Let’s Come Up With A Plan.

Countless orcs were there.

Even from a distance, that was the scene before them.

An orc settlement. That was what this place was.

And surrounding this location on all sides like walls were the “spatial distortions.”

If they returned the way Kikori’s group had come, they would reach the original place, while the other three directions likely connected somewhere else.

If things were like this, it made sense monsters wouldn’t all head toward the Fortress City at once.

“Right… they’re living separately. There’s no reason to attack.”

“Yeah. Except for ones like goblins, it means their governance is complete.”

“In other words, from their perspective, we’re the invaders…”

Thinking about it that way, was the Fortress City simply designed to deal with goblins?

If so, many things made sense.

If the city and wall forts were built with strength only enough to stop goblins.

But then why bother invading?

Why send adventurers beyond the gate, even creating the possibility of retaliation?

No—what was the purpose of “adventurers” in the first place?

“…The Contaminated Region, huh.”

“Hm?”

“I feel like it’s the kind of topic that gets dangerous if you think too deeply about it.”

At Kikori’s words, both Kuon and Eil fell silent.

There had been a phrase in his previous life—“stir the bushes and a snake appears.” This might be that kind of matter.

“Kuon, tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“What we should do from here on.”

Charging head-on would be the height of stupidity. There was no way they could win.

So what should they do?

How did veteran adventurers proceed from here and “earn” their living?

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“…?”

“We can’t win head-on. So what we should do is reduce their numbers without fighting them directly.”

“That means… no way…”

Eil hesitated, and Kikori correctly understood what Kuon was about to say.

“Banditry.”

“Well, yeah. That’s what adventurers are expected to do. Dirty, underhanded work—wear them down little by little.”

“…”

I see. That was probably the only way.

But still—if that was true, one concern inevitably arose.

There was no way nobody had thought about it.

“What do we do if the monsters form a ‘subjugation force’?”

If bandits ran wild, naturally a suppression force would be formed. Of course.

Any creature with culture and a governing system would do the same.

“Well… then it becomes a defensive battle. We have a proper Fortress City, don’t we?”

‘Ah, I see,’ Kikori thought.

“So they want to conquer it that badly.”

“The reason’s unknown though. But apparently there are regions that were actually subdued that way.”

“The reason is unknown…?”

“You said it yourself, Kikori. It’s probably a dangerous topic to step into.”

True—thinking further about it was meaningless.

Kikori switched his mindset and turned to the two of them.

“Let’s come up with a plan. One where even we can defeat orcs and make it back alive.”