Read Novel Full Vol 23 Chapter 7
Vol 23 Chapter 7
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Chapter 7 – Now?
Since Camille-san seemed a bit troubled, I gave her some cards to help her negotiate more confidently. I can’t say it was easy negotiating with the noble, but Camille-san managed to settle everything within three days. I decided we should stay in the area for five days to explore the surroundings, but for some reason, William-san’s name came up. Why?
“William-san was gathering information about the waterways and the layout of the village, so he might know some interesting places to visit.”
I wondered why I should ask him, but he must have information from surveying the area. It’s true that it’s more meaningful to have a goal than to wander around aimlessly.
It’s fun to go on a trip and wander around without a destination, but this area is so rural that it would likely be boring without something to do. Camille-san is really thoughtful.
My mood improved a little.
“I’ll go talk to William-san. Thank you, Camille-san.”
“Yes, I hope you have a productive visit. Oh, he should be in his office at the guild right now.”
Camille-san saw me off, and I went to meet William-san.
“William-san, it’s been a while.”
“Long time no see, Wataru-san. How are you today?”
I hadn’t seen William-san in a while, but he looked calm because he didn’t have any paperwork piled up.
“Actually, I was thinking of inspecting this area. Camille-san told me you have a lot of information.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, I have gathered a lot of information…”
For some reason, William-san froze.
“William-san?”
“Wataru-san, I have some unfortunate news.”
William-san suddenly said something ominous.
“W-what is it?”
“We’ve gathered information and progressed to the stage of tentatively planning the layout of the waterways and villages. However, even after gathering all that information, there are no notable places. This area is just a wasteland with nothing but soil and poor vegetation.”
I see. There’s nothing worth seeing.
Considering our relationship with the Aquamarine Kingdom, I chose this poor land. Maybe I should have thought about it more, though.
Well, it’s too late now. I can’t change the location because we’ve already made so much progress on the construction, and there’s nothing interesting to see.
“I have something to discuss with you. Would you mind?”
Discuss? I’m scared, but it’s not like he’s going to force me to do something.
“…Yes, I’ll listen.”
“Thank you. Wataru-san, do you know the forest where the stream that is our water source flows?”
A forest… It doesn’t sound like a rich forest, does it?
“Yes, I know it. Is something wrong with it?”
“Actually, during our investigation, we discovered a small goblin settlement deep in the forest. Your guards are quite strong, aren’t they?”
William-san didn’t say it directly, but I could tell from his eyes that he wanted me to wipe them out.
Still, a goblin settlement… I never expected an event like this, a staple of isekai stories, to happen at this time. Honestly, the other members are ready to take on the Demon King, but I’m not sure I am.
“There are strong people among the beastmen, aren’t there? Wouldn’t it be better to assign the task to them for the future?”
After all, this is an adventurers’ guild. I’m sure someone would volunteer to take on the task if a request were made.
“We haven’t told the beastmen yet. They’re still holding onto hope and dreams about their current situation. According to Luke-san, if we give them a request like this, they might recklessly charge in order to protect their current way of life.”
The guild master’s reasoning isn’t wrong, but I want to know why.
For the oppressed beastmen, this place has become worth protecting with their lives.
It’s not that they will be unable to win, but rather, they are concerned that the beastmen will lose control during the hunt. They would appreciate it if we took care of it.
I understand.
If the beastmen get injured, it’ll be a bad start to the day. I’m not scared of goblins anymore, so I don’t mind accepting the request.
I’m a little concerned about them putting their client at risk, but my escorts are A-rank adventurers. They conquered a duke’s castle in the sea and traveled across dangerous seas. I guess they’ve judged that goblins aren’t a problem.
“What do you think, Marina-san?”
“Hmm, even if the king is there, goblins aren’t a problem.”
William-san said it’s a small settlement and that it should be fine even if the king is there.
I feel like this might be setting up a flag, but yeah, it should be fine. It would take an extremely rare accident to put us in a tight spot.
The worst-case scenario would be a dragon appearing, but our members could hunt down a normal dragon. Even if a very strong dragon appeared, we could handle it with the Hideaway.
We might be in trouble if an ancient dragon appears, but they’re also victims of the Creator God-sama, so as long as I can communicate with them, we should be fine.
A dungeon or a stampede might cause a big commotion, but this place could benefit from a dungeon. Unless it’s extremely terrible, I think it would be a good thing.
It could lead to more jobs and local specialties.
A stampede… I don’t think there are enough monsters here to cause one. After all, this is a weak land where even monsters are scarce.
“Then, we’ll take care of destroying that goblin settlement. Should we go to Luke-san’s place?”
“No, there’s no request at the Adventurers’ Guild yet, so we’ll handle it here. The fee will come from Wataru-san’s charity fund. Is that okay?”
From the outside, it looks like they’re paying the fee and solving the problem themselves. No wonder William-san is smiling wryly.
It’s not quite a money-making scheme, but it’s similar.
“No problem.”
I was about to say that the fee wasn’t necessary, but it was also Marina-san and the others’ reward. I couldn’t just refuse it on my own.
“Here are the reference materials. There is no deadline, but please finish before the news spreads among the beastmen.”
“Marina-san, is tomorrow okay?”
We have time, but I need to confirm with Marina-san and the others because I asked them to escort Camille-san.
“It’s better to start now since it’ll be less trouble.”
“Now? Why?”
Physically, it’s not a problem, but I just arrived at the beastmen’s village today. Since we were waiting for Camille-san’s return, it’s already night.
“Goblins return to their settlement at night. If we don’t wipe them all out there, the ones outside the forest will remain and reproduce. Even if we dispose of them properly, more goblins will appear and reproduce, but we can buy some time.”
I see. So, if we’re going to fight at night, tonight would be the most efficient time.
“Is there any preliminary investigation necessary?”
Even though our forces are overwhelmingly superior, I feel like we’ll be punished for underestimating the goblins. If you think of Heaven as the Creator, God-sama, it seems certain that divine punishment will befall us.
“Reconnaissance is always necessary. But, based on the documents I’ve seen, I think I can get a general idea without spending too much time. That will leave us plenty of time to wipe them out.”
“Understood.”
If we’re not underestimating them, then there’s no problem. Let’s make a night drive out of it. There’s nothing to see; it’s just pitch black.
“Then I’ll be off.”
I said goodbye to William-san and set off.
“Huh, this is my first time walking around a beastman village at night. No one’s awake.”
Japan aside, even in the Southern City and Cagliari, there were people who were reasonably active at night.
“They’re tired from physical labor, and there are no bars here. There’s nothing to do, so everyone goes to bed early.”
“It’s quiet because there are no restaurants.”
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, right?”
Following Marina-san’s words, Carla-san and Claretta-san added their opinions.
I see. It was supposed to be a nice village with shops, just as William-san designed it. However, more beastmen arrived than expected, and the villagers were too busy building temporary dwellings.
Now, merchants from the royal capital and nearby villages bring supplies. However, with the sudden increase in population, there are bound to be problems.
“Maybe we should think of some entertainment?”
Going to bed early and rising early may be good for your health, but I feel like not having any fun would be bad for your health.
“Can Wataru think of any entertainment that would be enough for this many people? If we just build a tavern, the beastmen will swarm in!”
I could see it becoming a battlefield as intense as a bargain sale.
“It’s impossible.”
“Wataru, don’t worry. William-san and Camille are planning a big festival once the construction of the beastman town is complete.”
As I wondered what to do about Marina-san’s words, Carla-san shared some useful information with me.
A festival? It’s likely to be huge, but a night of revelry would be a good break. Besides, it’s unlikely that the beastmen would rush in.
“Then, let’s bring something to the festival.”
However, I don’t think it’s a good idea to give away large quantities of luxury goods from the luxury liner for free. Instead, let’s buy a lot of alcohol, food, and sweets from various places before the festival and store them in the rubber boats.
There are so many beastmen that I might have to buy a lot of goods.
I might even have to buy more rubber boats because the ones I secured during the pepper trade might not suffice.
Ferries and luxury liners can carry a lot of cargo, but they’re slow and hard to maneuver, so rubber boats are surprisingly convenient.
As we were talking, we arrived at the gate of the beastmen’s village.
Luckily, even though it’s just a symbolic gate, the guards are awake and on duty. There are quite a few guards, and security seems tight.
Most of the beastmen gathered here are refugees, and they don’t seem to let their guard down when it comes to safety. I feel a little relieved.
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