Read Novel Full Vol 18 Chapter 8
Vol 18 Chapter 8
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(14/20)
Chapter 8 – The Kobolds’ Reaction
After exploring the Kobold Village, we set out to meet the ancient earth dragon in person. When we arrived at our destination without encountering any monsters, we found that the mountain we were looking for was surrounded by a wall, making it difficult to meet the ancient earth dragon without meeting the kobolds first. The difficulty of the strategy to meet the ancient earth dragon suddenly increased.
“Wataru, don’t worry. No matter what happens, we will protect you, so please rest easy.”
Alessia-san gives me a determined look and swears to protect me. The beautiful women nod vigorously in agreement.
In my normal state of mind, I would have been moved to tears at the thought of being protected by such exquisite beauties.
“Haha. Yes, I’m counting on you.”
Except that they only want to protect my physical safety, leaving my mental well-being unattended. All I can manage is a dry laugh.
Unfortunately, we didn’t come up with any good ideas at last night’s meeting.
Since there was nothing else we could do, we decided to try to negotiate with them directly, and I was put in charge of the negotiations because I had good language skills.
In short, the women didn’t want to scare the kobolds by talking to them, so they left the negotiations to me.
It’s not easy for me to make the cute kobolds afraid of me either, but I guess this is the time for me to do my best.
It was a mission forced upon me by the Creator God-sama… and I accepted it.
Hmm, negotiations. I’m not good at them anyway, but I wonder if I’ll be able to negotiate well with the frightened kobolds? I’m quite worried.
“Well, shall we go then?”
When I hesitate to leave, Alessia-san urges me on. However, her voice lacks the usual dignity and strength, and it sounds as if she is a bit frightened.
I guess she’s scared, too, because she cried her eyes out when the kobolds ran away.
In a situation like this, I have no choice but to do my best. I stroked Rimu to encourage me and then repatriated the Hideaway. Then, I made my way to the fort.
“They noticed us.”
Yesterday, we watched from a distance to avoid being spotted by the kobolds, but today, we are walking up to them boldly and directly, so the fort immediately becomes noisy.
“Wataru, let’s stop for a moment.”
“Yes.”
I stopped at Alessia-san’s instruction.
“It’s hard to get close; what should we do?”
“That’s right, what should we do?”
Alessia-san is also at a loss for an answer to my question and looks at the other members, but they all shake their heads.
I know it’s hard to figure out what to do, isn’t it?
Because from the fort, along with the barking and yelping, we could hear cries of “That’s the humans! “Scary!” “Help!” that made us feel bad about approaching.
Just hearing their voices makes me feel like I’m doing something evil on the level of animal cruelty, not just bullying the weak.
Those kids look like they’re cosplaying, but they’re also armed, so is it too much to ask that they at least try a little harder?
“…Well then, shall we go?”
After waiting for about 20 minutes, the fort became quiet again, so we moved on. Since there was no end in sight, we planned to continue even if there was another disturbance at the fort.
“Stop!”
As we walked on, feeling like we were walking through thorns, the fort finally called out to us.
It would be a bad move to ignore their demands here, so we obediently stopped and waited for an answer. But the distance to the fort was long, so long that I was frightened to the point of wondering how they could be so frightened.
And then…
“Which kobold shall I negotiate with?”
When I finally gathered my courage and looked at them, I couldn’t see who I was supposed to negotiate with because they were all gathered together in a single mass. What was that?
“I don’t know either, but I guess we’ll just have to talk to them as if we were negotiating with the whole group.”
Alessia-san gives me some advice, even though she is looking off into the distance.
Well, there’s no point in not trying, is there?
“We have no hostile intentions. Please listen to us!”
I had just spoken to them in a loud voice, but for some reason, the kobolds made a fuss as if they had been attacked. Was it because I spoke so loudly?
No, if I react to their reactions, I won’t be able to finish speaking today. I’ll just have to think of them as ordinary kobolds, not adorable kobolds, and talk to them.
If I close my eyes, I’ll be fine.
“G-go away!”
They just refused to talk to us.
“We just need to talk to the ancient earth dragon. Will you let us pass, or will you go and ask the ancient earth dragon to come?”
“That’s a lie. Master said you were dangerous. We’ll protect Master!”
By “Master,” you mean the ancient earth dragon, right? Hmm, I think the kobold’s intelligence isn’t that high because I think the conversation is a bit off.
First of all, does the ancient earth dragon think we are dangerous?
“We are not lying. We’ve come to see the ancient earth dragon on the orders of Creator God-sama. We are trustworthy humans who are safe and reliable!”
For some reason, the air on the side of the fortress instantly froze. Huh? What does it mean?
“Creator God is evil,” “Creator God is dangerous,” “Creator God is a threat,” “Creator God is a nuisance,” “I hate Creator God,” “Creator God is annoying,” “Creator God should just die,” “Creator God is bald.”
Why? When I tried to rely on the name value of Creator God-sama for reassurance, I received a torrent of abuse in return.
Besides, it’s hard to deny.
“Wataru, let’s call it a day.”
What? I feel like listening and empathizing a bit more?
Oh, hey, Carla-san, I can walk by myself even if you don’t carry me.
＊＊＊
“Perhaps the kobolds are being controlled by something evil. Or even the worst of the worst, the ancient earth dragon…”
When we moved to a position where the kobolds couldn’t see us, Claretta-san said something strange with a serious expression.
“Yes, it’s crazy to speak ill of the Creator God-sama.”
“Yes, it’s unthinkable to be so disrespectful to God.”
Alessia-san and Felicia immediately agree with Claretta-san’s words.
Huh? Do I feel like I’m in the wrong? Or rather, even Felicia… No, Felicia was also a devout follower of the Goddess of the Forest-sama. I’m sure she has a high level of respect for God.
The members, except me, began to discuss what to do about this abnormal situation with serious expressions on their faces, but they were definitely heading in the wrong direction.
I heard about 80% of the words the kobolds were shouting.
It’s pretty much the same as the cursing the drunken gods directed at Creator God-sama when I invited the gods aboard the luxury liner.
In short, the ancient earth dragon was probably manipulated by Creator God-sama and complained loudly in front of the kobolds.
The words of the kobolds lacked conviction, and it is most likely that the words they complained about before the ancient earth dragon retreated to the island were passed down as folklore.
Even the ancient dragons that are considered great in this world are no match for Creator God-sama, are they? I never thought I’d feel the sorrow of a middle manager in a dragon. Well, I’m in a similar situation…
Ugh… This is going to be difficult. Well, it was all annoying to begin with, but I didn’t want it to get any more annoying.
What should I do? All the members except me have serious suspicions that the kobolds have been brainwashed.
If I told them that Creator God-sama is a selfish, rather sleazy character, would they believe me?
No way. In fact, they’d suspect me of being brainwashed.
And if I say the wrong thing, I’ll be insulting Creator God-sama. It’s a job given to me by the Creator God-sama, and he’s definitely watching over me.
Oh, I’m sure he heard the kobolds’ insults as well. …He’ll probably nag the ancient earth dragon later.
I feel a little sorry for the dragon. No, I’m the one who’s having a hard time right now because of the ancient earth dragon’s reclusive behavior. So I don’t feel sorry for him.
I’m in trouble. How should I resolve this difficult situation?
Let’s just say that the ancient earth dragon is the cause of all this, okay?
Why doesn’t the ancient earth dragon show up? Considering how overprotective he is of the kobolds, he would probably come to their aid if they were that scared. And yet, he hasn’t even shown up.
Could it be that he understands everything that’s going on here?
Since I used the power of Creator God-sama to interfere with the island’s barrier, it is very likely that he knows that we are related to Creator God-sama.
And if he can cover the whole island with a barrier, it’s not surprising that he has the power to interfere with everything on the island.
It’s possible that he has a cheat that allows him to see everything on the ground within his territory because he’s an ancient earth dragon.
He knows that we can’t touch the kobolds, and he lets the kobolds do the frontline work because he doesn’t want to meet Creator God-sama’s people himself.
If he does not see us as a danger, he might think about training the kobolds who are so used to peace.
That’s a possibility.
Damn, how can I convince the kobolds… No, let’s look at it the other way around. Even if we can’t convince the kobolds, we can still draw out the ancient earth dragon.
It would be dangerous to anger the ancient earth dragon, but if he knows that we are the pawns of Creator God-sama, he won’t be able to do anything rash.
I feel sorry for the kobolds who have to go through all this, but I hope they can take their anger out on Creator God-sama and the ancient earth dragon.
Okay, I’ve made my decision. But really, there’s not much that’s going to change from before.
The problem is how to tell Alessia-san and the others without them objecting. If I tell them my true intentions, they will definitely object.
…Or should I insist that my intentions are 100% good?
“Everyone, if things continue like this, we won’t know if the kobolds and the ancient earth dragon are being manipulated or not.”
I’m pretty sure they’re not being manipulated.
My sudden comment caught the attention of the members who were discussing the matter. Now it’s time for me to make my move.
“So, let’s try to get along by arranging delicious food, as Carla-san suggested at the beginning. Eating good food makes you happy, and it makes you get along with each other.”
Even if I’m saying it, it’s a pretty hollow statement. But Carla-san is smiling broadly and nodding, and since no one is going to lose anything, there’s little reason to deny it.
“Hmm, I wonder if they’ll eat the food we serve them?”
Alessia-san expresses a very reasonable opinion. She’s right.
“I also think it will be difficult. But if we don’t try, we won’t get anywhere, and even if they don’t eat it, it might convey that we want to be friends.
For me, the best thing would be for the kobolds to give in to their appetites and become friends.
But that probably won’t work, so the real goal is to lay out a feast of delicious food and drink and also prepare a number of things that appeal to a dog’s instincts, such as balls, frisbees, and bones, and do our best to put the kobolds in a state somewhere between desire, curiosity, fear, and caution.
If I do that, maybe the overprotective ancient earth dragon will show up when he sees the suffering kobolds. Even if it doesn’t work, I can use it for my next move.
“Well, there’s no point in worrying about it, so why don’t we give it a try?”
With Alessia-san’s approval, my simple and modest strategy was to be put into action. I think the key to the success of this strategy is how to reassure the ladies.
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