Reincarnation with Rimuru from Tensura

Naming Again

From what I could see, Not for long.

Rigurd, in particular, was being overly sensitive about my every move.

Sure, I was a 'little' sour, but he didn't have to follow me around and babysit me all the time, y'know.

I wouldn't take it out on someone who neither knew nor was at fault for Hiiro's condition. So, I just wished he would treat me like he used to.

It's getting way too uncomfortable with those damn puppy eyes of his.

While grumbling about Rigurd's behavior and various other things, I announced my plan to give names to all the goblins. This not only caught them by surprise but left them utterly speechless. Well, Naming wasn't a common tradition in the monster community, but hey, I didn't care about that.

I had my own plans after all.

There were plenty of benefits to giving them names, starting with convenience.

Do you have any idea how ridiculous it sounds when a guy calls his acquaintance, family, or even his lover by just saying, "Hey, you, come here," or "Hey, you, cheers," or "Hey, you, is dinner ready?" or "Hey, you, I love you."?

Yeah, I know, these examples aren't entirely accurate, and I know that they can understand each other without names but you get my point, right?

Sure, it meant spending the whole day naming 500 goblins, and it would likely drain my magicule levels dry, but now that I'd already said it, there was no turning back.

I couldn't just backtrack and say, "Sorry, I changed my mind. I don't feel like wasting my entire day searching and naming 500 goblins. Tee-hee!"

Tee-hee, my ass.

My dignity as the Ruler of this place would go down the drain, if I did that.

Well, it's not like there weren't other advantages to naming them.

For instance, if they all evolve into Hobgoblins, just like the ones in the village, we could potentially have not only the numbers but also the intellect, manpower, and strength to transform this small village into a prosperous city.

That was my current goal, after all.

But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't envision turning this place, which we were living in, into a suitable habitat. It would require an enormous amount of labor and months of work just to level the land enough to start building the necessary infrastructure, like housing and more, even after factoring in the 500 evolved Hobgoblins into the mix.

So, would it be worth it? Hell no.

That's where the plan I devised with Rigurd came into play, code-named: Operation Newland.

As the name suggests, I tasked Rigurd with sending a team to explore and locate a suitable habitat for more than 500 people and potentially more than that.

I specifically requested that they find a place near Veldora's cave. And after a day or two of searching, they finally found it, a suitable place and we'd be relocating there soon, along with both our new and existing residents.

There was no formal system in this forest, like where you filed an application to move to a specific place on a certain day for a set duration. You just simply find a suitable location for your needs and moved in, hoping not to run into conflicts with other groups in the area.

The spot we were headed to was perfect, not just in terms of geography but also strategically. A river flowed nearby, and a massive mountain loomed behind, shielding us from potential attacks or ambushes from the rear.

These were some of the reasons I chose that location. Of course, we still had the challenging task of making our way through the jungle as a group of more than 500.

Well, It wouldn't be easy, but it also wouldn't be too difficult.

Now then about the names....

...

Sigh~

I barely managed to finish naming all of them by the end of the day, and my magicules were down to their very last drops.

If I had to use one of my magic attacks at that moment, I was pretty confident I'd pass out on the spot.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that, and I avoided fainting for another three days.

But during the naming process, I stumbled upon some fascinating discoveries. These goblins held Hiiro in high regard, and I don't just mean the adults; even the kids admired him.

I found it hard to believe at first, but then I learned that he not only tended to the injured but also spent time playing with the children. Sure, he was mostly keeping them distracted while their parents worked, but even that was nothing short of a miracle in my book.

Was he growing up?

And this warm feeling, was this what it felt like when you watched your little brother evolve into a fine adult, ready to move on from his older brother?

Could it be that....

Sniffle~

<...>

Keugh!