Village 13: A green visitor
"I AM NOT GETTING REPLACED BY SOME INSTANT BUILDING BULLSHIT!" Delia yelled.
Her screaming could be heard from across the village as the bunny's rage grew. She obviously didn't enjoy the fact that her favorite job was now on the line. And with her goal to rebuild the manor now realized, she certainly wasn't going to give up that opportunity so easily. Even if it meant kicking her master in the face. She was hoping it wouldn't come to that.
"WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET THAT ABILITY IN THE FIRST PLACE!? I'LL DESTROY IT!"
Delia yelled even more as she shook the hero. Naofumi didn't protest, nor did he have the energy to deal with another hassle from Delia. With a single nod of his head. Teba understood his silent plea and picked up Delia by her collar.
"Put me down, Teba!"
"Don't put her down."
"You got it, boss."
"Damn it, Teba!" Delia grumbled.
"Calm down. I'm just testing a shield."
"Which would then lead to me losing my favorite pastime. I refuse to let this happen!" Delia yelled, her arms and legs failing as she struggled to escape from Teba's grip.
"Naofumi. You got a moment!?" Melty called.
"Would you look at that? Something actually relevant is happening."
"Hey, we're not done talking yet!" The bunny sulked.
/~/
"We found a girl on the outskirts of town. She claimed she was from the Ivyred territory."
"Bold of you to assume I know where that is."
Melty sighed, burying her head into her papers. "Why did mother make you a lord?"
"What was that?"
"I said, Why did Mother make you a lord?"
"It was a rhetorical question."
"Oh, boo hoo. Lord Iwatani is not being intimidating; what a shocker." Naofumi mocked Melty's ramblings with his hand as they arrived at the temporary meeting area, an indoor cafeteria where many of the kids would eat. Unfortunately, the only stovetop they had was in the manor, so they're working on making another inside there, so fruit isn't the only thing being consumed.
Opening the door, it was packed with kids as the lunch distribution was in full swing. Many of the villagers lined up as Raqill and his team of Yak cooks worked on cooking the bio-plant and some of the leftover meat on a campfire.
At the very edge of the building, in a corner alone, sat a green-haired girl. She awkwardly hid her face with some papers she had as Keel and Rifana sat across from her. It also didn't help that she was also getting attention from most of the villagers passing by. There weren't many humans in the village, so her being there wasn't an everyday deal.
So whether it was from a villager who was on guard or a kid curious to see the new visitor, the shy girl was garnering looks from all over, and her whines as Naofumi got closer became louder and louder.
"Fuuuuue!"
"...This is their delegation?"
"Would you believe me if I said I've seen worse?" Melty dismissed Rifana and Keel and sat down at the table along with Naofumi. The girl still looked nervous and refused to drop the papers hiding her face. She did, however, lower them a bit so she could at least stare at her new tablemates.
"G-g-good afternoon, Princess, Lord Iwatani!" The girl stammered. The next few seconds were followed by silence, as the girl couldn't figure out what to say. And every time she was about to speak, she didn't, and she sat back down for another round of silence.
Naofumi's patience was already running thin from the events from last night, so when Rishia failed to speak up for the fourth time, Naofumi slammed his hands on the table.
"Fue!"
"Look, I don't have time for any dawdling. Either say what you have to say, or leave." Naofumi ordered.
Melty sighed, the disappointment in her face growing more and more as Naofumi spoke. The threat, however, did make the girl drop her papers, so she had no idea whether to be happy or annoyed at Naofumi for threatening her in the first place.
"Fue! S-sorry. I'm Rishia Ivyred, daughter of Lord Ivyred, of the Ivyred territory. I was sent here to ask for your help." Rishia got up and bowed, her head hitting the table, and kneeled over.
Melty quickly asked her to raise her head, and the conversation continued.
"Our help, huh? What? Do they want to establish some trade or something?" Naofumi asked.
"No, Lord Naofumi. Our family has hit tough times. We were already not as wealthy as the other lords. But our crops have started to fail, and bandit groups are running rampant."
"So you want us to deal with your problems, how?"
"Naofumi!" Melty chided.
"No, princess, that is a good question." Rishia cleared her throat, hoping that she didn't just offend royalty.
"News has spread that the lord of Lurolona has successfully tamed and planted the forbidden alchemist plant."
"Who the hell leaked that!?"
"The king did."
"Damn it. He's always getting in my way." Naofumi groaned.
"That isn't Al. We also came to you because my father found it commendable that you were able to restore a territory so quickly, a feat he was unable to do himself. May I ask, could you perhaps give us some pointers?"
"Naofumi should be the last person you're asking."
"Fuck off."
"Also, the Ivyred territory is a long way away. Have you tried asking for help with the Lord Xeal?"
"We did. Actually, he was the one to reach out to us. He said he'll help us without crops and the bandit problem, and we'll only have to pay him back at half the cost."
"So why didn't you take his offer?" Naofumi asked.
The question made Rishia visibly uncomfortable, and she let out another "fue" and mumbled out an answer.
"W-well. We agreed at first, but my father later declined as he heard about the last condition of the deal."
"Which is?" Naofumi pressed.
"Lord Xeal said he wanted me. Bandit activity also increased when we said no. So we assumed he had something to do with it."
"And you came to us because we have the authority to take it down."
"Y-yes. Even if he isn't the one doing it, we still ask for your help. Or at least buy some food so we can feed our people." Rishia bowed once again as she pleaded her case.
Melty didn't need another word and didn't even bother waiting for Naofumi's decision before she got up and left. Seeing this, Rishia let out a soft fue as Melty left the room. Fearing that she messed up somewhere, she raised her head in another attempt to plead, but Naofumi put his finger against her mouth.
"You do realize that we'll also be seeking compensation for this. If you don't have the funds to pay, then I'm not doing anything." Naofumi removed his finger and turned his back to her as he headed for the door.
"Y-yes we do, Lord Iwatani. We can't pay you back immediately, so this is the best we can do for now."
Rishia dropped a bag on the table, hearing the sound of coins and something else jiggling around inside. Turning back to the table, Naofumi opened up the bag, finding a few hundred silvers, two black rings, and a red jeweled silver necklace inside. Naofumi looked up, watching Rishia wait in anticipation. The girl was shaking and looked visibly saddened by giving up the bag. But she also stood determined as Naofumi faced her one last time.
"This clearly isn't enough to pay for anything we'll be doing. But it will, in fact, do for now."
Naofumi turned around, ignoring the big smile Rishia gave him as he walked off. Snapping his fingers three times, a dark figure appeared on the ground, and out came a platypus with a kebob in hand. Taking a bite from his meal, the portal closed, and he tipped his hat towards his master.
"You snapped, my lord?"
"Yes. Get Alia, Delia, and Keel's team. After that, I need you to investigate some dirt we found on Xeal."
"Who?"
"The hell should I know? Go to Melty; she's more informed about them."
"Yes, my lord." Zalton walked into a tree. Instead of running into it, though, he defied gravity and began to scale the tree, soon disappearing inside its leaves.
"Oh, and Rishia!"
"Y-yes Lord Iwatani!?" Rishia cried.
"We leave at 10. Don't be late."
"Fue!" Rishia cried as he left the cafeteria.
/~/
The caravan was stocked and ready to go. Two wagons of building materials, two filled with farming tools and seeds, two filled with food, and two more to carry the rest of them. A big force was overkill for some bandits, so he was only bringing Keel's combat team, while Delia and Alia helped out with the farming and building. Hopefully, that'll keep Delia from annoying him later.
There were also originally going to be seven filolials coming along, with Yuki and Sakura leading the charge. But the amount of food they would consume, along with some of the empty villagers, would be extraordinarily annoying. So a second cart filled to the brim with food was made, so they survived the journey there and back.
With everything fully stocked and the villagers in the back,. The caravan sped off, all eight filolials running in sync. It was a few hours into the ride, and it was already getting late. They were making record time, but everyone was asking to eat. Naofumi wanted to go for a bit longer as the sun began to set. A break for dinner would basically be stopping for the night, so he wanted to go a bit further before that happened. His plans for that, however, were suddenly stopped.
In the middle of the road were a bunch of men with knives and a barbarian-looking fellow blocking the path. Calling for the carriages to stop, Naofumi called over Keel and the rest of the guard.
"Oi, fuck off and get out of the way. I will not hesitate to run you over!"
"Sorry, mister merchant, but we're taking your stuff. Drop all your valuables, and we'll let you leave alive." The barbarian ordered.
"Fue! What are we going to do, Lord Iwatani!?"
"Calm down; they're just a couple of bandits. Even Melty can deal with those."
"I mean, I can. But why single me out?"
"Right. Rishia, take them out."
"Fue!" Rishia whined.
"Naofumi!" Melty scolded.
"Fine. Melty, give the command."
"Keel, give the command."
"Get em, boys!"
"Yeah!"
The villagers jumped out of their cart and engaged with the bandits. Evading the crossbows with relative ease. Keel and his team rushed the bandits down and took them out easily. Compared to the waves, they were mice. The only difficult one was the barbarian.
He claimed mid-battle that he had a class upgrade, and it was called barbarian. He was tougher and stronger than the other bandits, and he even outclassed a few of the villagers in terms of power. They had yet to get their upgrade yet, so they only had the buffs from the slave crest to work with.
Keel and Delia were fine, though. The stats they gained from their stats were good enough to keep the barbarian at bay for now, but it wasn't enough to completely finish him. Not having the patience to let the fight drag on, Naofumi was in the process of undoing Sakura's reign before Rishia got up.
"[All Fast Boost!]" Rishia yelled. Keel and Delia were covered by a green aura, and they effortlessly stopped an axe swing coming at them. Bringing down her elbow, Delia hit the barbarian's arm and broke it. She then disappeared into the ground, soon resurfacing behind the bandits back.
"[Flashing Reverse Kick!]"
Striking the barbarian in the back, Delia disappeared into the ground once again as Keel followed up.
"[Zweite Beast Rush!]" Attacking after Delia, Keel unleashed a flurry of claw slashes across the bandit's body. He finished off his assault with a flash kick to the chin and lept back towards Delia as the bandit recovered.
"[Butterfly Twist Kick!]"
The two rushed forward, backed by a powerful wind. Leaping into the air, Delia's foot was covered with a coating of air, while Keel's foot glowed white. Both continued to soar through the air and delivered two power kicks to the bandit's face and neck, sending him flying across the ground. Keel landed and laughed at her victory. Delia, though, lept off Keel's head and followed the bandit, finishing the fight with a stomp to the chest.
"Uh Delia. I think he's down." Keel yelled.
"Hold on, he's still breathing."
"Delia, we're not killing them!" Melty sighed.
"Fiine. Lucky you." Delia kicked the bandit in the side once more and made her way back to the caravan.
The bandits were quickly tied up and lined up in front of Naofumi. He was contemplating what to do next.
"Thanks for the assistance, green hair; that would have taken forever." Keel complimented.
"Fue! Green hair?"
"Yeah, thanks, new girl. Now what are we doing with them, master?"
"Hell, if I know. It's getting late; the nearest city is about an hour away, and it's already getting dark." Naofumi sighed and pulled out some more rope from his shield.
"We're going to have to camp out for the night."
"Are you sure that's safe with the most recent bandit attack, Naofumi?" Melty chided.
"Huh, you're right. Keel, slap him."
"OW!" The bandit yelled.
Keel picked up one of the bandits by the hair and dragged him over to the cart.
"Alright, Robin Hood. Where is your base?" Naofumi demanded.
"You think I told you." The bandit spit on his foot, the last mistake he'd make for a while.
A minute later, he was in the air on a massive bio-plant. At the bottom, he and Keel were slowly cutting away at the bark to get it to fall.
"Hey man I was just jokin! Don't kill me!" The bandit whined.
"Not what I'm looking for! Melty, mind helping out a bit?"
"I'm not going to be complicit in a murder, Naofumi."
"It's self-defense."
"That is not…" sigh. "I'll say nothing as long as nobody dies from it." Melty closed the curtains on the cart, leaving Naofumi to his own devices.
"Hear that. The princess has no mercy either."
"I NEVER SAID THAT!" Melty yelled.
"... anyways. Fess up now. Or you'll be meeting God a lot sooner than expected."
"Okay, okay, I'll talk! Five miles east of here, in a cave. That is where we haul all our stuff!"
"Dominic, what the fuck!?"
"Sorry, Teylu. I ain't dying for this shit!"
"Thank you. Alright, bring him down and toss them in the carts. We'll beat up the rest and drop them off when we pass the castle town."
"Yes Sir."
/~/
"Man Dom and the others are taking forever."
"Give them a break. They're robbing a caravan, after all. It must be a nightmare having to transport the shit back."
"Yeah, but it's my daughter's birthday tomorrow, and I was hoping they have some sort of present inside."
"Then check the pile, man."
"The hell am I going to do with a grandfather clock and jewels?"
"Kids like money too."
"She's four, Reggie."
Knock, knock, Knock
"Finally. Alright guys, let's get the -"
"[Double Wind Typhoon!]"
"Double wind wha-" The bandit was blasted by a cyclone, launching into the hoard of gold in the back.
"We're under attack!" The last five in the room quickly grabbed their daggers and sprung into action. Rushing to the door, Reggie was suddenly kicked and slid across the ground by Delia. Keel then followed behind and used her claws to slash the ankles of the stunned bandits.
They only had a moment to look up as five other kids came, their fists coming straight toward their faces.
"Huh, forty seconds. Much faster than earlier."
"You didn't even do anything!" Keel complained.
"Any more, and I'll dock your pay." Naofumi threatened.
"You don't pay us."
"Exactly. Now." Naofumi walked towards a door in the back of the room. Opening it up, he peeked inside, marveling at the treasure inside. Melty didn't even have to see his face to know the malicious grin he was expressing. Even the other kids sighed at the supposed maliciousness of their master.
"The best thing about stopping bandits is. Free stuff." Naofumi picked up an old grandfather clock, inspecting it from all sides.
"Did you really only take this place for the loot?" Melty sighed. She came into the cave wrapped in a blanket and rubbing her eyes.
"Sort of. Free loot and a free place to sleep. Where are the beds, by the way?" Naofumi opened his cloak, the bio-plant seeds strapped to his belt.
"Through the vault door behind the pile on the right, I can't miss it." Dominic stammered.
"Damn it, Dominic!" The bandits exclaimed.
"Thank you, Dominic." Naofumi laughed. "Chino. You might be getting a new prison."
"As long as the bow bitch is far from there,. I'm down." Chino grinned
She is a brown Filolial with a white shirt, brown skirt, and a blue shawl around her shoulders. Originally, she was the warden of the prison since Rifana was inconsistent. But after the mass prison break, she had to temporarily close down the place since there was no one left. She wasn't all too angry at the loss of her captives. She was, however, pissed at Itsuki for taking her favorite playmate away. If she were to cross paths with him, someone would be leaving with broken limbs.
Yawn. "You always have to walk the line between legal and criminal. Hell, you're worse than the criminals here."
"Thank you, princess."
"You're still going to jail."
"Aww." The bandits moaned.
"I'm taking one of the beds. Goodnight everybody." Melty walked into the back room, her blanket dragging across the ground.
"Alright then. Tomorrow at dawn, I have some potions to make, so I'll take my first watch over the prisoners. Chino, are you good at three?"
"I'll be fine."
"Good. I'll see you in six hours." Naofumi put his bag on the ground and took out his medicine-making supplies. With the last of the bandits tied up and placed on the wall, the villagers went into the back room to sleep for the night.
/~/
Meanwhile, in the Xeal territory
"Over thirty separate windows. Six entrances, a chimney leading to the foyer. You seriously have to memorize all this stuff." Atorie groaned. She put down her telescope and rubbed her head.
"Definitely, it seems a bit redundant."
"Quite the opposite, young Tsubasa. Knowing every possible extraction point works wonders for quick escapes. These areas also give us possible danger zones when we go in."
"Really?"
"Yes. For example, the front door is obviously guarded. But a foyer or living room will also be guarded, along with the window leading to them. That also applies to a chimney. Most offices and living rooms have one, so be careful when dropping down, or you'll fall into the lord and his wife getting down."
"You say that like y ou've experienced that exact situation. It must have been spicy." Tsubasa teased.
The platypus turned his head, hiding his blush from the filolial and bee. Atorie had no idea what they were going on about, so she went back to observing the manor as the bird kept teasing the platypus.
"Ahem, we're getting off-topic." Zalton cleared his throat. "To be concise,. Choose your entrances wisely. We're gathering information after all."
"But there's so many rooms. Where do we even go?" Atorie pondered.
"The office is a good start. Although some nobles tend to have secret rooms,. If we don't find anything, then it's most likely the case."
"Man, shadow stuff is complicated," Tsubasa complained.
"Indeed, it is. But if you're going to become my successor for the Lord, then you must do everything with the utmost efficiency while being polite. Professionals have standards after all." Zalton tipped his hat and stood up.
"Now let's test out your stealth capabilities. I'll meet you in the second-floor bathroom."
"Wait, where is-" Before Atorie could ask. Zalton was already gone, his usual cardboard cutout lying on the floor next to her.
"Ugh. Alright, Tsubasa, we're going in alone… Tsubasa?" Turning around, Tsubasa was also missing. Instead of a cutout, however, it was a paper with a pretty bad drawing of himself.
"Damn it all. If this fails, I'm blaming them."
Atorie put her telescope away and kept them off the cliff they were on. And similar to her master, she disappeared into the shadows as she approached the lord's manor.