Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Speech and Fight

As Roy was about to end the meeting, Marth promptly interjected, “If you want to bring in new awakened people, you’ll have to go and talk to them right now. The more time they spend under your protection, the less they would want to join you in battle.”

Roy raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin at Marth’s suggestion. He was indeed right. The more you provide a service to people free of charge, the more they would take it for granted. If he didn’t want there to be future problems, he would need to explain the rules of the house to the villagers as soon as possible.

“You’re right, I’ll go down and talk to them.”

As Roy and his group made their way downstairs, they found the whole living room and the kitchen filled to the brim with people. Even though most of them just whispered to each other, the cacophony of voices made it impossible to make a speech.

“Goddamn,” Jack clicked his tongue from the side. “They did not look to be that many when we were outside.”

Even Roy felt hesitant as he looked at the mass of people. He was not used to making speeches in front of so many, especially when most of them were his seniors.

As Roy was stuck in his thoughts, Roger and Jacob made their way through the sea of men and women toward them.

“So, have you finished your meeting?” Roger asked.

“Yeah, we discussed our plans for what to do next.” Roy nodded. “We want to help those who have not awakened yet kill the ten monsters for the quota. That way we can grow our strength quickly, and we wouldn’t need to worry about so many people. But…”

Roy looked at the sea of people who were busy talking and discussing with each other and felt overwhelmed. Jacob, who understood Roy’s hesitation, let out a hearty laugh and tapped his back.

“You’re amazing at so many different things, but sometimes you get stuck in the simplest ones. Don’t worry, let me take care of this one for you.”

Jacob looked at the mass of people and clapped his hands loudly. “Please, some silence. We need to talk about what we’re going to do next.”

As the cacophony of whispers and talks died down, all eyes focused on Jacob and Roy. With this massive attention, Roy couldn’t help but take a deep breath. However, as he looked into everyone’s eyes, he found all kinds of emotions: fear, confusion, and hope. Looking at the faces of the villagers, Roy steeled his resolve and took center stage.

“I’m sure that many of you are confused, many of you are scared and don’t know what they should do.” Even though Roy’s voice was not loud, it contained power and depth that everyone in the house could feel. “The world has turned into a hellish place. We have all lost friends, family, and relatives because of those damned monsters.”

Roy paused for a second before continuing with a stronger voice, “But there is still some fairness in this world. Those who are brave and want to protect their family and friends can gain immense power.”

He then looked back at his friends and the rest of the knights before turning toward the crowd once again with a smile. “You saw how strong the knights were, you saw how strong we were when we fought those goblins. You can become strong like that too if you awaken. As for how to awaken, you all saw those words from god, it told you what you need to do.”

Roy’s eyes turned cold as he scanned the villagers. “Either you become a monster and kill three of your brothers and sisters, in which case I swear that I will hunt you to the end of the earth. Or you become brave men and women and kill those monsters that want to eat us alive.”

Roy paused for a second and took a deep breath. “At the break of dawn, my friends and the knights are going to hunt goblins. Those of you who want to join us can come. I cannot promise your safety, but whoever fights with us is a brother to us. If you protect our backs, we will protect yours.”

Roy scanned the room with his eyes. While most of the elderly and women still had looks of fear and uncertainty, most of the young and middle-aged men had serious and resolute expressions.

One young man with blond hair and blue eyes stood up from the crowd.

“I will come, I will fight with you guys. Those monsters killed my little brother and sister, I will not stop fighting until I avenge them.”

As the young man made his speech, everyone’s eyes focused on him.

“I will come too.”

As if he was a catalyst to a chain reaction, men both young and old stood up and showed their willingness to go into battle. Looking at the amount of fighting spirit boiling in the villagers around him, Roy was surprised.

“Good, then have some rest for the time being. Once the dawn breaks, we will be fighting monsters until the night.”

As Roy finished his speech, he made his way upstairs alongside his group and Marth. Once he entered the bedroom and closed the door, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“Damn, that was tough.”

Looking at Roy’s face, Jack burst out laughing, “You should have seen your face, it almost turned blue.”

“Don’t worry, Roy. You did good,” Alfonse said with a consoling smile on his face.

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Roy smiled at Alfonse’s words before looking at Marth in the back.

“Marth, what did you think about my speech?”

The knight captain looked at Roy for a few seconds before answering, “It was sloppy. It didn’t have a clear direction and it was not stern enough. The most important thing to instill when recruiting new people is military discipline, and your speech lacked that.”

Roy nodded with a serious look on his face. “You’re right, I have a lot to learn about making speeches. Thank you for being honest.”

Marth smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “I figured that you wouldn’t want me to kiss the back of your coat.”

Roy laughed heartily in response. “Kiss my coat? I have never worn one, to begin with.”

Roy looked around for his friends before finding them squeezed into a group at the back of the kitchen where there was still some space.

While Roy walked toward them, Marth looked at his back and muttered under his breath, “One day, you definitely will.”

He then followed closely after the young man and joined the rest of the group. Roy barged into the conversation with a laugh, “So, anyone wanna go out hunting? My body is full of energy, I won’t be able to get myself to sleep.”

Jack looked with annoyance at Roy before he shrugged his shoulder and replied, “Sure, I do, I got bored sitting in the house while you guys are having your adventure in the forest.”

“You’re one to talk,” Fred retorted. “I was barely able to awaken before I had to sit in the house and stop hunting.”

“None of you have the right to say anything,” Jaimie interjected with fervor. “I still haven’t got to awaken yet!”

Looking at young Jaimie throwing a tantrum, the group couldn’t help bursting out laughing.

“Don’t laugh!” Roy gritted his teeth before pouncing at Fred’s cheeks. The latter’s laugh quickly turned into cries for help as the rest of the group’s sides were obliterated to the stratosphere.

Roy wiped the tears from his eyes and calmed his breath before looking at the young boy. “Hey, Jaimie, how many until you complete the ten?”

“Only one,” the boy pouted. “If it wasn’t for Alfonse stealing my kill, I would have awakened already!”

Alfonse scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before retorting, “Oh don’t say it like that. It was in the middle of the battlefield, I was just focusing on killing those monsters before they killed us.”

“You slashed its throat when I already stabbed it in the chest. That goblin was basically dead!”

While Jaimie was staring daggers at Alfonse, Roy laughed lightly and calmed him down. “It’s fine, Jaimie, don’t be mad. Let’s go get you your tenth kill, okay?”

Jaimie nodded at Roy’s words as if he was a child whose parents promised him a tasty treat for his good behavior. As the group stood up, preparing to leave, Roy looked back at the knight captain.

“Marth, I can trust with keeping this place safe, right?”

The captain nodded at Roy’s words and said, “Don’t worry. I will protect this house and its people with my life.”

“Good, then let’s go.”

The band of brothers made their way out of Roger’s house and walked around the village. After a couple of minutes, they found a small pack of goblins: two tall variants, and two small ones.

“You’re in luck, Jaimie.” Roy looked at the young boy with a toothy grin. “You can now finally awaken.”

Roy took a stance with his sword and dashed toward the group of monsters. With an overhead diagonal strike, Roy slashed the tall goblin’s upper body open. He then spun to dodge the attack of the second one before stabbing it in the back. With only two small goblins left, Roy stabbed the first one in the stomach while Jaimie slashed the neck of the second one from its back.

As the green light surrounded the body of the young boy, he triumphantly shouted, “Yay, finally! I did it! Ugh-”

Before he could finish his celebration, Jaimie fell to the ground on his knees and gritted his teeth through the pain. As the green light stopped penetrating his skin, the words signaling his accomplishments floated in front of his eyes. As he thought the word “Status”, a screen appeared in front of him.

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