You're My Grandpa! Seeing the warm water on the table, John did not mind it. He picked up the teacup and took a sip, then gestured for Ernest to sit down before striking up a conversation with a smile.
"By the way, Village Chief Ernest, I noticed quite a few villagers seemed to be injured. Did something happen? Would it be convenient to tell me about it?"
"Ah, it's nothing. They accidentally got into a fight while competing for water. It happens often, so there's no need for you to concern yourself with it, sir."
Ernest replied with a dry laugh.
Though he was an old man, he had traveled far and wide in his younger days and was anything but foolish.
The war had yet to settle down. Who knew whether the Allied Forces would come back to attack again?
If he revealed news about the Allied Forces to the Empire now, then if the Allied Forces retook Walden Territory, would he not be accused of colluding with the Empire?
When that time came, forget him—even the eighty-six people in all of Stone Village, along with every dog in the village, would not survive.
The wisdom accumulated over the years had taught him deeply that one could not carelessly pick a side. One wrong move, and it could cost one's head.
Thus, after hearing John ask about it, Ernest made up his mind that no matter how the other man questioned him, he would insist that the villagers' injuries had been caused by fighting among themselves.
A village's people could beat each other into this state over water?
That really wasn't very convincing.
John also realized that Ernest did not seem to be telling him the truth. However, seeing how nervous the old man was, he knew that continuing