Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

As we all know, farming is a business that depends on the weather.

If the heavens are kind and the weather is favorable, then there will be a good harvest and a bountiful year.

If the weather is uncooperative, whether it's drought or flooding, it can lead to reduced crop yields, and in severe cases, it's not impossible to harvest nothing at all.

Unfortunately, it hasn't rained for who knows how long this year.

Senis, who was busy in the yard, looked up, wiped the sweat from her brow, and murmured, "It's another beautiful sunny day."

"Madam, the well at home has run dry," Lilia said.

Senis walked over upon hearing this and looked at the bottomless well in the courtyard with Lilia.

"Oh, really?"

With no other option, Senis went back inside and threw the water ball she had created with magic into the water jug.

"Fortunately, we have several people in our family who can use magic, so we'll always have a way to get through a drought," Senis murmured.

While human survival could be guaranteed, the seedlings in the fields were not so lucky.

Without rain for a long time, it has begun to wither.

The villagers looked at the seedlings with a gloomy expression.

……

"Hey! You over there, are you the magician from the Paul family?"

"Yes." Luo Qixi, who was walking on the road, was suddenly called out, but still answered politely.

"Since you're a magician who's been taken care of by this village, hurry up and send some rain!"

The villagers excitedly reached out to grab Luo Qixi.

At that moment, Paul, who had appeared out of nowhere, stood in front of Loki.

"Luo Qixi, leave this to me," Paul said, turning to Luo Qixi.

"Ah, thank you," said Luo Qixi.

"Don't be so polite, little Loki," Paul replied with a smile.

When he turned to face the villagers again, his expression had turned stern, leaving the villagers speechless for a moment.

……

In the evening, the sound of Paul arguing with the villagers could be heard coming from the living room.

Upstairs, Loki tried to take Rudeus back to his room, but failed.

So the two of them listened together to the discussions coming from downstairs.

Paul's voice came through, "We've already sent a letter to the lord, but it wouldn't be surprising if a remote pioneer village like ours were abandoned."

Paul's expression was serious and focused, completely different from his usual carefree demeanor.

Senis stood beside Paul, nervously placing her hand on his shoulder.

Villager: "She's here, isn't she? Ask your demon to help her out!"

"Should we ask my family's Loki for help?" Paul rested his arms on the table, clasped his hands together, looked at the group opposite him, and replied after a moment of silence.

Senis stood beside Paul without saying a word.

"That's right, demons are all very simple-minded. Maybe if you say a few nice words, they'll agree to help," another villager added. "It's just sprinkling some water, she can definitely do that, right?"

Unlike Paul's family, the villagers relied on the land for their livelihood, so their eagerness was understandable. However, they were powerless in the face of nature.

That's why they thought of using Luo Qixi as their "lifeline".

It's like a drowning person desperately trying to grab onto something.

"You're being too impolite. We're the ones asking for a favor!" another villager retorted.

Of course, Paul's family was not the only one who came to his house. Even under these circumstances, some people remained rational and maintained their kind nature.

"But this is a crisis for the village! Since we live in this village, it's only right that we help!"

"Alright, alright, you guys should reach a consensus before coming to me." Seeing this, Paul stood up and interrupted, "But let me make this clear first, if Loki doesn't like it here, she can leave anytime. Don't think that just because she's a demon she can arbitrarily negotiate the price."

Even if we sincerely ask her for a favor, it's up to her whether she agrees or not.

"This village was built by people who were exploited in various places in order to escape oppression."

"Now that you were once oppressed, do you want to oppress others?"

Paul adopted a serious expression and spoke earnestly.

As the "village chief," Paul naturally has an obligation to solve the villagers' problems.

Of course, this might be too civilized.

From the perspective of the nobility, these villagers should be called subjects, and are the property of the lord.

However, let's approach this from a more civilized perspective.

Even though Paul had an obligation to help the villagers, and it could be said that the villagers' interests were directly linked to his own, a relationship where they shared both prosperity and adversity, it did not mean that Paul could pressure Rochian.

Paul's help was to explain the conditions clearly and then, after the villagers reached a consensus, act as a bridge to communicate with Loki.

The decision-making power was given to the villagers, which was relatively democratic. Even if someone regretted it later, Paul would not be blamed.

At the same time, he made a promise to help the villagers communicate, so as not to incite public resentment by saying that he would do nothing.

Finally, he maintained his relationship with Loki, which, in the eyes of others, meant that he regarded the villagers and Loki as his own people.

Therefore, one should be impartial and fair in all matters.

Having dutifully sought help from the lord, Paul adopted an attitude of detachment and focusing on the matter at hand.

After all, even if a drought were to occur, it wouldn't be Paul's family, who were knights, who would starve to death.

Some villagers will definitely think that way.

Rudius didn't know if Paul had considered resolving the issue by force.

In this era, this is likely the default option.

After all, most people would simply choose one of two options in this situation: either suppress the villagers or oppress Luo Qixi.

When someone has an absolute advantage in both force and status, few people are able to reason with others.

"What—?"

The villagers who were confronting Paul were sweating profusely, too surprised that Paul, who should have been on their side, would answer in this way, and they didn't know how to retort.

People who haven't received a good education might not even realize what evil they're doing... they're just acting on instinct because of the crisis.

"Think it through first," Paul tapped the table lightly and repeated.

"good……"

After the villagers left, Rudius followed Loki downstairs.

"You heard everything, right?" Paul gently patted Loki's head. "But don't worry, I can still protect little Loki."

Luo Qixi looked flustered and shy, muttering softly, "A few villagers? I'm a Water Saint-level mage, after all. Even if more villagers come, I can handle them..."

Rudeus hugged Senis's leg, who was smiling and watching Loki, and added, "That's right, even if the teacher can't win, I can help."

"Haha, you're absolutely right," Paul laughed heartily.

At that moment, Rudius truly felt the charm of this man.

……

Rudius recounted the situation to the AI ​​from a third-person perspective.

Paul's leadership style and principles

In this dialogue, Paul reveals not only his identity as the village chief, but also his pride as a knight and his principles as a human being.

Reject moral blackmail:

He clearly distinguished between "seeking help from Loki" and "the villagers' anxiety about survival," emphasizing that help must be voluntary and cannot be coerced.

Upholding equality:

He reminded the villagers that the village was founded to "avoid oppression," and therefore they must never oppress others (even demons).

This concept transcends the class mentality common in the Middle Ages and reflects Paul's inherent modern values.

Political wisdom:

By "getting the villagers to reach a consensus" and "giving the decision-making power to Lokishi," he fulfilled his leadership responsibilities, avoided concentrating the conflict on himself, and protected Lokishi's autonomy...

……

Come to think of it, there really isn't a single normal person in this family.

Although Paul is now a country knight, he was once of noble birth, but he severed ties with his family after a falling out.

Later, he married Senis, a noblewoman who had also run away from home, in order to settle down.

He then asked his cousins ​​for help, which allowed him to obtain the status of a lower-ranking nobleman and arrive in the village of Bouyena.

This lower-ranking noble's status is equivalent to that of a village chief.

The reason why the term "village chief" is used so affectionately is because both Paul and Senis chose to run away from home after they had had enough of the rules at home.

After running away from home, Paul went through many twists and turns before beginning his life as an adventurer.

Paul then rescued Senis, who had just run away from home and was being scammed, and recruited her into his adventurer party, which eventually reached S-rank.

Paul and Senis also developed feelings for each other during their adventure and chose to leave the team for a stable life, although this led to the breakup of the adventure team.

Therefore, in conclusion, this pioneering village, which was established by Paul's cousins, did not have the same clear class distinctions as ordinary villages.

On the contrary, under Paul's personal leadership style, they appeared exceptionally open-minded.

This place sheltered people who had nowhere to go due to being ostracized and oppressed in other places.

This is why the adults here don't bully Sylphie; instead, after Sylphie's parents explained the reason, they expressed their sympathy and understanding.

The people here are very kind.

Because they can empathize with that feeling and know that oppressing others is wrong.

Unfortunately, the little rascals born on this land don't quite understand this.

Rudius had to admit that Paul's ability to achieve this level at his age was far superior to his own in his previous life.

She can be the leader of an S-class adventure team, or the chief of a pioneering village. She is reasonable, knows what is important, and does things in the way she believes is right.

If it were Rudeus from his past life, he wouldn't bother listening to this nonsense.

This is the kind of responsibility that only married men have; you can sense that he has a lot of thoughts and considerations on his mind.

Rudius imagined the struggle Paul must have felt when, after voluntarily shedding his aristocratic status, he had to ask his cousin for help with his marriage.

That is the starting point of responsibility.

It was also the turning point in Paul's transformation from a boy into a man.

……

a few days later.

Paul and Loki hosted the village representative, who had come alone, at their home.

The village representative took out a bag of money and placed it on the table in front of him, saying, "This is all the property the village has. I don't know if it's enough."

While Loki hesitated, Paul took the money bag, checked the amount of money, and said, "This money isn't enough to hire a Water Saint-level mage."

The villagers looked at Luo Qixi with some surprise, "Little girl, are you a Saint-level mage?"

"Ah...yes..."

"I see... Thank you for the meeting," the village representative said regretfully, getting up and walking towards the door.

Watching the other person's slow and lonely figure recede into the distance, Luo Qixi finally softened.

"I've done this favor. Please tell the villagers to go home, as it will be quite dangerous outside from now on."

Luo Qixi walked up to the village representative and took the money bag from his hand.

"Oh? Okay, I'll go and inform them right now."

After a slight moment of bewilderment, the village representative immediately agreed and, with an excited expression, quickly walked out of the house to inform the villagers.

From then on, Loki's reputation in the village increased significantly.