50 – Officer Meeting
“Hey! The knife has to go in like this!”
“Wouldn’t that make the fire oil explode!”
“What fire oil nonsense! The boss shot a breath at him earlier and the fire pouch must be empty by now!”
“Hmm? Is that so?”
I sat down on the field and watched the members.
The members who were busy moving around with the scavenger knives.
Every time a sound of exertion came from them, the huge monster was gradually dismantled and lined up neatly.
But was this the right thing to do? They were all doing the scavenging work for the first time, weren’t they?
I asked that question to Ivy, who was sitting next to me.
“Ivy. Is it okay to leave them alone without supervision?”
Ivy nodded her head as she cooled my neck with a cold water pouch.
“Yes. You don’t have to worry. There are many craftsmen among our herbivorous beastmen. They are familiar with the materials of the monsters, so they will adapt quickly.”
“Oh. That’s right. You guys make the armor and weapons.”
“That’s right. We also take care of many productive tasks. They all have good heads for work, so please leave the scavenging work to them.”
If the carnivorous beastmen were warriors, then the herbivorous beastmen were artisans.
I felt relieved by Ivy’s answer and lay down on the field.
I took off my armor and threw it away, and put a water pouch on my chest. Then I gently lifted up Pii and placed him on top of the water pouch.
As I enjoyed the autumn breeze in that state, my hot body cooled down and a pleasant chill spread.
“Captain. The fire suppression is done.”
“Hmm!”
As I was resting like that, Gahso and Niyor came over and sat next to me.
They had bright expressions for having hunted a monster while breaking the tradition of Cheongcheongyeongwol.
Come to think of it, all the herbivorous members didn’t seem to be anxious about breaking the tradition.
Was there a special reason for that?
I stroked the stretched out Pii and asked the officers.
“By the way, you guys don’t seem to care much about the tradition?”
The three officers smiled awkwardly at my question.
Seeing their reactions, they all seemed to agree to some extent.
What’s different about these guys from other beastmen?
The one who answered my question was the rabbit leader of the herbivore corps, Gahso.
“It’s probably because they have experienced leaving the village.”
“Leaving the village? The tradition of leaving the village when you become an adult?”
“That’s right. All the members are herbivore beastmen, but they have experienced leaving the village. They don’t think that tradition is everything because they have lived outside.”
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“No wonder there are so many men.”
“That’s right. Leaving the village is mostly done by men. In fact, it’s unusual for herbivore beastmen to leave the village in the first place.”
They became flexible in their thinking because they saw the outside world.
With Gahso’s explanation, I was able to grasp the whole story of the incident in an instant.
Perhaps the mother-in-law had selected the talents based on the criterion of ‘leaving the village experience’.
I felt a bit strange because I was helped by the tradition I wanted to get rid of.
‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to completely get rid of the leaving the village tradition.’
It was a tradition I wanted to get rid of because of the problem of slave hunting, but after hearing the story, I felt a bit sorry to abolish the leaving the village tradition.
Rather than blindly blocking the young people’s wandering, it would be better to provide them with safe routes and take advantage of the benefits.
If I mix in some Elden language in the leaving the village route, I might be able to promote the exchange between elves and beastmen.
‘Why did I have to worry about this?’
I finished my thoughts and sat up.
I felt a bit uncomfortable lying down by myself.
“Of course, that’s not the only reason.”
At that time, Ivy patted my back and said with a shy tone.
What other reason is there besides leaving the world?
When I showed what I meant, Ivy opened her mouth and pointed at me.
“It was because of Gaul’s presence that everyone gathered courage.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Are you not a druid, Lord Gaul? How can tradition withstand when a legend appears?”
“Ah.”
It was a somewhat cheesy remark, but it was not incomprehensible.
Who could oppose and stand up against a being that was only passed down as a legend, saying that they wanted to change the tradition?
They would not have the experience and responsibility of the elders, so they would not have much reason to oppose.
[hehehe. A legend.]
But it was a bit embarrassing as the person involved.
“hahahaha. That is true. Of course, the way the leader fought was a bit different from the legend.”
As I awkwardly pinched the cheek of the innocent Pii, Gahso smiled politely and changed the direction of the conversation.
But what does it mean that he fought differently from the legend?
I asked Gahso, who was sitting across from me.
“How do druids fight in the legend?”
Gahso smiled with a fatherly grin and thought for a moment.
Then he told me the legend of the druids as if he was telling an old story.
“The legend of the druids that I know is like this.”
It was a song of praise for the druids, widely known in the Great Forest, passed down over a long period of time.
『
Under the grace of the goddess of nature, Trias.
Under the mercy of the wild god, Mahesar.
Listen to the whispers of the wind and water,
Feel the hearts of the trees and earth,
And rise as a warrior of nature and wildness.
Rule the forest with the love of the goddess,
Become the wildness with the compassion of the god,
For he is nature, and he is wildness.
Green World Tree, guide him.
Blue Diana, support him.
Protect and prosper this land.
』
My head bowed involuntarily at the song of praise, uttered calmly in a deep voice.
It wasn’t exactly about me, but I felt embarrassed by the verbose compliments.
I opened my eyes slightly and looked at Pii’s reaction. He was rolling on my lap, laughing.
I pressed Pii’s belly and turned the story back.
[Owack! Th, thank you!]
“So, how do druids fight?”
At my repeated questions, Gahso smiled politely again.
Then he pointed at various parts of my body and answered in a clear voice.
“The agility of the rabbit tribe, the strength of the cow tribe, the sharpness of the wolf tribe, and the cunning of the fox tribe. Druids are said to have all those blessings.”
“Blessings?”
“Blessings of the wild. Druids are the only beings that can accept all the wildness.”
“What does that mean? Tell me more clearly.”
“The rabbit tribe’s kick, the cow tribe’s headbutt. If you are the chief, you can learn them easily.”
I gasped at Gahso’s answer.
According to him, I could be among the strongest with just my physical abilities.
But I had no clue how to do that.
How the hell do you do that kick and headbutt? No matter how much mana I gathered in my body, it didn’t work.
I asked Gahso with no hesitation.
“How do you do that?”
At my question, Gahso looked at Evi and tilted his head.
He looked like he was asking ‘You haven’t told him yet?’
I pushed my head between them and urged him to answer.
Gahso sighed and opened his mouth.
“The island in the middle of the leyline lake. If you visit the temple of Mahesar, you can receive the blessing. A normal person wouldn’t be able to, but since you are a confirmed druid, the divine trust will come down.”
“Ah, Lua mentioned that earlier… Well, I thought you already knew…”
Come to think of it, my mother-in-law did tell me.
I came here with permission to visit the Temple of the Wild.
Then I have to meet Mahesar as soon as I return.
I have to deal with all kinds of things and then go to get the trust.
It felt like today would be another long and tiring day.
“Then let’s just harvest those things and go back.”
I said that and looked at the members who were busy moving.
The heraldic that we all hunted together, and the serpent that the heraldic had hunted.
There were two huge monsters, so it seemed like we had to wait a long time for the harvesting work to end.
In this situation, there shouldn’t be any members who are playing around.
I looked around at the officers who were sitting nearby and spoke bluntly.
“But why aren’t you guys doing the harvesting work? Why are you sneaking up next to me?”
The three men and women flinched and avoided my gaze at my remark.
The first one to make an excuse was the vice-captain, Evi.
“I, I was just trying to assist Gaul-nim! I’m not slacking off at all!”
“Hmm, okay. Evi passes.”
It wouldn’t look good for me, the captain, and Evi, the vice-captain, to do the harvesting work.
I nodded my head and accepted Evi’s excuse.
The next one to make an excuse was the coin-division leader, Gahso.
“I, I found a problem with the captain in the previous battle. I was sitting here to tell you that.”
“My problem? What is it? Tell me.”
“Ahem! The leader is too inflexible. Even if you receive the blessing of the wild, you won’t be able to do a proper kick.”
“Hmm. You have a point.”
“So I recommend that you do some stretching exercises regularly. I’ll teach you an efficient way to warm up your body.”
Gahso’s criticism, which he used as an excuse, was a problem that I also felt clearly.
When I fought earlier, I threw a flying knee kick because I felt like my legs wouldn’t lift up.
But Gahso’s reason for slacking off here was not valid.
What, are you two going to do yoga or something? That’s disgusting.
“Gahso is out. Go help the members.”
“Kwuk! Understood.”
Gahso got up without a word and left to do the gathering work.
As Gahso moved away, my gaze naturally turned to Niyor.
The beastman leader, Niyor, made his last excuse.
“Hm!”
“What. There was a problem with my headbutt?”
“Hmm!”
“You have to put strength in your legs and waist when you do a headbutt?”
“Hmm hmm!”
Niyor’s excuse was not very substantial either.
I tapped his shoulder lightly and pointed to the gathering work site without a word.
Niyor got up with a sullen look and shuffled away.
Soon after, the herbivore squad started to speed up their harvesting work, spilling blood everywhere.
It seemed like they could return to the city before the sun set.
[But, how did you understand what Niyor said?]
“……”
[Is that also a druid’s ability?]
“……I don’t know.”
Really? How did you understand him?
“Niyor!!”
I called Niyor again.
I felt like I had to talk to him a bit more.