Chapter 227.1 - Laying the Groundwork (1/4)

Volume 3 Chapter 227: Laying the Groundwork (1/4) The next day.
When the sun was yet to rise, the weed slimes suddenly alerted me, so I hurriedly left my room and rushed to the farmland. When I got there, I saw four goblins making a mess of my fields, so I decided to catch them.

GIGI!
[Goblin 1]

GYAH!!
[Goblin 2]

GOGA!!
[Goblin 3]

GAAA!!
[Goblin 4]
I stopped their legs with the sticky liquid and hardening liquid of the sticky slime, then as they tumbled onto the ground, I hardened even their arms, leaving them in all fours. The only part of their body that they could still move was their head, and they used that very head to look at me menacingly.
I’d much rather form a contract with them than exterminate them. Maybe they’ll calm down if I give them food.
I opened my Item Box and took out a handful of that mud salamander meat I got as a farewell gift from the Shikumu Village. I brought the meat near the mouth of one of the goblins.

GAH!　GO, FU?　…!!　GI!
[Goblin 1]

GIGI!?
[Goblin 2]

GI!　GIGI!!
[Goblin 3]

GUAH!
[Golbin 4]
The goblin made a threatening face at first, but when it smelled the aroma coming from the meat and realized it was food, it immediately started eating. When the other goblins saw that, they cried foul!　Or at least, it seemed that way, so I fed them some meat too.
After feeding them four times, they were calm enough, so I casted the contract spell on them. It seemed to have succeeded, but the goblins were too focused on eating the remaining meat to pay me attention.

Can you hear me?　Can you understand me?
[Ryouma]

GIGI!?
[Goblin 1]
Looks like the contract was established properly.
I could feel that the goblin was surprised at suddenly being able to receive my thoughts.
I didn’t know how much we could understand each other, so I tried asking it why it came here.
(Want, food.) [Goblin 1]
(Was, looking for.) [Goblin 2]
(Lots, here.) [Goblin 3]
(Take, everyone, can eat.) [Goblin 4]
Although they spoke in broken language, we were able to communicate without any problems. And then they suddenly remembered that they were still bound by my sticky liquids.
At that, they suddenly got rowdy and demanded that I let them go. They tried to be menacing, but then their bodies shook, and then they tried to run away, only to remember again that they were still unable to move.
I’d already expected this, but as I thought, they really aren’t a threat.
As such, I decided to start my hiring process.
I tried explaining to them that I’m the owner of the farmlands here and that the feudal lord has given this plot of land for me to manage, but…

???
[Goblins]
…They didn’t seem to understand.

Hmm… In other words, this place, here, my, territory. Understand?
[Ryouma]
They seemed to understand.

Here, food, mine. Understand?
[Ryouma]
They understood this too.

You, entered, my territory, food, stole. So, I, kill, you. Understand?
[Ryouma]
I could feel the despair of the goblins through our contract as they shook their head.

But, you, haven’t stolen, anything, yet. If you, work, here, I won’t, kill, you. You, work. I, give, you, bed, and food. All of you. Understand?
[Ryouma]
When I said that, they turned to me in disbelief. Are you sure? They seemed to be asking if I was serious.

Of course. Choose, die, or, work.
[Ryouma]
(Work!) [Goblins]
Good. Negotiations were successful.
Apparently, the goblins can’t understand overly complicated things.
So it’s best to use simple words and get straight to the point when talking to them.
I asked if they had any other friends, and they did, so I had them lead me those friends of theirs, and I did the same thing to them. Like that I ended up with 8 new goblin friends.
The sky had already gotten bright, so for the meantime, I gave them one of the tunnels of the abandoned mine and some food, then ordered them to help me prepare for the morning.
In the future, I intend to provide them an easier place to settle in, but this mine was once home to many goblins, so it should do just fine as their dwelling place for the time being.
 
After everything was ready, I left for work.
First up on today’s list of work is demolishing the children’s home and quickly building a place for the security company. After rendezvousing with Hyuzu-san’s group of 7, I was to build the rooms according to their designs, but…

Hyuzu-san, Jill-san, this blueprint only has the partitions of the rooms in it. What about the exterior of the building?
[Ryouma]

Ah… Sorry, I haven’t thought of that. I just made sure that all the rooms we needed would be there.
[Hyuzu]

We just need something that can be used as our base, so can you just take care of it?　Anything is fine, but it would be best if you could make it a bit dignified.
[Jill]
Like that the design of the building was left to me. And the result of a ‘dignified building after much thinking was…

Woah!?　That’s pretty good!
[Hyuzu]

Symmetrical and beautiful.
[Jill]
It was a bit small since I had to make it fit the lot used for the children’s home, but it was still big enough to serve as a noble’s mansion. On this day, a building resembling the national parliament of Japan appeared in Gimuru.
I sent the sticky slimes in to add the finishing coat to the building, and with that, my first job for the day was done.

I’ll continue rebuilding the children’s home. Please take care of the sticky slimes for me.
[Ryouma]
Zeff-san and Camil-san accompanied me to the place I was working at yesterday. When we got there, I gave orders to the laborers, and then we worked together until noon.