Labyrinth: Chapter 37/38

Chapter 37: Dryad Treyni

Chishiya glanced over at Shuna.

"Shuna, do you know how to sew?"

Shuna nodded politely. "Chishiya-sama, I know a little."

Shion immediately chimed in with praise. "Chishiya-sama, Miss Shuna is being modest. She's famous back home. She's known as our Orihime. Her weaving skills are unmatched."

Sewing, of course, was a completely different art from forging.

Sewn clothing was more form-fitting, more comfortable to wear.

For instance, the outfits both Shion and Shuna were currently wearing were made of monster-grade silk, smooth and elegant.

The material came from the Hell Moth, a magical beast found near the Ogre Village. After spinning its cocoon, its silk was harvested and turned into cloth.

That silk contained a high concentration of magic and had surprisingly strong defensive properties.

Chishiya had long wanted to incorporate this into Labyrinth product lines.

Besides, this world also had linen and cotton.

Shuna should be able to process them.

Shion blinked. "Are you thinking about manufacturing textile-based clothing?"

Chishiya nodded.

"Exactly. I want to see if we can mass-produce clothes using monster silk."

"Monster silk?"

Shuna pondered a moment. "It's possible, but gathering the raw material will be difficult."

In this world…

Textiles were considered a luxury commodity.

Cotton and linen clothes were common, but silk was rare and rarely traded.

The main reason being—the Hell Moth was a ferocious, high-ranking B-class monster.

"Chishiya-sama," Souei stepped forward. "Leave the gathering to me."

The Hell Moth was dangerous—its scale dust could cause hallucinations. But during its metamorphosis, it was highly vulnerable.

Souei's plan was to harvest the cocoons before the moths hatched and return safely.

"Then I'll leave it to you," Chishiya said. "Though you'll probably need help."

He walked to the center of the village and opened a portal.

From it, over a hundred soldier ants marched out.

"Let them help with transporting the cocoons."

"And if possible, bring back live larvae. I want to establish a moth farm here in the village."

"Also, Shuna, I want you to teach weaving to the villagers."

After Chishiya finished explaining, Shuna's eyes sparkled.

"Really?!"

"Don't worry, Chishiya-sama! I'll do my best!"

She looked genuinely thrilled to be entrusted with the task.

Chishiya turned next to the bearded blacksmith standing nearby.

"Kurobe, you're good with forging, right?"

The gentle-looking man gave a humble nod.

"Then you're in charge of weapons production from now on."

"Just like Shuna, I'll need you to teach forging skills to the villagers."

Kurobe nodded. "Understood."

After assigning tasks, Chishiya returned to his room.

Raising moths in the Labyrinth... Collecting silk... Textile products...

A new idea suddenly lit up in his mind.

Could he revolutionize fashion here?

Women's clothing... stylish, alluring… maybe even—

Lace. Silk. Garter belts. Thigh-highs. Sheer cutouts. Open collars…

Stop.

No. Nope. Absolutely not.

He shut down the death-flag thought immediately.

And then…

A green light flashed inside the room.

A beautiful woman dressed in a simple gown materialized inside his tent.

Followed instantly by.

BOOM!

The entire wall exploded.

Benimaru and the others rushed in, eyes locked on the intruder.

"Who are you?!"

…Chishiya wiped his face slowly and stared at the new hole in the wall.

Seriously? Has nobody here ever heard of using a door?

Sighing, Chishiya turned back to the mysterious woman.

She looked distinctly Nordic, with fair skin and delicate, aristocratic features.

Her pale blue lips and matching blue eyes gave her a mysterious aura. She looked no older than twenty in human years.

But her translucent body gave her away—she didn't have a physical form.

The woman gave a graceful bow.

"Forgive the sudden visit. I am Treyni, a dryad."

Dryad. The forest guardian of Jura?

Wow, that didn't take long.

Barely been here a day and they're already knocking on my tent.

Chishiya tilted his head. "What brings you to us, Miss Treyni?"

He already had a good idea.

This was almost certainly about the Orc Lord.

Treyni confirmed it.

"I have come to ask for your help in defeating the Orc Lord."

She had observed Chishiya and his group for a full day and night, and was now confident he could be trusted.

The words "Orc Lord" instantly changed the room's atmosphere.

Benimaru and the others went stiff.

They hadn't forgotten what happened to their village.

From 300 villagers, only 30 remained.

Slaughtered by pigs. And that monster in the clown mask.

Even the children were wiped out.

Benimaru clenched his fists until they cracked.

A memory flashed across his mind.

That cheerful girl, just a few days ago, weaving flower crowns in the village.

"Young Master, you've been training so hard. Here, a gift from me."

But now—

Only blood, smoke, and shattered petals remained.

Not even a body to bury.

Once again, he'd failed to protect anything. Benimaru gritted his teeth.

"Benimaru."

A hand landed gently on his shoulder.

He looked up to see Chishiya gazing at him calmly.

"Take a breath."

"This won't happen again."

Benimaru nodded silently.

He'd let his emotions get the better of him.

Chishiya turned back to the beautiful dryad.

For Benimaru and the others' sake, he would help.

But the dryads needed to show some sincerity.

He wasn't Rimuru.

He wasn't some selfless saint.

"I'm willing to help," Chishiya said. "But what can the dryads offer in return?"

Treyni blinked in confusion.

She had spent the whole night watching him from afar.

He'd treated the Ogres so warmly. There was a sacred, almost divine quality to him.

He must be a noble and compassionate man.

"What... do you want us to do?"

That reaction…

Oh no.

These girls weren't planning to pay at all, were they?

Did you seriously think I was helping out of the goodness of my heart?

She looked so clueless.

Clearly had never dealt with a human before.

Chishiya sighed.

Time to educate the forest on the basics of transactional relationships.

"You dryads can monitor the entire Jura Forest, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then I want you to relay a message to all adventurers entering the forest."

"Eh? What kind of message?"

He ignored her question and looked her over again.

She had the perfect figure for a maid outfit.

Anyway.

"Do you agree?"

Treyni tilted her head. Something felt… off.

But she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

He didn't seem like a bad person.

So she agreed.

Once the deal was sealed, Chishiya let out a subtle smirk.

Treyni didn't notice it.

Besides, she didn't even have a physical body.

How bad could this really get?

And so, the partnership was formed.

Chishiya also learned that Rimuru had agreed to join the cause the day before.

In three days, they would meet at the Lizardman's territory.

First Alliance Conference

To discuss strategies for dealing with the Orc Lord.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 38: Meeting Discussion

Three Days Later.

Outside the Ogre Village, on the hillside

Benimaru hurled a black flame from his hand.

Boom!

A deafening blast erupted across the hillside.

Black flames surged and engulfed the entire mountain face.

"Black Flame Prison!"

With one overwhelming strike, everything caught in the blazing cage was reduced to ash.

However...

A figure emerged slowly from within the sea of fire.

He lowered his gaze to his body, completely unharmed.

As expected. Aqua's Blessing granted total immunity to all status effects. Including flame burns.

Whoosh!

Just as Chishiya stepped forward.

A sharp glint of light flashed in his blind spot.

Hakurou appeared like a phantom.

The wooden sword in his hand swung directly at Chishiya's arm.

Bang!

The wooden blade struck squarely. But not even a scratch appeared on Chishiya's skin.

Despite using a wooden sword, Hakurou's strength was now nearly on par with a Demon Lord.

Even higher-level demons wouldn't walk away unscathed from a clean hit like that.

Chishiya flexed his arm briefly.

The Knight's Body ability was doing its job.

The physical reinforcement from all his blessings was even better than he expected.

In terms of defense, at least, he was very satisfied.

Hakurou stepped back and sheathed his sword. "Chishiya-sama, we'll end here for today."

"Your strength is far beyond ours."

Benimaru looked frustrated. "I expected a gap, but…"

"I didn't think our attacks would have zero effect."

"I still have a long way to go."

"I'll keep training."

These guys were way too humble. Honestly, if it were a typical Demon Lord, they'd be splattered across the hillside by now.

Especially Hakurou—his sword speed was ridiculous.

Chishiya hadn't even been able to react in time.

With their current strength, even if the Orc Lord evolved into a Demon Lord, they'd probably still win.

"We should go name the rest of the villagers."

Over the past few days, Chishiya had named most of the Ogre Tribe.

But not all had evolved into demons.

Most had only evolved into Kijin.

Benimaru and the others were clearly unique.

"Chishiya-sama, another group of goblins has arrived asking to join us."

At the village entrance, another wave of goblins waited patiently.

Chishiya had lost track of how many batches this was now.

In just three days.

Including the 1,000 currently in front of him.

Over 7,000 goblins had come seeking refuge.

Some even arrived from the far eastern parts of the Jura Forest.

Chishiya rubbed his temples.

No doubt about it, Treyni was the one spreading the word.

No, correction. 100% her fault.

Still, he didn't turn them away.

He named them all.

Manpower was always welcome.

After finishing, Chishiya staggered back toward the village.

Benimaru followed, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Chishiya-sama, are you alright?"

Naming 1,000 goblins in one sitting wasn't exactly low-stress.

"I'm fine."

Chishiya waved him off.

Mana consumption was tolerable.

But—damn, coming up with names was agony.

How does Rimuru manage this?! Unique names for every goblin?!

It took him forever just to think of one.

He was mentally suffocating.

———

In just three days, the village had transformed.

Ogres, goblins, soldier ants—the total population had swelled to nearly 15,000.

Construction had accelerated dramatically.

The once crude thatched village now featured wooden houses across the entire settlement.

Stone-paved roads had been laid.

Even an industrial district was under development.

Materials were stored in large warehouses, and rows of workshops lined the streets—blacksmiths, tailors, armorers.

Kurobe remained in the smithy, teaching blacksmithing to the male villagers.

Several high-quality blades had already been forged.

Souei managed material gathering.

Shuna focused on clothing production.

Benimaru and Hakuro trained daily.

As for Aqua.

She, Megumin, and Darkness had formed a patrol unit with several ogres.

They scouted the area regularly to prevent another sneak attack like Treyni's surprise appearance.

As Chishiya passed by Kurobei's forge, the rhythmic clanging of metal echoed.

He didn't stop.

Instead, he headed toward Shuna's workshop.

"Chishiya-sama, you're here!"

The moment she saw him, Shuna lit up like sunshine.

She ran over, excitedly showing off her work from the past few days.

Her large, bright eyes sparkled.

They chatted briefly to check on progress.

Chishiya gently patted her head.

"Good job. Thanks for your work."

Shuna's face lit up as she smiled under his touch. "It's nothing. As long as I can help you, Chishiya-sama!"

His heart skipped a beat.

Adorable.

He was seriously jealous of Benimaru for having such a capable little sister.

Unlike his cousin in his past life, whose only skills were chuckling and saying "hehe."

Stare…

Suddenly.

Chishiya felt two intense stares on his back.

A cold sweat broke out across his shoulders.

He turned.

Megumin and Shion stood in the doorway, expressions unreadable.

"Sensei," Megumin said with a fake smile. "We were working hard on patrol while you're living the easy life?"

"Well done~, thank you for your hard work~," she added mockingly, mimicking his earlier praise.

"Huh?!!"

She stomped up and jabbed her staff into his cheek.

"We've been busting our butts out there!"

"Answer me—!!!"

Chishiya: "…hard work… yes… you worked very hard…"

Shion stood silently beside her, smiling with the air of someone who had just caught her cheating boyfriend.

"Chishiya-sama, Miss Shuna still has plenty to do."

"It's probably not appropriate to keep distracting her. Let's go."

Wait—what?!

I didn't even do anything! Why does it feel like I've just been caught cheating?!

Flustered, Chishiya straightened up. "Right. Let's go."

"Chishiya-sama!"

An ogre wearing a guard uniform rushed in.

"Miss Treyni is here."

"I see." Chishiya nodded.

Time for the strategy meeting.

———

Meeting Room

It was called a meeting room.

In reality, it was just a wooden hut they built specifically for discussions.

Treyni gave a respectful bow.

"Chishiya-sama, it is time."

"Please accompany me to the Central Lake—the Lizardmen's territory."

"The other two representatives are already waiting."

Rimuru and the Lizardman leader, no doubt.

Chishiya nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Shion piped up. "Chishiya-sama, please let me come with you!"

She wouldn't cause trouble, right?

He thought for a moment.

Yeah, she was more reliable than Aqua.

Stare…

Shion's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Chishiya sighed, massaging his temples.

"Fine. You're coming."

———

Meanwhile
Jura Forest – Central Lake
Underground Cave

Inside the stone-walled chamber, the Lizardman chieftain sat at the center of the long table.

To his right, the seat remained empty.

To his left sat a female goblin, gently cradling a familiar blue slime in her arms.

Next to her, a goblin with a round head was slumped over the table, snoring softly.

The chief glanced at the slime.

"This is…"

Haruna gently stroked the little blob. "This is Rimuru-sama."

"Three days ago, he named 500 goblins."

"He's resting now, having used up too much magic power."

"But don't worry. He'll wake up soon."

The Lizardman chief was speechless.

Five hundred goblins?!

That was no small feat.

Anyone capable of naming that many had to be far stronger than they appeared.

This slime... wasn't to be underestimated.

(To be continued.)