Episode 94: The Beginning of Gathering Dark Clouds
North, on the way to the village in front of the Frontier Settlement.
Shio said from atop the carriage,
” ‘Dreams,’ huh…? I get it~. Being with Dru-sama makes me want to live!”
“…Do you live thinking you want to die?”
“Huh? Yeah? The Gira Tribe lives to fight and dies in battle~. If we fail to die and live too long, we end up in the ‘Valley of the Defeated’~.”
‘Valley of the Defeated’…?
…I listened to her story. In Shio’s tribe, when people reach a certain age, they settle down in a specific area.
To put it bluntly, it’s like abandoning the elderly.
The tribe probably doesn’t have enough resources to support the elderly.
Feeling that it’s cruel probably means I’m just a weakling who lived comfortably in peaceful Japan.
You can’t live in a place with the level of security of Planet Udo or something like that. Our values don’t align. At this rate, Mr. Ginga◯jo won’t read a cool,渋い poem in the next episode’s preview. Well, my face is like a grim reaper manga with a mysterious poem at the beginning of the volume. …Is that why?
“But you know~, when I’m living with Dru-sama, I learn that there are so many interesting things in the world~! It’s so much fun that I can’t die~!”
…Ah.
What is it?
I’m very, very happy.
These girls are so innocent.
I can understand why God abandoned the shitty humans who gained unnecessary knowledge by eating the Fruit of Knowledge.
Truly, a girl who doesn’t have unnecessary knowledge is cute.
She’s not twisted by the desire for approval, doesn’t spout about gender equality, and doesn’t just look at the contents of her wallet. That alone is a passing grade… but being so innocent, ignorant, and thinking she has no value makes me want to help her even more.
When they’re this adorable, of course, I want to spoil them.
The old guys who want to do “Papa-katsu” like young girls, but they also want to be respected by young girls who aren’t jaded.
I’m doing something like Papa-katsu in a big way in this other world, and I really think so. It’s a fierce agreement.
As I was feeling good about all this…
“I can see it! The planned post town that serves as a relay point to the Frontier Settlement… ‘Atosea Village’!”
We arrived at the base for this hunting ground.
It was…
…Well, yeah.
“It’s not done.”
The buildings are basically just small huts.
The large buildings seem to be under construction, with only pillars standing on stone foundations. It seems the walls are yet to be built.
Well, there’s a well, I guess?
Also, there’s a simple wooden fence around the village, and guards who seem to be mercenaries? Strider? are on the wooden watchtower with quivers hanging from their waists.
And then, burly men who look like carpenters are carrying logs with their arms as thick as logs…
“Oi, are you guys the ‘Blue…’ whatever?”
One of the bearded old men among them rushed over to us and said this.
“‘Blue Comet.’ We’re here to thin out the Monsters around Atosea Village for a while, commissioned by Lord Missgancia-sama.”
Katrina stated her name and then said this. It was a concise explanation.
“You’re going to thin out the Monsters around here, huh?… Are you going to do it with just women? That’s insulting.”
The large man didn’t even return the introduction. On the contrary, he spoke in a way that seemed to insult us.
It’s terrible, but in this world, it’s common for “weak” people like women, foreigners, and demi-humans to be looked down upon.
That’s why ‘Blue Comet’ has created a gathering of only women.
A single woman is miserable, you know? If they’re seen as easy to take advantage of and unable to fight back, they’ll be robbed of everything, not just their chastity, and trampled on.
To prevent that, these girls have gathered together to protect each other.
That’s why, in front of this old man who’s saying insulting things, several members of ‘Blue Comet’ gather.
The tall Kaede, the toned body of the Tribesman woman, the lean and muscular Wood Elf, Hanako carrying the Ōganabō on her back…
Then, perhaps because he was intimidated, the old man clicked his tongue and said this.
“Ugh… Tch! I, I understand! ‘Blue Comet,’ right?! As you can see, there aren’t any inns yet. We only have temporary housing for the construction workers!… So, pitch your tents wherever you like. You can use the well freely, and the mercenary group we hired will do the night watch.”
“Understood. Are you the representative of the workers?”
“Y, yeah… Ah, you want me to sign the documents, right? Here… is this good enough?! Hurry up and thin out the Monsters around here, we’re having trouble with them!”
The name… ‘Thomas, the Carpenter from Toranesaki’ was written on the contract, and the tent pitching for the temporary base began…
“…At that rate, we might not be safe even within this village. Everyone! Refrain from reckless actions, and avoid acting alone!”
“””””Yes!”””””
Katrina’s command.
Be careful because you might be attacked or harassed by the villagers! That’s what she said.
It’s a terrible story, isn’t it?
But from their perspective, a large group of Strider, incomprehensible thugs, have rushed in, and they’re all women.
It doesn’t make sense, and they might even think they’re being made fun of by the Lord.
Regardless of their actual strength, it’s only natural to think, “Don’t mess with us just because they’re women!”
If you train until you can use Magic Skills, even women can overwhelm men… but still, basically, women are weaker. Men are at the center of society.
It was only natural for people to look at female warriors and think, “How impertinent!” or “Are they really useful?”
“All of you, don’t interact with the villagers excessively! Got it?!”
“””””Yes!”””””
That’s why we can’t expect much support from the village.
Dark clouds are already gathering…
Well, my job is cooking, so…