Chapter 163 (2/2)

He was still speaking calmly.

“So, please, can we just reunite our people? If things continue like this and no children are born, no matter how hard either of our villages tries, we will eventually fail. This will be the end of everything we’ve worked for. We have to end this.”

The man’s desperate plea.

He must really want to have sex.

He must be nearing the point of starvation by now.

I can understand that feeling.

“So you’re just telling us to deal with it? That’s funny.” “We’ve been dealing with this for so long, but, no matter what the cost, it ends now!” “My home in our original village was burnt down and I was left homeless. I didn’t survive that only to be treated like this!” “I’d rather die than let this treatment continue!”

“I-I’m sorry. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to ensure every man in the village treats you all with the respect you deserve. We’ll double the amount of food we supply to you. So, just please, forgive us and allow us to come back. I want to have children.”

The men’s representative responded to the women’s anger.

Still trying to remain calm.

“Double? You think that is good enough?”

“Wha…. A-Any more than that would be difficult….”

What does he mean the food they supply to the women?

This is the first I’ve heard of this.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but what is this about the food?”

The representative from the men’s village gave me my answer.

“The women can’t be asked to go into the forest to hunt. So we deliver the minimum amount of food they need once a week. We can’t allow the women or children of our village to go hungry, so this is the minimum we must do.”

“I see.”

They’ve still been caring for the people in their old village while building their new village.

That’s pretty amazing of them.

They’re just refugees but they’re such hard workers.

“Noblewoman, don’t let them trick you into believing that is some great kindness! They just bring in enough so that the children don’t starve! I doubt we’ll be able to survive the winter at this rate. If they really cared for their children they’d be bringing in more food!”

“O-Okay.”

The men seem willing to compromise, but I can understand why the women wouldn’t want to take them at their word. All of this really just comes down to the alleged violence inflicted on the women by the men. I glanced over at Ester-chan but she looked just as unsure as me.

I really didn’t know how to help.

But then something interrupted our mixer.

Screams from outside —

“There are monsters attacking the village!” “M-Monsters!”

Monster’s decided to disrupt this virgin’s first ever mixer.

***

We ran in the direction that panicked voice came from.

The men were the first to move. The shadows that hung over their faces disappeared in an instant and the scary faces I had grown used to reappeared. They stood up in a hurry, knocking over their chairs in the process, and dashed out of the room.

Ester-chan and I followed.

We left the mayor’s house and ran down the streets of the village, passing several women fleeing in the opposite direction. They couldn’t even manage to speak when we asked them where the monsters were. They would just raise a trembling finger and point us in the direction. We barely even stopped to give them a nod as we ran as fast as possible through the village.

Ester-chan was faster than the men.

But thanks to me we were gradually falling behind them.

However, due to the village being small, the men eventually spotted the monsters and stopped dead in their tracks allowing us to catch up. I quickly used my recovery magic to restore my stamina in anticipation of the battle.

“Orcs. Looks like thirteen of them….”

Muttered one of the men.

That monster is familiar to me. I encountered them in that village some time ago when I was with Team Orgy. Most of the orcs were still outside the walls of the town but a few had made it in and those that were still outside were making short work of the wooden barrier between them and us.

I spotted a woman that had failed to escape in time and the orcs were having their way with her.

This gave me more motivation to stop the orcs.

I started walking forward while trying to look as cool as possible.

“Stay back. I’ll handle –”

But I was interrupted before I could say my cool line.

“Mason to the back! Ethan and Luke, you’re with me in the front. Oliver, take out any orcs that have been isolated from the main group. Make sure that none of the orcs are allowed to reach the noblewoman or her servant! Let’s go!”

The main representative barked out orders to the others and they were in formation and charging forward in a matter of seconds. The weapons that the women had pointed out earlier where now held at the ready.

The man called Mason held a staff in his hands. Ethan and Luke along with the representative held swords and the man named Oliver held a bow with an arrow already nocked and aimed at his target.

It looks like a fairly balanced party.

The man named Mason shot a fireball into the mass of orcs attacking the walls. The three at the front acted as the vanguard to protect the archer and mage from any orcs that tried to rush them. The archer, Oliver, took out one orc after another with perfectly placed arrows.

This is something I’ve longed for.

A party that I can count on and trust completely.

The mage is being protected by the vanguard as he fires spells over them. The archer is taking out orcs as the leader calls out the target.

They look so cool.

Ester-chan looked just as surprised as me as we both watched them in awe.

But there’s clearly something missing from their party.

“Ku….”

One of the orc’s attacks managed to get through their guard and connected with Ethan’s arm.

It’s possible that if they were fighting normally, that attack might not have connected. But I could see them constantly glancing over at Ester-chan and me. One of the orcs took this opportunity to slash out at Ethan.

That means I’m at fault for that injury.

“Heal!”

I don’t need to shout anything to heal but I got caught up in the moment.

The gash on Ethan’s arm was healed in an instant.

“W-What is this!?”

“I’ll protect you!”

In this situation, the fewer words the better.

And that way I look cooler.

“Thanks for the help!”

My assistance decided the battle.

The men gained new momentum and were able to push back the orcs. The orcs were more than double our number, but they were able to stand against them. I’m not sure about individual power, but as a team, I’d say they’re stronger than Team Orgy.