Chapter 5: You Speak in a Peculiar but Logical Manner
Unlike most somewhat foolish Phylin tribes, Mr. Susu’ya was highly intelligent. He knew that the Phylin tribe, in this territory belonging to the Norman Empire, wouldn’t receive any protection.
Whether brutally murdered or treated as slaves, no one would pay attention to them. Not just the Phylin tribe, but even among the refugees in this area, humans lead a precarious and nomadic life.
The Phylin tribe was willing to burrow into the ground, which was why the bandits hadn’t attacked. Burrowing into the ground was troublesome, and the Phylin tribe settlement didn’t offer much profit. However, it was different for those refugees. Some of them were living in the houses above ground. After a raid by bandits, they disappeared without a trace.
“Those bandits are very formidable,” Mr. Susu’ya said, leaning on his cane, “and there are hardly any fighters among us.”
Among those bandits were quite a few deserters from the Norman Empire. After fleeing, they took refuge in this territory. These deserters were well-equipped and not opponents that ordinary people could handle. The spears made from wood by the Phylin tribe could not match the iron spears.
“Weren’t you just wielding weapons against me?”
“That was just to scare you, fool.”
Ron was momentarily at a loss for words. Upon careful consideration, these Phylin tribes indeed didn’t seem very formidable.
“But we are willing to deal with those guys,” Mr. Susu’ya said, stroking his beard. “Not being able to sleep peacefully for a long time is not good.”
Of course, Mr. Susu’ya was well aware that bandits wouldn’t disappear overnight. Even if they were fortunate enough to deal with some bandits this time, more would emerge after a while. As long as the current situation in the territory didn’t change, more and more people would take desperate measures.
“Well, that’s good then,” Ron breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the Phylin tribe would help.
If he had to complete the system’s task alone, he figured he might very well end up dead.
Ron never had any expectations of the dragon maid in the first place. Rather than relying on Lilian, it would be better to rely on Moluna. At least Moluna could make it rain.
Ron has always thought that Moluna’s ability to summon rain would be quite useful for agriculture.
Unfortunately, for now, Ron couldn’t make use of her abilities. He had a title as a lord but absolutely no control over his territory. In Ron’s imagination, he should have had many subordinates under his command after arriving in this territory.
Soldiers, stewards, secretaries—everything should be readily available. He should be able to sit in his chair and give orders to everything around him rather than holding just a piece of paper. The only dragon maid with combat capability was completely unresponsive to his commands.
“We’ve been unhappy with those bandits for a long time! We Phylin tribe will never be slaves!” Mr. Susu’ya raised his cane and said loudly.
Indeed, the Phylin tribe had always been treated as potential slaves, but the word “potential” had its reasons.
These little beings may have weak combat abilities but have exceptionally bold spirits, often overturning those who try to enslave them. Therefore, when enslaving the Phylin tribe, one must always remain vigilant.
No one knew when a Phylin member might jump out and shout, “Better to have courage.”
“Wait a moment, let’s not get too emotional,” Ron wiped the sweat from his forehead.
However, the next moment, more Phylin members around them join Mr. Susu’ya, shouting, “We Phylin tribe will never be slaves!”
Moreover, for some reason, these Phylin members looked happy, as if they were celebrating. In theory, he and Mr. Susu’ya should be discussing rather serious matters.
“However, Ron! We have a request!” Mr. Susu’ya suddenly put down his cane and locked eyes with Ron.
Ron thought for a moment and then asked, “What request?” If Mr. Susu’ya were to ask for a commission now, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.
“We want to become legal citizens of your territory!” Mr. Susu’ya said to Ron.
“Sure, what’s so difficult about that?” Ron didn’t know how crucial this matter was for the Phylin tribe.
Mr. Susu’ya looked at Ron with confusion. “You can’t be completely ignorant about a territory, can you?”
“Newly appointed,” Ron admitted honestly. He indeed lacked knowledge about managing a territory.
Then again, how many time travellers would know about managing a territory?
“Great, the new lord is a fool, not a villain!” Mr. Susu’ya raised his cane with both hands, proclaiming.
Ron wanted to tell Mr. Susu’ya that he had many dark thoughts, like becoming a hanging ghost on a lamppost. The way Mr. Susu’ya said it didn’t sound like a compliment at all.
“Indeed, this human fell for it!”
Ron also realised that he had agreed too readily as if becoming legal citizens was crucial for these Phylin members. But he mentioned having Ron extract benefits from the Phylin tribe seemed unlikely.
Robbing wealth? There’s no wealth.
Robbing for women? Not interested.
“So, no time to waste, let’s go trouble those bandits tonight!” Grandpa Susu’ya looked around at the Phylin tribe and shouted.
“Is it a bit rushed?” Although Ron wanted to complete the system’s task immediately, setting out tonight might be a bit hasty.
“We’re not sure where those bandits are right now or how many there are.” Ron only knew that there was a bandit group here, but beyond that, he didn’t know anything.
“Grandpa Susu’ya! This person makes strangely good sense!” A Phylin tribe member said.
Grandpa Susu’ya thought seriously and said, “Alright, let’s gather first!”
“For the struggle to not live in burrows anymore!” He exclaimed, raising his arms.
“Yeah! For the struggle to not live in caves anymore!” Other Phylin tribe members also shouted along.
