Episode 82: Piling Up Tasks
“Hey, Dru! How about coming with ‘Blue Comet’ on their next expedition?”
After enjoying a bowl of ramen with chicken carcass soy sauce soup for dinner, Shio, who smoothly asked for a share of mine, said something like that.
Apparently, they fought a lot during the summer when the Monsters became active… and now, for the final push, they’re going to do a major culling.
It seems there was a request to do the culling up north… in the Frontier Settlement.
“If it’s the Frontier Settlement, there should be tons of first-rate Striders. Why would they go to the trouble of calling people from the rear like this…”
“Well, apparently, there have been three big Demon Lairs in the Frontier Settlement recently. They’re doing their best just to keep those three under control. Plus, everyone’s going there because they’re huge and the Monsters are delicious,” she said.
I see…
Demon Lairs, or so-called Dungeons.
If used well, they can be quite profitable.
In Demon Lairs, Monsters are produced at a rate that’s impossible in a normal ecosystem, so they can be considered a practical “resource spawning point.”
Of course, if you leave them alone, the Demon Lairs will grow and expand, and bare their fangs at humans…
But if you control and manage them properly like this, they can become truly useful places for humanity.
“Hee… What kind of Monsters come out, by the way?”
“Umm… The west Demon Lair has Treants, Iron Bugs, and Silk Spiders. The east has Slimes, Pig Earthworms, Mud Golems, and Screaming Roots. The north… is said to have Griffons and Chimeras?”
“Seriously…?! That’s a pretty good location…!”
No wonder Count Missgancia is making so much money.
Treants are basically “never-ending wood,” Iron Bugs have Carapaces made of iron, so they’re practically iron ingots.
Silk Spider thread is a high-class material, Pig Earthworms are bugs but taste and are as nutritious as pork. Baking Mud Golems makes good pottery, and Screaming Roots (Mandrake) are high-class medicinal ingredients. Even Slimes can be used in a wide range of applications, from waste disposal to lotion.
Griffons and Chimeras are strong, but their hides can be made into armor that won’t be pierced by ordinary blades, and their claws and fangs can be used as weapons. Nobles would probably pay a high price for their bones and feathers as ornaments.
Indeed, if there were Demon Lairs this profitable, no one would do tedious jobs like guarding roads or culling Monsters.
“That’s why I’m going on an expedition north to cull Monsters before the summer ends! Dru just needs to cook and be a reserve force in case of an emergency, so won’t you come?”
Hmm… well, okay.
I’ve been resting a lot lately.
“Alright. You don’t want me to fight on the front lines, do you?”
“Of course not! I’ll fight on the front lines, so I just want Dru to cook! I want you to make food! …We can’t eat anything decent during expeditions, so please!”
That’s probably true.
Traveling in this world, especially marching, is harsh.
It’s nothing like the easygoing trip I took with Count Missgancia to the Royal Capital.
You can’t take a bath for days, the food is hard biscuits, you walk until your legs are stiff… and then you fight enemies.
Walking is especially tough.
Even in the Self-Defense Forces, marching is often said to be the hardest training… right?
Just walking all day in heavy full gear.
It’s an ordeal that ordinary people can’t endure.
“Okay, good. I’ll provide our carriage.”
So, I’ll go.
They’re important women to me, so I have to help them.
“Also, Cardi wants you to sharpen his Demon Sword, and mine too… You gave Cardi a Demon Sword too?”
“Yeah… Kaede is planning to marry me…”
“Ah, that’s why she was hanging from the Clan house the other day.”
“If you saw that, why didn’t you help me?????”
“Ahaha! Well, anyway, please provide rear support!”
“Yeah… But won’t Katrina get angry? I made her pretty angry about Kaede last time, and I haven’t seen her since.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay! The leader complains, but she knows that Dru’s support makes a big difference in morale! She’ll complain, but I think she’ll welcome you!”
That’s true…
“I always wonder, is it okay for me to come along? I’m a man, you know…”
By the way.
This isn’t the first time I’ve gone on an expedition with “Blue Comet.”
Actually, there have been several events like this before.
Every time, I wondered, is it okay for me to go with “Blue Comet,” which is a women’s company?
“Because Dru, unlike ordinary Strider men, doesn’t rape and beat girls who don’t want to, and doesn’t get drunk and violent, right?”
Ah, yes.
The standards are still low…
Striders are like thugs and Yakuza, so there are many like that.
I’m said to be the best man in everything except for my womanizing.
Apparently, I’m very popular with girls who come from cultures where polygamy is allowed, or who don’t mind harems.
“From my point of view, you’re so kind to me, a Tribesman, that I have no complaints! Ahaha!”
Well…
Tribesmen are discriminated against, though not as much as the Mazoku.
If there’s a theft in the neighborhood, they’re suspected of being “Tribesmen who don’t know the law!” and the patrolling guards who arrest them have discriminatory feelings, so wrongful arrests are common. Well, they “do it” quite often, but that’s another story, right?
And if they get violent, they’re accused of “being the culprit because they’re violent!” and weapons are pointed at them…
Especially for women, they’re looked down upon, so their position is even worse.
It’s terrible, this medieval world.
That’s why “Blue Comet” is a group of girls in such weak positions helping each other.
“Anyway, I’ll contact you when the departure date is decided! Oh, can I stay over tonight?”
“This is also Shio’s house. You can come whenever you want.”
“Yay! I love you, Dru! I love you!”
And so, I spent time flirting with my lover (?), and the next day…
“He-help me, Al, Dru大哥! It’s, it’s coming…!”
Another lover (?) came.
I haven’t gone through any confession or anything like that, but she’s someone I’ve held many times, and a woman who comes to my house without warning.
I could probably call her my lover.
And she’s starting to make a fuss again.
“What’s wrong, Xiaolin? What happened?”
“It’s coming! It’s coming, aru yo!”
“What is?”
“Big Sis is coming, Big Sis is coming!!!!”
“Xiaolin~? You can’t run to the teacher’s place, aru yo~?”
“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!!”
Now… what is it this time?