Seeker 196

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Chapter 196. Meeting (1)

The conference room of Dwarf warriors seemed to be located not far from the entrance to their residential area. 

We decided to head to that building along with acting chief Grunba-san and other Dwarf warriors. 

Among Dwarf warriors, some carrying fallen comrades from the previous battle. 

Awakened Ones who had their HP reduced to 0 in battle wouldn't immediately regain consciousness even after healing magic restored their HP. 

In such cases, someone had to carry them to a safe place. 

It was the same condition Aria-san had been in before.

Two residents rushed to the side of a Dwarf warrior who had lost consciousness. 

"Daddy...! Is Daddy okay!?"

 The ones who rushed over were a young Dwarf girl and what seemed to be her mother. 

The young girl, with her short legs, desperately pulled at the unconscious Dwarf warrior's clothes. 

A dwarf woman, who appeared to be her mother, chased after her and said, "Stop that, dear!" as she picked her up from behind.

The young Dwarf girl had tears in her eyes as she struggled. 

"But Daddy...! Hey, Mommy, is Daddy going to die!?"

"What's going on with our guy? Is he okay?" 

Mother Dwarf asked the warrior carrying the unconscious Dwarf warrior.

The questioned warrior nodded confidently. 

"Yeah, there's no life-threatening condition. He's just unconscious. He'll regain consciousness eventually."

"Oh, thank goodness... Come on, Daddy is fine."

Mother Dwarf woman said as she tried to comfort the young girl. However, the young girl wasn't convinced. 

"No, it's not fine! Because Daddy, the other day... Uh... Sniff... Sob...!"

"It's okay, it's okay." 

The mother replied gently.

"It's not okay! Daddy is going to die someday! Uwaaaaah!"

The young girl finally burst into tears. Mother Dwarf held her crying daughter gently. 

With a slightly worried expression, she asked Dwarf warrior. 

"Is it bad to fight with monsters?"

In response, the questioned Dwarf warrior shook his head. 

"It's hard to say. The chief should be back tomorrow or the day after. Until then, we have to hold on no matter what."

"Please, we're counting on you. It's frustrating, but we have no choice but to rely on you warriors. When my guy wakes up, please tell him to come home."

"Understood."

Mother Dwarf was holding her daughter, bowed to the other warriors and us, then left.

Watching the whole thing, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. 

This situation seems more serious than I had thought.

 I regretted getting excited about getting a lot of experience points. 

If there's anything we can do to help, I'd like to cooperate, but...

With such thoughts, we reached Dwarf Warriors' conference room. 

It was a large cave residence with several sizable rooms inside. 

In addition to the meeting room, there were nap rooms with several beds, a kitchen, a restroom, and everything needed for daily life. 

It seemed more like a waiting area for Dwarf warriors during peacetime than a pure meeting room. 

The Dwarf warriors who had lost consciousness were lying in beds in one of the nap rooms.

We entered the meeting room with the Dwarf warriors and took the suggested seats. 

Yusefia-san declined the offered seat and stood with her arms crossed in a corner of the room. 

Hmm, she doesn't seem very cooperative.

Dwarf warriors also took their seats one by one. Without much time to spare, acting chief Grunba-san, who had taken the chairman's seat, immediately began the meeting.

"We have guests here. Let's start with an update on the situation. Dagim, please."

"Alright." 

In response to Grunba-san, one Dwarf is standing up from his seat.

There was a blackboard behind the chairman's seat where Grunba-san was sitting. 

Dagim, the warrior called upon, stepped forward and began explaining while writing with chalk.

"The situation in this town is dire right now. We've had three monster attacks in the past week, including today. The 1st was 6 days ago. The type of monsters was the same as today, but their numbers were somewhat lower. We encountered around 25 of them, including Flame Skulls and Hellhounds."

He wrote on the blackboard. 

"Six days ago, Flame Skulls, Hellhounds, 25."

He continued his explanation. 

"Next was the 2nd attack, 4 days ago. The monsters this time were Frostwolves and Yetis. Their combined number was around 20. Although there were fewer monsters than the first attack, their quality was higher. In terms of overall strength, it was on par with or even stronger than the 1st attack. That battle could have resulted in casualties even with the terrain advantage from the fortress."

He wrote on the blackboard.

 "Four days ago, Frostwolves, Yetis, 20."

At that moment, Yuzuuki, who was sitting next to me, took out a monster guidebook from her item box and started flipping through the pages.

"Frostwolves are like an ice attribute version of Hellhounds. They have slightly better stats than Hellhounds. Yetis are like a powered-up version of Mutant Apes, a power type. Both of them are quite strong for cannon fodder, but they both have a weakness to fire, so I have an advantage."

Yuzuki opened the relevant page in the monster guidebook and showed it to me. This girl, unexpectedly, is quite knowledgeable.

I absentmindedly petted Yuzuki's head as she continued. As Yuzuki had described, the monsters were somewhat stronger than the average cannon fodder. Hellhounds, Frostwolves, Yetis. Each was as strong as or close to a level 25 skilled warrior.

In other words, if their numbers were roughly equal, it would be a pretty dangerous battle. Dwarf warriors numbered about 20.

Despite the terrain advantage, it wouldn't be easy for them.

Dwarf warrior standing in front of the blackboard continued with his explanation.

"And today's battle. The enemy consisted of Flame Skulls and Hellhounds, totaling around 35. Their fighting force is clearly superior to the first attack. If it weren't for the assistance of the warriors from the Human and Elf tribes who happened to be here, we can't even imagine the extent of the casualties."

He gestured toward us. Yusefia-san, the three of us, Kazane-san Yuzuki, and me. We drew the attention of Dwarf warriors in the meeting room.

Acting chief Grunba-san from the front of the room once again bowed his head.

"On behalf of the town, I want to express our gratitude again. Your assistance in today's battle was truly invaluable. Thank you."

Dwarf warriors in the meeting room followed suit, expressing their thanks.

When they all bowed their heads at once, I felt extremely awkward. 

Even Yusefia-san, who stood in the corner of the room, made a disapproving noise and looked embarrassed.

Kazane-san, who was standing next to me and equally embarrassed, spoke to Dwarf warriors as if to hide her embarrassment.

"But if we think about it, the enemy's strength has been increasing with each attack. The next attack might have an even larger force..."

Upon hearing these words, Dwarf warriors all wore grim expressions. Acting chief Grunba-san spoke up.

"We don't want to think about it too much, but must consider that possibility. In the absence of our chief, the defense of the current settlement may not be sufficient to handle the extent of the damage. Worst-case scenario..."

"It could result in complete annihilation, for the entire town."

Dwarf warriors all turned their attention to Yusefia-san, who stood in the corner of the room.

"Hey, don't glare at me. I merely stated the obvious outcome."

"We're not glaring at you. But it's also important to avoid becoming overly pessimistic by discussing hypothetical scenarios too much."

There was a moment when it seemed like Grunba-san and Yusefia-san might escalate their argument again, but Yusefia-san seemed to let it go.

Oh, Yusefia is surprisingly acting like an adult. Impressive.

Yusphia then placed a hand on her chin and showed a thoughtful gesture.

"But I can't understand it. It's unusual for such a large force to attack a town 3 times in a short period. Even one attack would be considered an abnormal situation."

Yusefia-san paused there, and her next words caused a commotion among Dwarf warriors.

"By the way, Dwarves, may I ask if there's a dungeon near this town?"