Published: August 15, 2025
The Next Day
After finishing the morning’s fishing, I decided to have an early lunch in preparation for the meeting with the Lord of the Territory.
Since the villagers knew the situation, they prioritized the order in which the dishes were served.
I gratefully began eating first, but honestly, after a while, I couldn’t really tell how the food tasted.
Mr. Kai and the others eating with me seemed to feel the same.
The reason was... the Lord of the Territory was somehow right in front of us.
“Fugu, mmm, yes, delicious!”
By the way, the Lord of the Territory is said to be from the Pigmen species, and due to racial traits or something else, he is quite obese. But because he wore a kimono and even had a topknot tied on his head, he looked less like a lord or noble and more like a sumo wrestler. And fittingly for his physique, he was heartily devouring a large bowl of rice with side dishes enough for four people.
...Trying to make sense of how this situation came about...
First, the Lord of the Territory arrived by ship, crossing the lake to visit the village.
However, due to some wind direction or something, he apparently came earlier than planned.
The village chief who greeted him thought it was unthinkable to make the Lord wait, so he tried to call us.
But the Lord said since he arrived earlier than promised, he would wait for us.
So the village chief, not wanting to simply have him wait, offered him a meal.
...As a result, we ended up having lunch with a noble lord we barely knew.
By the way, a lord would never travel alone. Seated on either side of him were his attendants.
One was young, dressed like a samurai, with a scale-like mask covering his right eye. The other, dressed like a sumo wrestler like the lord himself, had scales covering from his wrists to the lower halves of his palms. Judging by their appearance, they were Dragonewts. I’d heard that engineers were invited from the Dragonewt village, so these must be individuals from there.
“More, please.”
The sumo-like attendant also ate heartily, no less than the Lord... or was he really a bodyguard?
The samurai-like one didn’t eat anything and kept a watchful eye on the surroundings, so perhaps he alone was the bodyguard?
...I didn’t really understand, but for now, I just focused on finishing lunch.
After we finished eating,
“Phew... really delicious. The women here are skilled cooks. I thank you. Also, village chief, I know this is a time when you need to save for winter, so I appreciate this warm hospitality. Honestly, I think I might have eaten a bit too much without restraint. I will send food supplies later. It might not be much, but please use it as a reserve.”
“Your kind words honor us.”
I had heard he was a good lord, and it seemed true. At least he seemed willing to pay for what we ate, and didn’t act like a noble who felt entitled to hospitality.
“Now then, you are the adventurers responsible for defending this village, right? I am Porco Fatma, the Count and Lord of Fatma Territory. First, I thank you for your support in defense.”
“Your words are too kind. R-right, everyone?”
Shin, the leader of Sikumu’s pier, answered on behalf of the group, clearly nervous.
Seeing this, the Lord said,
“Don’t be so stiff, speak as you normally do.”
Smiling and granting permission, their expressions relaxed a bit.
“In recent years, not just mud salamanders but magical beasts in general have increased. That’s why we invited adventurers from outside the territory... but this year, the numbers were even higher... In several villages, the defense lines were broken due to lack of manpower, and some villages lost all their livestock.”
...So that’s what happened in other villages.
“This village was also exposed to the threat of those packs, but you didn’t just hold the line—you helped by sending forces to other villages.”
“Lord of the Territory, regarding that, it wasn’t us but...”
The five from Sikumu’s pier looked over at me.
“I’ve heard about that. This time, a beast tamer boy made a particularly large contribution here. But that doesn’t mean the others didn’t work hard. Thank you for your cooperation. And you five are honest people!”