Chapter 365

Negotiation Results with Galette County
After negotiations with Young lady Conniette, we settled on sending three for city defense and twenty for development.
However, the ones assigned to development will not receive payment until next year when the vegetables start growing, meaning they’ll work unpaid for nearly a year.
Still, the Kiblinki Saltas accepted these terms.
They really are selfless when it comes to vegetables!

(As long as we receive vegetables as compensation for our work, there’s no issue.)

(It is preferable to receive a reward for our labor. In the wild, we never had access to human-grown vegetables. This is more than enough.)

Even though they’re spiders, they have such a noble mindset.
Since they’ve agreed to it, I’ll respect their decision.
There probably won’t be any issues.
Worst case, if we just provide them with land and vegetable seeds, they might cultivate the fields on their own.
I’m sure Young lady Conniette will manage them well.

Now that the numbers have been decided, all that’s left is for us to prepare for departure.
This time, we’ll be traveling in the Lumite Star Tiara, with me, Talat, Alizée as the negotiator, Plum, and the members of Wildcat’s Claws—seven people and one beast in total.
Marquis Vardmoi will also be bringing Young lady Kou along.

Additionally, there will be a cavalry escort under the guise of protecting the marquis.
Their real purpose is to help present the Kiblinki Saltas as non-threatening.
The cavalry will surround the spiders as we travel.
After all, for those who aren’t used to seeing them, a horde of spiders walking down the highway would be terrifying.
Even if, in reality, they’re peaceful and gentlemanly creatures who only care about vegetables.

“So, what route are we taking?”

“We’ll take the shortest path to the Galette territory. Normally, we should be stopping to greet the noble houses along the way, but since we’re traveling with a large number of contracted monsters, lingering in noble capitals would only invite unnecessary speculation. I’ve already sent letters of apology and obtained permission to pass through the highways of the noble territories. Officially, they all wrote that they were disappointed they wouldn’t be able to meet us, but in reality, they probably just don’t want a swarm of spider monsters lingering in their lands.”

“Are spider monsters really that frightening?”

“Says the person who led them to wipe out the old kingdom’s knights and march through the noble district last winter.”

Ah… right. That did happen.
It hasn’t even been a full year since then, huh?
Back then, it was the graduation party season for the upper academy, so most nobles were gathered in the capital.
Talat’s strength must have left a lasting impression.

The Kiblinki Saltas aren’t as strong as Talat, but in terms of combat, they’re actually trickier to deal with in a human confrontation.
So the nobles’ wariness isn’t entirely misplaced.

I’d prefer it if nobles carried themselves with a bit more composure, but I suppose that’s asking too much.

What do you think about this chapter?