Chapter 35: Or use our sinful bodies as meatshields!

The orc meat was so much better than what I expected.

“Huh? I am being filled with happiness by the juices overflowing from the meat?”

I expected it to be better than pork because that was the impression I got from the orc meat I ate back in my parents’ home, but this was entirely something else.

“Freshness might be the cause. Orcs don’t live anywhere near your family’s estate, meaning the meat would have to travel several days just to arrive to the market, and then some more time until it’s served to you.”

Selen said so. It made perfect sense.

Keeping orcs as livestock was out of the question, obviously.

Moreover, as soon as an orc was found near a town, soldiers would be dispatched to exterminate it. That way, they would not even have a chance to breed more of them. Because of that, orcs—and by extension, their meat—could almost only be found in frontier lands and deep within forests.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”

“So goooooooooooodddddddddd!”

It was the first time for the villagers to taste orc meat. They were so astonished by the taste, I was worried they would go mad.

There were two orcs, but for this many people, that was not much. Well, it was still enough to last us through a night of enjoying our first ever batch of alcohol.

◇　◇　◇

“We got gigantic crops again…”

I stood before the newly harvested crops, and I couldn’t help but feel awe.

We had carrots that reached up to my thighs and potatoes about the size of my head. Not to mention, napa cabbages wider than my torso.

Our very first harvest had many big crops as well, but it seemed like the crops this time were even larger.

Moreover, we were able to harvest so much more and so much sooner this time.

“Is this thanks to the [Master Farmer] Gift?”

The fourth refugee group and the bandit group made me concerned for our food supply, but looking at our harvest, that seemed like an unnecessary one.

If anything, we might have too much.

Especially considering that summer was approaching. The heat would make the food spoil easier.

“And so, Selen, the usual please.”

“I know, I know.”

Through Selen’s blue magic, we could freeze the food in a storehouse, thus keeping them fresh for longer.

“…village chief, ahm, there’s actually something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Go ahead, Balrath-san.”

In such a formal manner, Balrath-san, my mediator with the other villagers, asked to speak with me.

“I believe I’ve told you this before, but many of us had to leave our parents and grandparents back at our original villages…”

“Oh, yes, of course.”

Having guessed what Belrith-san wanted to ask, I immediately agreed.

When the villagers left their original villages, they were forced to leave behind the elderly. The elderly, due to their lower stamina, could slow down their effort to escape, after all.

Now that they had found a new long-term home, it was only natural for them to want to bring their elderlies here.

The reason they waited this long to ask was probably because they didn’t want to impose.

“R-really, village chief?”

“Yes. It’ll be no problem at all, especially when it comes to food. Ahm, Selen?”

“Yeah, I heard your conversation. You want us to escort them, right?”

The villagers might encounter bandits along the way, so I wanted the help of Selen’s hunting team.

Hopefully, the others would agree as well, especially those who also had parents and grandparents back in their former homes.

“““Luke-sama, please, let us help as well!”””

“Hmm?”

I wondered who said so in such energetic voices, so I turned around to see.

What I saw surprised me though. The ones who said it were the rehabilitated bandits who were completely devoid of vitality just a few days ago.

“We don’t have any combat-type Gifts, but we have experience in fighting!”

“If worst comes to worst, feel free to use us as decoys!”

“Or use our sinful bodies as meatshields!”

I couldn’t believe their change.

“Are you really the same people…?”