Ch.196Chapter 196. You Have to Throw Away What Needs to Be Thrown Away.

After the Bird Tribe joined the Ark, I decided to take some time to guide their leader, Coco, around the vessel.

Since we’d be working together from now on, building trust was necessary.

“Is this your nest?”

“It’s more of a refuge, but… well, I suppose you could call it that for now.”

Leader Coco looked around the interior of the refuge.

She shared her impression after getting a general feel for the structure and atmosphere.

“…It’s a suffocating nest.”

“Suffocating?”

“It’s enclosed on all sides, making it impossible to fly. It’s not easy to look around, and above all, escape would be difficult in an emergency.”

Coco spread her wings as she expressed her dissatisfaction.

The uncertainty on her face showed that what she was feeling was quite a sensitive issue for her people.

“Moreover, unlike buildings on land, this is underwater. Wings become heavy in water. That’s why the children of my flock are reluctant to come in here.”

“…Haha, I can sympathize with that. Being underwater is difficult for us too.”

Still, being underwater was perfect for avoiding external dangers.

Coco didn’t seem to share this sentiment and continued to complain to me.

“Unlike the upper part, the lower part doesn’t seem like a good nest. Not being able to fly freely is fatal.”

“Flight seems to be quite an important issue for your people.”

“Of course it is. Whether you can fly or not is directly linked to survival. It’s rather surprising that you wingless ones have survived this long.”

“Does that mean… I should understand that your people prioritize survival above all else?”

“What could be more important than survival?”

Coco asked as if it were obvious.

I couldn’t help but smile at her words as I replied.

“That’s right, surviving is the most important thing after all.”

That’s a relief.

Just as Flan said, it doesn’t seem like they’re in a position to invade or dominate.

*****

Yes, even humanity could collapse at any moment, so how would other species without even a proper central authority be any different?

So unlike in the past, it might be better to cooperate and overcome the situation together rather than fighting each other.

Regardless of the past, when survival is desperate, anyone could become an ally.

“I see a group of small beings ahead.”

Coco, whom we had newly accepted as a collaborator for survival, came down from the outpost that had become her new residence to bring me this news.

“We’re still quite far from reaching land… you can see that?”

“Can’t you wingless ones see it?”

If we could see that distance with the naked eye, we wouldn’t need to make telescopes.

But whatever the case, good eyesight on top of flight capability would make her an ideal scout.

“Anyway, tell me more details. What do you mean by small beings?”

“Exactly as I said, small beings are wailing together by the water. Is it hunting time?”

“No… let’s postpone hunting for now. First, guide me there.”

It was about time to reach the location Irie had marked.

Just as I was about to order navigation there, Coco suddenly flew up and pointed her two feet toward me.

“Understood. Then I’ll take you there directly.”

“What? Take me there… whoa!?”

Coco grabbed my body and took off.

As we flew over the lake after leaving the Ark, Coco looked down at me in her grasp and gave me a grin.

“You have no wings, but this way you can fly. Good, isn’t it?”

“…Haha.”

I suppose this means she’s not doing this out of malice.

Honestly, it’s a bit scary, but I decided to trust her and head toward our destination.

“Chieeeee!”

And then came the sound of something crying out at the place we arrived.

Realizing that the sound was coming from the small group Coco had mentioned, I immediately looked down to assess the situation.

“Our home is flooded, rechi! The home we worked so hard to build is flooded, rechiii!”

The ones wailing were rodent-like beings much smaller than even elves… no, rodent-like non-humans.

They had furry bodies and wore hard hats on their heads that looked just like the safety helmets worn by construction workers.

If I try to recall what Flan described… yes, these must be the “Undergrounders.”

“Our home has collapsed, rechiaaaa!”

“Chieeee!”

The extreme sorrow evident in these Undergrounders’ collective wailing.

Coco, who was looking down at the scene with me, glanced at me and casually asked:

“The prey is openly revealing their position. Shall we eat them?”

“…No, put me down first.”

Since this was where Irie had guided us, they might be potential negotiation partners.

After being released from Coco’s grasp, I revealed my presence to them and raised my hand.

“Hello, little friends. I’d like to have a chat…”

“Chieek! A predator, rechya!!!”

The Undergrounders froze in shock as soon as they noticed me.

They seemed frightened by the human who was much larger than them, but since we could communicate, they didn’t seem intent on avoiding conversation.

“No, put those worries aside… I’m curious about your situation. You were saying something about your home being flooded earlier, right?”

“Re, reee… Th-that’s right, rechi. The tunnel we dug was flooded when an earthquake caused the lake water to rush in, rechi.”

“We can’t live in a submerged place, rechi. But there’s nowhere else to build a home except here, rechi…”

“If we stay like this, we’ll be eaten by predators, rechi. We’ll die, rechiii…”

The little Undergrounders wailed sorrowfully with their “rechi, rechi…”

Realizing that they were similar to Coco in their search for shelter, I reached out my hand to them and made an offer.

“As it happens, we have a place where you could live. Would you like to come and check it out?”

“Ree? There’s a home, rechi?”

“Don’t be fooled, rechi! They might be trying to trick us, rechi!”

The rechis showed both temptation and wariness at my words.

Then they turned their backs to me and huddled together, whispering as if having a meeting.

“But what should we do, rechi? Our home is flooded and we have nowhere else to live, rechi.”

“Monsters are everywhere, rechi. If we stay here, we’ll all die, rechi. Without tunnels, we’ll all be eaten by predators, rechi.”

“Our mama who protected us has been dead for a long time, rechi… The whole family will perish, rechi…”

Survival is an important issue, and with their home flooded, they had no viable alternative.

Just as I concluded that their joining us was essentially confirmed, Coco, who was looking down at the rechis, quietly asked me:

“Lure them to the nest and eat them? Good strategy.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

Why does she keep thinking about eating them?

I should stock up the food storage to prevent such unnecessary thoughts.

****

After successfully bringing the Undergrounders to the Ark, I introduced them to their new living quarters: the “ventilation system.”

It was designed with the Undergrounders’ tunnel structure in mind for efficient air circulation.

For the Undergrounders who had nowhere to live, there couldn’t be a better place.

“Re, reee~! The tunnel is incredibly spacious, rechi! And sturdy, rechi!”

“Even though it’s underwater, it doesn’t flood, rechi~! We can live stably, rechi!”

“Hyorechi is our guardian, rechi~!”

“Hyorechi~”

…If only they’d stop with that “Hyo” business, it would be perfect.

Anyway, now that we had new helpers, we needed to find ways to utilize them in various areas.

Based on the information I got from Flan, I headed to Jaseong, who was busy with construction, to find suitable work for them.

“Brother Jaseong, could you teach these little ones about construction?”

“These little guys?”

“Yes, I think no one can match them when it comes to construction.”

Indeed, the Undergrounders’ tunnel designs were considered virtually collapse-proof as long as there were no external threats.

If that’s the case with just tunnels, teaching them proper construction methods might enable them to create structures rivaling modern architecture.

“Good, that takes care of the Undergrounders… Samson, how long until we reach our next destination?”

After assigning roles to our new helpers, several days passed.

The fortress, which had ascended to the surface for full-scale rescue operations, moved forward and eventually arrived at ruins situated in a valley.

Or rather than ruins, it was closer to a fortress. It just looked like ruins because it had collapsed in a recent attack.

“Who are you people? What are you doing crawling in here?”

“We’re not here to fight, so please lower your weapons. I’d like to have a word with your elders, if that’s alright?”

“Elders! I’m only 20 years old!”

Bushy beards, short stature, but with well-defined muscles and stern, aged faces… Yes, I could tell right away.

These were “Dwarves,” a race naturally gifted with physical abilities and craftsmanship.

“What? You want us to serve under you?”

“That’s not it. I’m suggesting we cooperate to overcome this crisis together. Your fortress has collapsed due to monster attacks, hasn’t it? That must be troubling.”

“That’s none of your business. A collapsed fortress can simply be rebuilt. Why should we place ourselves under humans?”

Rebuild it just like that? Looking at how everything is overturned, this doesn’t seem like a one-time occurrence. Is it really that simple?

But dwarves, with their innate talents, have high self-esteem and consequently stubborn personalities that make them unwilling to back down once they’ve taken a stand.

Even if everyone here were to die, they would never bow their heads to others.

At least, not under normal circumstances.

“By the way, we have a ‘brewing facility’ in our fortress.”

“W-what?”

The dwarf representative was startled by my words, his mouth agape.

Along with him, the eyes of the surrounding dwarves, who had been glaring at us menacingly, widened—a clear indication that my approach had hit the mark.

“Yes, since our fortress is self-sufficient, we’ve made various things, but we’re quite busy maintaining the fortress, so we’ve left a lot of the alcohol we’ve brewed just sitting there.”

“Ah, yes. So you have… a lot of alcohol just sitting there?”

“And it seems you all haven’t been able to enjoy alcohol for a long time while defending your position… How about we have a drink and talk things over slowly?”

*Gulp*

The dwarves swallowed their saliva, exchanging glances with each other. Although they had been hostile toward us until now, they were clearly tempted by my current offer.

Of course they would be. The stubborn personality that comes with their innate talents must cause tremendous stress just to maintain.

And what better way to temporarily relieve that personality than alcohol?

“Kyaha! This alcohol tastes good!?”

“I’ve never tasted alcohol like this before. What’s it called?”

“Ah, this is called makgeolli. It’s a traditional alcohol from my homeland made by fermenting rice.”

“Mmm~! I thought it had a rich and sweet taste!”

“Oh, and try this kimchi as a side dish.”

“Whew, it’s spicy and salty, and goes really well with this! It really boosts my energy!”

Fortunately, what Jaseong had prepared in advance perfectly matched their taste.

“So, we have several works created by dwarf ancestors in our Ark. Would it be alright if we entrusted you with their maintenance?”

“Huh, just looking after old relics? Wait a bit, we’ll replace everything with new works within our capabilities!!”

“Just make sure to prepare plenty of alcohol! Hahaha!”

…These people, said to be the most stubborn among non-humans, are loosening up over just a few bottles of alcohol.

Now I understand why their ancestors were defeated by humanity.

*****

Having successfully integrated elves, the Bird Tribe, Undergrounders, and now dwarves, I was in a stable position.

While I hoped such good fortune would continue, contrary to my wishes, the fortress traversing the land encountered a major crisis.

“Who dares intrude upon our territory!”

“We shall offer your heads as sacrifices to our god to open the path to Valhalla! Valhallaaaa~!”

Large non-humans charged at the fortress’s path, shouting battle cries.

They were “Barbarians,” who had adapted to harsh environments and were the most powerful and ferocious among non-humans in terms of combat ability.

If we could recruit them, the fortress’s defense would become even more perfect than it is now…

“Hero, they’re charging at the fortress with the intent to destroy it.”

Unlike the stubborn dwarves, the barbarians were rushing in with a murderous intent from the first encounter.

If someone were to die while trying to negotiate with them, everyone in this refuge would bear the responsibility.

“Will you negotiate with them?”

“…No.”

Yes, didn’t Irie also tell me to handle only what I could manage?

No matter how tempting, one must know when to let go.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

For those who draw their swords without understanding, this body has been burned too many times to embrace them all.