Volume 3 - CH 26

I strained my eyes to look into the middle of all the light. The ogre base were rows of wooden houses. Mixed sparsely among them were lights as well.

I’ve seen various villages since coming down to the lower world. Goblin, werewolf, slime. Each of these three villages had a fundamentally different level of technology.

Even now, thanks to my skill our village had grown a lot, but the ogre village was that much higher.

“The lights aren’t fine are they? Are they magic?” I asked.

“Those lights are made by magic tools. They must have had my companions make them.” Said Vanya with a disgusted expression. The large base was surrounded by a stone wall. It was similar to the large wall surrounding the royal capital in the upper world. Any half hearted monster attack would likely leave it unscathed. It was clear from those walls that they had a technological prowess far greater than our village.

“Who made those walls?”

“The golems. It seems golems hold a skill for processing stone.”

“…Then how about the wood houses?”

“Those were the dryads. Then having us vampires make the small magic tools, they made that village.”

I see. So with various species working together… no, by unilaterally working them they were able to build that village.

It’s a fine village. Much more than ours. For starters the outer walls are too firm. A direct assault on those is impossible. Even the gates are made of stone, so an ordinary attack couldn’t break them.

It seems we’ll have to take care of them from the inside. Straining my eyes and making use of appraisal and such, I spotted an ogre near the gate. It was about two meters tall, with sharp horns and sturdy build.

In its hand it held a hammer like weapon. If that body were to swing it, you probably wouldn’t be able to stand a direct hit. The mood from earlier disappeared.

Orphe and Livia’s expressions turned grim.

“…As expected, those guys are a cut above the rest as a species.” Observed Orphe.

“Yes. A direct attack against them… probably wouldn’t be the best plan.” Said Livia.

“Their attacks alone would be fine, but adding magic tools and such into the mix would be troublesome.” Remarked Sufi carefreely.

Vanya responded, “Of course, their weapons were also made by my companions. Even if you’re a slime, don’t drop your guard. Our magic tool technology is amazing after all.”

“Is that right. Amazing amazing.” Sufi went up as if she’d climb Vanya’s back and began petting her head.

“Don’t treat me like a child!”

“Fufu, isn’t it fine. After all, your head is still young right? Your skin is more youthful (pichipichi) than Livia’s too.”

“Could you refrain from making statements that could cause suspicion about me?”

Livia stared at Sufi. …I wonder how old Livia is? Is she not the age she looks?

“Hey Orphe, how old are you?”

“About 50.”

“Eh? Is that so.”

“That said, humans and demi-humans have different lifespans after all. You and I aren’t that different in terms of body age.”

“I guess so.” Demi-humans live for a long time. I think I might have heard that somewhere before. Since demi-humans live a long time, they don’t have many children. It seems they naturally evolved that way.

“It’s different between races too. I’m sure you’ve heard that elves live for a very long time.”

“I see. How old do you think Livia is?”

“Probably around the same as me? So she shouldn’t be too different from you body wise. You don’t have to worry.”

“What is it that he doesn’t need to worry about?” Livia who should have been talking to Sufi was coming this way. Her cheeks were puffed out and she was glaring at Orphe. Orphe put on a forced smile and then made his way behind me to hide. Oi.

“L-Livia. Orphe didn’t do anything wrong? I was the one who asked him on my own accord.”

“…I don’t particularly mind. I’m around 60 years old. Demi-humans don’t care that much about age. We can get to around 150 years old, so in human terms I’m around 20.”

Indeed. My country should have a life expectancy of around 50. But Orphe and Livia are much higher than that. If that’s the case, it might be good to change how I deal with them.

“Mou, that’s enough about my age right? Rather why did we start on this topic? It’s Sufi’s fault isn’t it.”

“It wasn’t me. By the way I’m still only 40. Fufu, squishy (pichipichi). Cause I’m a slime”

In a physical sense that is. [TLN: pichipichi means both youthful and elastic, so she’s making a joke about… you probably get it]

I let out a small sigh before bringing the conversation back on topic. “Livia mentioned earlier that a direct attack would be dangerous, but from the start I haven’t intended to fight head on.” I said, causing Livia’s eyes to widen.