Chapter 200: Chapter 196: Only Take On What You Can Handle

After the Zoin tribe joined us, I decided to take some time to show their leader, Coco, around the ark.

Since we’d be cooperating with them in the future, it was important to build trust.

“Is this your nest?”

“Technically, it’s a refuge… but yes, you could say that.”

Coco, the leader, looked around the interior of the refuge.

She finally voiced her thoughts after getting a sense of the general structure and atmosphere.

“…It’s a stifling nest.”

“Stifling?”

“It’s enclosed on all sides, so we can’t fly. It’s hard to look around, and more importantly, it’s not easy to escape in an emergency.”

Coco spread her wings and expressed her dissatisfaction.

The uncertainty on her face showed that what she was feeling was something that was quite sensitive to them.

“Moreover, unlike buildings on the ground, this is underwater. When we enter the water, our wings get heavy. That’s why the young ones in our group are hesitant to come here.”

“…Haha, I get that. It’s tough for us in the water too.”

Even so, the water was ideal for avoiding external threats.

But Coco didn’t seem to share that sentiment and continued to grumble to me.

“Unlike above, it doesn’t seem like a good nest down here. Not being able to fly freely is fatal.”

“So the ability to fly is quite important to you?”

“Of course. Whether we can fly or not is a matter of survival. In fact, it’s amazing that you’ve survived this long without wings.”

“So… should I take that to mean survival is your top priority too?”

“Is there anything more important than survival?”

Coco asked back as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I couldn’t help but chuckle and responded.

“True, survival is the most important thing.”

That’s a relief.

It doesn’t seem like they’re in a position to invade or dominate, as Flang feared.

Right, even humanity was in a situation where it could collapse at any time, so how could a species without even a proper center be any different?

So maybe, unlike in the past, it would be better to cooperate and overcome the situation together now rather than fight.

No matter what the past was like, anyone desperate for survival might become an ally.

“I see a group of small beings ahead.”

Coco, whom we had newly accepted as a partner for survival, came down from her new outpost and informed me.

“There’s still some distance before we reach the ground… you can see that?”

“You wingless ones can’t see it?”

If we could see that far with the naked eye, there’d be no need for telescopes.

But if they had good vision in addition to flight, they’d be perfect as scouts.

“Anyway, tell me more. What do you mean by small beings?”

“Literally small beings are wailing in a group by the water. Is it hunting time?”

“No… let’s postpone the hunt and guide me there first.”

It was about time to arrive at the location Airi marked for us.

Just as I was about to order us to sail there, Coco smoothly flew up and aimed her feet at me.

“Got it. I’ll take you there myself.”

“What? Take me there— Whoa?!”

Coco grabbed me and took off from where we stood.

As we flew out of the ark and over the lake, Coco looked down at me, held in her feet, and flashed a grin.

“You don’t have wings, but you can fly like this. Isn’t it nice?”

“…Haha.”

Well, it was clear there was no malice behind this.

Honestly, it was a bit scary, but I decided to trust her and head to our destination.

“Chieeeeee!”

And then, at our destination, a cry echoed out.

Realizing that this was the sound made by the small group Coco mentioned, I immediately looked down to assess the situation.

“Our home has been submerged, squeak! The home we worked so hard to build has been submerged, squeak!”

The ones crying out were much smaller than Elves—rats—no, a species that looked like rats.

Their bodies were covered in fur, and they wore helmets made of hard material, which looked very much like the safety helmets worn by construction workers.

If I recall from the descriptions Flang mentioned… yes, they were definitely the ones called ‘Undergrounders.’

“Our home has collapsed, squeak!”

“Chieeeeee!”

The extreme sorrow felt as the Undergrounders wailed in unison was palpable.

Coco, who was watching the scene with me, looked down at me and asked a question.

“The prey is blatantly revealing their location. Shall we eat them?”

“…No, put me down first.”

Since Airi guided us here, these beings might be potential helpers.

As soon as I got down from Coco’s grip, I raised my hand, making my presence known.

“Hello, little friends. I’d like to have a quick chat…”

“Chieeek! It’s a predator, squeak!!!”

The Undergrounders immediately stiffened in shock as they recognized me.

They seemed frightened by a human much larger than themselves, but they didn’t seem inclined to avoid conversation since we could communicate.

“No, set aside that worry… I’m curious about your situation. You mentioned earlier that your home was submerged?”

“Squeak… Yes, that’s right, squeak. The tunnels we dug were flooded when the lake water rushed in after an earthquake.”

“We can’t live in our flooded home, squeak. But there’s nowhere else to build a new one, squeak…”

“If we stay here, we’ll be eaten by predators, squeak. We’ll die, squeak…”

The little Undergrounders cried sorrowfully, repeating, “squeak, squeak…”

Realizing that they, like Coco, were looking for a place to live, I reached out to them and made a proposal.

“It just so happens we have a place where you could live. Would you like to come and check it out?”

“Chiee? There’s a home, squeak?”

“Don’t be fooled, squeak! They might be trying to trick us, squeak!”

The Undergrounders were tempted by my words but still expressed caution.

Then they turned their backs to me and began whispering among themselves, as if in a meeting.

“But what can we do, squeak? Our home is flooded, and there’s nowhere else to live, squeak.”

“Monsters are everywhere, squeak. If we stay here, we’ll all die, squeak. Without our tunnels, we’ll all be eaten by predators, squeak.”

“The Mama who protected us died long ago, squeak… Our whole clan is collapsing, squeak…”

Survival was crucial, and with their home flooded, they had no viable alternatives.

Just as I judged their joining us to be inevitable, Coco, who was watching them, quietly asked me.

“Lure them to the nest and then eat them? A good strategy.”

“I told you, it’s not like that.”

Why does she keep thinking about eating?

We’d better keep our food stores well-stocked to avoid any misunderstandings.

Anyway, after successfully integrating the Undergrounders into the ark, I introduced them to their new dwelling, the ‘ventilation shafts.’

The place was designed based on the Undergrounders’ tunnel structures to ensure efficient air circulation.

For the Undergrounders, who had no place to live, there couldn’t be a better spot than this.

“Squeeeaaak~! The tunnels are so spacious, squeak! And sturdy, squeak!”

“We’re underwater, but it won’t flood, squeak~! We can live safely here, squeak!”

“Woo Hyo-squeak is our guardian, squeak~!”

“Woo Hyo-squeak~”

…If only they would stop with the Woo Hyo-squeak chanting, that would be great.

Anyway, now that we’d gained new allies, we needed to find ways to utilize them in various areas.

Using the information I got from Flang, I headed to Ja-seong, who was busy with construction, to assign them suitable tasks.

“Ja-seong brother, can you teach them some construction work?”

“These little guys?”

“Yes, when it comes to construction, there might be no one better.”

In fact, the Undergrounders’ tunnel designs were considered so stable that they wouldn’t collapse unless there was an external threat.

Given how well they construct tunnels, teaching them proper construction techniques could potentially lead to creating structures as excellent as modern ones.

“Alright, that’s settled for the Undergrounders… Sanson, how much longer until our next destination?”

A few days passed after assigning roles to the new allies.

The fortress, now on the surface for full-scale rescue operations, eventually arrived at a ruin located in a valley area after pressing forward.

No, rather than a ruin, it was more like a fortress.

It only appeared ruined because it had been recently destroyed in an attack.

“Who are you? Do you know where you are, crawling in here?”

“We’re not here to fight, so please put down your weapons. I’d like to have a word with the elders, if that’s alright.”

“Elders? I’m only 20 years old!”

With his bushy beard and short, stout body, yet muscular and stern-looking face… Yeah, I knew immediately upon seeing him.

These were the Dwarves, a species naturally endowed with physical strength and craftsmanship.

“What? You want to take us under your wing?”

“No, I’m suggesting we cooperate to get through this crisis together. You’re also having trouble with your fortress being destroyed by monster attacks, aren’t you?”

“That’s none of your concern. If the fortress is destroyed, we’ll just rebuild it. But why should we trust humans and go under your command?”

Rebuild it, he said, but given how everything had been turned upside down, this didn’t seem like the first time this had happened. Would it really be that easy?

But Dwarves were a race endowed with natural talent, which made them prideful and stubborn, never bending once they’d made up their minds.

Even if everyone here were to die, they would never bow their heads and submit to others.

At least, not under normal circumstances.

“By the way, we happen to have a ‘brewing facility’ in our fortress.”

“Wh-What?”

The Dwarf leader opened his mouth in surprise at my words.

Along with him, the other Dwarves who had been glaring at us now had their eyes wide open, indicating that my strategy had hit the mark.

“Yes, well, since it’s a self-sufficient fortress, we’ve made a lot of things. But we’ve been so busy running the place that we’ve ended up leaving a lot of the liquor we brewed unattended.”

“O-Oh. Yeah. The liquor… has been left unattended, you say?”

“Come to think of it, it seems like you haven’t been able to enjoy a drink for a long time while guarding your stronghold… How about we sit down for a drink and have a chat?”

Gulp.

The Dwarves exchanged glances as they swallowed nervously. Even though they had been hostile towards us earlier, they were now clearly tempted by my words.

Of course, it made sense. The stubborn nature that came with their natural talent must cause them a great deal of stress just to maintain it.

And what better way to relieve that stress, even temporarily, than with a good drink?

“Kya-ha! This drink is pretty good!”

“I’ve never tasted this kind of drink before. What’s it called?”

“Ah, this is called makgeolli. It’s a traditional liquor from my homeland, made from fermented rice.”

“Ah~! No wonder it has such a rich and sweet taste!”

“Oh, and try some kimchi as a side dish.”

“Wow, the spicy and salty flavor goes really well with this! It’s really invigorating!”

Thank goodness, the things Ja-seong prepared in advance were perfect for their tastes.

“So, about that… We happen to have several works made by your ancestors in our ark. Would you be willing to take care of them?”

“What? Just take care of old stuff? Wait a minute, we’ll fix up everything we can and turn them into new masterpieces!!”

“Just make sure to have plenty of liquor ready! Hahaha!”

…These Dwarves, known as the most stubborn of all species, were so easily swayed by a few bottles of liquor.

I think I now understand why their ancestors were defeated by humans.

In this way, we successfully secured the stable integration of the Elves, Zoin tribe, Undergrounders, and now the Dwarves.

I hoped that such luck would continue, but despite my wishes, the fortress roaming the surface soon faced a great crisis.

“Who dares trespass into our territory?!”

“We will offer your heads as sacrifices to our God and open the path to Valhalla! Valhallaaaa~!”

Massive beings of another species rushed into the path of the advancing fortress, shouting.

They were the ‘Barbarians,’ a species that had repeatedly adapted to harsh environments and were the most powerful and ferocious in terms of physical strength among the other species.

If we could recruit them, the fortress’s defenses would become even more formidable…

“Hero, they seem to be charging at the fortress with the intent to destroy it.”

Unlike the stubborn Dwarves, the Barbarians were charging at us with a bloodthirsty intent from the very start.

If we tried to negotiate with them and someone got killed, everyone in this refuge would have to bear the consequences.

“Are you going to negotiate?”

“…No.”

Right, didn’t Airi also tell me to only take on what I could handle?

No matter how tempting, sometimes you have to let go.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

We’d already suffered too much to try and embrace those who come at us with swords drawn and no understanding.