hard for anyone with eyes to see that his father held Orion in such high regard that he might as well be considering him for the position of the next Village Chief.
