Entering the cave, I noticed that all the goblinas had vacated the area around the kitchen, and that they were carrying several pots filled with food out towards the troops.
As I approached closer, I could hear the cries of the women. Some of the girls were sobbing while one of the others was explaining the story of how they got here.
The one speaking seemed to be the redheaded warrior. She explained how she was an adventurer from a small organization called The Sword of the Weak. They were a fledgling group of adventurers that focused on nurturing their members through mutual support to one day reach their goal of joining a familia.
She and others from The Sword of the Weak had been assigned as guards for a convoy from the merchant guild, The Star God's Pavilion. That was where the other four women came from. They had been in transit from the Heiligh Kingdom, all the way to Dwargon to trade their wares and gather new materials.
Along the way, their caravan was ambushed by the previous generation's goblins, who used their coordination and knowledge of the environment to dispatch the guards and men.
Of the remaining survivors, only these five made it to the goblin village. I gave them a few minutes to grieve before entering the entranceway with heavy steps to alert them to my presence. The girls all stood ramrod straight behind Treyni and the redhead, seemingly having bonded with my wife through some mystical means over the duration of their story.
I tried to smile amicably, but it was half-hidden behind the carapace bandages I had on. I can remove them temporarily while eating or doing other things, but they always regenerated, a short while later. I can instantly reform them by directing a small amount of spiritual energy towards the area if I so choose, but the normally reform after an hour even without doing anything.
Trying to reveal a more personable appearance, I peeled away the bandage pieces covering my face, which then dissolved into spiritual energy. I like to think that beneath it was a moderately handsome, above-average masculine face.
The women seemed slightly surprised while Treyni walked up and shared a brief kiss with me. For some reason, whenever she did that, it brought out a genuine smile in me rather than the usual troublesome smirk that is perpetually applied to my face.
I brushed my thumb across the leaf-like mark above her cheek before brushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. She smiled and hugged me resting her head on my shoulder for a moment before stepping beside me and allowing me to approach the still startled women.
Treyni linked arms with me, and we slowly approached the women gazing at us (me) with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Even if I were a human like I appeared, I wouldn't trust a human leading a veritable horde of goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres, much less these women who have already suffered greatly.
"Hello, my name is Orion, may I know with whom I am speaking?" I asked the redhead warrior who seemed to have taken up a de facto leadership position among the women despite her young age of 16 or 17. Compared to the other ladies who appeared to be in their early to mid-twenties.
"Oh-uhm, Lord Orion, was it? My name is Rubellia Walline, a warrior from The Sword of the Weak. These women are my charges, can you tell me what you intend to do with us?" She asked timidly, thoroughly clenching the edge of her skirt.
I was a bit impressed with this girl. Despite her fear and nervousness, she still managed to look me directly in the eye as she responded.
I nodded with a slight appreciative grin and spoke, "Well, Rubellia, I would first like to apologize for the things you have had to suffer up to this point. Although I was not the guardian of this village at the time of your attack, I can sympathize with the grief you are currently dealing with. What you have gone through is a tragedy, and believe it or not, I have outlawed all such acts since coming taking up the guardianship of this village."
Rubellia was unable to hide her pained countenance, but she nodded and acknowledged my words, so I continued.
"Although I would like to quickly send you back to where you have come from, we are currently in the center of the forest where major changes are occurring due to the disappearance of The Storm Dragon, Veldora, and some other opportunistic creatures and people.
That being said, in the coming weeks, we will be visiting the nation of Dwargon to enlist the help of some skilled craftsman. I would be happy to bring you with us at that time, so long as you don't sick the military there on us. That would naturally be very bad for us.
In the meantime, you would be under my protection, and your needs will be met to the best of our ability till then. Of course, you are not prisoners, and you are free to leave any time you wish, though we would no longer be responsible for your protection in that case."
All five girls looked me dumbstruck, and even Treyni was looking at me strangely.
"Did I forget something?" I asked, troubled by their dubious gazes.
"Husband," Treyni paused while squeezing my arm slightly. "Why are you being so kind to them? Those conditions are dozens of times better than the way most kingdoms treat their war prisoners…"
"Really?"
Rubellia looked at the others seemingly communicating somehow, perhaps an extra skill or a unique skill unique to women. Still, they all turned towards me and quickly nodded, with the faintest sighs of relief. "Your protection sounds like the best option, w-what will it co-cost us? As you can see, we don't have much to offer…"
Despite her initial relief, tears welled up slightly in her eyes as she considered the life they may suffer for the foreseeable future.
I didn't like seeing a girl cry or suffer. It always leaves me with an intense unease, and I always used to do my best to avoid it because I never felt close enough to step in and comfort a person through their hardships.
I sighed and unconsciously patted Rubellia's head. "Don't worry. I won't have any of you girls do something so degrading. Instead, I would like to make use of your Job-Classes and skills to improve my forces while you are here. We could use sone additional cooks here in the kitchen, and if you have any other skills that can be used, that would be appreciated too."
Hearing this, two blonde twins wearily stepped forward, speaking, "My name is Felicia, and this is my little sister, Alma. We are both chefs and tailors." The younger sister nodded in agreement.
Treyni spoke up to ease their nerves. "There is no need to be concerned about the goblins. The only one's that enter the kitchen are the female goblinas. They're very kind, and I promise they won't cause trouble with you. "
The two sisters released a deep breath and smiled weakly towards both Treyni and I. "Thank you both, Lord Orion, Lady Treyni. We will work hard while we're here to return this favor to you!"
"Yes! Thank you very much!" The younger sister assented two Felicia's words.
I nodded and looked towards the remaining three and was about to speak, but the black-haired glasses-wearing merchant stepped forward first.
She adjusted her glasses with shaky hands and introduced herself. "Thank you for your generosity, Lord Orion. My name is Spinel Fean. I am an alchemist, and with the right ingredients, I can create a variety of potions and poisons for you."
I ignored the mention of poisons and focused on the former. "Oh, that would be very helpful. So far, I've been the only one capable of making medicine, even though I was just mixing some herbs with some water."
"Hmm? May I see what you've made, Lord Orion?" She asked with a curious glint in her eyes, seemingly completely forgetting her previous anxiousness as she stepped closer towards me.
I gave a small chuckle and then pulled out a small flask of the tonic I made from the Hipokute plant and handed it to her. She was instantly enthralled by the tonic and began analyzing by the side.
I was surprised but saw that the other merchant girls were smiling wryly toward her. I guess she was just that passionate about alchemy.
Next up, was a young woman in overalls that had a very practical bob-cut hairstyle. It seems the interactions so far had calmed her quite a bit since she was slightly smiling and no longer hiding behind Rubellia.
"Umm, my name is Emily Furado, and I am a blacksmith. I can help create arms and armor while I am here, if you would like, Lord Orion."
"Mmm, that would be a great help, Emily."
Last up was Rubellia, who was still fidgeting with her skirt. "Ah! Um, I'm not very strong as a warrior, but I was a farmer before that, I can help you with any planting and harvesting your crops…"
I raised a brow in amusement towards her offer, and towards the end, her words became very quiet. It seems like she just realized how silly it was for goblins to have any sorts of crops. Before I could say anything, though, she gulped, and her face flushed as she spoke quietly.
"I-I-I c-can also pr-provide other se-services for you, Lord Orion…"
The room stilled as she spoke. The girls all looked between Rubellia and I a few times before giving Rubellia sympathetic stares. They all felt pained seeing her like this, since she had done her very best to protect them up until now.
I had wanted to laugh off her offer, but the tense air in the room prevented me from doing so. Felicia was biting her lips while gripping her dress. She seemed to resolve herself and looked towards me.
"I-If that is not enough, I too…will serve you." Her words shocked each of the rest of us, and especially Rubellia.
"Fe-Felicia, what are you saying?!" Rubellia cried out.
Instead of Felicia answering, though, it was the other women from their group that nodded in agreement with one another and spoke. "Rubellia," Alma started, "you have done your best to protect us all the way here, and there was nothing we do to help you."
"Yeah," Emily nodded, "Now that we can help, you even if it's just a little, let us protect you too, okay?"
The girls were all blushing, but nodded in agreement. Before they could get any further carried away in this warm and fluffy atmosphere, I cut into their conversation.
"Excuse me, but don't I have a say in this? I already told you guys I wouldn't have you do anything demeaning like that, didn't I? None of you have done anything against me, so I would never treat you so poorly, alright?
Rubellia, you can train with me and the others during the mornings, and I will occasionally take you hunting in the afternoons. Once we get to our permanent base, you can work with Treyni to grow our crops and medicinal herbs if you would prefer, alright?"
Finally, noticing that they had gotten carried away by the mood, the girls blushing became even deeper, and they all meekly nodded.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead, but to the side, Treyni was just smiling and leaning her head on my shoulder. Nobody else noticed, but when the other women began offering their selves up to me, Treyni's hold on my arm became like a vice, as if warning me not to go after other women before even sealing the deal with her.
I had reassuringly patted her hand, and used our private communication from the waifu channel to explain that I wouldn't go after random women I just met when I have yet to even take care of the woman who has already pledged herself to me.
After that, her warm, genuine smile resumed itself, and she lovingly nuzzled my arm. It wasn't that I had no interest in these women, but there was still a lot to work out with the women I was currently involved with.
"For now, you girls can stay here with Treyni. I'll create a tent for you nearby that will be off-limits to the others. I've already announced that you guys are under my protection, so no one should bother you, but if they do, just let Treyni or I know."
"We are trying to create an open atmosphere that is non-hostile for both the human and demi-human species, but it will take time for these changes to take hold. I hope that even after you leave here, you know that, like humans, there are both good and bad 'monsters' in the world." Treyni said that smiling then turned to me.
"Alright, if you are finished here, you should go and eat with the new guys. They know you even less than the village you just took over, so it will be best if you see them and interact with them directly. While the others are hunting, you can go ahead and build a tent for the girls to rest in. Make it close to us, though. Even if you removed the rebellious members earlier, I would like to be close enough to stop anything untoward that might happen."
"Hmm. That's a good idea. I'll see you later, then. Thanks for taking care of things here, Treyni." I kissed her forehead then left the cave to the women. The discussions that occurred thereafter were unknown to me for quite a while.