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We walked around the village, it was a beautiful day just like yesterday, and there was a lot of people walking around, more than yesterday. I glanced around and found some guards gathering near the entrance of the village.
"What's going on now?" wondered Miranda. "Is something happening?"
"I bet someone stole oranges or something… Hahaha…" laughed Belle.
"No way they would make a fuss for some oranges being stolen, right?" asked Fuyu. "They're everywhere…"
A guard passing by was stopped by Rakasha, who politely asked him what was happening.
"Sir, is something happening?"
"Ah… Yeah! Last night it was reported that a group of Lizardmen were seen stealing oranges."
"See? What did I said? They stole oranges and are making a fuss." Said Belle.
"T-That fox can speak?" asked the guard.
"Yeah, it is a spirit, not really a monster. Anyways, is that all about?" I asked.
"A spirit… I see… W-Well, not really, we wouldn't make such a fuss if it were some oranges being stolen, but the real problem is the Lizardmen, they're a powerful and large tribe of humanoid monsters that dominate the marshlands." Said the guard. "The last years they were pushed away from this area by the Kingdom's army and the sect, but they seem to be trying to regain the land…"
"Interesting, Lizardmen, huh?" I wondered.
"Lizardmen are vicious lizard-like monsters that stand in two feet. They're primitive like Orcs and Goblins, but more organized." Said the guard. "A-Anyways, I must go, this is dangerous, if the Lizardmen are getting closer, it might meant that they would attempt a raid at night or something, we have to prepare before anything bad happens."
"You're right good man, go." I said, petting his shoulders as I stealthily left a few small droplets of slime inside of his armor, that way I can spy on their conversation.
"Lizardmen! I have never seen those guys. Are you telling me they live in the jungle there? Maybe those were the eyes we felt when we arrived her yesterday! They were looking at us rather intensively, are they not aware of how intensively they stare?" asked Yuki. "I wonder if they're as scaled as Benladra."
"No, I am sure they're more scaled than her, he said they were literal lizards standing in two feet, so they should be very big and scaled…" I said. "I wonder if they're all that bad. I mean, they were driven away from these lands which were their territory, so aren't the Frost Tear Kingdom people in fault? Nonetheless, I shouldn't really get myself involved into these problems."
"Yeah, I think the same, it is better if we keep things as we have them for now, getting into more trouble wouldn't be good in the long run…" said Benladann "Although I hope they don't just destroy the village or something…"
"Yeah, well, let's go to the merchant place." Said Yuki. "Hurry, I am hungry."
"Who are you to order me around? You just keep getting cocky, don't you?" I sighed.
As we made our way to the Merchant Guild area of this place, which was a small manor situated near the manor of the landlord, I began to hear the conversations that the guards were having, it seems that the sect disciples had gathered there because they were ordered by the landlord.
Aristocrats in this country seem to have a strong authority over the sect disciples, probably because they literally own the sect and the sect is made to protect them to begin with, so they cannot really fight against their orders and in that sense they're nothing that different from the other conventional soldiers wearing steel armor, just stronger and actually more racists, I guess.
"The Lizardmen seem to be wanting to just steal the oranges, perhaps they were not even adults."
"Hmm… Indeed, I have seen Lizardmen children, they like to play pranks sometimes to us, but they are never that harmful…"
"However, we cannot lower our guards, the Lizardmen back in the tribe could be preparing for war, we should send some scout there…"
"But the jungles and the marshland are dangerous places, monsters of Rank 2 are commonplace there, and even Rank 3 monsters are pretty common as well!"
The sect disciples interrupted the conversations between the guards.
"You bastards, you're telling me you've seen lizardmen children and you haven't killed them?!" asked one of them angrily
"Eh? B-But sir… they're children…" said a guard.
"So what if they're children?! Do you think those children won't grow into adults that will one day come for your heads? They're just scouting the area and "playing around", but eventually they'll use all that info to kill you in the future." Said another sect disciple.
"They might be just stealing oranges, but then they'll begin stealing our things, and then, they'll begin killing people… This land used to be theirs, so their resentment will never go away until we exterminate them all…" said another disciple.
"B-But that's…"
"Exterminate them all?"
"We used to have friendly relationships with Lizardmen three years ago… But they ended when one of you killed one of their Elders that came to trade with us!"
One of the guards angrily pointed his finger at the higher ranked disciple.
"Hm? I don't even remember doing anything like that, lowly commoner. You dare point your finger against me?" asked the leader of the disciple gang, as he grabbed the man's finger and broke it in an instant.
CRACK!
"Aaaagghh!"
"May this serve as a warning for all those brave enough to think they can just blame us for everything. We are just trying our best to protect this place. And that Lizardman was carrying a weapon, I had to kill him… And making friendly relationships with those beasts is ridiculous!" said the leader of the gang. "If it wasn't because we are not given enough resources and men to take care of them, I would had already led a crusade to exterminate all those vermin… Those marshlands and jungles are all very fertile land, imagine if we could make plantations of vegetables and raise animals there! Such a waste…"
"…"
"…"
The guards were all silent over the disciple's rant.
"Then what do we do?" wondered the guard which I had put the small slimes into his armor.
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