The next morning, I climbed down the tree and headed for the campsite . I could see the remains of the two goblins pass the corner of my vision as I walked through the forest .
The journey back was uneventful . And soon, as I had entered the range of their Presence Detection, one of the Adventurers started walking towards me . Since I was very familiar with it, I was quick to recognize it as Daniela .
“Welcome back, Asagi . ”
“Hey, Daniela . ”
She ran up to me and held me tightly . I returned the embrace and gently stroked her platinum hair .
“I am glad that you are safe . ”
“Thanks . Did anything happen back here?”
“No, nothing in particular . Did you make any discoveries?”
As Daniela was just a little taller than me, she didn’t fit perfectly in my arms . Also, I always felt a little embarrassed staring into her eyes at such a close distance . Still, you should answer when questioned . It was one of my mottos .
“More than a few . I’ll tell you when I speak to Adlus and the others . ”
“Very well . We should return then . ”
She pulled away and then grabbed my hand . We hadn’t seen each other for so long, so she seemed sweeter than usual . How cute .
The camp came into view . At this distance, the Jades could also see us with their eyes . Several of them waved from the top of the ice walls . I waved back with the hand that wasn’t connected to Daniela, and they jeered in reply . Okay, so they were clearly not too tense about what was happening . That was good . Also, I’ll remember this .
There was a gate made of logs in the wall . It had previously just been a gap with a wall of snow in front of it for camouflage . They had made some great improvements in my absence . Of course, this gate was also hidden behind a wall of snow .
“Welcome back, Mister Asagi . ”
“Hey, Anis . ”
It was Anis and her team that opened the door and greeted us . Igeldo raised his fist and so I bumped it . Ulgio nodded at me .
Then they guided us through the camp . Well, it was starting to look very lived-in . There was even some laundry hanging up by one of the tents . Apparently, they had special magic tools that helped the clothes dry without freezing . This world was certainly full of interesting things… Of course, I was exclusively a collector of magic illumination tools, and could not be tempted .
“Ah, you’re back . ”
“Yeah . We better have a war council . I have a lot to say to you all . ”
I pushed Adlus back into the tent he had just stepped out of . And we followed him inside . It was simple, with just a table, chairs and a bed . Manager was sitting at the table .
“Hey . You seem to be in good shape . ”
“And you . Alright, let’s begin . ”
I took out my written memos and spread them on the table . Once the others were seated, I started my report .
“…So, there it is . If it were up to me, I’d infiltrate the facility again and exterminate the goblins used for breeding . It’s the equivalent of taking out their food storage . What do you think?”
“Hmm… You think that will bring their number down?”
“Yeah . These guys eat each other . If you cut off their supply of new meat, well, you know what they’ll eat next…”
I told them the plan that I had been thinking about on my way here . While they were all clearly disgusted by what I told them, they listened to me with serious expressions .
My plan was to attack their food source . And there were no goblins who could keep the facility running . The Queen’s Knight Goblin was the only person who knew how to control it .
In other words… It was the Queen’s Knight Goblin who had encouraged them to eat each other . Perhaps it was the part of him that remained human that allowed it . Or maybe it was just instinct . Intense hunger might be able to move you to do such things .
“Manager will have to keep all of the entrances sealed until their numbers go down enough . ”
“Don’t worry, I’ll save my magic until then . If I dive into the shadows, I should be able to find out how many exits there are . ”
I had already told them the underground area was two kilometers in diameter . And Manager was able to stretch her shadows all the way to Namila Village . And so controlling the space under the tree shouldn’t be too hard . That being said, she said that she could not use the shadows to crush each goblin one at a time . Not only would it take too long, but such precise actions depleted a lot of energy .
“Their numbers should go down like this, until only the strong ones are left . The weaker ones will be the first to be eaten . And that’s when we’ll attack . ”
“Their numbers are their greatest strength, but we will turn the tables and attack… Hmm, I see . ”
Daniela muttered as she thought about it . I was always happy when she approved of an idea I had after some lengthy consideration…
“But there is one problem . ”
“Hmm?”
Adlus folded his arms and looked at me .
“Our food supplies are also limited . It’s been nearly two weeks since we left the Imperial Capital . Everyone brought food for themselves, but there is not much left . This waiting for the enemy to starve…it will take at least another week… What will become of us during that time? How will we feed fifty people?”
Now that was a surprise . I hadn’t been thinking about anything but killing the goblins . I felt like a bloody idiot .
“Uh . Well…”
“Asagi and I have food that we can share with you, but it still would not be enough . And the land around us has been picked clean by the goblins . I was not able to find a single beast myself . ”
“Damn it…”
I was terribly embarrassed about my smug expression a moment ago . I slumped down into my chair . The others immediately started to argue over the matter .
Different opinions were given and I listened silently . But they were unable to find a solution .
“We might have to return to the city and have supplies sent to Namila Village . And then we’d have to carry them back here . ”
“But who…”
“Hmm…”
Realistically speaking, Adlus’s suggestion was the only answer . Now, it was just a matter of who would go .
Well, there was clearly no one but me . I shouldered a lot of responsibility for coming up with this idea . And I was also the fastest .
“I’ll do it . I’ll go back to the Imperial Capital and have some merchant prepare supplies for us . ”
“I’d be grateful…but considering the time…”
“That won’t be a problem . I can take the shortest route . Besides, if I empty the hollow bag here, I’ll be able to fit a lot more food inside . ”
Well, most of it was from street stalls, so it would have to go inside of Daniela’s bracelet . But stuff like our tents and other equipment can be taken out .
“Speed will be key here . If we have time to talk now, it would be better to act . ”
“Hmm… You have been doing all of the work recently . I’m sorry . ”
Adlus said with a bow . I grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at me .
“It’s fine . I want to do this . ”
“…Very well . It should be done at once, then . ”
And so I emptied out my bag in a corner of the tent . There was our old tent and scraps of cloth . Also, all the magic illumination tools .
“I’ll have them fill out a form when they borrow them . Also, there will be security money . ”
“That’s not unnecessary . I’m sure they’ll handle them with care . ”
I would not be happy if they broke, but I suppose some damage was inevitable if they were fighting . And so I was prepared to be magnanimous .
“But they’re important, are they not? Things should be handled properly . ”
“Well, I’ll leave it to you then . ”
“Aye, I will deal with it . ”
Everything would be fine if I left it to Adlus .
I handed Daniela all the food, so now only my personal equipment was in the bag . The food disappeared and went into Daniela’s bracelet as soon as she touched it . It was impressive and never failed to bring up feelings of jealousy in me .
“So, even if we distribute the minimum amount, it will be three days at most . ”
“I can’t believe you had so much food…”
“Just so you know, Daniela would have eaten most of it . ”
“Be quiet, Asagi . ”
“Oww!”
Butting into Manager and Daniela’s conversation earned me a low kick . I had no idea why .
“Alright, I guess I better go…”
“Please be careful!”
“Yeah . There’s no danger, so I should be fine . ”
I gave a reassuring thumbs up to Anis, who looked very worried . And like that, I was about to leave the tent, when Adlus grabbed my shoulder .
“We will repay you for this . Thank you for sharing your valuable food supplies . ”
“Oh, yeah . It’s very expensive stuff, actually . I think I also deserve a bonus for the hassle?”
“You can count on it . Travel safely . ”
“Aye . ”
Well, that was settled then . I stepped out of the tent and immediately used Legs of the God Wolf to step on the air and launch myself above the trees . Hmm . I felt pretty good so far . The weather was also nice . I could probably reach the Imperial Capital by sundown .
Once I arrived, I would restock on our supplies . I would have to find a trustworthy merchant to buy everything from . And in a hurry . It would be a while before I’d be able to get a good rest… But this was important . I had to show them what I could do . You can do this, Asagi .
A slapped my face to fire myself up . It was regrettably, kind of painful . Still, I continued on my route, straight to the Imperial Capital .
Please download our sponsor's game to support us!