Chapter 24: This Is Another Kind of Crisis for Humanity, Nya.

"Hey! Get your ass out here, you pig bastard! I’ll chop you into mince!"

Right as we stepped out of the village chief’s house, a young man stood in front of us, waving a mountain blade wildly while screaming at the top of his lungs.

He certainly had spirit, but his face was flushed red and his footing was unsteady. Judging by the way he swayed, he was clearly drunk.

"Getting wasted and causing trouble in the middle of the day, nya? You’re being a nuisance, so knock it off, nya. Or do you want me to help you cool your head, nya?"

As Ririka moved to confront the drunk, an orc who had followed us out quickly stepped in front of her and took a step forward.

"Neil-san, you’re at it again, buhi. Enough of this already, buhi."

"So you finally came out, you pig bastard! Don’t tell me to stop! This is all your fault for coming to this village! You’ve caused us nothing but trouble, and now you’ve gone and taken everything from us! I’ll never forgive you!"

"We never meant for things to turn out like this, buhi! Us orcs—and the goblins too—we truly regret what we did to everyone in the village. That’s why we’re working here to make amends, buhi!"

As the orc desperately tried to calm the young man called Neil, the village chief—an older woman—stepped in as well.

"That’s right! You village men are the ones who stopped working after dumping all the labor on the orcs and goblins! And now you’re drinking in broad daylight and swinging weapons around! I can’t even tell who the real monsters are anymore!"

"Shut up, you old hag! Making a woman the village chief was a mistake after all! You’ve lost your damn mind too, getting obsessed with those pig bastards’ ◯◯◯ at your age! You sow pig!"

"How dare you say that! You drove your wife away yourself, didn’t you!"

"Shut up! You wanna die first!?"

The village chief’s words struck a nerve. With a furious roar, the man raised his blade and lunged at her.

But without making a sound, Ririka slipped between them and kicked the mountain blade out of his hands. It clattered away with a sharp clang.

"Nya, this is getting kind of weird, nya. Sounds like there’s more going on here, but waving something like that around is dangerous, nya."

"W-what is this weirdly dressed cat woman…? A-are you an adventurer…?"

"Calling my outfit weird is rude, nya. I spent all my allowance rolling the costume gacha to get this favorite of mine, you know?"

To villagers dressed in what looked to me like generic medieval movie-extra clothing, adventurer outfits—warped by gacha pulls and collaboration rewards that ignored the era entirely—must have seemed downright bizarre.

For a moment, I found myself worrying about how the elderly parents of some shut-in guy might feel knowing his allowance had gone into a pink maid outfit, but pondering an incomprehensible reality wasn’t going to help right now.

As I stood there wondering what to do about the man who had collapsed to the ground after losing his blade, a woman came running toward us from behind him.

"Neil! What are you doing!? Are you picking a fight with Gomro-san again out of spite!? Please, just stop following us already!"

"Feena… please… come back… You’re all I have… And you were taken by them before and treated horribly, weren’t you…? How can you be with someone like that…!"

"I’m sorry, Neil… I just… I can’t forget what happened back then. And honestly, your… you know… just isn’t enough for me anymore. If it’s an orc who works seriously and doesn’t get rough, I’d rather have that…"

That was brutal.

The woman called Feena leaned against the orc who had guided us to the village. Apparently, his name was Gomro.

Even though he’d been drunk and swinging a weapon around in broad daylight, I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for the man.

After receiving what amounted to a finishing blow from his apparent ex-wife, Neil collapsed in tears. Other village men—likely his drinking companions—led him away somewhere.

Watching the whole scene unfold, the village chief let out a tired sigh.

"...Sorry you had to see something so disgraceful. At the inn’s tavern, those good-for-nothings are holed up day and night, drinking and ranting nonstop."

We returned to the village chief’s house and heard the full story.

In short, after the repentant goblins and orcs emerged from the forest and began working in the village, the village men gradually stopped working altogether and spent their days drinking and fooling around.

Orcs, who were stronger and had far more stamina than humans, and goblins, who were small but quick, had excellent night vision and required little sleep. Between them, they could get far more done in the fields and mountains than the humans ever could.

It didn’t take long for the village women to abandon men who no longer worked and gravitate toward the capable monsters instead.

To make matters worse, both goblins and orcs apparently had strong libidos and were well-endowed in that regard as well.

The men were difficult to sympathize with, but the women weren’t exactly innocent either.

It did feel abrupt for attitudes to change so completely toward monsters who had once attacked the village and kidnapped women and children. Still, in a farming village like this, perhaps strength and capability mattered more than appearances.

"This kind of sounds like a story where cheap foreign labor takes both the jobs and the wives," I muttered, half in disbelief.

"But the end result is still a mess, nya. What are we going to do, nya?"

"What can we do? This is a mess even in the real world. We can’t fix it. Blaming politics won’t help here either."

"I’m starting to think maybe everyone in this village deserves the death penalty," Natsumi said bluntly.

"Please don’t say that. Not everyone in the village is like this. There are people who work honestly and get along just fine with the goblins and orcs."

Chastised by the village chief, Natsumi let out a small "Hah…" and fell silent.

"This is all because of the seeds we sowed, buhi. Even if it takes time, we just have to keep persuading them patiently, buhi. We won’t trouble you adventurers, buhi."

"Gobs believe that any mistake can be atoned for if you keep making the effort, gob. Gobs will become the bridge to a future where all humans and monsters can live hand in hand, gob."

"Gomro-san…! Zaza-san…!"

The two green monsters spoke with dignified resolve, while Feena—the woman who had abandoned her drunken husband for an orc—gazed at them with dreamy eyes.

This village might already be beyond saving.

I couldn’t help but say it out loud.

"I mean, it’s good that you regret your past actions, and what you’re saying is admirable. But Neil-san, was it? His anger makes sense too. Why did you go and steal someone’s wife so quickly?"

"Us orcs—and Zaza’s goblins too—almost never have females born, buhi. In the end, we’re pitiful jesters who can only leave descendants by parasitizing humans, buhi."

As he said this, with what sounded like a bitter, self-mocking edge, the green pig-man was unexpectedly defended by Feena—the very human woman he had taken.

"It’s not Gomro-san’s fault. We were destined to end up like this. Besides, an orc’s… you know… is really amazing. The size… the hardness… the thickness… all rough and bumpy… You ladies should try imagining it. And I heard goblin babies are easy to give birth to, too."

Being told to imagine it was extremely awkward, given that my mind was still very much male.

As Feena continued speaking dreamily about the wonders of orcs, Ririka and Natsumi both turned away, their expressions thoroughly fed up.

Unable to keep listening any longer, we did as promised and told the village chief that we would deliver a letter to the city withdrawing the goblin-extermination request. Since we planned to depart the following morning, we accepted her offer to let us stay the night in her house and took our leave.

In the room assigned to us—apparently a guest room with two beds and an old sofa—we each took a seat and let out a breath.

"In the original quest from the game, it was only hinted that the kidnapped women were subjected to that kind of thing by goblins and orcs. This has gotten a lot more explicit… and pretty damn nasty."

"I never imagined things had turned out like this, nya. Could it be that everywhere in this world where monsters can talk and think ends up like this, nya? This really is another kind of crisis for humanity, nya."

"If they walk upright, talk, and use tools, it really makes you wonder what separates them from humans anymore… If things turn peaceful, maybe that’s fine, but still."

『From my perspective, those two green individuals are no different from you cat-eared and long-eared ones—semi-humanoid indigenous lifeforms. Under Galactic Federation policy, differences in physical form are not included in the criteria for evaluating intelligent life.』

"Well, this world runs on values different from those of a fully mature civilization like the Galactic Federation."

With only our party present, I gave Erica a suitably vague explanation.

"So then, besides the classic goblins and orcs, are there other monsters with intelligence who can speak human language?"

"Hm-nya, this is also a classic trope, nya. Elder Dragons that have lived for ages, and some members of the demon races can talk, nya."

"Even so, demons are usually all about shouting things like ‘Despair!’ or ‘Become an offering!’ I can’t really see them coexisting peacefully with humans."

"The orcs we saw at Dora Fortress didn’t look very rational either. Maybe it’s safe to assume this village is an exception for now. Still, if things become more peaceful and livable, I don’t really mind humans and monsters getting along."

"That’s right, nya. This village’s problems are something the villagers themselves have to solve, nya. Once morning comes, Ririka and the others will set out and head for the royal capital, nya."

With that, Ririka flopped down onto one of the two beds without a hint of hesitation.

『By the way, Master. The rotation between the landing ship Triad Primus and Frilled Square has been completed. Triad Primus will remain on standby in orbit until the redeployment of newly constructed Dragoons at Einferia is finished. Ground support will now be handled by Frilled Square.』

"Understood. Make sure you can come immediately if anything happens."

『Of course, Master. Leave it to me.』

After responding to Erica’s transmission, I glanced at the other bed—only to find that Natsumi had already claimed it.

That night, after being treated to dinner at the village chief’s house, we turned in early to prepare for the next day.

Incidentally, I ended up sleeping on the sofa.

The next morning, the village men were gone.

"Where in the world did they all go…? The only ones left are very young children and the elderly."

Even though they were a bunch of perpetual drunks, the situation was clearly abnormal, and the village chief panicked. Fortunately, clues surfaced quickly.

There was a witness.

A goblin who had been patrolling the village at night.

Although goblins had adapted to village life, they were naturally nocturnal, possessed excellent night vision, and were well suited for night watch duty. As such, the village relied on goblins for nighttime patrols.

According to the goblin on watch, the village men had all gathered together in the middle of the night and headed toward the forest.

He had considered calling out to them, but he didn’t want to get dragged into trouble with drunkards, so he simply let them go.

"Don’t tell me those idiots plan to hole up in the forest and start playing bandit now…"

"Nya… have the positions of monsters and humans completely flipped, nya…?"

The village chief seethed with anger, while Ririka wore a worried expression.

But something about that explanation didn’t sit right with me.

Would they really go that far just because they’d lost their wives and jobs?

Then again, remembering how unhinged Neil had been the day before, I couldn’t rule it out entirely.

"Adventurers haven’t visited this village in a long time. I hate to ask this of you, but there’s no one else I can rely on. Please—bring those fools back. I don’t care if you have to be a little rough, and I’ll reward you as best I can."

At the village chief’s request, we once again entered the forest to retrieve the missing village men.

Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about it, but the ferryman who was supposed to take us across on a raft had also vanished, leaving us no choice.

As guides through the forest, Zaza the goblin and Gomro the orc—who had led us to the village the day before—offered to accompany us.

And so, a remarkably diverse party set out on an equally ridiculous quest: a blonde human girl, a panty-flashing maid ketsune, a cross-dressing elf boy, plus a goblin and an orc, all heading into the forest to drag back a group of drunken village men who had wandered off in the middle of the night.