"Don't pick a fight first. They might be ruled by Lilith or Gore. The first one isn't hostile, and with the other, we kind of might have something like a truce going on… Probably. Hopefully... Momentarily."
Melinda reminded as their party descended the slope and approached Kobold's quarry.
"My lady, is it certain that the Kobolds would be ruled by the demons?"
The maid asked, looking between the gold-haired girl and the white-haired man.
"...that was certainly the case…"
"That's right."
Melinda raised her brows and pointed out, not mentioning the game this time, and Zane agreed with her with a similar expression.
"And, Adi. Them being ruled over might not sound like a big case, but Kobolds devolved from Ancient Draconids. Having fragmentary bloodline knowledge isn't all positive. One of the traits that they inherited is a ridiculous loyalty. Once a Kobold decides on its sovereign, only death will stop it from obeying them. Ancient Draconids were honorable, but they would sever ties with someone who encouraged them to commit some heinous crime. The simple-minded Kobolds will do it. And even if their chosen sovereign dies, they will continue following all the previous commands."
The gold-haired girl explained.
"It's also sad that the way to make them acknowledge someone as their sovereign is through violence and not kindness. Although, as long as they aren't ordered to be hostile on sight, they can be quite adorable and funny fellows."
She added, allowing herself a reserved smile.
"..."
The maid closed her mouth and stared at the gold-haired girl meaningfully as if she thought something very obvious should be pointed out then and there, but her action wasn't acknowledged.
"That's odd. There's no sentires or guards…"
"...that is odd…"
As they walked, Zane frowned and pointed out slowly, to which Melinda tilted her head and muttered, squinting her eyes with suspicion.
In an unexpected turn of events, their party ended up entering the Kobold's settlement without being noticed, despite not trying to hide their presence.
"...could it be that it's my fault…?"
"Nnnnn… nnnooo… I don't think your Background Character could affect either me or Zane in that way…"
The maid voiced her idea in a worried voice, but the gold-haired girl shook her head and disagreed.
After a few seconds of consideration, Melinda stepped forward, getting in the way of one of the Kobolds - a murky-gray-scaled one with features of a common lizard carrying a bunch of rocks.
"Hello."
The gold-haired girl crouched to be on the eye level of the small humanoid and raised her hand for a greeting as she called out.
"?!?!"
The Kobold's reaction was rather theatrical. The little monster dropped all of the stones it was carrying and then backed off, staring at Melinda with its lizard mouth open as if the girl had materialized out of thin air.
"...!?"
"...!"
To make the situation even more amusing, other Kobolds also began to notice the gold-haired girl, making it seem that they could only notice things that were their height or shorter and not anything taller.
"Sorry for surprising you. Here you go."
Melinda wasn't bothered by the reaction she got. She smiled while picking up and offering the rocks back to the Kobold, who dropped them.
"..."
"Say, I don't see any banners around. Who is the boss boss in here?"
The Kobold took the rocks but it seemed it couldn't come up with any words as it continued to stare, making Melinda look around in an overly animated manner and ask while tilting her head to make her intention as apparent as possible.
"...g… g…"
Finally, it seemed that the wheels in Kobold's brain began to turn, and it let out a few screeches that sounded vaguely recognizable.
"Hmm?"
Melinda didn't try to hasten the creature and simply hummed, tilting her head to the other side.
"...gold…!"
Finally, the Kobold let out a hushed screech.
"Hmhm~! That's fair. Adi~ Could you give me a gold coin out of my impulse-spending money?"
Melinda chuckled and nodded before turning to the maid, reaching out her hand expectantly.
"Y-yes, of course, my lady."
The maid flinched in surprise but took out and handed the gold-haired girl what she requested.
"Here, friend. In exchange, tell me who the boss boss is. You can also lead me to the boss boss while we're at it."
"..."
Melinda showed off the gold coin with the visage of the goddess Perseverance and placed it on top of the rocks the Kobold was holding before declaring her condition to the silent creature.
"..."
The gray-scaled Kobold glanced at the gold count only briefly before focusing on the human girl.
"... right… did we walk into a trap, and this fellow is stalling us…? Are there any suspicious movements? Do you notice or sense any spells being activated…?"
Melinda furrowed her brows and leaned back, asking the maid and the white-haired monstrous man without taking her eyes off the uncooperative Kobold.
"They aren't doing anything…"
Zane pointed out after surveying the surroundings and taking a good look at all Kobolds rooted in place as they were staring at Melinda and didn't seem to notice anyone else.
"...maybe they are under Demon lord Gore's control, and he is considering whether he should talk or not? The last time, he didn't seem that cooperative, and you did see through his intentions..."
The maid suggested hesitantly.
"Kobolds are highly resistant to demonic energy and, therefore, are much, much harder to control than any other species. It's like trying to play a competitive multiplayer shooter game while your internet sucks. Too infuriating to be worth it, at least for someone like Gore."
"...are… are you creating new words to confuse me…? My lady...?"
Melinda said while furrowing her brows, making the maid let out an utterly bewildered voice.
"Haaa… I hope you aren't aligned with Sophia. You're way cuter than I expected up close like this."
"?!"
The gold-haired girl glanced at the maid before letting out a tired sigh. Almost subconsciously, she reached out and began patting the bewildered Kobold.
"Alright. Change of approach…"
Melinda nodded to herself, taking a deep breath and standing back up to look around at all the monsters who stopped to stare at her.