The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 142

“Uncle, I’m here!”

Just then, the door burst open, and a boy rushed in, bringing the fresh morning air with him. He was carrying a sack filled with a tremendous amount of potatoes.

“One sack of potatoes as ordered!”

“It’s heavy, leave it by the entrance.”

“Yes!”

The boy, who looked about fifteen, answered energetically and dropped the sack with a thud. The sack was so full of plump potatoes that some rolled out and tumbled away.

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

The startled boy hurriedly picked up the potatoes.

The last one rolled near the table where Ian and I were sitting. As he picked it up, the boy looked up and made an ‘oh?’ expression.

“Paul, you rascal! Don’t bother the guests!”

“That… Uncle! Uncle, just a moment!”

The boy’s gaze was fixed on Ian.

His eyes were wide with what seemed like great surprise.

Curious, I held my breath and waited to see what would happen next.

“Hyung!” [Korean term for ‘older brother’ or ‘older male friend,’ used by males]

Hyung…?

“You’re the hyung, right? The one who brought me to this village!”

At the boy’s shout, Ian gave a gentle smile, a silent confirmation.

“Uncle! This is him! The one who saved me and gave me a place to live!”

“What!”

The owner, who had just come out of the kitchen to bring something, roared like thunder.

Meanwhile, the boy bowed deeply to Ian.

“Thank you for making me a tenant farmer. I’m working hard on the potato farm on the field you lent me.”

“It seems so.”

“I, I don’t have anything to give you, but here… These are really good, large potatoes.”

The boy held out a handful of potatoes from his sack with both hands.

Ian chuckled softly and gladly accepted them.

“Thank you. But I have no way to eat these, so can I give them back to you?”

“Ah, ah! Th-that’s right. I, I should cook them for you…!”

At Ian’s kind words, the boy fumbled and took the potatoes back.

On the table was the owner’s complimentary dish, a delicious-looking meat pie, and I thought I couldn’t eat even one piece of it, looking at the greasy plate.

I already ate all the fish, and if I eat that on top of it, my stomach will burst. So-

“Would you like to join us? You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“Me? To eat with someone like me…”

“It’s okay. Would you like to sit here? It’s a very delicious-looking pie.”

There were many stories I wanted to hear.

I was very curious about what Ian meant by ‘my village’.

* * *

Paul was hesitant at first, but he soon chattered away about various things as we treated him kindly.

Thanks to him, I learned a lot in no time.

About four years ago, Ian had requested a few unimportant, out-of-the-way lands from the family.

These were mostly lands along the roads between large and medium-sized territories, villages with nothing much besides an inn for the occasional traveler.

Villages with no special characteristics, not prosperous, and where it was natural to live half-starved even when spring came.

Ian first provided crops that could grow well even in such barren lands. Then, he brought high-quality fertilizer to nourish the soil.

After that, Ian began to repair the empty houses.

Just because it was a small village didn’t mean it was unaffected by the war. People had been drafted as soldiers, after all.

And some had never returned.

The houses left behind by such people were almost like abandoned homes, but after the repairs, they were transformed into livable spaces.

The residents, who had initially watched the changing village with uneasy eyes, soon regained their vitality.

As the land for farming came back to life, there was more to eat, and with full bellies, they became more relaxed than before.

“It took a year to get to that point.”

“That’s amazing. You were patient and persistent.”

“Yeah. And that was just the beginning.”

A boy named Paul was a war orphan.

He had been taken to an orphanage, but his emotional wounds were so deep that he became wild, escaping and being caught repeatedly.

Ian gathered children like Paul, who were trying to break free from the system, and brought them directly to the village.

“He’s so cool and amazing. Ian hyung is. When I grow up, I want to be like Ian hyung.”

Paul clenched his fists and his eyes sparkled. Judging by the fact that he kept calling him ‘hyung,’ he didn’t seem to know Ian’s true identity.

Ian listened to Paul’s story and whispered in my ear.

“I didn’t tell them my status. There’s no need to. I didn’t move directly when I was fixing the village either. So the people here don’t know that I’m the owner of this village. They just think some high-ranking person is the owner.”

“Ah….”

“Maybe it’s because I didn’t reveal my identity, but the kids treat me comfortably. I like that too.”

Ian smiled kindly. Then, he raised his index finger and pressed it to his lips, which was inexplicably sexy.

“These villages are self-sufficient. Everyone takes care of the children together, and the children rely on each other to live.”

The few adults who remained in this village taught Paul how to farm potatoes.

Those adults cared for the children Ian brought with one heart.

It wasn’t a family, but this place was a ‘community’.

“I send my subordinates from time to time to check the atmosphere of the village, and since everyone is in the same situation, they don’t seem to try to ostracize anyone.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

Soon, we were standing together in front of Paul’s house. Paul didn’t live alone; five other boys lived here with him.

“The boys live here, and the girls live in the house under the bridge over there.”

Paul excitedly showed us around the house. It was a mess, to be honest, but it was clean enough for a dormitory where teenage boys lived.

“I belong to the farming department, and the other hyungs all go to the factory!”

“Factory?”

“Yes. You can earn money if you go to the factory. So I want to go to the factory soon, but they say I have to be an adult to go.”

What kind of factory is it?

Ian had a very subtle smile on his face. Then, he leaned slightly and whispered briefly in my ear.

“I’ll show you the factory too. Would you like to go?”

“Yeah. I’m curious.”

“Each village has a factory, but they produce different things.”

What are they producing?

What Ian had prepared far exceeded my expectations.

If Dante was trying to create a normal and safe boundary for the children, Ian, as always, created a place for those who couldn’t fit inside.

Both had the same intention, but they approached it in completely different ways. So, for now, I gave them both the same score on this matter.

‘But is there more to this?’

The factory was located in the center of the village. Even if travelers passed through the village, they would not come this far because it was far from the inn.

“Instead of that entrance, if you go through there, you can go straight to the management office.”

“Ah. It’s a key!”

“Only I have it. This key.”

Ian took out a brass key from his jacket pocket and shook it. Then we went around to the back of the factory, where there was a staircase that was rusty and had missing steps in places.

“I can’t let you step on a place like this.”

“Eek!”

Ian picked me up in a flash and stood in front of the door high up with a single leap.

Ian soon unlocked the lock that looked like he didn’t even want to touch it, opened the door, and gracefully spread his arms towards me.

“I decorated the inside nicely, thinking I would bring you here someday to show you.”

“Wow. The people in this village can’t enter the management office, right?”

“Of course not. Well, it seems like some mischievous kids are trying to… but as you can see, the stairs are a mess.”

Ian shrugged.

I slid my gaze away from Ian and looked around inside, which was as luxurious as our living room. However, the most striking difference from the living room was that glass window.

“You can see the whole factory from here.”

“That’s right. But you can’t see up here from there. It’s opaque glass from that side.”

That’s amazing too.

As I thought that, I suddenly remembered the tank that had trapped me, and I shuddered.

“What are they all making? Clothes? Vests?”

To erase that memory, I focused a little more on the people making clothes. Then Ian hugged me from behind and whispered.

“Bulletproof vests.”

“Bulletproof…? You mean clothes that stop bullets?”

“That’s right. I developed it myself, and I’m selling it secretly.”

“!”

“As you can see, I can’t make a large quantity….”

Amazing!

I stared wide-eyed, almost pressing my nose against the glass window.

“So Driblya is making both guns and bulletproof vests!”

“That’s how it is. Broadly speaking.”

So if Ian becomes the head of the family, Driblya will officially sell armor too!

To have both the best spear and shield. That’s a great strategy. Especially since the concept of bulletproof vests didn’t even exist until now.

“How many bullets can it stop?”

“So far, only up to three bullets. From the fourth bullet, the bulletproof vest is severely damaged.”

“Have you done all the experiments?”

“Yes. I wore it myself.”

“……What?!”

I was so shocked that I turned around to look at Ian.

What did I just hear? He became a test subject himself?