—–

Some more people assembled here. They were actually back in the village working on other things and ended up joining later. We quickly let them sit around the table, which was enormous, and then we served them some food as well. The twins were especially hungry, eating the stew quite quickly.

I don’t know if they know this is made of rat meat. The rat meat thing is actually a secret. A lot of people would get grossed out if we told them the meat they’re eating is coming from giant rats, after all. Even I would be grossed out if I wasn’t a ghost with a weird mind…

We quickly shared our thoughts and also introduced the rest of the people about what we were talking about. Making the gigantic-sized greenhouse, we wanted to make was going to take a lot of collective effort. We also needed the help of various people, so we were planning to do some sort of “talent recruitment” or whatever.

There is also the possibility of moving to a nearby town or duchy in search of resources and the right people we need to make all these sorts of things, but can we really find them so easily as Rimuru did for his town? I don’t know…

“We could go find the right people in other towns as well. If we can’t find anyone that could help here, at the very least, we can make my people help as well. I remember there were a few dwarves in the former slaves that we took care of, although they had been mostly resting and working as small artisans, but perhaps they can know something about metallurgy.” Said the Goblin Chief.

“Oh, you guys are really connected with those people. I guess you spent some time with them… It would be useful if you could find anyone that could help!”

“Sure thing, Lady Maria, leave the work to us, we are here to help you out, and this also will help everyone.” said the Goblin Chief.

“If we can find somebody capable of making metallurgy, we could make metallic pillars. Then the stone and wooden pillars are scratched?” asked Partner.

“It really depends… Even if we don’t make the pillars metallic, finding the right people for the work is always nice. Someone that can do metallurgy will always be welcomed.” I said.

“Hm, Lady Maria knows her stuff. She’s right.” Said the Goblin Chief.

“Well, even then, where can we find strong metals in here? Do you know a place, Lucifer?” I wondered.

“Ah… Around these areas, the mountains are rare… However, if we move to the southwest… Well… There is… where my family once lived, us dragons… Those mountains are filled with precious metals and jewels that we often ate.” Said Lucifer.

“Oh… We could really take a trip there eventually then!” I said.

“Yes… I suppose it should be time to go there and confront my past… I just hope there can be someone alive there…” sighed Lucifer.

I held Lucifer’s hand as I smiled back at him.

“I also hope so… Let’s go there together and find out… Even if we don’t find anyone, at least you won’t be alone when you find out.” I said.

“Maria… Y-You’re being way too corny all of a sudden…” he said while blushing a bit.

“I guess we should go there then for metals and other materials, but that’s going to be a long trip, so we could leave it for more later.” Said Syllis.

“Yeah, we’ll leave it for later. We should concentrate on making the glass,” said Lucifer.

“Indeed, let’s concentrate on finding crafters, architects, and also finding sand for glass,” I said.

“Very well, that should be it, right? Then we should begin things immediately after eating.” Said the Goblin Chief.

“Yes, let me finish this tasty stew, and we’ll get there… Hmm, I have not eaten such a nice and chewy meat before…” said the Goblin Elder.

“Hahaha… I-I am glad you like it….” I said while averting my gaze.

“What meat is it?” asked the Goblin Chief.

“Erm… Wolf…” I said.

“Wolf? I never thought a carnivore would have such tender meat.” Said the Goblin Chief.

“Yeah… I didn’t know either! Ahah… Hahaha…” I laughed nervously.

Everyone that knew we were eating rats looked at me while furrowing their eyebrows, but nobody actually told the people that didn’t know.

Deep down, they all knew that if we told them, there would be a big fuss, and perhaps they would get a bit creeped out. After all, we had our rat farm behind the castle where nobody walks through, so it is a desolate area where nobody will ever see our multiplying fat rats.

“Anyways, the food is good,” I said.

In the end, we continued eating until we finished. The children asked for seconds as they were quite spoiled, so we gave in to their demands. The adults were also given seconds anyways, and I got thirds, even.

We ended up emptying the entire pot of stew we had made, and we quickly made our way outside to quickly begin our work. We were about to organize most of the people we had and find out talents and also workers. We don’t want them to receive everything for free anymore. Even though it has only been a single week, we really need their cooperation.

We moved swiftly with the help of the two goblin leaders. Their leadership surprised me. Most of the Goblins gathered around them in a few minutes except those that couldn’t really work as much, such as mothers, children, and the elderly.

There were a few Hobgoblins mixed in, but mostly there were a lot of small goblins with fiery eyes ready to work.

“Hm, these should be… These are all the workers willing to help with anything. They’re not particularly talented at anything, but they can be taught if there is someone knowledgeable enough. At most, they can carry things together. They got good cooperation.” Said the Goblin Elder while caressing his long beard.

“We are here to serve your command, Lady Maria!” they said at the same time, almost making it a bit surreal.

“W-Well, I am counting on you guys… and gals….” I said with a nervous smile.

God, I am bad at socializing with so many people…

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