I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The Black Cat Habitat

ENCOUNTERING NO PROBLEMS on the road, we reached Green Goat by nightfall. 

“Y-you may pass, Black Lightning Princess!”

“Hm.”

We entered the city without so much as a hiccup and visited the guild to sell materials from the small monsters we killed along the way. From there, it was only a short walk to the inn. I should have been relieved that things were going so smoothly, but in truth, it felt weird. Was this the calm before the storm? I watched for any sign that something was amiss in Green Goat, but everything seemed normal. 

While Fran slept, I watched over her nervously, vigilant for the first spark of an emergency. However, morning dawned, and all was still peaceful. I appreciated the rest, but I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was unprecedented. 

“What is it, Teacher?” Fran noticed my restlessness, but I didn’t want to bother her about it.

It’s nothing.

“Really?”

I expected something to happen as we headed out the city gates, at least, but somehow we left Green Goat without a single incident. Was our luck changing for the better?

That was a really nice town!

“You think so?” Fran asked.

Yep! All towns should strive to be like Green Goat!

Then, of course, something happened just after we left the city.

“Someone’s there,” said Fran. We were only about twenty meters beyond the city gates.

Adventurers?

The two men waiting on either side of the road looked like adventurers. They weren’t doing anything, but I guessed that they were looking for someone.

Even the most brazen bandits had the sense to rob their victims farther from the city, so I decided these guys must be after something else. When we noticed that they were watching us, we slowed down and kept our guard up. Once again, however, nothing happened. 

As we got closer, I noticed that these adventurers were human. Maybe Fran and Jet’s oddness just caught their attention, but that didn’t explain why they suddenly glared daggers at us.

What’s up with them? I asked.

They’re watching us.

Sure looks like they’re itching for a fight.

The men let us pass. A short way farther down the road, though, several others appeared out of nowhere. They scowled, closing in on us. 

If they were bandits, they certainly had a strange way of going about their business. Most bandits were just plain greedy. Anger wasn’t usually part of their particular brand.

“We finally caught up to you,” said one.

“What’s with that wolf?!” asked another.

“It’s too fast!”

The adventurers were on horseback and shouted angrily as they approached.

“You Fran, the Black Lightning Princess?” they asked.

“Hm.”

So, they were specifically targeting us. I guessed that the two just outside the city gates were lookouts after all. They must have posted men along every road in and out of Green Goat. 

“Sorry,” panted one, out of breath from chasing Jet, “but you’re going to die now.”

“Blame the fact that you’re an animal!”

Well, that escalated quickly! I thought it would come to this, but the adventurers really weren’t ones to waste words. They were oddly confident, despite the fact that they were so weak. 

I prepared Teleport and Telekinesis, just in case the men were using something like Fake Identity. They had underestimated Fran, though, which was a clear sign that they were as weak as they looked. Even so, Fran and I were still riding Jet, a giant direwolf. The men’s confidence didn’t make sense, especially when it looked as if goblins could beat them within an inch of their lives. 

The men took some kind of balls out of their pouches, grinning as they held them in the air.

Fran, those balls are manatech. They produce a weak poison gas. I’ll teleport you out of here. Jet, you take them down. But leave the leader alive.

“Arf!”

The men threw the poison balls, and Fran immediately disappeared. They looked around for her, but never bothered to look above themselves. From up in the sky, I surveyed our surroundings, looking for other accomplices; I could only spot these five guys and their two sentries. 

Below us, Jet ignored the poison gas and tore right through their ranks. Guess they were exactly as weak as they seemed. When we landed, Jet wagged his tail in anticipation.

“Good boy,” said Fran. 

“Arf!”

“Hm.”

I checked the men’s condition as Fran cooed over Jet like she was Mutsugoro-san. Three of the five adventurers were dead, and the remaining two were minutes from death. I quickly healed them. Not as an act of mercy—I wanted information.

“What are you playing at?” Fran asked them. 

“Eek…!”

“Th-this isn’t how it was supposed to go down!”

With the application of a little pain and Intimidate, the men opened right up. Unfortunately, they didn’t know very much. They were little more than anti-beastman thugs, and an unknown man had hired them. He supplied them with manatech he claimed would release powerful poison—poison that would only kill their enemies. They still seemed shocked that it hadn’t worked, but I got the feeling the man had used and discarded them. 

I had no idea why this unknown man sent these pushovers to make an attempt on Fran’s life. Maybe he was just out to harass her? Even the most basic knowledge of Fran and who she was would have told the men that such tricks couldn’t kill her. Had their employer expected them to fail?

In any case, it was best to return to Green Goat and hand the two survivors over to the authorities.

I knew it…

“Teacher?”

N-nothing. Don’t worry about it.

Fran might have become the target of some unknown conspiracy, but I felt strangely relieved that something had finally happened. Not that I was going to tell her that.

“What about the conspirators along the other roads?” Fran asked. 

If they’re still around, we’ll nab them.

“Got it.”

And so, we returned to Green Goat.

“Umm, didn’t you just leave earlier…?” the guard asked, confused. 

It was true; we’d passed him only thirty minutes ago. 

“Something came up,” Fran said. 

The guard turned his attention to Jet. “Did it have anything to do with the men who are beaten half to death and tied up on top of your direwolf?”

“Hm. I was attacked in the middle of the road.”

“A-are you hurt?”

“Nope.”

“Of course she’s not hurt, idiot!” said one of the other guards. “The Black Lightning Princess can easily handle a few thugs!”

“R-right, of course.”

“I didn’t think we got bandits around here now,” said the other, rubbing his chin. “I thought His Royal Highness wiped them out last year.”

Fran shook her head. “They’re not bandits. They wanted to kill me specifically.”

“A-assassins?”

“Hm.” She showed the poison balls to the guards and told them the story.

“By the gods! Pl-please wait while I call for the captain! Hey, we need backup over here!”

“On it!”

Wow, these guys worked fast! Maybe it was just because Fran was involved, but backup arrived from the guardhouse within a few minutes. The guards carried the would-be assassins away and threw them in jail.

The guard captain showed up with them in a state bordering on panic. He reminded me of the Rat Man from a certain manga about youkai. In fact, as it turned out, he really was a rat beastman. That aside, his conduct was perfectly sincere.

“Are you hurt, Black Lightning Princess?!”

“Hm. I’m fine.”

“Very good.” Once he confirmed Fran’s safety, he turned to his men for the full story. “Well, where are the thugs now?”

“In prison, sir!”

“Excellent. Now, make them talk!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Right this way, Black Lightning Princess.”

The captain led Fran into the guardhouse and sat her down in what looked like a waiting room. 

“Fetch the best refreshments for our honored guest.”

“Immediately, sir.”

Soon, a guard provided Fran with a very fine cup of tea. That seemed normal enough, given how things were going, but then someone else came in with a thick cut of steak that couldn’t under any circumstances have been described as a “refreshment.”

Was the captain joking with us? Nope—he looked deadly serious. What’s more, Fran didn’t appear surprised at all, but picked up the steak immediately and stuffed her face with it. I guessed that this counted as afternoon tea here in the Beastman Nation. It was an interesting glimpse into their culinary customs, at least!

Fran had almost finished her steak when I sensed someone coming up the stairs. Their footsteps were quite loud and frantic, but at least they had the manners to pause in front of the door and knock—even if their knocking did sound like it would break down the door.

“Come in,” said Fran.

“Hello! Aah, are you the Black Lightning Princess?”

“Hm.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance! Allow me to introduce myself! I am Green Mountain Goat Almarno, viscount of Green Goat!”

Whoa, no need to shout, buddy! Almarno was muscular, and most certainly did not look like a herbivore. Between his build, his armor, and the sword hanging from his belt, he was definitely a fighter. 

“What’s the situation, Captain?” he asked. 

“We’re interrogating the thugs as we speak, my lord.”

“Basharl’s behind this, I just know it!”

“I agree, sir. And we have all the proof we need!”

They had proof? Had I missed something?

The guard captain turned to Fran. “The manatech they used is Basharli,” he said. “There’s no mistaking it.”

“Make them talk, and don’t let the mastermind get away!” Almarno shouted. “How dare they attack the Black Lightning Princess, a champion of our kingdom?! This is as good as a declaration of war!”

The guard captain nodded. 

Wait, Fran is a champion of the Beastman Nation now? 

“Indeed, sir!” the captain told Almarno. “I’ve already assigned soldiers to the location where they attacked the Black Lightning Princess.”

“Excellent, Captain! And what of the investigation in the city?!”

“Our men are sweeping the areas thugs normally frequent. Unfortunately, most of our forces are away, reinforcing the border with Basharl.”

“Again with Basharl! Very well. Add the knights to their number!”

“Are you sure, my lord? The castle guard…”

“I am very sure, Captain! If Basharl wants to fight, we’ll give them a fight!”

It seemed unlikely that their investigation would yield much fruit. It seemed more and more likely that those adventurers were sent to harass Fran, not kill her. Whoever had employed them definitely knew they would get caught, and he was likely miles away by now. Still, I supposed, the guards might find some further proof that Basharl was involved. 

Almarno asked Fran whether she was staying in town until the investigation was over. He even offered her one of his mansions, to make sure that we had somewhere comfortable to reside, but Fran declined. The viscount seemed a little upset not to have further chances to win the favor of the famous Black Lightning Princess. To give Almarno due credit, he was probably just trying to pay Fran the respect that she was due. He asked her to have lunch with him and tell him about her brave travels, but Fran was in too much of a hurry. 

“I’m sorry, but it will have to wait until another time.” 

“Of course!” Almarno shouted. “You are welcome here whenever you like!”

He accompanied us to the gates, and we were off on the road again.

Fran, I know it says to head straight north, but I think we should take a detour.

“Why?”

There might still be people following us, and we don’t want to lead them to the other Black Cats.

“Good point.”

Jet, go east instead of north from here.

“Woof!”

We carried on eastward, making our way through a forest. We teleported around and hid ourselves before finally returning to the road north. If we had anyone on our tail, we had lost them by now.

“Did that do it?”

Probably.

Chances were that no one could keep up with us, especially considering how fast Jet was, and the fact that we were actively concealing our presence. Any assassins who could track us down now had every right to challenge us to a fight.

“Is that the river the Green Goats mentioned?” Fran asked.

Looks like it.

“Woof woof!”

Arriving at the river meant we’d already reached the halfway point. Schwarz Katze should be right around the corner. Wow, we’d covered a lot of ground. Jet really enjoyed putting the pedal to the metal when he had the chance. 

“There’s the fork,” said Fran.

The folks in Green Goat said to go right after the river.

“Woof!”

I expected Jet to slow down, but he didn’t. He cornered like he was drifting. 

Now just follow the road, and we should—

“Teacher, over there!”

There we go!

Along the steep, narrow path that led to Schwarz Katze, we spotted several beastmen. I checked their ears and tails, and they were definitely the ones who we were looking for.

Black Cats!

“Hm!”

We’d found our first villagers! They carried bundles of branches on their backs, so I guessed that they were gathering firewood. We hurried on, powered by our excitement, but things did not go as planned. 

“Eeek!”

“Direwolf!”

“R-run!”

The villagers dropped their firewood and ran into the forest the second they saw Jet. I don’t think that they even noticed Fran. They didn’t try to make a stand. I guessed that that was what happened when you were well known to be the weakest tribe. 

Maybe…we should have asked Jet to shrink down a little bit? Either way, we had to find the villagers now, if only to clear up the misunderstanding. We didn’t want the others thinking there was a feral direwolf roaming around.

Let’s go after them and explain ourselves.

“All right.”

Back to the shadows with you, Jet.

“Arf…”

We collected the abandoned bundles of firewood and headed into the forest. The Black Cats had scattered in three directions—I assumed they were more than used to escaping threats that way.

Let’s find the nearest one.

“Hm.”

Our target was an ordinary man, not a seasoned warrior. It didn’t take long for Fran to track him down. Sure enough, a few moments later, we noticed him shivering under a tree.

“Hey,” said Fran.

“Eek!” The Black Cat shrieked and jumped out of his hiding place. His face was pale with fear. When he noticed Fran standing in front of him, he immediately fell on his rear. “E-e-e-e…”

“Hm?”

“E-e-e-e—”

“You all right?”

“Evolved!”

“Hm.”

The other tribes already treated Fran like a national hero, but the members of her own tribe were truly shocked. The man’s eyes were full of awe and astonishment. He trembled so much I thought he might pass out.

“B-b-b-b-b…”

“Hm?”

“B-b-b-b—”

“Is that your impression of a chicken?”

“Black Lightning Princess?!”

So, the news had reached them after all. Not only did he realize Fran was evolved, he knew that she’d achieved the rarer form of the Black Sky Tiger. Tears streamed down his pale face.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“You okay?”

“After all the misery we’ve been through! Finally! Waaaaah!”

Let’s wait a while, I suggested. 

Sure.

Fran’s gaze softened as she comforted the man. I hadn’t seen her like this since Inina; she clearly felt a stronger bond with members of her own tribe. 

We watched over the man until he calmed down and apologized for his behavior. “I am deeply sorry for causing you so much trouble, Black Lightning Princess.”

“That’s all right.”

“Th-thank you so much!”

When he’d recovered, we set off in search of his two friends. Once we found them, they reacted in a similar way. They were completely overwhelmed by emotion, but after they calmed down, they trusted us quickly—like they were alley cats who’d finally found their boss. 

They treated Fran like a celebrity as she gave them back their firewood, their eyes gleaming with admiration. Then we all headed for Schwarz Katze.

“I’ll go tell everyone you’re here!” one villager said, speeding away.

That was a good idea. After all, we didn’t want to cause a fuss if we didn’t have to. 

“Oh, yeah,” said Fran. “I have a friend with me.”

“R-really?”

“Hm. Do you mind if I call him?”

“Not at all!”

“Jet.”

“Awooo!” Jet emerged from the shadows, and the men immediately fell back on their rears.

“Gaaaah! Wolf!”

“Eeek!”

Evidently, Jet was still terrifying, even in his shrunken state. We reassured the Black Cats as best we could and resumed our walk to the village. 

“I’ll warn the rest about your familiar, so you don’t scare them,” said the second man, taking off in the direction his friend went.

“Thanks,” said Fran.

She chatted with the remaining young man as they walked the rest of the way. According to him, about three hundred people lived in Schwarz Katze, and ninety percent of them were Black Cats. Soldiers and adventurers from other races, as well as their families, made up the remaining population.

“Oh, there it is now!” the young man exclaimed.

“That’s Schwarz Katze?”

“Yes!”

A tall wooden wall blocked the end of the path. We might’ve been out in the middle of nowhere, but this village was decently fortified. Apparently, the wall was a special gift from the Beast King himself. I figured Rigdith really did care about the Black Cats, even if that was just an extension of his affection for Kiara.

Three Black Cats were at the gates. Two were the men we’d encountered before, while the last was an old man with a hunched back. He was different from the others. If nothing else, he didn’t even look at Jet. Instead, he turned all his attention on Fran.

“Ooh…! Ooooh…! You really are evolved!” The old man looked Fran up and down with tears brimming in his eyes.

“We told you, elder!”

“Yes, but I still could not believe it!”

“The Beast King’s own messenger delivered the message!” one of the others protested. 

“Even so, did any of you believe it? Truly? A hundred percent?”

“Well, I mean…”

“You know…”

They couldn’t wrap their heads around it. To them, the idea that one of their own could evolve was simply impossible. 

And here was Fran to prove them wrong.

“S-so,” the elder stammered, “the requirement for evolution…is it true?”

“Y-yeah!” said one of the others. “Do we really have to beat a thousand Fiends?”

“It sounds impossible!”

I guessed that it would be a while before we could have a reasonable discussion.

At least they’re happy about it, I said.

“Hm.”

“Woof.”

A few minutes later, everyone had calmed down enough to show us the village. They apologized for their earlier outbursts, but Fran just seemed pleased about how happy they were.

When we entered the village, a huge crowd waited for us—almost two hundred people, most of them Black Cats. They muttered to each other when they saw Fran, but the atmosphere was more sedate than I expected. The villagers were so astonished that they could barely make a sound. 

“Thank you, gods…”

“So, it was true.”

“Oooh…”

Without warning, many villagers fell to their knees—their hands clasped to their chests, and their eyes brimming with hot tears. It was an intense reaction, bordering on worship. Fran seemed almost as perturbed by it as I was. 

“Come now,” said the elder. “Calm down. You’re making the Black Lightning Princess uncomfortable.”

The crowd eased off after that, although their gazes remained intense.

“My apologies, Black Lightning Princess,” said the elder.

“Hm. It’s okay.”

As soon as Fran spoke, another wave of murmuring ran through the crowd.

“She talked!”

“And she has such a cute voice!”

“She’s cute!” 

“Like a goddess…” 

Wasn’t all this a little over the top? The villagers were treating Fran more like a pop star than a war hero. 

“Please,” said the elder. “Right this way.”

“Hm.”

He led us away, but the masses followed behind us. There were children in the crowd around Fran’s age, but none even tried to speak to her. At first, I thought they were afraid, but the looks on their faces were more like intense admiration. Their eyes practically sparkled.

The elder led us to his house and asked Fran to sit down while he prepared a cup of tea for her. I could feel the villagers swarm around the house. Some even peeked in through the windows.

“I apologize that I do not have anything better to serve you,” said the elder, handing Fran her tea.

“Hm. It’s good.”

“Is it really?! I am very happy to hear that.”

The village elder patted his chest with relief. Outside the walls, the villagers gasped. I wondered what would have happened if Fran hadn’t liked the tea. Would they have made her another cup? Judging by what I’d seen so far, they might have gone off to nearby towns in search of different tea leaves. 

“I cannot tell you how much it pleases me that you like it. We cultivated these tea leaves ourselves, you see.”

Ah. Well, I supposed that explained it. 

“So,” said the elder, “what brings you to our village?”

“Nothing. I just heard that Black Cats lived here, so I wanted to visit.”

“Goodness, is that so?!” the elder asked, nodding happily. “Ours is a small village, and I am afraid that we do not have an inn. Please, make yourself at home here for the duration of your stay.”

“I can camp out for a few days.”

“Not on my watch, Black Lightning Princess! Please, I insist!”

The elder bowed his head so low it smacked the table. This guy needed to calm down! That looked like it hurt. 

“Are you sure?” Fran asked. “Thanks.”

“If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.”

He was treating Fran like a noble. She might have been evolved, but she was still of common birth; the village elder held a higher office than her, if anything. 

“We are a simple village,” he said. “But we shall provide for your needs as best we can.”

There really wasn’t anything we wanted from them, however. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

“You should tell me if you need anything,” Fran said. “I’ll help any way I can.”

“Will you? Thank you so much.”

“Any trouble with monsters lately?” she asked.

“Not really. There are few monsters in these parts of the world, and we live in peace. The land isn’t particularly fertile, but at least it’s safe.”

The cool climate made the area unpopular with other beastmen. They were by and large a battle-hardened race who didn’t mind living cheek by jowl with monsters, if it meant warm climates and fertile soil. They definitely didn’t envy the Black Cats living in Schwarz Katze, which was probably why the Beast King gave them this land so readily. 

“There is one thing you can help us with,” said the elder. 

“Yes?”

“May I trouble you to show the young ones your power?”

“You want me to fight?”

“Yes. I doubt that older Cats like me can kill a thousand Fiends in the sunset of our lives, but the young ones are different. They might have what it takes to evolve. I would like them to see what they can expect from evolution.”

The Black Cats were rejoicing at the news that one of their own had finally evolved, but such excitement could be short-lived. How many would be driven to hunt down enough Fiends to evolve themselves? Judging by the Black Cats we had seen so far in the village, the answer was: not many. 

“I see,” said Fran. “All right.”

“So, you’ll do it?!”

“Hm.”

We were still talking about our plans when a ruckus broke out somewhere in the village. Someone banged on the elder’s door, and others shouted. What was going on?

“Elder! Elder, are you there?!”

The voice was frantic. Was there some kind of emergency?

“Keep it down! What’s happening?”

“G-goblins! We have goblins incoming!”

“Why all the fuss?” asked the elder. “The guards will take care of them.”

“I-It’s a horde! More than twenty!”

The elder’s eyes widened. “Wh-what?”

“They’re resting, but they’ll be on the move again soon. They might come to our village!”

The elder broke into a cold sweat. Twenty goblins might not be many, but it was enough to demolish a small village. “Tw-twenty goblins, you say?” he asked.

“It’s the end for us!” These guys had given up hope. 

Fortunately, Fran already had an idea. “This is the perfect chance to show you my powers.”

“O-of course!” exclaimed the elder, his eyes suddenly brightening. “Will you save us, Black Lightning Princess?”

“Hm. Pick the ones you want to come with me.”

“V-very well! I shall do that immediately!” the elder said, rushing out of the house.

A short time later, Fran left the village followed by almost thirty Black Cats—each nervously clutching a weapon. All were grateful to Fran for saying she would deal with these goblins, but none were prepared to witness the fight firsthand. The very thought made some of them go white as sheets.

Surely, they must have some combat experience? After all, they lived close to the northern border with Basharl. I nudged Fran to ask about it. 

“We’re exempt from military conscription,” said one of the villagers.

“Don’t the other beast tribes complain about that?” Fran asked. 

“Well, Black Cats aren’t very useful on the front lines.”

“We’ll just get in the way,” said another.

“Even if we signed up, we’d drag everyone down.”

“We do make great living shields!” 

“But that’s in the past. The current Beast King forbids such inhuman tactics.”

“So, really, there’s nothing left for us to do at this point.”

The Black Cats were so used to being called useless and weak that they’d come to accept it as the truth. They’d effectively defanged themselves. I’d thought that more of them would want to evolve, but it seemed as if Black Cats like Fran and Kiara—who were born outside the Beastman Nation—were exceptions. The ones born and raised here had long resigned themselves to their fate. 

Not all of them, though. A young Black Cat girl among the raiding crew frowned as she listened to the men explain away their weakness. 

A Red Dog soldier accompanying us gave a wry smile. “We other tribes don’t even complain about the Black Cats’ lack of contribution to the battlefield.”

“Really?” Fran asked. 

“The previous Beast King used the Black Cats as slaves and cannon fodder. When the current Beast King changed all that, he changed our minds as well.”

“Uh-huh.”

“At this point, it seems best that the Black Cats don’t go into battle.” 

The Red Dog didn’t seem as if he were trying to belittle the Black Cats. It was just that their weakness was a matter of fact to him. In the heat of battle, there was no way they could be anything but a burden. 

The girl who’d frowned earlier, irritated at her tribe’s collective spinelessness, seemed to take offense at this. “We’re going to change that someday!” she cried.

“Very good,” said Fran. “Uh…?”

“My name is Salutia, Black Lightning Princess!”

“Hm. Very good, Salutia.”

The Red Dog gave another wry chuckle. “Changing that will be hard to do. The other tribes aren’t going to change their minds overnight. Though I must admit, you’re already shaking things up, Black Lightning Princess.”

Fran sighed with disappointment.

We walked along the trail until we came to a rocky outcrop where the goblins were sighted. This whole place was a vast wilderness, dotted with patches of gnarled trees. I’d thought that the presence of vegetation might mean the soil was fertile, but whatever these trees were, they sucked all the nutrients out of the earth, leaving it dry. As much as the citizens of Schwarz Katze wanted to cultivate this land, they just didn’t have enough manpower to fell all these trees. So far, they’d only managed to clear a few small patches for their farms. 

Farther north, the rocky wilderness gave way to luscious green and fertile soil, but living conditions were harsh in those lands—monsters roamed there freely, and the winters bit right through your skin.

Twenty minutes north of the village, we happened upon the goblins.

“Over there!”

“Hrm.”

We slipped under the shadows of a rock formation that, on Earth, would have made for a popular tourist destination. It provided a good vantage point to observe the goblins. 

Just as the scout reported, there were twenty, but by now they were on the move—heading due south toward the village. There was something strange about them. Feral goblins were usually equipped with nothing more than a loincloth and a club; at best, they might live long enough to poach some leather armor from any unfortunate adventurers they killed. But these goblins wore metal armor. The only goblins we’d ever seen garbed like this were the hobgoblins we’d fought in the dungeon, and we hadn’t heard anything about a dungeon like that in these parts.

“It looks like they got some equipment off some mercenaries,” said our guide.

“You think goblins defeated a group of mercenaries?” Fran asked skeptically.

The guide shrugged. “There might be more of them somewhere. Besides, there’s always a chance that they scavenged the armor from people who were already dead.”

“I see.”

The goblins’ armor did seem pretty uniform. I supposed it was possible that they’d poached it from a band of mercenaries or a squad of soldiers.

Either way, they’re still goblins. And I don’t sense any more around here. They shouldn’t be a problem.

“Hm,” said Fran. “I’ll go ahead. The rest of you just watch for now.”

“Woof!”

Jet had managed to win our companions over on the way here, and they all seemed relieved to be under his protection. As weak as Black Cats were, even they could see that a direwolf was stronger than a handful of goblins. 

“I’ll be back soon,” Fran told the group.

“A-all right.”

“Be careful.”

“W-we’ll stand watch!”

She jumped down, emerging from the shadow of the rocks. Concealing her presence, she slowly snuck up to the goblins. Of course, chances were that she was still moving too fast for the other Black Cats to follow. We could’ve cleared out this whole pack in a little under five seconds, but that would have missed the point of this encounter. We had to take things slow, and make sure to show off Fran’s powers. 

“Awaken—Flashing Thunderclap!”

Already?

“It’s cooler this way.”

I suppose coolness is important.

“Hm.”

The more awesome Fran looked, the more admirers she would get. Admirers who, hopefully, would aspire to evolve just like her. 

“We’ll start with melee,” said Fran.

Sure.

The goblins had noticed the cracking thunder and were already glaring at Fran, but their pathetic attempts at intimidation did nothing to slow her down. 

“Haaa!” Fran brandished me in the air and cut through the goblins as she fell to the earth. We moved slowly, but then, our idea of “slow” was still too fast for our spectators to behold. They could only watch in stunned silence as three monsters collapsed. 

Catching on to the fact that Fran was a force to be reckoned with, the goblins rushed her all at once. Surprisingly smart, for Fiends. Fran avoided their attacks with ease. To the others, she seemed to dance in tune with her black lightning. Three more goblins fell, throwing the others into a panic. We must have killed their leader.

Should we use magic next?

“Hm. Something flashy.”

You got it!

We cast fire spells to block the goblins from fleeing. Where flashiness was concerned, nothing beat a well-placed Tri Explosion—a loud bang, followed by a fireworks display. In the aftermath, charred goblin parts rained on the ground. That was sure to wow our Black Cat audience. 

At that point, the goblins went into a full-scale retreat, but we weren’t about to let them escape. We had to protect Schwarz Katze, and besides, Fran wasn’t done showing off her powers. 

“Stun Bolt. Stun Bolt. Stun Bolt.”

“Gyaaaoooh!”

“Gyoaaa!”

The chain of thunder spells paralyzed the remaining goblins without killing them. 

You’re not going to finish them off?

“Hm. The Black Cats are going to kill them.”

I see.

Hopefully, it would give the cowardly cats some confidence. 

Let’s bring in our audience, I suggested.

“Hm.”

I only hoped the others were fierce enough to finish the job. They seemed to have misplaced their feral instincts, but I figured that we wouldn’t know until we tried.

“H-how did it go, Black Lightning Princess?” they asked, approaching cautiously. 

“Perfect. Come here. All of you.”

“V-very well.”

“All right.”

The Black Cats obeyed. When they saw the mass of goblin corpses, they grew much more enthusiastic. 

“W-wow!”

“This is amazing!”

“Being evolved gives you so much power!”

They were definitely impressed—though whether it awakened their own desire to evolve remained to be seen.

The Red Dog was a professional soldier, and much calmer in the face of the carnage Fran had wrought on the goblins. Still, his wagging tail betrayed his admiration. “I never doubted you for a second, ma’am.”

In contrast, it didn’t take too long before the Black Cats’ enthusiasm disappeared. 

“Aieee! This one’s still alive!”

“Huh? Whoa, you’re right!”

“Gyaaa!” A Black Cat shrieked when he noticed a goblin’s chest moving, and the rest went suddenly pale. 

“Take your weapons and stab it,” Fran said. 

“Huh?”

“You’re all going to kill these things.”

“What?”

“Why?”

“I-Is there a reason to?”

“Builds confidence,” said Fran. “You can get used to killing Fiends by killing goblins.”

Salutia was the only one who drew her weapon and stepped forward, glaring down at the goblin. 

The other tribesmen were much more reluctant. They hadn’t dropped their swords and fled, but they hesitated. I guessed that this was the first time they’d used their weapons for anything more than hunting or self-defense. 

Of course, Fran was having none of it. “Their paralysis will wear off if you don’t hurry.”

“Eeek!”

“You three. Come on.”

“No, but…”

“I-I didn’t think we’d have to start today.”

“Y-yeah!”

The three youngsters stayed where they were, making excuses. I doubted they were Fiend-sympathizers—probably just unused to wielding weapons—but Fran remained merciless. She was the child of wandering adventurers, and had been sold into illegal slavery as a little girl. She never hesitated to kill an enemy. If anything, she’d rather be safe than sorry. 

“No,” she said. “We do it now.”

“But—”

“Hm. The paralysis is wearing off already.”

“Eek!”

“Better hurry up.”

“Okay!”

Salutia looked scared, but she swung her weapon. That was a good sign. Leagues ahead of the men still spluttering excuses, anyway.

“Taaa!” She brought down her sword and made a small gash in the goblin’s stomach. Not bad for a little girl. At least she hadn’t held back. 

“Good job, Salutia,” said Fran. “You three. Go.”

“I didn’t think I’d be doing this today!”

“B-but we have to!”

“C-curse this!”

The three men grasped their weapons and brought them down timidly on the goblin. Their strikes were so weak, I could have sworn they just bounced off the goblin’s hide, but you could put it down to their lack of Weapon Skill and motivation. 

The goblin twitched in response to the light smacks, and all three villagers shrieked like schoolgirls and ran. Hey, at least they were good at that. They were really fast! 

“Put your back into it,” said Fran.

“B-but…”

“Once more. Like this. Hup.” Fran mimed a killing strike.

“A-all right…”

“Uhhh…”

“I hate this!”

Motivated by desperation and Fran’s unyielding glare, they brought down their weapons harder. This time, they aimed for the goblin’s stomach and head, whacking it repeatedly for good measure.

“Huff! Huff…!”

“Well?”

“Did we do it…?”

The goblin’s corpse was a mess, but adrenaline stopped them from losing their lunches. The same could not be said for some of the others, who really had come along to watch. They covered their mouths and heaved.

“Good job,” said Fran. “You killed your first goblin.”

Excited by their first kill, the three let out an elated cry. “Yeah!” Of course, they still had a long way to go, and Fran made sure to remind them of that. 

“It took ten strikes from the three of you to finish off a goblin. You have to be able to kill something this weak in one strike.”

“O-oh. I see…”

“Of course.”

“We got a little ahead of ourselves.”

“But not bad for your first try,” said Fran. “With a bit of training, you’ll be slaying goblins in no time.”

“Thank you, ma’am!”

With that expert application of carrot and stick, Fran won their complete devotion. They already practically worshiped her; now, she bordered on cult-leader status. Regardless, she’d managed to seed them with a spark of confidence and the desire to evolve. Whether they had the commitment to see it through remained to be seen.

“You’ll be a good fighter with some practice, Salutia.”

“Really?”

“Hm.”

“Thank you very much!”

“Next three.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

Fran talked the remaining Black Cats through killing their first goblins. I thought the next lot might hesitate too, but they stepped forward much more readily. I figured they knew what to expect now. Some even leveled up by the time we were through, fanning the flames of their enthusiasm. They were already talking about how they wanted to train as soon as we returned to the village. 

“Hm. Let’s head back. There are no more monsters nearby.”

“All right. What do we do with the bodies?”

“I’ll keep them for now.”

Fran stored the goblins’ remains in her Pocket Dimension and led the way home whilst the Black Cats talked excitedly among themselves. They discussed all kinds of crazy ideas: where they could find more Fiends to kill, if they should move closer to the capital so they could see more action, even whether they should cross the border to Jillbird to find some more monsters to kill. Their motivation was reassuring, but I couldn’t help worrying. If they actually acted on any of these plans, they’d get themselves killed. Had we done too good a job of getting them enthused? 

Fran, maybe we should stay longer, so we can train them.

Fran shook her head. We’d miss the capital auction.

Sure, but I’m worried about these guys.

No. A promise is a promise.

Garrus set the appointment in a letter, I said. I don’t think it’s binding.

Still.

Well, if you say so.

Fran was adamant. She could be quite stubborn when she wanted to be. I suppose that was part of her charm.

When we made it back to Schwarz Katze, the Black Cats enthusiastically recounted the events to the tribesmen. They boasted about Fran’s powers and the fact that they took part in killing the Fiends. 

“Thank you, Black Lightning Princess.”

“No big deal.”

“Ah, but it is an immensely big deal to us. You have no idea how proud we are to call you our kin. Thank you again.”

Fran nodded, then laid out our unexpected spoils for the day: the equipment the goblins had worn. Some was in pristine condition, but we had no use for it. Besides, it would make greenhorn adventurers very happy.

“Do you want these?” she asked the villagers. 

“Err, what do you mean?”

“I don’t need them.”

“S-so, you’re giving them away? You could fetch a pretty penny by selling them.”

“Yes, but still pennies. I’ve got enough coin saved up.”

“Then we gladly accept! We can use this to equip our young people.”

“In that case, have these too.” Fran dumped our entire equipment stock out of her Pocket Dimension.

“Good gods…!”

We’d amassed the equipment by killing goblins, robbers, and pirates all across the land. The guild didn’t purchase equipment, unlike monster materials, so we would have had to visit a blacksmith to sell it. Even then, we wouldn’t have made much, so we ended up hoarding it until now.

Most of the equipment was unusable in its current state, but not beyond repair. Even the completely broken stuff could be smelted down for raw material.

“I don’t need any of this,” said Fran. “I’d appreciate it if you could take it off my hands.”

“W-we would be delighted!”

“Thanks.”

“Think nothing of it,” said Fran.

The elder grew misty-eyed at her honest generosity. “My people! Not only has the Black Lightning Princess protected our village, she has given us her armory!”

“Ooooh!”

“She’s so generous!”

“Wow!”

“Tonight,” said the elder, “we celebrate with a feast!”

“Yeaaaaah!”

The villagers scattered almost right away to prepare. They hardly lived in the lap of luxury, so I really didn’t want to impose, but we couldn’t refuse.

Can’t wait, said Fran.

“Woof!”

I only hoped that those two had already tempered their appetites.

***

Night fell, and Fran’s welcoming party began.

“To begin,” the elder called out, “a word from our guest of honor! Black Lightning Princess, if you please?”

“Hm…?”

Just say “cheers,” I suggested.

“Hm. Cheers.”

“Cheers!”

Everyone raised their glasses and chugged. Fran finished her juice. That must’ve been how they toasted in this part of the world.

Fran sat at the head of the table with an entire feast laid in front of her. We’d expected the village to clear out their storehouses, but times were hard and this year’s harvest was meager, so we ended up contributing meat and vegetables from our own storage. We’d collected a whole kaleidoscope of ingredients over the course of our travels, and were able to supplement the village’s stocks with sliced fish, eggs, rice, and assorted flours for baking. The villagers had reservations about using our supplies, but Fran convinced them that they were doing us a favor by clearing out her Pocket Dimension. 

The women of the village even taught Fran their secret to delicious stews. While there wasn’t anything special about the stew ingredients, the Black Cats used a strange kiln to cook them. It was spherical, with thick walls, and functioned as a sort of space heater while it cooked. Somehow, it softened foods over a short period of time. Maybe it worked something like a pressure cooker.

The women threw everything into the strange kiln—meat and tubers alike—and tossed in some seasoning and cooking vinegar. A short while later, out came delicious, melt-in-your-mouth Black Cat Stew. The vinegar had a slightly oily quality, so it probably tasted quite similar to Japanese stews. I was already concocting my own improvements to the recipe so I could make it for Fran in the future. 

In exchange for their secrets, we told the villagers how to make delicious broth from bones and vegetables.

As the party went on, the villagers passed dish after dish of good food around the table. While the drinks flowed, everyone praised Fran’s abilities, which soon escalated into songs and dances offered to the gods. People sang off-key, and moved in ways that I wasn’t sure even the gods would understand. As the night wore on, a crowd gathered around Fran, each member wanting to thank her personally. She spoke to them all, but the crowd only thickened as the night progressed, if anything.

You doing all right, Fran?

Hm. I’m fine.

Honestly, she looked happy. I supposed that made sense; this was a dream come true for her. She was right in the thick of an entire crowd of Black Cats, laughing and rejoicing. Fran remained stoic as ever, but I could see that she was glowing.

It would have been nice if she could have settled down here, but there was no changing her mind. In a few days, we would be on the road again. The best we could do was enjoy the company of the tribesmen while we were here.

***

The day after the festival, Fran woke up earlier than usual. She had breakfast and took a walk around the village. As she went, everyone bowed their heads to greet her. Some older Black Cats even knelt in reverence as she went past.

This village is so idyllic, I said.

“Hm. So many farms.”

The villagers here cultivated the land for a living. They got most of their meat from merchants and didn’t hunt much, if at all. These feline beastmen were mostly vegetarian.

I was a little worried about some of the weaker youths’ chances of survival. The older Black Cats had combat experience, even if just as meat shields and cannon fodder under the previous Beast King, and possessed military training. But the younger generation had never seen combat. Other than the cats who’d come goblin-hunting with us yesterday, I didn’t think many even wanted to evolve.

Fran didn’t seem particularly worried, though. She was a Black Cat herself and understood her race’s weakness. I saw problems in the short term, but she knew that she wouldn’t change their minds overnight. It might take years, or even decades, before another Black Cat evolved.

“There is one thing I want to do for them,” she said.

Which is?

“Teach them to learn magic.”

I see.

To evolve, the Black Cats needed to max out their level and kill a thousand Fiends. To reach the higher evolution of a Black Sky Tiger, they also needed high Magic and Agility, as well as the ability to use Thunder Magic. They could train their Magic and Agility themselves, but Thunder Magic was difficult to learn. It required high levels of Fire and Wind Magic, as well as an affinity for Thunder. 

Still, not all was lost. Some cats would certainly pick Thunder Magic up if they started young enough. All we needed to do was teach them how to train.

I think it’s a good idea. Amanda had taught us the basics. With a bit of practice, we should be able to pass that information on. 

Fran set about looking for the elder, and found him in a serious conversation with some of the youths. “Morning, Elder.”

“Good morning, Black Lightning Princess.”

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, these young people wish to train, but they don’t know how.”

“W-we want to get stronger!”

“I don’t know if I can evolve, but I’m sick of running away.”

“We at least want to be strong enough to defend ourselves…”

So, our little display yesterday hadn’t been a complete waste. 

Fran nodded with approval. It was good to see the young Black Cats motivated. “That’s great,” she said. “Perfect timing, too.”

“Will you train them?” asked the elder.

“Something like that. I’m going to teach you to use magic,” Fran told them.

“Truly?!”

Magic was a lost art to the Black Cats. Most had never, even in their wildest dreams, thought they could learn to wield it. The youths looked delighted, but also skeptical.

“Will we really be able to use magic?”

“Maybe,” said Fran. “If you have the affinity for it.”

“Aaah, I see.”

“Hm. Affinities for Fire and Wind should be common enough.”

Black Cats had an inherent affinity for Thunder Magic, judging by their exalted stage of evolution, so most should already have affinities for Fire and Wind.

“Is there anyone here who can already use magic?” Fran asked.

“None, I’m afraid…”

Shame. This would have gone a lot faster if we had someone to help propagate magic through the rest of the village.

“Can you call another gathering?” Fran asked the elder.

“Y-yes!” he stammered. “I’ll summon everyone immediately!”

“Wait…oh.”

Fran was about to tell him to wait until everyone was done in the fields, but the elder was already out of earshot.

Ten minutes later, around two hundred Black Cats sat on the ground, watching Fran expectantly. The elder had brought everyone who could be spared. Salutia sat front and center.

Fran scanned their faces.

They look motivated, at least. Maybe they can do this.

“Hm,” said Fran. “I’m going to teach you how to use magic now.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“First, Fire Magic.”

She explained everything she’d learned from Amanda. The Black Cats needed to use fire day in and day out—be near fire, look at fire, touch fire, let it burn them. If they filled their minds with fire until it appeared in their dreams, they’d be in a good place to start using Fire Magic. 

The Black Cats slowly fell silent as they listened to Fran. All the usual excited murmurs stopped. As motivated as they were, perhaps this was too challenging for them. 

When no one so much as cleared their throat, the elder spoke. “S-so, if we train like that, we can use Fire Magic?”

“Hm. If you’ve got the aptitude for it.”

“Very well,” the elder nodded. “We shall build a training area immediately.”

The villagers looked more determined than ever. Impressive. Fran didn’t even need to explain further; they simply took her words as truth. They trusted her with their lives.

“Now, Wind Magic,” Fran continued.

The further she got into her lecture, the more excited everyone was. All that was left was to put things into practice. With no time to waste, the Black Cats gathered torches and fans. 

“Ow ow ow!”

“You’re going too hard, Salutia.”

“It’s fine! I’ll burn myself if that’s what it takes!”

She was too close to the fire, and she scorched her hands, but she was right. You needed to be a little reckless to learn Fire Magic. We let her continue under our supervision.

We didn’t bother covering Water and Earth Magic for now, although some Black Cats were bound to have affinities for them. 

Then I realized something just as important. Don’t you need Mana Manipulation to use magic?

Amanda had said that Mana Manipulation made magic easier to learn. Could these Black Cats manipulate mana when they didn’t even know what it felt like? Even if the flames and wind were naturally imbued with mana, it seemed like that would make it harder. 

We need to figure out a way for them to learn Mana Manipulation.

Any suggestions? Fran asked.

Let me think…

We spent a while discussing how to pass on the skill.

“Uh-huh… Elder?”

“Yes?”

“Hm. Come closer.”

“Very well.” The elder did as Fran asked, and she held her hand over him. “Wh-what’s this? I felt something strange…”

“Hm. I moved your latent mana with mine.”

It had worked! Fran had used her Mana Manipulation to unsettle the elder’s mana. It wasn’t dangerous; Fran had done just enough for him to notice.

“Did you feel that?” she asked.

“In a way…” said the elder, getting quite excited. “I could certainly tell something was happening!”

“Hm,” said Fran. “That’s magic.”

“I see!”

“Get everyone else in line.”

“Very well! Come, everyone!”

The Black Cats lined up calmly in front of us. Fran and I gently agitated everyone’s mana to teach them how it felt (to the Black Cats, it seemed like Fran did all the work, of course). It took us some time to cover everyone, but it wasn’t like we had anything better to do. I didn’t know how much this would help, but it had to be better than not knowing what channeling mana felt like at all.

“We cannot thank you enough, Black Lightning Princess.”

“It’s nothing,” said Fran. “Really.”

“But it is something! Not only have you shown us the way to evolution, now you are teaching us magic! I cannot explain our gratitude!”

Magic was usually a well-kept secret—its techniques passed down from master to apprentice, only ever shared with the worthy. Here Fran was, however, sharing her secrets with her whole tribe. 

As magic training progressed, some Black Cats raised questions about swordplay, so Fran gave them a short lecture on Sword Mastery. She taught them how to hold a sword, how to swing it, and the best ways to build up the necessary muscles. It was a good thing she’d taken the time to teach those newbies on the voyage to the Beastman Nation. That teaching experience was really coming in handy here.

At this point, the Black Cats would probably have appointed Fran village chief in the blink of an eye if she asked. The elder would probably have begged her to take his place. 

“We would love it if you could stay a few more days to teach us,” he said.

“I’ll be gone by then,” said Fran.

“Of course…”

See! He practically was begging her to take his job! When she refused his request to stay, the Black Cats’ collective disappointment was palpable. 

“But you can ask me for anything while I’m here,” she said.

“Ah, if only we could!” the elder cried, falling to his knees.

I was impressed by how calmly Fran dealt with all the adulation. She’d been quite perturbed when we first arrived at Schwarz Katze, but she adjusted fast. 

Before we were done with our lessons, though, something else occurred. 

“E-Elder!”

“Hrm. What is it?”

The Red Dog guard rushed into the town square in a panic. “The goblins are back!” he cried.

“Again?! How many?”

“Ten of them. Something strange is going on!”

“Indeed. To have so many goblin sightings in such a short period of time…”

Goblins multiplied like rabbits if you let them, so this actually didn’t seem that strange to me. I had Fran ask about it, and the villagers told her that the area wasn’t known to be a Fiend breeding ground. Yesterday was the first time many youngsters here had ever seen a goblin. Running into a whole group of goblins two days in a row was markedly abnormal. 

“There might be a horde somewhere,” said Fran.

“Indeed. And if they have a King…”

“They’re going to multiply. We have to find their cave.”

An entire horde of goblins could wipe Schwarz Katze right off the map. Good thing Fran was around to take care of things. 

“I’ll go look, Elder,” she said.

“Y-you’ll help us again?”

“Hm. But I can’t take anyone with me this time.”

“I understand. We would only get in your way.”

The elder thought it would be too difficult for Fran to protect the villagers and fight a horde of goblins at the same time. However, we had our own reasons for wanting to go solo. We needed to move fast, and that meant using skills like Air Hop. We couldn’t afford any stragglers.

“Where’s the horde?” Fran asked.

“The same place as last time,” said the guard. 

“All right,” she replied. “Call back everyone outside the village, and make sure that no one leaves.”

“Affirmative!” barked the guardsman. 

I appreciated his professionalism in times of crisis. At least we could count on him to protect the town while we went goblin hunting.

“I’m off,” Fran said.

“Fare thee well!”

“Hm.”

I misheard what the guard said as “fail well,” which didn’t seem like a very nice thing to say. Especially considering that we needed to hurry up and find that goblin nest.

I hope we can locate it fast, I fretted.

“Hm.”

We left the village and concealed our presence, heading for the rocky plains. 

Teacher, said Fran. How do we find the nest?

We could try sensing the goblins’ presence. Or following one of them to it.

I see.

Let’s split up so we can cover more ground. Sniff ’em out, Jet! A goblin cave should’ve stunk more than enough for Jet’s nose.

“Woof!”

As for us, Fran, let’s go bust some goblin skulls!

Hm.

Be sure to let some escape, so they can take us to their base.

Got it.

Sure enough, the goblins were in exactly the same place they’d been yesterday.

What are they doing? Fran asked.

Hmm…

Resting? she suggested.

I don’t think so. They’re acting weird, actually.

The goblins seemed to be looking for something, and they wore very similar equipment to the ones we’d killed yesterday. In fact, their gear was exactly the same. Were they from the same horde? A quick Identify revealed them to be weaker than the goblins yesterday, and there were fewer of them, too. Maybe these guys were the lackeys? Still, I had never seen this many goblins in matching equipment. And in such pristine condition, too!

We approached, watching the goblins carefully. These guys were definitely looking for something. They turned over rocks and examined bloodstains on the ground, being strangely thorough in their investigation.

The main horde probably have elites with them, I said.

Hm.

We had to find the goblin nest now. If we killed the leader of this group, the rest of the pack should scatter and lead us straight to their nest. 

We’ll kill seven of them, I said. Including the leader. Let three survive.

Okay.

Here we go!

“Hm!”

Once we’d formulated our plan, I teleported us right into center of the pack. Fran cut down the leader with a single slash, massacring the others around him with her swing-through. Only the sound of their comrades’ dead bodies dropping to the ground alerted the others to Fran’s presence. The remaining goblins panicked. 

“Gyaoo?”

“Gyagya!”

“Too slow,” said Fran.

Two goblins charged at her frantically, but I blasted both with a flame spell, burning them into cinders. The remaining goblins turned to look at the falling ashes, finally realizing that they were the only ones left. 

“Gyohiii!”

“Gyoheeee!”

“Hyohiii!”

I couldn’t speak goblin, but they were definitely screaming in terror. They turned tail and ran, and we concealed our presence again to follow them. We needn’t have bothered—they never looked back even once. One was so terrified that it urinated.

Ew, said Fran.

How dare they expose Fran to something so revolting?! I’d burn them and their excrement to ashes!

Eventually, the adrenaline wore off and the goblins slowed down, thinking they’d given us the slip. Still, the gruesome memory of what Fran did to their dead kinsmen drove them on. They moved cautiously, even stopping to share a waterskin between them. It made them seem almost human.

I couldn’t get over how strangely intelligent these goblins seemed. Even the ones I’d encountered in the Demon Wolf’s Garden would drop whatever they were doing to play and nap and eat. 

Over there, Teacher.

Is that their base? I knew it. Elites. I counted the horde at about one hundred strong, including Goblin Fighters and Goblin Thieves. 

Fran pointed to something. There.

And a Goblin King! There he is!

The King was normally holed up in a cave, but he was out in the open. I guessed that he came out to get some fresh air. Lucky for us.

They all wear the same equipment, said Fran.

I was losing faith in the scavenged-from-mercenaries theory, but I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Doesn’t matter, said Fran. They’ll all be dead soon.

Can’t argue with you there. As soon as we killed the goblins’ king, the rest would be no smarter or stronger than any normal goblin. 

The three survivors approached the horde and shouted at the Goblin King—probably telling him about how Fran had killed their friends.

Looks like he’s taking it well enough.

Once the king heard the survivors out, he called his fellow goblins to him. It seemed like he was about to organize another search party.

Let’s fence them in so they can’t get away, I suggested. 

Hm. Good idea.

Thunder Wall! Thunder Wall! Thunder Wall!

“Thunder Wall! Thunder Wall!”

This spell, as the name implied, created a wall of lightning, shocking anyone who came near. Although it wasn’t powerful by itself, it was very useful for hemming foes in. We charged our spells with additional mana so that they covered more ground. Soon, five walls of electricity fenced in all the goblins. 

“Gogyaoooo?”

“Agyaga!”

The king remained calm and ordered his goblins to attack the walls. A Goblin Soldier swung his axe, but jolted immediately backward. He fell to the ground, not quite dead, but definitely incapacitated.

Then we delivered the death blow, raining lightning down on them from above. When the Thunder Walls finally faded, goblin carcasses littered the ground. 

That’s all of them. Let’s get some crystals while we’re at it.

“Hm.”

The thunder spell did a number on their equipment, but I think we can still use some of it.

“I’ll store it,” said Fran.

Yeah. The villagers will appreciate it.

Fran even leveled up, having received a decent amount of experience from that encounter. A hundred goblins was a good hunt.

Level 46. Good job.

“Hm!”

I knew that Fran’s level cap had increased when she evolved, but it was always nice to see concrete proof. She was going to get so much stronger. I was sure she’d be a match for the Beast King himself one day.

***

I bring you news, Your Highness.

“This better be good, General. I hope you have not summoned me in the middle of the night for nothing.”

Of course, my lord. Our Beast Exterminators have engaged the animals and are now locked in combat.

“Yes, I was informed. Have there been any unfavorable developments on the battlefield?”

The animals…are offering heavier resistance than we anticipated. They managed to bolster their numbers and are now in the thousands.

“I see.”

The odds are still in our favor, my lord.

“‘Still,’ you say?”

It will be difficult if our enemies grow more organized. We have the advantage in numbers, but the animals are far more savage in combat. It is only a matter of time before they overcome our forces.

“And what of our plans to sow unrest in the Beastman Nation?”

We cannot execute those plans at present. We need every man on the front lines. Diverting our resources would cause grave losses.

“Even so, you understand that we cannot retreat. Not after we have declared our intentions to the neighboring kingdoms.”

Of course, my lord. I ask your permission to call upon our allies. They might not win the battle, but they may buy us some time.

“Very well. See to it. This is a golden opportunity. The Beast King is away from his nest, and the slayer of the Tyrant Sabertooth has retired. We shall sacrifice whatever we must for the glory of our nation.”

It shall be done, my lord!

“Have the animals caught on to the true nature of our plans?”

They have not, sire. Our spies report that the princess is visiting the southern battlefield to boost morale. They still think the front lines are in the south.

“I see. The animals must not discover our northern front, you understand? We must draw their attention as far south as possible.”

About that, sire…is it…

“Everything proceeds as planned. I received word that they are on the move. The signal should go out in a few days. Have patience.”

Yes, my lord!

“I have sold my soul to them…for the glory of my beloved Basharl.”

Your Highness…

“I would rather serve the Evil One than bow to mere beasts.”