A Faint Hope

Rather than a stretcher, it was more like a hammock as we carried Bangagonga, and we arrived beneath the mana collection device installed in the castle town… though calling it a “town” was a stretch when it was still mostly prefab buildings.

It had taken us less than thirty minutes to get here from the campsite, but Bangagonga’s pained state hadn’t changed. It was painfully clear that time alone wasn’t going to solve anything.

We set Bangagonga down right beside the mana collection device and watched him for a while… but nothing changed. He was still suffering.

“Bangagonga, if anything changes, tell me immediately. And… if you can’t endure anymore… then I’ll be the one to see you off.”

“…Please… This… place… is?”

“My castle… and its castle town. Well, it’s more like a temporary shelter from a rush job. I prepared it to take you all in.”

At my words, Bangagonga tilted his head and looked toward the provisional castle town.

“…Bright….”

“Is it?”

I followed his gaze, but… it didn’t seem particularly bright. There were lamp-like posts, but not many, and even under the moonlight there were still plenty of dark patches.

“Ah… so the villagers… will be spending… their time… here from now on….”

“You’ll be living here too as someone who keeps things organized. Don’t think you’ll get to take it easy.”

“…Ha… haha… I’d like you… to let me… take it easy… but…”

Bangagonga let out a pained laugh… and yet his condition looked no different than before….

Was it not working…? Could the mana collection device not draw out the Demon King’s mana…?

Originally, the mana collection device was set up to only absorb mana to a degree that wouldn’t affect people living normal lives… so maybe the absorption amount was insignificant.

But… Bangagonga had said Frenzy happened when the Demon King’s mana accumulated inside the body past a certain level.

That meant it probably wasn’t something you absorbed all at once due to a single trigger, but something that seeped in gradually during daily life, right? I had no proof… but the image in my mind was like slowly pouring water into a cup: while the water level was contained, nothing happened, but once it overflowed, Frenzy occurred….

It was nothing more than a shot in the dark—barely even reasoning, more like hope… but if that was true… then using a device that absorbed mana, even in small amounts, shouldn’t be a completely misguided approach….

The problem would be… if the device absorbed less mana than what someone naturally took in, it might delay onset but couldn’t treat it….

Should I instruct Otonoha to modify the device to increase absorption…? Narrow the effective range to increase the amount absorbed… if that was possible…. But Otonoha wasn’t here right now… Though maybe I could call her here within an hour… but I didn’t know how long the modification would take…. No, that was something I could ask her directly.

“Ururu, get Otonoha… no, bring whoever from the development department is still at the castle. I need to talk.”

“…Understood.”

I watched Ururu vanish in an instant, then returned my gaze to Bangagonga, while recalling the thought that had crossed my mind when I gave that order.

Otonoha was the head of development… and her subordinates were all development staff… but there was no assistant head, no deputy leader. When Otonoha was absent, there was no one who became the responsible party… and that wasn’t unique to her.

Even after I’d told myself in the conference room not to be dragged along by the game mindset, I was only noticing that now… Next time, I needed to decide that structure, and create positions that didn’t exist in the game so we could handle various situations.

When Otonoha and Lynferia returned to the castle, we’d need to decide their aides quickly… and maybe I should have Kiriku think about new roles too. I wouldn’t dump everything on him, but… as our territory grew, we’d also need to appoint local governors, like we did in Sword and Legions.

In the game, a governor only increased the amount of mana stones you could collect, but in reality, they’d actually have to govern properly. I’d have to examine aptitude for that too.

While I was thinking all that, Bangagonga slowly opened his eyes.

“…How is it, Bangagonga? Nothing changed?”

“…It might… just be my imagination… but… the pain… feels… a little less….”

“Really!?”

I blurted it out, and Bangagonga winced as if the sound hurt him.

“…I don’t know. …No, actually… I do feel… better?”

Still looking stunned, Bangagonga slowly raised his upper body and stared down at himself as if he couldn’t believe it.

“This is ridiculous… I really am feeling better…?”

“Is there no longer any abnormality? Or is it that it’s still abnormal, but at a level you can endure?”

“…There’s still discomfort. But the maddening impulses I had earlier… the hunger, the urge to destroy, the sense of loss like I was being overwritten… I barely feel any of that now.”

There was not even a hint of the earlier struggle to endure—Bangagonga, though still dazed, was carrying on a conversation without difficulty.

“Bangagonga, don’t push yourself yet. This is only a guess, but the Demon King’s mana inside you should be piled up right at the brink. The fact that you’re improving means… that mana is probably going to decrease little by little, but it’ll take some time.”

“……”

“And this is also only a guess… but as long as you remain under us, the goblins won’t enter Frenzy. Thanks to this mana collection device.”

As I said that, I looked up at the mana collection device beside us.

As if pulled by my gaze, Bangagonga also looked up at it and murmured.

“…What… is this…?”

“This is a mana collection device. As the name suggests, it collects mana… but it doesn’t harm life functions. In the land I once ruled, we always installed these devices in towns and villages, large or small.”

“A mana collection device… With this… can we prevent Frenzy…?”

“It wasn’t made for that purpose, but judging by you, it seems to work. Hm—your eye that had turned red is back to normal too.”

As I said that while confirming his eyes had returned to a calm color, Bangagonga covered his eyes with a hand as if startled.

“Really… am I… are we… freed from Frenzy…?”

“We’ll need to observe the course, but… it should be safe to think so. Congratulations, Bangagonga. That stupid, senseless injustice has disappeared from under your feet.”

“……”

Still covering one eye, Bangagonga looked up at me blankly—then in the next instant, he covered both eyes and his shoulders began to shake.

“You said demonfolk and fairy-folk Frenzy easily. If we encounter those races in the future, this could become useful leverage in negotiations. For any race, Frenzy is nothing but harm with not a single benefit.”

I didn’t know if my words caused it, but Bangagonga, whose shoulders had been trembling, prostrated himself.

“Fels-sama! We… we swear! We will never, for all eternity, do anything that goes against your will! Please… please allow us to offer our loyalty to you!”

“……”

Uh… meaning? Ah—right, he was swearing loyalty. Huh? For all eternity? That was sudden. Or maybe not…? Still, wasn’t that heavy?

“Haha! You may be the leader of the goblins, but is it really okay for you to decide something that heavy on behalf of those who aren’t here? You don’t need to take it that seriously. You’re already my citizens. Protecting you, cherishing you, guiding you—that’s the duty of me, the king.”

I mean, I was glad he said they wouldn’t rebel. But… from Bangagonga right now, I could feel something almost fanatical, and it was a little scary.

“…If the villagers learn this… learn how to deal with Frenzy, they will surely share my view. It may be my decision alone right now, but by tomorrow it will become our collective will!”

…Should we keep the mana collection device a secret from the goblins?

No, I really was happy they wouldn’t betray me. But if he could lower the intensity a bit, I might be even happier.

“How much we feared Frenzy… how much we hated it… I doubt you, Fels-sama, could truly understand. But overcoming Frenzy… makes it easy to imagine that every negative emotion we once held toward that phenomenon will reverse, and all of it will turn toward you. And this will not be limited to my village alone… every race that comes under your protection from here on will surely offer you the same loyalty we do!”

…Earlier I’d said it might be useful leverage in negotiations, but… if other races came at me with this same intensity… that would be rough.

Still… I could understand the feeling of devotion and gratitude toward someone who cured what you believed to be an unavoidable affliction. And more citizens was a good thing, and I wanted to rake in mana stones. If we were going to bring fairy-folk under us… using the mana collection device to suppress Frenzy would indeed be strong negotiating leverage.

Right… once these goblins settled into the castle town, should I make Bangagonga a diplomat for fairy-folk? Not in the sense of a spy—an actual diplomat, okay?

A real negotiator, not someone who relied on assassinations or poison… We needed that. It wasn’t that I had complaints about Ururu and the others… but if all negotiations were just Kill or Die going forward, it would cause problems.

Anyway, back on track.

“…I see. Your loyalty makes me happy. And to repay that loyalty, I promise I will protect you with everything I have.”

“Yes!”

Watching Bangagonga prostrate himself with his forehead pressed to the ground, I thought it would be fine if he spoke the way he had before.

That aside… Eisha, who had been watching our exchange from a short distance, seemed to be directing a suspicious gaze at Bangagonga despite her narrow eyes.

What was that…? It didn’t feel like negative emotion, but… more like she’d thought of something, or noticed something… I could even sense a hint of mission-like resolve.

That gaze bothered me, so I was about to speak to Eisha, but Ururu spoke to me a beat faster.

“Fels-sama… I brought him.”

“You called for me, Fels-sama.”

“…Hepai, huh. Wait a moment… Bangagonga, raise your head. You’ll be staying by this mana collection device for a while. We also have a banquet tomorrow night, so restore your condition properly, all right? And—normally, you can speak the way you did before.”

After speaking to Bangagonga in a slightly joking tone, I moved a short distance away with Hepai.

Hepai was Otonoha’s subordinate, assigned to the development department. Naturally, his abilities were development-oriented, and his combat power was at maid level. In appearance he was squat and stocky like an old dwarf, with gray hair and black eyes.

“Hepai, have you heard about Frenzy?”

“I have, indeed. The head confirmed it at the goblin settlement before.”

Hepai said that while stroking his bearded chin.

“If you know, this will be quick. The Demon King we defeated before did not have such inexplicable abilities. But here, there seems to be something called the Demon King’s mana that causes this phenomenon. The development department also serves as our research division—can you have someone research this Demon King’s mana? Even if we expand our territory… we may eventually clash with the Demon King.”

“Hmmm… As for who, I must consult the head, but the research itself poses no issue. Advancing research and development according to your wishes is our mission, after all.”

As he said that, Hepai’s eyes flashed for an instant… Eyes really could shine, huh….

“One more thing. Can you modify the mana collection device?”

“Hm… What do you desire?”

“Can you narrow the effective range and increase the mana absorption?”

At that, Hepai looked shocked. Had I said something that difficult?

“…I have never even considered it.”

“Good. Look into it. I want to know whether it’s feasible, and if it is, I want the cost and timeframe.”

“As you command. Hm… so this is what the head was speaking of…”

Hepai muttered something under his breath… but he was probably already thinking through possibilities in his head. Research types like Otonoha tended to run with things nicely if you gave them a clear direction.

Now then… right, I still needed to apologize to Eisha for earlier.

I’d really messed things up back at the campsite… Hm? Now that I thought about it, I’d wanted to confirm something about Eisha too… What was it again?

Well, if I remembered while talking, I’d ask.