Chapter 7

“Geat, we have no intention of attacking humans anymore.”

“Can I believe that?! You’ve raided our village so many times!”

Geat was furious, on the verge of throwing his bread on the ground but refrained at the last second, unable to waste food.

“This bread… you stole it from our village, didn’t you? As if accepting something like that would mean anything…”

“No, no. How long do you think it’s been since we last raided your village? Bread would mold if it were left that long.”

“Hmm… I suppose that’s true…”

Geat seemed convinced that the bread wasn’t stolen from his village.

“Then, where did you get this bread?”

“Follow me.”

I led Geat to the farm within the dungeon. There, monsters were harvesting crops in the fields.

“This… this is…”

“We started farming here in the dungeon. Now we can secure our own food supply. We don’t need to take food from humans anymore.”

Geat stared, mouth agape, at the sight.

“Wh-what do you do with the crops grown here?”

“We store everything here in the dungeon. I turn it into meals as needed.”

“Then… then, this bread too…”

Geat’s hand holding the bread was shaking.

“We made it ourselves. Consider it a way of making amends. Please, eat it without hesitation.”

“Wh-why would I eat bread made by monsters…”

At that moment, Geat’s stomach growled. He blushed and looked down.

“You came here to take back food because you’re hungry, right?”

“S-shut up! I’m a human. I won’t take handouts from monsters!”

“Stubborn, aren’t you? What’s wrong with sharing bread with a hungry person?”

Geat stared at the bread, obviously eager to eat it.

“Why are you giving me this bread?”

“Why? Because I want to be a hero who shares bread with a hungry human.”

“W-what… A monster calling itself a hero? Don’t make me laugh!”

It was clear he despised monsters. After all, we had attacked his village multiple times.

“Isn’t the real hero the one who saves someone from starving to death?”

“Then everything you did before was the exact opposite of that.”

From Geat’s perspective, that was certainly true.

“Yeah, that’s why I’ve changed my ways. If that one loaf isn’t enough, I’ll give you more. We’ll repay all we took from you.”

Geat blinked in surprise, then brought the bread to his mouth.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I eat this?”

“Of course.”

“You’re not gonna ask for it back later, right?”

“Suspicious, aren’t you? Just eat.”

Geat gulped, then bit into the bread, devouring it hungrily. He must have been starving.

“Evilham, you’re actually giving food to a human?”

Littleham looked at me, exasperated. I guess it was out of character for me.

“This is… amazing! The bread tastes so good!”

Geat looked like he might cry as he enjoyed the bread. It was worth the effort making it.

When he finished, he looked at me earnestly.

“You said earlier… that you’d give me as much bread as I need, right?”

“Yeah. It’s harvest time, so we have a decent supply of bread.”

“I’m sorry… The villagers are starving too. Could you spare a little for them?”

Geat bowed his head to me. A huge shift from his earlier prideful refusal.

Was he swayed by the bread? Desperation must have won out.

“We can’t give you unlimited amounts, but we can share some from our reserves.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

Tears streamed down Geat’s face. Hunger can be brutal, even for a grown man.

“By the way, Geat, why is your village so short on food? Monsters haven’t been raiding you.”

“Well… we do farm, but we don’t own the land. The landlord demands a share of what we grow, calling it a usage fee.”

What a ruthless person. Not that I’m one to talk.

“Do they take that much of your crops?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t unmanageable before, but when you stole our food, we couldn’t pay the landlord for a while. Now, they’re demanding extra.”

Yikes. That’s mostly our fault.

“It’s like debt piling up. It’s exhausting.”

Geat said it as if blaming me. Not directly my doing, but it still hurt.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that.”

“As long as we farm there, we’re barely surviving.”

“I see…”

The landlord might have his reasons, but taking crops from struggling people is harsh.

“Hey, Geat. How about helping us with farming in our dungeon?”

“Huh?”

Geat looked stunned.

“I’m not saying you have to live here. But if you help us farm during the day, I’ll share food with you.”

“B-but… we have our own farm…”

“Isn’t your village land barren? You’re struggling to grow anything, right?”

“How… how did you know that…”

That was knowledge from a game I’d played. But no need to explain that.

“The dungeon’s soil is rich. You’d get much better returns working here.”

Geat clenched his fists, looking conflicted.

“But if I don’t deliver the crops I’ve missed, the landlord…”

“If you aren’t harvesting anything, there’s no need to pay. Farming there will just wear you out.”

Geat looked deeply troubled, shadows crossing his face. He couldn’t trust us right away, I suppose.

“Let me think… and thank you for the bread.”

“Sure. Come back anytime.”

Geat took some bread to go and left the dungeon.

“Evilham, do you think he’ll come back? Won’t it be a waste of bread if he doesn’t?”

Littleham seemed worried.

“Who knows? It’s up to him. It’s not something I can decide.”

If Geat joins as extra manpower, it would help us out. But I’m not holding my breath.