"We're just waiting for everyone to gather. Once they do, we can get the meeting underway," Rimuru explained from the doorway of my room.
"Got it. See you when the time comes then." I nodded at him, my thoughts elsewhere.
He nodded before turning to leave. "See you."
If things weren't clear enough, we were having a meeting to discuss what we had learned after the whole situation with the lizardmen had been sorted out. Although I'll admit that "sorted out" isn't exactly accurate, as I don't know if scaring off potential allies was the best solution.
Either way, we now had to deal with the news that the orcs were indeed pushing into the Great Forest of Jura and that the whole attack on the ogre village wasn't a one-off thing. Souei had already sent several of his clones to investigate the lizardmen's claims, and from what I had overheard so far, it seems the invasion is far bigger than I expected. Not that I knew the full numbers, but it definitely wasn't looking good overall.
(I haven't been in this world long, and I'm already getting dragged into a war...) I sighed, lying across my bed.
It was honestly a little absurd to me; I mean, what kind of luck was this? (Why can't things just be peaceful?)
The idea of the orc army storming into town to kill everyone had been a major driving force pushing me forward; every ounce of training I had done up until this point had been in preparation for that, and whatever other threats might arrive down the road. And yet... now that the event was possibly closing in, I found myself hesitating. Not because of a desire to avoid killing others, I had already prepared myself for that, no, what made me hesitate was a question.
What are the chances of any of my friends dying when the fighting finally breaks out? A battle is inevitable at this point; I had no delusions on that fact. Either we act, or they will eventually attack us. The only question was whether or not everyone I cared for would survive.
(I wonder why they're even attacking to begin with; there's got to be more to it than just "a demon lord told us so," right?) I thought before shaking my head and sitting up straight.
"Great Sage, would you mind telling me everything you know about the orcs? What do they look like, where they come from, and so on?" I asked, deciding to learn as much as I could before the meeting started.
It wasn't long before I got a response to my inquiry. [Answer. Orcs are bipedal, pig-like creatures usually covered in thick hide that varies in color from different shades of brown. They are highly ravenous creatures requiring large amounts of nourishment to sustain themselves.]
[It is rare for them to gather in dense enough numbers to form an actual functioning army, and under normal circumstances they are neither coordinated enough nor do they have the necessary resources or knowledge to produce large quantities of tools, weapons, or armour.]
[They originate from The Orc Kingdom Of Orbic; however, calling it a kingdom is actually incorrect.] That part piqued my interest, but she wasn't finished yet. [The "kingdom" of Orbic is more a massive collection of various orc tribes, all of which are ruled by the ten great tribes and the orc royal family.]
"Why would they want to invade?" I asked, the question that had been irritating me the most finally coming out.
[Analysing...] Great Sage said simply, her voice disappearing for a second before quickly returning. [Answer. It is difficult to come to a precise conclusion with limited information; the driving factor could be a mixture of many different things. For example, the manipulations of an outside force mixed with the orcs' desire for territorial expansion and their ravenous hunger.]
(I guess that makes sense...) I thought, staring blankly at the ceiling.
For a second I mulled it over in my head before thinking to myself. (Still, that example she gave seems pretty plausible if I really think about it.)
"The real question is whether or not we'll have enough to stop them," I muttered, lying back down flat on the bed. "If there are as many as I think, we might end up drowning in a sea of bodies..."
(Maybe it wasn't the best idea to scare them off like we did...)
_ _ _ _Flashback_ _ _ _
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I had asked mainly because I didn't want to cause problems; I didn't want to start a fight or ruin diplomatic relationships with them. And yes, I'll admit that the idea of watching Zeref scare Gabiru straight was quite appealing right now, however this town was still Rimuru's at the end of things. So it was probably best to get his opinion first.
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Taking a second to think about what to do, I finally responded to Zeref a moment later. <
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My shadow expanded then; it grew rapidly behind me as something within stirred. Zeref didn't rush to emerge, no, he moved slowly, rising up from the inky darkness with predatory intent. It took a second for the lizardmen to notice him, but the moment they saw his massive form slithering around me to face them, the moment they saw his piercing eyes that seemed to bore into their souls, well, they all immediately went silent to say the least. Even Gabiru had gone still the moment that he noticed that the shadow cast over him was coming from a truly gigantic serpent that was coiling up to glare down menacingly at him.
"Are... are you a great-scaled basilisk?" Gabiru asked, genuinely taken aback.
"Doesss it matter?" Zeref growled, his eyes narrowing as toxic-looking mist began to leak from the corners of his maw.
"I had heard that this town had managed tamed direwolves... but you..." the lizardman breathed, looking up at the colossal serpent before him, his men still cowering behind him. "You are magnificent!"
His sudden declaration caused my mind to go blank for a second. (W-what?)
"Your scales, perfection; your eyes, fierce and profound; your fangs, as mighty as the sharpest of blades!" Gabiru didn't stop to wait for my brain to catch up; instead he stepped forward with his arms wide in awe.
"But why is a creature of your splendour here of all places?" Gabiru asked with genuine confusion. "Why live alongside these mere rabble?"
(I... I don't... what the heck is he doing? Shouldn't he be terrified?) I muttered internally, still rather bewildered.
I didn't know it at the time, but it turns out that most reptilian species in this world, like lizardmen, don't see Great-Scaled Basilisks as big scary monsters, quite the opposite, in fact. They actually see them as good omens or great beasts that inspire awe; it's like how a human from my old world would react to seeing a living unicorn. Not a monster to be feared, but a magnificent creature to be admired and respected.
"I am here to fulfill my duty: teaching ignorant foolsss who dare to disressspect my lady their rightful place." Zeref answered simply, his voice coming out as a threatening rumble.
"Your lady?" Gabiru repeated with a blank expression until a look of realization hit him.
His eyes then shifted to me. "The little girl?"
"Watch your tongue, sssmall one. I sssincerely sssuggest you watch your tone when referring to your bettersss." Zeref hissed, however his angry warning seemed to have gone completely over the lizardman's head, as Gabiru became even more confused.
(I wouldn't really consider myself anyone's "better," but thanks for standing up for me, I guess...) I thought sheepishly.
"Why would you debase yourself in such a way?" Gabiru asked, shaking his head, looking genuinely offended on Zeref's behalf. "My good friend, you must surely have been tricked. Why else would you lower yourself to serve such a weak bein-?" His words were abruptly interrupted, however, when a foot collided with his face.
I could practically see it all happen playing out in slow motion: Gabiru's arrogant expression smearing comically as his head was pushed backward, the scales on his face cracking from the impact, and his body sent flailing by the force behind the kick. It was honestly somewhat hilarious watching the prideful lizardman get sent flying, colliding with the ground several times as he bounced before crashing into his own men and knocking them all over like bowling pins.
I had to physically stop myself from shouting a certain word at the top of my lungs in response to this, even if it was incredibly tempting to do otherwise. Rimuru, on the other hand, well, let's just say that he himself didn't have the same reservations on the topic as I did.
"Strike!"
"Stop calling Lady Suu weak! She's way stronger than a bunch of stupid lizards." Yin yelled the moment her feet touched the ground, waving her hands in the air angrily.
The lizardmen, for their part, looked between their now-unconscious leader and Yin with baffled, unbelieving expressions. And honestly, I couldn't blame them; after all, I was rather taken aback by what had just happened as well, although probably not for the same reasons they were.
_ _ _ _Flashback Over_ _ _ _
The lizardmen had all ended up running away after that, and honestly, it had been a bit anticlimactic to watch Yin one-shot the guy like she had. I had believed he would be tougher than that, but I guess I was wrong. Either way, I was honestly just thankful it hadn't spiralled out of control, not that having a cute cat girl kick an envoy in the face was the best outcome, but still, it could have ended up far worse.
(If that guy really was the son of their chief, then we might have ruined any relationship we could have had with them.) I thought with a sigh. (Of course that mainly depends on if their chieftain is as blinded by pride as his son was.)
(Then again, even if we can't ally with them, it doesn't mean we can't work around their focus. We can "help" each other without actually helping each other, if that makes sense.) That was true; after all, we don't need to be fighting back to back to be technically working with each other to defeat the orcs.
"Oh well, thoughts to bring up at the meeting later, I guess..."
(((A/N. If you didn't know, the Orc Kingdom of Orbic is an actual place in the lore. It's not on the official map for some reason, but it's on the border between the Great Forest of Jura and the domains of Demon Lord Carrion and Demon Lord Frey.)))