1. Taking it easy
Winter had arrived.
A leisurely atmosphere filled the village. That said, we weren't sleeping in.
There was simply more indoor work.
Whenever the weather allowed us to go outside, we tried to do so. Though by going outside...
All we could really do was move around the food stored in the outdoor storehouses.
So I used the heat-retaining stones the hot spring survey team had brought back to build a greenhouse-like hut, but Zabuton's children had already occupied it.
The point was to make effective use of the stones, so that was fine.
What I really wanted to try making was a kotatsu.
A kotatsu using heat-retaining stones didn't need a brazier, making it both safe and warm.
Kuro and Yuki seemed to spend more time nestled inside it than I did.
With only their heads poking out as they lounged around, they showed not a trace of wildness.
Their children were lining up outside, but Kuro and Yuki showed no sign of wanting to move.
Please don't look at me with those sad faces.
If I made a kotatsu large enough for all of Kuro's descendants, not only would there be nowhere to put it, but we wouldn't have enough heat-retaining stones or quilts.
Please make do with just two and take turns.
Work on the God of Creation's temple hadn't started yet, since the Progenitor had gone elsewhere on some business.
Well, he was an important person, after all. He was probably busy.
"Village Chief, are we making mochi again this year?"
One of the Oni Race maids came to ask me. She held a sack of glutinous rice and looked very eager to pound it.
"Yes, that was the plan. Why don't we start now?"
"Certainly."
The Oni Race maid answered happily. Then High Elves, dwarves, and lizardmen popped out from wherever they'd been hiding behind her and started preparing.
The sweetened soy sauce and sweetened soybean flour that had been so popular last time were already ready, and they started cooking red beans to make red bean soup with mochi.
Those things were all necessary, but we still had to steam the glutinous rice first.
Pounding glutinous rice really did take strength.
The mochi pounded by the minotaur representative seemed to taste the best.
By comparison, mine was... no good. Fortunately, there were plenty of people to eat it, so none would be left over.
"Cut it into smaller pieces before eating. Be careful not to choke."
"Okay!"
Hakuren and Ursa got along well.
I'd originally planned to prepare a room for Ursa near the Oni Race maids' rooms in the mansion.
But at her own request, her room had been placed next to Hakuren's.
I'd often seen them together lately. That was a good sign.
And perhaps because she'd started looking after Ursa, Hakuren was gradually learning to do housework.
She wasn't very good at it yet, but it wasn't a bad thing. I hoped she'd keep at it.
On the other hand, Ann, who had originally intended to look after Ursa, seemed a little lonely.
Could it be that she wanted a daughter? No, she'd been very happy when Tiselle was born, too.
I was the one who'd asked Hakuren to look after her. I was really sorry.
Also, if she wanted a daughter... no, that wasn't what I meant. I told you, that wasn't what I meant. It was still broad daylight.
Frau and the civil servant girls might have been the most idle people in the village during winter.
They had more free time than they knew what to do with.
But nobody complained. They'd worked themselves half to death during the autumn harvest.
Their work mainly involved recording harvest yields, drawing up consumption plans, and carrying them out. Those plans included allocating produce for sale, processing, gifts, and so on.
They had to consider how much of each crop should be used for what.
Then they had to put those decisions into practice.
They had to consult Donovan about alcohol, Sena of the Beastmen about processing, and engage in fierce bargaining with Michael over sales. They'd really worked hard.
So they could be allowed to slack off now.
Though that was also because I trusted that after resting a while longer, they'd get bored and find something to do themselves.
"Eating ice cream in a warm room really hits differently."
"These mandarins are delicious."
"...Two... three... four spaces. Ugh, my funds were halved by a financial crisis. My life is one hardship after another. Your turn."
"Bathing is such a pain... changing clothes is a pain, too... I'm going to sleep..."
"Can't they bring our meals straight to our rooms?"
I hoped they'd get moving soon.
Rasuti was away because Death had summoned her.
Apparently, Doraim's last visit to the village had been to tell Rasuti and Hakuren that Death wanted to see them.
Incidentally, Hakuren had refused, citing her care of Ursa.
I'd worried that might not be a good idea, but apparently it was fine.
"If it were really serious, he wouldn't have sent my little brother to deliver the message."
Then who would come if something important happened?
"Father would probably come tell me himself."
I see.
Bulga and Stifano had accompanied Rasuti.
They were going home for the winter.
Their home was close to Death's nest, so I'd had them take plenty of gifts along.
Though they weren't exactly replacements, Beezel and Glatts, two of the Demon King Kingdom's Four Heavenly Kings, both came to the village around this time, as if working in shifts.
After a short chat with Frau, Beezel went off to relax by himself.
Perhaps his work for the Demon King Kingdom was exhausting, because he wore an expression of relief.
There was still a bashfulness between Glatts and Rinona.
They weren't causing any trouble, so that was fine.
Would they need a new home soon? I decided not to rush things and keep watching over them.
After eating mochi, I headed to the workshop.
I started carving wood into tableware.
First, some for the children born this year, then for Alfred and Tiselle, who had grown, and then for Ursa.
I made some for visitors while I was at it.
I'd added too much decoration.
I was neither clumsy nor particularly dexterous, and it was thanks to the Almighty Farming Tool that I could work wood this well. Once again, I felt grateful.
Before going to build the temple with the Progenitor, I decided to try renovating the shrine beneath the great tree.
Well, perhaps the wood from the Forest of Death was very durable, because I couldn't see any damage on its surface.
Instead, it had developed a distinctive character that looked rather nice. Apparently, it didn't need renovating.
On the other hand...
The statue of the God of Creation glowed and was dazzling at night. How about replacing the light-blocking curtain I'd installed earlier with sturdy doors?
Come to think of it, how long was it going to keep glowing?
It did feel as though we were being blessed, but the statue of the God of Agriculture beside it didn't glow, making the former stand out too much.
Maybe I should make the God of Agriculture's statue glow, too... no, no, doubling the brightness would be a problem.
Or how about making a statue of the God of Agriculture out of iron or something instead of wood? But that idea stayed in my head.
Did a simple style suit the God of Agriculture better?
Anyway, I'd make the doors I'd first thought of.
When it came to shrine doors, I pictured a pair that opened to either side. They weren't the folding kind commonly seen on Buddhist altars, so they weren't difficult to make.
Done.
I took the doors to the shrine and fitted them temporarily to check. No problems.
Still, these doors seemed purely functional. To put it more simply, they were too plain.
...I took the doors down and brought them back to the workshop.
Decorations for doors... Buddhist furnishings used ornamental nails, didn't they?
But iron was too precious. It wouldn't exactly be a waste, but I still wanted to use it for something more meaningful.
In that case... simple carving would do.
What design should I use? I considered Kuro, Zabuton, dragons, the Progenitor, and other possibilities...
The great tree really was the best choice.
I drew a great tree in the center of the double doors.
Yes, that looked pretty good.
While I was at it, I might as well decorate the insides, too... they would show when the doors were open...
I'd stick to carving flowers.
What flowers would suit the God of Creation and the God of Agriculture?
When in doubt, leave it to the Almighty Farming Tool.
I carved while picturing flowers... and ended up with cherry blossoms.
Was my preconceived image too strong? Still, there was nothing wrong with that.
The doors were finished.
I carried them back to the shrine again and installed them properly.
I checked whether they opened and closed smoothly. No problems.
I thought I'd clean around the shrine while I was there... but it was already clean.
To give thanks for the Oni Race maids' hard work, I once again pressed my palms together before the gods of the shrine.
If it was still glowing when the weather grew warmer, holding a feast in front of the statues might be nice.
A flower-viewing feast.
Holding a feast before the gods was the Japanese way.
...Perhaps I should consult the Progenitor before holding it?
"Village Chief!"
Ursa ran over to me.
"What's wrong?"
"Hakuren's mad! Help!"
"Hahaha, that's because you ran outside wearing so little. Go back before you catch a cold."
"Okay."
Ursa wanted to be picked up, so I lifted her into my arms. She was fairly heavy.
The two of us returned to the mansion with Hakuren, who'd chased after Ursa to wrap a blanket around her.
2. Racing
"All right, let's go."
Our group headed south through the village in single file.
That said, we weren't leaving the village.
Our destination was the racetrack built south of the fields.
It had originally been intended as a place where the horses and centaurs could run to their hearts' content, but Kuro's descendants had ended up using it the most.
The mountain elves expanded, added to, and remodeled the track, putting in obstacles to increase the difficulty, which seemed to delight Kuro's descendants even more.
Then, recently...
The Beastmen boys had started riding Kuro's descendants in competitions resembling horse races, and this had become another outdoor winter activity.
The racetrack's basic course was a standard oval, like a circle stretched sideways.
As for the distance... the stretched-out straight sections were about eight hundred meters long, but I wasn't sure about the curved sections.
What was the formula for calculating a circle's circumference? I ran a lap myself to estimate it by feel... and it seemed to be about three thousand meters.
However, after the mountain elves' remodeling, the rises and falls had become quite steep.
So a lap was probably about twenty-four hundred meters in actual distance.
The starting position was always the same.
But the route, turning points, number of laps, finish line, and so on could all be changed to suit the race.
Every race probably unfolded differently because the Beastmen boys kept experimenting.
At first, all they'd wanted was to charge desperately into the lead. I considered this growth.
The catalyst for their growth was the Alcohol Slime riding one of Kuro's descendants.
Although it had the advantage of being light, its lightning-fast sprint before the finish still left the spectators awestruck.
That must have been what they called saving your strength for the end.
At any rate, it seemed to have made quite an impression on the Beastmen boys, and they began thinking up all sorts of racing strategies afterward.
"It's better to stay in second until the final bend, then swing outside and overtake on the last straight."
"Get out in front and make everyone chase you the whole way. Basically, just leave everyone behind."
"Just go 'daaa!' and then 'gwaaa!'"
The adults offering all sorts of ideas might have had quite a bit to do with it, too.
More people started taking part in the races.
In the case of Kuro's descendants, they seemed capable of carrying even the minotaurs, but they probably wouldn't have enough strength left to compete on speed that way.
At present, the participants included High Elves, mountain elves, Oni Race maids, and lizardman children, in addition to the Beastmen boys and the Alcohol Slime.
Anyone could join.
However, I had attached two conditions.
Female contestants had to wear trousers, and no one was to push Kuro and his descendants too hard.
So far, there hadn't been any problems.
If there were any problems, they would probably be on the spectators' side.
The elves had built fairly tall spectator stands that overlooked the entire course.
To ward off the cold, heat-retaining stones had been placed throughout the stands. Apparently, they had gone with Hakuren to dig them up near the hot springs.
There was even a kitchen. That said, it could only manage simple soups... so warm.
However, there weren't necessarily this many spectators every day.
Today just happened to feature some relatively formal races.
The courses had already been decided, and judges were stationed in each area.
The runners, on the other hand, had yet to be confirmed. That was because there wasn't really any registration for contestants.
Still, the types of races had been announced, so everyone had probably already decided what they wanted to enter.
One look at their faces told me there wouldn't be a shortage of contestants.
There was no betting on the races, but I would provide prizes for first place.
Since not everyone could participate, I couldn't award reward medals.
Instead, the winners could receive sweets I made myself.
Although I doubted whether those would do as prizes, everyone around me said in unison, "No problem."
Sweets really did seem to matter a lot to everyone.
The first race.
An exhibition race.
The course was roughly two thousand meters long, including the bends.
The contestants were the two centaurs stationed here and the horse.
There were also Gruwald and four other centaurs, who had rushed over from Village Three after hearing about the races.
The horse was ridden by the Beastmen girl who usually looked after him. Why was he more obedient with her than when I rode him?
Incidentally, I had given the horse a name.
I had taken it from a certain legendary racehorse I'd heard of despite not betting on horse races. However, the horse seemed completely unimpressed.
The Beastmen girl called him Belford, and now he wouldn't turn his head unless you called him that.
The race began.
Actually, the two-thousand-meter distance had been a point of contention.
Although the horse had the advantage in speed, the centaurs were overwhelmingly superior in stamina.
A one-sided race would be boring. After repeated adjustments, we decided that two thousand meters was the best distance.
The finish line was directly in front of the spectator stands.
Amid loud cheers, Gruwald and the horse fought a desperate battle... which Gruwald ultimately won.
She went straight into a victory lap. She really had plenty of stamina.
The Beastmen girl riding the horse was comforting him.
Hmm, judging by the movements of his tail and ears, the horse was quite angry. I looked forward to their next showdown.
The second race.
Another exhibition race.
The minotaurs would race while dragging heavy loads.
The distance was four hundred meters.
It was a straight course, but the terrain rose and fell.
This wasn't an individual race, but a team competition.
Six teams entered, with four members each.
One team included Glatts and Rinona. I hoped they would do well.
The loads they would drag were timber piled on sleds.
We had made the weights as equal as possible, but there were still slight differences, so they drew lots before the race to decide who got which.
The race began.
Watching those enormous, roughly three-meter-tall bodies work together to pull the wooden sleds really got the blood pumping.
The spectators responded enthusiastically.
Unfortunately, Glatts and his teammates only took second, but they looked like they had enjoyed themselves, so that was fine.
The third race.
A race for Kuro's descendants.
However, there were no riders.
So many entrants flooded in that we needed to narrow down the field first.
Those scheduled to carry riders in later races stepped aside, and then we restricted entry to those born in the last few years, which barely brought the number down to twenty.
However, the outcry was so great that we had to hastily add another race after this one.
At any rate, the third race began.
The distance was three thousand meters, a little over one lap.
I had expected a chaotic race with everyone bunched together, but they spread out surprisingly well.
Two took the lead.
At the very back, four were trying to conserve their strength.
Just as I was wondering how things would develop...
One of those in the middle gradually picked up speed and finally took the outright lead on the last straight.
It was a splendid victory.
Masayuki came out to greet the winner. Was this his child or grandchild? Surely it couldn't be one of his mates?
At any rate.
Since I wouldn't be able to tell the winner apart once they mingled with the others... I tied a cloth around the winner's neck.
Heh-heh, that looked fast.
The others looked envious of the winner.
The fourth race.
The hastily added race for Kuro's descendants.
This one had no age restrictions.
There were twenty-two entrants.
The distance and course layout were the same as in the third race.
Perhaps because they had watched the previous race, all the contestants kept one another in check, moving in a pack without spreading out.
Only after they rounded the final bend and reached the straight did gaps finally begin to appear.
One thrilling exchange of overtaking followed another.
The winner came up to me proudly.
I praised the winner while tying a cloth around their neck.
Something to reflect on from the third and fourth races.
Unless I had Kuro and his descendants wear different-colored cloths or something, I couldn't tell who was who.
The fifth race.
A two-hundred-meter race for the harpies.
Flying was forbidden.
The race felt rather chaotic.
I had known already, but they really weren't very good at running.
Two hundred meters was too long. Wouldn't fifty meters have been enough?
The sixth race.
The distance was one lap of the course, twenty-four hundred meters.
This was a race in which the Beastmen boys and the Alcohol Slime
, along with lizardman children, High Elves, mountain elves, Oni Race maids, and others, rode Kuro's descendants.
The highlight of today's races.
Given the difference in weight, the Alcohol Slime was the favorite, the Beastmen boys were its main challengers, and the Oni Race maids were potential dark horses.
Still, never mind those predictions. Give it your best.
However, someone joined at the last minute.
Sitting astride one of Kuro's descendants with her arms crossed, this newcomer was... Ursa. She was wearing trousers and looked full of fighting spirit, with Hakuren cheering her on from behind.
Since there were still spaces left, anyone was welcome.
However, it would be dangerous if she fell off her horse... or rather, her wolf, so I had her put on a helmet-like hat lined with grass.
The race began.
A lizardman child suddenly shot out in front.
He must have been planning to make everyone chase him the whole way.
However, the contestants behind him stayed calm and maintained their pace.
As for Ursa... although she was in last place, she was keeping up with the pack.
By the middle of the race, an Oni Race maid was closing in on the lizardman child, who had been charging ahead all along. The whole pack stretched out.
Unfortunately, the Oni Race maid couldn't catch him, and the lizardman child remained in front. Could he maintain that speed until the end?
They reached the final bend.
The whole pack picked up speed at once, trying to challenge the leader. However, none of them could catch him.
A stopwatch would probably have let us measure it, but after taking the lead, the lizardman out front had conserved his strength by gradually slowing down.
That meant he could stay ahead all the way to the finish. The lizardman child firmly believed he would win.
Unfortunately, he was still too naive.
Some had noticed when the Oni Race maid was chasing him.
They included the Oni Race maid doing the chasing and the experienced trio of Beastmen boys.
And Ursa, whether through natural talent or wild instinct.
Because of her earlier pursuit, the Oni Race maid could now only cling close behind him... while the Beastmen boys and Ursa conserved their strength farther back.
With the leader still having energy to spare, the contestants behind him were conserving even more strength... wasn't that a questionable strategy? How would this turn out?
The final sprint down the straight.
The Beastmen boys and Ursa, who had been farther back, surged forward like lightning, and the lizardman child they were chasing was visibly flustered.
Just before the finish.
The lizardman child, the trio of Beastmen boys, and Ursa were neck and neck.
The lizardman child fell behind.
One of the Beastmen boys fell even farther behind...
They crossed the finish line!
That race really got the blood pumping.
However, competition was merciless. There still had to be winners and losers.
The winner was one of the Beastmen boys.
Ursa came third.
Although I wanted to give sweets to all the contestants, those were the winner's prize, so I could only apologize to everyone else.
I would praise their efforts verbally instead.
Well, before I could say anything, the spectators were already praising the contestants or holding post-race discussions...
Since I couldn't give them sweets, I would make some other food.
The races continued. It was such a peaceful day.
3 The road to the temple
The Progenitor finally arrived. Or should I have said returned?
He seemed to have a lot of work to deal with.
Even though it was winter, people in religious circles apparently stayed busy during the winter, too.
The Progenitor said he could leave immediately, but he looked so exhausted that I persuaded him to wait two days before we set out.
I suggested that he take a bath, eat, and get some rest first.
After all, we would still be relying on the Progenitor's teleportation magic.
As for who would come along... since our goal was to build a temple, we organized the group mainly around the High Elves, then added cooks and guards.
Ten High Elves.
Five lizardmen.
Five mountain elves.
Two Oni Race maids.
Fifty of Kuro's descendants.
Since the Progenitor would send everyone back to the village by magic at night, we did not have much luggage.
We arrived at the site.
The traces of the hot spring survey team's campsite from their return trip were still there.
A short walk brought us to a hole about four meters in diameter.
At the bottom of that hole was the large black rock that had already been carved into a statue of the God of Creation.
"Let's establish a base of operations first."
I followed the High Elves' suggestion and used our old campsite.
We set up tables and chairs for meals and stretched a rain tarp over them. As for the kitchen... the one from last time was still there, but we decided to rebuild it.
That should about do it.
Next, we prepared something like a building materials storage area beside the hole.
That needed a rain tarp too.
While I was doing all that, Kuro's descendants split into groups and patrolled the surrounding area.
Even though it was winter, there were still plenty of monsters and magical beasts.
I drained the blood from the magical beasts Kuro's descendants hunted.
Was it all right to get my hands bloody before building a temple?
What was done was done. Besides, this was valuable food.
I would be sure to wash my hands thoroughly before building the temple.
The surrounding forest had all burned down last time, so I walked a little way to an untouched forest to get some timber.
The Almighty Farming Tool really shone.
As for stone... we were going underground anyway, so we could just look for it there.
The Progenitor went down into the hole alone first to check that it was safe inside.
It should have been fine, but there might have been hibernating monsters or magical beasts hiding in there.
He took a little while to come back, but apparently there were no monsters or magical beasts inside. Had he been late because he was praying?
"For now, we'll decorate the area around the God of Creation's statue as planned... but what should we do about the part aboveground?"
A High Elf asked.
The part aboveground.
She meant the hole.
I wanted to seal it, but how to do that was another problem.
This hole had not formed naturally. The moles had dug it.
At around four meters in diameter, it was fairly wide, but its depth was completely out of proportion to its width.
I did not know the exact figure, but it was probably about two hundred meters deep.
After all, the moles' tunnels were beneath the dungeon, so that depth was hardly surprising.
Maybe it was actually shallow.
There were spiral grooves along the sides of the hole, which showed that the moles had not dug straight up. I guessed they had followed a spiral path, turning as they climbed.
If they had dug straight up, they would surely have fallen. Moles were smarter than I had imagined. Was this the wisdom of wild animals? No, no, they had been controlled.
But this hole.
Why exactly did it exist? For now, let's assume their objective had been that large black rock.
They had dug sideways to find the large black rock, then dug upward from directly above it to reach the surface...
"Progenitor, come to think of it, there was another large black rock like the one at the bottom of this hole somewhere else, right?"
"Yes."
"Was there a hole above that rock too?"
Apparently there was.
Then these holes served some purpose?
Hmm...
We could rack our brains and still not find an answer, so first we should decide what to do with this hole. If we were going to fill it in, how would we do it?
That was the important thing.
Whether to carve the second large black rock into a statue of the God of Creation was not the important thing, Progenitor.
We would leave the question of filling the hole for later.
To keep anyone from falling in, I made something like a lid out of wood and tried placing it over the opening.
That was awfully crude.
It felt even more dangerous now. Should I build a ring of stone around the hole and secure the lid to it?
Later.
The main work was underground, around the statue of the God of Creation.
I had intended to lower the timber underground using ropes woven from Zabuton's thread... but the ropes were too short.
Should I trust the timber's strength and just drop it?
Hmm... I felt reluctant.
Besides, the God of Creation's statue was at the bottom. Better not.
Could I ask the Progenitor to transport it? That would be a hassle too.
In that case... it was time for the Almighty Farming Tool.
I dug a new hole not far from the first one.
If the moles could do it, there was no reason I could not.
I dug diagonally downward around the moles' shaft, tracing a spiral myself.
Before digging, I had the Progenitor cast a spell to protect me from poisonous gases, so I did not have to worry about running out of oxygen.
As for the underground space containing the God of Creation's statue, he said it was fine because there were wind spirits there.
I dug without holding back. I dug and dug and dug, until water came out. Whoa, I was going to drown!
Right.
I had not expected water to gush out at all... wait, wait.
The God of Creation's statue was even deeper underground. Since that place was not flooded, there must have been some way to keep groundwater out, right?
I could not think of one.
Was I worse at this than the moles?
No, the moles had been controlled. The Necromancer King had been controlling them.
Not bad, Necromancer King.
Ah, not in Ursa's form, but... how should I put it? That frightening-looking fellow. Yes, yes. Not bad, Necromancer King.
All right, I would ask everyone how to deal with the flooding.
"We can handle it with magic."
Magic was far too versatile...
Huh? We could just drop the timber down with magic too? Since we could control its falling speed, it would be fine...
I see, I see.
I kept digging. We needed this passage for getting around. It was not because I was sulking.
As for the excavated dirt, I had the Progenitor make earth golems to carry it outside.
After several days, my tunnel finally reached the space containing the God of Creation's statue.
I also saw the large quantity of timber that had already been sent underground, along with the High Elves and mountain elves who had begun taking measurements.
The earth golems and I pretended not to see them and exchanged high fives to celebrate reaching our destination.
The space containing the God of Creation's statue was illuminated with magical light.
Since the hole was narrow and deep, light from the top of the shaft was no help at all. In other words, the hole was not there to let in light? It would be strange to call it a passage too.
Did some kind of magic or something require this hole to exist?
"It was probably meant to keep the wind spirits down here."
"Or perhaps it was simply to see what was happening on the surface."
"The moles were all being controlled, right? Maybe their instructions were simply, 'Once you arrive, dig upward'?"
Our conclusion: we had no idea.
I thought as much. We would just leave it. I could not be bothered to think about it anymore.
Construction of the temple began.
My idea had been to build a temple within this space, but the Progenitor and the High Elves persuaded me to abandon it.
They thought the best approach was to reshape this space into the interior of a temple.
Then what about all the timber we had dropped down? It was mainly for scaffolding to work on the walls, right?
And the measurements from earlier? They had only been calculating where to place the lights.
I understood.
In other words... it was time for the Almighty Farming Tool.
The High Elves and mountain elves pointed out where I should put the lights and ritual implements, and I cut out the rock to make room for them.
Next came the question of design... but they told me to handle it, so I went with a Western style.
Rather than work every rock surface, I left exposed rock in key places to create contrast.
The others watched my progress and put up the scaffolding I would need next, so the work was stress-free.
Besides, I did not get tired while using the Almighty Farming Tool anyway.
Occasionally, I went up to the surface for a change of pace.
The lizardmen had built something like a fence around the hole for me.
Thanks.
I played with Kuro's descendants.
Hahaha, wait for me... hmm? There was a magical beast that looked like a deer.
...Those antlers... could it be... a Panic Caribou?
My memories of delicious food resurfaced.
"Don't run!"
I finished it off.
I brought it back to the village and was treated like a hero.
Then we immediately held a feast.
It really was delicious.
Ursa, the Beastmen Guraru, and Gutt's family, who were trying it for the first time, were all deeply moved.
The Progenitor and Beezel, on the other hand, had probably eaten it elsewhere before, so they remained composed.
Still, neither forgot to ask for another helping.
Construction of the temple was going very smoothly.
Chapter 4: The temple and the death knight
A spacious area centered on a pure-white statue of the God of Creation.
Glowing stones placed to the sides as though to illuminate the statue.
All the glowing stones had been carved into flames, making them look like fiercely burning tongues of white fire.
"I never imagined light stones could be carved..."
"Remarkable."
The mountain elves and the Progenitor were all astonished.
As their name suggested, light stones were stones that gave off light.
Since they shone constantly, some people used them instead of lamps.
Although some people did that, even a pebble-sized light stone was quite valuable, and apparently not something ordinary people could get their hands on.
Their main use was lighting the homes of the rich and powerful.
The Progenitor had brought these luxury items from somewhere. There were dozens of light stones, each about the size of a child's body.
He probably wanted to decorate the God of Creation's statue, but even pebble-sized ones were expensive... I was better off not asking the price.
So I placed the light stones in the positions the mountain elves had calculated, using them as lighting... but they looked awfully crude.
They were just glowing stones, after all.
Being too particular about where to put them had actually backfired.
So I worked the light stones into flame shapes.
Yes, this excellent design made me want to sing my own praises.
Changing the shape of a light stone didn't change the amount of light it gave off, nor did its intensity fluctuate. After carving one and confirming there were no problems, I worked on all the rest. That should give the place more atmosphere.
I designed the patterns on the walls, too.
I'd originally wanted to carve landscapes, but patterns suited a space like this better.
Still, I didn't make them perfectly uniform. Neat patterns looked beautiful, but they could feel oppressive. That said, people would find it unpleasant if they noticed I'd deliberately carved them crooked.
So I wanted a design that was beautiful while retaining a handmade feel.
I thought I'd done a good job.
The Progenitor had no objections, either, and was praying fervently.
"Does that mean we're finished?"
A High Elf asked.
"Probably."
For the entrance, we tidied up the area around the sloping spiral tunnel I'd dug earlier and installed a door.
The walls of the chamber had been finished according to my design, as had the floor.
Following the Progenitor's instructions, we'd made something like an altar in front of the statue of the God of Creation.
We could call it mostly finished.
"The underground part is finished, then."
Exactly, the underground part was finished. The aboveground part wasn't ready yet.
The problem was the hole directly above the statue of the God of Creation. When it rained, the statue would get dirty.
So after discussing it, we decided to cover the hole at ground level.
As for how to cover it... we ultimately decided to build a temple aboveground, too.
Fortunately, a wooden structure would do.
I called more High Elves over from the village, intending to build it all in one go.
It needed to cover both the hole directly above the statue of the God of Creation and the tunnel I'd dug to reach the underground chamber.
Following the High Elves' instructions, I worked hard gathering and processing timber.
The wooden temple aboveground was finished.
It looked like a wooden house.
The building was roughly divided into front and rear sections.
The front was a living area.
With ordinary tables and chairs set out, it felt like some sort of rest stop.
The rear section contained a door leading to the tunnel I'd dug, as well as the hole directly above the statue of the God of Creation.
Railings had been installed around the holes to prevent falls.
It would be awful if someone fell in, after all.
The roof had a mechanism allowing it to open and close freely. We'd removed the beam in the center of the building to accommodate it, so we'd had to reinforce the structure at several key points. That part had been the mountain elves' idea.
We'd close it when it rained and open it in fine weather... but would someone be stationed here? Here, of all places?
Also, although we'd already finished building it... wouldn't monsters or magical beasts destroy the temple aboveground?
The Progenitor solved that problem.
He cast a warding spell.
Magic really was convenient.
"Couldn't we use those gargoyles from before?"
We'd put ten in the tunnel, so I thought we could put some here, too...
"Much as I revere the God of Creation, a statue is ultimately just a statue. The tunnel concerns the safety of the giants."
"I see."
Incidentally, the earth soldiers who'd helped when I dug the underground chamber were assigned to guard the underground statue of the God of Creation.
"Thank you so much. I'm deeply grateful."
"You've done so much for us, after all."
The Progenitor thanked me very happily, and that alone was enough.
All right, time to go home. Hmm? What, why was he grabbing my shoulder?
"There's still one more place, remember?"
...Oh, right.
Anyway, everyone would head back to the village first.
Had anyone forgotten anything? All right, time for roll call... everyone was accounted for.
Then, onward to the second giant black rock.
There was a hole above that one, too, so we could enter from the surface.
The Progenitor knew the location, so that wouldn't be a problem.
The Progenitor and I decided to scout ahead first. The second black rock was also in the Forest of Death.
Far to the east.
Rasuti hadn't burned this part of the forest, so finding it took longer.
Eventually, we found a large hole in the forest.
It looked much like the first one.
In other words, the giant black rock was at the bottom of this hole...?
Hmm? Suddenly, I sensed something unusual.
I took out the Almighty Farming Tool.
The Progenitor went on alert, too.
I looked around for something to throw down, but unfortunately found nothing.
A small stone or something would have been nice.
Perhaps thinking the same thing, the Progenitor chanted a spell and created an earth soldier.
Then, as soon as the earth soldier approached the hole...
It was eaten.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The same kind of giant centipede that had attacked the giants' labyrinth burst out of the hole-a Poison Rock Black Caton.
Then hordes of insects I'd never seen before came crawling out.
"R-retreat!"
I grabbed the Progenitor, and we escaped using his teleportation magic.
"In the air?"
Our escape destination turned out to be in midair.
"We're just taking temporary refuge up here."
The Progenitor floated in the air as though nothing were wrong, while I clung tightly to his waist, not daring to let go.
Seeing us, the centipede strained to stretch its head toward us, approaching as its huge fangs clicked threateningly.
"Hmm... no choice, then."
The Progenitor had to use teleportation magic again to return to the village.
The familiar scenery made me sigh with relief.
My palms were drenched in sweat.
It hadn't been that bad when we'd encountered one in the giants' labyrinth, but something about that centipede had felt wrong.
Having a place like that in the forest was troublesome. What should we do?
While I was still thinking, the Progenitor had already taken action.
He fetched Hakuren.
We moved to the air above the hole.
He had her breathe fire into it.
Dragons really were amazing.
For some reason, I'd come along too, and I was reminded of that as I clung to the Progenitor.
Apparently, the Progenitor could have handled a mere centipede himself.
However, there had also been plenty of smaller insects, and he'd thought dealing with them would be too much trouble, so he'd simply retreated first.
I was in charge of putting out the forest fire Hakuren's breath had caused and hoeing away the burned traces. Yes, may the monsters and magical beasts that burned to death rest in peace.
The Progenitor had already charged into the hole.
Hakuren stayed beside me as my guard.
Ursa was there, too.
Ursa had come along when Hakuren moved. The two had grown close.
But she couldn't ignore the instructions of the people staying home.
And Hakuren couldn't keep spoiling her, either.
"Village chief, I think there's something over there."
Hmm?
I looked in the direction Ursa indicated... but it was just ordinary forest.
Uh... apparently, I simply couldn't see it, while Hakuren already could.
"I don't suppose we can talk to it?"
Hakuren stepped in front of Ursa to protect her.
A little later, I saw the other party, too.
A human wearing armor and carrying a sword.
However, the aura he gave off made it clear he wasn't human.
Had he evaded Hakuren's flames...? That fellow was a Death Knight.
The Progenitor told me afterward.
"After coming aboveground, I lost my way and wandered around. I'd been scolded for doing the same thing before, and just when I thought I was done for, I suddenly sensed a familiar presence and came here..."
I interpreted the Death Knight's gestures.
Hakuren and Ursa grew tired of listening and went off to play.
The Death Knight showed no hostility whatsoever. Apparently, his contract with his master had ended, and he was free again.
He gestured, "I'm not some lunatic who slashes at everything he sees." I told him that if that was the case, he shouldn't wander around holding a sword, and he indicated that he didn't have a scabbard. After I made him a new one from a nearby tree, he said he wanted someone to talk to, so we'd been talking ever since.
"You're asking if I could be your master? Ah, I'm happy you offered, but... you want to ask those two over there, too? I don't think they'd agree... although Ursa might-"
"She can't command a Death Knight as she is now. Neither can you, village chief."
The Progenitor rejoined us.
He'd dealt with the surviving monsters and wiped out all the enemies in the hole.
Apparently, it was safe inside now. What a relief.
"So, who is he?"
At my introduction, the Death Knight bowed politely.
"Judging by the location, he seems to be a subordinate of the Necromancer King."
"I thought so, too."
"So what do you intend to do with him?"
"What should I do?"
Take him back to the village... that probably wouldn't work, would it?
Could it? Was there a chance? Should we try?
...No. I couldn't even fool myself. Unless we changed his appearance and the air about him...
"'I do not hope to return to human society in this body. Please do not concern yourself.' ...Even if you say that..."
"He may be undead, but he's still a knight. Why not give him a mission?"
"Oh! That's a good idea. But can someone who isn't your master give you a mission...? You're saying not to worry about little details like that? You're quite something."
I thought for a moment.
The Death Knight became the hot spring's guard.
At first, I'd wanted him to guard the temple, but the warding spell's effects caused him unbearable pain, so I had to abandon that idea.
The hot spring was the second choice.
We'd visited the hot spring several times while building the temple, so the facilities were all safe and sound.
As for the Death Knight, he seemed full of enthusiasm.
"I'd like you to protect this place... but will you be all right on your own?"
In response to my question, he held out his skeletal hand.
Really? Then I'll leave it to you.
On our next visit, I'd bring some things that would help the Death Knight.
"We had a few diversions along the way, but shouldn't we get back to the hole?"
I asked the Progenitor, Hakuren, and Ursa, who were still in the hot spring.
"Just a little longer~" came the replies from both the men's and women's baths.
I understood wanting to soak in a hot spring when it was cold, but getting in without preparing for a bath wasn't a good idea.
Huh? They'd brought things from the village? They should have said so sooner.
We headed for the cave a little later than planned.
5 The second cave
After thoroughly enjoying the hot spring, we moved to the cave with the large black rock.
The traces of the forest Hakuren had burned were shocking to see, but they also made the place easy to find.
The Progenitor entered the cave first.
I'd thought everything would be fine... but then the Progenitor came charging out at full speed.
Black hands followed behind him. Those hands were actually swarms of insects about thirty centimeters long.
Hakuren immediately burned them with her fire breath. Just to be safe, she breathed fire into the cave again, too.
"Th-that startled me..."
The Progenitor was trying to calm himself down.
Even someone unafraid of bugs could apparently be startled by a huge swarm suddenly appearing.
We entered the cave again.
This time, everyone went in together. Just to be safe, protective magic against poisonous gases had been cast on Ursa and me.
The Progenitor carried me.
Hakuren carried Ursa. We descended into the cave like that.
Hakuren's flames from earlier seemed to have been quite powerful.
It was still hot.
Pure white ash lay in heaps below us. There really must have been a huge number of them.
"Just to be safe, breathe fire into the side passages, too."
Following the Progenitor's instructions, Hakuren breathed fire to the sides.
The eastern side and the western side... hmm?
There was another passage?
"Where does this passage lead?"
"That one seems to come to an end fairly soon."
Although he said soon, it apparently still took about a day to walk there.
I asked Hakuren to breathe fire that way, too.
The large black rock we were after was buried in ash.
The Progenitor used magic to manipulate the ash, sending it into the eastern passage to fill it in. I'd wondered what would become of the ash, but it apparently became quite hard after being compressed. What would happen if it got wet, though? That could wait.
What mattered was the large black rock.
Yes, it really was black. Pitch-black.
The Progenitor's magic illuminated our surroundings, but the light seemed unable to reach its surface.
I turned the Almighty Farming Tool into a hoe and held it in my hands.
Then...
There was that unpleasant atmosphere again. Black, smoke-like strands emerged from beneath the rock, writhing constantly.
They were disgusting, so I hoed them away.
Once all the black, smoke-like strands were gone, I began carving the large black rock.
This time, I carved the God of Light rather than the God of Creation. The Progenitor and I had discussed it and decided on that.
I wouldn't have minded carving the God of Creation, but there was no need to put statues of the same god in multiple places. With that in mind, we rolled dice and chose a different god.
Personally, I'd wanted to carve the God of Agriculture, but I was also worried about whether the God of Agriculture could counter those black, smoke-like strands.
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the God of Agriculture.
I simply found it hard to imagine the God of Agriculture fighting those black, smoke-like strands.
The model for the God of Light was one of the sacred images of the Korin Religion. The Progenitor had shown me reference materials, so that wasn't a problem, but if the finished result gave a different impression, he'd just have to forgive me.
It took me about half a day to finish.
As soon as I finished, the black statue of the God of Light gradually turned white.
Just like with the God of Creation.
Good, that took care of the black, smoke-like strands.
Looking closely, I noticed several more black, smoke-like strands extending from beneath the statue of the God of Light toward the passage overhead.
I severed them all with the Almighty Farming Tool.
Was everything all right at the statue of the God of Creation?
Before returning to the village, we took a detour to check. Everything looked fine.
I wanted to build a temple here, too, but...
Please let me off this winter.
The weather really had gotten cold.
I guessed it would snow before long.
We covered the hole in the ground with logs cut nearby, laid side by side.
That should do it, right?
The Progenitor held me as we floated in midair.
"The statue of the God of Creation I carved first... was it in this direction?"
"To be precise, a little farther over... right there."
Holding me, the Progenitor shifted to adjust the direction my finger was pointing.
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"Well... perhaps it's just my imagination, but..."
"When you get that feeling, it's usually something important."
"Really?"
"Yes. Let me hear it."
"There was a dead end where we just made the statue of the God of Light, wasn't there?"
"Yes."
"Um... could that have been a passage they were still digging?"
"..."
"And if those large black rocks serve some purpose... then if we keep digging past the dead end, might there be another rock?"
"That's certainly possible... but even I can't start digging right away, so there's no way to confirm it."
I asked the Progenitor to land.
Then I drew a diagram on the ground with the Almighty Farming Tool.
Using the distance between the statues of the God of Creation and the God of Light as the length of a side... and the angle of that dead end... was it about like this?
I drew sides of equal length, joining them at the same angle... was this a regular heptagon?
"Meaning there are five more?"
The Progenitor asked that after looking at my diagram, but I didn't know, either.
"Um, it's only a guess that it might be like this..."
"But... if this diagram is correct... hmm."
The Progenitor thought for a moment, then smiled and said:
"Let's return to the village."
I felt the same way.
Ursa was already bored, and Hakuren was having trouble with her.
I slept well that night.
Although something still nagged at me a little, I felt much more at ease for now.
The next morning.
The Progenitor spoke with a broad smile.
"I found the third one."
"Huh?"
"It was right where that diagram indicated. Impressive."
When I asked, I learned that the Progenitor had apparently gone out to take measurements alone.
He could determine directions and distances by placing gargoyles, so he'd used that information.
Digging two hundred meters toward the target had been very hard, but they'd just managed it.
Beside the Progenitor stood an exhausted Lu, Flora, Tia, Gran Maria, and the others...
I see. Apparently, they'd just managed it.
Ah, no wonder I'd slept so well last night.
Rasuti was away, and Ursa had kept Hakuren occupied.
As for Ann... she'd been busy looking after Alfred and Tiselle, right? Thank you.
"And when we discovered the large black rock, we also encountered a group of monsters."
From that day on, the Progenitor, Hakuren, and I began work on the large black rocks.
Ursa stayed home.
Although Hakuren complained about that, it was simply too dangerous.
We'd leave Ursa in Ann's care.
Although I was busy, at least I'd be able to sleep well at night for a little while.
The Fallen God.
I was once a god.
But after losing to the hateful gods, I was stripped of my standing and honor.
My body was sealed deep within the earth, left only to rot.
Unforgivable. Such a thing could never be tolerated.
Even if it took tens of millions of years, I would strike down the gods and destroy them! How could I forget this grudge!
Until every last one of those hateful gods was destroyed, I would keep cursing the world! They shouldn't think they could rest easy just because they'd sealed me away.
I wasn't a fool, either.
I'd already set up several mechanisms for my eventual resurrection. The moment I returned would be their doom!
That was what I'd thought, but...
Let me make this clear first: I was a god.
And gods felt pain, too.
Imagine this.
Someone drove a huge wooden stake into your shin.
It would hurt, right? Hurt like hell, right? If I hadn't been sealed, I'd have been rolling around on the ground clutching my leg.
And I'd been asleep at the time, preparing for my eventual resurrection.
Panic. Utter panic. You'd panic and go, "What? What? Huh? What's happening?"
Once I understood the situation, I was stunned.
The huge rock sealing me had taken the shape of the hateful God of Creation, strengthening the seal.
It felt like being locked in a cell and painstakingly filing halfway through the bars, only to be moved to a new cell.
And the bars were harder than before.
You'd grit your teeth, assuming it was the gods' handiwork, wouldn't you?
But I was sealed away and couldn't do a thing. I couldn't move my body. All I felt was pain.
I cast a curse for the first time in ages. Yes, all I could summon were bugs. My power had waned, too...
Still, only one spot had been reinforced so far.
I could endure this much pain.
Just as I was thinking that optimistically, they got the second spot, too.
Should I not have left them exposed?
And sending a dragon was downright underhanded, wasn't it?
Those creatures were vicious enough to pick fights with gods.
They could tolerate dragons but not me, those damned gods.
F-fine, then. Whatever.
Only those two exposed spots had had their seals strengthened.
The mechanisms I'd arranged for my resurrection must have worked properly, causing the gods to notice, right?
It was unfortunate... but I still had other tricks available. My resurrection would only be delayed by about a hundred years.
I'd barely thought that before the third spot got hit, too.
The one doing it... wasn't one of the hateful gods, but a human.
Hmm.
Those fellows had calculated where the stones were buried before making their move.
The pain had reached my limit, so I abandoned part of my body.
I lost a fair amount of power, but my divinity remained.
Besides, I was very wise, so I could predict the future.
Look, they found the fourth spot, just as I expected.
"Save me, God! I'm willing to apologize for everything I did before!"
Side story: The bewildered Death Knight
My name was... what was it? I forgot. My head was all fuzzy. This was terrible.
Whenever something troubled me, I practiced my swings. Yes, swinging my sword when I had worries was a habit of mine.
Hmm? How did the hilt of my beloved sword get so battered... Was it because I hadn't maintained it? I really shouldn't have neglected it just because it was a magic sword.
...How strange. The hand holding my sword... had it turned into bones? Yes, those were definitely bones.
Aaaaaah! Huh? What? What was going on? Could I be a skeleton? Huh? Whaaaaaaaaat!
I practiced my swings to calm myself down.
All right, I didn't know why, but I had to accept the facts. I was a skeleton now.
It wasn't just my hands. My chest and feet were the same. I couldn't see it, but from the feel of it, so was my head. Being all bones would be more consistent, so I hoped that was the case. It would be horrifying if my head was fine but only my body was a skeleton.
The armor I wore was battered, too. It seemed to have been left for not just a few years, but possibly hundreds.
Judging by that, I had probably died once already. Then I woke up again? Had I become undead? If that was true, my sense of self was a little too clear.
As a skeleton, I couldn't speak, but I could still gesture and tap on wood to send signals. Undead couldn't do that. In other words, I wasn't undead. That was all there was to it.
But in that case, just what was I? A skeleton with a sense of self? Hmm...
I thought about it for about three days, but couldn't reach a conclusion, so I gave up.
During those three days, I also felt neither sleepy nor hungry.
That really made me aware that I had become a monster.
Although my memories were hazy, I had definitely been human before, and a knight at that. The sort of person who made the people around him scream with excitement.
If I went into town looking like this, though, I would probably inspire screams of a different sort.
Would everyone accept me? Should I take a chance?
No, no, no, that was impossible. If I were a human in town, I would definitely slay a monster like this.
Sigh... What should I do?
In that case, would it have been better to become an undead without a sense of self?
No, I couldn't give up.
Even as a skeleton, I could still hold a sword and move around like this. There had to be some meaning to having a self.
...Meaning?
Come to think of it, I seemed to have had a master... Though, as a knight, that went without saying...
I seemed to have served a monarch once.
No, perhaps it was a queen? My memories were hazy. To think I had forgotten my own master... I still couldn't remember. All right, time to practice my swings. Letting off steam with practice swings when I felt frustrated was my way of doing things.
Swinging my sword felt refreshing... but I was a skeleton, after all. I couldn't build muscle. Hmm... another hundred swings.
There, much better. I wouldn't dwell on those little things.
I could remember the past bit by bit.
First, what should I... do?
Make a base? But I didn't need to sleep. I didn't get hungry either, so was there any need?
That meant I didn't need to clear fields or set traps.
Build a defensive position?
Oh! That was it! As a skeleton, my defenses were probably poor. A fortified position would be important to make up for that weakness.
Heh heh heh, time to get to work!
I would start by digging up the ground. That was the foundation. As for tools... using my sword to dig felt wrong.
My bare hands? Dig with hands that were nothing but bones? That wouldn't really work. I would take off part of my armor and use it as a tool. Battered as it was, it was still iron.
My armor broke. Apparently, it was too battered. What a shame.
Then I would pick up a stone from the ground! Dig hard!
...I might have looked as though I was playing, but I wasn't.
The ground was ridiculously hard, too. My bones hadn't broken, but my spirit felt crushed.
What kind of place was this? Wasn't it an ordinary forest?
A careful search revealed softer patches, but they were only slightly softer than the hard areas. Their hardness was nothing like the ground I knew.
Damn it, in that case, I would use wood.
I would build a defensive position out of timber.
Surely there was no problem with using a sword to cut wood? My sword should allow that, too.
I might have looked as though I was playing, but I wasn't.
The wood was ridiculously hard. Not sturdy, but hard. It felt less like chopping wood and more like striking a lump of iron.
These were plants, weren't they? Did they have to be this hard to grow in soil like this?
Most frightening of all, there were huge claw marks on those hard tree trunks.
I wanted a defensive position, but couldn't get the materials.
Hmm, I would practice my swings instead.
The problem was solved.
A magical beast that seemed to be responsible for the huge claw marks on the trees attacked, and I drove it off.
Apparently, I was quite strong. Heh heh heh.
I no longer needed a defensive position.
That left me in a bit of a bind.
I had nothing to do.
I wanted something to do. Now that I could move around, I had to find a goal.
For now, I would try piling up some stones.
It felt so empty.
I made a rule for myself that I had to protect the pile of stones.
It wasn't bad, but I got bored after three days.
Nobody came to attack it, after all.
I didn't ask for much, but I needed a sense of purpose.
Back when I had a master, I had never felt such a craving.
I missed those days.
That was right. What I needed was a master. I had to find a monarch to serve.
Exactly!
I laughed, but as I was a skeleton, all that came out was a clattering sound.
With the goal of "finding a liege," I set out.
Heh heh heh, onward! Now I felt truly fulfilled!
The moment I took my first step, an armored skeleton appeared in front of me.
I guessed that was what my reflection in water would look like.
The same attire, the same weapon, the same movements.
I understood. But even though I understood, I still rejected the thought and checked, clinging to one last shred of hope.
"Are you my master?"
I expressed this through gestures.
"No. Rather, I would ask whether you are the monarch I serve."
The other skeleton asked me in return through gestures.
"You are mistaken. But we are companions."
"Companions... What a wonderful word."
"Heh heh heh, shall we go find ourselves a magnificent master together?"
"Yes. I look forward to traveling with you."
I had gained a companion. What a good omen.
Could this be a sign that the master I wanted would appear soon, too?
Surely there was no harm in getting my hopes up a little?
My journey had only just begun.
Side story: The giants
We were giants, with huge bodies befitting our name and long hair covering our entire bodies as our distinguishing feature.
However, we had never met any giants other than ourselves, so we didn't know whether our hair counted as long. It was simply said that long hair had been our distinguishing feature since ancient times.
We lived in underground caves large enough for us to move around in, and seldom ventured outside. There were many monsters and magical beasts out there, after all.
We did send a few warriors out to hunt, though.
Monsters and magical beasts also appeared in the underground caves, but there weren't many, and we knew how to deal with them, so they weren't all that frightening. We simply hunted them for food.
Of course, if we let our guard down, we would become their food instead, so we couldn't be careless.
Every day, we lived the same unchanging lives.
When the weather outside the caves grew warmer, our lives changed.
First, dragons came. Two of them, at that.
We had seen dragons flying through the sky before, but this was the first time they had landed right in front of us. What's more, they demanded that we leave the caves.
Had we done something to anger the dragons? Would they forgive us if we offered someone as a living sacrifice? Even though I knew how shameful it was, I still found myself thinking such things.
But the dragons hadn't come to harm us.
"There are Bloody Vipers here, right?"
One of the dragons took human form and spoke to us as we cowered.
Although she looked like a young girl, this dragon was a powerful being who had lived for a very long time. Her every movement made that clear.
"I'm asking you a question, you know?"
Afraid she would get angry, I hastily apologized.
"So, the Bloody Vipers?"
"Y-yes, there are Bloody Vipers in the caves where we live."
It sounded as though the dragons were after the Bloody Vipers, not us.
At first, I wondered how they knew there were Bloody Vipers in our caves, but when I saw the Infernal Wolf behind her, along with the High Elves and lizardmen accompanying them, I understood.
They had been here before. The dragons had probably gotten the information from that group and come here.
"You don't mind if I hunt them, do you?"
I nodded vigorously at the dragon's question, and the others nodded along with me. None of us were foolish enough to defy a dragon's will.
Besides, there were many Infernal Wolves standing by behind the dragons. We had no chance of winning.
"Would it be all right if we hunted every last one?"
The other dragon also took human form and asked. This one didn't hide her horns or tail, perhaps because she was young. Still, a dragon was a dragon, and we couldn't afford to offend her.
"Um, well..."
Bloody Vipers were huge snakes capable of swallowing us in a single
gulp. Although their young were food for us, once they grew to a certain size, they became powerful foes we couldn't defeat.
Thanks to our distinguishing feature-our long body hair-Bloody Vipers rarely targeted us, so we had always left them alone. But if the dragons were willing to dispose of those giant snakes, we would certainly be grateful...
However, if they hunted all of them, we would have trouble feeding everyone.
Lying to dragons would be even worse. We answered honestly.
"I understand. Then we just need to spare some of the smaller ones, right?"
Oh! Just what one would expect of a dragon. She understood even our clumsy explanation.
"We don't need a guide. Leave the caves for a while."
Since that was what they asked, all the giants left the caves.
It was difficult to gather everyone inside the caves, so this seemed to be the first time I had seen the faces of our entire tribe at once.
"Half a day or so should do it. Eat this while you wait."
One of the dragons had only just entered our caves when she killed a huge Bloody Viper and brought its corpse back. Just what one would expect of a dragon. But had she brought it down in human form?
"Rasuti, let's have a contest. Let's see who can hunt more."
"Understood, dear sister. I won't lose."
With that, the two dragons entered the caves.
As instructed, we butchered the huge Bloody Viper and ate it while we waited.
We normally ate young snakes. This was our first time eating a big one.
The grown ones tasted better, and there was plenty of meat. Had I been too hasty in agreeing to let them hunt all of them? No, we couldn't defeat the adult snakes anyway. No point thinking about something so stupid.
Thud, crack-sounds that had no business coming from inside the cave rang out, but I wasn't worried at all. After all, there were two dragons in there.
In the blink of an eye, Bloody Viper corpses had piled up like a mountain near the cave entrance.
Meanwhile, the Infernal Wolves, High Elves, lizardmen, and others who hadn't entered the cave went off to deal with the monsters and magical beasts around it, piling their prey up like a mountain too.
Yes, we really mustn't defy them. I renewed my resolve. All right, everyone, let's practice welcoming our guests. Who were we welcoming, you ask? The dragons, of course. We had to put them in a good mood.
They apparently wouldn't be back for another half day, but we couldn't let our guard down. That went without saying, right?
You over there, watch your language. Yes, I know. I'll watch mine too.
"It looks like half a day won't be enough to get the number we need."
"You're right. Let's keep at it a little longer."
That was a conversation between the two dragons.
...Was I doing all right? Was I smiling? My face was covered in fur, so I didn't need to worry? Thank goodness.
In the end, the dragons stayed for about five days.
Although they'd initially said they didn't need guides, we ended up being useful after all. Once the dragons got lost, they started rampaging, so I had no choice but to beg them to let us help.
The cave's shape changed drastically. Some areas on the lower levels even suffered severe cave-ins.
Ah, no, please don't worry about it. Considering that the big Bloody Vipers had been wiped out, this degree of damage was hardly... Pardon me, I should say this degree of impact was actually less than expected. Yes, I mean that sincerely.
They also gave us all the prey the Infernal Wolves and the others had hunted, so it looked like everyone could take it easy for a while.
Yes, we would never dare defy the dragons. As long as they understood that...
Huh?
The dragons lived in the middle of the forest... A human had married those two dragons? And he was the true master of that pack of Infernal Wolves?
There really were a lot of monsters in this world.
Yes, please allow us to give him a grand welcome when he visits.
And, um... what would we have to do to get him to accept our allegiance?