Isekai Nonbiri Nouka

Ursa, Alfred, and Rana-san departed, and the village felt a little lonely.

Even so, we still have to work to keep living.

…..

We have to work, but Loo won’t let go of me.

It’s probably because Alfred left.

Usually, she acts like she doesn’t care.

Well, I don’t mind her clinging to me.

But if possible, I’d prefer something with a bit more atmosphere instead of wrestling-style holds.

My joints hurt a little.

-0-

It took several days before Loo finally let go.

And after Loo, Hakuren was next.

Well, Hakuren must also be lonely with Ursa gone.

I don’t mind.

But please, I’d rather not have it turn into wrestling techniques…..

I spent several days with Hakuren like that.

-0-

After Hakuren, Zabuton was next.

Right.

Zabuton must be lonely too.

Yes, I understand.

I’ll wear as many outfits as you like.

Since Zabuton doesn’t use wrestling moves, it didn’t hurt, which was nice.

Though I changed clothes about fifty times over three days.

And the gazes from Tier, Ria, and Ann watching from the shadows…..

I’ll choose not to worry about them.

-0-

About twenty days after Rana-san and Ursa left, Dors and Girar finally returned to normal.

A lot of the backlog of work had been cleared, and their subordinates looked satisfied.

A few even muttered that maybe Rana-san should come again sometime, only to be glared at by Dors and Girar.

Then Dors and Girar held a meeting to discuss countermeasures against Rana-san.

Raimeiren and Guronde are participating too.

They don’t have to dislike her that much…..

Well, at least I’ll arrange some tea for them.

-0-

The Fairy Queen also started showing herself again.

It seems she had been avoiding Rana-san.

「We had a little….. thing in the past. It’s hard to face her」

I think it’s fine not to worry about it.

「She looks gentle, but when she rampages, she really rampages」

That much?

「There are stories about her smashing a planet or sinking an entire continent」

That sounds exaggerated.

「Right. She only shot down a large meteor, and the continent was just part of it, not the whole thing」

…..

「Anyway, don’t let your guard down too much」

Yeah….. I’ll keep that in mind.

-0-

The airship that had taken Ursa to Village Five was notified when it was decided she would travel using Rana-san’s teleportation magic, and it was sent ahead to the new town Ursa is building.

So there’s no need to worry about the airship.

What’s worrying is Village Five council.

They prepared defenses against Rana-san, conducted wartime drills and evacuation training, and then, while they were at it, set up a mock enemy and carried out a defense exercise.

As a result, the council members once again realized how fragile Village Five’s defenses were, and they held their heads in concern.

「We have no problems with evacuating residents or stockpiling food. However, the lack of defensive walls…..」

「If we build walls, the town won’t be able to expand.」

「There’s also the issue of sunlight.」

「But what will we do if we’re caught up in a war?」

「We’ll have to stop them before they reach the village.」

「Should we build a fortress somewhere along Village Five Road or the New Village Five Road?」

「That’s fine in wartime, but it’ll affect logistics in peacetime.」

「Should we strengthen coordination with Shashaato City?」

「We can leave the west to Shashaato. The problem is the east. There’s a limit to relying on the Elf villages.」

「Field reports suggest establishing defensive bases in the eastern forest, both conspicuous ones and hidden ones.」

「The construction cost estimates submitted with that proposal are enormous….. but Village Five’s finances can afford it.」

「Wait. Even if we prepare bases, what troops will we station there? We’re already short just covering the entire Village Five.」

「Didn’t many volunteers gather during the drills?」

「Please don’t lump together regularly trained soldiers with untrained volunteers. Volunteers can only be used for defending the town itself.」

「Don’t include volunteers in the planning stage. We should prepare a defense plan that works with regular troops.」

「That’s true, but…..」

「In this exercise, the forces judged effective for defense were the guard corps, the units from the shrine, and….. the angels.」

「The guard corps performed as expected.」

「The shrine units….. didn’t coordinate well with others, but they’re suited for mobile harassment.」

「So they’re good for disrupting the enemy……Can we really count on the angels as combat power?」

「I believe the defense was judged successful precisely because the angels properly directed units across various locations.」

「So Village Five lacks mid-level commanders.」

「Not just mid-level, we’re short on junior officers too. Until we fill those gaps, we should ask the angels to continue cooperating.」

The council conducted an earnest discussion.

After each meeting, the council members went to hear opinions from those on the ground, then reconvened to refine the defense plan.

After one such meeting, Youko returned to her office and muttered:

「If I, Niz, Ekido, and the museum staff take the field, we could handle most enemies. Still, we wouldn’t stand a chance against that Rananon…..」

Her secretary Messer* cautioned her.

TN: Chapter 916

「Youko-sama, relying on individuals makes for unstable strength. Defense should be organized.」

「Ah, sorry. You’re right. Let’s focus on organizational defense.」

…..Thinking that I could just rely on Hakuren, Rasuti, or Doraim in an emergency probably isn’t the right mindset, is it?

-0-

By the way, how does Loch, the chief civil servant of Village Five, evaluate this defense exercise?

Since Loch was in Youko’s office, I asked him.

「It’s good that it ended safely.」

Apparently, too many volunteers gathered, and managing them was difficult.

「As for the victory judgment for the defenders, we were a bit lenient. If we declared a defense failure, the residents would become anxious.」

I see.

Then we really do need to hurry with strengthening the defenses.

「No, no. Moderation is fine. As things stand, there’s no force that would attack this place.」

Well, that’s true, but…..

Still, we should think about defense.

「That’s true, however….. we actually have excessive combat power right now.」

Really?

In the exercise, it was said that Village Five suffered damage.

「That’s because the spiderlings in Village Five didn’t participate in the exercise.」

Ah…..

「Also, the attacking force was set as an elite unit of the Demon King’s army.」

So the assumed enemy was strong?

「The enemy-side commanders included Beezel-dono and Glatts-dono. I don’t think those two would actually attack us.」

Beezel and Glatts cooperated in the exercise?

「Yes. Also, the Demon King participated. He was on the defending side.」

…..?

Why on the defending side?

Wouldn’t he be on the attacking side?

「When he declared he wanted to join the attacking side, Beezel-dono and Glatts-dono refused….. so he volunteered for the defending side instead. He carried logs and helped build defensive barricades. Apparently he was active, but those directing the construction site said it was extremely difficult to give orders.」

Ah….. right. I’ll thank him and also give a word of caution.

「Please do.」

Also, while we’re on the topic…..

「Yes?」

What about Hih, the chief military officer of Village Five?

I haven’t heard that he did anything notable in the exercise.

「The scenario was that the defending commander would be taken out in the initial surprise attack.」

So he didn’t get a chance.

「Yes. The scenarios are selected randomly by drawing lots, and Hih was the one who drew that lot, so he couldn’t complain.」

That’s unfortunate, given the opportunity.

「Indeed. By the way, he’s been giving constant critiques to the person who took command in his place, every time they meet, he points out this was bad, that was bad, everything.」

Hahaha, I understand how he feels.

But if it keeps up, should I tell Bell?

At my suggestion, Loch lamented that I should tell her immediately and put a stop to it soon.