“How did this happen…”
Carlos was at his wit’s end.
Unusually, even Lulu had tender feelings toward him. So she put her hand on his shoulder and called to him.
“Give it up. If you’re going to follow Ria, you have to get accustomed to things like this.”
“Hah…”
Sighing, Carlos looked forward.
This is the large plaza of Ogre Village. In the center was two people surrounded by a large crowd watching them.

One is an ogre amongst ogres, the Ogre King. Holding a huge warhammer in his hand.

The other person, the girl who was the one Carlos was originally meant to protect, was Ria. Here she wore a katana, but only one of them. She’d even taken off her leather armor, and was lightly dressed.

Just how did this happen?
While rubbing the middle of his forehead, Carlos recalled a memory from two days ago.

Even if that was said so suddenly, the ogre took the party into the eatery.
Then, when hearing the small ogre’s name, Ria’s response focused on the other thing.
“But I’m not old enough to be called Anego…”
“Oh, sorry. Since it’s hard to tell human age, I thought you were an adult.”
Though Ogre Gig obediently apologizing was superb, hearing that he was still twelve year old was surprising.
The opponent that he fought and beat seemed to be an adult ogre.

“If you’re that strong at your age, isn’t that enough?”
“But isn’t Anego stronger?”
It seems I’m settled as Anego after all.

Is strength needed to live here? When I asked, he explained the situation.

Ogre families prioritize strength, with the strongest becoming the patriarch. The current patriarch is Gig’s grandfather, though there were tens of thousands of ogres nearby, slowly aging is still aging, and he said that he wanted to choose his successor.
Proof of being the strongest warrior was an ogre’s pride, and naturally Gig also aimed for that. However, I understood from watching him fight his opponent that there were no longer any opponents left for him in this village.
When I asked why his grandfather, the Ogre King, wouldn’t train him, I heard that for the sake of impartiality he wouldn’t do so for anyone; not even relatives.
“Even if you say that, we’re in the middle of a trip.”
“Then take me too! Anyways, the selection isn’t for another three years. I want to catch up to him even a little by then!”
“Ooh~…”
When Ria was racking her brain trying to find a way to decline, Serge pulled a bit on her sleeve.
“Nee-chan, let’s make this guy a comrade.”
Since he whispered, I replied in a low voice as well.
“Oi oi, isn’t he still twelve? I’d think joining us on a journey would be dangerous.”
“I used Identify on him though, he’s pretty strong. His ability scores were all high and his skill in Fist-fighting and Boxing were level 6. He has a few others too.”
Given that level 5 was already first rate, level 6 was incredible. Even so, he wasn’t a reincarnated person like Ria or Serge.
By the way, Ria rarely uses Identify. She roughly knows their strength by their demeanor even without using it.
“Maybe if you look at his war potential, but that he’s still a child…”
“Well, I wonder how old ogre adults are…?”
That’s the problem. In Serge’s case, ignoring his appearance he was a thirty year old. So even Ria didn’t have much opposition to it.
“You know Gig, Nee-chan is worried about your age. She said that leaving home at twelve was too early.”
Serge advanced the conversation on his own. Gig bared his fangs and laughed.
“Ogres are adults when they are able to hunt. Age doesn’t matter.”
“See, Nee-chan? Those two want another comrade too, isn’t it fine?”
Serge smiled triumphantly, but Lulu and Carlos felt uneasy. It was no wonder. Ogres used to be hostile against humanity, and even now are seen as warlike.
Still, they left the decision to Ria.
“For now, let’s consult with your family. I’ll be here until noon tomorrow.”
Ria said that with a persuasive tone.

Being in a bed for the first time in a while, Ria slept completely at ease.
Even so, she still woke before sunrise. Swinging her katana in the inn’s courtyard, Carlos soon woke up and joined her as well.
Incidentally, Lulu was the worst member for being up in the morning. As a habit from when she worked as Rufus’ a.s.sistant, she would unintentionally indulge in inactivity until the sun rose.

When I ate breakfast in the eatery on the first floor, early travelers left the inn. Wondering what would happen until the arrangement at noon, I became bored.
Only Lulu did actual work. A street healer.
Although ogres are a race with a superior body, other than for exceptionally rare cases they can’t use magic.
Including the adult ogre Gig made foam at the mouth yesterday, and slightly injured and ill ogres, she diagnosed them.

“If it’s simple healing magic, we can also use it.”
Saying so, Serge also wanted to help Lulu. For the purpose of curing diseases and invigorating people, he studied detoxification magic.
Normally, a village magician would normally stick to learning magic that is useful for everyday life. Serge, however, was inclined towards battle-oriented magic. Like the magic when I met him, the s.p.a.ce-time beheading magic, it seems that he’s able to cut down enemies with s.p.a.ce itself.

“Me teaching someone magic, it’s a strange feeling.”
Even though Lulu favored Serge, Ria knew that he was actually an old man so she restrained it.
When she is off guard, Serge would skillfully cling to Lulu’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Definitely an adversary of Ria and Carlos.

By the way, last night Ria was in the same room as Lulu and ogled her as she wiped down her body.

When the sun was high in the sky, Gig finally came to the inn. However, he had on a perplexed expression.
“What happened? Was it useless after all?”

Gig shook his head and looked at Ria.
“Jii-chan said ‘if they’re strong I want to fight them’…”
It was a development that Ria didn’t expect.
But she did hope for it. Rather, she wanted to ask for this to happen.

Ogres were much stronger than humans. And the strongest of them was called the king.

Her blood was boiling. The ends of her lips spontaneously lifted into the shape of a smile.

“By all means, please. Show me the way.”

Located at a place considerably far north of the village’s center, there was a big stone house.
It wasn’t something like a n.o.ble’s residence. It was more like the size of her parent’s house in Anise.
In a room that was not adorned at all, there was a man.

A tall man. Although he still wasn’t three meters tall, it was definitely such a huge figure that there weren’t any like him in her previous life.
As for the amount of muscle, there was proportionally more. His wrist was thicker than Ria’s waist.

“Sorry for the summon, Ojou-san.”
His voice was profound, yet hearing it left a good feeling. If he sang, it would be a very good singing voice.

“I don’t mind, Chief. Good to meet you, I’m called Riana Crystal.”
“Hmph, calling me Chief is good. When I took this position, I lost the name I was called. Well, though it pains me to immediately do this…”

At that moment, the pressure in the air changed.

A coercion skill, the moment she decided that, Ria drew out the strength of her entire body. Like the way willow is blown by the wind, she warded off the pressure.
Behind her, Gig fell on his bottom. No wonder, the feeling of coercion that was like a fierce and wild animal could leave you unable to stand up. It was even more terrifying than an earth dragon.

Just by giving off his intimidation, Ria only knew one other person like this. The now-deceased Rufus.
When that old magician used his magic to attack seriously, I remembered feeling the same as this. North of the royal capital, he exterminated thousands of wyverns when there was an outbreak.

“Indeed, you do have tremendous power. Though don’t know what kind of blessing you received…”
The chief smiled. It was like the smile of a beast.

“Shall we?”
“Let’s do it.”

Ria grinned as usual.