Chapter 47: Visiting the Fist Layer Settlement

"Training Is Hard."

[That's the first time I heard that from you.]

Yeah me too, anyway it seems like there are things that cannot be mastered by learning it for the first time, huh?

[Yeah... Well you did not master it because your weapon is as  tall as you, if you swing it around, it's hard.]

Well, I guess you're right... I answered as such whilst looking at the rapier and contacted the blacksmith to make a rapier that was modified to fit my size.

[But still, even though you did not master it, you did learn it properly to an extent, which gave you the [Swordsmanship Apprentice] skill that integrated with your [Martial Arts] skill, now you needed to make the martial arts skill reach level ten to be able to fully utilize the full potential of the next evolution.]

I see, If you put it that way, it's not a bad thing that I can't master a skill to an extent in which my ego will be satisfied.

[Dude, you're a necromancer, and necromancers are magic users, at least that's what the god of the undead said, so it's already a testament to how talented you are that you got to the apprentice level without even having a proper rapier fighting style trainer okay? Do you know a person who can learn how to draw a portrait when his or her guide is a calligrapher?]

Yes, I know I know, but still, I am not used to the feeling.

"Th... That's... How did you learn to use a rapier while fighting against a katana user... that's unfair..."

I looked at Saru who had somewhat bloodshot eyes, she seemed to feel that she was wronged because of how she worked so hard and got so far and her master seemed to say that it didn't even matter, I just sighed and left the subject for when I finished the hero's test, I hope there is someone who can teach me in the fifth layer.

"Well, don't delve too much into it; just call it a day."

Why do I sound like the master here even if I am the one being taught? Don't ask me, anyway after I said that we came out of the training room, she was completely soaked in sweat because we did not take a single break in the span Saru was training me, I feel particularly terrible because I am wearing a pure white training attire, so my things became see through.

[You don't have "Things".]

Will you cut it off?

I immediately went into the large bath and had it for myself, Eleanor is not here unfortunately, so there is no fan service for me. After soaking in the bath and almost passing out, I went out of it, back to my room, and laid down on my rock bed covered with a sleeping mat.

_Goodnight..._

I said so to myself and then immediately escaped to the world of dreams, the next day, after taking a bath, I looked for Eleanor who seemed to be quite interested in weaponry recently, I could tell that because she was in the weapons factory often and she already stopped asking for the mysterious liquid of my evolution as well as hair,  blood, etc., however I have to interrupt her right now because we are preparing for another war.

"Ellie."

I said tugging at her priest robe that gave her quite the startle, She stopped watching the smelting process of the rapier I ordered the blacksmith to custom made and replied.

"Y- yes?"

I then turned around and said.

"Come here, we have to prepare for another war, the last of my Hero's Test."

Eleanor upon hearing that said a simple "Bye" to the still glued to their work blacksmiths and left the workshop. After which,  I went into my office, It is plain because I have not scanned the area yet and only got a general map from the monkeys that I memorized, so most of the rooms are yet to be furnished.

"What is it, Lady Sophia?"

Eleanor said whilst I looked around the room, I then started to sit down on the chair in front of a large table and replied.

"As you already know, we are yet again to engage in war soon and this time, we are on the defensive because of their number and we also have to defend two points, the problem is that another prospect that is probably jealous because she is yet to take her hero's test is acting against me, of course acting against me means acting against my people."

My suspicion is different from that of course, but I have to hide it because who I suspect is a god, so if other people outside her adopted daughter started imagining things like putting a second hole in his ass, they might get the divine slippers slapping them in the face.

I then paused for a while to let her absorb that information, and after a second or two, I continued.

"Thus I have to focus my attention on that girl and unfortunately cannot help with most of the planning, The  only good  thing is that the big boys of the very shabby alliance of theirs are attacking the volcano, so I can plan the defense of this place."

Eleanor of course understood her assignment immediately and replied.

"In short, you want me to go back to the cave and be the one responsible for its defense?"

"Will you do it?"

She said this while nodding, an affirmation that she will accept this mission of hers, She opened her mouth and said "Yes."

I then replied: "Good, now I will contact a person in the first settlement to get a carriage for you alongside the people who are currently transferring the arrows."

Eleanor nodded one last time.

"Understood."

After her brief reply, she walked out of my office and left me alone.

"Hey, wait I'm going with you!"

I shouted and also left the room, it seemed like she was quite worried about her lab that she did not have a chance to tend to for a very long time so she was in a hurry to leave, but I also wanted to visit my settlement because it has been a long time, remember that since I started the war against the monkey rebels, I did not go outside the perimeter of the war camp and I just ordered Kabuto to burn down any wooden equipment inside it (I gave him a torch that has its flame made with magic.) after the war ended to prevent them being used against us in situations like this.

Eleanor then halted her steps and smiled, she then said.

"I see, I'm glad..."

"Glad of what?"

"No, Nothing at all!"

We had that conversation as we went for breakfast and waited for the goblins guys that were delivering the arrows and bows to this place. I can already see that they will take quite a long while because the road is yet to be paved, plus they have to go through the patch of trees that have been planted with a lot of landmines previously, so even though we already extracted all the landmines, they will make their movements slower by instincts, after all, most of the soldiers saw the destruction that caused by those bombs, so its all the more that they will be careful.

I wanted to make a paved road after my people rested for a bit, but suddenly a report that allowed me to be able to sweep the whole forest in one go came crashing in my front in the form of Arachne, so I had to postpone my plans and look at the bigger picture, besides if I forced to make a road here then my enemies will use that road against me, so it's like instead of building a road, I instead built a coffin for myself.

Anyway, my first plan was to destroy the cave and use the resulting rubble as stones for the pavements, but I postponed it because I said I had to fight a defensive war.

"I see, so that's how I- Oh, they are here."

While and Eleanor I were in the middle of our conversation in my office after we got to eat our first meal of the day, Kabuto suddenly appeared behind my shadow and said.

"Master, the carriage for two people has arrived as well as the first batch of arrows."

This made both Eleanor and me stand up, I just nodded with a "I see, good job." to Kabuto who once again was swallowed by my shadows. I then looked at Ellie and said.

"Let's go?"

While thinking:  _We just finished breakfast and they are already here? They suddenly become zealous huh?_

Ellie nodded with a slight smile on her face and replied.

"Let's go."

And thus, we exited the volcano and then saw several carts with an enormous amount of arrows and bows, well I was not surprised because they produce arrows for Lyra like mad so most of these are most definitely stockpiles with only the bows as the newly made ones, that's why it is much fewer in number. The goblins who saw me exit the volcano went out of their carts and then simultaneously knelt in front of me and shouted:

"Thank you for giving us new lives!"

That's right, Kabuto did say to me that the goblins want to express their gratitude towards me, the cause of their better and safer life, plus their intelligence, the stronger offspring who won't die after a few days or weeks and new skills that they did not know existed. Well, I'm just grateful that their color will not turn from green to white the moment they catch a glimpse of my shadow so I just smiled and said.

"There is no need for gratitude, anyway, Please call some monkeys to help you get the arrows in the armory."

All of them said "Yes!", They are quite perky now that they are not scared of me anymore, Is this what that certain genderbent slime feels when his people answer to his orders? Well, it doesn't feel so bad.

After that, without saying any more words, I and Ellie entered a carriage that was prepared specially for the two of us, the goat who would be pulling the carriage bowed slightly at the two of us, and the goat then waited for the coachman to turn over the vehicle and then attached itself into the carriage.

"Sorry for the delay."

The coachman bowed and opened the door for the two of us before going into the front, after a few seconds, the carriage started to move, the carriage is quite fast but not fast to the point that we would go bouncing inside it, so we can continued our paused conversation a while earlier, for some reason things have gotten a little personal and Ellie started to ask me about my favorite food.

"You know that I am not even a year old right? But if I were to choose, berries."

Well of course I cannot say that my favorite food is kaldereta because she doesn't know what that is, so I made a logical excuse. Furthermore, this is not the mood to say I am not from this world so...

"Oh... That's right, now that I think about it... Eh, then when did you get blessed by your god?"

She said with a little puzzled look.

"Well, around the first day or second, I got abandoned?"

I can feel my blood boil as I remember that scene, a basket of fruits in front of me, but I just smiled as if I did not feel anything at all.

"Wha...? Oh, I see..."

Eleanor nodded silently, for a moment her gentle face turned clenched and sighed.

"That's quite sad, Let's just change the topic."

"Yup, we should."

I said and we started to start random topics, the topic became that of intellectuals like how I came up with the strategy in the previous war and what I plan in the upcoming one, this conversation lasted for hours until we arrived at the first settlement, all of the goblins are lined up and knelt before saying the same thing that the ones earlier said.

After another batch of saying you are all welcome, we entered the settlement and Ellie checked if her lab was okay, it was properly closed and all of the goblins came to a consensus that the lab was a forbidden place, so all in all, it was still in a good shape, it took Ellie a lot of hours to check all of the corners of the lab, after which, I gathered all of the goblins and announced the defensive war and officially appointed Eleanor as the defense commander.

After a day, I went back into the volcano settlement and then looked at the weaponry and saw a completed rapier of mine, I scanned it for a while and nodded, well as embarrassing as it may be, I don't know anything about blacksmithing (Well, no tournament has blacksmithing, that my government wants me to participate, so...), but it at least looks though and flexible at the same time, so it's good for me, but then a question suddenly appeared in my mind head.

"Where do you get all of these metals?"

The monkey named Pan looked at me and answered.

"Oh, that? My lady, we harvest it from the deposit under this volcano."

The monkey put on a thumbs-up, but all I could have was a face full of confusion.

"Huh? Under this place that is rich in magma? And also, is this volcano active or not?"

Pan seemed to be a little enthusiastic that his queen was asking him questions so he replied with a little bit of excitement.

"Oh, about the first question, there is a shallow place underground that does not have any magma and is reachable, furthermore that shallow place is wide and regenerates its ingots over time, and according to our former leader, this volcano is a dormant one and did not explode even before we became the ruler of the volcano."

"I... I see..."

I can only answer as such and then just say to myself.

_This is a fantasy world After all._