It didn't take long for everyone to arrive at the front of the (temporary) court.
　Alisa called Jessica right away, and she was the first one to arrive. Then I connected each of the executives with the "communication (message)" and told them to come to the front of the court.

　Result.
　Currently gathered in front of the court are my companions - Alisa, Jessica, Milo, Gilanka, Chappie, Bow, Drake, Angus, Puppy, Amanda's human, an elf, and eight demons.

'Excuse me, Master Noah. What is this all about...?　I was just told to hurry up and get here...

We were just told to hurry up and get here, too...

Well, wait a minute.

　I nodded at Jessica and Drake's question.
　I didn't mean to hide it from them. It's just that I told them to come quickly anyway.
　Let's get Alisa to explain the details.

''I heard that Alisa found a huge demon coming towards us.

Well it's huge.

'It was a much bigger demon than Lord Puppy. It appeared to crush the mountain and is coming straight at us.

Alisa is that true?

Yeah. I definitely saw it with my own eyes.

　Alisa responds to Jessica's question.
　What I see in her expression is impatience. In the hidden village, the same impatience and fear that I used to feel for Puppy is thick in color.
　That's what it means when there are so many demons, and I'm there, and yet I'm still the one who feels fear.

'What I saw looked like a huge ... dragon. But its size is off the charts. And I could see it had several heads. Headed like a snake with no horns.

Hmm....

'The size ... I can't tell you exactly how big it was from a distance, but I'd say it was three times the size of Lord Puppy's.

That's a big one. Three times the size of a puppy.

　I agree with Milo, and I agree with him.
　In our camp, the biggest one is Puppy. It's only a puppy, but it's five times as big as me.
　That means this giant monster is 15 times bigger than me. In fact, I'm beginning to get confused.
　If it's that big, then its stride must be big too. In other words, I should think that we don't have much time before we come to this city.
　It's about two days' ride by carriage to Hydra's Guan, so... uh, I wonder how long it will take.

'Then I suppose we'll have time to prepare.

Oh, really?

''Yes. I've fought numerous demons, some of which are huge. And when your body becomes huge, you can't move that quickly. Inevitably, that would increase the load on their legs.

That's why its skin is so hard to penetrate, but when it's that big, no ordinary weapon can penetrate it.

　That's what Drake and Angus, the former adventurer duo, would say.
　I've dealt with a lot of demons in my five years of travel, but as expected of former S-ranked adventurers, the years are different. It's true that the Guardian Golem at the Ruins of Rilkara didn't move very slowly. I remember that they were extremely hard for that reason.
　But what are they preparing for?

'This means my axe might break too.

The big one's still better. My machete is already rusty...

Oh, handsome, conspicuous, good, maybe.

'I'm afraid I'll break my fingernails, too!　It hurts if you break it!



My greatsword is also very old.

My badass Amanda here has also mastered the art of snake fighting. I would love to fight you.

　Each of the demons are saying that while looking at their weapons.
　Well, I've asked Silmeria about the weapons, but I don't know if they're here yet. She said it would be about ten days, so I know it's coming soon.
　The worst case scenario is the form Drake said, me, Drake, and Amanda fighting with body art.
　I don't know how many levels of giant demons there are, but this one is me as a former level 99 and seven level 99 demons. Even though their original size specs are different, they won't lose so easily.

"Um, Noah-sama...

Hmm?　What's going on, Jessica?

I'd like you all to take on human form if you can, but I don't understand the language.

Oh, that too.

　I forgot about Jessica and Alisa.
　Sharing information is necessary, isn't it? As expected, it's crazy to ask for a plan to deal with a giant monster.

You all use the Metamorphic Demon.

Huh?　Yeah, that girl can't understand a word of it, can she?

That's it. Yes, I'll get on with it.

　Each person who can use it uses the Metamorphosis (Metamorphic Human).
　And with that, Milo turned into a strange beauty, Gilanka into a mild-mannered gentleman, Chappie into a frightened boy, Bau into a spirited girl, and Amanda into a pretty girl.
　Just why are all of these guys okay with being completely naked? As expected, I had them change into their clothes right away, since I couldn't get a good look at them.
　By the way, Puppy is still a dragon. Come to think of it, Puppy hasn't said a word since a while ago.

Am I right, sir?

Yeah, sure.

　Phew.
　At any rate, all of us are now dressed, so we can resume the meeting.
　If we were all in human form, we might as well have been in a conference room or something. Puppy isn't talking about anything anyway.

''So.........well.......as for countermeasures against the giant monster that's coming at us.

Oh.

Are we going to intercept them first, Master Noah?

Yeah. So,

　I have no intention of abandoning this place. It's our beachhead.
　This is the place where my country was founded. I will defend it.

Then my uncle Drake has a plan.

Yes. Now, Miss Drake, please.

''What works for a move like that is a pitfall. If it's coming straight at you, you can dig a huge pit in the middle of it. We think it's best to attack its head while it's stuck in the pit, unable to move.

I see.

　It's true that demons don't have any intelligence, so they can easily fall into a trap.
　If they have a set pattern of behavior, it might be good to set a trap in the middle of it.
　However, Jessica frowned slightly at Drake's suggestion.

''That would certainly be a good means, but........''

What's the matter?

Can we make a hole big enough to drop a huge demon like that? From what I've heard, it's heading straight for us.

We'll just throw in all the demons and we'll be able to...

''And even though they are indeed unintelligent, if there is a hole in the place they came straight for, even if it's a demon, they will bypass it. That would require some crafting that would prevent them from noticing the pitfall.

'Uh....'

　A common pitfall is to put a fragile wooden frame or something on top of the hole and grass on top of it.
　However, it is not easy to prepare the work. If it's done poorly, you'll find yourself with a hole in the ground.
　Drake also raises his eyebrows at Jessica's point, ''Indeed........''

.........

　Pitfall, I thought it was a good plan.
　But it's best to leave it to smart Jessica, who has a good head on her shoulders when it comes to planning a strategy. We should follow that word with an open mind.
　And when it happens.

''........''

....

....

....

　No one, no one says anything.
　In the first place, there is no operational planning ability in Milo, Gilanka, Chappie, Bau, or this area. They just listened to the pitfall crap we were talking about earlier while saying "heh" and "hoo".
　Well, I don't have it either, so I can't say anything about it. It's the smart people who think up strategies and stuff, and I'm the one who fights.

''Well, um ... if you have any other opinions ...''

....

....

'Well...'

　Jessica is puzzled.
　Both Drake and Angus probably have something in mind, but it doesn't particularly come to mind.

''Well then ... it's a plan I've come up with.

'Oh?　What's the matter with you, girl?

I'd love to hear what you think.

Yes, well, Master Noah. I'd like to ask you a few questions.

Yeah?

　That. It's coming at me.
　I don't really have any ideas, but I hope it's okay.

''I believe there are many demons under Noah-sama's command that do not yet have a will.

Yes.

To what extent would a demon without that will obey your orders?

'Uh ... I don't think I can give you that complicated of an order.

　I've verified this a few times, too.
　I could give orders like, "Bring a big rock over there," and he obeyed. But the command to go to the forest, find a big stone and bring it back didn't work. As a result, I divided it into three parts: go to the forest, find a big stone, and carry the stone.
　The result of the test was that 'it's possible to give a command for a single action'. Go straight ahead, knock that one down, and stay put.

Then is it possible to give an order to 'Hold here and stay put'?

'Oh, yeah. I think I can handle that much.

I understand. Thank you.

...?

　What does that mean?
　Well, it would have been quicker if I'd gotten all of my guys to have their minds made up in the first place. Let's take it easy from now on, though.
　Ugh, it's super annoying just thinking about it now.

"Jessica, what the hell...

'Oh, yes!　I'll explain the strategy now. I think this will allow us to do some manpower tactics.

It's...

　The moment Jessica tried to explain that.
　A voice I heard a moment ago, not reading the air, echoed through the air.

'Maido. Well, what's going on with the goose chase?　Norfolk Trading Company, Silmeria Branch, we've come to deliver your order.

　A two-horse horse with a hitching sound.
　The covered wagon that the horse pulls.
　And the titty glasses sitting there as the coachman.

I didn't know there were so many humans. Well, it was good. Oh, there's some kind of big, weird stuff coming toward us. I've got the information on that area, so why don't you talk about it over a cup of tea?

　It came in exactly ten days to deliver the item I had ordered.
　It was Silmeria.