The Mole and the Necromancer King

1　The autumn harvest and assorted matters

Autumn had arrived, the season of harvest.

Until now, after harvesting all the crops, I had used the Almighty Farming Tool to turn everything left over into soil and till new fields.

Even during the autumn harvest, when winter was approaching, I tilled everything back into soil just the same.

This time, however, things were different, and I needed to be careful. That was because I wanted Village Two and Village Three to practice ordinary farming.

We had to save some of the harvest for seed. That meant I couldn't hoe everything under... crops with obvious seeds were one thing, but what was I supposed to do about crops without obvious seeds? Root vegetables, for example. I remembered that you could simply leave those alone...

I would just have to find out through various experiments.

Crops whose seeds I hadn't imagined in the first place gave me a real headache. Bananas, for example, had no seeds, so it wouldn't be strange if the crops I grew included seedless varieties.

Would everything be fine if I specifically kept seeds in mind when tilling with the Almighty Farming Tool?

If necessary, I could also buy seeds and seedlings from Mr. Michael. It wasn't as if my villages were the only places farming in the whole world; there were ordinary farmers everywhere. For the minotaurs, who had farming experience, buying seeds elsewhere might actually be better.

For now, though, I just wanted to do everything I could.

"So, in other words... Big Tree Village's harvest will proceed as usual, while Village Two and Village Three will work things out as they go."

"That's right."

One of the civil servant girls summed it up for me, so that was what we would do.

"About this red wine. Apparently, removing the skins first reduces its astringency."

Donovan the dwarf came over to tell me that. In other words, he wanted to make wine?

"You can make it, but why do you need my permission?"

I had thought they were already doing that...

"Well, that's because... peeling grapes takes manpower."

"I see. Do you already have anyone suitable in mind?"

"My first choice would be the beastkin girls, since they're good with their hands, but they're busy this time of year."

"True. They have to press oil and make processed goods, too."

"The high elves and mountain elves are all busy preparing for winter, and the lizardmen are no exception."

"People with free time are pretty rare during harvest season, aren't they?"

Indeed.

"So I spent a long time looking... and in the end, the lamias said they wanted to earn some money and hoped we would hire them."

Was that why Donovan had come to ask my permission?

"I don't mind, but what about their pay?"

"Room and board during their stay in the village, and they'd like to be paid with crops we already have."

"How much produce are they asking for?"

"Apparently, even a little is fine. Even a single piece of fruit would do. They said they wanted us to decide after seeing their work."

"Got it. Let's hire them, then. Donovan, you can decide the kinds and quantities of crops to give them. If the amount gets too outrageous, come discuss it with me."

"Yes, leave it to me."

And so we hired several... six lamias, to be precise.

They stayed in the village temporarily to help make wine, peeling grapes and pressing their flesh.

Yes, what a peaceful sight.

Once the harvest was over, it would be time to visit Good Forest Village for the bartering we called trade.

Our representative this time was Daga. When Guraru headed home after the martial arts tournament, he had apparently arranged for Daga to visit Good Forest Village for a sparring match. I didn't mind them competing, but I hoped he wouldn't forget his actual assignment.

I sent two civil servant girls who were good with numbers along with him.

As for labor, they could hire people locally. We had settled on that arrangement in light of our past trading results and Good Forest Village's desire to earn a little more.

As usual, they apparently still had a dispute with a human village. I had no intention of interfering, but shouldn't something be done? The human village in the dispute with Good Forest Village was also within the Demon King Kingdom. Couldn't we settle things by consulting the Demon King or Beezel?

Ah-but Guraru had seen the Demon King and Beezel when he came to the martial arts tournament, hadn't he? If the Demon King or Beezel could help, surely he would have said something then.

There was no point in worrying for nothing.

Once Good Forest Village came to consult me, I would give the matter some serious thought.

They really did come to consult me.

"Huh? You want me to talk to the Demon King?"

Daga returned from Good Forest Village with Guraru in tow. Guraru explained the details to me.

Their village had reached its limits in many respects, and they were apparently even considering abandoning it.

Normally, when a village encountered trouble, the village chief responsible for managing it would appeal to the lord on the village's behalf...

Once an appeal was made, the matter was left to the lord's judgment, and whatever ruling the lord issued had to be accepted.

That lord apparently favored the human village. Good Forest Village didn't trust him, so they couldn't make an appeal.

Instead, they intended to approach someone who could give the lord orders-in other words, go over his head and report to the Demon King...

"We would like to ask you to put in a word with His Majesty the Demon King."

"Put in a word... you just want me to ask the Demon King to hear Good Forest Village's side, right?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you speak to him directly during the martial arts tournament?"

"We wouldn't dare."

"Uh..."

While Guraru and I stood there awkwardly, Frau, who had arrived at some point, quietly explained to me.

"His Majesty the Demon King is the most important person in the Demon King Kingdom. His subjects simply can't speak to him directly."

"But he names my children."

"That isn't something he would ordinarily do."

"So what you're saying is?"

"If you approached him, Village Chief, you should be able to speak with the Demon King."

"Well, that's true... anyway, first let me hear why the two villages are fighting."

It wasn't very likely, but Good Forest Village might be in the wrong.

The human village in the dispute with Good Forest Village was called Shuma Village.

Shuma Village lay south of Tarot Village and was fairly large.

As for the cause of the quarrel, it apparently began when a girl from Shuma Village who had married into Good Forest Village was sent back.

After the girl was sent home, for some reason, trade between Shuma Village and Good Forest Village grew increasingly unfair, and even the surrounding area came under pressure.

Good Forest Village refused to take it quietly and told the neighboring villages what had happened. From Good Forest Village's perspective, the other side should have backed down if the surrounding villages spoke up, but Shuma Village chose to halt trade instead.

The stalemate had continued ever since.

"From our perspective, that girl who was sent back must have said something bad about Good Forest Village in Shuma Village... but some people think she wouldn't have done that, judging by how she was when she lived with us."

"Why was she sent back? Did she and her husband not get along?"

"No, they got along well, and she was a good wife. It was just that she couldn't get used to life in the mountains, and her health couldn't take it. She insisted desperately that she wanted to stay, but we were worried she would die young after coming all the way from Shuma Village to marry..."

"So you sent her back."

"Yes."

That might have been only Good Forest Village's side of the story, but I couldn't find anything they had done wrong. The mere fact that they hadn't resorted to force meant they had handled things calmly.

"Why does the lord favor Shuma Village?"

"Because the lord is human. Besides, Shuma Village is closer to his residence. He's never visited Good Forest Village, but he's stayed in Shuma Village several times."

From the lord's perspective, perhaps he simply wanted to support the village he was closer to?

"The village chief and I did at least go to discuss the current situation with the lord. But he had already accepted Shuma Village's claims and decided Good Forest Village was at fault. We intended to make an appeal while we were there, but we felt we had no chance, so we withdrew of our own accord."

Hmm...

Was Shuma Village really at fault? Guraru was speaking from Good Forest Village's standpoint, after all. I wanted to hear Shuma Village's side, but...

While I was thinking, Frau whispered in my ear from behind.

"There are a few things I'd like to confirm..."

"Hmm?"

After hearing Frau's thoughts, I questioned Guraru again.

"Was the girl who was sent back the daughter of someone influential in Shuma Village?"

"I heard she was a relative of Shuma Village's chief."

"And the man from Good Forest Village?"

"The village chief's son. Sena's older brother."

"How did the marriage come about?"

"Their parents arranged it. Shuma Village proposed it, saying they wanted to deepen their friendship with Good Forest Village."

"Was there a wedding ceremony or anything?"

"Yes. They held a grand ceremony in Shuma Village. The lord attended, too."

After finishing my questions, I looked at Frau... and found her clutching her head in distress.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong? Good Forest Village is completely at fault here!"

"Huh?"

Apparently, there were still some rules in this world that I didn't understand.

Was this what they called a cultural difference?

2　Good Forest Village's dispute

I left Guraru for the moment and listened to Frau's explanation.

"Since this involves marriage, it's complicated, so I'll use an object as an example."

"If you gave someone a gift to make friends, and they sent it back because they thought it wasn't suitable for their village, how would you feel?"

"Well... I'd think they didn't want to be friends."

"Right? That's what happened."

"But we're actually talking about a person, not an object. From Good Forest Village's standpoint, it wouldn't be good to force her to live in the village and let her die of illness, would it?"

"That's precisely the problem. That way of thinking is wrong."

"Huh?"

"They returned a gift that symbolized friendship because it would spoil if they kept it in the village. That's what happened, correct?"

"Yes."

"If they wanted to be friends, they couldn't send it back."

"Huh?"

"They should take good care of it and cherish it so it doesn't spoil. Isn't going that far what it means to want to be friends?"

"Well, that's true..."

"We'll need to confirm this later, but I suspect Good Forest Village treated her like any other woman marrying into the village."

"...In other words, Shuma Village and Good Forest Village viewed this marriage differently."

"Exactly. And on top of that, the lord was involved."

"Because the lord attended the wedding?"

"Yes. In other words, the lord supported the marriage. But then the bride was returned... which meant they made the lord lose face."

"But-"

"If we look into it further... the girl they sent back might even be the child of the lord and a commoner."

"Huh?"

"Even if they're his subjects, it was ultimately just a private wedding ceremony. The lord's attendance was exceptional treatment."

"So that means..."

"The lord's child in Shuma Village married, but the other side failed to treat her well and sent her back... it's a wonder the lord didn't send troops to attack Good Forest Village."

"Uh..."

I went back to Guraru and told him what Frau had said.

"We certainly treated her like an ordinary daughter-in-law, but she never looked unhappy about it."

Relaying everything was too much trouble, so I had Frau stand beside me. No, the two of them should just speak directly.

"Of course not. She had already married into your village. How could she show you her displeasure?"

"So we shouldn't have treated her like an ordinary daughter-in-law?"

"If her health hadn't suffered as a result, it wouldn't have been much of a problem..."

"But... she had miner's cough. If we hadn't sent her back, she would have died very soon."

"That's why you couldn't let her die... miner's cough?"

"Yes, miner's cough."

"Excuse me, but what is this miner's cough you're talking about?"

"It's a sign of a fatal illness. Anyone who gets miner's cough will die unless they leave the mine immediately."

"...They'll die no matter what you do?"

"As long as the patient stays near the mine. We couldn't bear to see such a young girl suffer, so we forced her to return to her family..."

"Did you tell Shuma Village about the miner's cough?"

"Even if it clears up once you leave the mine, an illness is still an illness. To keep unpleasant rumors from spreading and hindering her remarriage, we issued strict orders to keep it secret."

"A lack of communication."

"Huh?"

"A lack of communication! You complete idiot!"

Frau shouted.

Afterward, Frau used a small wyvern to summon Beezel and traveled back and forth between Good Forest Village and Shuma Village.

We had reached an agreement with the lord, too.

"Well, things can't go back to normal right away, but Good Forest Village and Shuma Village should start mending fences now. I warned them that I'd get angry if they didn't make up."

"Th-thank you for your hard work. You too, Beezel."

"N-not at all. Fortunately, the lord was a reasonable man. Fraurem, this sort of thing is really an overstep of your authority."

"I think it was better than getting the Demon King involved."

"Exactly. That's precisely why I helped... but you need to give more thought to factional issues from now on."

"Factions? Who should have handled this incident?"

"Earl Pugyaru."

"Ah... sorry, Father. There was actually an easier way to resolve this."

"Not at all. It's been a long time since my daughter asked me for a favor. It felt rather nice."

Beezel went home after enjoying dinner and a bath.

"What was that easier solution you mentioned?"

"Earl Pugyaru's daughter is in the village, too."

Apparently, she was one of the civil servant girls.

"Would it have been easier to have that earl speak up?"

Terms like patron and dependent made the explanation complicated, but put simply-the earl was apparently the local boss. Beezel, meanwhile, was the boss of another area, so interfering in another faction's affairs could be troublesome. In the worst case, the two sides might start fighting.

This time, the matter had apparently been treated as unofficial, strictly between Beezel and that lord.

Even so, it seemed we would still have to inform Earl Pugyaru afterward. Otherwise, when the truth came out, it would cause an even bigger dispute.

"What a hassle."

"Yes. I let my anger get the better of me and acted without thinking. I need to reflect on that."

"Well, you did solve a problem, after all. That's good enough."

"Yes. Also, um..."

"Yes?"

The man and woman at the center of the dispute remarried.

They were the son of Good Forest Village's chief and the daughter of a relative of Shuma Village's chief.

Just as Frau had guessed, the woman was the lord's daughter. What was more, she had given birth after returning to Shuma Village, and the child plainly had beastkin blood.

For the woman's sake, Shuma Village had hoped to make Good Forest Village back down and get the couple remarried, but things had not gone well.

I thought they could have avoided such a fight if they had just found somewhere to talk things through...

From Shuma Village's perspective, a marriage symbolizing friendship had been destroyed. But from Good Forest Village's perspective, their efforts to protect the woman's life had been mistaken for mistreatment, so neither side could swallow its pride and apologize first.

It was a blessing amid misfortune that things had not escalated into armed conflict.

Now, although they had remarried... they could not live in Good Forest Village because there was a risk of the miner's cough returning.

The best solution would have been for the man to live in Shuma Village, but that would amount to Good Forest Village submitting to Shuma Village, which would draw objections.

What an absolute pain.

In the end, the couple and their child moved to Big Tree Village.

For Good Forest Village, it meant their next chief would be living away from home, but that was still better than having him go to Shuma Village.

"We look forward to being part of the village."

"Please take care of us."

"Pwease take cawe of us."

The son of Good Forest Village's chief-the beastkin Gutt.

His wife-Nacy.

And their child-Nat.

"I think you understand, but..."

"Yes. I'll forget that I'm the son of Good Forest Village's chief and fit into this village as an ordinary villager. Sena and I may be siblings, but I'll follow her instructions."

"I-I see."

He seemed to have adjusted awfully quickly... oh well, that was a good thing, so it was fine.

Sena was also delighted that her older brother had moved here.

"Treat your wife and daughter well."

"Yes."

Nat was a little girl just over four years old.

She was older than Alfred, so I hoped she would be a good big sister to him.

With that, the problem was solved. Or so I had thought...

"Remarrying still makes you newlyweds, right? Let's build you a new house."

"If you're going to live in this village, shouldn't you hold a wedding here?"

The high elves made a suggestion, and the mountain elves immediately added their own.

"There's even a great priest here."

The Progenitor, who was still staying in the village, joined in as well.

"Time for a feast."

The villagers gathered at the prospect of another chance to drink and held a grand celebration.

We could think about the finer details later.

Incidentally, Gutt and his family fainted on the spot when they saw Kuro and Zabuton.

...They weren't that scary.

And when they saw the lamias helping make alcohol, they screamed, though they did not go so far as to faint.

They looked unusual, but they weren't bad people.

Nat adjusted within a few days and rode around on the backs of Kuro's descendants.

Nacy was still a little frightened, but with help from Sena and the others, she had begun her new life.

As for Gutt... he hid in the house for several days before good food and drink finally helped him recover somewhat. He was currently trying to pull himself together. Hang in there.

On a side note, Guraru planned to stay in Big Tree Village this winter to look after Gutt.

"Is that all right? Your wife is still in Good Forest Village, isn't she?"

"I explained it to her, so it's fine. Besides, she asked me to do this."

"Hm?"

"Our daughter is here, after all."

"Ah, I see."

Guraru stayed at the inn.

Daga, Uno, and Pillow often gathered in the inn's yard for something like mock battles.

I had no objection, but they had better not forget their actual work.

Ria, I knew she wanted to join them, but she still needed to rest.

Chapter 3: The Hot Spring Survey Team Forms Again

The angels Gran Maria had contacted still had not come. What had happened?

"What in the world happened?"

Gran Maria was a little worried, too.

Kierbit, on the other hand, frequently came to visit...

"Kierbit, have you heard anything?"

"Nothing in particular. I did tell everyone to come visit, though."

"Gran Maria, do the angels you contacted get along with Kierbit?"

"Actually... I wouldn't say they get along very well."

Perhaps Kierbit's frequent visits made it awkward for them to come, or they had given up on the idea.

We would just stay ready to welcome them whenever they arrived.

A tremendous noise rang out in one corner of Big Tree Village.

"That was a failure."

"It certainly was."

"What a shame."

The dwarves, mountain elves, and oni all heaved heavy sighs.

They had been trying to make a pressure cooker.

I had suddenly remembered pressure cookers while cooking, and after I told everyone how useful they were and how they were built, things had ended up like this...

It was not going well.

Besides my not knowing the structure very well, making a pot and lid that let absolutely no air escape seemed difficult.

I had thought they might manage by taking advantage of iron expanding when heated, but it did not seem that simple.

Incidentally, they had already succeeded in achieving the same effect as a pressure cooker through magic. They continued trying to make a pressure cooker despite having an alternative, presumably out of enthusiasm for research.

At such a busy time, I trusted they were not doing this just to prove themselves or kill time.

Gutt the beastkin and Nacy the human started by helping Sena and the others who had moved here earlier.

Sena and Gutt seemed to get along well as siblings, and Gutt obediently followed her instructions, so there were no problems there.

"Please give Gutt and his family some extra attention for a while."

"I already intended to. Please don't worry."

Ramurias, who looked after the beastkin, also accepted Gutt's family without question. They were all mild-mannered people, which was a great relief.

The beastkin boys were not only very close to Gutt and Nacy, but also got along well with their daughter, Nat.

Perhaps Nat would marry one of the beastkin boys someday.

Yes, the future looked bright.

The Progenitor.

He was both the progenitor of the vampires and an important figure in the Korin Religion...

Besides helping with the harvest, he even cooked and made little things.

He also bathed every morning, noon, and evening, enjoying various games in between.

He was particularly good at miniature bowling, darts, and golf.

My impression was that he used his time well. Teleportation was certainly convenient, too.

"Teleportation is a little unusual, but it really isn't that difficult. I developed that spell after erasing my memories, you know."

"Oh."

If I had any talent for magic, I would have asked him to teach me.

As I was admiring him, Lu quietly told me something.

"When the Progenitor says 'not that difficult,' he means something an ordinary person could barely manage after spending their entire life on it."

I see.

"By the way, Village Chief, the gift to thank you for helping Fushu should be ready around next spring."

"I see. I don't know what it is, but I'll look forward to it."

"Please do. Yes, I'm sure Lu and Flora will be pleased, too."

Lu and Flora had done the hard work, so nothing would be better than something that made them happy.

Once the harvest reached a stopping point, it was time to prepare for winter.

That mainly meant securing the firewood we would use over winter, gathering materials for the work we would do shut indoors, and finally making preserved food that would keep for a long time.

By preserved food, I meant smoked meat. The main ingredients were the killer rabbits and enormous gatekeeper boars Kuro and the others caught.

Come to think of it, Kuro's descendants used to surround gatekeeper boars and have me deliver the finishing blow to catch them... but that was no longer necessary.

More of them could hunt gatekeeper boars alone, like Uno, and they could now handle their opponents through sheer numbers.

They were reliable, but I still hoped none of them would get hurt.

We continued our winter preparations, and once we had a little room to spare, I made a proposal to everyone.

"Let's put together another hot spring survey team."

The hot spring.

I wanted to visit the hot spring that apparently lay even farther north than the Northern Dungeon.

The last survey team had said it was too hot to enter, but if I went along, perhaps I could divert cold water from a river into it.

Naturally, I would lead the team. No, whether I was the leader or not, it felt as though there would be no point unless I went.

"Besides, we need to go say hello to the giants living in the Northern Dungeon."

Although I had known about them for some time, I had yet to meet the giants of the Northern Dungeon.

I gave all sorts of reasons for reorganizing and joining the hot spring survey team, but the villagers strongly opposed me.

"First, no one objects to forming another hot spring survey team."

The villagers compromised.

"But it's still dangerous for you to join, Village Chief. Please reconsider."

That was the villagers' position.

Was the north really such a dangerous place?

"If you need to greet the giants of the Northern Dungeon, let's summon them here."

"Huh? Wait, wouldn't that be terribly rude?"

"Given the hierarchy between the two sides, there's no issue. In fact, they could hardly complain if we questioned why they still haven't come here to pay their respects."

"No, no, wait, wait."

They were a friendly race, weren't they?

There shouldn't have been any need to call them over just to say hello...

"They haven't done enough for us that we need to go out of our way to greet them."

"They've helped us quite a bit, haven't they? Um... for instance, last year, when new immigrants arrived and construction on their houses couldn't keep up, they agreed to take them in temporarily."

"We gave them supplies as compensation. Besides, Miss Hakuren and Miss Rasuti exterminated most of the Bloody Vipers that were troubling them."

The discussion turned to whether we should summon the giants from the Northern Dungeon. Normally, I would probably have gone along with everyone else's opinion. But today, I was different.

"No, I'm definitely going."

What made me so adamant?

The hot springs? No, that wasn't it.

I wanted to avoid "summoning the giants from the Northern Dungeon, whom I'd never even met" as much as possible. If they had business with us, that would be one thing, but what were we asking them to do by specifically calling them over? If that was the alternative, leaving them alone would be better.

Besides, I worried that we wouldn't be able to make a hot spring unless I joined the hot spring survey team.

"The moment I think it's dangerous, I'll turn straight back."

Judging by everyone's reactions, the place was probably dangerous, but I also balked at sending the villagers somewhere like that while staying somewhere safe myself.

I was quite firm about this.

The hot spring survey team was assembled once again.

The captain! Me!

The members included!

The vampires, Lu and Flora.

The angels, Tia and Gran Maria.

The high elf, Ria.

The oni, Ann.

The lizardman, Daga.

The Demon Race's Bulga and Stifano.

The dragons, Hakuren and Rasuti.

The Infernal Wolves Kuro and Yuki, plus fifty others.

Zabuton's child, Pillow, plus a hundred others.

And the Progenitor, Kierbit of the Angels, and the beastman Guraru came along too.

"This looks less like a survey team and more like an invading army."

Frau, who had come to see us off, murmured that.

"It's not that bad. Although, well, there are more of us than I expected..."

Other high elves, mountain elves, and lizardmen had wanted to come too, but I politely declined.

I wanted them to stay and protect Big Tree Village.

"I'm counting on you to look after things."

I entrusted Frau, the mountain elf Mea, and the dwarf Donovan with watching over the village. Of course, that also included Zabuton and the rest of Kuro's descendants who were staying behind.

"Well,

I'm off."

I shouldered my luggage... or would have, but Kuro's descendants beat me to everything I was going to carry.

My hands were empty.

I felt a little lonely, so I looked around for a fallen branch... but couldn't find one.

So I turned the Almighty Farming Tool into a hoe and held it in my hands.

"All right, let's go!"

After I made that announcement, the Progenitor approached me.

"I'll send you there with magic."

"If you'd rather not use teleportation magic..." the Progenitor added, looking toward Hakuren and Rasuti.

Right, there really wasn't any need to walk.

4 Mole

The Progenitor's teleportation magic wasn't suited to transporting lots of people at once, so he sent everyone over using ordinary teleportation magic, like Beezel's.

After my body passed through a patch of darkness, I was somewhere else. It was such a strange sensation.

Our destination was a relatively open spot in the forest. Several rocks were piled over one another in the middle of the clearing, and one of the gaps between them was probably the entrance to the Northern Dungeon.

Knowing there was a dungeon made even the piled rocks look like some sort of ruins.

Beyond the rocks, a massive mountain range came into view.

Although we were still a considerable walk from its foot, it already felt quite imposing, like a high wall.

The mountain wasn't visible from Big Tree Village, so I could really feel that we'd traveled a long way in one go. Magic was amazing.

As I thought that, something underfoot felt strangely unnatural.

The soil? The ground around here was soft.

No, it was fairly hard, if you wanted to call it that, but it didn't feel as hard as the ground around Big Tree Village.

At this hardness, we could probably cultivate it even without the Almighty Farming Tool.

The question was whether the soil had enough nutrients... but with a forest growing here, it couldn't be completely devoid of nutrients, could it?

Ah, but the trees growing around here were a special variety that could withstand the soil's salt layer.

Anyway, first we'd till it... ah, this probably wasn't a good season for that. Winter was almost here, after all.

While I was thinking about all that, everyone finished coming through.

I wanted to leave the troublesome business for later, but unfortunately, I couldn't.

"First, let's go say hello."

Meeting people I'd never seen before still made me nervous. I absolutely couldn't do anything rude.

I was about to ask Hakuren and Rasuti, who had been here before, to lead the way when I heard loud thudding and felt vibrations coming from the gap between the rocks.

Then giants emerged from the gap.

They looked... like balls of fur? Although I could make out their hands and feet, their entire bodies were covered in fur. They reminded me of the amusing puppets that appeared on children's television programs.

But they were much larger. They towered well above me, standing about three meters tall... no, some were even five meters tall.

One after another, these giants emerged from the gap between the rocks and ran toward us.

For some reason, they felt very intimidating... but they certainly seemed to be heading for us.

I was going to try greeting them first, but they split to either side as though avoiding us and circled around behind us.

Huh? I looked around in confusion and found Ann pointing toward the gap between the rocks. After the giants, an enormous snake large enough to swallow a human whole had emerged.

It was a Bloody Viper.

So the giants had been driven out? Hakuren and Rasuti had apparently defeated plenty of them before, so was this one they'd missed? I raised the hoe-shaped Almighty Farming Tool and readied myself.

But something about the Bloody Viper looked wrong.

Huh? The Bloody Viper wasn't chasing the giants. It was thrashing violently on the spot. Why?

I opened my eyes wide and looked closely. The Bloody Viper's tail was being torn apart, blood spraying everywhere. There was also a gaping maw trying to bite through that tail.

"A mole!"

Ria cried out.

"It's a magical beast that's good at digging! It attacks from underground!"

A mole. Although its Chinese name called it a rat, if it was good at digging, it was probably a mole from the mole family, right?

Whatever it was, it seemed very dangerous. It devoured the Bloody Viper right before my eyes.

"Darn, if we'd struck first, we could've gotten the meat..."

Rasuti muttered. I didn't think this was the time to worry about that...

The mole looked our way.

I could feel how terrified the giants behind us were.

Perhaps that was why the mole charged toward us. Aboveground, in a straight line.

So before I could swing the Almighty Farming Tool's hoe, the others attacked.

Hakuren and Rasuti struck it, Daga and Ria slashed it with their swords, and Lu, Tia, and Flora attacked it with magic.

Yeah, that was overkill.

Hadn't it already been over by the time Ria's sword hit?

Anyway, that took care of the danger... right? Kuro and the others scattered around, keeping a careful watch.

Zabuton's children surrounded the rocks and laid down threads.

Those threads probably weren't meant to block anything off. They were more like sensors to detect anyone passing through.

Whatever the case, we could relax for now.

Just as I thought that, Zabuton's children stirred.

While everyone was on guard, a patch of ground suddenly bulged upward, launching one of Kuro's descendants into the air. Then a gaping maw burst out of the raised ground and swallowed Kuro's airborne descendant whole.

...A mole? Another one? No, more importantly... it ate one of them?

"Aaaaaaah!"

Panic! I had to get the wolf out!

I'd use the Almighty Farming Tool's hoe on that thing... no.

If Kuro's swallowed descendant turned into soil too, I'd never stop regretting it.

An axe? A hatchet? No, the mole was already preparing to burrow underground and escape.

I aimed at the mole's rear, plunged the Almighty Farming Tool's sickle into it, and forcibly dragged it aboveground. My strength alone wasn't enough, but with the Almighty Farming Tool's help, I could do it.

The mole seemed to let out a terrified cry. Sorry to this world where the strong ate the weak, but please give me back Kuro's descendant.

I cut off the mole's head with the Almighty Farming Tool's sickle. Then I sliced open its body.

I found Kuro's descendant. The wolf was covered in gastric juices and wasn't moving. Was I too late? Just as I began to worry, the wolf trembled and opened its eyes.

"Oh!"

Thank goodness, it looked like I'd made it in time. I let out a breath of relief for the moment. Then I noticed that I was covered in blood. Hmm...

Ah, I knew the rescued descendant of Kuro wanted to thank me, but this would only make both of us dirtier.

"Oh, there might be more! Don't let your guard down!"

I hurriedly stressed that, but no one besides me had let their guard down in the first place.

"...I checked with detection magic. There don't seem to be any more."

"Same here."

Lu and Tia both seemed able to search with magic, so I asked them to help.

The result was seven moles in total.

Once we knew where they were hiding, it was easy. Hakuren, Rasuti, Bulga, and Stifano rushed out to deal with them.

Before long, they had exterminated them all.

"Moles should live farther east... It's unusual for them to show up here."

Ria told me that.

Had something happened in the east? Whatever the case, I asked the Progenitor to send me back to Big Tree Village first so I could wash my filthy body.

That had been a short trip. Though I'd be back soon.

"Thank you very much for saving us."

All the giants came out and bowed in front of the dungeon entrance.

There was a whole crowd of furballs before me. About fifty in total? There were quite a lot of them.

About half were human-sized... but those were probably children.

Five of them had been rescued from inside the defeated moles. Most importantly, although some were injured, there apparently hadn't been any deaths. What a relief.

"By the way, I heard moles don't appear around here. Do you know why they showed up?"

"About that..."

The other party seemed hesitant to speak. Was there something difficult to say?

"Don't worry. Tell us."

"Um... last time... when those two over there visited, they collapsed part of the dungeon while exterminating the Bloody Vipers."

The giants' representative looked toward Hakuren and Rasuti. Come to think of it, I remembered receiving a report like that.

"Since leaving the collapsed area alone would have been dangerous, we were planning to repair it gradually..."

Don't tell me...

"It turned out that the collapsed area connected to an unknown cavern, and the moles came out from there."

Ah... I see, I see, so that was it...

"I'm terribly sorry."

I bowed my head to the giants who had lowered theirs in thanks.

5 The giants and resuming the survey

The reason the giants of the Northern Dungeon had thick fur covering their entire

bodies was apparently that they had evolved it to defend against Bloody Viper attacks.

Even if a Bloody Viper swallowed one whole, their body hair protected them from being digested by its gastric juices, allowing them to thrash around inside the enemy and survive. The Bloody Vipers might have understood that too, which was why they didn't dare eat giants indiscriminately.

However, that only applied to adults. Children with sparse body hair became targets for the Bloody Vipers.

The same went for the giants. Although they were helpless against adult Bloody Vipers, they could just about handle the young ones.

That was the relationship between the giants and the Bloody Vipers.

Incidentally, the giants collected the adults' body hair and made something like full-body wigs for the children to wear. I see.

I apologized for the mole invasion caused by Hakuren and Rasuti's cave-in, but the giants said that wasn't what had happened and refused my apology.

"They did emerge from the collapsed area, but that may not have been the only reason."

Apparently, it was rare for moles to appear around here, and even if they appeared again, the cave-in couldn't be blamed for everything. The giants insisted it was just an unfortunate coincidence and asked us not to worry too much about it.

The giants were such good people. And so, we held a feast.

The venue was Big Tree Village.

At first, we planned to hold it at the labyrinth entrance, but Ann was the only skilled cook present. Ria, the Progenitor, and I could cook, more or less, but everyone else could only help at best...

We originally intended to get help from Big Tree Village, but Donovan and the others, who couldn't cook at all, looked lonely, so we decided to hold it in Big Tree Village instead.

The Progenitor, who used teleportation magic, probably had the hardest time. He really was exhausted, but he still accepted every dish and fine drink offered to him.

And so, the grand feast began.

The giants loved the food and drink provided by Big Tree Village, and the various performances excited them even more.

They were especially fond of the mountain elves' mechanical demonstration.

It was a device that automatically ground wheat into flour once you put it inside, complete with musical accompaniment from the elves and civil servant girls. Well, thinking about it calmly, it wasn't that extraordinary, but the music made it seem impressive. The power of music was amazing.

Incidentally, the device ran on steam.

Some mountain elves had wondered whether they could do something with the steam produced during distillation, so I taught them what I knew about steam power...

I hadn't expected them to finish it already. Well done. Impressive.

If I had to name a problem, it was probably that the heat from the steam reached the ground wheat. It was scorched.

Also, setting it up took so long that grinding with a mortar by hand was faster.

Still, those problems would probably be fixed soon. That was what I thought as I watched the device burning.

...Burning?

"Don't worry. We have plenty of water ready to put out any fire."

No, that wasn't the problem... Oh well, as long as everyone was enthusiastic.

Were they cheering for the device? Surely they weren't cheering because it was on fire?

The feast with the giants continued late into the night.

The next morning.

We'd returned for a bath shortly after leaving, then immediately returned again for a feast after teleporting over a second time. What on earth were we doing? I couldn't help reflecting on that.

The hot spring survey team set out again!

I asked the Progenitor to send us and the giants to the labyrinth entrance.

We checked the traces of yesterday's battle.

I had Lu and Tia use magic to check for moles. There were none within detection range, so we could probably relax for now.

Now, the hot spring survey team split into two groups.

One would investigate the hot spring, and the other would investigate the hole in the collapsed section of the labyrinth.

If the burrowing moles were still around, filling the hole would be pointless.

Unless we first learned why the moles appeared around here, and even found a way to eliminate whatever brought them here, the giants probably wouldn't be able to live in peace.

Although the giants said the cave-in wasn't the cause, my conscience still bothered me, so I requested an investigation. Hakuren and Rasuti were especially eager, probably partly because they regretted collapsing the labyrinth. I hoped they would work hard to make up for their mistake.

Then, although I originally wanted to join the cave investigation team, everyone talked me out of it.

They wanted me to join the hot spring survey team.

I wanted to resist, but they had a very practical reason.

"It's pitch-black inside the labyrinth..."

So I needed night vision? Hmm, and apparently, we couldn't light torches for various reasons.

With no other choice, I joined the hot spring survey team.

The other members were the angels Tia, Gran Maria, and Kierbit, the lizardman Daga, and the beastman Guraru.

Although Kuro's descendants had excellent night vision, they were all with me.

As for the cave investigation team, Hakuren led it, with Rasuti as deputy leader.

Joining them were Bulga and Stifano of the Demon Race, the vampires Lu and Flora, the high elf Ria, the oni Ann, and the Progenitor.

All of Zabuton's children, including Pillow, went to the cave.

"Everyone, don't push yourselves too hard."

I said that to Hakuren's group as they headed into the labyrinth and watched them leave.

Well, with the Progenitor there, they could retreat using teleportation magic if anything happened. Besides, Lu and Flora were there too, so they could use healing magic. I didn't think there would be any danger... It was just their unusual eagerness that bothered me. They'd be all right, wouldn't they?

Worrying wouldn't accomplish anything. Since I'd entrusted it to them, I had to believe in them. That was trust.

Besides, I couldn't spend all my time worrying about the other group. My group needed to work hard on our investigation too.

"We've confirmed where we found the hot water last time. This way, please."

With Gran Maria leading the way, our party headed north.

It had been a while since I'd walked through the forest.

Yes, it was quite difficult to get through.

Partway along, I began using the Almighty Farming Tool to clear a path as we went.

I didn't get tired while using the Almighty Farming Tool, which was very convenient.

Unlike when I'd built roads connecting the villages, I continued forward while clearing a path just wide enough for one person.

Along the way, we encountered a small Bloody Viper and a rather large fighting bear, but I casually dealt with them using the Almighty Farming Tool's hoe form.

A conversation between the beastman Guraru and the lizardman Daga-

"Mr. Daga, is the village chief... incredibly strong?"

"Did you think he was weak?"

"I thought he was an ordinary human."

"Could an ordinary human build a village in the middle of the Forest of Death?"

"Probably not. No, I mean... I thought he'd had help from the Infernal Wolves and demon spiders he was friendly with... But how could an ordinary human befriend them? Right. Thinking about it, he can even talk to the Demon King without batting an eye... So he has the strength to be village chief."

"Yes. He's a village chief we're proud of. Be sure not to disrespect him."

"Hahaha, it might be a little late for that... I'll be careful from now on."

A conversation between the angels Kierbit and Gran Maria-

"I knew already... but the village chief really is amazing."

"Yes, I'm impressed all over again."

"Still, what a shame. If he weren't Tia's husband..."

"What would you do?"

"Isn't it obvious? Propose to him."

"Why not tell him directly without worrying about Lady Tia?"

"Angels are supposed to be monogamous, aren't we? I'm the chief's daughter. I can't break the rules."

"That really is a shame."

"...Why are you so relaxed about this? Don't tell me you..."

"The village chief has already shown me his affection. Is there a problem?"

"Tia didn't object?"

"She encouraged it."

"That Tia?"

"Yes. The Angels' rules are important, but those very rules are why no children have been born lately. Lady Tia is probably deeply concerned about that too."

"Hmm..."

"If you're interested, I could bring you and the village chief together."

"That's a tempting offer... But let me think about it a little longer. There are still plenty of things to consider."

"Hehe, understood. Being the chief's daughter is certainly difficult."

"That's one concern, yes, but personally, waiting for the village chief's son to grow up is another option..."

"If you try anything with young Master Alfred, I'll kill you."

"Hey, a-are you serious? That's genuine killing intent. I'm joking, just joking. Besides, he has other sons, doesn't he? Like Ririus and Riguru."

"Planning to make a baby still in swaddling clothes your future husband... Just how desperate are you?"

"What's wrong with having dreams for the future?"

A conversation among Kuro's descendants-

"That's our village chief, the Boss, for you."

"Yeah, he's strong enough to make Lord Kuro and Lady Yuki obey him."

"But we're supposed to detect and defeat enemies before they get close."

"True, but detecting something hiding underground is really difficult."

"Even if we could detect it, there's nothing we could do against a fighting bear that big, is there?"

"Hmm... If we threw ourselves at it without regard for our own safety, we could probably bring it down..."

"Lord Kuro ordered us not to suffer any casualties."

"Either way, we need to walk ahead and focus on scouting. Let's ask Lord Kuro for permission."

"Understood. Wait, the village chief just took down another fighting bear."

"With just one blow..."

"Isn't letting the village chief take the lead the safest option?"

"That's true, but where does that leave us as guards...?"

"...Let's do our best, everyone. No, we have to give it everything we've got!"

"Yeah!"

Hot springs?

I cleared a path toward the hot spring, taking breaks along the way, and finally reached our destination on the third day.

Along the way, we ate Bloody Viper and fighting bear. The snake meat was delicious, but the bear meat was just average. Kuro's descendants certainly enjoyed eating it, though. Taste aside, not having to worry about quantity was a good thing.

Incidentally, Kierbit and I did the cooking.

"With all these seasonings, even someone who isn't a good cook can make something that doesn't taste too bad."

Although Kierbit said that, she was clearly a fairly skilled cook.

If the oni maids had been there, they might have felt competitive. Either way, not having to do all the cooking myself was a great help.

The place we eventually reached was about twenty meters up from the foot of the mountain.

All the greenery had disappeared, leaving only bare rock, and it was hot.

"The air smells a little strange, but it isn't poisonous."

Tia and the others helped investigate the surroundings.

Since the previous survey team hadn't had any trouble, I hadn't been particularly concerned about the air. But thinking about it, what if poisonous gas had emerged instead of hot spring water? That was a close call.

I'd nearly put everyone in danger through a moment's carelessness. I needed to reflect on that.

"High elves and Infernal Wolves are sensitive to the air around here, so don't worry."

Tia said there was no need to worry because we'd had suitable people along. Accepting her reassurance, I checked where the hot spring was.

It was a small pool among the rocks.

There seemed to be plenty of water. The surface kept bubbling, constantly giving off heat.

"Putting a hand in there looks dangerous."

"It does... But can it stay this hot while constantly exposed to the air?"

Could there be magma nearby? In other words, might this place be dangerous?

"It's probably due to the properties of the rocks around here."

"The properties of the rocks?"

"Yes. The rocks around here seem able to store heat."

I didn't quite understand.

So I decided to experience it firsthand.

I found a rock small enough to pick up with one hand and tried holding it. My impression: an ordinary rock.

Tia heated the rock with magic. I thought it would turn black, but nothing changed.

"Try picking it up again."

Was asking me to pick up a heated rock a form of torture?

"I guarantee you'll be fine."

At her words, I timidly tried picking it up. It wasn't hot. Oh, it didn't burn.

"But if you keep holding it like that..."

Hmm? It was getting warm.

"What's going on?"

"This kind of rock can store heat. If it takes in a hundred units of heat, it keeps releasing one unit at a time until it's used up. Something like that."

"I see."

"And since there are lots of connected rocks here, heat passes between them. They may have retained the heat they received underground all this time."

So that heat transferred to the groundwater, creating a hot spring. Could something like this be called a hot spring? Wasn't it just warmer groundwater? What was the definition of a hot spring again?

Racking my brains over details like that wouldn't produce an answer. For now, I'd investigate the surroundings.

Water welled up in several places in the hot pool before me, but there wasn't enough to form a river. Instead, it seeped into cracks in the rocks little by little and disappeared. Maybe it was soaking into the soil beneath the rocks.

I sent Tia, Gran Maria, and Kierbit to look for a river nearby.

If the river water was hot, we would use it directly. If it was cold, we would dig a channel from this hot-water pool and build a bath where it joined the river.

"There's a river a short distance to the west."

Gran Maria returned to report after finding a river.

"Is the water cold?"

"Yes, it's cold, and it's safe to drink."

"If the water's cold, that means the rocks over there... have different properties from these, right?"

"So it seems."

"Are the rocks here famous?"

"Not the ones here specifically, but rocks with the same properties mined elsewhere are widely used as warming stones."

"Warming stones?"

"Yes. They let you warm yourself safely without lighting a fire, so I imagine the giants use these stones as a heat source in winter too."

"Ah, I see. That's why they could stay warm inside the dungeon without lighting fires."

Could we build a greenhouse using these rocks? Thinking about it, they might be useful in all sorts of ways. They seemed like they could come in handy for cooking too. I was getting sidetracked.

Tia and Kierbit also returned after finding rivers, but I judged that the one Gran Maria had found was the closest. The rest was simple.

It was time for the Almighty Farming Tool.

First, I checked the river.

Yes, an ordinary river. It flowed south from the mountains to the north.

"Is this river connected to the one near the village?"

"No, it's an entirely different river. It turns west a little farther south."

Excellent.

I prepared a site beside the river for the bath. A larger area seemed better. So I first secured a plot about the size of a twenty-five-meter swimming pool, then cut down the trees.

Then I dug and dug.

Before long, I had finished a shallow pool.

Since the minotaurs, centaurs, and giants might use it too, it would be better to dig the center a little deeper.

After deciding where the drainage channel would go, I dug a drainage pool and connected it to the river.

Next, I made a pool north of the bath for adjusting the water temperature. The river water and the hot spring water from the hot-water pool would meet here, reaching a suitable temperature.

I was getting into it. Next, I worked the felled timber into a wall, dividing the bath into left and right halves.

A men's bath and a women's bath.

I also made changing rooms... but the roofs could wait. For now, I only put in floors and walls.

The basic structure was done.

Right, all that remained was the channel from the hot-water pool to here.

With Kuro and the others leading the way, I dug a channel toward the hot-water pool.

Yes, this was fun.

The channel was finished.

Now the hot water would flow into the temperature-adjustment pool.

About three days had passed since we arrived here.

We would have to wait for more water to collect before we could enjoy the hot spring.

In the meantime, I would make buckets and other bathing equipment.

They were called warming stones, right? Could I build a sauna with those rocks? I would give it a try.

Lately, I had left all the construction work to the high elves, so I had worried that my skills might have gotten rusty. Fortunately, they were still just about adequate.

It took another full day, and by the time I finished the little sauna hut, about four and a half tatami mats in size, the bath had filled up nicely too.

Time to check the temperature.

...Wasn't it a little hot? Was it all right? I would have someone else check too.

It was fine. Really? Good, then.

"Time for a hot spring bath!"

The hot spring survey team thoroughly enjoyed the open-air hot spring (?).

"Now, ladies, please use the women's bath. Kuro, you and the others can come with me."

A conversation between Guraru the beastman and Daga the lizardman-

"Daga, isn't the village chief a bit much?"

"Is he? If anything, this is how he usually is."

"Normally, you couldn't build facilities like these in such a short time."

"It would have been a bit much for the village chief alone, of course. But you and I helped too, so take some pride in that."

"Our so-called help amounted to carrying luggage and holding up posts while he built the huts, didn't it? Cutting and working timber from the Forest of Death, which is as hard as rock, so easily... No wonder he could build a village."

"Yeah. By the way, would you like a drink too?"

"May I?"

"As long as we only have a little, the village chief

has already given us permission."

"What an understanding village chief. I'm truly envious."

"Hahaha. If you want to move here, I can tell the village chief for you."

"I do, but I have a wife too. Hmm, let me think about it some more... There are even snacks to go with the drinks?"

"The village chief made them himself."

"Urgh... I'm wavering."

A conversation between the angels Kierbit and Gran Maria-

"S-so hot..."

"Oh my, Kierbit. Giving up already?"

"N-not at all. Not yet..."

"Then let's add some more water..."

"No, no, no! Absolutely not!"

"Would you like some warm air?"

"Not that either! How can you stand this?"

"Hehehe. I heard this sauna is good for your beauty."

"...Really?"

"Absolutely."

"...I'll try to hold out a little longer."

"Good."

A conversation among Kuro's descendants-

"Amazing. This hot spring is fantastic. It feels so good."

"Seriously?"

"Even you, who hate baths, are saying that..."

"Can't it be my turn already?"

"Hey, don't let your guard down. Keep a proper watch on the surroundings. Bloody Vipers and grappler bears might still show up."

"I know. But a lot of them were dealt with while the village chief was building, weren't they?"

"We weren't the ones who did it. Those Angels were."

"Those Angels really don't hold back."

"They aren't that strong alone, but the three of them together are terrifying."

"That's called teamwork, right? We need to work harder too."

"True. Anyway, let's do a good job as alarms for now."

"Right."

A conversation between Tia and me-

"This really is a lovely hot spring. I feel like I can finally relax."

"It certainly is."

"Being alone outside with you, Tia... Is this the first time?"

"Outside our room... Yes, it is."

"Let's bring Tiselle next time too."

"Yes."

The hot spring survey team thoroughly enjoyed the hot spring (?).

Side story: The gopher tunnel, west side

My name was Lastismun, a dragon who loved dried persimmons.

Though I had caused quite a bit of trouble not long ago, I thought my temperament had grown much calmer lately.

Father and Grandfather had praised me for it too, which made me very happy, but I apparently still managed to cause trouble.

The collapse of the Northern Dungeon.

A blunder caused by my excessive hunting of Bloody Vipers with my elder sister Hakuren.

When the collapse happened, we both thought the Bloody Vipers were to blame for hiding in such a cramped space, but things had changed.

The village chief had bowed to the giants.

The village chief had bowed his head and apologized to others for what we had done. Given his position, that might have been the natural thing to do, but it had shocked me deeply.

Our actions had forced the village chief to bow his head in apology. And I imagined the shock my elder sister Hakuren felt had been even worse than mine.

She had not laughed since the village chief apologized. Though she wore a smile, she was angry inside. Most likely at herself.

Even knowing that her anger was not directed at me or the giants, I still found it frightening. But I understood how she felt.

Because I was angry with myself too.

I needed to accomplish something to quell that anger. Though I did not think that would earn me forgiveness, it should help ease what I was feeling.

So, even if it was a little troublesome, we would still investigate the tunnel where the gophers appeared.

If there were some vicious fiend inside, I could vent a little too... Was there a sealed demon god or something?

I had accidentally had a dangerous thought. I needed to reflect on that.

Surely the village chief would not want something like that to happen.

We only needed to investigate the tunnel, confirm it was safe, and establish that there was nothing inside threatening the giants' lives.

If I remembered correctly, the dungeon had collapsed at a fairly deep level.

I remembered that area because there had been plenty of Bloody Vipers there. That was precisely why we had brought it down... But I would forget about that.

We went down from the collapse site and entered the hole where the gophers appeared, finding something like a tunnel.

The collapse had probably opened a hole in the middle of it. The tunnel was about five meters high, quite spacious, and extended east and west.

Since it had been dug by gophers living in the east, did that make it a tunnel running from east to west?

Which way should we go, then?

"Rasuti, I'll go east. You go west."

My elder sister Hakuren's orders could not be disobeyed, so I obediently complied.

Accompanying me were the vampires Lu and Flora, the high elf Ria, and Bulga and Stifano of the Demon Race. There were also about half of Zabuton's children.

With my elder sister Hakuren were Ann the oni maid, the other half of Zabuton's children, and the vampire progenitor.

Grandfather had told me to avoid making an enemy of this vampire progenitor if possible. That meant he must be fairly strong, right?

But it was not "absolutely forbidden," was it? When he spoke of the village chief, it was absolutely forbidden...

Why was that? Because he knew how to make up after a fight?

Still, the progenitor got along well with the village chief, and there was no particular reason to make an enemy of him.

My elder sister Hakuren should feel the same. In that case, I would assume he was dependable.

If he failed to protect Ann the oni maid and Zabuton's children when my elder sister Hakuren lost control, the village chief would be angry.

As that thought crossed my mind, the vampire progenitor waved to me, indicating that I could leave things to him.

Did I look that worried? Or could he read minds? If so, that was impressive, being able to see into a dragon's mind...

I tried telling a little joke in my head with Grandfather as the punchline.

No reaction. Apparently, there was no problem. If he could read minds, he should have snickered just now.

Surely it was not because the joke was too unfunny?

Right, it was time to get serious about investigating the west.

Now, then...

I took a deep breath, then breathed fire.

Though I currently looked human, I was a dragon, after all.

I kept breathing fire for about five minutes. That should have burned all the small fry inside to ashes.

All that remained should be the culprit or creatures that knew something.

All right, onward.

I urged my dumbfounded companions along.

Incidentally, my elder sister Hakuren took the same approach.

We were scolded. Apparently, fire was not to be used inside caves.

I had thought that was just an excuse to keep the village chief from accompanying us...

"Dragons might be fine, but I can't take it."

So said Ria, the high elf.

Apparently, using fire inside a cave created air that killed living things.

Come to think of it, I seemed to have heard something like that before...

I supposed I had let it go in one ear and out the other because it had little to do with dragons.

"Although the air is moving, so it seems to be all right..."

If it was all right, there was no problem.

On with the investigation.

We kept walking through the tunnel.

Along the way, we saw something that had been burned to ashes, but that was all.

Honestly, I was bored to death.

I looked forward to enjoying the meals Bulga and Stifano prepared during our breaks.

The tunnel kept going, so we had no choice but to keep walking.

As Ria had said, the air seemed to be moving, so it probably wasn't a dead end.

After I began to think it was about time we reached somewhere... several more days passed.

We finally arrived.

It was an open chamber. It was shaped like a distorted sphere, with a rather uneven outline, and a huge, pitch-black rock was embedded in the bottom.

"Some kind of seal?"

Some sort of writing was carved into the huge black rock, so perhaps it really was.

Had they dug the tunnel to find this? Had they dug out a space as large as a plaza while searching this area?

Directly above the huge, pitch-black rock was a vertical shaft. Since the wind was blowing that way, it probably connected to the surface.

"We'll scout ahead."

The vampires Lu and Flora headed up the shaft. I envied their ability to fly while remaining in human form.

In any case, the distance we had walked over the past few days should still have been within the Forest of Death, right? I didn't think we had traveled far enough to run into the western mountain range.

As it turned out, Lu and Flora came straight back, and they had a warning for us.

"There are undead!"

Perhaps they had followed Lu and Flora, because skeletons and zombies began dropping down the shaft one after another.

They slammed straight into the huge black rock and lay motionless. What idiots.

The troublesome ones were the floating kind known as ghosts. Since ordinary attacks didn't work on ghosts, using

magic attacks was the best approach.

But...

"Everyone, get behind me."

My fire breath could burn even ghosts to nothing.

I breathed fire with all my might, burning up the ghosts flying toward us and cremating the fallen skeletons and zombies along with them. Then I kept breathing fire into the hole in the ceiling.

I figured my flames would reach the surface, so all the undead nearby should catch fire too.

Hah hah hah hah hah.

Not bad. I felt a little better.

Huh? Could this be making a terrible mess aboveground?

N-no! The village chief would be angry!

I asked Lu to take me up, and when we reached the surface, I found the surrounding forest ablaze.

I returned to dragon form and fanned it with my wings... I-I couldn't put it out. Of course I couldn't. These were my flames, after all. A little wind wouldn't extinguish them.

I rolled over the ground with my body... and the fire went out.

Ugh, how had it come to this...? Still, I would do my best.

Side story: The mole tunnels, east side

My name was... Val... what was it again? I remembered my original name being longer... I had used so many aliases that I easily forgot which one was real. Oh well, names weren't important.

Please think of me as a fine man who worked hard as the vampire progenitor. Though I had cleared out my memories, so I wasn't sure whether I really worked hard.

Impressive as I was, the miracle of a vampire giving birth startled me so much that I couldn't resist going to see.

I was surprised many more times there. Most surprising of all was being able to see the God of Creation.

That was how I became connected to Big Tree Village. It was quite stimulating and very entertaining.

I particularly appreciated how delicious the food and alcohol were. There was also an excellent selection of things to play with.

Recently, I had been using it as a place to socialize with Mr. Death and the current Demon King, and I felt very comfortable there. I even wanted to move there permanently.

Unfortunately, I still had work. At most, I could use it as a vacation home, perhaps? Fortunately, I had no shortage of money, so I probably wouldn't cause the village any trouble.

I even helped with the harvest of my own accord.

One day, the village chief organized a hot spring survey team to head north.

Yes, of course I went along. It sounded interesting.

That was what I had in mind when I joined them, but...

Hmm. I could tolerate being attacked by moles.

They were a little troublesome, but not enough to threaten me. As for the villagers... none of them struggled either.

One little wolf did get swallowed by accident. The village chief rescued it with such astonishing vigor that I had no chance to act.

The problem was that we later discovered the mole attack had something to do with the village's dragons.

And so the village chief bowed his head in apology.

No, no, village chief. With so many people under you, you couldn't bow your head so easily. Wasn't it making the giants uncomfortable too?

Besides, while a dragon might have started it, we might have encountered those moles sooner or later anyway... No, perhaps that village existed precisely because the village chief could bow his head at times like these.

Thinking about it, an awful lot of disputes seemed to arise over saving face.

Perhaps the truly strong were those who apologized honestly when they should. Yes, yes.

Afterward, we held a banquet with the giants.

The performances onstage were entertaining. That machine that made flour while burning was simply marvelous.

Hmm? No, hold on. Could that performance have been expressing the suffering of the world's laborers? Viewed that way, it was magnificent.

It seemed like comedy, but concealed a weighty theme... Those mountain elves were not to be underestimated.

Huh? They hadn't been thinking about anything? It was simply an accident?

The next day, the survey team set out again.

I helped the group travel. That sort of magic wasn't so difficult. I really wished the others would learn it too.

The survey team split into two groups.

One went to the hot spring, while the other headed for the cave where the moles had appeared.

Personally, I wanted to go to the hot spring with the village chief, but I was worried about the dragons.

Especially Hakuren, who hid anger beneath her smile. It seemed she was deeply bothered by the village chief having bowed his head in apology.

As for Rasuti and that oni maid... her name was Ann, right? She was a girl who was very good at cooking. Those two had noticed Hakuren's anger too.

Noticing that was no small feat, though perhaps it meant Hakuren still needed more training.

In any case, since the village chief was concerned, I would keep an eye on things.

Once we entered the cave, we found a tunnel.

Since the moles had dug from east to west, shouldn't we focus our investigation on the east?

Still, would moles dig such a straight tunnel? It was almost as though someone had ordered them to dig it...

We roughly divided into teams, and I went east with Hakuren's group.

In terms of fighting strength, the best arrangement would have been to put Hakuren and Rasuti together and leave the other team to me...

But the dragons were the main players here, so there was no helping it.

And so everyone obediently accepted that arrangement... and the dragons breathed fire without a word.

Breathing fire inside a labyrinth? What were they thinking?

Ann, the oni maid on our team, cautioned Hakuren.

Hakuren obediently apologized... but that still wasn't enough. Even after breathing fire mixed with all sorts of effects, she hadn't vented all her anger.

In that case, all we could do was pray there was something deep in this tunnel for her to take her stress out on.

Please. Anything would do.

"Zabuton's children will cover above us and both sides. I'll watch the rear, so Hakuren and Ann, please handle the front."

About three days passed after we settled on our formation and set off.

Having Ann take care of the food along the way was wonderful. It was delicious.

Zabuton's children helped carry the ingredients too. Thanks for the hard work. Once we returned to the village, I would teach them some new magic.

And so we reached what appeared to be the moles' nest.

Something was definitely strange.

The moles' nest twisted and turned, with hardly a straight stretch anywhere.

Only the tunnel we had taken here was straight.

We also found many mole corpses there.

They hadn't died from Hakuren's flames. They had been dead for some time. Half a year? A year? The cuts on the corpses were clear. These were... sword wounds, probably.

A sword? This deep underground? Who had done it? While I was still pondering, the answer appeared on its own.

A fully armed knight.

It would probably be pointless to ask which faction the knight belonged to.

Because the knight was already dead.

A Death Knight.

An opponent more troublesome than the moles.

Ordinary attacks were ineffective, and magic had little effect. On top of that, their swordsmanship remained just as it had been in life. It would have been nice if this one had been a lousy knight... Hmm, he must have been a renowned knight in life. One swing of his sword told me that.

Now then, what should I do?

Before I could reach an answer, Hakuren drove her knee hard into the Death Knight.

Er, ordinary attacks didn't work...

She pinned the fallen Death Knight down with her foot and viciously stomped him over and over. The impacts sounded tremendous, but they should have had no actual effect on him.

Yet the Death Knight couldn't fight back and could only take the one-sided beating. Even if it did no damage, it could still stop him from acting.

Not a bad move, but once she stopped attacking, he would strike back. See... Oh, she was burning him? Yes, that worked, so there was no problem.

In that case, why hadn't she done that from the start... Sorry. How tactless of me.

Now then, although we had encountered a Death Knight... troublesome as he was, it was probably a stretch to consider him the reason the moles had moved.

Death Knights couldn't control moles. Someone else was responsible for ordering them to dig a straight tunnel.

Besides, the tunnel we were following continued east even beyond the moles' nest.

I looked at Hakuren. She looked extremely eager to go.

Although I understood how she felt, I asked her to wait a moment, then looked at Ann, the oni.

"We still have enough food."

So turning back wasn't under consideration? Understood. Onward, then.

At this point, I was starting to look forward to seeing what we would encounter at the end.

Oh dear, that wouldn't do. I should have been praying for a safe and uneventful journey.

Side story: Looking after the village

My name was Donovan.

I was a dwarf, but a little different from the dwarves you saw everywhere.

I was an elder dwarf, a somewhat distinguished race.

If you asked how elder dwarves differed from ordinary dwarves on the street... what was the difference, anyway? I didn't really know.

Simply strength? Or lifespan? Perhaps we could hold our liquor better.

Alcohol.

That was right. Alcohol. As long as there was alcohol, nothing else was a problem. Alcohol was everything. Alcohol was life. Such was the dwarven way of life, and the way I lived.

That was why no one would laugh at me for venturing into the Forest of Death over nothing more than rumors of fine alcohol.

"Ah, he really went." That was about all the reaction it would get.

If there was fine alcohol somewhere, that was where I would go.

And so I finally reached Big Tree Village and devoted myself to brewing.

I wasn't a man who only drank. I could produce it myself too.

The village's crops were well suited to brewing. No, rather, they had planted varieties suited to brewing. I was immensely grateful.

They also spared no effort in building brewing facilities.

New brewing methods and new ways of enjoying drinks were constantly being developed too.

Elder dwarves scattered across the land gathered here one after another. It seemed none of them could resist the lure of fine alcohol.

After all, they kept plunging into the Forest of Death one after another. But as long as they survived the dangers, fine alcohol awaited them. No one complained.

We even felt sorry for those who hadn't come.

Well, really, we could just drink their share.

These past few years in the village had been the time most filled with alcohol in my long life.

Seeing mountains of barrels filled with fine alcohol, I even wondered whether I had already died.

No, I had no intention of dying.

I would produce even more fine alcohol and keep on drinking.

Now, that was the sort of person I was, but I wasn't so awful that I would accept a request and then neglect it.

I swore to myself that, since the village chief had asked me to look after the village, I would cut the effort I devoted to brewing from a hundred percent to ninety and protect the village properly.

Despite that vow, I was still startled when the village chief came running back for a bath only about thirty minutes after leaving.

After setting out again, he returned another thirty minutes or so later, this time saying he needed people to help cook.

It dawned on me: a banquet. Could I join in? Since I had to stay behind and look after the village, I probably wouldn't get the chance.

Perhaps sensing how I felt, the village chief decided to hold it in the village.

That was our village chief for you.

The banquet was a grand affair, and everyone's talent performances were getting more polished. Should I perform something too? I'd practice for next time.

Still, did looking after the village really only mean an hour or so?

I was wrong.

The following day, the village chief's party set out again.

I wondered whether they would come straight back again, so I waited about two hours, but apparently not this time.

All right, time to officially begin my duties.

That said, there was nothing to do.

Everyone was focused on their own work. Nobody in this village slacked off just because no one was watching.

The vampire progenitor, who was treated as a guest, and that daughter of the Angels' chief or whatever had both gone with the village chief.

The lamias who had come to help with brewing a while ago had returned to the dungeon in the south because winter was approaching, so I didn't need to concern myself with looking after them either.

In that case, I ought to focus on my own work... but honestly, the winter preparations and preliminary brewing work were almost finished.

Should I sample the preserved food and think up some new snacks to go with drinks?

No, I should think of something I could only do while the village chief was away.

Nothing in particular came to mind.

Actually, as long as we told the village chief, he agreed to anything that wasn't too outrageous, so there was no need to sneak around.

If we informed him, he would even help arrange things, or pitch in himself.

Hmm...

While I was struggling with this, something came to me instead.

It was that gate dragon.

He had barely spoken at first, but now we knew him so well that he was practically another villager.

Still, familiar or not, he was a guest.

This must have been my reward for all the good deeds I did.

Heh heh heh.

Giving the gate dragon a proper welcome was the duty of those looking after the village.

"Welcome."

Two others shared that thought.

They were Frau, the Demon Race girl who had been entrusted with looking after the village just like me, and Mea, the mountain elf.

Those two young ladies.

They wanted to show what they could do because they had been left in charge too, right? I understood how they felt, but...

"Couldn't you leave this to me?"

"Receiving guests is a woman's job."

"In that case, there's no problem with me doing it, is there?"

While we were engaged in that ugly squabble, Lady Zabuton had already stepped forward to welcome the gate dragon.

Oh no.

Lady Zabuton rarely came out during this season, so I had let my guard down. She was a far more formidable presence than the two young ladies before me.

After she led the gate dragon to the guesthouse where he usually stayed, the oni maids already had food prepared. I had no idea when she had given the instructions.

Elsewhere, the elf and beastkin girls were ready to perform too.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Ugh... Lady Zabuton.

I would gracefully concede defeat here... Aah! That barrel held my treasured brew! Not even the village chief knew about it. How had she found it?

No, if she had brought that barrel out, that meant... Wait, hold on! Wasn't it a waste to serve it to the gate dragon? How about this? For the sake of our friendship, Lady Zabuton, why not split it? I apologized for hiding the liquor before. I apologized, all right?

Lady Zabuton and I couldn't converse.

But we had a relationship of trust built up over many years.

Get through to her! These feelings of mine!

It wasn't working!

Come to think of it, Lady Zabuton and I hardly ever had the opportunity to do anything together!

I-in that case...

"Let's go, young ladies."

"Huh?"

"What are you planning?"

"Let's join them and help entertain the gate dragon."

Lady Zabuton had stepped forward to entertain our visitor, the gate dragon, as someone entrusted with looking after the village. I acknowledged that.

I wouldn't casually steal someone else's credit.

So please let me join before all my treasured liquor was gone!

A man who would abandon even his pride before fine liquor.

That was me, the elder dwarf Donovan.

A conversation between a high elf and a beastkin girl-

"Mr. Doraim looks strangely nervous... Is it just me?"

"It's probably because Lady Zabuton is entertaining him."

"Ha ha ha, surely not. Oh, Lady Zabuton has him wearing a newly designed outfit."

"I'm jealous. I'd like some new clothes too."

Doraim's inner cry-

"Village chief... Where are you? Daughter... Where are you? Come save me."

A conversation among Kuro's descendants-

"The village's safety is in our hands. Everyone, don't let your guard down."

"Yeah!"

Chapter 7: Reunion, part one

There was one large bath that could hold about twenty people at once, divided in half into men's and women's baths.

There were two small baths that held about three people each, designed with a family bathtub in mind.

Originally, I had wanted to make smaller individual baths, but Tia's gaze from beside me wore me down during construction, and they ended up as family baths.

There were two because, after seeing one, Kierbit had clamored, "I want something like a private bath too."

I also made a footbath and facilities resembling hot-spring shower outlets, as well as a space beside the sauna hut specifically for cold baths.

Yes, these hot-spring facilities were quite nice.

I was currently building somewhere to cool off after bathing.

That said, it was nothing impressive, just wooden flooring laid over rocky ground.

I added low railings to keep people from falling off the floor. As for the roof... I only covered half of it, and there were no walls.

It looked like a half-built house, but nobody would actually live there, so it should be fine.

I also put a kitchen a little farther away.

Kierbit had been doing most of the cooking lately. Tia, Gran Maria, and the others helped too, making it seem as though they all got along well. But Kierbit would argue whenever I said that, so it was better not to mention it.

As for Daga the lizardman and Guraru the beastkin, they practiced swordsmanship and martial arts before entering the hot spring to wash off their sweat.

Then they ate, slept, and resumed practicing after waking. They seemed to be enjoying life here the most.

They usually helped out quite a bit, so I had no particular complaints. Whenever I needed hands to build facilities, I would ask them anyway.

Then Rasuti and the others arrived at the hot spring to join us.

Although it was quite far away, a pillar of fire rising to the southwest startled me, so I sent Tia and the others to investigate.

It turned out that the pillar was fire Rasuti had breathed.

A small patch of forest had burned down too, so I would stop by on the way back and till the soil there.

Hakuren, the oni maid Ann, half of Zabuton's children, and the progenitor were operating on the other side.

Using the threads provided by Zabuton's children, we could communicate with Hakuren's group in the distance, and that apparently still worked even after Rasuti joined us.

Hakuren's party seemed to have headed east, and I was told it would take some time before they could join us.

All right.

For now, I suggested that Rasuti and the others take a dip in the hot spring.

Lu, Flora, and Ria had worked hard too, and Bulga and Stifano should relax as well. Zabuton's children had also put in a lot of effort.

Could Zabuton's children bathe in hot springs? No, never mind hot water-could they even touch water? I was quite worried, but they seemed fine.

They floated half-submerged, looking very relaxed.

What interested me was that Zabuton's children went into the men's and women's baths separately.

Did they understand what men's and women's baths meant? Or were they simply moving into whichever side had more room?

Since Zabuton's children were very clever, I guessed they understood.

I see. So there were more males?

After enjoying the hot spring and facilities, Bulga and Stifano went to help cook.

Having more help in the kitchen was a great relief.

Although Kierbit had taken charge of the kitchen first, those two were better cooks.

Kierbit seemed to understand that too, so she gradually handed control of the kitchen over to Bulga and Stifano.

"Do we just drain the fighting bear meat and give it straight to Kuro and the others?"

"Yes. The Bloody Viper is for us to eat. Also, we're running low on the vegetables we brought."

"I see. It's hard to get vegetables here, isn't it?"

"In the worst case, could we ask the giants for some and pay them back later?"

"We can just have Lady Rasuti fly back to the village and fetch some."

"Oh, right."

Hearing Bulga and Kierbit's conversation reminded me again that Kierbit was a very sensible person.

So what had happened to her when we first met?

Anyway, we would wait for Hakuren and the others like this... but winter was approaching.

There was a limit to how long we could wait. Should I go till the forest Rasuti had burned first?

Come to think of it, hadn't they mentioned a strange, huge rock? I was a little curious.

Speaking of things on my mind... I asked Lu, who was resting nearby.

"Where did Pillow go?"

According to the reports, Pillow hadn't traveled with Rasuti and wasn't with Hakuren's group either.

At my question, Lu's face took on an "Oh" expression.

A conversation among the giants-

"That giant spider is amazing."

"Reinforcing the cave-in site with thread, huh? At first, I wondered whether that would work..."

"Several times faster than us, and strong too."

"This is our home. We can't leave everything to Mr. Spider, can we?"

"Right. Okay, let's start here for now... Ugh, there's a Bloody Viper."

"Take defensive positions. It'll be fine. Those things can't do anything to us... Mr. Spider finished it in one hit?"

"Not one hit. First, he stuffed its mouth with spider silk, then sliced it up."

"Amazing. Mr. Spider is so strong."

"Huh? We can take this Bloody Viper? Thanks."

"All right, let's work hard! We can't let Mr. Spider's kindness go to waste!"

"Right."

A conversation between the progenitor and the oni maid Ann-

"Isn't it wrong to kick an enemy hard the moment they appear?"

"Isn't it nice that it makes things easier?"

"That's true... but spare a little thought for the enemy. Kicking them before they can even introduce themselves..."

"If that's how you feel, why not tell Lady Hakuren directly instead of me? Lady Hakuren was the one who kicked them, after all."

"Do you think she'd listen?"

"You're telling me because you think she wouldn't, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"From my standpoint, although I don't know what this place is... I can tell someone intends to do something bad. So I have no intention of stopping Lady Hakuren... Hmm? We've received a message."

"Communication through the little spiders' threads? It certainly is convenient... The other side has reached the end and joined the village chief's group. I'm jealous."

"Let's aim to join the village chief as soon as possible too."

"Understood. Ah... Didn't that enemy just now say something very important?"

"You shouldn't worry too much about the details."

8. Reunion, part two

It wasn't that I had so much time on my hands. It was more of a whim.

At the moment, a small wooden boat floated in the largest bath. It was a dugout canoe carved from a whole tree.

After warming up in the hot spring, I could sit in the canoe and rock back and forth to cool down, then get back in the water for another soak. It felt pretty good. I could even eat in the canoe. It was practically ideal.

Having a canoe made me want a slightly wider stretch of water.

Should I go to the river? There was plenty of water, but it was only about three to five meters wide, and the riverbed was shallow. I wasn't even sure the deepest spot reached a meter.

It should just about work.

First, I would widen the channel leading from the hot spring to the river... Wait, was widening it really safe? Would all the hot water in the bath rush into the river?

I had to avoid ruining the hot spring we'd worked so hard to build.

Rasuti was here anyway, so couldn't I ask her to carry the boat? All right, time for some fun canoeing on the river. First, I needed to make a paddle...

I capsized spectacularly.

Once again, I keenly understood the gap between dreams and reality. The canoe didn't capsize on the calm surface of the bath, but the river was another matter. The current was faster than I'd imagined. I thought I was going to drown.

The canoe that had put me through that ordeal went downstream under the skillful handling of Daga the lizardman.

So the boat hadn't capsized because of poor performance, but because of my lack of skill?

Rasuti and Kierbit shot me piercing looks that said, "Hurry up and make boats for us." All right, already.

I quickly carved out canoes with the Almighty Farming Tool.

"Don't paddle too far."

"We know."

Then I mass-produced canoes so everyone else could enjoy a ride too.

Everyone was better at it than I was. I felt a little dejected.

Kuro and the others seemed to want a ride too, so I told them to take turns boarding one at a time.

Everyone had fun.

But with only one riding in each boat, it would take a long time for everyone to get a turn.

So I tried making a somewhat larger raft.

All I had to do was line up logs and tie them together with rope. Zabuton's children provided thread for the rope, so it was easy.

To keep the raft from drifting away, I tied it with a rope first and tried floating it on the river.

Not bad. No, actually, pretty good.

And unlike the canoes from earlier, it didn't seem likely to capsize.

I stood straight up on the raft. It was astonishingly stable. This would be fine.

Then Kuro's descendants climbed aboard too.

Did Zabuton's children want to come too?

Hahaha.

The raft sank.

Yeah, too many had boarded at once. Apparently, there was still a limit to how much it could carry.

While I played on the raft with Kuro's descendants and Zabuton's children, everyone else enjoyed the canoes.

There was a spot in the middle of the river where the current was slower, and they used it as the finish line for something like canoe races.

For the return trip, Rasuti grabbed them, canoes and all, and carried them back.

It looked like hard work, but she was enjoying herself, so it was probably fine.

Guraru the beastman seemed to be the best, followed by Ria the high elf. After that, it was a free-for-all.

You might have been trying to balance out the difference in skill, but please don't force Kuro's descendants onto the boats.

Please remember, safety first.

Bulga and Stifano didn't join in the canoeing, instead enjoying the hot spring to their hearts' content.

I returned to the hot spring without disturbing them and warmed my body, chilled by the river water.

After that, it was time to prepare food.

We were almost out of the seasonings we'd brought. Were Hakuren and the others not done yet?

We'd gotten used to spending the night here, but spending the winter here would be impossible.

After all, we only had tents.

We had built something like a cabin, but at the moment, it was being used to smoke fighting bear meat.

There were a lot of fighting bears around here.

We'd encountered several before arriving, and we'd run into more since.

Fighting bears were huge, so they provided a considerable amount of meat. The problem was that it didn't taste very good. Kuro and the others ate it happily, but there was still a lot left over.

So we smoked it to preserve it as dried meat.

Kuro and the others usually even ate the bones, but with meat still left over, they weren't eating the bones now. They still ate the thing in the fighting bears' chests that looked like a big stone, though.

I decided to collect the leftover bones and try making soup. Could I make bear bone broth?

It stank so terribly that I stopped the experiment. I really shouldn't do whatever popped into my head. Time for some reflection.

While I was reflecting, Hakuren and the others arrived.

The Progenitor looked exhausted and headed straight for the hot spring.

No, he probably really was exhausted.

Had something

happened?

Zabuton's children went to soak in the hot spring too.

Ann, the oni maid, first checked the remaining ingredients and seasonings. She seemed to be thinking about the menu for our next meal already.

As for Hakuren... for some reason, she kept clinging to me, wanting affection.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

Despite saying that, she wouldn't let go of me.

If that was how it was, I'd let her do as she pleased. Then Hakuren fell asleep with her head in my lap.

When I asked Ann what had happened with a look, she answered with a look that said, "Lady Hakuren worked hard. Please let her sleep like that."

I didn't mind... but could she tell Rasuti, Lu, and Tia that too?

Everyone was gathered around me. Weren't they playing by the river just a moment ago?

That was a truly pointless question.

One at a time, take turns, and line up nicely.

I tried to resist, but it was useless.

For a while, both my arms and both my legs served as pillows.

"So, what exactly happened?"

Once I was released, I asked the Progenitor what had happened.

"The Necromancer King apparently meant to do something bad, but Hakuren kicked him down."

"..."

I didn't really understand.

I decided to just ask the important question.

"Is there still any danger?"

"I think... probably not. Oh, let me say this first: I did intend to investigate the details, but it was no use. Hakuren kicked the Necromancer King away, then burned him with fire. There were some things that looked like documents, but they all turned to ash. I tried my best to save them, but it was no use at all."

"Th-thanks for your hard work."

"Thank you. Hakuren... seems very troubled about collapsing the dungeon earlier. Keep an eye on her, would you?"

"Hm?"

She was troubled about that?

"What's bothering her is that you apologized to the giants after she collapsed the dungeon."

"Oh, so that was it?"

"I'll leave it to you."

"Understood. Also, there's one more thing I want to ask."

"I know what you want to ask."

There was a little girl beside Ann who hadn't been there before. She looked about five or six.

Hakuren and the others had brought her.

Ann had sent the little girl to bathe in the hot spring first, so steam rose from her whole body, and she looked satisfied.

"Who's she?"

"The Necromancer King's true body. After taking a large amount of holy-attribute breath all at once, the whole process reversed, bringing him back to life."

"Uh..."

"He got younger in the process too. Apparently, that also cost him his memories, turning him into an ordinary little girl... well, probably a little girl with a few skills. We couldn't just leave him there, could we?"

"True."

And so we decided to take her in at Big Tree Village.

Side story: The Necromancer King

I was the Necromancer King.

I didn't know why I existed or what I ought to do. I simply slept. That was all.

But someone woke me up. What a nuisance.

On top of that, that someone gave me an order.

Break the seal in a certain place.

An order I couldn't disobey bound me, leaving me irritated and restless. At the same time, I thought, since I had no purpose anyway, perhaps this wasn't so bad.

I summoned my subordinates.

I remembered having an army tens of thousands strong before my slumber... but my memories were hazy.

There was nothing to fear. Subordinates were everywhere.

At my command, the earth took human form... Hmm, they looked weak. They wouldn't be much use in battle. My subordinates really needed to be stronger.

For some reason, I knew how to acquire such subordinates.

Use corpses.

With corpses as a base, I could give them far greater power than the earthen puppets.

It would be even better if the corpses had been strong in life.

That meant I had to start by gathering corpses... but how should I put it? I was a king, you know? Wouldn't wandering around looking for corpses be embarrassing? It would, wouldn't it? Yes, without a doubt, I would lose all dignity.

This was a problem. This pride I couldn't discard even when no one was watching was truly a nuisance.

Yet even in death, I was still a king. Even rotted away, I remained a king. Without pride, I couldn't call myself one.

Perhaps I could temporarily abdicate, gather corpses in the meantime, then reclaim the throne once I was done...

No. Somehow, I felt I couldn't do that.

In any case.

Unless I gathered subordinates first, I couldn't deal with the seal.

Was it really impossible? Perhaps I alone would suffice? After all, I was a king.

"Hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!"

It was impossible.

The earth was too hard.

I tried digging with magic, but it was terribly inefficient.

My magic was better suited to use on living things.

I'd reached my limit. Should I give up?

...Ah! What a fool I was!

I looked around the earthen subordinate I'd given orders to at the beginning.

When the earth took human form, there was less earth left in its original spot.

I used all my remaining mana to make earthen puppets. They were still weak, but the more puppets I made, the more earth disappeared. That was it!

All right, I would slowly make earthen subordinates while waiting for my mana to recover.

Though the earthen subordinates were weak, with enough of them, they looked rather imposing.

Two hundred.

Yes, not bad.

And their numbers were still growing. Each new one meant another hole.

The earthen subordinates also dug away little by little.

Yes, yes, everyone was working hard.

Their inability to speak left me a little lonely. That was one drawback.

In any case, I continued digging downward in this fashion.

The fact that my army, myself included, needed neither food nor sleep was a great advantage.

We could keep digging without stopping.

Even so, it took who knew how many years.

Along the way, groundwater seeped in and dissolved several of my subordinates, leaving me a little sad. When hard rock shattered under my magic, that sense of unity as we worked together was unforgettable too. When endless heavy rain collapsed the sides of the hole, I thought we wouldn't make it.

But the hole still reached the intended depth.

Hmm, why did I know this was the right depth?

There was no point thinking about something I couldn't figure out.

Next, I dug sideways.

As for the direction... this way, right? I didn't know why, but I just knew.

Several more years passed.

But at last, I reached a place with a huge black rock.

This was one part of the seal.

How many more... were there like this one?

I had a feeling there was more than one.

In any case, I just needed to destroy this...

But somehow, destroying it now felt like a bad idea.

If I was going to destroy them, I needed to destroy them all at once.

If I didn't, I felt someone would show up to get in my way.

Why did I have that thought? Was it the will of the person who had given me my orders?

As expected, thinking got me nowhere. There was no point racking my brains over things I didn't understand.

I was a king. I wouldn't trouble myself with unnecessary matters.

I headed toward the next sealing rock and discovered corpses as I dug.

There was a hollow deep underground, with a great many human corpses lying inside.

I was curious about this hollow, but the corpses were more important.

These remains had been lying here for a long time. Not one or two hundred years, but probably a thousand or more.

Still, I could sense power. Without hesitation, I gave orders to those corpses.

Death Knights.

Oh! Impressive. I could feel their power.

They looked capable of handling the close combat I was bad at. This would work. I gave orders to the other corpses one after another.

In the end, I made seventeen Death Knights and around eighty undead warriors.

Hmm, excellent.

I tried having them march in formation.

The corners of my mouth... even though my face no longer had muscles, I couldn't help turning them upward.

...Listen, my dirt minions, you didn't need to march in formation to compete with them.

I wouldn't abandon you.

Hadn't we shared hardships and good times all this way?

I would keep the Death Knights and undead warriors in line, too.

I would tell them you outranked them.

Hahaha.

All right, let's work hard digging today, too.

Death Knights, undead warriors.

Sorry for the trouble, but please investigate this hollow.

It should be fine, but it would be a nuisance if anything strange showed up.

The dirt minions kept digging.

The hollow where I had found the Death Knights' corpses seemed to be a dungeon.

Since we discovered a route to the surface inside it, I left that to my minions.

I kept digging alongside them, but lately I had begun thinking about more efficient ways to work and recording them.

Without parchment or ink, I had to carve them into rocks.

Hah hah hah hah.

Too tiring. What a nuisance. I needed parchment.

The Death Knights acquired parchment and ink.

Oh! Well done.

Where had they found them? They had gone through the dungeon to the surface and found a destroyed village? Was that where they got them?

The parchment was still new.

Had the village been destroyed recently? Why had it been destroyed?

There was no point thinking about things I couldn't figure out.

Lifting the seal was the top priority.

And so, we kept digging.

Fortunately, along the way we encountered magical beasts that could dig.

I successfully controlled them with hypnosis and had them help dig.

I felt bad about accidentally killing a few.

As for their corpses... I wouldn't put them to work. I would mourn them.

Yes, yes.

Just as I thought that, magical beasts I hadn't yet brought under control attacked us.

Oh dear, what a nuisance.

Death Knights, I would leave them to you.

One of the undead warriors got lost on the surface.

He seemed to have lost his way.

I was glad we managed to reunite safely in the end.

Still, I was startled when he returned with skeleton minions.

He could actually do the same thing as me? How capable.

But increasing our numbers without my permission wasn't allowed.

I put on a stern face and scolded him.

Several Death Knights and undead warriors nearby quietly turned their eyeless gazes away from me.

Perhaps I should leave the little details alone.

I was a king, after all.

The magical beasts I had subjugated discovered the second sealing rock.

Good, good. Things were going quite smoothly.

The next direction to go was... this way, right?

Hmm? A commotion? How unusual. Wasn't being unable to speak your selling point? What on earth had happened?

I ran over to see what was happening, only to see the sole of a ferocious-looking woman's foot.

Umm~ well~ who~ was I~?

Hmm~ it seemed a lot had happened... but I didn't really understand~

But I didn't like that big sister.

"She's completely rejecting Lady Hakuren."

"You went on quite a rampage back then yourself, so why is that?"

I liked the big sister with little horns on her head~

"Considering what you did to her, that's only natural... oh? What's she holding?"

This~ was very important~

"Progenitor, do you know what that is?"

I liked this tired-looking big brother, too~ but I wouldn't give it to him~

"Hmm? Ah... it's nothing particularly special."

"So what is it?"

"A dirt soldier's core."

"Ah, one of those that fought to protect her earlier."

"Exactly. There's probably no need to take it from her, is there?"

"True. Then, this area..."

"There's not much else we can do. Let's head back to the village chief for now. Little spiders, gather up."

I liked the spiders, too~

I liked this slightly troubled-looking big brother, too~

I liked the doggies, too~

I liked the hot spring, too~

The big sister with little horns had helped with all sorts of things so my precious thing wouldn't dissolve. I really did like her~

Was rice tasty? Somehow, it felt very nostalgic.

I didn't really understand that feeling.

There was no point thinking about things I couldn't figure out.

Who was I, anyway?

"Lady Urbrasa? How could that be?"

"But considering the era... all the other possibilities are-"

"And that distinctive hair color. I don't think there's any mistake, either. She is the heroic queen, Lady Urbrasa."

The big sisters with wings seemed to be discussing something troubling them.

Apparently, my name was Urbrasa.

But for some reason, I would rather they called me Ursa.

My name was Ursa.

My greatest treasure was this lump of dirt in my hand.

Other than that... I didn't know anything.

The return journey, part one

According to the Progenitor, the cave connected to the collapsed section of the giants' dungeon led to a huge tunnel running straight from east to west.

To the west lay the large black rock Rasuti had discovered, beyond which it was impossible to proceed.

The eastern route also apparently led to a place with a black rock, but the tunnel continued farther east.

Its ultimate destination apparently lay beyond the mountains on the eastern side of the Forest of Death.

Although the tunnel was a single straight route, several passages along the way connected to the surface.

The passages varied.

Some were dungeons, while others were gopher nests.

There was one dungeon in the Forest of Death, one beneath the mountains, and another on the far side of the mountains, making three in total. There were also two gopher nests.

The gophers in both nests had apparently all been defeated by Hakuren, the oni maid Ann, and Zabuton's children, leaving the nests without a purpose.

"What about the gophers that escaped?"

"No way to check."

"True."

The Progenitor answered my question rather casually.

He really did seem tired.

Ever since returning, he had soaked in the hot spring whenever he had free time. He was doing so now, too.

"What were the dungeons like?"

"We dealt with everything in sight, so they weren't much trouble. Those fellows... those girls apparently didn't need air holes, so I suppose they stumbled into them by chance."

I was soaking in the hot spring beside the Progenitor, too.

"I see."

"There's also something I'd like to discuss. For the safety of the giants' dungeon... we should probably collapse that hole."

"I think... you're right."

If we thought of the dungeon as a house, the current situation was like leaving the back door wide open.

"I'm curious about the large black rocks, but perhaps burying them along with it would be best."

I agreed with the Progenitor's suggestion.

"Do you have a way to bury it?"

"Hmm... it's quite deep, so simply collapsing it shouldn't affect the surface... but it would probably be safer not to use magic."

"Then we'll have to do it by hand. Let's just bury the key sections."

"That works."

"...By the way, how do gophers deal with the dirt they dig up?"

"Hmm? Well, naturally, they throw it out through the nest entrances... ah, right, I happen to have a suitable spell."

"Wonderful. I'll leave it to you, then."

"I'll do my best."

After answering, the Progenitor covered his skyward-looking eyes with a towel.

"Ah... but first, let me enjoy this place for a while."

The Progenitor really did seem exhausted.

"The labyrinth on the other side of the mountains was almost deserted. There's an abandoned village near its aboveground entrance. That was where Lady Kierbit drove off the undead not long ago."

After we ate, Ann explained what had happened in the east.

"You really went a long way."

"Yes. But the tunnel was straight, so it was quite easy."

"I see."

Zabuton's children raised their legs beside Ann, seemingly emphasizing that they had worked hard too, so I immediately praised them for a job well done.

When I asked for details, I learned that they had apparently been very active in communications, carrying luggage, and fighting.

Oh my...

"Thank you for your hard work too, Ann."

"Not at all. About Ursa..."

"Yes, I'm planning to have her live in the village."

"In that case, could you leave her in our care?"

"I don't mind, but won't Tiselle sulk?"

"She might, but we'll give them equal love. I'm sure Tiselle will see her as a dependable older sister."

"All right. If she and Tiselle don't get along, I'll think of something."

"Thank you very much."

Ann bowed her head to me where she sat, just as Ursa came over from the other side.

She was riding on the back of one of Kuro's descendants.

Was riding on Kuro's descendants normal for children her age?

"Hee hee hee, you know~ I found something strange over there~"

As soon as Ursa saw Ann, she climbed off Kuro's descendant's back and bounded over to hug her.

"It wasn't anything strange. It was a slide the village chief made."

Hakuren followed behind her.

Since Ursa disliked Hakuren, I had considered keeping them apart, but that would be troublesome if she was going to live in the village.

So instead, I had asked Hakuren to look after Ursa, but it didn't seem to be going very well.

"Bleh~"

Ursa stuck her tongue out at Hakuren. Yes, expecting immediate results was probably too much.

Incidentally, the slide was the water slide running from the hot spring toward the river.

I had only thought of it as something to entertain children, with relatively little water, but it had proven surprisingly popular.

Was it because they had never played on a slide as children? Should I put one in the village?

As I pondered that, I petted the descendant of Kuro who had carried Ursa.

"Thanks for your hard work."

...Several of Kuro's descendants immediately walked over to Ursa.

Uh, I'd pet you even if you didn't carry her.

On the fifth day after we reunited with Hakuren's group.

We left the hot spring.

Our plan was to first take rafts downstream to the forest where Rasuti had started the fire.

"And Pillow is the only one who hasn't rejoined us yet."

I already knew where Pillow was. In the giants' labyrinth.

We could either pick Pillow up on the way back or ask the Progenitor to help with teleportation.

Everyone boarded a raft or canoe.

The reason it had taken five days between our reunion and departure was that we had needed to build enough rafts and canoes to carry everyone.

Well, the Progenitor's continued reluctance to leave the hot spring had been another reason...

We set off one after another, leaving plenty of space between the rafts and canoes.

The river's current was swift, but once we passed the stretch where we had gone canoeing before, it became somewhat gentler.

Traveling by water like this wasn't bad.

Except for the fish about a meter long that occasionally lunged out of the river at us.

Most of those fish were caught in the threads of Zabuton's children and ended up in the stomachs of Kuro and the others.

Was eating them raw all right? I felt a little worried about them not being cooked.

The current occasionally sped up, making me worry that there might be a clichéd waterfall ahead, but Gran Maria and Kierbit were scouting from the air, so we could rest easy.

The changes in the current were probably caused by differences in the depth of the riverbed.

It seemed to be slow where the water was deep and fast where it was shallow.

I see.

Here, we were moving so slowly we were almost stationary, which probably meant it was quite deep below.

And deep water meant... a large fish leaped out of the river.

Oh! It looked about three meters long. Was it the boss of this area?

Its shape resembled an eel. Its mouth was what made me think of an eel; no matter how I looked at it, it was a carnivore.

I wanted to observe it, but Lu finished it off with magic.

It was a beautiful attack, but what was she thinking, using lightning magic on the water? Kuro and Zabuton's children looked unharmed, but I felt a little numb.

"Is everyone all right?"

After everyone answered, "We're fine," Tia and Ann lectured Lu.

Ann in particular looked angry.

Was that because Ursa had been brought to tears?

I turned around and discovered that Daga the lizardman and Guraru the beastman had both passed out.

I see. They hadn't answered because they weren't all right? I needed to reflect on that.

Everyone collected the fish floating on the river's surface for food.

It seemed there wasn't a second boss here.

I felt relieved for the moment.

After arriving at our destination like that, we dragged the rafts and canoes onto the riverbank and headed toward the forest.

The traces of the fire were very obvious.

And they covered quite a large area.

There was also an enormous hole in the center of the burned area.

The large black rock Rasuti had mentioned was probably at the bottom of that hole.

Although I was curious about that large rock, there were other things to deal with first.

Perhaps there was something in the burned forest; quite a few large beasts I had never seen before were watching us. We should deal with them.

I raised the hoe formed from the Almighty Farming Tool.

Hmm?

...?

...?

At any rate, I left those unfamiliar large beasts to Hakuren and Rasuti.

I focused on a thread that had caught my attention.

That thread, like black smoke, extended all the way from the bottom of the hole... and connected to Ursa, who was beside Ann.

I didn't know what it was, but I had an ominous feeling.

I used the Almighty Farming Tool's hoe to cut through that smoky thread.

Once severed with ease, the thread immediately vanished like smoke.

Yes, that felt much better.

I checked Ursa's condition and couldn't see the smoky thread. Ursa should be all right now. For some reason, I felt certain of that.

A conversation between the angels Tia, Gran Maria, and Kierbit-

"Supposing she really is Lady Urbrasa... is it really all right for her to stay here after turning back into a child?"

"If she really is proven to be her, it will probably cause an uproar in the Kingdom of Fullheart, the Garubart Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Gallet."

"Ah... that's certainly true. All the land around there used to belong to the Hero Queen's kingdom, after all."

"Those countries split off after she and the Demon King killed each other, right?"

"And every country claims to be the Hero Queen's successor."

"In other words, if it's proven that she's still alive..."

"They'll obediently hand over power... no, that's impossible."

"Turn a blind eye... I doubt they'd do that either."

"After all, she has dragons, vampires, and us at her side."

"Even if it doesn't cause a major war, it's very likely to bring trouble."

"The village chief probably wouldn't like that."

"...In that case, we have to keep this secret."

"Exactly. Let's discuss it with the others too. Leave the vampires to me."

"Then I'll handle Ann, Ria, Daga, and Guraru."

"Huh? I'm handling the dragons? Wait, let's switch. Switch with me."

"Good luck. And don't forget Bulga and Stifano."

Chapter 10: The journey home, part two

We prepared to spend the night in the forest where Rasuti had started the fire.

We had dealt with the surrounding enemies, so there was no problem, and we had obtained food as well.

"I can send you back to the village with magic, you know?"

"I appreciate it, but we can't keep relying on your magic, Progenitor."

I wanted to wait until we needed it before asking the Progenitor, rather than troubling him over small matters.

That was a lie.

It was all my selfish desire to enjoy the camping atmosphere a little longer. Going home in the middle of a journey was cheating. Although a certain animated movie had its characters go from home into the jungle for adventures every day, I didn't think that counted as an adventure at all.

It was playing adventure!

I had also returned to the village shortly after setting out before. I had better not talk so big.

To be clear, I did also feel an urge to "hurry back to the village and see the children."

Sending Ursa back to the village first was another option.

However, that would mean Ann, who was close to Ursa, would have to return with her, and I felt that it would end with everyone going back together, so I rejected that option in my mind.

If Ursa were exhausted, I could consider it, but she was still running around full of energy.

It really was nothing but my own selfishness.

Perhaps it was because this felt more liberating. No, perhaps life in the village had caused all sorts of stress to build up.

Even though I thought I had been living a fairly stress-free life.

"Would it be all right if I went back on my own?"

"I don't mind, but did something happen?"

"It seems we're running short on seasonings."

The Progenitor looked at Ann, the oni maid, and the demons of the Demon Race, Bulga and Stifano, who were cooking.

They had probably asked him. I also thought tastier food would be better.

I agreed. Although, really, he didn't need my permission...

I left the cooking to the others, tilled the earth with the Almighty Farming Tool's hoe, and flattened the ground with its hammer to make a place to pitch the tents.

Once the site was ready, Ria the high elf led Daga the lizardman and Guraru the beastman in setting up the tents.

Since we had stayed in these at the hot spring too, everyone was practiced, and several tents were soon up.

I dug a toilet a short distance from the tents.

After all, having a toilet or not was the biggest issue with outdoor activities. Though perhaps I was the only one who cared.

After making the tables and chairs we needed for our meal, I kept tilling the burned ground until the food was ready.

Lu, Flora, Tia, Gran Maria, and Kierbit took turns with Kuro and the others scouting the surrounding area.

There had apparently been undead here before, so some might still have slipped through.

Although monsters and magical beasts would soon target any that stayed around here, and they wouldn't last more than a few days, it was still better to be careful.

"We didn't find any undead."

"No, we didn't."

They hadn't found any undead, but there seemed to be unfamiliar monsters and magical beasts around.

"Though Kuro and the others can handle most of them on their own."

"I want more chances to shine."

"You've already done more than I have, haven't you?"

Besides scouting, Lu and the others also carried water.

They used magic to form a large ball of water from the river and then brought it here.

It looked like an enormous slime.

Ursa was delighted to see the ball of water.

That was a good method, but wouldn't it be too big? What if it wouldn't fit in the wooden barrels we'd prepared? Oh, we were going to pour it straight onto the ground?

Nothing wrong with that.

Hakuren was in charge of looking after Ursa.

Their relationship seemed to be starting to improve...

"You'll get muddy if you run over there..."

"Ptooey-"

They still seemed to have a long way to go.

Rasuti split off from us.

After driving off the monsters and magical beasts nearby, I had her head for the giants' labyrinth.

Besides meeting up with Pillow, she would also tell the giants to stay out of the mole tunnels.

Someone suggested using the Progenitor's teleportation magic, but since we needed magic to block up the mole tunnels, I decided against it. Still, if he had enough energy to go back to the village for seasonings, perhaps asking him would have been fine.

Since Rasuti herself was eager to go, I left it to her.

Several of Zabuton's children went along.

They sat on Rasuti's back after she transformed into a dragon, raising a leg toward me in a very gallant manner.

Ursa was thrilled to see Rasuti in dragon form.

Hakuren also transformed into a dragon to compete, but Ursa didn't even glance at her.

All I could do was console Hakuren.

Mealtime.

The Progenitor seemed to have brought some food from the village, too.

Apples, pears, oranges, and other things were laid out on the table.

Making Ursa happy was all well and good, but what was with bringing alcohol?

"Besides, isn't this the liquor Donovan hid away?"

"The giant spider... Lady Zabuton gave it to me."

I hoped Donovan wouldn't cry.

No alcohol for you, Ursa. You'll have to make do with juice.

Then, after a night's sleep.

Morning came.

With Kuro and the others taking turns on night watch, everyone slept soundly.

A considerable number of kills had piled up into a mountain... They could take their opponents down without a sound?

Could it have been out of consideration for us while we slept?

I petted Kuro and Yuki when they came over for affection, and a long line formed behind them.

Those who were still sleeping didn't have to get up just to join the line, did they? I hoped they'd let me go before breakfast.

After a slightly late breakfast, the Progenitor got to work.

Apparently, he was going to fill in the tunnels.

Before that, we inspected the large black rock at the bottom of the cavern.

Honestly, there wasn't much point in my looking, but I'd heard it was an unusual large rock, so I wanted to see it for myself.

It certainly was a large black rock. Yes, completely black.

Could it be made into tableware or something? I asked the Progenitor, who was examining the rock, and he laughed.

"If you can cut it, I don't see why not."

Apparently, it was incredibly hard. I see.

I raised the chisel I'd transformed the Almighty Farming Tool into.

Hm?

...?

...?

Were these... the threads of smoke that had been connected to Ursa before?

There were several of them, seemingly seeping out from beneath the black rock.

As for their ends... there seemed to be nothing there. They were just like tentacles.

They were so creepy.

I transformed the Almighty Farming Tool into a hoe and cut those threads.

Snip, snip. Cutting them off felt great.

But no matter how many I cut, new threads emerged from beneath the large black rock. Was there something underneath it?

"Progenitor, have you finished your investigation?"

"I was only checking it, after all."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Only that I know absolutely nothing about this thing."

"Ha ha ha."

"Shall we head back?"

"Before that, could I work on this rock?"

"Hmm. It's not mine, so I suppose that's fine."

I see.

A large black rock.

Strange threads of smoke emerged from underneath it.

Perhaps the best choice was to smash the rock, check the source underneath, and hoe it away, but it would be troublesome if I couldn't hoe it all away.

Those threads of smoke were disgusting.

So I decided to do this.

"Ooooh!"

Half a day later, the large black rock had taken the shape of the God of Creation.

I left the portion touching the ground alone as a base and carved the top of the rock into a statue of the god.

I'd been wondering whether black would suit it... but once it took the God of Creation's form, the black slowly turned gray.

Perhaps it would eventually turn completely white.

What's more, the threads of smoke that had been emerging from beneath the rock dispersed as well, disappearing without a trace.

Even the air here felt much fresher. Was it because the Progenitor was praying?

Come to think of it, there was another large black rock at the other end of the tunnel.

Threads of smoke might be emerging over there, too.

Wouldn't it be better to work on that other rock before filling in the tunnel?

I told the Progenitor this, but when he heard about burying it, he looked ready to cry.

Even if you look at me like that, we're still going to bury it. Not doing so could cause trouble.

"No, no, no."

It took a great deal of effort to convince the Progenitor.

Chapter 11: The journey home, part three, and the reunion, part three

The Progenitor's magic for filling in the tunnels involved creating a large number of soldiers out of earth and sending them inside.

I pictured it for a moment.

The earthen soldiers he'd created would work hard to advance through the tunnel, then sit hugging their knees at their assigned positions and turn back into earth.

One after another, at that... No, that was too cruel.

"Um, they're not actually alive..."

There were about ten soldiers made of earth before me.

They looked quite powerful...

No, I was getting attached. Resist. I'd better discuss it with the Progenitor.

Beside us, Ursa was excited.

She was full of interest in the earthen soldiers the Progenitor had made... No, she'd even started trying to make them herself.

It wasn't going very well, though.

"Her method is correct, but her nature has changed."

The Progenitor and I paused our discussion and looked at Ursa.

"Her nature?"

"When she was still the Necromancer King, she could make them that way. But she's come back to life now."

"So she can't do it?"

"She could use another method, but... I suspect she wants to use that earthen soldier core she treasures... so she might need your help, Village Chief. If you first make a body out of something, then put the earthen soldier's core inside and merge the two..."

"I just need to make the body?"

"Yes. But choose the best-quality material you can. As for the size... something small should be easier to succeed with."

Got it.

Materials, materials...

We planned to continue discussing how to fill in the tunnels later.

For now, I discussed the choice of materials with Ursa.

Earth, wood, stone... We could probably make one out of grass or something, too, but it felt like it would be fragile.

Hakuren, who was beside us, brought over one of her own scales. That should make a good material.

But Ursa ignored Hakuren's scale and wanted to use earth.

Don't cry, Hakuren. I'll comfort you later.

Earth...

The earth around here was softer than the earth around Big Tree Village, but it was still fairly hard.

Since he'd said to choose high-quality materials, I first tilled the earth with the Almighty Farming Tool.

I added water to the earth, which now had a better texture, and shaped it into a mud doll.

Yes, it turned out very well. Unfortunately, Ursa didn't rate it highly.

Ursa imitated me and shaped her own mud doll.

It was about fifteen centimeters tall and looked weak.

But Ursa's eyes were sparkling, so this one should do.

I'd barely helped at all.

I left the rest to the Progenitor.

Under the Progenitor's guidance, Ursa chanted a spell.

She probably had far more talent for magic than I did.

About ten minutes later, a mud... no, an earthen doll stood before Ursa, walking unsteadily.

Ursa happily hugged it tight... You'll get dirty, you'll get dirty.

No, you'll break it, you'll break it! Don't squeeze so hard!

An improvement.

We mixed powder from the dragon scale Hakuren had contributed into Ursa's earthen doll.

That made it stronger, and it seemed it wouldn't dissolve even if it got wet.

"It already has the fighting strength of a dragon warrior

by now..."

The Progenitor muttered that, but I pretended not to hear.

Incidentally, dragon warriors were soldiers dragons created from their own flesh and blood, and their fighting strength matched that of a grappler bear.

It might be just right as Ursa's bodyguard.

Adding Hakuren's scale meant Ursa wouldn't break the doll even if she hugged it. When I told Ursa that, she politely thanked Hakuren.

What a good girl.

Hakuren accepted her thanks with her usual smile on her face... but she had started humming and seemed very happy.

Keep growing closer like this... No, I couldn't rush it.

I had to be patient.

"Let's put filling in the tunnels on hold and prioritize returning to the village."

After discussing it with the Progenitor, we decided on that course.

We'd spent too long stopping at various places, and winter was drawing near. It would be getting cold soon.

Once Rasuti returned with Pillow, I planned to ask the Progenitor to teleport everyone straight back to the village.

"How about collapsing just part of the tunnels so they don't become a nest for monsters or other creatures?"

I accepted the suggestion from Ann, the oni maid, and immediately had Lu and Flora blast part of the tunnels shut with magic.

Just as planned.

The collapsed area seemed a little larger than intended, but since it hadn't caused anyone any trouble, it was fine.

It hadn't affected the place where the God of Creation's statue, now pure white, stood, either.

Incidentally, the place where the God of Creation's statue stood had taken on a solemn air, like a holy site.

Rasuti and the others hadn't returned yet, but we'd already decided to head back to the village.

Because the temperature had dropped all at once.

Zabuton's children were all growing sluggish. We couldn't keep taking our time.

I had each of them carry a heat-retaining stone we'd obtained at the hot spring site and prepared to withdraw.

We would leave the raft here, but I wanted to take the canoes back, so Hakuren turned into a dragon and carried them out of the river.

I felt terribly bad about making such a large dragon do such delicate work... but Rasuti had happily carried things around while playing in the river, too.

We were leaving the hot spring site as it was. Would it still be the same the next time we visited?

Probably not.

There seemed to be plenty of monsters and magical beasts nearby, after all. But we could just repair it the next time we went.

We packed our belongings and returned to the village using the Progenitor's teleportation magic.

We arrived in the mansion's courtyard, near the great tree.

Because of that, I'd thought it would take a little while for the villagers to realize we were back, but I'd been naive.

Apparently, Zabuton's children had contacted everyone in every direction all at once.

The villagers came gathering at the mansion.

Doraim, who was there for some reason, looked the happiest of all. Why was that?

Anyway, preparations for winter were almost finished, so it felt like we could go straight into a feast.

No, no, wait.

We still had to pick up Rasuti, Pillow, and the others. I felt bad about troubling the Progenitor, but I'd have to ask him to accompany me.

Leaving the village in the hands of those who'd stayed behind, I used teleportation magic to head to the giants' labyrinth.

I'd thought the Progenitor and I would be more than enough, but Lu, Tia, Hakuren, Kuro, and Yuki came along anyway.

We were only picking up Rasuti, Pillow, and the others, then heading straight home, you know? Weren't they being overprotective?

Well, something could always happen.

Thinking about it, there had to be a reason Rasuti and the others hadn't returned yet.

Something might have happened.

We arrived at the entrance to the labyrinth where the giants lived, but nothing seemed different.

This wasn't good.

I'd thought someone would greet us as soon as we arrived, but apparently I'd been wrong.

The temperature had dropped, so perhaps they'd all moved deeper into the labyrinth.

Hmm...

Did we have to go inside?

Having Lu and the others with me was quite reassuring.

There was no light inside the cave, so we lit our way with magic.

The word "labyrinth" brought to mind an artificially constructed space, but this place felt like natural gaps in the rock.

Side passages branched off everywhere, looking as though they'd been deliberately made.

Perhaps the giants or Bloody Vipers had dug them.

Which way should we go...? None of us knew, but Kuro and Yuki led everyone forward without hesitation. Were they following a scent?

Once we'd gone a certain distance, Kuro and Yuki grew wary.

Soon afterward, Lu and Tia went on alert.

Hakuren and the Progenitor remained composed.

For the record, I couldn't sense anything at all. We continued forward for a while, and at last I heard something.

The sounds of battle!

"Hakuren."

"Leave it to me."

Anyone who didn't know the circumstances would probably think I was a bastard sending a woman into danger alone.

That thought crossed my mind as I followed after Hakuren.

We eventually reached a spacious chamber.

Rasuti was there in dragon form, along with Zabuton's children. Pillow was there, too.

Everyone was safe. I breathed a sigh of relief.

And Rasuti and the others were fighting.

Their opponents were bugs.

Terrifyingly huge bugs.

I couldn't tell their full length, but they were large enough to rival Rasuti in her dragon form.

They also had two large fangs on their heads.

They had lots of legs, too. Were they centipedes?

There were several of them.

It looked as though Rasuti and the others had stopped them as they tried to rush out.

"Big sister Hakuren, you mustn't breathe fire."

Hakuren had joined the battle and was about to breathe fire when Rasuti stopped her.

"Why?"

"The giants are behind us."

So that meant no fire inside the cave, right?

Hakuren apparently accepted that and simply punched the centipedes in human form.

Her blows made the centipedes recoil, but didn't seem to be doing any damage.

Pillow and Zabuton's children released threads to try to restrain the centipedes, but they didn't seem able to hold them for long.

"Everyone, close your eyes!"

The Progenitor shouted, then cast a spell.

It was so sudden that I was a little slow, but I just barely managed in time. Even with my eyes closed, though, the light was dazzlingly bright.

Once I sensed the intense light had passed, I opened my eyes and found the centipedes writhing in agony.

Now's my chance!

But the centipedes were still thrashing desperately, making it hard to approach.

Just as I was thinking that, Rasuti, in dragon form, pinned a centipede beneath her foot.

Seeing that, Hakuren also turned into a dragon and pinned a centipede beneath her foot.

Perfect.

I took out the Almighty Farming Tool and hoed the centipedes away.

I learned something.

Centipedes kept moving even after parts of their bodies had been hoed away. They were unbelievably hard to kill.

The remnants of a centipede's body, freed from beneath Rasuti's foot after I'd hoed it with the Almighty Farming Tool, lunged at me.

Lu and Tia rushed over and saved me.

They hadn't let their guard down in the slightest, faithfully carrying out their duty to protect me.

Sorry about that. You really saved me.

And as for you centipedes, off to the next world with you.

Chapter 12: Tunnel countermeasures?

Standing on the centipedes, which had already turned into fertile soil, I listened to Rasuti's explanation.

Unlike when we'd arrived, giants had apparently greeted Rasuti when she reached the labyrinth entrance.

Then the giants had taken her deep into the labyrinth, to where Pillow was.

At the time, Pillow had apparently been busy repairing a collapsed section of the labyrinth.

I'd been soaking in the hot springs all that time... I felt a little bad.

Around the time Rasuti met up with Pillow, something unusual happened. Apparently, small centipedes began crawling out of the hole created by the collapse.

They were only small compared with the big centipedes, though. They were apparently about two meters long.

Rasuti and Pillow fought off the small centipedes together. Meanwhile, Zabuton's children, who had come with Rasuti, led the giants to safety.

But centipedes appeared at their evacuation site, too.

The giants were driven into the spacious chamber where we'd met up with them and defended themselves there.

If it had only been Rasuti and the others, a blast of fire would have ended it, but with the giants nearby, they couldn't do that.

After they'd patiently defeated the smaller centipedes, the big ones emerged, leaving them unable to get away.

When I asked for more details, I learned they'd held out for two full days without food or water.

I praised Rasuti and the others for a job well done.

Next, I spoke with the giants Rasuti and the others had protected.

Some were injured, but fortunately no one had died.

They expressed their deep gratitude to us.

"Do those centipedes appear around here often?"

"We only occasionally see smaller ones."

By smaller ones, they apparently didn't mean the roughly two-meter-long centipedes, but ones only about thirty centimeters long.

Though I thought

even that was plenty big...

"There were two-meter-class centipedes in the mole tunnel, too."

The Progenitor added that.

"But Hakuren and Rasuti breathed fire as soon as they entered the tunnel, so I only saw the remains."

I see.

Apparently, being scolded back then was why they hadn't breathed fire where the giants were.

What good luck.

"But I've never seen Black Catons that big."

"Black Caton?"

That was apparently the centipedes' name.

Their proper full name was Poison Rock Black Caton.

...Those things were venomous? That hadn't occurred to me at all.

"Rasuti, are you and the others all right?"

Apparently, the venom didn't affect dragons.

Dragons really were impressive.

In any case, we needed to seal the collapsed hole completely.

Otherwise, the giants wouldn't be able to live here in peace.

I did ask whether they intended to move, but they still wanted to live here.

That was reasonable. Moving wasn't easy, after all.

We headed to the collapsed section to seal the hole.

Perhaps because those giant centipedes-Poison Rock Black Catons-had been coming and going, there was now an enormous hole.

"It's bigger than before."

Lu, who'd been here before, murmured that.

Apparently, it was more than twice as large as before.

Collapsing the earth above might have been the best way to seal the opening... but traces of Pillow's thread repairs remained around the hole.

I couldn't bear to destroy all that, so we'd go into the tunnel and collapse it from the inside instead.

Before that, I asked Hakuren and Rasuti to breathe fire into the tunnel.

I didn't want to see any more centipedes.

Because of the danger of oxygen deprivation, I stayed outside rather than entering the tunnel.

About thirty minutes later, Hakuren and Rasuti returned.

"That took a while."

"We had some uninvited visitors."

Apparently, more giant centipedes had come from the eastern tunnel.

But as long as they could breathe fire, the centipedes posed no threat at all.

Dragons really were impressive.

With Hakuren and Rasuti leading the way, we all entered the tunnel.

There was nothing to the west, but there were heaps of ash to the east.

"Not charcoal, but ash..."

"I got a little serious."

Hakuren gave a radiant smile.

"You breathed fire to the west, too, right?"

"That was me..."

Rasuti raised her hand, looking rather unhappy. Had she wanted to burn something, too?

Well, anyway, it looked as though the things in our way were gone.

I wanted to hurry up and collapse the tunnel, but...

If we did it near the tunnel entrance, it might affect the labyrinth above, so we went a little farther in.

Before we moved, the Progenitor cast a spell on me, just to be safe.

It seemed to be a spell against poisonous gas, but would it prevent oxygen deprivation? Or did it simply treat a lack of oxygen as poisonous gas?

I accepted his kindness without fuss and thanked him.

We headed west first.

Had we walked about a kilometer, by my reckoning? Everyone proceeded at a leisurely pace.

Rasuti had been quite dissatisfied earlier, but there were several piles of ashes here that must once have been two-meter-long centipedes, so her fire breathing had not gone to waste.

Every time I saw some ashes, I praised her, and she seemed very happy.

Kuro and Yuki occasionally ran ahead to scout, then came back to report that there was nothing unusual up ahead.

Of course, I praised them too.

"Would somewhere around here do?"

At the Progenitor's direction, we collapsed the tunnel.

Magic took care of it with a boom.

The Almighty Farming Tool never got a chance to come out.

The dust from the collapse actively avoided me, confirming the effect of the spell the Progenitor had cast earlier.

Oh, impressive.

Incidentally, everyone else could use the same spell too... Perhaps it was only beginner-level magic.

I really hoped I could use it someday.

With the west side taken care of, everyone headed east.

When we returned to the tunnel entrance, the thought that perhaps we could have split up crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed it.

After all, we did not know what might be in there.

We would all stick together.

After walking what felt like another kilometer from the hole that led into the giants' labyrinth, we blasted the tunnel with magic again.

This time, the collapse did not go so well.

Lu, who had cast the spell, looked a little frustrated.

One more spell brought it down completely, successfully sealing it off.

Could we relax now?

With magical beasts like those gophers that could dig tunnels, we could not let our guard down, could we?

If only we could install something like an alarm...

I tried taking out the Almighty Farming Tool, but it was no help at all.

When in trouble, ask the Progenitor.

"If I were stationed in this labyrinth, there would be plenty of options, but I won't be staying here all the time."

"So there's nothing you can do?"

"It's not that there's nothing I can do."

The Progenitor looked at me expectantly.

"Could this have something to do with burying the statue of the God of Creation?"

"I understand wanting to bury that place because something felt off about it. Personally, though, seeing the likeness of the God of Creation buried is terribly distressing, so I wanted to discuss it with you."

The Progenitor wanted us to seal the entrances and exits while leaving some space around the statue of the God of Creation.

It had been my fault for casually carving a likeness of the God of Creation in front of the deeply devout Progenitor.

Still, at the time, I had thought it was the best way to handle things.

"All right, let's do that. Also, it looks a little lonely leaving the statue there on its own, so we might as well build a shrine... I mean, a temple."

"Oh!"

After all, the Progenitor had done a great deal for me.

Surely this much was fine as repayment.

"Let's wait until winter to build the temple. Could I ask you to use your teleportation magic then?"

"Of course. No problem."

Although I seemed to have helped him quite a bit too... if I simply thought of him as Lu and Flora's grandfather, it did not bother me.

The Progenitor's solution was quite simple.

We just needed to post some gatekeepers.

The Progenitor chanted a spell near the tunnel opening, and around ten stone pillars rose from the ground.

As he continued chanting, the surfaces of the pillars flaked away little by little, leaving behind figures of some sort. Winged demons?

"These are called gargoyles. Normally, they're ordinary stone statues, but whenever intruders appear, they serve as both gatekeepers and alarms."

"Are they strong?"

"They should have no trouble dealing with gophers. Even if they can't win, they can buy time, and I'll sense it whenever these gargoyles move."

I see. It was quite a good method, and I was deeply impressed. Everyone else seemed very impressed too.

"I've never seen a spell like that before. Rasuti, did you memorize it?"

"Creating ten at once might be a little difficult... Please let me check the steps with you later. There were twenty-seven in total, right?"

"Lu, can you do this too?"

"No. I mean, these are the guards that protect the Progenitor's bedroom. Even against a dragon, they should be able to buy a little time, shouldn't they?"

Pillow, Kuro, and Yuki seemed to sense something from the gargoyles and chose to keep their distance.

I decided to make the temple a little more lavish.

We left the tunnel and returned to the labyrinth.

We informed the giants that the tunnel had been sealed and that gargoyles had been installed deep inside the cave.

The gargoyles would activate if someone entered from somewhere other than the hole we used to come and go.

It would be fine if the giants accidentally wandered in, but we still wanted them to stay out of the cave as much as possible.

If possible, it would be best to put a cover over it.

For now, there was only the web Pillow had strung up.

After saying goodbye to the giants, we returned straight to the village using the Progenitor's teleportation magic.

We had originally planned to return right away, but we had ended up making everyone wait so long.

I hoped the banquet had not fallen flat...

As it turned out, they waited until we returned to start the banquet.

Besides being grateful to everyone, I also felt very apologetic.

The banquet began as I apologized.