Chapter 1122: Worse Than Goblins

Those who tried to turn their weapons on Fran were promptly punished. Each one got knocked down in a single punch and got their a.s.ses whooped until they cried salty tears. The brave ones who refused to give in after one beating were healed before getting re-disciplined.

Seeing Fran half-kill ten men without allowing any sort of resistance completely deprived the volunteers of rebellious intent. Not surprising, since Fran showed them her ability to sever and reattach limbs.

A few did attempt to escape during the display, but Urus.h.i.+ stood in their way.

They watched with pale faces as Urus.h.i.+ brought back the screaming volunteers in his jaws.

Urus.h.i.+ didn’t bite down hard enough to draw blood, but he remained in his giant form to appear more impressive. It’s understandable if he applied a little too much pressure.

Fran was also a tiny bit careless, but that’s fine since it only made us appear more merciless. Moreover, they could easily imagine that lack of mercy directed at them in the future.

So they ended up becoming very obedient.

That said, Fran decided to change her strategy as well.

（Master.）

『What’s wrong?』

（If I make them keep jogging, this will just happen again.）

『Ah, well, I guess that might be true.』

（I need to tell them why they have to jog.）

『Oh yeah! That’s a good idea!』

After seeing the outburst of discontent from the volunteers, Fran realized that simply telling them to jog wasn’t enough. She needed to explain the meaning and reason behind having them run.

Fran, you’ve grown so much to be able to explain your intentions to others!

While I was busy being impressed, Fran went ahead of the line, swapping places with Urus.h.i.+.

「You guys never listen, you stink, you whine, you steal, you smell, and you all look stupid.」

Did you say they stink twice? Well, I suppose Fran has a good nose, so she cares more about those kinds of things. The volunteers wore indescribable expressions on their faces when Fran started dissing them out of nowhere.

「You won’t help anyone if I take you to the battlefield. No, you’ll only hold us back. You’re no better than goblins. Actually, goblins can drop magic stones and you can’t. You’re worse than goblins.」

「…」

Wow, that must sting. However, the volunteers knew they could not talk back, so they simply kept jogging.

「This training will at least teach you how to run. You can go from worse-than-goblins to goblins. So keep it up.」

「…」

Eh, I think it’s more like they didn’t know how to respond rather than being unable to talk back. I guess they now understand how little Fran cared for them, at least.

Fran went on to push them so much that even I found them a little pitiful. She continued shouting at them throughout the jog, saying things like “You worse-than-goblins need to work harder, or you’ll never improve!” and “That’s why you’re no better than goblins! You’ll never become a great goblin at this rate!” and so on.

I think Fran was only trying to motivate her squad, but she may have broken them instead. Well, I suppose that fits her original goal of fixing the troublemakers.

In the end, the volunteers all collapsed in exhaustion after half a day of jogging in silence.

Their mental exhaustion was intense too, so no one managed to pick themselves back up. Meanwhile, Fran treated them with a gentleness that was unimaginable compared to her earlier behavior.

「Worse-than-goblins, you did well. You’re still worse-than-goblins, but you can have this as a reward for your hard work. Line up!」

The volunteers lined up in front of Fran incredibly obediently, and what happened next even surprised me. Fran handed each of them a bowl of curry.

This might be her way of showing her appreciation. Some of the grown men were in tears due to Fran’s kindness. How sweet. I guess that means they’ll follow her training regimen the next day too.

But Fran also didn’t forget to show her harsh side.

「If anyone tries to run at night, Urus.h.i.+ will track you down.」

「Grr!」

「Stay sleeping if you don’t want to get eaten by Urus.h.i.+.」

「「「 Roger that, Captain! 」」」

「Nn.」

I doubt anyone will try to escape now, and in return, everyone will be exempted from the night watch. Fran and Urus.h.i.+ took up that role themselves, taking turns.

The volunteers ravaged the curry as if their lives depended on it, before going into a deathly silent sleep. A little bit later, Maleficent and Persona approached us.

「Hey there, I saw you guys eating something that looked pretty delicious.」

「Nn. Curry, the best food ever.」

「It certainly looks the part.」

「…」

Persona nodded her head in response to Maleficent’s statement. Upon seeing the young girl’s reaction, Fran took out another bowl of curry.

「Want some?」

「…」

Persona was about to take the bowl, but then paused to look up at Maleficent. While her expression wasn’t visible behind the mask, I’m sure it was a pleading face.

「It’s fine, just don’t get your clothes dirty.」

「…」

Persona nodded and held the bowl above her head as she ran around. Make sure you don’t trip.

「Thank you so much.」

「I feel sorry for anyone missing out on curry.」

「I see.」

It seems Maleficent and Persona had no intention of taking off their masks, which explains the slit opening for their mouths.

The two sat down next to each other and began eating.

「This really is delicious! Amazing!」

「…」

While Persona still never said anything, she must be enjoying it judging by the speed of her spoon.

The two approached us again after finis.h.i.+ng the meal, carrying more than just the curry bowls they were returning. It seems they brought some sort of map.

「I would like to discuss the route we are taking.」