At ten p.m., I relieved Mishinie and the others and took over watch duty.
I borrowed glasses from Bisha and had Miriel wear them. I patrolled the campsite using a headlamp and the light mounted on the VHS-2.
I had only managed a three-hour nap, so I was painfully sleepy, but there was none of the tension we’d had at Roselan. We had made so much noise during the day, even burning things with gasoline. Any monster that came near after that would have to be an idiot. That level of carelessness would be impressive in its own way.
Even so, there were bound to be monsters dumb enough to fit the bill. No matter how sleepy I was, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. I drank black coffee every hour and kept watch until five in the morning.
I switched out with Mishinie and the others, who had slept well. I sent Miriel back to Home, then lay down inside the Pioneer.
I woke up when someone shook me. It was already bright out, and when I checked the Aport Watch, it was nine o’clock.
…Only four hours, but that was some solid sleep.
「Good morning. Have you eaten breakfast yet?」
After a long stretch, I greeted Kainzel-san, who had arrived in Pioneer Two.
「Yeah. I grabbed something quick. Go wash up. I’ve got Ladarion and the others scouting the area.」
Taking him up on that, I went back to Home, took a hot shower, and ate a light breakfast. While I was at it, Miriel woke up.
「You can sleep a bit longer. Kainzel-san and the others are here now.」
「No, I’m fine. I’ll go take a shower.」
Come to think of it, Miriel’s bath was still set up for when she didn’t have legs. I’d need to remodel it once we got back. With a seventy-percent-off sticker, it shouldn’t cost that much.
I fixed breakfast for Miriel, finished getting my gear together, and headed outside first.
「Kainzel-san. Please pick out the liveliest ones from the goblins we captured. You can kill the bad ones if you like.」
It seemed the sleep spell had worn off. The energetic goblins were screeching and thrashing about. I’d have to put them to sleep again before transporting them.
「Before that, shouldn’t we wash them? They stink something awful.」
Come to think of it, he had a point. We’d been working in the middle of all that frenzy, so my nose must have gone numb.
I called Ladarion and had her return to giant form. he fetched water from the river, and we washed the goblins using Makita’s cordless high-pressure washer.
「As expected of Makita. Even in another world, it outperforms so-called divine artifacts.」
I wish they’d make the batteries a bit cheaper, but when there’s no power source around, it’s a real lifesaver.
「Truly, tools are only as good as how you use them.」
Stick the heat sword into the ground and set it to five hundred degrees, and it becomes a perfectly good heater. Oh, it could even be used to boil bathwater. Maybe I should have Gorg and the others build an open-air bath.
「But seriously, if I cranked it up to two thousand degrees, how much radiant heat would that put out?」
Still, this heat sword, made with some kind of mysterious technology, doesn’t transfer heat to the handle at all. I honestly don’t get why magic weapons are considered inferior.
「Miriel. Please put the goblins to sleep.」
「Yes. Everyone, please step back a little. If you’re too close, it will affect you indiscriminately.」
Basically, the sleep spell is the type that gets released outward. At close range, it spreads in all directions.
When we moved about five meters away, Miriel held her palm toward the ground, and the goblins collapsed as if they’d lost consciousness, falling into sleep.
In games it’s just a support spell, but when it’s this powerful, it’s nastier than most attack magic…
「Kainzel-san, please take them to the house. Miriel, go with him and bring back the Pioneer. Bisha or Mebi, one of you escort Miriel.」
They settled it with rock-paper-scissors. Bisha lost, so Mebi stayed behind.
「Kainzel-san, once you move them into the cages, please come back. We’ll transport every one that’s still alive.」
I thought there were only five or six, but more of them were alive than expected. It’d be a waste not to take them. If we made two trips, we should be able to manage thirty.
「Understood. What about you, Takato?」
「I’m going to pitch this to the guild master. If it goes well, I might even be able to get the acting lord involved.」
「…You look harmless, but you’re a real schemer.」
I had already told Kainzel-san about one of my intentions. Making them create a budget for goblin extermination.
「There should always be an emergency budget. If we can get that money released even once, it won’t be possible to stop it afterward. Once that happens, requests to capture goblins will start flowing to the Adventurers Guild.」
Even if there isn’t an emergency budget, the acting lord definitely has personal funds. She drinks enough that she’d probably buy goblins just to keep the alcohol flowing.
「You look like you’re still thinking of something else, aren’t you?」
As expected of Kainzel-san. He saw right through me.
「Well, it’s just something I hope might happen. It’s embarrassing, so please don’t ask.」
Desire gives birth to more desire. To control desire, you first have to satisfy it. When that happens, the acting lord won’t have a choice but to move. Still, how the future turns out is impossible to say at this point.
「Understood. We’ll go with Takato’s plan. I’ll see this through to the end with you.」
Those were incredibly reassuring and dependable words. They almost made me fall for him.
「Then, I’ll be counting on you.」
After seeing Kainzel-san and the others off, I dealt with the goblins we had killed.
「Takato. They say they’re heading out now.」
Oh right, there were adventurers heading for Rydand. I’d completely forgotten.
「Got it. I’ll pay them.」
There were five adventurers. As promised, I gave each of them one silver coin.
「Please be careful on the road to Rydand. If you want to sell goblins, bring them to Lasagna Village. If they’re alive, I’ll buy them for five copper coins each.」
Please spread the word about that.
「Yeah, got it. Once this job’s done, we’ll start catching goblins and selling them.」
I watched the highly motivated adventurers leave.
「Mishinie, did you say something to them?」
Once the wagon was out of sight, I looked at the person responsible for firing them up.
「I didn’t say anything special. Even mid-ranked adventurers struggle to make a living. I just told them about a way to earn steady money.」
Mishinie grinned, and I shrugged in response. Seriously, people with high communication skills really know how to talk. I’d better be careful not to get swept along myself.
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