You’ve received your Daily Bonus of 1,214 Village Points!
Yes! Perfect timing!
I’d been waiting for that exact moment, and it proved to be just what we needed. I had over a thousand now.
“Everyone, fall back!” I shouted.
Without hesitation, they backed off.
I hadn’t even explained my plan, but they’d moved without question. It was because they believed in me.
Thanks, everyone.
The orc king bellowed and lunged after the retreating villagers, but I summoned a stone wall right in front of his face. It was the biggest, thickest wall I’d ever built. Not even an orc king would have an easy time busting through that thing.
He sensed danger and turned to flee, but I blocked him with another wall, this time shaped like a big C.
Between the two, I’d completely boxed him in. Even though the stone, I could almost feel his confusion. He pounded on the wall, trying to escape.
“Sorry, but that’s not gonna work.”
I’d upgraded the walls using Facility Customization and used Reinforced Durability on them. There was no way he could get through with his bare hands now.
“Now to add a watchtower.”
I mounted the structure above the stone walls and then used Facility Customization to compress the tower from all four directions. Once it became smaller than the gap between the top of the walls, it’d fall right in...
“The watchtower’s made entirely out of stone, so it’s gonna be seriously heavy.”
A second later, the enormous building crashed into the orc’s makeshift enclosure. There was no way even he stood a chance against that.
“Bllaaaaaargh!”
Splat.
“D-Did we really get him?”
“He’s gotta be dead after that...”
No matter how tough that orc king was, not even he could walk away from my new signature move, Facility Press.
Still, we’d all seen how absurdly strong he was, so nobody wanted to get their hopes up too soon.
“Okay, I’m gonna remove the stone walls and the watchtower now. I doubt he’ll get back up, but be careful, just in case!” I cautioned.
And with that, I removed both structures, revealing the crushed body of the orc king. It looked like he’d shrunk by a good twenty percent.
I crept closer and saw he wasn’t breathing at all. “Yeah,” I called out. “He’s dead.”
“We... We really did it...”
“We seriously took down an orc king...”
And with that, all the built-up tension was released in an explosion of cheers. It felt like a dam had burst.
“Woooooooo!”
Villagers grabbed anyone within arm’s reach and clapped one another on the back, hugged, and high-fived.
“The mayor did that last move, right?”
“No one else could’ve pulled it off.”
“The mayor’s insane!”
Heh. Well, they aren’t wrong.
Everyone had done great, especially the hunting party. Although—
Wait, are they okay?!
The shield bearers had it the worst, so I rushed over to check on them.
“Mayor, did I protect you?” Noel groaned.
“Yeah, Noel, you did. But you’re a total mess! Here, drink this potion!”
“B-But those are really rare!”
“It’s fine. Just drink it.”
I forced the bottle into Noel’s hands and made sure he drank it.
Sure, the potions were valuable, but I was positive that we’d earned a favor from the elves after today. They’d repay us somehow.
“Great work, Gordy! Here, have a potion too!”
“Thanks, Mayor.”
He must’ve realized resistance was futile, because he accepted it without protesting.
“Hey, what about me?” Doriel asked.
“You barely did anything at the end. And you were kinda useless with that shield.”
“Wow, that’s cold.”
Hey, the guy was a criminal. Letting him out of jail was already a big enough favor. He was in for a rude awakening if he thought he’d get the same treatment as the others.
Still, I owed him for stepping up, so I figured we’d sort it out later.
Just then, one of the elves hesitantly walked up to me. “Pardon me...”
He was older and had a distinguished beard, which was rare for an elf, and looked utterly exhausted.
“You must be Lord Luke, the village mayor?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s me. And you are?”
“Apologies for the late introduction. I am Leoninus Mel Revole Landelinus Elshibora, chieftain of the elves.”
Oh, so this is the chieftain. Are all elven names such a mouthful?
“We are deeply, deeply sorry!” He bowed down low, and the other elves followed suit.
“We had no choice but to seek aid from your village. But I know that, from your perspective, we’ve just led a horde of orcs right to your doorstep! That makes us no better than criminals. We will accept whatever punishment you see fit!”
His face was filled with resolve—so were the others. They looked like they expected me to sell them into slavery or something.
“Um, putting that aside for now, I can tell you’re all exhausted. I’m sure you haven’t eaten properly in days either.”
“Pardon me?”
“Coincidentally, we just happened upon a bounty of orc meat. Way more than we could ever finish ourselves, honestly. Would you like to join us for a feast?”
Leoninus blinked. “What?”
As the elves tried to process what I’d just said, I turned to the villagers. “We’re going to have a big orc meat barbecue! Let’s get ready, everyone!”
With a loud cheer, the villagers scattered to haul orc meat toward the houses.
The terrifying monsters that had nearly wiped us out were now nothing more than dinner.
“L-Lord Luke... What just happened?” the bewildered elven chieftain stammered.
Philia, standing beside him, released a loud laugh. “I told you, Father. Lord Luke’s generosity is vaster than the forest.”
Oh, so he’s her father.
“And thanks to his example, the people of this village are just as kind. I doubt anyone here is even thinking of blaming us,” she said.
“It would seem you were right, Philianus,” he said, finally smiling. “Everyone, listen! I am convinced the people of this village are our good neighbors and friends! Let us be grateful for their kindness and build a new bond between us!”
“Yes, Chieftain!” the other elves shouted back.
“How about a bath?” I asked. “I’m sure you’re all feeling sweaty from the battle.”
Naturally, I omitted the fact that some of them had started smelling a little ripe.
Later, I overheard some elves talking.
“I’ve heard about it,” one said, “but I never imagined it would be this comfortable...”
“A warm bed, a bath we can use anytime, delicious food...and that toilet!”
“Yes, the toilet! I used it several times, just for the experience. Are humans really living like this?”
“No, I heard this village is special. Apparently, the mayor has some kind of powerful Gift.”
I decided to approach. “Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?”
“M-Mayor!”
“Yes, thanks to you!”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. I’d let them stay the night after the barbecue. They’d insisted they could sleep outdoors, but as their host, I refused to let them do that.
I’d managed to house all two hundred elves by reassigning some empty apartment units, opening up my place and the guest lodgings, and building two brand-new apartment buildings.
They’d been stunned by how the buildings just appeared.
Leoninus approached me, looking much better after a proper night’s rest.
“Lord Luke, I have something I’d like to discuss with you,” he said, his tone somber. “We had scouts check the state of our village earlier. As expected, the damage was severe. It’ll take quite some time to make it livable again. And with winter just around the corner...”
“In that case, why don’t you and your people stay here until your village is back on its feet?”
“A-Are you sure?!”
“Of course. I built this village for refugees and immigrants from all over. You’re in the same situation as them.”
“Thank you so much!” (“Now I can keep using that amazing toilet!”)
“Did you say something just now?” I asked.
“N-No, nothing at all.”
The chieftain told me their village walls were in shambles too, so step one was fixing those. They wouldn’t stand a chance against monster attacks without proper defenses. For all we knew, there were stray orcs still lurking nearby.
“In that case, how about I make it easier to travel safely from your village to mine?” I suggested.
“Hrm? And how would you do that? There’s a monster-infested forest between us.”
“Not underground, there isn’t.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s true...” I muttered, looking out at what had once been a beautiful, forested settlement. “You really do have a long road ahead.”
I’d gone to visit the elven village with Philia and some others. Immediately, I could see how badly the stampede of orcs had damaged the place.
“That’s right,” Philia said. “It’ll be a long time before we can live here comfortably again.”
The outer wall was in particularly terrible shape. There was no way it could hold back monsters like that.
Incidentally, this was my first time setting foot in the forest. I’d had to come in person to carry out my plan, but everyone back at the village had tried to stop me. Seren and the hunters practically begged me not to go, but in the end, they let me go as long as I brought them along.
“Are you sure? I could fix the wall in no time,” I said.
I understood them not wanting me to rebuild their houses, because there was aesthetics to consider, but a wall should have been fine, right?
“It’s tempting,” Philia admitted, “but you’d be spoiling us more than you already have. Rebuilding the village must be our own responsibility.”
“That’s fair.”
I could tell that these elves were very proud and resilient.
(“All right! This means we can spend the winter in that cozy village!”)
(“Good call, Captain!”)
Hm? Why do all the elves look so excited all of a sudden?
Ignoring that thought for the moment, I studied the village and then pointed toward the southern gate. “Well, mind if I use this area over here?”
“What exactly are you planning to do with it? You mentioned safe travel between the villages, but—”
“Just watch.”