Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Volume Chapter 20

Empire Calendar 1379

Seventh day of the Month of Abu

Today I arrived at the location of my new position.

It seems that plans to create a foothold in the Mystic Mountains have been proceeding little by little since before my arrival.

I was concerned that I would have to build a village from scratch but found one already built at the base of the Mystic Mountains.

The people living there are soldiers who were sent here due to particular circumstances, like me.

They’ve all been stationed in this place because of bad behavior, violation of military regulations, and so on.

You might even call it a penal colony.

I’m impressed that they were able to build a village at all in a place like this, with monsters from the Mystic Mountains constantly appearing.

But this is where the hard work truly begins.

The mission that I’ve been given is to conquer the Mystic Mountains.

In other words, they want me to travel around this monster-ridden mountain range and secure a route to the demon realm.

There have been other attempts to cross the Mystic Mountains and invade the lands of demons, but all of them have ended in failure, thanks to the extreme cold and dense monster population of the mountains.

In other words, I’ve been tasked with the impossible.

I’m certain that my superiors do not expect me to succeed, either.

All they want is for me to die a dog’s death in the Mystic Mountains.

Either that or they think I can at least make some small contribution to the empire by reducing the number of monsters in the Mystic Mountains ever so slightly.

I have no intention of dying, of course.

Even if I cannot conquer the mountains, if I slowly but surely produce results, perhaps I will eventually be permitted to return to the imperial capital.

The capital, where my beloved wife and newborn child await.

I cannot die before I have even seen my child’s face.

I know not when I will be able to return, but I must persist until then.

Sixth day of the Month of Maya

It has been some time since my arrival here.

In the beginning, I had to spend all my time maintaining the village, but I’ve gradually reached the point where I can also spare some time to explore the Mystic Mountains.

However, that exploration is currently proceeding at a painfully slow pace.

We’ve finally gathered enough cold-resistant equipment for our group, but they become meaningless when venturing deep in the mountains.

Even a short excursion is extremely dangerous in this cold.

On top of that, monsters that thrive in these climes often attack us.

Most times, we can barely make any progress before we’re forced to turn back.

And when we do make it past a certain point, goblins start to appear.

It would be reckless to attempt to engage with dangerous monsters like goblins in these conditions, so we turn back without confronting them whenever we see them.

While we must prioritize safety, we are simply not getting any results.

How am I to earn back the respect of my superiors at this rate?

I keep assuring myself to be patient.

Empire Calendar 1380

Twenty-Sixth day of the Month of Sata

Today, I received a letter from my wife.

Our daughter has been kidnapped.

As soon as I received the letter, I attempted to leave for the capital, but my aide stopped me.

This village is a penal colony in all but name.

If I leave without permission, I will be treated as a deserter.

Though I couldn’t bear not to act, my frantic aide somehow persuaded me to desist.

However, I am ill at ease.

I sent letters to every last one of my acquaintances in the imperial capital, pleading for a way to get permission to return.

Surely even the authorities in the capital would not deny me when my daughter has been kidnapped.

I am concerned most, however, for my daughter’s safety.

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This village is a considerable distance away from the imperial capital.

Since I’ve just received the letter, that means that a fair amount of time has already passed since my daughter was kidnapped.

How is she faring?

I can scarcely bear to put pen to paper without knowing what might happen to my daughter as I do so.

Oh, gods.

Please protect my daughter.

Fourteenth day of the Month of Nahe

The only replies I receive from the capital say that they cannot permit me to leave this village.

It seems the conditions of my banishment are more serious than I realized.

I am being held responsible for the deaths of my entire squad, and so I was sent here because I could not provide sufficient explanation, but it turns out there is more to it than that.

The spider monster I encountered in the Great Elroe Labyrinth—the one that is now known as the Nightmare of the Labyrinth—has left its underground lair and started to wreak havoc on the surface.

There are rumors, I am told, that it was our squadron that provoked it into emerging from its nest.

This is the accusation is the real reason I’ve been sent to this place.

That would explain the help that Sir Ronandt has been providing.

He must feel guilty that I was forced to carry all the blame for the incident.

But it is only because Sir Ronandt was there that I survived at all.

I feel only gratitude toward him, not resentment.

Still, I am immensely grateful for his support.

In this remote region, we are always in need of supplies, and it is thanks to Sir Ronandt’s support that we have been able to get them.

So I must impose upon his kindness.

Besides, I now have urgent reason to rack up more achievements.

If I wait long enough, years perhaps, I imagine things will cool down enough that I will be allowed to return.

However, if I wish to ensure my daughter’s safety, I must get to the capital as soon as possible.

If I was permitted to leave, I would already be on my way, but then I would almost certainly be captured as a criminal of the worst kind.

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If this was simply an internal affair in the empire, then perhaps they would be willing to consider the extenuating circumstances and allow it, but the Nightmare caused trouble in another nation.

If the empire chose to place the blame on me and relayed that information to the other nations, then they cannot let me off so easily.

In order to get back to the capital, I must present some great accomplishment to prove my worth.

What can I possibly do?

Fifth day of the Month of Haku

Recently, the goblins have been branching out of their territory.

It used to be that we saw goblins only deep in the mountains, but lately they appear even on the outskirts.

At this rate, they will soon encroach on the land near our village.

Thus, I have had no choice but to give my men permission to engage in battle with the goblins.

I only hope that there will be no losses.

Thirteenth day of the Month of Haku

I have learned the reason behind the goblins’ recent territorial expansion.

Their weapons have improved.

Goblins live far away from human settlements, forming their own small communities, but the level of their development has always been far inferior to us humans.

As such, their weapons were always quite primitive, but recently they have improved by leaps and bounds.

The weapons we seized from a group of goblins in battle were all superior in quality to our own.

Goblins are already a troublesome foe, but with weapons like these, they’re exponentially more dangerous.

These weapons must be the reason the goblins have been able to steadily expand.

But where are they getting such things?

It is no easy task to acquire weapons better than those of the empire.

The ones we are using are mass-produced products, but they are still weapons made by our homeland, which calls itself the greatest nation in the world.

Even our mass-produced weapons would never be considered inferior.

Most of all, these were sent to us with the help of Sir Ronandt.

But the goblins’ weapons are far stronger, the sort that an officer of the imperial army might be given.

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Even the empire would have difficulty amassing more than a handful of such weapons, yet every single one of these goblins has one.

Where in the world are they coming from?

Twenty-Seventh day of the Month of Haku

At last, we have amassed enough of the goblins’ weapons to equip each of my men with one.

Today, we attack the goblin village.

We cannot simply allow them to keep expanding their territory, and most of all, taking control of the goblin village in the Mystic Mountains would be a considerable feat.

With an achievement like that, I may finally get permission to return to the capital.

We have determined the location of their village by using a bird monster I tamed to scout the area.

Since we have been prioritizing safety, our explorations have never gone that far, but it is not impossible if we push ourselves enough.

It will be a dangerous gamble, but if we succeed, the path back to the capital and my wife will be opened to me.

I have no choice.

Fourth day of the Month of Yafu

We succeeded in taking the goblin village.

Since we’d been attacking goblins outside the village to acquire their weapons and lessen their numbers, the raid went rather smoothly.

Most of the goblins left in the village were young children, their mothers, and elderly goblins.

Thanks to that, we did not suffer any of the losses I initially feared.

A few men were injured, but none was killed.

Truly, the gods smiled upon us.

Not only that, but we even resolved a long-standing mystery: the source of the goblins’ weapons.

One of the goblins had a special skill the likes of which we had never seen or even heard of before: Weapon Creation.

It’s a truly incredible skill that uses MP to create weapons from nothing.

With enough MP, the user can create a limitless amount of high-quality weapons.

It’s a terrifying skill, but that also means it’s an invaluable one to have on your side.

It was nothing short of miraculous fortune that I was able to enslave the goblin with that skill.

Fortune was on my side this day.

Otherwise, that goblin might have taken its incredibly valuable skill to the grave.

I was lucky that the goblin’s level was low, too.

It generally takes a long time to restrain a monster enough to gradually gain control over it, but this goblin’s level was low enough that I was able to do so more easily than I expected.

But while I’ve gained physical dominion over it, its mind still rebels against me.

I must continue to strengthen my hold until it is complete.

Enslaving a monster with an incredible skill like this is an even greater achievement than I could have hoped for.

I wiped out the goblin village, and I captured this goblin that can create high-quality weapons.

This should make the perfect souvenir for the imperial capital.

As soon as the empire finds out about this, they will have me return to the capital.

Soon, I can finally see my wife again.

And begin the search for my daughter.

Eighteenth day of the Month of Yafu

I wish to return to the capital as soon as possible, but first I must wait for their response.

Meanwhile, I have continued to train the goblin.

First, I must grasp the finer details of the Weapon Creation skill.

It seems to take a great deal of MP, so the goblin can make only one weapon a day at most.

Still, producing one high-quality weapon per day is extraordinary enough.

In addition, it appears that the quality of the weapon produced is directly proportional to how much MP is used to create it.

Thus, the wisest course of action would be to increase the goblin’s amount of MP.

I have been capturing monsters in the Mystic Mountains and bringing them to the goblin so that it can finish them off and raise its level.

After repeating this process over and over, the goblin evolved into a hobgoblin, greatly improving its base MP.

Its Weapon Creation skill has also leveled up, allowing it to give the weapons special effects.

As unbelievable as it sounds, the creature can now create magic swords.

Magic swords. Incredibly rare weapons created from the parts of powerful monsters that carry certain special effects.

Even in the empire, only a few of the highest-ranking officers carry magic swords.

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And now we can mass-produce them.

With this goblin, I am guaranteed a high position.

Surely the empire will be eager to welcome me back to the capital.

How I long to return to my wife.

Is my daughter safe?

Has my wife fallen ill with worry?

My wife and daughter are all I can think about.

Eighth day of the Month of Kade

I still have yet to receive a response from the imperial capital.

Worse, my control over the goblin is beginning to reach its limits.

It is still under my control, but there is a darkness within it now.

The creature has gained ominous skills like Anger and Curse, and they grow in level almost daily.

It is clear that even though I have control over it, the goblin still carries a deep grudge against me for destroying its village.

Another goblin that I subjugated on the same day has long since submitted to my control, but this one must have a remarkable force of will.

Somehow, I feel an ill omen about all this.

Perhaps I should not have raised its level so and forced it to eat its own kind so that it would gain titles?

It may have been wiser to wait until it was completely under my control before strengthening it.

After all, this goblin does have that mysterious skill called n% I = W.

If memory serves, the Nightmare of the Labyrinth had the very same skill.

I have heard nothing further about the Nightmare; perhaps the rumors have simply not reached this far.

Still, that was an incredibly powerful monster.

It would be no surprise if it caused serious problems.

And this goblin has the same skill.

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Does that mean it’s of a similar nature to the Nightmare?

If so, then the day may come that I can no longer control it.

And yet, I cannot afford to let go of this goblin.

I must return to the capital as soon as possible.

The notes end here.