“I must admit I'm still reluctant.” - he said, his voice laden with caution, as if weighing up each word before releasing it. His eyes, however, softened as he stared at me: “But if Satouma-sama is leading this personally... then I'll put all my trust in you.”

  I felt a strange weight in my chest, a mixture of responsibility and pride. I nodded silently, firmly, trying to convey with my gaze that I lived up to the trust he had just given me.

  He continued, now in a more practical tone:

  “As for the expedition, I don't think we need to send everyone at once. On the contrary, one of you will be enough at the moment.”

  Before I could ask who, he had in mind, Gashdo stepped forward, crossing his arms as he looked intently at his interlocutor.

  “You're referring to Dait, aren't you?” - he said, with a confidence that almost bordered on certainty.

  The man nodded slightly, giving a rare, discreet smile.

  “Exactly.”

  As young as he was, Dait had spent time in the Dwarf Kingdom. He didn't know every corner of the place, nor its politics in detail, but his experience could still provide us with valuable information.

  Starko'gus was a local, someone who understood the ways and customs of the dwarves. But a foreigner, someone who has seen the kingdom from the outside in, could give me a different perspective, closer to our own.

  “If I may say so, I'm just surprised by your decision regarding our movement.” - Starko'gus commented, intrigued.

  I smiled, anticipating his doubt.

  “Oh, don't worry. The ants will help us with that.”

  “Precisely. I've asked some to accompany us on this expedition. It might be inconvenient for us to enter the kingdom, but we can get you there without any difficulty.” - Anthalia added.

  Before the meeting, I had already discussed with Starko'gus the distance between our village and the kingdom. Normally, the journey would take at least a week, maybe six days if we were lucky. However, with the ants, this time could be reduced significantly.

  What's more, this would be an excellent opportunity to measure their speed. Knowing how long it would take them to travel long distances could be useful in the future, especially in emergency situations.

  “We'll need to prepare some provisions for the journey. But that can be dealt with later. Right now, we need to define our priorities. We have a lot of problems to solve if we want to ensure the well-being of this village...” - My voice steadied.

  The path we had chosen was full of challenges, but there was no turning back.

  It was time to move on.

  Clack!

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  As I continued planning, one of the walls in the room cracked with a loud noise, causing part of the ceiling to collapse, raising a cloud of dust.

  “I think we should sort that out first...” - Starko'gus commented, looking at the newly created chaos.

  I sighed, watching the rubble piling up around us.

  “Maybe that really is one of the priorities. We've discussed our problems before, but the truth is that there's a lot to sort out.” - My voice carried a mixture of frustration and weariness.

  Starko'gus turned to me, his experienced gaze visibly calculating the solutions.

  “It can be solved. I believe the orcs possess a certain intelligence. They were able to build these makeshift houses, but they still lack some knowledge and, of course, someone to coordinate them.” - He seemed to ponder, as if he had dealt with this before.

  “Do you know any experienced builders who could help us?” - I asked, looking for some hope for the situation.

  Starko'gus let out a low laugh, almost as if the idea was ironic.

  “Heh, experienced builder? He's more of a demanding guy than anything else. If he saw a shoddy building like this, he'd throw a tantrum, but then he'd do something much better. So, yes, I know just the person for this.”

  He seemed so sure that I began to believe that maybe there was a solution there, hidden under layers of complexity.

  I knew that, even with all my efforts to explain the orcs' needs, their construction skills were limited. Their mentality was, so to speak, primitive. They tried to do the best with what they had, but the result was never quite right.

  Still, with a more experienced mind to coordinate them, it might be possible to do something with more precision. The big question, however, was resources. We were going to have to go out in search of them, perhaps further than we would have liked. The good news was that we could count on the help of the ants, a resource that, although unusual, could be crucial.

  “However, I also can't help but notice the problem with the clothing.” - Starko'gus continued, shifting the focus of his analysis to another critical area.

  “Yeah, we improvised on that part too, as you can see.” - I replied, adjusting the makeshift clothes I was wearing, somewhat embarrassed.

  Starko'gus looked out of the tent, carefully observing the female orcs who were gathering fruit in the center of the village. Although some of their parts were covered, our makeshift clothes were, shall we say, more revealing than we would have liked. And over time, these garments became even more... exposed.

  “If the intention was to be a sight for sore eyes, I must say you're on the right track.” - Starko'gus commented with a mischievous smile.

  I arched an eyebrow and smiled at the irony, trying to keep my composure.

  “Heh, if that's what you say.” - The answer came out drier than I expected, but I didn't have much to do other than accept the comment.

  “I think I also know the right person to solve this problem. She's always looking for inspiration, maybe you're the perfect role models for her.” - Starko'gus spoke with a tone of confidence that didn't go unnoticed.

  I shouldn't have been surprised. With the experience Starko'gus had and his older appearance, he certainly knew all kinds of people, from all walks of life and interests. This wasn't the first time he'd talked about these connections.

  The problem with housing and clothing was, in a sense, already foreseen. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but the necessary resources were further away than we thought. The buildings, the clothes, everything we've had so far has been done with what was available. And it couldn't go on like this.

  Starko'gus touched on a crucial point, something I was already aware of. To achieve the necessary improvements, we would need a lot of resources. Some could be obtained easily, but others, more specific, would require suitable tools.

  All we had now were knives made from sturdy branches, picks and axes fashioned from hard stones. None of these would be enough for the larger projects we had in mind.

  In addition, we would also need a blacksmith, someone who had the necessary knowledge to forge suitable tools. Starko'gus seemed to have more confidence than me on the subject, and he certainly knew who to talk to about it.

  But everything he was telling me so far made me reflect on a common point between all the solutions he was suggesting: all these specialists, the ones he was pointing out, had distinctive characteristics. The demanding builder, the tailor in search of inspiration, the perfectionist Ferreira.

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