The Fang Wolves showed no sign of moving.
This is bad...
Were they going to charge all at once with a "die rather than submit" mentality?
If that happened, it would be an all-out war.
We were outnumbered, and we couldn't win without taking casualties.
We hadn't had a single injured person so far... We wouldn't lose, but I'd rather avoid conflict if possible.
The noise of battle from just moments ago had given way to an eerie silence.
The Fang Wolves' eyes were all fixed on me.
I walked slowly through that forest of gazes.
I didn't know how this would be interpreted, but I wanted to drive home the death of their boss as firmly as possible.
I reached the corpse of the Fang Wolf tribe boss. No one tried to stop me.
The individual who had been standing at the boss's side took a single step backward.
I "Predated" the Fang Wolf boss.
This was my rightful claim, won through battle.
«Analysis complete. Acquired Mimicry: Fang Wolf. Acquired Unique Skills — Super Sense of Smell, Thought Communication, Intimidation.»
The voice of "Great Sage" echoed in my mind.
Hmm.
I had just made them watch their own boss get eaten right before their eyes, and still there was no movement.
Hmm...
At this point, I'd assumed it would be a choice between fleeing in terror or charging in out of fear...
Oh wait — didn't I say "submit or die"?
Damn it. Had I gotten carried away and made an unreasonable demand?
Fine then. I'd give them an escape route.
With that thought, I mimicked a Fang Wolf.
And then— Grrrr— WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I let out a thunderous roar — Intimidation!
"Heh heh heh! Listen up. I'll let you go just this once. If you refuse to follow me, then leave this place right now!!!"
I declared to the wolves.
That should make these mutts flee for sure.
Or so I thought, but...
(We, one and all, shall follow you!!!)
They prostrated themselves in unison.
They just looked like dogs lying down, though.
It seemed they had chosen to follow me.
The reason they hadn't moved earlier — had they been holding a meeting via Thought Communication?
Well, no complaints about the conflict being resolved.
And so, the battle of the Goblin Village came to an end.
Or so you'd think.
The real hassle wasn't the battle — it was the cleanup afterward.
Who ordered the houses demolished...
Now what? The goblins' sleeping quarters — what to do about that?
And who's going to look after these dogs...
Quite a few had died, but around 80 were still alive.
This was... Well, that's enough for today! I'd figure things out tomorrow once everyone was awake.
I ordered the goblins to sleep by the campfire and the wolves to stand guard around the village perimeter, then dismissed everyone for the night.
The next morning.
I'd thought about it all night. And the idea I came up with was: Have the goblins look after the Fang Wolves!
The total number of goblins who could fight was 74. None had been injured in yesterday's battle.
Everyone was safe, with nothing more than a few scrapes at most.
The surviving Fang Wolves numbered 81.
Some of them had been injured, but they'd been healed immediately with Recovery
They would have been fine without it, honestly. The Fang Wolves' healing ability was apparently that strong.
I lined up the goblins who had woken up.
Those who couldn't fight watched from the sidelines. After all, this was nothing but bare ground — there weren't even any houses left. Standing out was unavoidable.
The village chief stood at my side.
He was always trying to look after me in one way or another... but I had no desire to be waited on by an old goblin man.
My aesthetic sensibilities remained unchanged from my previous life.
Even if I'd been reincarnated as a monster, this was one thing I refused to compromise on.
But there was no one cute in a monster village. I'd have to resign myself to that for the time being...
I called the Fang Wolves over to stand next to the lined-up goblins.
Now then...
"So, you two. From now on, you'll be paired up and spending your time together!"
I watched for their reactions.
They stared at me without making a sound, showing the clear intent of waiting for my words.
Not a single one showed any reluctance about being paired up.
Looks like we're good.
"Do you understand what I mean? For now, form pairs of two!"
The moment I said that— The goblins and Fang Wolves sitting next to each other exchanged glances.
And then— "Guga!" (Nice to meet ya!)
"Gau!" (Yeah, likewise!)
They paired off one by one.
"The enemy of yesterday is the friend of today" — well, it wasn't quite that, but they seemed to accept the general idea.
That's when something occurred to me.
These guys didn't have names, did they??
It was incredibly inconvenient having no way to address them.
While the goblins and Fang Wolves continued pairing up— "Village chief, it's a pain calling you all without names. I'd like to give you names — is that all right?"
The moment I said that, all eyes turned toward me with a murmur of excitement.
The noncombatant goblins watching from the sidelines all looked over at once as well.
"Is... is that really okay?"
The village chief asked cautiously.
What? Why is everyone so worked up?
"Sure. If there's no problem with it, I'd like to give you all names."
The moment I finished speaking, the goblins — who had been watching with bated breath — erupted in cheers.
What on earth was going on?
They were in a state of tremendous excitement...
If getting a name was that exciting, why didn't they just name themselves...
That was how casually I thought about it at the time.
I started with the village chief.
I asked about the name his son had given him. Apparently it was "Rigul."
I named the village chief "Rigul-d" —
The name had no special meaning. It was just a casual choice because it sounded nice.
"If you have a son, he can carry the name Rigul, and you add '-d' to yours!" I said as a joke, but they took it completely seriously.
Moreover— "To think you would grant us permission to pass this name on to our son as well! I am overcome with emotion!!!"
They were overjoyed to an absurd degree.
I felt a slight twinge of guilt since I'd come up with it so thoughtlessly...
Ah, well! I decided to let it go.
And so, the Goblin leader's name was "Rigul."
Adding "Jr." or something would just be a hassle, so Rigul was fine.
For some reason, the village chief was overcome with emotion in a posture that looked almost like he was praying to me.
Really over the top... They were so much alike, father and son.
I continued naming the goblins.
Since I was at it, I gave names to the onlookers as well — parents and children alike.
I gave names to the single ones and orphans too.
How many years would these guys carry these names forward...
If a grandchild was born, the village chief would become "Rigul-d-d."
If a great-grandchild was born, the great-grandchild would be "Rigul" and the village chief would become "Rigul-d-d-d."
It was the kind of casual naming that would earn a "are you serious?" response, but... ah, well.
And so I went on naming.
Then, to me— "Lord Rimuru... I am most grateful, but... is it really alright?"
The village chief — no, Rigurd — asked in a slightly flustered tone.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I am well aware that your magical power is immense, Lord Rimuru... but to grant names all at once like this... Are you sure it's safe?"
What was he talking about? There was nothing wrong with just giving out names...
"Hm? It should be fine."
With that, I resumed naming.
Rigurd seemed to want to say something more, but it didn't register.
After finishing the goblins' names, it was the Fang Wolves' turn.
The new leader of the Fang Wolves was the previous boss's son.
He had a sturdy build like his father, and already carried himself with an air of authority.
I looked into his crimson eyes and considered a name.
That's it! Fang of the Storm — "
Once again, I chose a name on a whim.
My family name was Storm, so the Storm Fang became "Ranga."
Well, naming didn't need to be anything special. I had no sense for that sort of thing!
In that instant!
I felt a massive drain of magicules from within my body.
An overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over me!
What... what is this?
Since being reborn in this body, I had never once felt this kind of fatigue.
«Report. Magicule reserves have dropped below the designated threshold. Entering low-activity state.
Estimated time to full recovery: three days.»
I was still conscious.
Sleep wasn't something I needed.
I could still hear "Great Sage's" voice. Slowly, understanding reached my mind.
Too much magicule usage... Is that it? Like running out of MP?
But what had I done to consume that many magicules? Had all my previous usage caught up at once?
Or... it didn't really feel like that, either.
I tried to move my body but couldn't.
Low-activity state — apparently it was something like hibernation. It wasn't exactly sleep, but...
Rigurd was in a panic, tending to my body.
Not that there was anything he could do — he'd simply seated me in the place of honor by the campfire.
I was conscious but powerless to do anything.
I contemplated what had just happened.
Naming had caused magicule depletion?
...Using magicules to give names?
Come to think of it... the moment I named the Fang Wolf leader, a huge amount of magicules had drained away...
It was just a hypothesis, but: could it be that naming monsters consumed magicules?
It took me two days to reach that conclusion.
Thinking about it, I understood why Rigurd had been so worried.
Wait a second... Could this have been common knowledge among monsters?
"You could've told me!!!" — I wanted to say, but I was the one who had brushed off his concerns.
Complaining now would just be taking it out on others.
But if I could move freely again, I'd definitely complain.
Taking it out on others? I didn't care about that.
Anyway, the goblins who had been worried about my sudden immobility at first— Before I knew it, they had begun a fierce competition over who got to be in charge of wiping my body.
What were they even doing... I wasn't joking — the last thing I wanted was this kind of harem.
...I was being treated like some kind of lucky charm that granted blessings when touched.
And then, three days passed.
Full recovery!
I had experienced magicule depletion, but my total magic power and magicule count actually seemed higher than before I collapsed.
Magic power — the ability to manipulate energy.
Magicules — the total amount of energy available.
That was how I understood the distinction, and it seemed about right.
Did near-death make you stronger!? Or something like that?
For a moment, I considered testing it... but decided against it.
There was no need to go that far, and if I died trying to nearly die, that would be no laughing matter.
After all, I was the kind of guy who could cross the line at a moment's notice.
Stay alert or lose! That was my motto.
Now then...
The goblins noticed I was up and gathered around.
The Fang Wolves who had been outside came in as well.
That was fine... but what was this...
"You guys... have you gotten bigger?"
That's right.
The goblins, who had been around 150 centimeters tall, now appeared to be a full 180 centimeters.
The one standing right in front of me looked like he was over two meters.
Wait... those were goblins, right?
The Fang Wolves' fur had changed from dark brown to jet black, gleaming with a lustrous sheen.
Furthermore, their body length had grown to nearly three meters. They were supposed to be around two meters...
The one who walked to the front without a sound radiated an extraordinary Demon Aura and presence, its body length approaching five meters.
That was a little terrifying.
And on top of that— "My master! I am overjoyed at your recovery!!!"
It spoke to me in fluent human language.
...Wait — could that possibly be "Ranga"!?
What on earth had happened in these past three days...
While I stood there in bewilderment, the monsters let out cries of joy!
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