Chapter 304 – Re: Collects

Day 43

"So he still isn't back yet?" 

"No. I... I think he is working through something, and until he does, he won't be coming back." Sui replied, pouring a cup of tea for their visitor. They were alone in one of the seating rooms, killing some time as her partner was working with Returner and Riana on some magic outside. "So, you and Rou grew up together? Back on Earth, I mean... well, one of the Earths."

"Yes... Well, he is my older brother, so I kind of tagged along with him and his friends when we were kids. That is so long ago now; I barely remember anything from that time." The heroine Stars and Stripe said. She was a character from her Earth's manga, come to life in front of her. She didn't really remember much about her, as she was barely even a side character in that story, but she was known as a force of nature like All Might.

"Can you tell me some more about him... from when he was younger?" She replied, sitting down beside the massive woman. As a Half Saint Lord, she did get a bit taller and thicker than she had been as a hobgoblin, but this woman was built like Rou was, and she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by her. She could sense the magical powers coming from her too, and it was every bit as impressive as her figure. She was at least an L1 Demigod now... maybe even an L2. Nothing compared to her old powers, but for a human to attain such power...someone like her could easily take out the devil king of her old world.

My old world... I barely remember it anymore... just... Eris? Did I hate her, or did I forgive her? No I...Did I ask her for forgiveness? Argh. Focus. It doesn't matter right now. 

"I can... but who are you to him anyway? Last I checked, he was dating Mirko, Mt. Lady, and Thirteen. Now, he is surrounded by even more women."

"I am known as Sui here, but we met in another world, and I had another name that is my true name here, so I won't repeat it. A world where I was a goddess sent along with him to the world... It's also where I died. I... can't remember much from that time. Did he tell you about DEN?"

"Yes. Something about gods even more powerful than the ones who are leading me to divinity. I didn't get too much from him, but we are both doing something similar, travelling to different worlds. Well, I was until I started chasing that dragon lady with Constantine. Now I'm stuck following him around until I can get back to my old world."

"Well, I was revived by DEN as well, and now I'm stuck following him around to all these worlds... no... not stuck. I... I've fallen in love with him, and asked to join him on his journey instead of doing my own. He makes me feel safe."

"I see. Well, I don't see a problem telling you a bit. It's not like it's a big secret or anything, and we do have some time while that fool works on the portal to Earth Prime."

"So you are intent on leaving even if he isn't back yet?"

"Yes. As much as I want to catch up with my brother, Constantine doesn't want to waste any more time here, and he is my ride out. Now that the dragon disappeared and he can't pick up a trace of her, he needs to head back to report the issue. Then hopefully find a way to get me home. Besides, it will be nice to be living in a more advanced civilization again. You got lucky with this mansion of his; this world is somewhere in the Dark Ages in terms of technology. Its magic is quite advanced considering how it's been gatekept, but everything else is pretty much the lowest tiers of human civilization."

"Huh? I didn't think it was that bad here."

"Really? You have women who have been subjected to some of the worst abuses who are now willingly staying with goblins and ogres now that J- Rou is leading them. Unless you are royalty or nobility, this place is hell. I mean... I think I know this story, though it has been some time since I read it... Well, the memories I inherited read it anyway."

"What? You know about this world?"

"Only a little. Honestly, seeing all these other human women threw me off at first, but I recognized Mi and Ee, though they were called Gobumi and Gobuee in that manga. And that big red ogre, he had to be Ogrekichi. Those twin cooks who brought us lunch were there too, but I don't remember much about them other than that they had the main character's first children. Then there was something about a mercenary company... but it was mainly about the main character killing and eating everything, and everyone, growing stronger in the process. Oh... and the rape... There was a lot of that happening after the elves attacked, and human armies too after they defeated them... but I really don't remember much more than that. This body dropped the manga in favour of other, less brutal stories."

"What?!? We are going to be attacked?"

"Oh... Yeah... I don't remember when it happened, but the elves came to recruit the goblins to help fight humans, but were very arrogant, so the main character turned them down. They attacked sometime afterward, and it didn't go well for them. All the men were raped, killed, and eaten; the women were chained and raped... then eventually broke and ended up serving in his mercenary company."

"We kidnapped and raped a bunch of elves?"

"Yeah... they became the women for all the goblins at some point... eventually willingly. I think Mi was actually in charge of their unit. Gods, it's been so long since these memories were made; I'm having a hard time remembering it all."

"Mi? Sweet Mi was in charge of..." Sui replied, mortified at the thought of Mi being some sadistic dom in charge of a bunch of female sex slaves for the goblins.

"Well, this story has obviously changed from how it was written. Heck, that carbuncle died, but I see she is still floating around. Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distress you with that."

"Heh, I thought this was some slice-of-life story with the way things were turning out. Of goblins proving they were more than their instincts, building a village in the forest." She said, trying to shake off the thought of Rou leading the group to do those things. 

"No... It's a pure power fantasy. I think this village you have built is a much nicer story than what originally happened. I didn't see the perverted old goblin... in fact, there are a lot fewer goblins here than in that story. I take it that was Rou's doing?"

"Yeah... he purged a lot of them at one point... the old guy was killed when he discovered all the women chained where our mana well is now, and then more when three of them tried to rape me, he lost it and... well... most of the hunting party fell to him."

"Oh yeah, the hunting party. So he saved you from that fate?

"No... others saved me, but he took vengeance for me. I don't really do violence unless it's necessary. I was a goddess of healing, not of killing. I only hunted here for food, and to protect Rou."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. I heard about some of the things he had gotten up to in My Hero Academia, and it sounds like nothing has really changed since then. Hah, just talking is jogging my memories of this story a bit."

"Please, can you tell me more? Anything you can remember will be welcome." She said, jumping from her seat and getting right up in Star's face.

"I thought you wanted to know about Rou's childhood?" She asked, picking her up by the shoulders and placing her back on the floor.

"I do, but this is something that is useful to us now. I want to know more about him, but if I can be more useful to him, that is better."

"Well, I'll tell you what I can. It might not be true any longer, since you have made such changes to the story already."

"That's fine. Just tell me what you can!" She replied, pulling a notebook out of her storage space. He might be gone, wrestling with his own demons right now, but life is still going on in his absence. She vowed then and there to do whatever she could to keep this place safe while he was gone, so he still had a home to come home to when he was done.

"Okay... Well... if the elves haven't shown up, let's start there."

Day 44

"Lady Wayne, may I present to you Malfrenden Twieneellevia, the captain of the elven special operations force and one of their chieftain candidates," Returner said, leading three elves into the hastily made throne room.

After talking with Kathleen, Sui had the women convert the mansion's main living room into an audience chamber, moving John's chair to its centre. With the vaulted ceilings, ornate mouldings, and heavily varnished hardwood floors, it gave the appearance of wealth and power. She had done this none too soon, as the very next day the elves had arrived at the entrance of their village, very confused to meet three ogres at the gate of a living wall instead of goblins in a cave. Kichi and the girls led them up to the mansion, telling them the Lady was waiting for them there.

Sui wore a royal blue bunny suit, with her pink shawl floating around her and her staff in hand. Sato was standing on her right side, wearing that red armour and had her wicked-looking sword on her back, while Mi was standing on her left, wearing an open black cloak over her bunny suit, a black wizard's hat, a dragon bone staff, and adorned with several magical rings and amulets they had acquired from Velvet's treasury to give her the appearance of a high-level wizard. Though with the spells imbued in those items, she might as well have been a wizard instead of an apprentice. 

To round out the look, Lina and Ruby were off to the side, taking the appearance of servants for the purpose of this meeting. Apparently, the elves of this world tended to have a low opinion of other races and had a particular dislike for humans, so she wanted them nearby to at least have the appearance of being subservient to her. The rest of the human women had made themselves scarce for now.

"Approach." She said, using the same ethereal voice she used to greet reincarnated souls from Earth. It was about the only thing she could do with what remained of her divinity, but it seemed to work on these elves. According to Kathleen, they were very rude when they arrived in the original story, but now they seemed more in awe than anything else. 

The man shook his head a couple of times, then approached her, the arrogant look returning to his face after a few moments of composing himself. His two attendants looked far less composed, walking behind him nervously. 

"Ahem, I am-" He started to say, but she cut him off.

"Looking to recruit my people to aid you in some war with the humans, yes?"

"Ahh, yes. If you serve us, we are willing to provide your people..." He said, and started listing off a bunch of things that the elves would be willing to give to them in return for supporting them in their war. It was actually quite a lengthy list, and she lost track of everything fairly quickly. Thankfully, Returner was copying everything down, though she had no intention of joining this war. When he was finished speaking, Returner handed her the list before moving back to the side of the room where Lina and Ruby were ready for the next phase of her plan. 

"This is quite the payment. Are things truly so dire?"

"Yes. Their armies are even now encroaching on the forest. It is only a matter of time before they find our village and raze it to the ground."

"Terrible times. However, we cannot aid you in the manner you wish."

"What? You would turn down our generous offer? We allowed your nest to remain here untouched for years instead of putting it to the torch! You would think that would have garnered a little respect from your kind!" He replied, his veil of civility falling off almost immediately. 

"Alas, I believe you misunderstand. Currently, my Lord husband is out, as is a significant portion of our fighting force, and they are not expected to return for some time. While hardly defenceless, we do not have the numbers to significantly alter the battle in your favour. At best, we can offer your people refuge if the worst comes to pass. If you hadn't noticed, this is no longer just a nest of goblins, but a place of healing and recovery, blessed by our Lord." She said.

Technically, it was all true. Rou knew her True name; thus, they were married by demi-human customs, and Jean was out with six of their fighters, a significant portion of their numbers. With enough preparation time, Returner and Riana could wreak havoc on an army, but Riana couldn't stray far from the mana well right now, as that was supplementing her energy requirements while Rou was away. 

Not that I intend to fight for or against these people at all. I just want them to not attack us in a few days because of this man's hubris. 

"I must admit, I was very confused when we arrived. The last scout reports we received said you were just a bunch of goblins and a few hobgoblins living in a dank cave. When... how... did you build such a place in such a short time? Not to mention the ogres and the carbunkle. Did you take over the nest from the former chief?"

"No, we didn't invade. My lord husband and I were born here, then blessed by the divine and granted boons. With these blessings, we have chosen a different path for our people, one that doesn't involve raiding other races to provide us breeding stock to just survive. With time, we were hoping to begin trade with those around us, though if the humans are advancing into the region, that could hamper those plans." She replied, then clapped her hands as if just remembering something. "Ah, where are my manners. Lina, Ruby. Prepare some refreshments for our guests. If you will follow me, we can sit down in comfort and discuss things further. We may not be able to aid you directly in your fight, but there are other things I can offer your people in your time of need." 

With that, Aqua led the elves into a nearby lounge room, intent on wining and dining them until they left here thinking they were getting concessions from them but receiving next to nothing. It was a daring scheme, but scheming was something she was good at. She glanced at the ring on her finger and smiled. Rou had given it to her after he had returned from the Treasury.

She didn't think he was thinking of it as a wedding ring, but she felt closer to him because of it. He remembered that she had a terrible luck stat and found the one thing she needed to improve those misfortunes. It was only a small boost to that stat, but it was enough that she felt more confident that things would go the way they needed to avoid unnecessary deaths. Their village couldn't afford to lose more people to needless violence.

I'll show you that I can be useful to you, Rou. Take whatever time you need; we will be here, waiting for your return.