Side: Yuki
We are currently gathered inside the Elder's house.
It seemed the village had finally reached a decision.
Well, no matter which way it goes, we have no choice but to protect this place. After all, it's our connection point to Weed — we can't abandon it.
Honestly, the best outcome would have been if the villagers had decided to abandon this place and run away to another land. That would let us freely remodel this base, and since information would only be shared among our own people, security would be much easier to maintain. Not exactly what modern people would call "high security," but we'd at least be able to protect it reasonably well.
"Forgive us. In the end, it took a full day to reach a conclusion."
"No no. Don't worry about it. This is a major decision, whether to move the village or remain here. If anything, I'd say you wrapped up your discussions remarkably fast."
"Indeed. In peacetime that would be true. However, with the footsteps of war drawing near, we cannot afford endless discussions. Truth be told, the defensive walls your people are building should have been our responsibility. You have my gratitude."
Exactly.
Right now, I have Steve and his Goblin troops fully tasked with handling our basic construction and defense duties, but normally the villagers themselves should have been the ones doing that.
There's no guarantee the enemy's main force or reinforcements won't show up immediately. So whether the villagers stay and defend the place or flee, they need some way to buy time. Just running away isn’t enough. We need to make the village harder to infiltrate and buy time to escape or fortify the defenses.
Well, it depends on the situation. If there's no time to escape, it's all for nothing. Balance is the key to everything.
"So, what is everyone's answer?"
I looked around at the faces of those who had participated in the meeting.
"Hmm. I'll state the conclusion first. We have decided to defend this village."
Ugh... What a pain.
Now we'd have to work together with these people from now on... Just building something in the village will require negotiations...
Man, why does everything always lean toward the annoying option?
"However, the meeting also concluded that defending this village will be absolutely impossible without your cooperation."
Well, obviously.
If you guys said you didn't need us, I would have gladly pulled back to Weed until the village got wiped out.
That would have given me a great excuse, after all.
"I see. However, we have our own objectives. We can't simply operate according to your convenience."
I had to say this upfront.
We helped this village out of a sense of justice—well, Riel and the others definitely did—but that wasn't our primary goal. There's no reason for us to be tied down here. I have absolutely no intention of becoming a member of this village.
"We are well aware. What we ask for is your protection. So long as you do not make unreasonable demands such as forcing us to abandon the village or surrender our women, we promise to follow your policies. You must protect the ruins as well, must you not? While you are away, we swear to safeguard them."
Yeah, except I'm going to leave a defense force here anyway. That's way more reliable than the Elder's promise. But I guess they're just trying to negotiate so we don't completely push them around.
Not that the balance of power was ever in their favor to begin with.
On one side is a village. On our side is a small country called Weed, which we operate using dungeon skills and can move major powers with mere words. Of course, our individual strength is also exceptional.
They probably think they’re just protecting their village as their own property, but since they’ve received our protection, it wouldn’t be wrong to say they’re now under Weed’s influence.
The question is... when do we tell them that we are actually important figures of Weed?
The Elder and the villagers probably just see us as ordinary travelers. Even though we brought 50 goblins, they didn't seem particularly surprised. Apparently goblins could be sold for a decent price on this continent, so they likely assumed we'd captured them for profit.
Well, they might have considered that some hidden noble was traveling incognito, but since human supremacy is the norm on this continent, they probably couldn't imagine a high-ranking human casually hanging out as equals with demi-humans like Riel and the others.
"We appreciate that cooperation. There is no point in hindering one another. For now, regarding the village defense plan the goblins are working on, we'd like to finalize the details. Could you tell us more about the village's size and layout?"
"Ah yes. Before I knew it, it seemed you'd acquired quite a number of goblins. Judging by their equipment, they appear well armed. I thought you might be planning to sell them for a considerable sum. Are you mercenaries, perhaps?"
Ah... So that was their line of thinking.
Makes sense.
In a continent fragmented by constant warfare, mercenary work would be profitable, and goblins—being easily replaceable soldiers—would be ideal for war.
"Not exactly... though it's something similar."
"Even so, you haven't assigned any women to them. If you do not let them breed, they will eventually disappear, you know?"
"We don't operate that way."
"I see. So even as mercenaries, you hold onto your morals. I have heard rumors that there are mercenary bands who take Goblins, raid villages to capture women, and use them as breeding tools to multiply their forces."
Well, from a tactical standpoint, that was probably effective if manpower couldn't be replenished. From a humanitarian standpoint, however, that was another matter entirely.
But the funny thing is, these Goblins led by Steve are all over Level 100, and individually, they are stronger than Mino-chan was when he was first summoned. So worrying about replenishment is pointless.
Oh, and I obviously didn't give them modern weapons. I purposely outfitted them with standard swords and armor. Well, they're handmade by Narjia-san, our elite fairies, and the Dwarves, so their performance is on a completely different level.
By the way, these Goblins don't do that old-school tactic of lining up and blindly charging the enemy. I've drilled it into their heads that doing that just makes you a perfect target for gunfire and artillery.
So these fifty guys... the people of Weed count Goblins as people, not monsters. And if these fifty guys are fighting a massive enemy force, they will strictly rely on guerrilla tactics. Charging straight ahead like idiots would just make them obvious decoys.
Since their levels are ridiculously high, their physical abilities are completely broken. Steve is the one who literally trained our current coalition generals like Seraria, Crack, and Dest. Well, in Seraria's case, she basically just pestered him for fights because my wife is a total battle junkie.
Even if they get surrounded, they can easily jump out of danger. Honestly, if you can jump that high to escape, you can just crush the enemy from the inside out anyway. That's why people say "A Goblin of Weed is no ordinary Goblin."
...But a mercenary band, huh?
What should we do? Should we act like one from now on?
"Well, it does not matter if you are a mercenary band or not. You have captured the soldiers of the Jilva Empire, so you will be seen as an enemy in this region."
"Then why not execute them all? That would make things safer for the village."
"That matter was discussed as well. You mentioned defensive plans, did you not? While you're here, we wish to free ourselves from the terror of the Jilva Empire. Therefore, we intend to keep half the survivors as hostages and release the other half. We will openly oppose the Jilva Empire."
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
"You all seem to be traveling for your own reasons, but unless you do something about the Jilva Empire, you will not be able to walk freely across this continent anyway. For our part, we will contact the survivors of the other beastman tribes to gather our forces. Please, lend us your strength."
"...You say that, but you've already intentionally let a few of them escape, haven't you?"
"Oya? You caught on? Forgive me. If we let you leave now, we will have no choice but to keep running forever. We believe this is our last chance to survive on this continent."
Damn it.
In the end, it turned out exactly like this.
"Haa... well, we have to protect this ruin anyway... Is everyone okay with this?"
I turned around to ask the group.
"""Yeah!"""
"""Sure."""
Everyone was completely onboard.
At that point, there was no turning back.
The Elder's move could almost be considered a threat. Though in practice, it wasn't much of one.
Still, we accepted and explained the situation to those remaining back in Weed.
And their responses were...
『Ara? Congratulations. You're a king now. As your wife, that makes me happy. And so is the child in my belly.』 (Seraria)
『Wow, for someone who hates moving around, you sure acted fast, Onii-san. You've finally found the motivation to work hard, huh?』 (Ratz)
『Please improve the status and safety of my fellow elves.』 (Eris)
『Ugh, a war... I want to help too! I've been so bored just staying at home lately!』 (Derieu)
『Now, now, Derieu, that's bad for the baby. Look at Rurua, she wanted to go too but she's patiently enduring it...』 (Milly)
『Grrrgh!』
『Danna-sama, as long as you and our friends are safe, I do not care about the rest. Please take care of your body, even if it is just a doppelganger proxy. If anything happens, I will use recovery magic immediately, so please come right back!』 (Rurua)
『I am also praying for everyone's safety. Go claim your glory, Milord. You have already achieved more than enough to earn it. We will take proper care of your main bodies while you sleep at home, so please run wild to your heart's content.』 (Killue)
In other words—
Every single one of them was completely on board.
"Alright, Steve. The Jilva Empire will probably attack within a month, so I'm leaving the defense measures to you. Here's the data. Make sure you fix it up properly."
"WHAAAAAT?!"
Just give up. I've got my hands full handling transport logistics from Weed and negotiating with the Elder. This is your actual job, so you'll be fine.
"Ah, we need to gather information too... but it looks like we'll have to send only humans for that... What a pain."
