The village was quite simple, with only a few people living there. The vast majority of the villagers were farmers.
What they did most was take care of their crops, animals like cattle or chickens, and some specialized in hunting to provide other food sources for the village.
Others were part of the fishing group, using the nearby river to gather food as well—though it was a bit more difficult.
There was one person responsible for making clothes and another for forging weapons—the weaver and the blacksmith.
And, of course, some warriors who patrolled and provided protection to the village. These warriors, however, were not magic users; they were 'regular' warriors, meaning that if a magical beast attacked the village, they wouldn't be able to defend as effectively.
That was why the village had a mage—Meredith—and eventually another, since she was leaving.
Anyway, Silas walked through the village, trying to catch any strange reactions. If the person who killed the previous owner of his body was in the village—he was almost certain they were—well, they would surely have an amusing reaction to seeing him alive and walking around as if nothing had happened.
That was his plan. After noticing anything strange, Silas would confront the person.
It was the best way he'd found to locate the one responsible. Since he had drunk too much and passed out, he had no idea who it could have been.
"Good morning, Silas," a farmer with a straw hat greeted him as he passed by. "Such a shame you didn't get that job in the city. I was rooting for you."
The farmer seemed like a nice person. The former Silas had indeed worked hard to pass the city's exam for a scribe position, but he ended up losing the spot.
This had shaken the former Silas. Seeing someone cheering for him like that made Silas feel a little better.
"Good morning, sir," Silas said with a smile on his face. "I'll try harder next time. Thank you for your kind words."
As he walked through the village, more and more people spoke kind words to him. Apparently, he had recently returned to the village, and this was the first time he had been there since failing the scribe exam.
Silas encountered an important person while walking through the village. It was the current village chief. He was the one who led the others to ensure sustainable progress for the village.
He was a slightly older man who had worked his whole life as a merchant before taking the position as the village leader.
He still worked as a merchant, which is how Silas managed to catch a ride with him to the city for the scribe exam. After all, the village chief was the only one who had a proper carriage for travel.
The chief had brought Silas back after he failed the test, so he already knew and had spoken with Silas before. The only thing he said this time was good morning.
"Good morning, Silas. How are you today?" the village chief asked.
Silas didn't pay attention to him. In fact, what caught his attention was the chief's son—who was about the same age as Silas.
He seemed very surprised. In fact, it was more than simple surprise. It was as if he were in shock.
That was very strange. At that moment, Silas knew something was wrong, but he didn't say anything and did his best not to act oddly.
"I'm fine," Silas said. "I felt very welcomed by everyone in the village today. But hey, chief, did you hear that Meredith is leaving? I just found out recently."
Silas already figured the village chief knew about it, but he asked anyway to strike up a conversation with him, trying to act normally.
"Yeah, I knew. She actually told me she was going to tell you today, but don't worry, another mage is coming here," the chief said.
The chief then added, "I have some things to take care of, if you'll excuse me."
He and his son left after that. Even from a distance, the chief's son glanced back, staring at Silas.
"This kid did something wrong," Silas thought. "Could he be the one who killed the former owner of this body? I don't know… he doesn't seem dangerous…"
Even though the village chief's son didn't seem dangerous, Silas was sure he had something to do with what happened to him the previous night.
Silas wanted to confront him, but it wasn't possible because the young man was always with his father—at least for that moment.
In other words, it wouldn't be a good idea to do that.
He even considered trying to break into the village chief's house to see if he could find anything inside. It seemed like a good idea.
The chief seemed to be in a hurry, so Silas would certainly have enough time to look around his house before he came back. Maybe he would have the entire morning.
With that in mind, Silas decided to go around and enter the village chief's house through the back door. It was the best way not to draw too much attention.
The good thing was that the chief lived a little farther from the rest of the village. Not as far as Silas, but still a considerable distance.
The reason was simple: he had more money and wanted a bigger, quieter house. Those who lived inside the village had to deal with the noise from animals and other people.
Anyway, once he arrived, Silas noticed that the place had a wall around it. It wasn't high enough to stop him from jumping over or anything like that. So, he went to the back and jumped.
From what the former Silas knew, the village chief didn't have any magical pets or anything like that protecting his house. Basically, nothing dangerous ever happened in the village, so most people were careless about security.
Only the forest surrounding the village was a bit dangerous because of magical beasts, but the village itself wasn't.
Silas entered through the back door as soon as he jumped over the wall. The house was two stories, quite beautiful, and luckily, the back door was unlocked. Everything seemed to be falling into place for him.
Once inside, Silas went straight to the village chief's son's room. He was the one hiding something, so if he was going to find something strange, it had to be in his room.