As Pan and Clara did their diligent duties, Crispina and Basilio gathered around Cali.
Cali told them about Pan's further discoveries about Goblins and their ability to speak pangkaraniwan, the common language of this world.
"Wait, so you're telling me that Pan's been talking and cooperating with these monsters?!" Basilio says in shock.
"I wouldn't use 'cooperating' to describe it, but yes, Pan has been sending me letters about it." Cali explained.
"She already freed Viktor Malvado, and the rest of the once valiant Monster Hunting Knights."
"Seriously!? She freed the one person who almost killed her and my sister! I don't know what she's doing, but this seems to be an awful play on her part." Basilio says in a bit of confusion and anger.
"Her talking to monsters and freeing the one man that we shouldn't... Jeez, what's happening in this village?"
"Then Cali..." Crispina says in curiosity but she looks a little terrified.
"If those goblins want to learn and speak, then that means they know compassion, right?"
"Obviously. Pan wrote a detailed description of one of the Goblins. She said that he had dreams of becoming a scientist, despite his broken pangkaraniwan." Cali answered.
"Then those Orcs did we killed, Basilio..." Crispina turns to him.
"They really did have families."
Basilio's eyes widened before he crosses his arms, looking away.
"I guess so." He answered begrudgingly.
Crispina then looks down, gritting her teeth in a bit of frustration. The realization that they killed countless parents and children caught up to her.
Basilio looks regretful as well, he's not that different to his sister.
"Now, now. I'm sure this has some severe repercussions to our knowledge of monsters but I'll take Pan's word for it." Cali says.
"In her letter, she expressed her deep regret of killing monsters now that she knows what they can do, but she also stated that we shouldn't forget the Monsters' POV as well."
"In both sides, we're fighting for what we assume are evil creatures. So we can't just spare every monster, much like how we can't spare every man or woman." Cali explained.
"In short, you'll still do your job of protecting the village from any threat no matter what, but keep in mind who you are fighting. In the end, it's up to you if you're going to slay or spare the foe right in front of you."
"Got that?" Cali looks to them, making them respond to shake them off from their regrets.
"Yes sir." They both said.
"Trust in Pan's words and deeds, she may be in this world for a few months but in that small time, she achieved milestones that we otherwise ignored due to how we understand our world." Cali explained.
"You are dismissed. I'll call you again if Pan tells me anything or if I discover more information about Lalahon."
Basilio and Crispina nodded before they walk away. They left the Guild and pondered as they walked along the path.
"Crispina, can you believe that? Monsters and Humans, living together..." Basilio muttered.
"I'm not sure. We've been slaying them our entire life, so I don't have the resolve to reconsider." Crispina answered.
"But if Pan can find a way, then I'm sure we can see what she sees. We need to get stronger, both mind and body."
"Right, it's not about protecting her and our family. It's about understanding them as well, and strengthening our resolve to stay with their ideas." Basilio nodded before smiling.
"Come on then, let's keep training." Basilio then starts sprinting and Crispina followed behind.
As the two found new understanding for Pan and the world they lived in, Clara has found resolve in her goal to find Lalahon.
With her discovery of Nohala's document, she officially targeted her for her investigation.
But first, she has to find her.
"People rarely see Miss Nohala, which I realized is a frequent occurrence. Nobody knows who she is, just the pretty lady with the 'fat and ugly' mayor. Such cruel words..."
Clara thinks deeply for her next step, as she entered the town hall with her bright yet fake smile.
Nobody would notice anyway, everyone is far too busy doing nothing.
Clara quickly made her way back to the offices, arranging the papers and sneaking Nohala's document back to where they belong.
She worked a few more hours to wait for Nohala, who typically comes at a later date in the morning. Though she also did her best to sort and manage the papers about Anihan Village.
"Commissions from the kingdom, and orders of bread from smaller villages... No wonder we're not getting any traction, nobody's accepting these. A village is as strong as it people but it also needs a strong relationship with its neighbours. What is the mayor doing? Well, nothing obviously..." Clara muttered before sensing a presence passing by.
She glances over to see a familiar hair colour, it's definitely Nohala's. Clara quickly followed but she peaked from the door way and kept an eye on her.
"She's on her way to the Mayor's office. It's off limits there! Especially when there's Knights guarding it." Clara thought before she thinks of a way to distract those Knights.
"Hmm... Ah!" Clara snaps her fingers before she starts rummaging the office, making a mess.
The Knights noticed and ran over to investigate. When they entered the office, they saw Clara on the ground, seemingly beat up.
"O-Oh dear! A goblin broke in and made a mess! I-I tried to fight back but look at me... It jumped out of the window, I-I fear it may come back..!" Clara says in a distressing tone.
The Knights were enamored by her weak yet beautiful state, so they complied.
"We will bring justice to this vermin." The Knight nodded and quickly left the room to search for this supposed goblin.
Clara smirks to herself before quickly running out of the office. It'll take a while for those Knights to figure out that the goblin isn't real.
Clara turns to a right and stares at the imposing door to the mayor's office.
She holds her chest, deeply breathing before slowly walking forward.
"I can only eavesdrop, anything more than that will spell disaster for me." Clara thought before going up against the door.
She then hones in and focuses her hearing. Listening to the conversation in the other sides.
She could hear two voices, one of the mayor's and another that she wasn't familiar with.
"Your majesty- You're putting the village under stress! If we put more Knights on guard, then the populous will get tense!" The Mayor pleaded.
"I do not care about you MEASLY humans! So what if they feel scared? All the better to put them in my iron grip!" The other voice said with authority.
"What's more important than your pesky lives is the possibility of that monster surviving!"
"T-That monster? You mean, the one we publicly executed?" The Mayor asked in fear.
"Pan..." Clara thought before listening more closely.
"I've already sent 3 of my commanders to search for her. They'll do the job swiftly and without fail." The other voice says with sophistication.
"W-What about what you said! A-An invasion?! Of this village!?" The Mayor asked in fear.
"What about it? Do you honestly think that I'll let you disgusting creatures go? You're all PIGS for slaughter! In just a few months, the southern invasion of the Darkness starts with this tiny village!" The Voice says angrily.
"Wait... The southern invasion..? Then this woman... It must be, Princess Lalahon..!" Clara thought as she quickly takes a step back but she bumps onto a plant vase.
"Oh no!"
Suddenly, the doors opened. Nohala was there to respond to that suspicious sound.
She takes a look around and saw noone was there. She also saw that the Knights posted to guard them was gone.
"Tch... Utterly useless..." Nohala muttered before quickly closing the doors and locking them.
Meanwhile, Clara got slammed against the wall when Nohala kicked the doors opened. So she was safe from her eyes, but not from the impact.
"A-Ah..." Clara painfully walked away, arranging herself to not look as haggard.
"That must be princess Lalahon... I noticed that Nohala and her voice roughly sound the same." Clara quickly made her way back to the office.
She made sure she looked proper before doing her daily job. Though she's disturbed that the mayor is being controlled by Lalahon.
"I have to tell Pan and everybody else. But I have to careful, I don't want the village to panic or speed up that invasion Lalahon spoke of..." Clara thought.
She went back to doing her work, rearranging the papers once more. But her mind is clouded with fear, the village was manipulated to be like this.
Yet this fear was overshadowed by a feeling inside Clara, she felt determined to make things right.
"Since I was young, I wanted to govern this village. There's many things wrong in it, and I wish to make it right..."
"I'll do my absolute best to make that happen. The people of Anihan must be saved..." Clara thought with bravery in her eyes.
As Clara made a revelation, the Ina Siblings continued their training against Monsters.
But with the knowledge of them having human traits and knowledge, they were more weary.
The Siblings were on a quest to take out a monster encampment filled with various different beasts.
They've honed their skills since the start of the plan, but Crispina has been more cautious.
Instead of outright killing monsters, she opted to knock them out or incapacitate them. They still tied them down so they won't cause any trouble.
"Sigh..." Crispina ties up another unconscious orc, she stands up before looking at the destruction she and her brother caused.
"It feels weird... In the point of view of Monsters, this could be done by any Beast we fought." Crispina muttered.
Basilio then pats Crispina on the shoulder, comforting her sister.
"I don't feel all too well either. Despite our growing strength, there's a growing concern inside me as well." Basilio says.
"We didn't kill them, just tied them up. But now what? Where should we put them?" Basilio asked while scratching his cheek.
Crispina just shrugged, sighing deeply before she continues to loot the ruined camp.
"We should take their weapons and equipment, this should make them retreat." Crispina says.
"Good idea! I'll take one of their wagons." Basilio then jogs away to find a wagon.
Though as Crispina was collecting the weapons and their armor, she was startled.
"Ah!" Crispina fell backwards in surprise as a small, green blob bounced out of the pile.
"A slime?" Crispina thought before she sits up, she prepares her blade.
But she remembers what Cali said about monsters. Specifically, something in Pan's notes about slimes.
"They're more like animals... Then is it okay to..." Crispina was about to slay the Slime, who was bouncing towards her slowly.
"Tch... I've killed so many of you. And your kind has assimilated people as well... But animals kill and eat to survive..." Crispina muttered as her blade shook, she couldn't do it.
Crispina closes her eyes, gritting her teeth. She's trying to muster up the courage to stab the thing but in the end, she gives up and sighs deeply.
Standing up, Crispina holsters her blade before bending down and gently picking up the slime. She takes a good look of it, and the slime was curious towards her as well.
"This is a pretty weak slime, but you're not attacking in anyway, are you? By the looks of it, you're some sort of grass slime." Crispina says before she takes out food, it was bread, from yours truly.
Crispina hovers it around the slime, the creature curiously stretched to look at it before it latches it onto it and absorbs the bread.
The slime shows gratitude by forming a small red heart on its surface.
"Ah!" Crispina's eyes widened.
"Hyaaa~!" Crispina was awestruck by its cuteness and quickly hugged it like its a pet.
She rushed to Basilio and shows off her newly adopted slime.
"Look, look! This slime likes me! I'm naming him 'Panny'! We're taking him home!" Crispina says with sparkling eyes.
"Are you crazy!? You're bringing a monster back home!? Pan said to respect monsters, not take them into the village!" Basilio was reluctant to bring Panny into the village.
"B-But..." Crispina starts tearing up.
"Okay fine, we can bring Panny home." Basilio easily caved in.
Crispina celebrated, holding up Panny with glee and joy before gently putting him on her head.
A few minutes later, they finished the job on cleaning up the camp of weapons and armour. Basilio and Crispina served as the horses to their wagon full of equipment.
"They should give us a lot for these pristine weaponry. Crispina, let's go." Basilio says before pulling, Crispina followed suit.
"I can't wait to show Pan this little guy! I named him after her!" Crispina happily says as Panny the Slime bounces up and down on her head.
"B-Better to hide that thing under your coat, Crispina..."
As the siblings finished their work, small eyes stared from the distance. It seems that they didn't clear the camp fully and now one made an escape and took note of them.
This escapee rushed back to a bigger encampment deep in the woods. Entering the dark and tribal area, he was greeted by armored Orcs and hobgoblin.
It asked audience with the chief, saying they finally found the two adventurers who's been destroying their camps.
They let them in and it rushed to the biggest tent, where the one and only 4 Armed Orc, Kagitingan, waited.
"A survivor of one of the encampments..." Kagitingan mutters as he sees this small goblin.
The goblin then explained the attackers, describing them in concrete detail in their language.
Kagitingan nodded before rewarding him with gold for this information. The large orc then stands up and stretches her 4 arms before clashing them together.
"I prioritise the princess' orders more than anything..." Kagitingan says before walking out of the tent.
"But this assault against my soldiers will not go unnoticed." Kagitingan's eyes glowed of strength and determination.
Kagitingan then cracks her knuckles before heading out into the forests, planning her next move now that she knows who her adversaries are.
A week later...
As tension rises within the Anihan Region, back in the Goblin Settlement, or the newly named "Anihan Monster Settlement", Pan and the Ex-Knights are renovating the settlement so the humans and Orcs can live under a comfortable and sizable house.
Pan provided food and water as usual, but she helped with carrying heavy loads with her dough form.
It seems that after a week, most of the Ex-Knights have coexisted with the Orcs and Goblins.
"Mhm! This place is starting to look like a mini Anihan Village!" Pan says joyfully.
"As regrettable it is to say, I do share the same sentiment..." Viktor muttered
Pan glances over to see Viktor Malvado, the man who hated monsters with a passion now gentle with them.
"Hey, you look better than ever." Pan chuckled.
"How's life with monsters?"
"It's alright..." Viktor then stands next to Pan, looking at the Anihan Monster Settlement.
"My eyes... Hm... My single eye does not deceive me. Monsters and Humanity can truly coexist with one another." Viktor says.
"Yeah, I'm shocked too." Pan commented.
"Still, something like this will look heretical to the eyes of our kingdom, and the monsters. Will they allow this to exist?" Viktor asked.
"They have to. I'll make sure both sides do." Pan answered without wavering.
Viktor's eyes widened at Pan, he saw how committed she was. It was strange for him to see someone so resolved and composed about this.
"Hm... Where were you when I was young?" Viktor smiled, closing his single eye.
"Speaking of which, I'm curious to hear why are you so adamant to slay monsters back then." Pan turns to Viktor.
"A job is a job, but you treated yours like it's some sort of crusade."
Viktor flinched at what she said, but she just sighed before looking away.
"You're curious to know, hm? My... Past with monsters isn't a pleasant one..." Viktor then looks back to Pan.
"I'll tell you-"
"Miss Pan!" A Small voice said, both of them turned their head to see Liit-Liit and a pack of lightly armored goblins.
"What's up? Also, who are those goblins with you?" Pan asked.
"They're scouts! Volunteered to become the Anihan Settlement's Eyes for danger!" Liit-Liit answered.
"Oh? Your pangkaraniwan is better now, Liit-Liit. And it seems like you and the Ex-Knights got busy and trained some of them to fight, didn't you?" Pan smirked as she turns her head to Viktor.
"It's nothing. The settlement needed to be safe." Viktor says.
"Well anyways, you seem bothered, Liit-Liit. Do these scouts have something to say?" Pan asked.
"Yes, yes!" Liit-Liit says.
One of the Goblin scouts walked up and saluted Pan.
"Miss Pan and General Viktor! My group has spotted something dangerous far beyond our settlement!" The Scout says.
"It seems Princess Lalahon is mobilising a search force! I've spotted one of her commanders near our region, investigating the other monster Settlements!"
"One of her commanders?" Pan muttered.
"Kilat the Lightning Wolf! He's searching for Miss Pan!" The scout says.
"Kilat?" Pan asked curiously.
"Lightning Wolf? A beastman!?" Viktor's eyes widened with fear and nervousness.
Pan and Viktor then looked at each other, their face went serious.
"So Princess Lalahon is making her move." Pan says.
"Yes... This shall be the price we pay for living with monsters." Viktor says as he looked down.
"If one of the commanders are moving, then the rest of them are... I'll have to tell Crispina and Clara about this!" Pan says before she dashes, making a run back to the village.
"Hey, wait a minute! Tch... I'll have to handle things here first... It could be unsafe in the village as well." Viktor says before he walks back to the settlement.
And so, with the recent clue of Nohala being Lalahon. The fire princess' commanders are starting to close in towards Pan and the others.
With Basilio and Crispina being targeted by Kagitingan. And the report of Kilat searching each settlement. Pan must now prepare herself for the inevitable.