"These thieves still want ransom and won't kill the children for now. Their goal is to exploit these children to squeeze the last bit of food from the villagers. They probably know that even if they can't squeeze anything out, Aponia will personally deliver it. So, the children's safety won't be a big issue for the next few days. We'll go after they leave and appear when the villagers are most desperate to discuss cooperation, then they'll accept us."
Hearing Mr. Niu Zida's explanation, Yor and Misato Shizuku were silent. If it were before, they might have had different opinions, but after experiencing the villagers' misunderstanding last time, the two of them could only feel that this was the only way to get the villagers to accept them.
The village was filled with cries of sorrow and separation due to the thieves' looting. After a long time, the village gradually quieted down as the thieves coerced the villagers, taking away the plundered wealth, food, and children. By the time the thieves had gone far away, the sky had also darkened. Only then did Mr. Niu Zida let Yor hold him and head to the village with Misato Shizuku.
This time, because the village had been almost completely ravaged, Yor even walked all the way to the church entrance before being discovered. The villagers, their faces filled with sorrow and the ground covered in wailing, saw these three people again and vented the resentment that the bandits had aroused onto them, angrily saying to Mr. Niu Zida:
"Didn't you say you'd give the food in three days? What are you guys doing back here?"
"What 'give food in three days'? I'm here to see Aponia."
Mr. Niu Zida deliberately pretended not to know what was happening and asked back. The villagers became even angrier, feeling that these three were accomplices of the thieves, here to monitor them, and still saying sarcastic things. Just as a conflict was about to erupt, a sweet commanding voice came from outside the church:
"Please come in."
Hearing Aponia's words, the previously angry villagers seemed to calm down at once, and then restrained themselves and made way, allowing Yor to carry Mr. Niu Zida directly into the church.
"Hello, I am Aponia, a nun in the village."
Entering the chaotic church, a tall, beautiful woman with long yellow-brown hair stood there, her light blue eyes revealing a hint of sadness. The beautiful woman wore a slit nun's habit, and behind her were a pair of faint cicada-wing-shaped wings, like a gorgeous butterfly.
Through the slit of the nun's habit, Aponia's slender legs could be seen, and the most eye-catching thing was the pair of large, snowy breasts covered by a breast curtain. As long as Aponia moved slightly, the breast curtain would sway slightly, as if the pair of large, snowy breasts were about to be shaken out at any moment, making the pair of round breasts particularly conspicuous on the already beautiful woman.
"Hello, Miss Aponia, I am Niu Zida, who came here before."
Mr. Niu Zida, perched on Yor's fragrant shoulder, greeted Aponia. To make the short Mr. Niu Zida look more intimidating, Yor even had Mr. Niu Zida ride on her slender, snowy neck, wrapped in a modified hunter's coat. If it were a normal day, he wouldn't need to wear it, because he was usually held in Yor's sweater or lying on Yor's smooth, snow-white back. Only this time, when he came out to perform a mission and wasn't sure how long he would be in the wild, did he bring this coat.
"You are the one who helped harass the thieves and drive them back last time, Mr. Niu Zida. Thank you."
Mr. Niu Zida was originally planning to interrogate them, but he didn't expect Aponia to lower her head and thank him proactively. This immediately froze the words Mr. Niu Zida had prepared for questioning. He was still thinking of using this rhetoric to gain the upper hand in future negotiations.
"Ah? This... You know about what happened last time?"
"Yes, I later heard the villagers' descriptions and learned that they had wronged you. I am very sorry."
After saying that, Aponia bowed and thanked him again. Mr. Niu Zida couldn't bring himself to interrogate her because of the beautiful woman's humble attitude, so he had to say:
"Ahem, since you know about what happened last time, then you should also understand that we are here to help you this time."
"Of course..."
Aponia was so frank that Mr. Niu Zida didn't want to beat around the bush anymore, so he directly stated his conditions:
"I can help you repel or even eliminate the thieves, and I can also help your village rescue the children. Condition one, you must become my maid. Condition two, allow Goblins to live around your village and cultivate wasteland. One-third of the cultivated wasteland can belong to the villagers, but the remaining two-thirds must belong to the Goblins. I guarantee that the Goblins will not disturb the normal life of the villagers, but in the future, the village must obey my command, and I will protect the village."
Mr. Niu Zida knew that after this attack on the village, the village had even had its food plundered. At this time, it had entered a desperate situation, and Aponia had absolutely no conditions to refuse the conditions he proposed.
"If you can really rescue the children, I agree to these conditions, but can you guarantee that every child will return safely?"
"If any children really die in this rescue operation, all of the above conditions will be void, and after the village submits to me, I can also be responsible for providing them with food for the winter and seeds for spring planting."
Hearing Mr. Niu Zida's confident guarantee, Aponia naturally had no reason to refuse. Honestly, if Mr. Niu Zida hadn't appeared, she would have been prepared to sacrifice herself. What she feared was not sacrifice, but the fear that sacrificing herself would not save the children.
"Aponia, according to your combat power, it should be easy to easily solve those thieves, right? Why train those villagers to fight?"
"I still can't fully activate the Discipline ability in this world."
Hearing Mr. Niu Zida suddenly ask herself this question, Aponia was a little stunned. She didn't expect Mr. Niu Zida to know so much about her, but she still honestly answered the question:
"The complete Discipline ability still can't be activated, but I can use suggestion to have the villagers who trust me accept my guidance. However, my power is too limited, and only those who are willing to believe in me will listen to my suggestion."
"So you have to pretend to be a nun in this world to gain the trust of the villagers, right?"
"You are very smart, Mr. Niu Zida."
Aponia didn't expect Mr. Niu Zida to guess eight or nine out of ten of her affairs with just a few words. Misato Shizuku on the side also had a new understanding of Mr. Niu Zida in her heart. She didn't expect this short Goblin's brain to be not bad, and he could figure out the other party's details so easily. This observation is not simple. Of course, what they don't know is that this is just because Mr. Niu Zida, as a homebody, already knew these settings before time-traveling. This can also be considered an advantage of information asymmetry.
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