****(POV)

Yesterday, our village got destroyed by some "madman". I always knew that this was going to happen at some point. He used his companion's undead horse to destroy it all, all except one single house they stayed in.

The other villagers kept ignoring me before because I'm one of the poorest there is in the village. I'm just a small-time woodcarver, the kind that can barely put food on the table. Well, not that I own a table anymore.

We are currently about 30 minutes of walk away from where we always resided. Everyone is assembled having a big meeting. I can't help but wonder what is wrong with these people's brains as I listen to their conversation.

"He's a devil! All he's good at is tricking people!"

"For sure, he tried scamming us already. As if we were two years old that were that gullible!"

"Totally! He didn't even know his way around a farm. Anyone like that is totally untrustworthy!"

"Can you believe he made children cry too?! When they came back, they had been scared silly and he totally traumatized them!"

Are they seriously talking about the children that left our village with a big knife bragging about how they were going to skin the vagrant? Pretty sure that counts as them actively looking for trouble. Quite hypocritical of them not to note this point.

"He totally tried baiting them too! Why else would he purposely act so weak?!"

"So true! Why else would he walk so slowly as if an elder? He was clearly trying to trick them!"

"Yes! He was also struggling to even raise a simple basket!"

Say the well-fed villagers talking about a man so skinny he was about to keel over from hunger. Say said villagers that refused to give him any food whatsoever. To be honest, I'm no better. I'd rather focus on feeding myself somehow before I worry about strangers.

I did try to convince a few to help, but they ignored me. After all, I am meaningless in the village. No wealth, no wife, no kid, nothing. Some "genius" is currently proposing a "fool-proof" plan now.

"I say we go back to the village and expose him to the necromancer. If we are lucky, he'll kill the slimy bastard and hopefully reward us."

"No guys. When I hosted them, I tried to warn him, but he refused to listen. I may just be a small village chief, but I'm a chief nonetheless! I have experience!"

So he says, but why did he even try to poison the guy? I can't help but raise the question.

"He said something about poison, didn't he? What was that about?"

I see a shadow of resentment pass in his eyes, but quickly he composes himself. The man is a great actor, that is how he has managed to remain the chief so long even with how inept he otherwise is. He will often be seen diligently noting in his notebook, but the thing is he's illiterate. Even now he's putting on a show.

"The vile trickster was already planning to convince the necromancer to kill us in the morning. Think about it, it's only logical for a vagrant to be jealous of our possessions! Why else would he destroy our houses!"

Perhaps because you tried poisoning him? He literally said so in his speech. This guy is great at turning black into white and vice versa. The villagers are avidly believing his words too. They'll believe a villager over an outsider any day, even I am considered a semi-outsider. He keeps going.

"*Sigh* When I figured out his dastardly plan, I tried to put a stop to it, I tried to save the village. I truly tried, for you guys are all my family. As you guys know I believe nothing is stronger than family! I went and got that one poison bottle I kept all these years as a safety measure."

He looks so valiant yet sad at the same time. Anyone that doesn't know him would truly believe him to be some tragic hero. All of them are buying it too. He ends his speech in a regretful tone.

"But sadly the villain saw through it. That is when he finally dropped all pretenses and revealed his true colors! You guys know the rest, he unleashed destruction and death upon our village!"

Destruction and death? He totally owned that destructive aspect and as for the deaths… Well, it's all people that got crushed in the rubble or tried to directly attack him. On one hand, we lost everything but on the other, there wasn't objectively much to be lost and it is pretty much karma. Yet…

"*Crying* You did well village chief! It's not your fault that it didn't work!"

"It's all that evil bastard's fault!

"He's a devil! Why would he do such a thing as destroy perfectly good houses?!"

"The village chief only did what he had to do! He should truly be revered as this village's hero from now on. It's just a shame that evil prevailed this one time!"

They start frantically crowding around the village chief. The adults and children alike are all celebrating his bravery, totally ignoring the fact that he played a big part in the issue. Oh well, I simply leave silently.

They are so busy playing heroes that no one even notices my absence. These guys are truly annoying, calling themselves wise for not falling for "scams", calling themselves "just" for bullying the weak, and "victims" when the bullied takes revenge.

Oh well, it can't be helped. Idiots will be idiots. Fools will be fools. As they say, the secret to happiness is not to argue with morons. That is especially true when some of them have knives and are not afraid to use them.

I make my way back to the previous village, but now only a single house remains. I think I'll be able to have a discussion with the man inside. I think I understand him.

From all aspects, he did not gain a single thing from what he did, at all. Sure there is the satisfaction of getting revenge but let's face it such sentiment will be short-lived. No one will celebrate for ages screwing up with simpletons.

No, I feel like what truly motivated him was the sweet irony of vagrant haters now becoming vagrants themselves thanks to that very hatred. Well, either that or I'm wrong and I'll die. I don't want to remain with these assholes anymore.

Many times I've thought of simply leaving the village alone, but I know that people are fighting. It would be a surefire way for me to die. I've been waiting all this time and I am now ready to leave.

Here goes nothing…

*Knock Knock*