Chapter 303 - The Fourth War Council

The Fourth War Council

The next morning, I climbed down the tree and headed for the campsite. I could see the remains of the two goblins pass the corner of my vision as I walked through the forest.

The journey back was uneventful. And soon, as I had entered the range of their Presence Detection, one of the Adventurers started walking towards me. Since I was very familiar with it, I was quick to recognize it as Daniela.

“Welcome back, Asagi.”

“Hey, Daniela.”

She ran up to me and held me tightly. I returned the embrace and gently stroked her platinum hair.

“I am glad that you are safe.”

“Thanks. Did anything happen back here?”

“No, nothing in particular. Did you make any discoveries?”

As Daniela was just a little taller than me, she didn’t fit perfectly in my arms. Also, I always felt a little embarrassed staring into her eyes at such a close distance. Still, you should answer when questioned. It was one of my mottos.

“More than a few. I’ll tell you when I speak to Adlus and the others.”

“Very well. We should return then.”

She pulled away and then grabbed my hand. We hadn’t seen each other for so long, so she seemed sweeter than usual. How cute.

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The camp came into view. At this distance, the Jades could also see us with their eyes. Several of them waved from the top of the ice walls. I waved back with the hand that wasn’t connected to Daniela, and they jeered in reply. Okay, so they were clearly not too tense about what was happening. That was good. Also, I’ll remember this.

There was a gate made of logs in the wall. It had previously just been a gap with a wall of snow in front of it for camouflage. They had made some great improvements in my absence. Of course, this gate was also hidden behind a wall of snow.

“Welcome back, Mister Asagi.”

“Hey, Anis.”

It was Anis and her team that opened the door and greeted us. Igeldo raised his fist and so I bumped it. Ulgio nodded at me.

Then they guided us through the camp. Well, it was starting to look very lived-in. There was even some laundry hanging up by one of the tents. Apparently, they had special magic tools that helped the clothes dry without freezing. This world was certainly full of interesting things… Of course, I was exclusively a collector of magic illumination tools, and could not be tempted.

“Ah, you’re back.”

“Yeah. We better have a war council. I have a lot to say to you all.”

I pushed Adlus back into the tent he had just stepped out of. And we followed him inside. It was simple, with just a table, chairs and a bed. Manager was sitting at the table.

“Hey. You seem to be in good shape.”

“And you. Alright, let’s begin.”

I took out my written memos and spread them on the table. Once the others were seated, I started my report.

“…So, there it is. If it were up to me, I’d infiltrate the facility again and exterminate the goblins used for breeding. It’s the equivalent of taking out their food storage. What do you think?”

“Hmm… You think that will bring their number down?”

“Yeah. These guys eat each other. If you cut off their supply of new meat, well, you know what they’ll eat next…”

I told them the plan that I had been thinking about on my way here. While they were all clearly disgusted by what I told them, they listened to me with serious expressions.

My plan was to attack their food source. And there were no goblins who could keep the facility running. The Queen’s Knight Goblin was the only person who knew how to control it.

In other words… It was the Queen’s Knight Goblin who had encouraged them to eat each other. Perhaps it was the part of him that remained human that allowed it. Or maybe it was just instinct. Intense hunger might be able to move you to do such things.

“Manager will have to keep all of the entrances sealed until their numbers go down enough.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll save my magic until then. If I dive into the shadows, I should be able to find out how many exits there are.”

I had already told them the underground area was two kilometers in diameter. And Manager was able to stretch her shadows all the way to Namila Village. And so controlling the space under the tree shouldn’t be too hard. That being said, she said that she could not use the shadows to crush each goblin one at a time. Not only would it take too long, but such precise actions depleted a lot of energy.

“Their numbers should go down like this, until only the strong ones are left.The weaker ones will be the first to be eaten. And that’s when we’ll attack.”

“Their numbers are their greatest strength, but we will turn the tables and attack… Hmm, I see.”

Daniela muttered as she thought about it. I was always happy when she approved of an idea I had after some lengthy consideration…

“But there is one problem.”

“Hmm?”

Adlus folded his arms and looked at me.

“Our food supplies are also limited. It’s been nearly two weeks since we left the Imperial Capital. Everyone brought food for themselves, but there is not much left. This waiting for the enemy to starve…it will take at least another week… What will become of us during that time? How will we feed fifty people?”

Now that was a surprise. I hadn’t been thinking about anything but killing the goblins. I felt like a bloody idiot.

“Uh. Well…”

“Asagi and I have food that we can share with you, but it still would not be enough. And the land around us has been picked clean by the goblins. I was not able to find a single beast myself.”

“Damn it…”

I was terribly embarrassed about my smug expression a moment ago. I slumped down into my chair. The others immediately started to argue over the matter.

Different opinions were given and I listened silently. But they were unable to find a solution.

“We might have to return to the city and have supplies sent to Namila Village. And then we’d have to carry them back here.”

“But who…”

“Hmm…”

Realistically speaking, Adlus’s suggestion was the only answer. Now, it was just a matter of who would go.

Well, there was clearly no one but me. I shouldered a lot of responsibility for coming up with this idea. And I was also the fastest.

“I’ll do it. I’ll go back to the Imperial Capital and have some merchant prepare supplies for us.”

“I’d be grateful…but considering the time…”

“That won’t be a problem. I can take the shortest route. Besides, if I empty the hollow bag here, I’ll be able to fit a lot more food inside.”

Well, most of it was from street stalls, so it would have to go inside of Daniela’s bracelet. But stuff like our tents and other equipment can be taken out.

“Speed will be key here. If we have time to talk now, it would be better to act.”

“Hmm… You have been doing all of the work recently. I’m sorry.”

Adlus said with a bow. I grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at me.

“It’s fine. I want to do this.”

“…Very well. It should be done at once, then.”

And so I emptied out my bag in a corner of the tent. There was our old tent and scraps of cloth. Also, all the magic illumination tools.

“I’ll have them fill out a form when they borrow them. Also, there will be security money.”

“That’s not unnecessary. I’m sure they’ll handle them with care.”

I would not be happy if they broke, but I suppose some damage was inevitable if they were fighting. And so I was prepared to be magnanimous.

“But they’re important, are they not? Things should be handled properly.”

“Well, I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Aye, I will deal with it.”

Everything would be fine if I left it to Adlus.

I handed Daniela all the food, so now only my personal equipment was in the bag. The food disappeared and went into Daniela’s bracelet as soon as she touched it. It was impressive and never failed to bring up feelings of jealousy in me.

“So, even if we distribute the minimum amount, it will be three days at most.”

“I can’t believe you had so much food…”

“Just so you know, Daniela would have eaten most of it.”

“Be quiet, Asagi.”

“Oww!”

Butting into Manager and Daniela’s conversation earned me a low kick. I had no idea why.

“Alright, I guess I better go…”

“Please be careful!”

“Yeah. There’s no danger, so I should be fine.”

I gave a reassuring thumbs up to Anis, who looked very worried. And like that, I was about to leave the tent, when Adlus grabbed my shoulder.

“We will repay you for this. Thank you for sharing your valuable food supplies.”

“Oh, yeah. It’s very expensive stuff, actually. I think I also deserve a bonus for the hassle?”

“You can count on it. Travel safely.”

“Aye.”

Well, that was settled then. I stepped out of the tent and immediately used Legs of the God Wolf to step on the air and launch myself above the trees. Hmm. I felt pretty good so far. The weather was also nice. I could probably reach the Imperial Capital by sundown.

Once I arrived, I would restock on our supplies. I would have to find a trustworthy merchant to buy everything from. And in a hurry. It would be a while before I’d be able to get a good rest… But this was important. I had to show them what I could do. You can do this, Asagi.

A slapped my face to fire myself up. It was regrettably, kind of painful. Still, I continued on my route, straight to the Imperial Capital.