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The cave Hamokin invited me into was surprisingly spacious compared to its narrow entrance. In the corner, pots and barrels that seemed to be packed with supplies were placed, and what appeared to be sleeping mats were lined up, about five in total.
In the center of the cave, Hamokin kindled a small fire and sat down by it.
“Hey, are you okay with using fire in a cave?”
“There’s a hole in the ceiling for smoke to escape. It can’t handle a big fire, but a small one is fine.”
“Huh, that’s quite clever.”
Since Hamokin and the others live here, if he says so, it must be true. While lightly reminding him to be careful, I sat across from Hamokin, the fire between us. The cold sensation of the ground seeped through my buttocks, but I didn’t mind since I’m no nobleman.
“Besides me, four others live here. But they’re all out now. I’ll introduce you when they get back, so wait a bit.”
“Got it. Only five of you? Seems too few for people who fled from that village…”
I didn’t get a good look at it because I was immediately captured and thrown in jail, but according to my memory, about 300 people were living there. That would mean even if only half of them were men, there should be about 100, so five seems far too few.
At my question, Hamokin chuckled slightly and poked at the fire.
“Hahaha, of course there are other men. But if we gather in one place, we’ll be found immediately. So we’re living separately in small groups.”
“I see. Indeed, if the goal is to specialize in escaping, fewer people is better.”
“That’s right. We don’t want to kill women. So all we can do is run for now.”
“That’s a tough situation.”
If the people in the village were merely enemies, they could gather in one place, accumulate their strength while defending themselves, and then launch a full-scale attack when the time comes. But it’s a different story when the enemy is a loved one.
If you don’t want to hurt the other party as much as possible, you even have to avoid fighting to defend your base. That means you only have the option to flee, and it seems the best way to do that is to avoid combat altogether by forming small groups.
“Even so, are their opinions united? Isn’t there anyone like, ‘We should make women listen to us by force!’?”
“Sure there are. But those guys get beaten up by everyone and quickly calm down. A man is a warrior. It’s a warrior’s job to die. But a woman is a mother. If the mother is gone, the child is gone. Then the village will quickly perish. That’s why men who don’t care about women are despised by everyone. So we try not to fight as much as possible. Even if we get attacked, we don’t fight back.”
“I see… You guys are amazing, Hamokin.”
When people have power, they want to wield it. It seems roundabout to solve a problem that could be solved by hitting, without hitting, but it means that they properly understand how to use their power.
If they were a more impulsive group, the village we would have reached might have been drenched in blood. I have learned this the hard way in the previous world. Even if I was a Demon King feared even by gods, I can’t bring the dead back to life.
“Well, that’s a relief. If our strategies align that much, I can fully cooperate with Hamokin and the others. So, the immediate goal is to restore the women to sanity… Do we have any leads?”
“Um, about that…”
As I asked, illuminated by the campfire, Hamokin furrowed his brow and took on a troubled expression.
“We’ve once abducted a woman from the village before. She remained unchanged at first, but we noticed that she gradually returned to her normal self after about a week.”
“Oh, is that so? Then…”
That means that the effect only lasts while they’re in the vicinity of Donatella. This unexpected good news pleased me, but Hamokin’s expression remained grim.
“However, we have no place to hide the women. The women who returned to normal were attacked by Donatella and her group and taken back. We can’t escape when we’re together.”
“Ah, I guess that makes sense.”
The difficulty of escaping as a small group of men accustomed to hunting and fighting was entirely different from protecting the rescued women while escaping. What’s more, the more women they rescue, the slower they move. Given their rule of “not hurting the opponent,” they’ll inevitably be recaptured in the end.
“That’s why we’re gathering people now. We’re planning to attack the village all at once and take all the women away.”
“Hm? Wouldn’t it be faster to just defeat Donatella and capture the others?”
If you think about it, it’s definitely easier to deal with just Donatella than capturing and transporting more than a hundred women. However, upon hearing my naive question, Hamokin’s expression becomes even more severe.
“……….Donatella is strong. We stand no chance against her.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Ever since the shining star fell, Donatella has become incredibly strong. It’s hard to capture her even if three of us fight her at once. Killing her might be one thing, but capturing her is difficult. Moreover, there are always other women around Donatella. The women of the village are not particularly strong unlike Donatella. It’s very dangerous to involve them in combat.”
“Hmm? That Donatella, huh?”
My impression of her was of a frail woman, but it seems that Donatella, possessed by the mysterious light, boasted the strength of a first-rate warrior.
Furthermore, having other women around her was troublesome. They were our enemies, yet they also served as guards, and could even potentially be hostages. It’s certainly difficult to fight safely without first separating Donatella from the other women.
“In that case, how about I take on Donatella?”
“Ed? We appreciate it, but it’s impossible. You don’t understand Donatella’s strength, that’s why you can say that.”
“Well, that’s true, but I’m pretty confident, you know? Or, how about I face her alone once? If it seems possible, then we can devise a specific strategy, how about that?”
“Um…”
Hamokin starts to think about my proposal, crossing his arms. If this plan goes south, I’m the only one who gets hurt, so it’s not a big burden for Hamokin and his group.
However, from Hamokin’s perspective, this is a family matter, and I’m just a stranger he met today. He wasn’t so naive as to blindly trust and accept my words.
“Hmm. I can’t decide this on my own. We’ll discuss it when our comrades come back, how about that?”
“Of course, that’s fine. By the way, when you say comrades, do you mean just the guys in this base?”
“No, ideally, I want to hear from all the men scattered throughout the forest. This operation is very important. If we fail, the village’s defenses will become significantly stricter.”
“That makes sense. Alright. Then…”
“We’ll need about a week to get in touch and gather everyone.”
“Alright, let’s do it that way.”
I agreed to Hamokin’s proposal and we waited for a week. The dank cave was filled with men… among them, one was clearly looking down on me.
“Hey Hamokin, you’re serious that this guy is going to fight Donatella?”
“He’s serious. This guy, Ed, he’s a strong warrior.”
“Strong!? That’s a lie, he’s not strong!”
“…Hey old man, who are you saying isn’t strong?”
At the sudden unwarranted comment, I glared at the man in front of me in a low voice. This guy was nearly two meters tall with matching muscles, and visually, he definitely seemed stronger than me.
However, looks and strength don’t always match up. Guys like him will keep complaining unless they’re put in their place from the beginning, so I decided to show some assertiveness.
“Of course, you. You’re not strong. It’s clear to see.”
“Huh. If you think you can tell strength from appearances, then you wouldn’t run away if I suggested an actual match, right?”
“A match!? You, you want to fight me!?”
“That’s right. To prevent any complaints later, I’ll pin you down here and now.”
“Interesting. Come outside! Hamokin, is that okay?”
“Sigh… Ed, are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s troublesome to be seen as weak.”
“Understood.”
Led by Hamokin, who sighed, the old man and I went outside the cave. Naturally, the others also came out and surrounded us, clearly in spectator mode.
“Alright, let’s start the match. We’ll start with Gargado, okay?”
“Start? Oh, sure.”
I didn’t really get it, but by start, he probably meant we’ll take turns attacking? Generally, the first attack has an advantage, but that’s exactly why I gave it up. I wanted to show a perfect display of strength.
So, I deliberately stood nonchalantly without taking any stance. Gargado smirked and reached into the bag attached to his waist.
“Behold! This is my masterpiece!”
His huge hand stretched out in front of him… and I could see something in his palm. Is that a doll? What is he going to do with it…?
“This is a doll of Bubura, the woman with the biggest breasts in the village!”
“Woahhhh!”
“As expected of Gargado, amazing detail!”
“And look, it’s even larger than the real thing!”
“…………Huh?”
Cheers rose from the surrounding men, and Gargado had a triumphant smile on his face. With that smile still in place, he directed a challenging gaze at me.
“Now, it’s your turn! Show me something more erotic than this!”
“…What?”
That day, for the first time in my life, I regretted picking a fight with someone.
(T/N: LMAO)