第１２２９堀：魔石と魔物の関係 (Part1)
Chapter 1229: The Relationship Between Magic Stones and Monsters
Side: Steve
The sun has already set, and the veil of night has descended upon us.
Or perhaps I should say, "Finally, night has come"?
I was reporting back on the day’s events—a day that felt agonizingly long and exhausting for me.
"Ahaha! Well, isn't that good? It was the right call to have you go along, Steve."
Even though we weren't in the middle of a battle, that voice coming through the screen sounded genuinely amused.
Of course, the owner of that voice is none other than our Queen of Weed, Seraria.
"Seraria-ane-san, you can laugh about it, but I’m the one being grilled with questions, and it’s been rough, you know."
I replied with a voice utterly drained of energy.
Usually, I’d have a witty retort ready, but I didn't have the strength for that anymore.
"My, you really do sound exhausted."
"It can’t be helped. To them, I’m a rare 'outsider' goblin. It’s only natural they’d want to dig into every little detail," our Boss chimed in, offering some support.
It seems he’s stepping in to help me out after I was hit by that relentless barrage of questions.
"But, according to Enola’s report, isn't it true that even in goblin villages, there’s migration from other villages for the sake of 'adjustment'?"
"Yes. As Seraria said, there is movement from village to village. But it’s not exactly a common occurrence. It happens maybe once every few years at the shortest, or once every decade or so at the longest."
I suppose if that’s the frequency of new arrivals, it’s understandable why they’d be so curious about me.
"Now then, Jessica. What about the defensive capabilities?"
"Yes. I was allowed to see inside the village, and for a place of that scale, with only simple log barricades, it’s a fairly typical village. There are no professional soldiers, just a neighborhood watch level of security."
"Hmm, I see. Kirue, what about their combat strength?"
"Yes. The village chief, Nogosh-dono, is a Goblin Lord, around level 60. For residents of the New Continent like Kagura-dono and the others, that’s quite high. However, there are only three others who are on par with the chief."
"Hmm, that’s a tricky assessment. It’s a small number, but for the scale of the village, the gap in power is abnormally wide."
I certainly felt the same way.
Those three are clearly far above the general level of the rest of the village.
"We’ll have to ask about that in due time. Also, there’s the matter of the important topic."
"The female goblins, right? We were surprised when Enola sent the detailed report over here, too."
"Yeah, yeah. Who would have thought that the barrier within Hairen would affect the reproductive biology of goblins like that? By the way, Hairen, was that something you intended?"
When Comet-ane-san asked that, Hairen-chi shook her head as if to say she had no idea.
"I never even thought about it. But isn't it a good thing? It means the goblins don't have to attack humans anymore, right?"
"Well, that’s true. But because of that, the goblins here have become an endangered species. It’s a bit extreme, isn't it?"
"Or rather, their entire ecosystem is completely different. Aren't they essentially a different species at this point?"
"Ah, I agree with that. The goblins here have normal reason and intelligence, and they can even hold conversations. I wonder if the presence or absence of a 'magic stone' has something to do with that?"
I agree with that sentiment as well.
I don't know if the 'magic stone' is the cause, but I can tell they are different from the goblins that exist as mere monsters on the Rogari or If continents.
"Well, that will depend on our future investigations. Fortunately, thanks to Steve, they aren't very wary of us, and they’ve been answering our questions honestly. They were also very happy about the relief supplies."
"That’s the best news. I’m glad we didn't end up with a breakdown in communication. So, Aslin, as our monster expert, what do you think?"
Ah, come to think of it, I hadn't heard Princess Aslin’s opinion yet.
Today was mostly just me being interrogated, so the others didn't get many questions, but perhaps Princess Aslin noticed something unexpected.
"Hmm, let’s see. The goblins here are very gentle."
"That’s right. Everyone lives such a slow-paced life."
"Indeed. It might be rude to say they’re just 'laid back,' but it felt like they had a certain ease in their lives."
"Yes. Everyone treated us with smiles. Perhaps it’s because our heights are similar?"
Ah, that’s certainly true.
The goblins living here are, on the whole, gentle.
Well, Enola-ane-san mentioned that the country’s nobles and the Hairen Church provide support for their livelihood, so it means they don't have to struggle to survive.
Man, coming from someone who works as hard as I do, I’m quite envious.
Though, I wouldn't want to be stuck in such an isolated village forever.
"When you put it that way, I suppose so. Wild goblins have this image of, you know, 'I have to attack something'..."
"As Dressa says, that’s true. When you think of goblins outside of Weed, they usually feel like they’ll 'attack the moment they see a human.'"
"...Yes. Monsters are 'beasts' that attack when they see people."
*Guh!?*
Hearing that from Hiiro-ojou-sama really stabs me in the chest.
I mean, I know she said, "You guys are different," but... it still hits home.
"Ah, monsters do attack people, don't they..."
"Boss?"
I think he just muttered it to himself, but for some reason, it carried clearly to my ears, so I asked him to repeat it.
"No, 'monsters attack people.' That is certainly true, but as I recall mentioning back during the negotiations with the Ritea Holy Kingdom, do you remember the talk about how monsters are attacked because humans enter their territory?"
"Ah, that was a long time ago. Alstaire and the others were quite troubled when they heard that. Well, at the time, we also taught them how to grow tomatoes, and now they’re the world’s largest tomato-producing nation. *Pfft.*"
Seraria-ane-san couldn't help but burst into laughter.
None of us expected that kind of outcome.
And since John was the one doing the agricultural instruction, it led to the misunderstanding that "Orcs are vegetarians."
I just hope that doesn't lead to any major casualties among the adventurers.
"So, what about that?"
"Well, monsters attacking humans is mostly because humans entered their territory. That’s why it’s rare for monsters to attack human settlements on a daily basis, isn't it?"
"Well, that’s because we’ve subjugated them and cleared the land, right? If you wipe them out root and branch, there’s no room for them to attack."
"Exactly. Then, what about the monsters that still appear in human settlements?"
"That’s just the strays. Monsters that get pushed out of some monster colony and end up in human territory to attack. Why are you bringing up something so obvious now?"
"No, I just mean that at that point, you understand that monsters have their own society, right? Even if it isn't as precisely structured as human society."