Mutual Understanding Is Important, Isn’t It?

“Guah!”

The lizardman warrior, unable to completely avoid Baron Frog’s long tongue attack, suffered a serious wound.

Other lizardmen tried to come to his aid.

But Jurara shouted.

“Fool! Don’t break formation!”

“Y-yes!”

The lizardman who was about to help reluctantly (probably) returned to his post.

I took out a bottle of Healing Potion and threw it.

As the bottle struck the warrior crouching on the ground holding his wound, it shattered and disappeared, leaving only the Healing Potion inside to spread over the warrior’s body.

Back in my adventurer days, who knew my knife-throwing skills, honed to compensate for weak magic, would come in handy in a place like this? Life is truly unpredictable. Kind of sad, really.

“Ugh… It’s you again. Thanks for the help.”

“There’s still Healing Potion left. It’d be more efficient if you used it while resting, you know?”

“Right, I’ll do that. Thank you.”

As Jurara, the brother of Shururu, commanded the battle while exchanging words with me and the warrior, he watched us sideways.

“Human male.”

“Me?”

“That’s right. I am Jurara, son of the village chief of the Calabash Marsh Village. What’s your name?”

“I’m Craft Walken. Just call me Craft. I bear the emblem of an alchemist.”

“Alchemy? Is that different from magic?”

“It’s similar, but think of it as magic specialized in making potions and items.”

“Our clan has lost its emblem for a long time. Only a few magics have somehow been passed down, but it’s only a matter of time. Craft, I have a request for you as the next village chief.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to help defend this village. It’s no longer enough with just herbs and warriors. Lend us the power of your potions and the warriors causing havoc outside.”

Surprisingly, it was the lizardmen around us who were more surprised by Jurara’s request.

“That Jurara…”

“The opponent is a human, you know?”

“It’s not like all humans are bad, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

Jurara’s expression tightened as he turned to us.

“Craft, tend to the wounded here. I’ll entrust the defense of this place to Craft’s companions and the archer warrior outside.”

“Defense? What are you thinking?”

“We, the warriors, will strike at that Titan Duke Frog!”

As Jurara declared strongly, the surrounding lizardmen raised their voices.

Half with trembling voices, half with determination akin to a battle cry.

“That’s our next village chief for you! Warrior Jurara! I’ll follow you!”

“Hey! You idiot! The opponent is a Titan Duke, you know!? What are you thinking!?”

“It’s obvious that as long as that one’s here, the Barons will be drawn to us! Why hesitate to defeat the enemy’s leader!?”

“I understand the reasoning! But! It’s a Titan Duke, for crying out loud! We can’t win!”

“Then are we just going to wait here to be crushed!?”

The elderly lizardman warrior and the warrior I had just healed seemed to argue fiercely.

“Stop it! This is decided! It’s the word of Jurara, who has been entrusted with everything by the village chief!”

“Ugh…”

“Hahaha! I thought of you as a child, but you’ve grown, Jurara!”

“Stop treating me like a child…”

It seems Jurara doesn’t stand a chance against the elderly lizardman.

“All right! Leave a minimal number of soldiers behind and prepare a strike force!”

“Wait a moment, Jurara.”

“What? Craft.”

“I understand my role, but it’s better to leave the raid to my companions, especially Raidoc, who’s causing havoc outside.”

“What do you mean?”

“I appreciate being entrusted with the defense. But I don’t know the geography of this village or the structure of these buildings. It’s also difficult to coordinate with the remaining lizardmen.”

“That’s…”

“In that case, it’s better for us to act as a guerrilla force.”

“But that would send you into the jaws of death!”

“Isn’t Jurara the next village chief? He should firmly command the defense here.”

“I understand what Craft is saying, but…”

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to die or anything. If things get dangerous, we’ll retreat here, so you should hold this place. Besides, if we take down that creepy frog, won’t our credibility go up a bit?”

“…You’re not going to die?”

The lizardman looks straight at us.

Oh, just like Ryuuko the maid, their pupils are vertical.

“Yeah. At worst, we’ll come back after assessing the situation.”

“…It’s not something to ask of a guest, but I’m begging you.”

“Sure, leave it to us… But before that, we need to thin out the Barons around this mansion a bit.”

“I agree. Warriors! Craft’s potions won’t work against the despicable paralysis of the Barons anymore! Be invigorated! Protect our home!!”

“”””Uoooohhh!!!””””

Inspired by Jurara’s words, the warriors rallied and restored the faltering frontline.

“It’ll be night soon! Barons slow down when it’s dark! Make sure to secure some sleep time before then by any means necessary!”

Huh? Aren’t they frogs? Aren’t they supposed to be nocturnal? Truly, as monsters, they make no sense.

“I’ll support with magic too!”

“Craft-san? Weren’t you forbidden from using offensive magic by Raidoc-sama?”

“I have some things I want to confirm. I’ll keep it to supportive magic, so rely on Jitaro’s bow.”

“Leave it to me! I must protect Shururu-san!”

Oh yeah. Jitaro, who doesn’t harbor any discrimination against demi-humans, is amazing, isn’t he?

Can lizardmen give birth to humanoids??

As I pondered irrelevant things, we managed to repel the frogs by nightfall and set up a makeshift fence, creating an environment where we could take a breather.

The Raidok group, who had been active outside, could finally enter the building as soon as the sunset.

◆

The torches hung on the walls, flickering with flame.

With all the injured and sick now able to move, the grand hall emptied , and we were escorted there.

Thanks to Marilyn and Bepp’s efforts.

Round cushions woven from grass were laid out, prompting us to sit.

Chairs hadn’t developed in the lizardmen’s lands with tails.

Jurara sat cross-legged in front, with us encircling in a semi-circle.

Shururu was beside Jurara.

Their appearances were too different to be siblings.

The situation had calmed enough for us to hold a meeting.

Some warriors had begun taking turns to sleep.

The movements of the frogs slowed down at night.

“I am Jurara, son of the headman of Hyotan Marsh Village. I appreciate your assistance this time.”

“I’m Raidock. I’m the leader of this party.”

As Raidock replied, Jurara glanced at me briefly.

“Craft is the strategist of this party. You can think of him as the deputy leader.”

“To think such a man is the deputy leader?”

Jurara blinked his reptilian eyes several times, seeming to misunderstand.

“Jurara, Raidock is incredibly skilled, far beyond someone like me. He’s sharp, and a top-notch swordsman.”

“…It seems we’ve encountered quite remarkable individuals.”

“I’ll repeat, we have no intention of harming you in any way. If told to leave, we’ll do so, but we’ve met lizardmen, who are said to have been wiped out in history. We’d like to help and get along if possible.”

“Get along?”

I took over Raidock’s words.

“We’re working to make the areas dominated by monsters safe to live in. It may be a nuisance to Jurara and the others, but the person in charge of advancing this settlement knows us.”

“…Does that mean you want to rule this land?”

I pondered for a moment.

If I put it bluntly, that would be true. After all, the Maugaria Kingdom has declared this land as its territory.

Even though it’s undeveloped, it’s still considered the kingdom’s territory.

Finding extinct lizardmen in such a place…

“The person in charge doesn’t want domination. But how the kingdom feels… Do you understand what I mean by ‘kingdom’?”

“I’m not sure how much nuance matches with the human tribes, but essentially, it’s like the village head or tribal leader, right?”

“That perception should suffice.”

If they understand the concept of a country, will the conversation go smoothly?

“I have two proposals I could make to the person in charge of this land.”

“Two?”

“One is to negotiate for you to continue living here as you have been. It would be easier if we could make it seem like you’ve come under our control in appearance only.”

“You want us to come under your control?”

“Probably, but from the kingdom’s perspective, just by living here, you would be considered under their control. But I can’t imagine what would happen to lizardmen if the kingdom were to intervene directly.”

“…So humans follow the old tales?”

“It’s easy to imagine that they’ve discriminated against demi-humans and beastmen, considering our history.”

“I know you may not believe it, but the person in charge of this land is working to eliminate that discrimination.”

“…”

“If we could build a friendship with you, we could appeal to the kingdom that lizardmen are allies.”

“Used as political tools… Is it okay to make such promises without confirming with Craft’s lord first?”

Not only Raidock but also Leafan smiled wryly at Jurara’s sensible words.

“It’s okay. Craft’s lord… it’s a bit different, but the person in charge of this land won’t outright reject Craft’s proposals. They may improve upon them, but won’t outright refuse.”

“Yeah, Craft is quite something, but Kyle-sama is overly protective too.”

Jurara nodded at their conversation.

“It seems they’re like friends. But, we can’t accept that proposal.”

Seems like it’s still impossible…

“If you’re willing to abandon this land, why not just flee, leaving the Duke Hydra behind?”

“It would be fine for just the warriors. But there are many women, children, and elderly. Even if we were to flee without anything right now, starvation would be rampant. Preparation is necessary even if we plan to flee. And also…”

Is there still more?

“In fact, a cave was found a little away from here. Different from the frogs, a large number of other monsters were found. More than half of the warriors are heading to subdue them. If we were to leave this place now, it would mean abandoning the warriors.”

“That’s…”

“Furthermore, we were waiting for them to come back to launch a counterattack against the barons. If Craft and the others hadn’t come, it would have been impossible.”

I see. So there wasn’t an option to abandon the village immediately.

“Thanks to Craft, we can protect against paralysis poison. If we can give it to the returning warriors, it might be possible to overthrow the barons… or it was.”

Past tense.

“But Duke Titan Frog won’t work. With him around, barons will gather one after another. There’s no chance of winning without defeating him.”

“So you were so fixated on defeating the Fat Duke.”

“That’s right.”

I understood the situation. I nodded to Raidock.

“”Leave it to us.””

We harmonized perfectly with Raidock, and our comrades laughed at us.