"Well, let's get on with it. What about you?

I don't have anywhere to go since I got fired from the castle.



I see. Then you can come with us...

I'm a weak gargoyle like me.　I'm sure I'll only be a liability to strong people like Mr. Locke, Mr. Lucky, and Shannon.



"If you want to come, there's no reason to refuse. Being strong is not the only thing that makes you unique. Strength is not the only thing that makes a person attractive.



I'll come!　Please let me go."



The gargoyle wants to join us. Do you want to join us?

　What's with the seal?



"Hey, you know what?　Is there some kind of power seal?

"Sealed?　I heard that it was the previous demon king who created me, but it seems that I was put to sleep in a warehouse for a long time. Everyone told me that I was in the warehouse because I was made from leftovers. His magic power is weak, and he's been on cleaning duty for the past 100 years, so he's perfect at cleaning.



"I see. I think there's some kind of seal on them. Welcome to the ark of the sacred beast.



A gargoyle (sealed) has been made into a holy beast and is now a member. Forwarding to the ark of the sacred beast.

The Holy Beast is now a member and you can expand the ark. You can select one of the following locations and facilities.

　Pond (middle)

　River (middle)

　Sea (small)

　Hut (enlarged)

　Box garden expansion

　Fruit trees

　Fruit trees

　Mine (small)

　Mountain



　Now, let's expand the hut this time.

　There is an underground dungeon, but if we can expand the hut, it should make life easier for the servants.



　Once inside the ark of the sacred beast, I'll explain it to the gargoyle.

"I've never heard of such a skill in my 100 years of life. And it's called "sacralization"?　It's very powerful.



"That's good."



　He said something like that, but he is weak at heart, so please don't push yourself too hard.

　I'll deal with the seal later, but when I asked him where the village was, he said it was on the opposite side of the city.



　If it is a village of bandits, we have no choice but to destroy it.



　On the way to the village, we found a number of wild civets, so we had to collect some of them.

　Such a cluster is hard to find.



　We will boil them and eat them later.

　Cabbages are very sweet when boiled, and taste great in soup.



　After a while, we found a small village with only a simple fence.

　The village was in a valley and there seemed to be only about 30 people living there.



　From a distance, it did not look like a village of bandits.

　Rather, it was a village of old men and women.



--Will you come by? ----

"Yes, if a village is not on the map, we should check it out. If it is inhabited by bandits or brigands, the danger to the travelers increases."



------Should I stay hidden? ----

"No, that's fine. Come with me."



　When we got to the entrance of the village, an old man, who looked like a gatekeeper, was sleeping .......

　What's the point of a gatekeeper?



　Shannon and I get out of Lucky and call out.

"Excuse me."

"Hello."



"ZZZZ...... mmmmmm ...... gahhh ...... gahhh..."

　He seems to have apnea. He stops breathing in the middle of a sentence, is he okay?

　I don't know what to do.

　Can I come in?



"Wake up, please!"

　Shannon says, shaking her body.

"Ha! There's an ...... angel. I've finally died while guarding the gate. I wouldn't mind dying for a pretty girl like her.

　The old man suddenly tries to kiss Shannon.



"Crap!"




　The old man is blown away by Lucky's reaction before Shannon does.

　Oh, ...... he is really dead.



　I thought so, but the old man was surprisingly tough.

　Lucky seems to have moderated his reaction, but I really wish he wouldn't do that.



"What?　I was just having a nice last dream. What are you doing in a village this far from home?　Thieves?　No food! We're out of food. I haven't had anything to eat for days.



No, no. I'm a traveler. I was just on my way to the cave up ahead. I didn't know there was a village here.



Yeah, it's small. Do you guys have any food?　Or if you're adventurers, do you have something to hunt?　Anything other than goblins?



Food?　I have some food, and I can hunt for it.

"Well, in that case, let me take you to the chief and we'll talk about it.



　We were escorted to the chief's house without knowing what to expect.

　The villagers were surprised to see Lucky, but all the villagers were thin.

　But there should have been no famine in the area, especially in the last few years.



　When I went to the village head's house, I found that his house was quite simple.

"Chief!　I brought a traveler with me.



"Oh, I see. I'm sorry. You did a good job getting up today.

What are you talking about? A good gatekeeper like me can tell when someone's asleep. And if I were here, like that statue that just came in, I'd turn it away by myself.



"I see. I see. You saw the moving statue. You're showing signs of dementia.



Shut up! You're the chief of the village.



　The old men are joking around with each other.

　The gargoyle was chased off by this one old man.

　I'm sure he was joking when he said the gargoyles were an elite force.



"Hello, my name is Locke, an adventurer from the royal city of Kronto. This is Shannon and this is my follower Lucky. The gatekeeper gave us a tour of the city.



I'm sorry, traveler, but we're running out of food in this village and we need your help.



How is it that we are running out of food?　There hasn't been any famine in the past few years.



"Yes, I think so. Goblins have been haunting the swamps of the green garden down the road for the past six months. A group of young men went out to exterminate them, but that only resulted in more injuries. It is a day and a half's walk to the nearest village, but while we were dealing with the goblins, the road became blocked with weeds. The fields were shrinking, and then the goblins attacked again, robbing us of our food. It's all over now."



　Goblins are synonymous with demons that do nothing but harm.

　They are wastefully intelligent and attack people, taking away the food they have grown.



　They are not a problem when there are only a few of them, but when their numbers increase, they can be quite a nuisance.



"Then I would like you to make a formal request to the guild. I know it sounds harsh, but adventurers are not a charity. If you go through the guild, we'll take care of it.



"We have made a request. Of course we appealed to the government. But they wouldn't take our village because we couldn't pay them. We have no choice but to abandon our village. But it is not so easy to abandon a village that was built by everyone.



　I understand the village chief's concern for his village.

　But ...... you cannot make a living as an adventurer if you help people out of the goodness of your heart.



　It is very painful, but sometimes we have to make a choice to abandon our village.

　Even if we helped them this time, there is no guarantee that they will help us again next time.



　However, under certain conditions .......



"We have another request right now, and we'd love to help you out, but we can't. By the way, where are the goblins?　Do you have a map of this area?"



　The village head brought a map and I compared them.

　I see.

　Maybe I can make it work.



"We might be able to get to the goblins. And there was a colony of civets along the way, so we should be able to survive the hunger. But if we continue like this, we will only be repeating the same thing. We will cooperate with you for the development of the village, and if you give us 20% of the profits from the revenue coming into the village in the future, we will solve the problem and cooperate with you."



"Twenty percent? ...... is not an amount that I alone can decide ......."



We have other requests right now. So if all the villagers cooperate with this request, we can give you 10%. Of course, it is 10% of the profit, so it can be taken from the sales after taxes and labor costs are deducted. Even if you can't, we will help you thin out the goblins and provide food for them. I think it's not a bad deal for the village.



　The basic problem of this village is that it is cut off from the rest of the city and has no foreign currency to get what it needs because the fields are not well maintained and there are no local products.



　We can help them for free.

　But it won't be good for the villagers either.



"Okay. Just let me talk to the people in the village."



"Okay. We don't have much time, so I'd appreciate it if you could make a decision soon. I'll be outside, so let me know when you make a decision.



　We go outside and wait for the chiefs to make a decision.



"Shannon and Lucky, wait here for a minute. I'm going to go inside the box yard. Let me know when the chief comes out."



----Okay.

"Yes, sir."



　I go into the garden and gather my followers.




"I have something I'd like you all to help me with now, okay?　Of course, we'll treat you to a delicious meal when we're done."



　I explain to the followers what we are going to do.

　Will the chiefs refuse?　No, of course not. The chiefs will only benefit.