âUltimately, it means youâre trying to take over my territory!â
âYour attacks are with bows and arrows. They wonât affect us. No chance, right?â
âShut up! My [Martial Arts] will blow you away!â
The enemy boss throws punches and shadows. Great, the people in this ruined city are impatient, and there are so many fools.
âYes, yes. [Weapon Tiger]!â
I summoned a new type of tiger, Mike with magic. A jet-black tiger with a metallic sheen appears, reflecting the sunlight as it does so.
âMike, have some fun.â
âNyan.â
[Yes, your majesty of the universe!]
Mike leaps and bounds over walls about five meters tall, and for some reason, Shizuku-san tenses up and smirks.
Gracefully, Mike moves to the front of the enemy boss, showing its fangs and bracing its limbs.
The boss, who had gotten shadowed, stops moving in response, gazing intently at Mike.
âWhatâs this?â
âNya!â
âFight to your heartâs content. I think youâll play cutely with my cat punches.â
Looking up at the wall, I tell him to enjoy a boxing match with a cat. Iâm so kind.
The boss casually extends his hand, and Mike swiftly makes a slashing sound as it swipes through the air.
ââŠI surrender.â
âWell, thank you.â
It seems the playful interaction with the cat was a no-go. I guess heâs more of a dog person.
People begin to leave the conquered base, carrying their belongings. They donât seem to have much to carry. I guess thereâs no need to put them on horses to carry.
As I watch from inside the school, my expression becomes subtle. Thatâs because a sorrowful scene unfolds.
âMommy, where are we going now?â
âTo a place with delicious foodâŠâ
âAre you sure itâs okay?â
âAre we going to be enslaved?â
Beside the worried people are armed Shadow Tigers and my subordinates acting as escorts. For some reason, I feel guilty looking at the scene.
âItâs kind of like a villain taking over an enemy base and enslaving the people, isnât it?â
Weâre even picking up things the boss had. We look like thieves or something.
âThatâs true, big brother. Theyâre wearing dirty clothes and look exhausted, bowing their heads.â
âOoki-kun, is it alright if I attach iron balls to your feet? Iâll even give you striped clothes as a present.â
âTheyâre people aiming for a new promised land full of hope. Thatâs what I think.â
Ooki-kun easily changes his opinion, so I snort in response. Even I understand that. But you know, thereâs no choice but to forcibly move them.
âWell, there are monsters along the way. If we donât move them all at once here, they wonât make it to the market anytime soon.â
Crossing his arms, Shingen gives a wry smile. Itâs true, not many people can come near this area. Itâs because monsters and thieves are lurking around. Weaklings wouldnât even consider coming here. Moving with their families is a life-risking endeavor.
âIf we gather them all, should we have a welcome party? But we donât have enough food for that.â
Amatsugahara Corporation is currently facing financial difficulties. Itâs operating on a shoestring budget. Money comes in from the right and flows out from the left, leaving nothing in hand.
If I hadnât received 30 million yen from the boss in the outer city the other day, things would have been dangerous.
âWe got about 80,000 yen from this boss. Around 30 ration tickets. A few canned goods and 2 bottles of alcohol.â
I sigh upon hearing the report from a subordinate who entered the room. Well, thatâs how it goes, I guessâŠ
âGive it back, give it all back!â
I gesture with my hand, indicating to return what we took. Itâs rather depressing. Seeing the subordinates nod and leave, I spread a map on the table. Itâs an old map, but it should do. The buildings in the abandoned town either rot or burn down. No new shops have opened.
âWeâll capture the remaining small bases.â
There are several red circles on the map, indicating the locations of the bases. All of them house a few hundred residents. The plan is to conquer them and gather the people. Around 3,000 people would be nice. With that number, we can employ them for various tasks.
âWell then, how about we split up? Even this time, it would have been enough with your new Shadow Tiger. If you give us one each, the other bases will surrender easily.â
I agree with Shingenâs proposal. Small bases donât even have guns. The bows and arrows belong to the Goblin Archers. Their equipment is quite shabby.
âAlright, letâs do that. Shingen, Katsuyori, and Daiki will each lead a unit to conquer three bases. Give them 2 Armed Shadow Tigers, 4 Shadow Tigers, and about 10 Shadow Snakes. Each unit will have about 30 soldiers. If you sense danger, come back immediately.â
âSure, leave it to us.â
âYes, weâll conquer them thoroughly.â
âHuh? M-me too?â
Ooki-kun is skilled, so I trust him with this task.
âWhat will you do during that time?â
âIâll conquer the dungeons between the captured bases. They are mostly Goblin Dungeons. I want to level up the crafting skills of my subordinates. I believe the leader of the children and his girlfriend have useful skills. Iâll have them level up to level 1. Weâll need production in the future, I think.â
Also, Shingen is not allowed to reveal his identity.