Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

“We won!”

Hearing such joyful voices, I hurried up onto the defensive wall.

“As expected, Lord Van.”

“Amazing!”

Nodding at the excited words of Til and Kamushin, I skipped a step as I ran up the stairs.

“Oh, Lord Van! Look at these battle achievements!”

When I climbed onto the defensive wall, Dee greeted me with arms wide open.

“Thanks for the command.”

As I passed by Dee and reached the edge, an incredible sight spread out before me.

A mountain of giant lizard corpses rolled in front of the moat. No, they were now so huge they could easily be called dinosaurs.

“What? These dinosaurs? There were forty of them? How did you manage to win?”

I couldn’t help but say that. Dee patted my back in high spirits.

“Wahaha! I don’t know what a ‘dinosaur layer’ is, but it’s all thanks to Lord Van’s ballista! Steel arrows piercing the armored lizards’ ‘steel scales,’ and wooden arrows stuck in their scales. Both have unbelievable power. Without that, this village might have already been lost.”

“Watch out! Hey, you’re going to fall!”

As I complained, trying to regain my balance after being patted on the back, my eyes were drawn to the scene below.

Inside the moat, bandits with pale faces looked up at us.

“…Come to think of it, we forgot about the bandits. They’ve been reduced to about thirty.”

After saying that, Dee blinked and opened his mouth.

“Oh, those guys too! Alright, aim the ballista into the moat! Fire as soon as they move!”

Dee shouted the order loudly, and the bandits shrank back, holding their breath.

With a stern look, Dee dropped a bundle of ropes.

“Use these to tie yourselves up! Anyone who wants to be rained on by arrows, stand up!”

Dee barked his threat, and the bandits hurriedly tied themselves together in chains.

As we brought the bandits to sit in front of the lord’s manor, Ort and the others returned.

“What’s with all those armored lizard corpses!? And those bandits!?”

As Ort and the others shouted while stopping their carriage, the bandits trembled.

I crossed my arms and frowned.

“So, it seems the bandits attacked, but then they were chased by armored lizards. We just took down the armored lizards.”

“How did you defeat armored lizards in such pristine condition…? They’re formidable demonic beasts even for us!”

Ort looked confused. I wasn’t sure how to answer, but I decided there was no point in covering it up.

“With a bow?”

“With a bow!? Armored lizards!?”

Surprised, Ort repeated my words.

Ignoring Ort’s malfunctioning brain, Pluriel asked, puzzled.

“Without Espada-san’s magic, defeating that many? I thought arrows wouldn’t even scratch them…”

“I was surprised by the battle achievements too. Oh, you all have the swords I made, so you probably know their sharpness, right?”

When I asked, Ort and the others exchanged looks and widened their eyes.

“...No way, the ballista arrows were…”

Ort asked, and I nodded.

“They have the same sharpness as everyone’s swords.”

My answer left the adventurers speechless.

Contrarily, Dee stepped forward.

“Lord Van gave swords to Ort and the others…?”

I could almost hear the side comment, “I didn’t get one,” from his expression. Looking back, Arb and Row approached, looking like they might cry.

“No, no, Ort and the others bought them. Daggers for three gold coins, longswords for five gold coins each. Right?”

Seeking confirmation from Ort and company, they each took out their swords and proudly lifted them for Dee and the others to see.

“There were only small demonic beasts, but it cut through bones without resistance.”

“Thin, light, and easy to swing, but the terrifying sharpness saved us.”

“They listened to our requests on the spot and made them in minutes. Both the look and sharpness are top-notch!”

For some reason, the adventurers voiced their impressions like hosts on a shopping channel.

Dee and the others ground their teeth in frustration.

Glancing fiercely at Ort and company, Dee immediately turned to me.