#1136 Singularity 

Facing the problem head-on, we headed straight to the troubled development site. 

When I arrived, the pioneers who were hard at work each day welcomed me with loud cheers. 

“It’s Lord Saint!” 
“Lord Saint has come to visit!” 

My popularity in the settlement has been shooting through the roof, and they’ve fully accepted me as their leader in this whole endeavor. 

Of course, I’m grateful. But today, there’s something I need to address, and it’s not the kind of thing I can just grin and wave off. 

“I’ve come to ask a favor of you all.” 

They must have sensed something serious in my voice. 
The cheers die down in an instant, and an uneasy silence spreads through the crowd. 

The question “What on earth could this be?” hoversd in the air. 

“I want you to stop discriminating against the orcs and goblins under my command. They’re important allies to me. Looking down on them is the same as looking down on me. I want you to understand that.” 

As soon as I spoke, the entire crowd broke into a murmur of shock.  
Then came the protests, all at once: 

“What in the world are you talking about?! Monsters are just tools!” 
“Orcs and goblins are disposable; just shove them into the enemy ranks and let them take the hits! And you’re saying we should respect them?” 
“Even if it’s you, Lord Saint, this is too much to ask!!!” 

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack…! 

I guess my anger was hard to hide, because all of a sudden the temperature dropped, and everyone froze, mouths clamped shut. 

“Even my normally calm husband loses it when someone insults his beloved farm residents…!” 

Platy mutters that behind me. 

“I’ll say this again. The orcs and goblins following me are precious comrades, not some throwaway tools. They’re just as irreplaceable to me as any one of you. I won’t tolerate anyone harming or insulting them.” 

Hmm. Maybe my tone just now was pretty intense. 

They all clammed up, and I could practically hear them gulping. 

For the record, the ones who got the most worked up are mostly the demons among the settlers.  
The humans, on the other hand, look more baffled. 

Apparently, humans and demons see things differently. 

“So, to the humans here: I’d like to hear your thoughts. What do you think of these guys?” 

I gesture to the group of orcs and goblins standing behind me. 

“Um… we don’t really see them as anything strange.” 
“At first, we thought, ‘Whoa, Lord Saint can talk to monsters—that’s something new,’ but…” 
“Once we chatted with them, they turned out to be pretty friendly. We figured we could get along.” 

Those were the kinds of positive comments I got. 

Come to think of it, most of the human settlers here used to be mercenaries or adventurers. They’re freelancers, so they’re more open-minded.  
That’s why they don’t fuss too much about things they’ve never seen before. 

But it seems the demons feel differently. 

“No way am I accepting that monsters are our equals!” 
“Lord Saint, are you mocking us?!” 

Their initial mumbling starts to swell back into a roar.  
Guess that just shows how deeply ingrained their beliefs are from birth.  
It’s not something you can change overnight. 

“That’s exactly why today’s plan is going to pack a punch! We’re going to shake their worldview!” 

With Platy’s encouraging words, I push forward. 

“I get the demons’ frustrations, so I’ve come up with an event for today.” 
“An event?” 

The crowd buzzes with confusion. 

“Let’s call it a little recreation, a game of sorts. Your opponents will be my orc-and-goblin crew.” 

At that announcement, a wave of surprise and fear passes through them. 

“P-Please, Lord Saint, you must be joking! They’re monsters! There’s no way we could match their strength!” 
“And the monsters Lord Saint owns are way stronger than average! If it’s a contest of power, we’d be slaughtered!” 

I don’t “own” them. 
For the record, this world doesn’t allow trading people like goods. 

 
“You’re mixing things up. ‘Recreation’ can mean a lot of different kinds of contests, right? Sure, there are physical competitions, but there are also games that test other abilities.” 
“Huh?” 
“This time, we’ll be focusing on contests of the mind.” 

In other words, I want them to match wits and knowledge against my orcs and goblins. 

“Are you serious, Lord Saint?!” 
“Well then, that’s a guaranteed victory for us! There’s no way monsters can outsmart humans!” 

Wow, they sound pretty confident. 

“But just competing isn’t fun, right? If we win, then you’ll make your monsters remember their place!” 
“That’s right! Subservient monsters must remain beneath us, correct?” 

They sure are quick to set terms without me asking.  
At least, that saves me the trouble of negotiating. 

“All right, then if my orcs and goblins win, you’ll have to acknowledge them and give them the respect they deserve. Deal?” 
“Deal! Not that it’ll ever happen anyway!” 

They might be in for a surprise.  
An “absolute” guarantee is never really absolute. 

“Monsters might beat us in strength, but they’re inferior in intelligence. That’s why humankind is the more advanced species…” 

Platy mutters, half to herself. 

“…That’s the dominant opinion among demons. Which is exactly why pure brute force isn’t going to change their minds. We need to defeat them in what they believe is their strong suit: intelligence!” 

That’s the reason behind this little event. 

And my farm’s orcs and goblins already have everything they need to win! 

All their hard work is about to pay off in the spotlight. 

Go forth, my orcs and goblins!  
Show them what you’ve learned through all that tough studying! 

*** 

All right, let’s kick off our first game: 

A buzzer quiz. 

First question. 
In 1860, the Edo period Chief Minister Ii Naosuke was assassinated in an incident known as…? 

“Sakuradamon-gai no Hen (The Sakurada Gate Incident)!” 

Correct! 

Second question. 
In 1789, the storming of the Bastille triggered what event? 

“The French Revolution!!!” 

Correct! 

Third question. 
Beginning in Universal Century 0087, the Earth Federation’s internal conflict is known as... 

“Hold it, hold it, hold it! Time out!” 

Bzzz. Wrong answer. 

“No, that wasn’t an answer! What even are those questions?! I’ve never heard of those in my life!” 

They’re history questions. 

“It’s not part of any history we know! If it’s a history quiz, shouldn’t it be about which Demon King reigned in what era, or some famous battle from the Human-Demon Wars?” 

Aww, really? 
You don’t recognize Earth’s history?  

But didn’t you just brag you were smarter than orcs and goblins? Meanwhile, those orcs and goblins are correctly answering all these Earth history questions… 

Of course, they’ve been studying hard under Lord Sugawara no Michizane, so they’ve got a pretty thorough grasp of it. 

“But, My Lord...!” 
“This seems a little unfair, don’t you think?” 

Even my loyal orcs and goblins are giving me the side-eye. 

Yeah, I guess this is like putting questions from outside the syllabus on a test. Definitely unfair. 

Fine, let’s try a different kind of game. 
Something that’ll give a fairer comparison of brainpower.