Episode 262: Interlude (The Dominated Village)
Accompanied by a deep, heavy sound, it appeared.
A massive bird, blotting out the sky. Only after everything was over did they learn it was an aerial fortress piloted by the conquerors.
The villagers were in a panic.
A young man with keen hearing had raised a commotion about a sound he heard, and less than half a koku later, it came flying in.
Tearing through the clouds, it approached with a roar.
Something scattered from it in a flurry, and those falling objects descended upon the village, spitting fire.
Giant spider monsters, as large as houses.
They crashed into the village square with tremendous noise. Just before landing, tubes spitting fire were ejected, some of which flew into the church. The tubes, larger than a man, destroyed the church.
The spider monsters showed no interest in the fleeing villagers. Ignoring those who had collapsed in fear, they fired something from the tubes on their backs toward the church.
The church at the center of the village was pulverized.
It was needless to consider what had happened to the bishops who should have been inside.
They hadn’t been seen since that sudden invasion.
The spider monsters weren’t alone.
In the end, a total of five monsters ran rampant through the village. Their target: the Soldado (Warrior Monks).
With a flash of their Legs, the Soldado (Warrior Monks) were blown away and eliminated.
Just as the tubes on their backs flashed, the ground exploded along with the Warrior Monks they were supposed to protect.
The rampage by the five giant monsters began suddenly and ended in the blink of an eye.
They later realized that an even larger boss monster, bigger than the monsters that had entered the village, had appeared outside the village.
And with that giant boss monster, the invaders walked into the village.
“Elimination of the Soldado (Warrior Monks) is complete. Futile resistance will only shorten your lives. Stop all work and gather in the village square,”
The girl declared in a loud voice that echoed throughout the village, like a voice amplification magic used by a bishop.
Accompanied by giant and powerful monsters, and attended by something that walked on two legs like a human, the girl walked.
“Hiding is futile. We know all your locations. As long as you don’t resist, no harm will come to you. Gather in the village square.”
Something resembling a four-legged spider, larger than an ox, and the girls riding on it were calling for surrender in front of the houses where the residents had fled.
Those who came out obediently were guided to the square, and if they remained hidden, the girls entered the houses and dragged them out. Some residents tried to fight back, but they were easily subdued by the girls.
Eventually, all the residents were gathered in the village square.
Young and old, sick and injured, all of them. However, those who were so severely injured that they couldn’t move had been taken to hospitals in nearby cities, so there were no seriously ill people.
“This village has been occupied by us, ＜Paraiso＞. From now on, you will be under the occupation of ＜Paraiso＞. Basically, you will continue to engage in agricultural work as before. I swear that no harm will come to you as long as you do not resist. In addition, we will add rewards according to your work.”
The girl, having removed her hood, had beast ears on her head. She was small like a child, but none of the residents underestimated her.
The largest man in the village, who had attacked her at an unguarded moment, had been subdued with a single twist. The man, his shoulder dislocated, groaned lowly as he was pinned to the ground.
“The surrounding towns have also been occupied. The Gigantia that passed by earlier is monitoring everything. Resistance is futile.”
And so, the village was placed under their control.
As they had declared, their previous lives were guaranteed as long as they did not resist.
In fact, if they responded to requests, their quality of life was even improved.
The food distributed regularly was improved in both quality and quantity compared to before. The luxury goods distributed once a week, sweets and alcoholic beverages, were so delicious that they had never tasted anything like them before.
They were not subjected to unreasonable violence, and their quality of life improved. The residents quickly dropped their guard. Originally, they had been living as the bishop told them to. Only the top had been replaced, and most of the residents continued to farm as before.
The problem was some of the residents who had been deeply involved with the bishops and Soldado (Warrior Monks). They were dissatisfied with the fact that the church officials had been eliminated without question.
It was probably a reaction to being deprived of a certain privilege. Originally, they had been acting as intermediaries between the residents and the church officials, and although they had privileges, they also did work commensurate with them.
However, that job had been eliminated without question along with the girls’ invasion. Unable to adapt to that, and combined with the fact that the girls were not violent, they began to complain loudly.
Naturally, they became estranged from the many residents who disliked conflict.
The new rulers, the girls, seemed to be deliberately waiting for such unstable elements to explode. They seemed to only listen to the advice from the sensible residents.
One night, they rose up to eliminate the girls, and were carefully suppressed by the girls themselves.
Literally, they couldn’t lay a hand or foot on them.
When the residents who knew nothing went to the village square as usual, all those who had participated in the rebellion were tied up.
Considering the ruthlessness of the initial invasion, not having their lives taken was a merciful response. The girls said nothing, but the residents other than those tied up understood it well.
Those who had rebelled against the rulers were punished with additional labor. In addition to the usual labor, the luxury goods they received were halved, and the time spent on labor was increased.
However, those who were most relieved that it ended with just that were not the rebels themselves, but their relatives. That was their parents, spouses, children, and friends.
“Today, we’ll be testing new farming equipment.”
On that day, a resident designated by the ＜Paraiso＞ girl was brought to an undeveloped area.
Behind him, a golem for carrying loads, also provided by ＜Paraiso＞, followed. It seemed to be walking slowly on its six Legs, but its stride was large, so it was surprisingly fast.
The dog-eared girl, their ruler, explained how to operate it, and the resident cautiously operated the machine (golem). It looked like a handcart with various tools added to it, but its functions were fully demonstrated.
The blade at the tip dug into the ground, destroying the hard-packed soil and turning it over. It forcefully tore through weeds and shrubs with its power.
The operation was also simple. Just move the lever to the position for running and plowing, stopping, and reversing. Anyone could operate it.
Of course, the same thing could be done using cows, but the number of cows that could be kept was limited, and they couldn’t be increased indefinitely. They also needed a lot of feed.
In that respect, according to the explanation, this plowing golem would be provided in any number, and it would move automatically. It seemed that even if it broke down, they would replace it.
With this, the efficiency of farming would be dramatically improved.
“Distribution time.”
The giant fortress that travels in the sky, which they call Gigantia.
It flew over the village approximately every two to three days.
At that time, it dropped boxes containing distribution goods. These boxes contained various items, but what the residents were looking forward to the most was the luxury goods inside.
They were sweet sweets, rare dried seafood, or bottled liquor. Fruit juice was sometimes provided for children.
During distribution, containers fell directly into the town square. Once all the contents were taken out, a giant six-legged golem would appear from somewhere, carry it on its back, and run away.
There were many things to be concerned about, but the lifestyle was not different from what it had been, living as the church told them to. There were some gradual changes, but life was only getting better. There were no complaints.
I wondered what it would be like to have a village dominated. Imagining various things.
Being dominated by a Kemomimi girl.
The sample arrived, and I was so happy that I rolled around. Round and round.