“First, we discovered several members of Arg’s tribe.”
“Oh! That’s good!”
“…But they’re mentally exhausted, so they’ll need a few days’ rest. The boss man should be able to help us out with his abilities.”
Enri must have looked confused. He provided additional explanation. “When we found the survivors, they were being held prisoner by some ogres—underlings of the Giant of the East—and getting eaten. Konaa healed their physical wounds with magic, but their psychological issues remain. The boss man has some medicines that can be used as sedatives, so we’re going to treat them with those. Now here’s the problem—there’s one tricky bit.”
Jugemu paused to check her expression before continuing. “When we saved Arg’s tribesmen, we also took five ogres prisoner. We did it to get information out of them, but… Ogres as a species have a habit of living with goblins. They build a mutually beneficial relationship where ogres do the fighting and the goblins provide food. The ones we took prisoner are saying they don’t mind fighting for our tribe. When I asked Arg, he said it wasn’t such a rare thing, but…what should we do?”
“Umm, can we trust them?”
“According to Arg, we can. Ogres have the strange tendency of only fighting for either their own tribe or a goblin tribe, so it could be that they’re so ready to betray the Giant of the East because he’s not from a goblin tribe.”
“Mmm, I’m kind of scared of man-eating ogres…”
“It seems they’ve accepted the humans of this village as members of the tribe, so as long as we feed them there shouldn’t be an issue. And we can provide enough food, no problem. Luckily they’re omnivores.”
Frankly, it was a difficult decision for a mere village girl to make.
“Should we kill them?” His tone was even. “To be blunt, I don’t mind killing them, since we’d be avoiding any future issues. I don’t want any trouble. They seem fine with betraying their master, so they might rebel the moment we’re at a disadvantage. Arg says they won’t, but it’s hard to accept what a kid says at face value…”
“What do you think, Jugemu?”
“There’s nothing better than having more fighting power. We don’t know what kind of monster could be displaced from the forest. You can never have too many shields.”
“May I ask you one more thing? They won’t eat people?”
“…Enri, I know they have a reputation for eating people, but at the end of the day, they’re just carnivorous monsters. They attack humans because it’s easier to capture them than wild animals.”
It must have been far easier for an ogre to chase down a human than a rabbit. Designating a creature that was easier to hunt as the main source of food was natural providence, so to speak.
“Anyhow, that’s all to say that if we give them food, they won’t go after the villagers. They only attack to eat. We can catch animals better than they can, so we can guarantee they won’t go hungry. Of course, we’ll keep an eye on them for a while. We definitely won’t let them harm anyone from the village.”
“Then I guess it’s better to believe them for now and have them serve us. That’ll help us out in the future.”
“I’m glad ya understand. The only thing is that—and ya might think this contradicts what we were just saying, but—if they fail the next step, we’ll kill them. We’re thinking about convincing them that yer the leader.”
“Huh?!” Enri emitted a high-pitched shriek in spite of herself. The conversation had taken too big of a leap. Why do I have to lead the group, including the ogres?! I’m just a village girl! Jugemu should be the boss!
“I’m doing this with an eye toward the future. We don’t want them to realize that yer a normal human. We follow yer orders, but if the ogres won’t listen unless it comes through me or one of the other goblins, things could get extremely dangerous. I’m the commander on the front lines, so there’s no telling what might happen to me. We need to have someone in the rear, where it’s safe, who can give orders to the ogres, too.”
Enri worked her village-girl brain furiously. “So we need two people who can give orders?”
Jugemu nodded.
“Then why not Nfi?”
“Because depending on the situation, he might be helping on the front lines.”
“I see…”
That made sense to Enri. So she agreed. If she was going to stay in a safe place, she should make herself useful however she could. She had been hoping for a way to do that. But—
“Can I really dominate the ogres?”
“We’re going to right now, boss lady. Can ya do some acting for me?”
There were two village gates, one at the front and one at the back. Enri was led to the latter. It was wide open, and five ogres had prostrated themselves on the ground. They were the source of the intensely foul smell that reached Enri and Jugemu on the breeze.
Surrounding them was the goblin troop. No one was missing and no one looked injured.
Usually there would have been someone, human or goblin, up in the watchtower next to the gate, but today there didn’t seem to be anyone—perhaps the goblins wanted to give the couple some space.
Nfirea was there and Arg, too, a little removed from the others.
“Hey, Enri. I wonder if I’m allowed to call this a nice night.”
“Sure, Nfi. The moon is pretty.”
“Yeah, it looks so big.”
“Sorry to interrupt yer conversation. I don’t mean to rush, but I’d like to get started here.” After whispering to Enri, Jugemu raised his voice. “Hey, ya guys! Our boss lady is here! She’s the one who decides if ya live or die!”
The five huge ogres all raised their heads to look at Enri. She felt like an invisible force was pushing on her, but she managed to keep her feet from retreating. If she took one step back, the plan would be a failure, and the goblins would have to exterminate the ogres to nip any issues in the bud.
The goblins surrounding them had their weapons firmly in hand. Nfirea had casually taken out a medicine bottle as well.
Some tense time passed.
Enri took the ogres’ gazes head-on and returned them. She couldn’t waver or look away.
She imagined the ogres were the knights from that fateful day.
Clenching her fists, she remembered the time she’d punched one of their helmeted faces.
Don’t underestimate me! Everyone is protecting this village. I’m protecting this village, too!
After an intense period of time—it might have been just a moment, but to Enri it felt like hours—the ogres’ eyes wavered.
They looked at one another and then at Jugemu.
“I told ya, didn’t I? Our boss lady is strong!”
“Bow your heads!” Enri accompanied Jugemu’s words with a shout from the pit of her stomach.
Even she was surprised how determined her voice sounded, and she saw Arg flinch out of the corner of her eye. That didn’t matter, though. What was important to her was that all the ogres lowered their heads.
It seemed, at least for the time being, that they all acknowledged her as their superior.
“All right, if ya got something to say to the chief of the tribe containing this village and us goblins, say it now!”
With their heads still bowed, the ogres strung some words together with their gravelly voices.
“Tiny fright master. We sorry.”
“We attack your tribe. Forgive us.”
The “your tribe” they meant was Arg’s. For the sake of simplicity, they had said that Arg and company were members of the Carne village tribe. If they hadn’t, the ogres’ brains would have short-circuited.
“We work for you.”
“That’s fine! Work for my tribe!” she commanded, using up the last of her fight. She’d said only a few words, but she was exhausted. She was as tired as when they had explored the forest.
Just as she thought she wouldn’t be able to maintain her boss attitude any longer, Jugemu stepp
ed in to help.
“Good for ya! The boss lady just said she’ll spare yer lives!”
The ogres visibly relaxed. It was entirely possible they would have been killed, so it was only natural.
The group of them turned to focus intently on Enri. “Chief, what we do now?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. If she didn’t know, she could leave it to someone else. “Jugemu, please look after them. Use them how you like.”
“Understood, boss lady.” The goblin leader bowed once and then turned to the ogres. “Okay, for now we’ll set up a tent for y’all outside the village. Stay there. Hey, you guys, get the tent up.”
After hearing their orders, the goblins and ogres set off in one cluster.
“Having them in a tent outside the village could become problematic, so if possible I’d like to make a house for them inside—after they’ve been trained not to attack the villagers, of course.”
“We have to go around and convince everyone to accept them.”
“Hmm, I don’t think it will be any trouble if you’re the one telling them, Enri. Also, about tomorrow…” Nfirea and Enri were supposed to take a couple of goblins as an escort and head to E-Rantel. “Sorry, but I have to treat the survivors from Arg’s tribe, so it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to go.”
Those goblins were going to live in the same village as the ogres who had been eating them. They needed both treatment for their injuries and care for their minds, but knowing Lizzy’s personality, she would probably have the opposite effect and terrify them. Nfirea was the only man for the job.
“Really? That’s a bit nerve-racking…” Enri had never been to a big city like E-Rantel, and when she thought of what she had to do there, it weighed heavily on her.
“Then what about asking the village headman to go with you?”
“I doubt he can…”
The headman needed to pay attention to village systems and maintenance, as well as help new villagers, so he probably couldn’t go too far.
“…Nnngh, honestly, there aren’t enough people in this village. It was like that before, too, but now it’s even worse…”
Carne had always been barely getting by. After the decrease in population, it was functioning markedly worse. That’s why they had suppressed opposing voices and put out a call for new settlers.
“We need to go to the shrines in E-Rantel and see if there are any people who will move here… Ahh, this is too much for a village girl to do…”
“Do yer best, Chief.”
Enri puffed out her cheeks in frustration. She didn’t want to hear that from Jugemu. One of the reasons she was running around like a chicken with her head cut off was to take care of the goblins serving her.
“I really want to go with you, but…” Nfirea moaned, seeming extremely disappointed. But then he deliberately brightened the mood by saying, “Oh, but you don’t need to worry about a thing. I’ll keep an eye on Nemu, so you can just focus on doing your work and getting back.”
“…Agh, it’s like I’m the only person in the world—getting worshipped all of a sudden and having to pretend I’m all-important, forced to go to someplace I’ve never been and do all sorts of work I’ve never done…”
“Don’t be so down, Enri. If you look, I’m sure there’s at least one more person.”
Jugemu and Nfirea chuckled at Enri as she slumped her shoulders.
Last of all, a little ways removed from the others, Arg whispered in a voice no one else could hear.
“So she really is ruling those goblins by her strength… Boss lady Enri, chief of Carne…”
3
Fortress City E-Rantel, true to its name, was surrounded by three walls. The gates in the outer wall loomed largest and sturdiest, brimming with rugged dignity.
These gates were supposed to be able to repel any attack from the neighboring empire. Anyone passing through the city had seen travelers gaping before their imposing presence at least once. Surely, they had all made that face at one time or another.
Next to the gate was a checkpoint; several soldiers were lounging inside, seeking shelter from the sun.
They may have seemed slack for soldiers in a city that was liable to be the front line in a war, but their duty at the checkpoint was to inspect travelers. It was their job to spot spies from other countries or people transporting illegal contraband, so if no one was entering the city, it was only natural there would be no work.
Though these rank-and-file soldiers with nothing to do had not gone so far as to play cards to kill time, they didn’t bother hiding their yawns, either.
They seemed bored at the moment, but when they had work, they always had a lot of it. Especially early in the morning, right when the gates opened for the day, things were hectic beyond description.
When the sun reached the highest point in the sky, they started to see a scattering of travelers on the road. It was normal for people to travel in groups in a world where monsters were liable to appear.
When they come, they always come in clusters. Things are about to get busy. Thinking along those lines, a soldier looked out the frame-only window and set eyes on another wagon coming down the road separate from that group.
There was a single woman in the box seat. There didn’t seem to be any people-like figures on the uncovered cargo bed. She was a lone traveler.
The woman didn’t appear to be armed. From that, he guessed that—
She must be a girl from some village.
But the thought made him cock his head.
It wasn’t so rare for villagers in the region to visit the city. But a single woman unaccompanied? That was a different story.
It was impossible to claim with any certainty that there were no monsters or bandits out there, despite it being the outskirts of E-Rantel. It was true that nearly all the dangerous monsters and outlaws had disappeared thanks to the efforts of the legendary adventurer team Raven Black, but that didn’t mean there were none, and normal threats like wolves were still present.
This was common sense not only for the E-Rantel region but also for any city—it was simply reality. So why would anyone let a girl travel on her own?
It was possible her party had been attacked by bandits and she had run for her life, but she didn’t look troubled. She seemed incredibly composed, like she was traveling with the knowledge that she was perfectly safe.
Who is this person?
With the question still on his mind, the soldier shifted his eyes to her horse—and was thrown into confusion again.
It was a magnificent steed, not at all the sort of animal a village girl would possess. Its physique and coat brought to mind a warhorse.
Warhorses fetched extremely high prices. Even if someone managed to get the cash together, they weren’t simply sold to ordinary people. They were the best mounts available outside of monsters like wyverns and griffins.
If a regular person got ahold of a warhorse, they likely had some kind of connections, but there was no way a village girl had friends in those kinds of places.
There was a possibility she robbed its original owner, but when something so valuable got stolen, retaliatory measures were definitely taken—to the point where even career thieves avoided targeting someone riding a warhorse.
He concluded that there was a very good chance she was no mere village girl. But then who is this woman dressed like a villager?
The hint was that she was traveling alone. In other words, she was confident in her abilities, and they weren’t hindered by her plain appearance—she didn’t need gear. Therefore, she had to be someone whose equipment didn’t correlate closely with her combat ability, like a caster.
That answer made sense to him. If she was an adventurer like many casters, she would have plenty of cash and connections and thus a far better chance of acquiring a warhorse than the average person.
“Huh, is that a caster or something?”
A fellow soldier came up next to him and voiced the same
guess.
“Could be,” the first soldier answered, furrowing his brow slightly.
Casters were a pain to inspect.
First of all, their weapon—magic—was inside them, so it was invisible. Put another way, there was no method to gauge how powerful their attacks might be.
Second, it was possible that they were using magic to smuggle something dangerous into the city, and uncovering that was difficult.
Third, they carried a lot of specialist paraphernalia and therefore required annoying processing. Those were some of the main issues.
To be frank, he hated inspecting casters the most. That’s why they borrowed personnel from the Wizards Guild—and paid them handsomely for their services, of course…
“Should we call him? Ugh…”
“I guess we have no choice. If we let her through and she causes a problem, we’ll be in trouble.”
“If only casters would just dress so you knew at a glance that’s what they were.”
“In a shady-looking robe carrying a shady-looking staff?”
“Yeah. If you saw that, you’d know they were a caster. Also, it would be good if we could force them all to join the Wizards Guild and require them to carry a sign like the members of the Adventurers Guild do.”
They looked at each other and laughed, and the first soldier, who had been sitting the whole time, stood up. He was going to go meet the potential caster girl.
As the soldiers watched, the wagon approached the gate and stopped in front.
The girl got out of the driver’s seat. The sweat beading on her forehead showed at a glance that she’d been traveling out under the sun. Probably to cover herself from the rays, she wore long sleeves and long pants. Neither garment was very well tailored. She seemed like a normal village girl who could be found anywhere.
But she could have been something else on the inside, possibly hiding something. He’d learned since starting his job that things weren’t always what they seemed.
He cautiously approached her.
“We’ve got a couple of questions for you, so do you mind coming with me to the guardhouse?” He addressed her with a mild expression and a tone that was on the familiar side, as if to say, We don’t suspect anything of you at all, so go ahead and let your guard down.
The Two Leaders Page 8