Gol: One of the beastman boys who used to live in the Village of the Great Tree. He is currently working as an instructor in the Royal Capital of the Demon Kingdom.
Enderi: The seventh daughter of the House of Count Pugyal. One of Gol’s wives.
Kirisana: The fifth daughter of the House of Count Glitch. One of Gol’s wives.
My name is Gol. I am a man of the Beastman Race.
Technically, my profession is that of an instructor at the Demon Kingdom’s Noble Academy, but I barely spend any time there at all. Is that really acceptable? Probably not, right? No, actually, it’s fine. Really, it is.
The reason I’m rarely at the academy is that I keep receiving requests from the government. This time, they told me about a village in the countryside that was in distress and asked me to resolve the situation. I wondered why they had come to me, of all people, but apparently, a regional bureaucrat I had met during the suppression of a local rebellion some time ago had insisted that I was the only one for the job. I have no idea what they saw in me to make them think that, but I wanted to help if there were people in need.
I accepted the request—after consulting my wives, of course. Consultation is the key to everything. If you decide things on your own, it only leads to trouble. I remember the advice I received from my fathers-in-law on that subject; they had been strangely forceful about it. I would have consulted my wives anyway, but their warnings certainly left an impression.
So, here I am in a rural province of the Demon Kingdom, accompanied by two of my wives. ... Was I suspected of cheating? Or maybe they were just worried about me, considering Sil has nine wives to look after. I’ll have to stay on my toes.
The village in question was home to about one hundred and eighty members of the Goblin Race—a fairly large settlement. While the Goblins are one of the primary races of the Demon Kingdom, they have a very distinct culture and a tendency to clash with other races. Because of this, they usually live independently in their own villages or territories. Normally, if a goblin village ran into trouble, they would handle it themselves, but this problem had apparently grown beyond their control, forcing them to seek aid from the government.
"The local lord tried to handle this himself once before, didn't he?" Enderi asked, observing the state of the village.
It was Kirisana, my other wife, who answered her. "It seems the situation was more than Baron Gima could handle."
The two of them had known each other before our marriage and got along quite well. Their fathers were political rivals, but the two of them didn't let that bother them.
"The village defenses look solid enough," Enderi noted. "Perhaps the issue is related to internal administration?"
"If it were just administrative, Baron Gima would have sorted it out," Kirisana countered. "For the request to reach the Royal Capital, it must be an external threat... though I'm not sure what."
"I wish we could have spoken with the Baron directly."
She was right, but Uncle Beezel had essentially dropped us off at the location without warning. We had very little to go on other than the fact that a goblin village was in trouble.
Still, as Enderi and Kirisana pointed out, the village's fortifications were in good repair. There didn't seem to be any major damage. Even considering the population size, the place looked perfectly functional. And yet...
"Thank you for coming all this way. We have been expecting you."
The three of us were greeted by a Goblin who identified himself as the village representative. The man was larger than I was, but he lacked any sense of vigor. In fact, he looked utterly exhausted. The Goblins standing behind him were in a similar state of weariness, making it clear that something was very wrong.
But what exactly?
The representative led us to the fields surrounding the village.
"The harvest looks very clean, doesn't it?" he asked.
I had to agree. I'd noticed it on our way in; the crops had been gathered with impressive precision.
"Except we didn't harvest any of this," he added.
What?
"They did."
The representative pointed toward the nearby forest. I caught the glint of several pairs of eyes peering out from the shadows. Are those... monkeys?
"Yes, monkeys. Those beasts decided to help themselves to our crops and carry them off."
Wait. The monkeys performed this "magnificent" harvest?
"They did. This year's yield is a total loss. We begged our lord for help, and he sent the army, but they were useless against the monkeys..."
"Baron Gima actually sent the army?" Enderi asked, surprised.
"And he lost?" Kirisana added.
I shared their shock, but something didn't add up. It was hard to believe an army couldn't deal with a few monkeys. Was there something else hiding in the woods?
"No, it's just the monkeys," the representative sighed. "A troop of about thirty."
"How many soldiers did the Baron send?" I asked.
"About twenty. But they couldn't drive the monkeys out of the forest, and as the number of injuries mounted, they eventually retreated."
Twenty soldiers lost to thirty monkeys? Even if the monkeys were fierce, the soldiers should have at least been able to clear them out.
"Actually, there's... well, a condition we insisted upon," the representative admitted.
A condition?
"Yes. Our tribe follows a strict code: if we kill a creature, we must eat it. If we don't intend to eat it, we don't kill it. So, we told the soldiers that if they killed the monkeys, they had to eat them..."
............ Eating monkeys?
I took a moment to process that and looked at Enderi and Kirisana. Both of them were vigorously shaking their heads. I didn't particularly want to eat a monkey either. Baron Gima's soldiers likely felt the same, and because they were trying to resolve the issue without killing the animals, they had been defeated.
"Also, simply driving them away is a problem..."
"Why? Isn't that the goal?"
"It would save our village, yes, but it would only make them someone else's problem. We couldn't do that to our neighbors."
A noble sentiment, but a difficult one to work with.
"And finally, the use of magic is... strictly prohibited in this area."
No magic either?
"Do you see the mountain deep in the forest?"
I looked where he was pointing. A great peak loomed in the distance.
"A ferocious dragon lives there. If we were to use magic, there's a chance it might be interpreted as a hostile act against her..."
Ah. I understood perfectly. That mountain was part of Mt. Tenbin Sanrou, which dominated the center of the Southern Continent. It was Raimeiren’s nest.
But if we couldn't kill them, couldn't drive them away, and couldn't use magic... what was left?
"We just want you to discipline them so they stop touching our crops."
.................. This was a much taller order than I had anticipated.
I've learned that in life, things rarely go according to plan.