"In that case, please follow us." Looking at Takeru, Yana and Aoiu exchanged a glance, then directly led Takeru and the others towards the central area of the volcano, arriving at a dilapidated wooden hut.
From the worn thatched hut, a massive castle could be seen in the center of the volcano...
"Everyone, please look. That is Kumamo Castle, built by our ancestors 400 years ago. It's a fortress easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was occupied five years ago by terrible creatures who drifted here after a shipwreck."
"Yes, those are the Orcs. And the one at the front is the Orc Queen."
"Five years ago, when the Orcs arrived on this island, fighting broke out immediately. In the end, we suffered a crushing defeat. Before being completely annihilated, the islanders surrendered to the Orcs."
"But we were wrong." Yana and Aoiu recounted the full story to Takeru and the others.
"Wrong?" Looking at their somber expressions, Kusue was puzzled.
"The Orcs didn't think they were fighting. They were just feeding." Yana took a deep breath and stated directly.
"Do the Orcs eat humans too?" Hearing Yana's words, Yuka couldn't help but ask.
"In that case, surrendering wouldn't have..." Thinking about it, Iu realized something.
"The islanders gave them Jiffon Buffos as food. To avoid being preyed upon, they could only become slaves to the Orcs, responsible for breeding the Buffos." Aoiu explained directly to everyone.
"In other words, all the Buffos belong to the Orcs. Humans cannot use them for the harvest festival." Yusuke quickly understood why the two had said earlier that the harvest festival couldn't be held.
"The number of Orcs increases every year. If they keep growing, there won't be enough Buffos to eat." Then, Yana explained the predicament they faced.
"So to avoid becoming food for the Orcs, you decided to strike first and hire mercenaries to launch an attack on the Orcs, right?" Hearing her words, Hachiman connected all the dots.
"Yes. We plan to do it during Vaikedamania in eleven days."
"The Orc Queen will lead the crowd to receive the Buffos. Please wipe them all out."
The two formally conveyed the details of the employment to Takeru and the others.
"Just defeat them? Isn't that simple?" At this moment, Keita showed a confident expression and spoke.
Takeru and the others smiled without comment. If simply defeating these Orcs could complete the mission, then there wouldn't even be a need for Takeru to act… Mio alone could easily solve it.
However, out of caution, Takeru remained still. Since they planned to act in eleven days, it was best to wait until then. He just worried that other complications might arise. Takeru could use his absolute power and abilities to suppress all unforeseen events.
Moreover, even if he dealt with the Orcs now, it would be useless. They still needed to wait eleven days, since the mission required offering the Jiffon Buffo during Vaikedamania...
"You make it sound too easy." Hearing Keita's words, Yuka rolled her eyes at him.
"The disparity in military strength is too great. To compensate for this..." After learning the situation, Yusuke began to think quickly.
If they could count Takeru, Hachiman, and Mio, they would have eight Heroes. That would make the battle much more manageable, since Takeru and the others seemed far more reliable than Kusue and Yuka.
But there was one point: Takeru, Hachiman, and Mio were extra players. They didn't even have the privilege of resurrection. That meant they might not be able to fight on the front lines.
Furthermore, their resurrection time was fifty seconds. In other words, if all five official players died within that fifty-second window, even if Takeru and the others were still alive, the five would be permanently dead...
Takeru, of course, was unaware of Yusuke's worries. What occupied Takeru's mind now was the possibility of other unforeseen events. Although he didn't rule out that this world might be as simple to clear as the Grimgal World he had encountered before, Takeru wouldn't be too careless to avoid capsizing in a ditch.
Also, Takeru was pondering how to complete more tasks and increase his evaluation score.
Thinking this, Takeru's gaze fell on Yusuke and the others, 'Barring unforeseen circumstances, these five were definitely the darlings of this world, the protagonists. Changing their lives should yield a considerable increase in the evaluation score.'
'But how to change them?' Takeru began to ponder.
"By the way, what are the Vaikedaam responsible for?" While everyone was thinking, Kusue curiously inquired about their duties.
"We do the ritual dance when planting rice, conduct the harvest festival rituals, things like that." Hearing Kusue's words, Yana stated directly.
"Eh? Are there other people who can perform that ritual..." Hearing her words, Yusuke was again stunned.
"There is no one else." Aoiu stated directly.
"In other words, we also need to ensure the Vaikedaam Ritual Dancer stays safe. There's a mountain of things to do!" After hearing her words, Yusuke increasingly felt the difficulty of the situation.
At this moment, a shadow flashed by the entrance. Yusuke and the others were completely unaware.
As for Hachiman and Mio, they looked at Takeru. Takeru shook his head, signaling them not to act rashly.
However, Takeru had already dispatched a Shadow Person to merge into the eavesdropper's shadow, and his Observation Haki kept him fully aware of the peeper's every move.
Meanwhile, the eavesdropping man, having left the wooden hut, went straight to Kumamo Castle, found the Orc Queen, and reported to her, informing the queen about the islanders summoning mercenaries.
"I see. Thank you for your report." Looking at the middle-aged man kneeling before her, the Orc Queen spoke to him with an unreadable expression. After speaking, a mocking smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
…
Thus, to complete the mission, Takeru and the others settled down on Jiffon Island. Regarding their newly acquired job templates, Mio and Hachiman studied them with some interest for a while, ultimately finding that besides some attribute boosts, and Mio acquiring a water magic spell, there didn't seem to be much else...
As for power, since they already had a foundation in magic and considerable mana, using it was very smooth, and the Water Strike magic packed a decent punch.
Their equipment added a few points to defense, spirit, or strength attributes, and that was about it.
As for Takeru's Chef job's investigation skill, it was also somewhat useless to him.
After all, if he wanted to investigate someone's physical structure, both Mana Perception and Observation Haki could thoroughly analyze a person's composition. This skill, at most, made Takeru's investigations slightly easier.
After some testing, Takeru found his cooking skills might have improved a little, and he gained some special cooking methods, but otherwise, no changes.
Reaching max level might bring some changes worth anticipating. Takeru also noticed that after cooking a meal, his experience points increased slightly. Meaning Takeru could level up by cooking...
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. While Takeru was meditating, he noticed Yusuke heading to the fields on Jiffon Island early in the morning, helping the islanders plow the land.
Since he had previously obtained the Farmer job, plowing fields earned him experience points. Since his teammates were unreliable, to survive, he had to become stronger.
Later that morning, Yusuke gathered Takeru and the others and led them to the mercenary group that had arrived at the same time as them.
The mercenaries, after arriving yesterday, had already begun summoning the native islanders of Jiffon Island to participate in training.
To defeat the powerful Orcs, their strength alone was insufficient, and they needed everyone to work together to possibly complete the mission.
Since this was their own island, although the ordinary residents were reluctant, some chose to join to protect their families.
When Takeru and the others arrived, they saw the group training. However, compared to the seasoned mercenaries, the ordinary residents struggled just to lift a longsword or draw a bow. At this rate, even after another ten days, these residents would provide very little help.
"Heroes, may I ask what brings you here?" Seeing Takeru and the others arrive, Cantil, the leader of the mercenary group, personally received them.
"Yes. Please allow us to also participate as mercenaries." Looking at the white-haired, somewhat weathered Cantil before him, Yusuke stated the purpose of their visit.
"That would be incredibly reliable. I am Cantil. I have fought against Orcs several times before." Hearing Yusuke's words, Cantil extended his right hand.