What kind of Evil God's offering is this?

Youki-chan asked me to help rescue the oni who'd already been sold off.

However, to be blunt, I have zero obligation to do so.

So if I'm going to help, I intend to get proper compensation.

"… P-Please! Think of it as helping me!"

"It's not like we're dying to help you, Youki-chan."

Youki-chan let out a strangled sound, at a loss for words.

"Besides, we want payment. Even our princess here, inhumanly adorable as she is, needs money to live. Don't you think it's a bit much to ask us to work for free?"

"B-But we're preparing meals for you at the village right now… Doesn't that count as, you know, payment for food and lodging…?"

"Nooope. We're lending you our dragons, so actually, you owe us. Biiig time."

That's right. Gyaldra and Kirigon, two actual dragons, were lounging around here peacefully. Their presence perfectly suppressed the threat that real dragons pose.

Try putting a price tag on that. Lodging fees wouldn't even come close.

Of course, I can't deny that we ourselves pose a different kind of threat, but we can communicate, and we're docile as long as nobody harms us… actually, we stayed docile even when they drugged us, so we're totally safe. Right? Right?

"That said, chance meetings are fate's design. As a special favor, if you give me socks from all the women in the village—and I mean the ones that have been worn for several days and gotten nice and ripe—I wouldn't mind lending a hand."

"… Huh?"

Youki-chan blinked at me in confusion. Well, fair enough. If someone did a complete 180 and agreed to help in exchange for smelly, worn-out socks, you'd react the same way.

"Oh, it's nothing sinister. Just a sort of ritual sacrifice. Due to various complicated circumstances and procedures, we ended up needing 'used, unwashed, smelly socks,' preferably 'ones marinated in plenty of embarrassment.' That's the gist of it."

"R-Ritual sacrifice??? W-Well, I suppose it has proper magical significance then… What kind of evil god are these offerings even for…?"

This world's main goddess, actually. Probably… Right?

"A-Anyway, if that's all it takes… As village chief, I'll order the women to hand over their socks…"

"Seriously? Your approval rating's gonna tank fast, new village chief."

"Actually, if word gets out that I settled what would normally cost a fortune with just socks, maybe it'll go up…?"

Right. I should mention that the village chief who'd been colluding with merchants to sell the women had stepped down, and Youki-chan had taken over as the new chief.

Despite being the daughter of the chief who royally screwed up, she'd originally been groomed as his successor anyway, and apparently she earned some goodwill for being the one who called us in.

… Though you could also say she got a whole heap of responsibilities dumped on her shoulders.

"It's a promise, okay? If you can't deliver, I'll lock you up and won't let you go until you've personally produced enough socks to match the entire village's population. I'll break your horns off and pile on the humiliation too."

"O-Oh… I-I'll keep my promise, I swear! I definitely won't drug you or anything!"

Youki-chan said, shrinking back a little.

She said it, right? Then I'll cooperate.

"Alright, first let's secure the village's safety."

"Eh? Like a barrier or something?"

I snapped my fingers.

"There. Done."

"? … Did you do something?"

"Yep. Stored this entire area."

"Eh? Stored…?"

That's right. Where the village once stood, there was now nothing but bare, gouged-out earth.

All that's left is to have Gyaldra and Kirigon rampage across the site a bit. Once it looks like a place that got wrecked by rampaging dragons, the cover story writes itself.

After that, I'll store Gyaldra and the others too, and everyone will be safe and sound. Hehehe.

"Also, want me to heal the horns of that oni girl who was enslaved?"

"… Eh? You can do that?"

Well, if they're giving me a whole village's worth of socks, throwing in a little bonus is no big deal.

Even the Goddess would agree… That goddess would definitely say so. Absolutely. Going past one hundred percent, five hundred percent certain she would.