Seventy-nine: I wanna get along, but there’s a proper order, right?

The day we defeated Titan Duke Frog and the next day, we were swamped dealing with the remaining Baron Frogs and disposing of the corpses.

On the third night, the village was lit up with countless bonfires, and lavish dishes piled high right before our eyes.

Fish and meat, unfamiliar fruits and vegetables, stacked on large leaves, filling the air with a mouthwatering smell.

"Heroes, I thank you once more for saving Hiyotan Swamp Village. It’s taken a while, but we’ve prepared the finest meal we could manage. Please, enjoy yourselves."

That declaration came from the village’s mayor, Charle.

I’d been laid up with sickness this whole time, so I’d left everything to my son, Jurara. But after Marilyn treated him and had him take the alchemical medicine she prepared, Charle’s eyes snapped open and he stirred, groaning as he lifted himself up.

He’s not exactly old, not like a grandparent or anything. Once his illness cleared up, he was moving around like a man half his age. His speech is archaic—probably just picked up from how his parents used to talk. I never asked his age, but he’s likely somewhere in his fifties, human-wise.

Makes sense now why Jurara talks so stiffly.

Anyway, the grand feast finally began.

As soon as the feast started, a whole bunch of lizardfolk swarmed around us.

“Thanks to you, the village was saved. We’re truly grateful.”

“I’ve never seen a human before, but you look pretty much the same. Just… no tail. That’s a little strange.”

"Is that little one a gnome?"

"Stop saying 'little'! You're the one who's been bothered by it!"

Leifan was actually bothered by that.

Technically half-gnome, but he wasn’t going to point that out.

Whatever. Doesn’t matter.

"Never seen a gnome before, but they’re not much different from humans. Just looks like a kid."

"Thanks to that, I’ve never faced much discrimination. …Ah! Because Lord Kyle’s Golden Dune doesn’t discriminate against any race!"

Leifan suddenly remembered he’d been trying to recruit the lizardfolk into the Golden Dune, and scrambled to cover up.

"About that..."

I turned toward the voice. It was Julara. Shururu was with her.

Julara sat right in front of me. Shururu, for some reason, sat beside me.

Shururu-san? There are plenty of empty seats, you know?

"Talked with the village chief. You remember—there’s a cave full of monsters spotted nearby. Most of the warriors have gone there."

"Yeah, you mentioned that."

"They’ll be back soon to make the final decision. They’re willing to accept your proposal."

"So that means you’ll come with us to Goldendoon?"

"That’s the plan."

It was a great relief.

"Realistically, the gourd marsh is badly polluted. Not just that—monster numbers have been rising sharply lately. Either way, we couldn’t have stayed here long."

"Is that so? Then was it really necessary to serve such a feast?"

"We didn’t serve anything that keeps well. Just ingredients from the forest, fast-swimming fish—nothing fancy. Besides, we had to treat the hero right. Our honor’s at stake. And we wanted to reward the warriors too."

Then it’s fine.

If it’s a feast thought through properly, I’ll gladly accept the honor.

And Shururu, seriously, don’t cling to my arm, okay?

Can’t believe it. My arm’s being buried…!

I’m not saying where.

“Ah, uh… now that you mention it, why me and not Raidock?”

“Of course I went to Raidock first. But he said to deliver it to you—Craft.”

“Ah.”

That bastard, dumping the trouble on me again, huh?

Well, magic’s part of thinking. Technically, alchemy, but whatever.

And Shururu—your face is different! Your breath’s tickling my ear!

Hey, Julara! Watch your words—and your attitude—around your sister!

Even if I’m completely hopeless with romance between men and women, I can tell damn well you’re hitting on me, Julara!

You really okay with that, Julara?

But still, the warriors’ return is late.

Is that so?

Yeah. Considering how much rations they took. Maybe they’re hunting on-site or something…

Worried, huh.

Mm…

Julara falls silent, thinking.

Could it be that the cave with monsters is… turning into a dungeon?

Dungeons come in different kinds, but ones that’re warped into another space tend to be a pain.

If they don’t come back by morning, we should go look for them.

True, but we don’t have enough strength. We only left behind the bare minimum for defense to begin with.

That’s why Baron took us down, too?

I’d like to think so… but we had no way to resist the paralysis poison. Just an excuse.

The fact that she can assess their situation so coldly—shows she’s a top-tier warrior.

I dunno, I always figured lizardfolk were one of those races that just acts like they’re the strongest, never listens to anyone, and refuses to admit when they’re wrong. Yeah. Real enlightened thinking. Gotta反省.

“Then lead the way. We’re heading out tomorrow.”

“What? You really expect me to—”

“We can’t decide on going to Goldendoon until we meet up with the warriors. Can’t move until the talks end. And if the cave’s a dungeon, well, that’s kind of interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“Yeah. We’re on a survey mission. Looking for rare items, metals.”

“What? Then there might be something in the cave.”

“What do you mean?”

“The cave? I found it by checking old legends. There’s a story about some kind of metal being there.”

That’s a shock.

“If it’s a valuable mine, you’re not gonna tell us?”

"No, honestly, we Lizardmen aren’t interested in mines. Depending on the dungeon type, raw ore or even metal pieces just lie around. That’s all we can handle—just processing what’s already there."

Makes sense. Not built for digging up mines.

Makes sense, given how we live near swamps.

"Found the cave based on old legends. But it turned into a monster’s nest. Haven’t checked inside, but there’s probably some kind of metal in there?"

"Got permission to enter?"

"Originally, we were preparing to leave this region, so equipping ourselves was the priority. We can only work with iron. If Craft can tell us what metals are usable, that’d actually be a big help."

"Then leave it to us. We’ve got a metal expert on hand. You’re safe with that."

"Hmm."

My eyes lock onto Leifan at the same time as Jurala’s.

Somehow, she’d been thoroughly trounced by a female lizardman.

“Small in stature, but a master with shield and hammer. The tales of gnomes and dwarves being fine warriors and smiths—they were true, it seems.”

“I was surprised when I first saw her too.”

“...I’ve seen human towns, a few times.”

I turn my gaze back to Jurala.

“His family line is allowed to observe humans, as part of preserving the old stories. Though I’ve only ever glanced at small rural settlements from afar.”

The lizardmen seemed forbidden from interacting with humans.

How long that rule had been upheld, I don’t know. But the older the era, the worse the prejudice against demihumans and beastfolk. It made sense, really. A necessity for survival.

“But to me, they didn’t seem that bad. The village was small—sure, no elves there. But then I met you. Craft, you’re definitely heroes. If that’s the bloodline heroes come from, I can’t exactly hate it on principle.”

……

I didn’t know how to answer.

Honestly, there are plenty of bad people. Prejudice against elves? Some places go full nonsense. Honestly, it’s Kyle’s Goldendown that’s the odd one out.

So saying “you’re safe here” felt… hard to say out loud.

But still.

“It’s fine. Leave it to me.”

I said it out loud, deliberately.

Yeah. I’ll fix this. Kyle’ll be fine. Goldendown’ll be fine. Just establish the lizardfolk’s place there solidly. That’s all it takes.

"Yeah. If we find some metal or valuable item, we can just call it a gift from the lizardfolk. Makes things easier."

"We lizardfolk only need iron for weapons. Anything else? Take it. The reward for defeating the hero’s just too damn low."

"Got it. Then tomorrow, we head into the cave."

"Good. I’ll leave the guide to Shururu."

"Yay!"

"Language!"

"Ugh... fine, I get it!"

Julara sighs at Shururu sticking out her tongue.

No! Not the words! The attitude! Scold him!

"Then we’ll tell you more about this... of course, until morning."

Seriously? Half of it’s already covering me! Or should I say, half of it’s already on me!?

It’s public!

No no, even if no one’s around, it’s still no good!

"Hey! I'm headin' to bed! Gotta count on you tomorrow, Shururu! See ya tomorrow!"

"Ahnn!"

I shoved Shururu half off me and bolted toward the room they’d given me, full speed.

"Uh-huh? Craft, you’re quite the charmer, huh?"

"Leifan. You should tell Raidock that."

"I know Raidock’s got girls all over him."

"Guess so…"

Glancing over, I saw Raidock surrounded not just by Eva and Solal, but by a whole swarm of female lizards.

"Damn it…! Why don’t you all just go ahead and drop dead?!"

"Jitarou! What’s 'go dead' mean?!"

"Jitarou! Grab the ball!"

"Jitarou! Pick me up!"

"Jitarou! More, please!"

You’re the one who’s getting all the attention. Even if it’s just kids.

Still, some of those kids look nearly human. Others are full-on lizards. Total mess.

"Not fair at all!"

I ignored Jitarou’s shout and ducked into the room.

The damn key was nowhere to be found, so I froze it shut with magic.

Oddly enough, I heard the door being smashed open over and over again in the middle of the night. Probably just my imagination.

Huh… so cold…

I burrowed into the blanket and managed to fall asleep somehow.