第１６２掘：交渉……の前にひと騒動。 (Part1)
**Dig 162: Negotiations... and a Commotion Beforehand.**
**Side: Yuki**
For the time being, the Wind Princess was in a state of catatonic shock, so negotiations were out of the question.
Since we decided to wait for her to calm down before talking, I went to see the Elders, who had been playing both sides of the fence, but...
"You did well!! I believed in you!!"
"Easy for you to say, considering you didn't even send reinforcements."
I shot a sarcastic remark at the man standing next to the Elder—the one who was always criticizing us—and silenced his opportunistic bootlicking.
"Forgive us. As a village, we chose to play it safe."
The Elder bowed his head deeply.
"No, I don't think your choice was wrong. But when you flip-flop like you did just now, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, doesn't it?"
"I suppose so."
"Anyway. I think you’ve seen what we’re capable of now, right? Let’s be clear: we’ll be handling the prisoners we captured in this incident however we see fit. We won't be taking your input into account, so keep that in mind."
"What did you say!?"
"Hah. If you want to be hostile, be my guest. But if you try to get in our way, I won't show any mercy. This wasn't a joint operation; this was a victory we achieved entirely on our own. It’s only natural that we get to use the prisoners and supplies as we please, right?"
"That is sound logic. We sat on the sidelines and provided zero support. It would be wrong for us to snatch the spoils of war from you. Please forgive this man's insolence."
"It’s fine as long as there’s no actual harm done. But if you try to interfere, I’ll have to handle it accordingly. Is that clear?"
"If something happens, I would appreciate it if you went through me first. You wouldn't want to buy the village's resentment, would you?"
"That depends on how far you push it. Try not to make us think that annihilating this village would be easier than dealing with you."
If you asked me if I’d risk my life to protect this village, the answer would be a hard no. After all, our primary goal for this defense was to protect the ruins—our dungeon—at all costs. If this village becomes a hindrance to that, they’re no different from the enemy.
"...To you, we are nothing more than an afterthought, aren't we?"
"What, you just realized that now? You thought of us as nothing more than a convenient mercenary band, didn't you? You didn't even send reinforcements for that battle, and you were already preparing to run away while watching from the sidelines."
"When you put it that way, I have no defense."
"Elder!! Why are you letting them say whatever they want!!"
A young man barked. Honestly, "saying whatever they want"? They were the ones who started acting however they pleased.
"Calm yourself. We were the ones who tried to shackle these mercenaries from the start. It is clear that we are the ones who have been acting out of line."
"But!!"
"But what? Do you intend to fight this mercenary band? The ones who just repelled an army of 2,500 with only 150?"
"That was only possible because our kin were among them!! It wasn't a victory for the humans!!"
"Hah. I haven't received any reports claiming that three beastmen annihilated 2,500 troops. The report says 100 goblins crushed the charging cavalry, and a surprise attack unit of about 50 wiped out the main force."
"That’s an exaggeration, surely!! It must have been thanks to them, so these humans have nothing to do with it!"
"An exaggeration? Do you really think the villagers we sent to monitor the situation would report such things?"
*Sigh.* I tried to adjust things to avoid this kind of situation, but these problems always seem to crop up.
"Even if it were an exaggeration, and even if those three beastman girls did it all, it’s still a victory for the mercenary band. Are you planning to steal that from them?"
"No! In the first place, those girls are being forced to serve that human man..."
*BOOM!!*
The young cat-beastman who had been complaining was sent flying through the wall and out into the open. To the villagers, it probably looked like he had just suddenly launched into the air, but Riel had clearly sent him flying.
"Can we be quiet now? I’m starting to regret saving you guys."
Seeing Riel lower her fist, the villagers finally seemed to grasp that she had done something to send the youth flying.
"Me too. I ignored orders and helped you out of a sense of kinship, and this is the thanks we get..."
"...Yuki, there’s no need for negotiations. We should have just made it clear from the start: follow us, or get out. These people are completely looking down on us."
Tori was being unusually harsh, looking at the villagers as if they were trash. Kaya, for her part, was furious at the village's attitude, advocating for a reign of terror.
In other words... *yikes*, these three girls are absolutely livid.
"I mean, insulting Yuki-san is completely out of the question. You insult a woman's husband and then demand the spoils of her victory? Are you idiots!?"
"Riel is right. Yuki-san is still smiling, so I won't do anything, but if even a shadow of distress crosses his face, you’d better be prepared."
"Tori is being too soft. In that case, I’ll just kill you all. Besides, defeating Yuki is far more difficult than defeating us."
Ah, so it’s not about the spoils of war—it’s the fact that I was treated with disrespect. I’m glad Aslin and the others aren't here. They went on a rampage during the Litea battle just because I was insulted. If they were here, this place would be a sea of blood by now.
"Ria seems to be doing okay, at least."
"Eh? Am I allowed to kill them?"
"Absolutely not!!"
*Ah, damn it.* Ria’s blood is boiling too. I definitely shouldn't tell the pregnant group about this. They’d wipe this village off the map.
"Well, it seems your behavior has caused us to lose our cool a bit. Let’s withdraw for now. I’d hate to end up snuffing out the lives we went out of our way to save. You lot should take some time to talk this over."
With that, we left the meeting area.
Well, their only options now are to run or to submit. After all, Riel, Tori, and Kaya have already declared their intent to exterminate them. If I try to talk about "equal relationships" again, my wives are going to explode.