“To think the entire Crawler swarm was wiped out.”
In the throne room of the Goblin King’s castle.
The Goblin King rested his chin on his hand and looked into the face of Gu-Log, who had been entrusted with the invasion.
His slouched posture looked relaxed at a glance, but his eyes radiated a killing intent that was anything but.
Sensing the king’s fury, Gu-Log made himself as small as his unusually large body would allow.
“Something silver consumed the insect swarm……you say. And the identity of this silver thing is still unknown?”
“At present, we only know that it moved in a swarm, insect-like. We attempted to recover remains, but they had already returned to soil.”
“Hmm……a new form of Elven magic?”
The king’s gaze shifted to Me-Nau, standing at Gu-Log’s side.
The old wizard kept his face lowered and spoke in a trembling voice.
“With respect……that seems unlikely. The silver creatures appeared after the swarm had bypassed the Elven defense line and moved toward the Kobold settlement. For the Elves to have deployed something, the timing is too late.”
“Then what do you think? Is there something other than Elven magic that could explain this?”
Silence from Me-Nau.
A heavy weight settled over the room, pressing down like something about to explode.
At last, unable to bear it, Gu-Log spoke.
“P-perhaps another of the Six Kings intervened! The Undead King or the Demonkin King — either could be suspect!”
“……Enough.”
The king said it and rose from his throne without hurry.
He took the greatsword at his side and——
“Gyah——!?”
Blood scattered. A jarring ring of metal.
Gu-Log’s head left his shoulders cleanly and hit the floor with a dull thud.
Over before a blink.
Me-Nau’s legs gave out on the spot, and he lost control of his bladder in a pathetic instant.
“P-please, mercy……!!”
He scrambled upright and begged desperately.
The king drew the flat of the still-dripping blade across his cheek.
Blood, still warm, ran down Me-Nau’s body.
“A wizard has no replacement, so I will keep you alive a little longer. But know that this is not forgiveness.”
“O-of course not!”
“……Still, whatever happened concerns me. Perhaps I should stir up the lizards.”
“Wouldn’t that risk inviting an invasion?”
“There is a stray among them — a rogue. With a little guidance, I can use them to learn something of the silver creature’s capabilities.”
The king said it with a somewhat settled expression.
He returned to his throne and allowed himself a cold smile.
――〇●〇――
“Cheers!!”
Several days since Eris and her group had arrived in town.
Things had been eventful and the timing had slipped, but at last a celebration was held to welcome the Sage’s visit.
Everyone gathered in the town square to enjoy the food and drink that had been prepared.
“My — this is a rather fine wine!”
“I picked it up when we visited the Elven kingdom.”
“I have rarely drunk anything of this quality. Hmm — in the capital it would fetch two or three gold coins a bottle.”
I’d thought it was good wine, but I hadn’t realized it was worth that much.
I was staring into my cup when Mumul arrived.
He’d apparently come over from the village at the mountain’s base.
“Good evening, my lord.”
“Good evening. Let me introduce you — this is Sarmat, the merchant who’ll be opening a shop in our town.”
“How do you do, I’m Sarmat.”
“Likewise. I’m Mumul, the elder of the village at the foot of the mountain.”
Sarmat and Mumul bowed to each other and shook hands.
Then Mumul asked, with a slightly uncertain expression:
“……When you say merchant — what sort of person is that?”
“Right, of course. A merchant is someone who runs a shop and sells things.”
“Ohh — someone who does business!”
Mumul clapped his hands together in understanding.
Sarmat, meanwhile, looked faintly puzzled.
“The Kobolds didn’t really have the concept of commerce before we arrived. They did everything through barter.”
“I see. You do come across that in the remote regions of the kingdom from time to time.”
Given that he’d adventured far and wide himself, he was apparently well-traveled enough to have encountered it before.
Sarmat nodded with an understanding expression.
“……Sarmat, if you’re willing — could you hire a few Kobolds at whatever shop you open here? Commerce is essential for growing the city, but there’s no one to teach them the basics.”
“I was planning to hire local staff as a matter of course.”
“Wonderful!”
With this, the Kobolds would be able to learn the fundamentals of trade.
The city’s economy might finally start to circulate properly.
Everything up to now had effectively been a barter-based village society, when it came down to it.
“By the way, Lord Viktor — regarding this city’s existence. Are you intending to make it public? Or to keep it quiet for the time being?”
“Ah — right. Keep it quiet, of course.”
The Sariel Great Forest was nominally territory belonging to the adjacent nations.
I’d been almost forgetting, but technically I was a frontier pioneer who’d been sent here to develop the land.
Which meant Isvall was formally kingdom territory in a legal sense.
If I reported the city to the crown, it was obvious things would get complicated — taxation, obligations, all of it.
And this city had a dungeon, one of the rarest things in the world.
At worst, the kingdom might move to strip it from me and make it royal domain.
Even without royal intervention, my father might act.
“On that subject — the Sage’s arrival may have been a slight complication.”
“It’s drawing attention?”
“Yes. And Lord Wiesel will likely send someone to investigate what’s happening in the forest.”
“Hmm……This is getting complicated.”
What to do……
Rather than drawing more people from outside the forest, there was always the option of encouraging people from within — the Mage Kingdom and others.
But to grow the dungeon, we needed a steady flow of people in and out.
A genuine dilemma.
“What’s wrong? You look troubled.”
Eris had come over with a concerned expression.
I might as well consult the Sage.
I gave her a rough explanation of the city’s situation.
And then——
“That’s simple. If the earldom or the kingdom try to interfere, just declare independence.”
She said it in the most offhand tone imaginable.