Treyni flew off the table as everyone gathered to the side. Rimuru, Benimaru, Shion, Shuna, Kumiko and Souei stood in front of Treyni while everyone else stood behind her. The Kijin had finally relaxed their stances, but the weight of her words still rung through the air.
"Defeat the Orc Lord?" Rimuru asked as he stared at Treyni. "Um... You're asking me?"
"Yes, that's right," Treyni said with a smile fit for a Dryad.
"That's quite a selfish request from someone who just appeared out of nowhere, Treyni the Dryad," Benimaru said stepping in front of Rimuru as he regarded Treyni suspiciously. "Why have you come here? There are races far stronger than goblins."
Treyni maintained her smile, despite Benimaru's hostility.
"Yes, that is true. If the Ogres' homeland had been at full strength, perhaps I would have gone there." The Kijin gasped at this.
"Though, even if I had done that," Treyni continued, "I still could not have ignored this individual's existence." She looked down at Rimuru. Kumiko was unsure of her true intentions, so she went to make a move closer to Rimuru. However, it seemed Souei might've had the same idea since he moved towards Rimuru, but stopping almost directly in front of Kumiko. Kumiko wanted to pout, but she refrained. The dryad being here was too serious for her to be throwing a childish fit with Souei. As much as she enjoyed their banter, it would be unsuitable for the current situation.
"Were our settlement to be attacked by the Orc Lord, the Dryads could not hope to fight them alone. This is why I have come to request assistance from someone strong," Treyni explained.
"The idea that the Orc Lord even existed was still just a theory to us..." Rimuru said, trailing off.
"The Dryads have knowledge of essentially everything that happens in this forest." Treyni casually picked up a potato chip that was sitting out on the table. "The Orc Lord does exist."
Everyone stared at her while she happily munched on the chip after confirming the group's theory. It was good to have confirmation, but they were hoping that it wasn't true. Now there was no doubt; the Orc Lord was commanding an army of 200,000 Orcs through the Great Forest of Jura.
"If a Dryad acknowledges it..." Rigurd trailed off.
"Then it must be true." Kaijin confirmed for Rigurd.
Kumiko stared at Treyni, trying to determine for herself if this Dryad was telling the truth. It took a few seconds, but she decided to believe the Dryad. At this she went deep in thought. Her [Unrivaled Strategy] began coming up with scenario after scenario from her fighting the Orc Lord alone to the entire village, children and all, having to fight the Orc Lord. Their best bet was to have the Goblin Riders and the Kijin fight. She knew that the Kijin would not appreciate it if they were excluded from the fight. After all, they had accepted Rimuru as a master so they could carry out their revenge. Then, her mind went on a tangent.
If they defeated the Orc Lord, the Kijin had avenged their village and were free to leave. Currently they were bound here by their will to avenge their fallen brethren, but afterwards it was up to their own will whether they wanted to stay or not. Despite always having known that, Kumiko couldn't help but feel sad. She knew that no matter what the rest of the Kijin chose, she would stay with Rimuru who had given her a home to proudly protect. Yet, Kumiko felt abandoned at the idea of the other Kijin leaving. She didn't want to even humor the thought that they wouldn't stay after the fight. Kumiko's hand subconsciously grabbed lightly onto Souei's sleeve. She was still deep in her thoughts and hadn't realized, but Souei had felt the slight tug of the weight of her hand.
YOU ARE READING
Black Shadow | Souei
Fanfiction(Souei x OC) When Rimuru stumbled across Veldora for the first time in the cave, there was someone unexpected keeping Veldora company. A young, unnamed female ogre who was shunned from her village and fled into the cave had been staying with Veldora...
