I’ve Been Reincarnated as a Tentacle Slime~ I Want to Live a Comfortable, Secure Life and Do Whatever I Want~ - Chapter 73
[Legos POV]
My name is Legos. I’m the former village chief of this village.
My wife passed away two years ago, and my son, his wife, and one of my grandchildren were killed in a bandit attack…
If my granddaughter Leonora hadn’t survived, I might have taken my own life.
No, let’s not dwell on sad things. Now, thanks to the current village chief, Lord Cruz, all the bandits have been wiped out, and Leonora laughs like she used to.
That’s how it should be.
I was surprised to learn Lord Cruz was a slime, but when you interact with him, he feels so human it’s hard to believe otherwise. I’ve never heard of a slime that could turn into a human before, but when he says that’s how it is, I have no choice but to accept it.
For us, it’s helpful because we can treat him no differently than a human.
Since he became the village chief, the village has changed drastically. Of course, for the better.
From double-layered walls to fortress building and new fields being cultivated, there’s no way to sum it all up in a few words.
My residence was moved into the fortress, and I was given a large room and an office. You’d be hard-pressed to find such a fine room in any other village.
The chair, in particular, is wonderful. It uses something called a “spring”? That gentle bounce makes it incredibly comfy. I even ended up playing on it like a child, despite my age. —Oops, I’ve strayed off-topic.
When it comes to food, he and his children bring in enough meat and fish every day to feed the whole village. He keeps the source a secret, but it’s likely dungeon-sourced—probably from the dungeon in Spada, 75 kilometers from here. The slime folks can turn into birds, so the distance likely doesn’t trouble them.
That same person called me to his office, asking me to teach him about the area around the village.
–
“It’s Legos. Uriel-san, is Lord Cruz in?”
I asked Uriel, one of the two guarding Lord Cruz’s room. She is extremely beautiful, but seems uninterested in anyone but Lord Cruz, giving off an inorganic feel. Not just Uriel, but the other slimes seem the same.
They say only old folks like me feel that way, so maybe I’m just being overly cautious.
“Yes, he is. I was told to let you in if you came, Legos-san. Please wait a moment.”
Uriel went into the room. The other woman left behind was a slime with brown hair and black eyes—likely a child born of Leonora. Cruz says the hair and eye color take after the mother.
We chatted about trivial things. Maybe the concept of a “great-grandfather” doesn’t exist for her.
–
“Legos-san, please come in. Father-sama is expecting you.”
I was guided by Uriel-san into Lord Cruz’s office.
As I stepped inside, Lord Cruz’s desk was straight ahead—a heavy wooden piece adorned with detailed carvings. To the right was a reception table made of a single slab of stone, flanked by two pairs of tanned leather sofas. All of it was so ornate, it was hard to believe this is found in a village.
On the left side was a big bed, and Leonora was sleeping peacefully atop it. The window was open for ventilation, but the subtle smell of fluids shared between a man and a woman still remained—it wasn’t hard to figure out what had happened here.
“Lord Cruz, thank you for taking good care of Leonora.”
Speaking of slaves, their clothing, food, and shelter are usually shabby, and it is not uncommon for them to be played with like toys and ruined.
Compared to that, Leonora’s treatment could be said to be the best.
“Indeed, she is an important slave who gives birth to my children. Her health is the top priority.”
Leonora’s sleeping belly is about two to three times larger than that of an average pregnant woman. At first, I was surprised, but since the village girls live normally despite having similarly large bellies, and the smaller Rio’s belly is even bigger, so before I knew it I had gotten used to it and thought it was a normal sight.
–
“Indeed. Then, what is it you would like to ask?”
“Legos-san, please have a seat first.”
I was offered the sofa and took a seat, while Lord Cruz sat across from me.
“What I want to ask is about the nearby settlements around this village. Is there a lord who governs this village? If there is, why did they do nothing about this village?”
“Alright. I will answer your questions one by one.”
“First, the area where this village is located belongs to Earl Spada’s domain. About 75 km west from here is the city of Spada. Between here and there are two villages, which are governed by Viscount Badia. From the second village, going northeast leads to this village, and going southeast leads to another pioneer village.”
“So that means, nominally, this village and the other village are under Viscount Badia?”
“That’s right. However, they are focused on developing the villages near the city and barely pay attention to the pioneer village. They also do not come to collect taxes there. They probably consider it a waste of time.”
“So then, even if this place becomes a fortress, it will be a long time before anyone notices?”
“That’s right. However, they are not bad people, so even if they notice, as long as taxes are paid, it won’t be confiscated.”
Using a piece of paper made from wood that Lord Cruz provided, I sketched a map from the city to the village.
□■□■■■Base■ Base: This village
□□□□■／■■ ■: Forest
City — Village — Village■■■ □: Grassland
□□□■□＼■■ －: Main road
□■□□■■Village■
“So it’s money after all… Well, from the ruler’s side, that’s natural. Is doing side jobs too insignificant…?”
(With Lord Cruz’s strength, I think making money by selling dungeon materials would be easy…? Not mentioning the dungeon himself, does that mean he wants me to bring it up?)
“If it’s Lord Cruz’s family, I believe they can earn a large sum of money in the dungeon in Spada city?”
“Huh!? There’s a dungeon in Spada city? No, is there really one?”
Lord Cruz truly looks surprised. Does he not know? Or does he want to hide the fact that he dives into the dungeon?
Could it be that he’s concealing the fact that he provides food from the dungeon for our benefit?
“There is. Useful materials and food can be obtained in the dungeon. Therefore, people gather, forming villages that grow into towns.”
“So does that mean the dungeon in Spada city was taken over by the earl’s family?”
“No, apparently the earl’s family managed it even before it became a town? I don’t know the details though…”
“Well, if I run out of money, maybe I’ll try going to the city?”
“In the dungeon, food, potion materials, magic stones, and minerals rarely suffer price drops and remain stable. Hoho, am I preaching to the choir?”
“Magic stones? Potion materials? Sorry, I’m not familiar with those.”
“Potion materials use various substances depending on their effect, so I don’t know much. Magic stones are said to be inside round orb-like monsters when broken.”
“What!? That thing…? Ah, no, it’s nothing. No, never mind. Thank you, that was helpful.”
It seems he wants to keep secret that he’s hunting food in the dangerous dungeon for our sake. In that case, pretending not to know would be better for Lord Cruz.
–
[Cruz POV]
After the meeting with Legos, I hurried back to the dungeon and broke a blue orb, and a blue glass-like stone came out. So this is a magic stone… I didn’t know it was inside the orb…
But what do they use it for? I was too curious and ended the conversation early, but I should have asked.
The village surroundings
・There is also a dungeon in the city of Spada.
・This area apparently belongs to Vicount Badia, but it’s basically left unattended.
Only Spada city is under the earl’s direct control; the surrounding villages are managed by vassal nobles.
In order to focus on managing the dungeon.
Chapter length 3272 characters.