Monster Musume chapter 51: Meeting with the 4 knight leaders and a little uneasiness
In the early afternoon, the injured students and teachers went to the capital. The reinforcement of knights and adventurers arrived and took their positions. Our numbers increased due to the number of people joining, overtaking the number of deaths and leaves from the group.
Since Ruu became a human, the surrounding eyes have changed too. Most people became senile and dropped their eyebrows when they saw her figure, arms, legs and tail. Although Ruu has a slightly sharp expression in front of another person, she still is a considerable beauty. I like Ruu when she behaves lackadaisically. Her clothes are formed by her magical power and have the same properties like it"s her own skin. Even if she cuts her magical power, it doesn"t disappear and it keeps it clean so it"s unnecessary to wash them because she can change the shape freely, and I heard that she can make her own clothes once she sees it. Having sewing as a hobby is an unbearable ability. Sometimes she removes her breastplate just to wear a tie, she matches it with a red-and-white striped pattern clothes which are like a uniform from somewhere. There isn"t a lot of exposure, so I can be relieved.
Evening has arrived. I was called to the princ.i.p.al"s office even though I don"t know why. Everything is temporary, but Ruu is chosen as one of the corps that will invade the fortress from the back together with me, that"s why the knight leaders from the elf territory, the empire, and the cave country wants to see us.
"Uh, it"s troublesome". Even if it is troublesome, it would be awkward if I decline it here even if I want to return. In the end, since it"s only a meeting with each other which the princ.i.p.al mentioned, and I thought that this would happen eventually. Even if I don"t want to attend, I can"t let Ruu go alone, and just in case, I"ll bring my mask with me because the heroes will attend the meeting as well.
That"s why I am currently standing right in front of the tent in which the knight leaders are with the princ.i.p.al. Lime and Rin are caretakers because they still can"t enter the tent.
"You know what, you earnestly don"t need to use proper manners because they"re never too particular about courtesy, it isn"t necessary to sit up straight...“ Princ.i.p.al
"Appropriately, Ruu doesn"t have to speak basically. Only when the other party requests it, she will speak.” Tsuchio
“I understood. Are you fine with speaking politely?” Princ.i.p.al
"I do not have any problem with it. Then, let"s go.” Tsuchio
I enter the tent after the princ.i.p.al. There I see a big desk and several people are sitting down around it. These people are the heroes, the knight leaders and...
“...Hmm? Tsuchi” Kisato
"Oh, isn"t that Kisato-san! When did you come here??" Tsuchio
I forestall it and Kisato´s dialog is interrupted by my voice. I don"t know when he came, but I asked him with lip-reading so that the heroes can"t see it. Although I don"t know whether Kisato-san can use lipreading, my intention will be transmitted for now. Kisato closed his mouth as soon as he understood my state. Though he probably guessed it, he is still a knight leader and understands other people.
"At first let"s postpone the talk and introduce the new members in this meeting" Kisato
“Okay” Regitto
I sit down on a free seat. The knight leader of the empire is the first who has opened his mouth. He is a tiger werebeast because his head and ears have a yellow-black striped pattern. He is wearing an armor and his huge axe laid is on the side.
"Then I"ll make a short introduction. I am the empire"s knight leader, Regitto."
"I am the fairy territory"s first knight leader, Jamir. My best regards."
"I"m the cave country"s first blacksmith chief, Muushida."
Blacksmith chief...is it a concurrent post?
"It"s been a long time, granny. How many years has it been since we last meet I wonder?" Regitto
"Six years ago, it was the time I came near the empire. At that time you were still the vice-leader. Also Jamir and Muushida it is has been so long." Princ.i.p.al
“Yes, that"s true. I was surprised to hear that you are in the kingdom." Jamir
"Really, with your skill, you can even go to the Fairy territory don’t you?” Muushida
"It is necessary to contribute to your home country, a little. Well, I devote myself to developing upbringings now." Princ.i.p.al
"Good grief, you could do that in the empire too right. I don’t like that kingdom in any way, leaving the affair to such a greenhorn is insane you know.“ Regitto
Glaringly Regitto-dono stares at the heroes. The story of the princ.i.p.al was true.
“No no, Regitto-dono. The heroes are contributing a lot to the kingdom and the heroes also seem to have crushed the enemy’s leader in the previous battle." Princ.i.p.al
"The magicians made a plan first. Naturally, it is possible. Uuga, even if there weren"t heroes, it wouldn"t be a problem right?" Regitto
"They are quite severe. Well, if the kingdom"s capital is conquered, the kingdom will throw them away. To the extent its surplus, it"ll be good exactly." Jamir
"I don"t like the method of the kingdom so much, either. Even if you rely on the hero summoning, after they reach their limit, it is necessary to do it.” Muushida
"The higher ups were suspicious, so I taught them the spirit operation of summoning magic beforehand." Princ.i.p.al
Criticisms to the kingdom coming out in sequence. "Umm, they"re disliked. I mean, she is acquaintance with the knight leaders, so who is the princ.i.p.al really?"
"Let"s avoid it for the time being. I haven"t finished the introduction yet." Princ.i.p.al
"After we a.s.sume that the hero party is good, is that devil beast behind granny the main thing?” Regitto
"I"m Mikado and I"m honored to be able to meet you. She"s my familiars and a dragon.” Tsuchio
I bowed after I introduced myself easily. Even if I humble myself too much, it might be counterproductive.
"This fellow is still a second-year student and I unreasonably asked him to stay here." Princ.i.p.al
"He is still a student? That is a misfortune. Huh, this is the first time I see a dragon type demon...” Regitto
"It is so, though I have seen a different demon." Jamir
“I have only seen a devil type demon." Muushida
"Are dragons really so rare...certainly, I think that Mr. h.e.l.lfire doesn"t go outside so often?"
"Mikado-san partic.i.p.ated in the last battle, so what kinds of devil beast did you kill?" Regitto
“Emm...it was quite a huge number and don"t know the kinds. Oh, but I was attacked by a demon and was able to defeat it together with my familiar.” Tsuchio
“Hee...What kind of demon was it?" Jamir
"It was a demon with goat-like legs and twisted horns. Although it was quite dangerous, I was able to defeat it somehow." Tsuchio
"It probably was a devil type demon. You’re lucky, that your familiar evolved if not you would be dead now." Muushida
...Just like that, I answered. Wow, it really was a hair"s breadth victory....
"Oh, if you can fight, you won"t have problems with the number. The introduction also has ended, so let’s shift to the explanation of the strategy quickly. Hey, bring the drawing of the fortress." Kisato
On the desk, a blueprint is opened, looking at it closely it"s the fortress".... "Uuh, it"s no good, even if I see only this. Huge walls, I can somewhat understand it, though...’
"For now, I will explain it roughly. The force that invades the back is made of the chosen people from the different knight order, the heroes, and this tamer." Kisato
"Eh, isn"t the front, a distraction unit? I think we will attract attention when there is a demon." Seiya
"The front is a feint until the end. The important point of this strategy is to open the gates of the fortress as quickly as possible from the inside. Wanting to crush the leader if possible....when that is possible, within calling the shank.” Kisato
"As said, we have to control the inside of the fortress quickly. As long as the gate is opened, we would have the chance."
"Uh-huh". Well, there is no denying that Ruu will be partic.i.p.ating with the invasion corps, and it was certain that I would follow her. I will be fine if I keep fighting low-level opponents without limit, but if I encounter any high-level ones, I would be powerless so it"s better if I entrust that matter to the leaders or the heroes.
“Although the invasion method is a problem... granny is there a hidden pa.s.sage somewhere?” Regitto
“Because the royal family didn"t live in it, there probably won"t be such a thing. When the fortress was occupied, the enemy would have used it.”
Well, I see. Our plan now is to attack the front with a feint and invade from the back. However how about climbing the big wall...
“Hmm, how large is it?"
Seiya asked it. Because I don"t know the reduced scale, I can"t say anything.
"If I am not mistaken, was it around 10m?" Princ.i.p.al
"It is 10m...Saiko, are you able to take us all with your teleportation?" Tsuchio
“When I consider the late battle, I want to avoid it if possible.... Even if we say gathering the best people, it will be a moderate number of people" Saiko
Hmm, 10m...well, I wonder if she is able to manage it somehow.
"In that case, I can do something, since we"re on a time limit we need to hurry and be silent so that we won"t be spotted easily."
"Are you serious? Can we really go?"
"Yes probably, but I haven"t used it often."
“What about your magical power?”
"There is no problem."
"Can you carry multiple people at the same time?"
“Yes. Well, though it, too whether the movement becomes one"s foot."
"Such thing is not the problem. Then try entrusting it to mikado!"
Whether If I can change and influence the battle, even a little, and since Ruu is also here, there won"t be a problem.
“Then, do we cut down a save strategy? How does Mikado-san want to do it?"
"No, even if I"m here, I wouldn"t be able to do a great thing, so ask the princ.i.p.al later. I will go and help the gathering of the monster corpses.” Tsuchio
I replied and left with Ruu. By the way, we will partic.i.p.ate in collecting corpses according to my declaration.
The human corpses are already collected and cremated. With a burial, they may transform into zombies or skeletons, so humans are cremated basically. The devil beasts are still lying around, so I"m going to gather them to tear off their materials.
The corpses of the devil beasts lay in many places in this battlefield. Adventurers brought a big cloth with them and throw it over the corpses. I don"t know when I go to the fortress, but I will surely leave immediately. So I don"t have much time to get them and tear of their material.
“Uuh..."
Meanwhile, in front of the devil beasts that we piled up, I groan. By any means, there are times when it becomes a matter of concern….
"What happened, Tsuchio? Does your injury still hurt?" Ruu
"Ah, it isn"t such a reason...look at what they caught a little."
Ruu touched by arm and stomach to pat it, seeing the devil beasts on Rin"s back, they were all goblins. After putting my hands together and apologizing, I remove the goblins from her back and lowered them to the ground. Even if it is a devil beast, a life is a life and there is no n.o.bility and commonalty between them. I, who partic.i.p.ated in the war and saw several lives taken, it made me think once more. To thank the guys who weren"t prayed for and can"t rest in peace, I will absolutely pay for it and try to pray this way. After I came to this world, I still appreciate for every delicious meal that I worked for.
The goblins wore leather breastplates and clothes which are poor but seems to be strong. Knife holders are strapped on their waists since these are the sheaths, it might still have the knife with it.
"What, they aren"t ordinary goblins?" Ruu
“At first glance, hey Ruu. The goblins who we have seen before, what kind of equipment had they?" Tsuchio
“Eh, they had clubs whined with a dirty cloth on their waist. Oh, but these goblins have proper equipment..." Ruu
“Yes, that"s right. It is not only goblins because there are also kobolds, orcs, harpies and other monsters here. Everyone is wearing equipment without fail. That"s strange? That a devil beast does something like that" Tsuchio
"Did a demon let them attach it? Hey, tamers seems to do such things” Ruu
Although I am the type that values individual quality, there are tamers who prefer quant.i.ty of numbers and there seem to be a lot of people like that. Though such people tend to have several weak monsters which are tamed to fight with a physical superiority, but on this occasion, they let the goblins wear armor... "did that demon make them wear that?" No, it might be different.
"The equipment are almost the same with everyone. Though all devil beasts are different in size." Tsuchio
"... It"s true. Did they buy ready-made goods in bulk?" Tsuchio
“Or...did these belong to the same organization?" Tsuchio
“Eh?” Ruu
“On the goblin"s chest, arms and legs, something like a mark are on them. Probably it is a crest from somewhere or something." Tsuchio
Seeing a number of devil beasts here, no matter how I look at it, one tamer is impossible. An organization with multiple tamers, did they send them? No, if it"s so there is no need in capturing the fortress. They would directly attack the capital. There are plenty of other entrances so they can"t send reinforcement. Aren"t there any other possibilities? ...There is one. I can"t say that there is not one, but the possibility of deserving consideration. I mean why didn"t I find it odd so far. Since they came from another continent, a method of going across the sea might be sure to have been established. In a case of the distance that can extend by swimming, it is sure to invade ahead more. Uuh, but...well, this hypothesis still didn"t leave the guessing area. Even though, no matter how much I worry about it, I can"t be solved. I will put it in the corner of my head.
"What is this crest?" Ruu
"I can"t judge it for the moment. For the time being, let"s concentrate on the front." Tsuchio
“Okay. Then let"s go together!" Ruu
“Yes yes.” Tsuchio
We move the bodies of the goblins to our piled up mountain, I went to look for corpses with Ruu. If my hypothesis is correct... the enemy that we consider as devil beasts may not be devil beasts anymore.
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Author note: Tsuchio-san is caught by something and I seem to pull it in the future.