Housemates

1 Winter arrived

Winter had truly arrived.

The snow had not yet reached the point of accumulating, but the wind was already cold.

Zabuton hardly ever appeared in the tree anymore, and Kuro and the others mostly stayed inside their doghouses. I alone hurried from place to place to tend the fires.

Since I had prepared, it was not exhausting. If I had to name a problem, going to the toilet was a hassle.

After all, the toilet and my home were in separate places, so I had to leave the house several times a day.

It was especially cold on the way.

After I had spent about thirty days holed up inside, snow began to accumulate.

This much should be fine, right? If it piles up any more, I'll have to clear it away.

Another ten days passed.

The snow only accumulated another centimeter or two at most. Any more than that melted away immediately.

That was a slight relief.

Anyway, I tried making something like a stone mill, but since I had never actually used one, I did not know whether it counted as finished. I could only take my time without rushing.

Another thirty days passed.

The wind stopped, leaving ordinary cold weather. With the weather so pleasant, I thought spring ought to be coming soon.

Two days later.

A sudden blizzard startled me. A fair amount of snow piled up, too.

Looks like spring is still a long way off.

Ten days later.

I could feel the temperature rising.

Although snow remained in places the sunlight could not reach, I could feel spring approaching.

Five days later.

Yeah, it's starting to feel warmer. Kuro and the others have started running into the forest.

Although they had not found any prey, I could pretty much call it spring now.

Three days later.

Zabuton, who had been nowhere to be seen, appeared.

Since it had been so long, I went closer for a look and got a shock.

There were large numbers of fist-sized little spiders around Zabuton.

Huh, did you have babies? Are you female? And where's the male?

I did not really understand, but the little spiders ate potatoes just like Zabuton.

I had more housemates.

Yep, it's spring.

2 Spring arrived

Kuro One, Kuro Two, Kuro Three, and Kuro Four's horns fell off easily.

After my initial shock, I discovered little horns growing where their old ones had been.

Likewise, horns began growing on Kuro's and Yuki's foreheads.

I was relieved that their horns grew back once a year. Especially for Kuro and Yuki, since theirs had broken off before.

I collected the horns Kuro One and the others had shed and displayed them inside the doghouses as keepsakes.

Since the horns were shaped like daggers, they were quite beautiful. There would probably be more of them in the future.

Anyway, it was time for me to get moving again, too.

First, the fields.

I had consumed a considerable portion of the crops over the winter. I had also done a lot of thinking during that time.

For example, if I had no seasonings, I could grow strongly flavored crops.

Garlic, onions, and green onions.

Since they were supposedly plants dogs could not eat, I would not give any to Kuro and the others, but I worked hard at growing them to enrich my own diet.

Then there was tea. I wished I had thought of that sooner.

After that, I planted the usual tomatoes and potatoes in the empty fields, two plots each.

Since the fruit trees took up two plots, I had two left.

After some agonizing, I chose cabbage and pineapples. Greens were important, after all.

Once I had tilled the fields, I checked the log fence and trench around them.

I had worried that something might have happened over the winter, but the log fence was fine.

As for the trench, a fanged rabbit had fallen in and died. Had it run into it on its own?

For sanitary reasons, I did not think I could eat it. After putting my palms together, I turned it into fertilizer.

I also checked the reservoir and drainage channel.

The channel aside, I was a little surprised that some water had collected in the reservoir.

Come to think of it, since it had snowed, it was only natural that some of the melted snow would collect there.

Even after I struck the bottom of the reservoir with the Almighty Farming Tool transformed into a hammer, the water did not seep out.

Won't this go stagnant?

I wanted to drain it, but the connection to the drainage channel was much higher than the pooled water.

I had no choice but to leave it. It should be fine, right?

I resumed work on the channel that would bring water from the waterfall, which I had left untouched for a long time.

Although I was happy to return to work I had not done in so long, I still had a long way to go. The closer I got to the waterfall, the more soil I needed to pile up. I worried whether the slope and such were right, but before I could make corrections, I first had to finish the channel all the way to the waterfall. Let's do this.

Working on something that felt like the Great Wall made me realize something.

It was like a wall cutting through the forest. If I don't make an opening somewhere, won't animals passing through break it? For starters, it'll be inconvenient when I want to get to the other side.

Anyway, I'll make openings once I finish the channel. There's no need to rush.

Although I thought that, I made several passageways for a change of pace.

Men liked crawling through holes, after all.

3 Kuro One and the others' journey

One day, after the cold had completely disappeared and the weather had begun to warm up.

Kuro One, Kuro Two, Kuro Three, and Kuro Four lined up in front of me with serious expressions.

What's this all of a sudden?

Their forehead horns had fully grown back and looked more impressive than before.

After Kuro One let out a howl on their behalf, the four scattered and ran off in different directions.

Huh? What's going on? How strange.

As I stood there shaken, Kuro and Yuki came over and rubbed against me.

Um...

When I looked at Kuro and Yuki, they looked back at me and leaned against my sides.

...Ah.

I realized.

Kuro One and the others had gone to find partners.

Ahh-ahh-ahh... I see. I get it. And now I'm so lonely. Aaaah.

On the second day without Kuro One and the others returning, Kuro and Yuki began working hard. (Translator: The original reads "began making an effort," which literally means they began making an effort or working hard. Here, it should mean they were diligently having sex. Please interpret the several similar passages later in the same way.)

I did not want to comment on that.

It was just that, while I appreciated their concern for me, it only made my heart ache more. I wanted a wife, too.

With Kuro One and the others gone, the usual presence of one of them by my side disappeared as well.

Although I wanted either Kuro or Yuki to stay with me, seeing their desire to go hunting, I could only accept it.

I relied on Zabuton's children to work hard at watching the fields.

They turned their silk into something like lassos to hunt birds that approached the fields or drive them away.

I was also grateful that they ate the bugs that climbed onto the crops.

The difficulty was that I had to watch my step when entering the fields.

Even though they were fist-sized, I could still step on them if I was not careful.

I really wish they'd stay somewhere higher up as much as possible instead of walking on the ground.

After I thought that, they nimbly moved along threads stretched about five meters above the fields, jumping down like bungee jumpers whenever they had business below.

Amazing.

I was also surprised by how many children Zabuton had.

There were over a hundred.

It looked like I would have to give up on naming Zabuton's children.

My work consisted of tending and harvesting the fields, processing the prey Kuro and the others caught, and building the water channel.

Although I also wanted to look for rock salt, with Kuro One and the others gone, I could only give up on that.

For now, the water channel.

Although I had talked about making rice paddies and such, what I wanted most was a bath.

Especially after Zabuton made cloth with a texture like towels.

Before Zabuton came, I had no cloth to wipe myself with, so I could only use leaves.

But after Zabuton arrived, I could wipe myself with cloth, which made me want a bath even more.

Keep at it. Build that channel.

I kept at it.

About sixty days had passed since Kuro One and the others left. The water channel was about halfway finished.

Along the way, Zabuton's children molted, growing from fist-sized to magazine-sized, and came to help build the channel.

Their main task was carrying soil.

They wrapped the soil I loosened with a shovel or spade in large leaves and carried it over.

Although they could not carry much in one trip, with enough of them, it became an amount I could not underestimate.

Also, until now, I had been doing the work as needed by myself, loosening the soil, transporting it, piling it up, and compacting

it.

But now, thanks to Zabuton's children, being able to concentrate on just one task was a great help to the work.

Although I felt bad that I could not give Zabuton's children names, I was very grateful.

Still, these children of Zabuton's.

They did not look like Zabuton.

Their legs were short, and although they shared the same hairy bodies, they looked like an entirely different species.

Is it because they're still growing?

Will they get bigger as they keep molting?

But it was also possible that they simply resembled their father, whom I did not know.

Anyway, even if only to feed potatoes to Zabuton's children who came to help, I had to work hard at farming.

Building the channel and tending the fields.

Doing both is hard work. Just as I was thinking that, Kuro Two returned from the south, bringing an all-black dog slightly larger than Kuro Two.

You found a partner safely. And you brought her here, too?

I was on the verge of tears.

Kuro Two's partner initially tried to threaten me, but after Kuro Two, Kuro, Yuki, and Zabuton intervened, she settled down.

Did they persuade her?

Thank you.

Anyway, I was glad Kuro Two was all right.

I could not see any notable injuries.

He got along well with his partner, too.

All that remained was for us to get along.

And what should I do about her name?

Since she's Kuro Two's wife, how about Kuro Two's Wife?

That's a bit much.

Then, since she's female, Yuki Two?

But Kuro Three is female, too.

What will I do when Kuro Three brings her partner back?

Besides, Yuki had children in her belly, too.

Although her belly had not grown yet, Kuro had worked so hard that she was almost certainly pregnant.

What a dilemma.

Several days into this dilemma, Kuro Three returned from the west, bringing a partner dog with the same build as her, all-black fur, and a horn on his forehead. After giving thanks for Kuro Three's safe return, I was surprised to see her partner covered in wounds.

Still, his steps were steady, so he was probably all right...

When I looked at Kuro Three's partner, worried about what had happened, he wore a knowing expression and seemed to answer, "Nothing happened."

Could Kuro Three have done it?

"You there, I like you. Be my husband."

Had Kuro Three attacked him, saying that? No, no, surely Kuro Three had lots of suitors, and he got those injuries fighting them. Yes, that sounds good. Kuro Three's partner nodded as if in agreement.

Hang in there.

Then, several days later, Kuro One arrived with a partner, and that afternoon, Kuro Four also returned with a partner.

Everyone had come back.

Kuro One stood tall and dignified, while his mate gazed at him with unmistakable adoration.

He seemed to be proudly showing off his mate to me, so I patted his head in encouragement.

Kuro Four was covered in wounds and gave off the same air as Kuro Three's mate.

Had his mate done that to him?

Surely not.

He must have challenged someone to a manly battle to win a mate, and gotten those wounds in his victory.

I hoped they could build a happy family.

Still, as happy as I was that they had returned, naming them was going to be a problem.

Hmm...

Perhaps I should give up on that, just as I had with Zabuton's children.

After all, they would each be having children of their own.

Considering that each pair could have three to five pups, their numbers would grow quite a bit.

Given how much they ate, I would also have to consider expanding the fields.

I renewed my resolve to work hard on every front.

Chapter 4: Kuro and the Others' Mates

Kuro One's mate was Alis.

Kuro Two's mate was Iris.

Kuro Three's mate was Uno.

Kuro Four's mate was Eris.

Their names were decided.

To avoid mixing them up, I used the order a, i, u, e, o. (Translator's note: the five vowels of the Japanese syllabary's first row: a, i, u, e, o.)

The reason Kuro Three's mate was named Uno rather than Uris was that he was male.

Incidentally, Uno was also the new member who was closest to me.

After he played with me, Kuro Three would come over, grab Uno by the scruff, and carry him off. The look of resignation on Uno's face at those moments was indescribable.

Hang in there.

After a few days, the new members began living just as Kuro and the others did.

But now that they had mates, Kuro One and the others were reluctant to enter Kuro and Yuki's doghouse, and slept outside with their mates.

So my first job was to build houses for them.

Taking future field expansions into account...

I made an area four fields wide and four fields long in the direction opposite the river, surrounding it with a log fence and a ditch.

We would need that much space, considering that there would be more puppies in the future.

I left the log fence between the new area and the existing one, but filled in the ditch. Leaving it there would have made it feel a little cut off.

With the Almighty Farming Tool, filling it in would be easy, so I got to work.

Next came building a house for each pair.

Kuro and Yuki's home was quite large because I had originally intended to use it as a storehouse, but Kuro One and the others only needed enough space for two adults and their pups, so theirs did not need to be that big.

That said, Kuro and the others were quite large.

They would need about four and a half tatami mats' worth of space after all.

Considering that I would be going inside... they would need a certain amount of height, too.

I built one first to see their reaction, and judging by the way Kuro One and the others scrambled for it, it seemed fine.

It would be a problem if they got into a fight, so building the houses took priority.

We would need more houses in the future, of course. But I would deal with that when the time came.

While I was at it, I dug a well here so Kuro One and the others could drink.

Although I had built a fair amount of the waterway, it was still far from finished, and carrying water here from the original well would be a hassle.

I dug downward at a gentle slope so Kuro One and the others could go in and drink on their own.

I was relieved to find water at a depth of about ten meters, just like the original well.

For Kuro One and the others' toilet, I dug a shallow pit and provided a screen for privacy.

Once enough had accumulated, I would bury it and prepare a new spot.

I made the screen because I had once caught sight of Kuro doing his business, and things had been terribly awkward between us for a while afterward.

Well, except in winter and at night, Kuro and the others relieved themselves in the forest, so it would not get dirty very easily.

I could think of it as something for the puppies once they were born.

From now on, I would call this newly built area for the dogs the Dog Area.

I asked Kuro and Yuki whether they wanted to move to the Dog Area too, but they refused.

Well, I was glad I would not have to worry about being lonely...

No, I had not forgotten you and your children, Zabuton.

The new members, Alis, Iris, Uno, and Eris, seemed to like tomatoes too.

Perhaps that was a preference shared by their whole species.

Once, Eris ate an onion I was holding, which sent me into a panic, but she seemed fine. I had heard that dogs could not eat onions and the like, but were things different in another world?

No, I could not let my guard down. I would take as much care as possible not to let them eat any.

That was what I thought, but Eris seemed quite fond of onions, which left me a little troubled.

The new members also liked the flying disc and were quite hooked on it.

My wrist was killing me. Time for some tea as a change of pace.

The tea plants' rapid growth had caught me off guard; tea was made using freshly picked shoots.

I had also forgotten that they needed to be roasted.

As a result, my first attempt at tea tasted only of hot water with leaves in it.

Since the shoots grew so quickly, I could harvest them regularly.

As for roasting the tea... I did not know how much roasting it needed, so I had to keep experimenting.

As a result, I at least reached a point where I could drink it regularly. It could not compare with the tea from my old world.

Even so, it was drinkable, and tasted much better than plain hot water.

The drawback of this tea was that, without something like a tea strainer, I had to put the leaves straight into the cup and could not drink it to the bottom.

I would make tea utensils next winter too.

Chapter 5: Expanding the Fields

With more food being consumed, I expanded the fields accordingly. The waterway was still far from complete.

Honestly, what I had now was enough just to feed us, but thinking of winter, I needed to start considering all sorts of issues.

Besides, their appetites would increase as they approached giving birth.

When I first met Kuro and Yuki, the two of them alone had eaten almost an entire giant boar.

There was no harm in preparing extra.

To the south of the fields, I now made a large field measuring four fields by four, sixteen fields in total, just like the Dog Area.

I would call this the New Field Area.

All I had to do was create the fields at the start, then till between the ridges and water them regularly.

For pest control, I relied on the efforts of Zabuton's children.

Oh, right, Zabuton's children got along well with Kuro One and the others' mates.

I was startled when I saw several of Zabuton's children riding on Alis's back. Apparently, Alis was helping them get around.

I kept it a secret that, for an instant, I had thought they were eating Alis.

I continued using the existing fields as fields. However, these were now mainly for my experiments.

Could I grow anything if I tilled without a clear image in mind? What would happen if I planted seeds or seedlings in tilled ground? There was still quite a lot to test.

In the New Field Area, I planted the crops I had grown so far. The fruit trees had not borne fruit yet, but they had flowered. Even if this year was out of the question, it seemed I could look forward to fruit next year.

Zabuton's children came to help with the harvest.

Although they could not handle vegetables that needed cutting off at the base or pulling up by the roots, they harvested tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, and the like properly.

They even put them in the boxes and bowls I had prepared.

They snuck a bite now and then, but I let that slide.

Seeing Zabuton's children helping with the harvest, Kuro and the others came to help too...

But since they could only use their mouths, they could not harvest properly, and it felt as though they ate most of it. Then they started eating openly.

Of course, I scolded them. Watching Kuro and the others look remorseful afterward, I found them a little cute.

Work on the waterway had not progressed much.

Well, building the Dog Area and the New Field Area had taken time, and Yuki and the others nearing their due dates was another reason.

Once Yuki and the others' bellies began to grow noticeably larger, the females hunted even less often.

The males worked harder at hunting to make up for it, but the appetites of the females nearing their due dates were just as enormous as I had expected.

A great quantity of hides piled up over by Zabuton, and hides covered part of my home as well.

In short, processing the game took a great deal of time.

Kuro and the others would normally have eaten it as it was, but after getting used to the taste of meat that had been bled, they began asking me to process it.

When I saw the pleading looks on the faces of the females with their swollen bellies, I could not refuse.

Like a full-time professional, I processed the game the males caught.

The wave of births arrived.

Eris was first. She safely delivered four pups, and just as I was thinking how wonderful that was, Alis went into labor too.

Then Kuro Three, Yuki, and Iris all went into labor together, and things suddenly became lively.

Until now, everyone had eaten around my home, but since Yuki gave birth in the original doghouse and the others in their own houses in the Dog Area, they could not eat together for a while.

So I had to prepare food in two places.

Kuro and the others preferred roasted meat to raw meat. That was a surprise.

I had pictured them greedily devouring raw meat...

Come to think of it, they had been devouring boar meat when we first met.

Perhaps because his children had been born, Uno seemed more imposing.

I thought I might just be imagining it, but then he hunted one of those giant boars all by himself. Impressive.

Though he had killed it, he could not carry it and had to come fetch me, which was a little funny.

For a change of pace, I went fishing at the river. I wanted to eat fish, after all.

Then I discovered something.

The Almighty Farming Tool could not take the form of a fishing rod. Why? Was that outside its jurisdiction? Did fishing rods require something like an Almighty Fishing Tool?

Although it could not speak, the Almighty Farming Tool seemed to apologize very sincerely, so I told it not to worry.

It had already helped me more than enough. I would not complain about something this minor.

Besides, if a fishing rod was out, I could use a hoe or shovel to build a contraption for catching fish.

There were no problems at all. Apart from the contraption not catching any fish.

The reason for the failure was that the fish were livelier than I had expected.

Fish in another world apparently did not give up just because they were out of the water. They had plenty of spirit, but they were different from the fish I knew, which left me a little bewildered. Some even had fangs. They were a little scary.

Several days later, I improved the contraption and secured several fish about thirty centimeters long.

I tried tasting them too... They were awful. They tasted muddy.

I had wondered why Kuro and the others showed no interest in the fish I caught, but now I understood. What a shame.

Chapter 6: Preparing for Winter and a Naked Girl?

After living here for some time, I began to notice the weather growing colder before I knew it.

Kuro's and Kuro One's children still retained some of their cuteness, but they had grown quite large and could now hunt the long-fanged rabbits.

I felt a little gloomy about the approaching winter.

The fruit trees had not borne fruit yet. But I could look forward to results next year.

As for stored food, I had quite a lot. Enough that I needed to consider expanding the cellar. I could probably call myself fully prepared.

That would be even more true once I harvested the crops I was growing now.

Then came the things I needed to reflect on. I had not finished the waterway. Nor had I secured any rock salt.

Was I going to be all right? I felt as though I had not consumed any salt since coming to this world...

All I ate was hunted animals, harvested crops, and fish. Was I getting it from the animals' meat?

I did not know. I roasted it, after all. Still, I had no intention of eating it raw.

It would be too late if my health started to deteriorate... but there was nothing I could do about it now.

I would make that my highest priority next year. After that came building the waterway. Then... I wanted a wife.

Sleeping alone at night was lonely.

All the more so when I saw Kuro and the others with their happy families.

Zabuton came over to comfort me. Thank you.

As for what I would do during winter...

Since I would be making all sorts of things from wood and stone again this year, I gathered those materials beforehand.

At least, thanks to my efforts so far, I could now assemble a wooden bucket that did not leak.

I had managed it long ago by reinforcing the joints with resin, but my current goal was to assemble a watertight wooden bucket without using resin.

I shaped the joints in the wood at angles and carved interlocking grooves to prevent leaks. Although I succeeded in stopping the leaks, when I made a larger version of the bucket the same way, the water pressure burst it, so I worked on the joints to withstand more pressure from inside.

Now it was fine.

I was currently using it as a drinking basin in the Dog Area. That brought me another step closer to a bathtub.

The fruit trees were growing well too, so it looked as though it was time to seriously consider planting cypress trees. For the bathtub.

Of Kuro One's children, all but one remained unnamed. There were simply too many of them. It was hard to tell them apart. If Zabuton made bandanas to use as name tags, I might consider it...

I gave names to Kuro's four new children.

Kuro Five, Kuro Six, Kuro Seven, and Kuro Eight.

Kuro Five and Kuro Six were male, while Kuro Seven and Kuro Eight were female.

This wasn't favoritism. They simply lived closer to my home, so I had more opportunities to interact with them.

There was one exception: among the children born to Eris and Kuro Four, one was pure white.

Since that made her easy to distinguish, I gave her a name.

Fubuki.

It was a name left over from when I was considering Yuki's name, but it felt suitable. She was female, after all.

It was around the time horns began visibly growing on the puppies' foreheads.

Zabuton informed me of something unusual to the north.

It seemed more urgent than usual, which gave me a bad feeling.

As though confirming that feeling, Kuro and the others radiated killing intent and all ran north, startling me a little.

The puppies did the same.

What was going on? Had something dangerous shown up?

I took out the Almighty Farming Tool and chased after Kuro and the others.

When I reached them, what greeted my eyes was a completely naked girl.

She looked about middle school age, and her silver hair and beauty drew my attention.

Her face proclaimed that she would definitely grow into a beautiful woman.

But her body had been beaten by Kuro

and the others until she was covered in wounds, leaving her only able to confront them with her back against a large tree.

One of them stepped forward to draw the girl's attention, then another attacked from elsewhere.

A hit-and-run attack.

After taking damage, the girl's body shrank.

No, she grew younger. Her body, which had looked middle school age, now looked elementary school age.

With the girl as their opponent, Kuro and the others clearly had the advantage in size, so why didn't they rush her all at once? No, no, wait. Why was I being so calm?

I lightly clapped my hands to let Kuro and the others know I was there, but they remained on guard.

Still, the surrounded girl noticed my arrival.

"H-help me."

We could communicate. And those were words I hadn't heard in a long time.

"All right."

I passed between Kuro and the others and approached the girl.

Chapter 7: Savage?

Once I was in front of the girl, I had Kuro and the others back off a little. First, I needed something to cover her body-I took off my shirt and draped it over her.

Perhaps that gave her some breathing room, because the girl moved closer to me.

"You're safe now."

Just as I said that, the girl bit into my neck and began sucking my blood.

Her body rapidly grew.

She had looked elementary school age moments earlier, but now she grew to middle school size.

Her wounded body also immediately recovered, becoming smooth and lustrous.

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The shock of having my blood sucked and seeing the girl change before my eyes left me unable to move. Just then, Kuro rammed between us, knocking us apart.

After that, the other dogs gave the girl a thorough beating.

"Wait, no! That wasn't an attack! Stop!"

Fubuki's charge sent the girl flying, and before she could fall, another dog rammed her again in midair.

Just as the girl righted herself in the air, another dog leaped high above her and slammed her down into the ground. It was a complete beatdown.

Watching that, I regained my composure.

"Ah... wait, wait, wait."

I stopped Kuro and the others.

Although they obeyed my instructions, they maintained stances that allowed them to attack at any moment.

After the beating, the girl was once again covered in wounds, and her body had returned to elementary school size.

No, she looked even younger than that.

"Are you my enemy?"

"N-no, I'm not! So make these guys back off!"

"You sucked my blood, but you're not my enemy?"

The girl in front of me was a vampire, right?

I couldn't think of anything else that took human form and drank blood.

"I apologize for sucking your blood. I would have been destroyed if that had continued."

"Drinking blood lets you recover?"

"Yes."

So that was why Kuro and the others hadn't attacked all at once. If they weren't careful, she would suck their blood.

"Will having my blood sucked affect me somehow?"

I'd often heard that having a vampire suck your blood would turn you into a lesser vampire or something...

"...It sh-should have something of a charming effect... but it doesn't seem to work on you."

"Will I become a vampire too... or turn undead?"

"No. If we turned our sources of blood into those things, we wouldn't be able to get blood anymore."

"...I see. In other words, as things stand... there's nothing wrong with me?"

"Yes. Drinking blood is just a means of recovery for me. I-if coming to this land was a crime, I'll apologize. So please spare me."

I thought for a moment.

"For now, do you want to drink some more blood?"

Both the girl and Kuro's group looked a little shocked by my suggestion.

"A-are you sure?"

"It's fine. You're not my enemy, right?"

"Y-yes..."

Hesitantly, the girl bit into my neck.

She began drinking.

Her body rapidly grew until it was about middle school size. Her wounds completely disappeared too. It was a truly strange sight.

"Mmm..."

The girl looked at me with a satisfied expression. I checked my own body.

It felt as though she had taken quite a bit, but I wasn't affected at all.

In my previous world, I'd had quite a lot of experience having blood drawn, so I should have known what excessive blood loss felt like... but I didn't feel short of blood at all.

"How about drinking a little more?"

I encouraged her to keep drinking.

"Huh?"

"It's fine, it's fine."

"Th-thank you."

The girl began drinking again.

Her body grew from about middle school size to about high school size. As before, I felt no shortage of blood.

It should be fine.

"Can you drink a little more?"

"I-I can..."

The girl kept drinking.

Her body went from high school age to about college age.

"Mmm... I can't drink any more..."

The girl seemed about to burp... no, she wasn't a girl anymore.

Beside me stood a beautiful woman.

The fact that I was fine after having that much blood sucked must have been thanks to the perk the god had given me when I came to this world.

"Healthy Body."

Perhaps that was also why the charm she'd mentioned earlier hadn't worked on me.

In any case.

There was a beautiful woman before my eyes.

I told Kuro and the others to disperse and invited her into my home.

"Huh? Huh? Huh? What? Wait... huh?"

Would my behavior be called savage? At any rate, I had another housemate.

Chapter 8: Lu

The vampire's name was Lulucy Lou.

What I called her went through various changes before finally settling on Lu. Incidentally, what she called me changed from "lustful beast" to "animal," then "you," then "village chief." Now it was "dear husband."

Because I accepted Lu, Kuro and the others accepted her too. But that also made her let her guard down, and she fainted when she saw Zabuton and her children.

She might have been a vampire, but she was still a girl. Perhaps it was only natural to be frightened by so many enormous spiders.

After coming around and hearing my explanation, she finally began getting along with them. Still, she got frightened whenever Zabuton suddenly appeared behind her.

Lu didn't live on blood alone; she ate food just like me. She especially liked tomatoes. I thought sharing Kuro's group's tastes might cause disputes, but unexpectedly, their relationship seemed to improve rapidly because of their shared tastes. Zabuton, meanwhile, seemed to be saying that potatoes were good too. For a while, I made potato and tomato dishes. That was when I discovered something shocking.

It began with something Lu said while eating my cooking.

"Don't you use salt?"

"I don't have any. I looked, though."

"...Huh?"

I would probably never forget the expression Lu wore at that moment for the rest of my life.

Lu took me into the well. It was the sloping well I'd dug first. I thought we were going all the way down, but she stopped not far from the entrance. I thought she was just tapping a random spot, but she chipped a piece off the wall.

The ground around here was hard. Not solid, but hard. So the piece chipped from the wall was like a rock.

Lu took the piece of wall back and boiled it in a pot of water.

"If you boil it like this, the salt comes out."

"Then you take the water off the top and dry it, and the salt will be left behind."

I wasn't bitter. After all, I'd obtained the salt I'd wanted for so long. I was very happy.

For several days, I made salt whenever I had free time. I could now add salt to my cooking.

Apparently, what lay underground around here wasn't rock salt, but a layer of salty soil.

It was about fifty centimeters below the surface, but could a forest really grow with something like that there?

When I asked, apparently it was because the plants in this forest were rather unusual.

Incidentally, I could grow plants in the fields thanks to the Almighty Farming Tool. As proof, no salt could be extracted from the fields' soil. I offered another prayer at the shrine made from the large tree.

An aside.

When I inspected the reservoir, I found a salt layer.

Gah... it had been this close all along.

Wouldn't striking it with the Almighty Farming Tool's hammer make salt dissolve into the reservoir's water? Just in case, I brought soil from elsewhere to cover the salt layer, then hammered it firm.

Apparently, Lu could make clothes using her own magic power.

The reason she had been completely naked when we first met was that she had taken so much damage that even spending magic power to maintain her clothes would have been a waste.

Magic power. Magic power, huh.

Watching Lu light a fire with magic moved me a little.

Back to the subject: although Lu could make clothes with magic power, she was now wearing clothes Zabuton had prepared.

Apparently, Zabuton's clothes were of better quality than those worn by nobles around here, and Lu liked them very much.

Incidentally, Lu could freely shrink her body, and she usually stayed about middle school size.

She only grew larger at night. The reason she stayed small during the day was... because she wanted me to restrain myself.

I thought I was already being fairly restrained... but I would try to restrain myself more.

Well, well. Although I had a new housemate, the immediate priority was still preparing for winter.

I'd be in trouble if I didn't do it properly. After all, I'd been making all sorts of plans since spring this year, and gaining just one more person wouldn't change that.

On the contrary, I was happy to have another pair of hands helping with the harvest.

She mainly helped harvest root and stem vegetables that Zabuton's children couldn't harvest.

"To think I'd end up doing gardening..."

At first, Lu resisted working in the fields, but after two or three days, she no longer minded.

Perhaps she was highly adaptable.

After dinner, before nightfall.

Whenever she had time, Lu taught me magic.

Although I finally understood the theories and principles somewhat, reality was harsh.

According to Lu, I apparently had no talent for magic. What a shame.

Still, even a human without talent could apparently learn to light a small flame after ten or twenty years of study.

Hmm... the effort and reward were completely out of proportion.

I had gotten a clear understanding of how versatile Lu's magic was.

"Heh heh. What do you think?"

"Amazing."

Apparently, she had been quite a famous mage before coming here. Mainly because she had studied all sorts of things and could use most kinds of magic.

"If there's anything you want, just ask."

"Let's see... light, then."

"Light is... the most basic of basics."

"I want to light up the toilet at night. It's inconvenient when it's pitch-black, after all."

"That's true, but... all right."

Lu's light maintained considerable brightness.

"I can make it brighter, too."

"This is plenty. How long does it last?"

"Um... if I start before dark, it should last until dawn without any trouble."

"Oh, that's amazing."

Besides, while fire attracted bugs, magical light didn't. So convenient.

"I can use much more impressive magic, you know..."

"Then can I leave lighting the fire in the morning to your magic?"

"No, I don't mean that level of... though I can do it."

Winter came.

We worked hard at all sorts of things until spring.

Chapter 9: Spring Came After a Short Winter

This winter felt shorter. Was it because Lu was here? Anyway, spring had come. This year's goal was to finish the waterway. Let's do our best.

I began the year's first farmwork.

Along with the usual farming, I added a fruit-growing area to the north this year.

With each plot measuring fifty meters square, I made sixteen plots in a four-by-four arrangement.

Although the fruit trees I had planted first hadn't borne fruit yet, they were growing very well, so I could tell they were fine.

Besides, fruit trees hardly needed any care.

Zabuton's children also helped with pest control, so the beginning was the only part that required much effort from me.

Zabuton's children had grown bigger, too, and I felt I should plant new trees around here for them to live in.

The trees I would plant were the original assortment of apples, pears, mandarins, oranges, persimmons, and peaches.

In addition, grapes, pineapples, bananas, cherries, and chestnuts.

After that, mostly tea.

Since both Lu and I drank tea, the tea leaves dwindled faster than expected. Harvesting the tea later would be hard work, but that was another matter.

Kuro and the others each went into the forest and began hunting.

Their first prey of the year was a giant wild boar. As before, they couldn't bring it back, so they had to come get me.

Well, if they were wild, they could just eat it on the spot. Still, this ensured a fairly steady supply of meat. At this rate, wouldn't the prey in this part of the forest disappear? Would it be better to limit the pace somewhat? I was a little troubled.

While I was worrying over that, Kuro and the others began shedding their horns. I collected the fallen horns and used them to decorate their respective huts.

Once Kuro One's and the others' children grew their horns back, would they go out looking for mates?

I hoped they would return safely...

While thinking that, I also realized that things might get pretty bad here if this pace continued.

W-well, I would deal with that when the time came.

Anyway, while I was living my life and preparing myself for Kuro One's and the others' children to leave in search of mates, Zabuton's children gathered in front of the hut where Lu and I lived.

What was wrong? This atmosphere... could it be...

After raising one leg to greet me, Zabuton's children let the silk coming from their bottoms catch the wind and flew away one by one.

Were you going to find mates, too?

This was so sudden.

I had even made a fruit-growing area for you. Unlike with Kuro and the others, I felt they wouldn't return, and tears spilled from my eyes.

Zabuton came before me as I cried and raised one leg to tell me it was all right. Behind her were several little spiders who hadn't set off on a journey.

You...

I see, you stayed.

And... behind them were countless fist-sized little spiders.

...I see. It was spring already.

Not long after the little spiders left on their journey, Kuro One's and the others' children also left to find mates, just as I had expected.

What I hadn't expected was that several stayed behind instead of leaving.

After watching them, I realized those who stayed had already paired up. I see.

Since Kuro's new children, Kuro Five, Kuro Six, Kuro Seven, and Kuro Eight, had all left, they must have naturally understood that they should avoid overly close blood relations to some extent.

Fubuki, the only one of Eris's children I had named, had captured one of Alis's children and joined the group staying behind.

Although Alis's child had been beaten pretty badly, well, um... yes, I hoped things would go well for them.

Building new huts in the Dog Area for the new couples and the children they would have became part of my daily work.

However, considering what lay ahead, building individual huts one household at a time wouldn't be fast enough.

So I tried building a large hut resembling a longhouse.

Once finished, it felt like a stable. It seemed pretty good. Probably.

Considering the number of children who had gone out looking for mates, I would need to build several.

As the weather began warming up, I put on the new clothes Zabuton had made.

As always, she had better taste than I did.

After experimenting with various clothing-related tools to repay her for the clothes, I found that Zabuton liked wooden mannequins.

Mannequins, huh?

I made one in my size and one in Lu's, then gave them to Zabuton. I would be counting on her again.

Incidentally, I also made several wooden hangers to store the clothes.

Although Zabuton's children who had stayed rather than going on a journey couldn't make complicated designs yet, they could apparently make bags now.

After I stuffed the bags they gave me with grass to make something like cushions, they gave me things in more suitable shapes next.

Lu was very fond of the cushions.

After all, we had only sat on wood or stone until then, so it was only natural to like something soft.

Lu tried hard to make a cushion for the toilet, but getting the dimensions of an O shape right was quite difficult.

So I suggested using a U shape instead of an O. That made Lu very happy.

Zabuton's children also directed looks of admiration and awe at me.

Since it was knowledge from my previous world, I felt very embarrassed.

After that, I got carried away and made something resembling a sofa, too.

Lu said we should have made a bed before that.

I see, was that an invitation to nighttime activities? I would do my best.

Side story: Lu

My name was Lulucy Lou.

My race was vampire.

Those friendly toward me called me the Vampire Princess with affection.

Those hostile toward me called me the Vampire Princess with hostility.

Although I also knew an angel who called me by my family name, about her I had nothing

to say.

It was simply an ill-fated connection.

Now, then. I was facing a crisis.

What sort of crisis? I was surrounded by Infernal Wolves.

To explain to those who didn't understand how terrifying Infernal Wolves were...

First, about me. I was actually quite powerful.

In a human nation, I could be described as practically invincible.

There had even been a time when an entire nation's army was mobilized to capture me.

Ah, it wasn't because I had done anything wrong.

There had merely been a little something with a royal who was captivated by my beauty.

Sorry. That was a lie.

A great noble had come causing trouble, seeking my pharmaceutical knowledge.

I had properly refused, though.

I told him I couldn't make the medicine because I lacked an important ingredient.

Although I knew things were difficult for him, he was so persistent that I moved away, which caused a huge uproar... and a bounty was put on my head. I still escaped, though.

Back to the subject.

Anyway, remember that capturing me required an entire nation's army.

An opponent that even I didn't want to fight, and could only narrowly defeat if I did fight, was the Infernal Wolf.

And there were one, two... more than ten of them.

Two were more powerfully built than the others. Were they the parents? Were the distinctly smaller ones their children? They seemed to have built a nice family.

Though for me, it was despair.

So my best move at present was to flee.

But I couldn't do that.

A little farther away, around ten Demon Spiders were watching us.

Demon Spider was a collective term for spider-type Magic Creatures of various sizes and kinds.

Although all ten Demon Spiders were only about the size of a fist... they weren't opponents I could underestimate.

Actually, what was going on?

The Infernal Wolves had driven me toward the Demon Spiders, hadn't they?

Could the Demon Spiders and Infernal Wolves be hunting me together?

I was truly beginning to despair.

Although vampires were undead, that didn't mean we couldn't die. We could be destroyed.

It had been centuries since I last encountered this. Since I experienced this feeling firsthand...

I steeled myself and faced the Infernal Wolves. Although the Demon Spiders' side looked easier to get through, they surely had silk traps set up already. If silk traps immobilized me in this situation, it would be over. I could only take on the Infernal Wolves, against whom I still had a chance.

Defeat one, then escape while the others recoiled.

Although it was a little embarrassing to call that a strategy, it was indeed a strategy, and my only option.

The conclusion.

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't win, couldn't win. Impossible, impossible, impossible.

After all, the Infernal Wolves attacked in coordination.

They supported one another, preventing me from targeting a single one.

Ah, my thinking was becoming childish.

Each attack depleted the Magic Power that made up my body, making it increasingly difficult to maintain.

Since my clothes were also made of Magic Power, I was now completely naked.

Although I should have felt embarrassed, my body shrank with each attack, and the figure I originally had was gone.

Now... about six years old? Ah, just then, I became about five.

Ah, no. It was over. One or two more attacks, and I wouldn't be able to think normally.

I would be destroyed like this.

My one piece of good fortune was that, because I could no longer think properly, I wouldn't feel afraid of death in my final moments.

It had been a long vampire life.

Just as I gave up completely, hope appeared.

A human?

Why was there a human in a place like this? Whatever, just save me.

I spoke to the human.

After nodding, the human came over to my side.

The Infernal Wolves didn't attack?

Why? No, more importantly... I couldn't suppress my own instincts.

Having lost so much of the Magic Power that made up my body, I was seeking Magic Power.

I bit into the neck of the human who had given me a shirt.

I drank his blood.

No matter the creature, Magic Power dwelled in its blood.

Vampires were a race that could draw Magic Power from it.

As long as we had Magic Power, our stamina could recover, our wounds could heal... and our bodies could return to their original size.

The Infernal Wolves attacked me, forcing me away from the human.

I panicked.

"Wait, that's not it. I'm not attacking him. Stop!"

I tried to explain to the Infernal Wolves.

I really was panicking.

There was no way the Infernal Wolves would listen to me.

My body, which had recovered from its injuries, was wounded again and shrank.

The Infernal Wolves stopped attacking not because they listened to me, but because the human stopped them.

"Are you my enemy?"

But although the Infernal Wolves had stopped attacking, they did not lower their guard.

They could pounce on me at any moment.

"No, I'm not, I'm not, so make these guys back off!"

"You're not my enemy, even though you drank my blood?"

"I apologize for drinking your blood. I would have been destroyed if things had gone on like that."

I really was sorry. Certainly, anyone who suddenly had their blood sucked would consider it a hostile act. After all, it robbed them of their blood and Magic Power.

"Drinking blood lets you recover?"

"Yes."

"Will having my blood sucked affect me in any way?"

...?

Did he not know about vampires?

I thought I was quite famous, too... ah, I needed to explain.

"...Th-there should be a slight charm effect... but it doesn't seem to work on you."

Really, why didn't it work?

"Will I become a vampire too... an undead?"

"No. If we turned our sources of blood into those, we wouldn't be able to get any blood, would we?"

A story that had been popular in the past had left many people with that misconception.

"...I see. So, as things stand... there won't be any problems for me?"

"Yes. Drinking blood is just a way for me to recover. I-if coming to this land is a crime, I'll apologize. So please spare me."

The Forest of Death. A place no one could approach. It really was a place one mustn't approach.

I had been too naive.

Thinking I could find rare medicinal herbs here had been a huge mistake.

I considered how I could gain this human's forgiveness.

I already intended to apologize for drinking his blood without permission, but however I looked at it, these Infernal Wolves obeyed this human.

Did that mean the Demon Spiders did too?

Looking closely, weren't the clothes he wore... made from Demon Spider silk? An ultra-luxury item?

Could this human be the master of this Forest of Death? If so, I had to apologize.

While I was at a loss, he made an unbelievable suggestion.

"Anyway, would you like to drink some more blood?"

"C-can I?"

"It's fine. You're not my enemy, after all."

I couldn't answer. I was happy. I could have blood. I could have Magic Power. I readily accepted his blood.

My wounds healed, and my body returned to its original size.

My ability to think recovered all at once too, and I regained the self-control not to get carried away and drink too much.

I should have restrained myself. But he kept offering me blood, telling me not to hold back.

Was this all right? Losing too much blood and Magic Power could put his life at risk, you know? Although I had restrained myself, I had drunk a considerable amount. It wouldn't have been strange for an ordinary person to collapse.

But he seemed fine. If he was fine, then...

Burp.

I had more Magic Power than when I had entered the forest. I felt wonderful too. My absent figure had returned as well. Since my sense of modesty had also returned, I put on clothes made from Magic Power.

Once I put on clothes, he looked terribly disappointed. What an honest man. No, had the charm effect from drinking his blood worked? He invited me into his home.

His home was an ordinary log cabin. But it was surprisingly well furnished. Though small, it was comfortable.

We introduced ourselves.

Then he bowed his head to me. I never imagined I would receive such an ardent marriage proposal here. To be honest, I was happy.

After all, no man had ever proposed to me, a vampire.

Yes, I was a vampire. Different from a human.

When I told him that again, this was his answer.

"I don't mind."

His name was Hiraku. He was now my dear husband. I didn't care if people called me easy or anything else.

But, well, um... although I thought

it was fine to be considered easy, I didn't want him to think I was a frivolous woman, so I resisted in all sorts of ways at first.

He was so intense at night that I had even called him a beast... but I didn't dislike being desired.

But every single day was more than I could take. Though I could feel his love.

Honestly, couldn't he take a few more wives?

It would be a lie to say I wasn't possessive, but generally, it was normal for great men to have many wives.

Leaving me alone to bear and raise children... could we have children? It would be troubling if we could. After all, I would have to share my happiness.

I was happy now.

Chapter 10: A woman with wings

Just when Kuro One's children were about due to return, Zabuton reported something unusual to the north. It was the same as when Lu had arrived before.

Kuro and the others all raced north, and Lu and I hurried after them.

Surely another naked little girl hadn't appeared. Lu alone was enough for me.

Thinking that, I reached Kuro and the others and found an angel under attack by them.

An angel.

She had blond hair and a cute face. She looked like a college student.

Her breasts clearly asserted their presence, declaring that she was most definitely a woman.

She wore an all-white dress and had large white wings on her back.

Unlike with Lu, perhaps judging there was no danger of having their blood sucked, Kuro and the others bit her arms, legs, and wings, forcibly pinning her down.

Unable to bear the sight, I stepped in to stop them.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

It really was just like when Lu arrived.

After I pulled Kuro and the others away, the angel looked at me, realized she had been saved, and burst into tears.

She stirred my desire to protect her. But I already had Lu.

I intended to leave things to Lu, but then the angel saw her and became agitated.

"So this is where you were! Rurushi!"

Reacting to her agitation, Kuro and the others gave her a beating. To Kuro and the others, Lu was already a companion, a member of the family. Happy to have that confirmed, I stopped them again.

"Ugh... thank you."

After all, the sight of her covered in blood and dirt looked painful.

Just as I was wondering what to do, the angel took care of it herself.

With magic. She used healing magic to stop the bleeding, then some unknown magic to clean her body and clothes.

Cleaning magic?

As I was thinking how handy it was, Lu beside me began insisting that she could do that much too.

I see.

Next time the waste beneath the toilet filled up, could I ask her to clean it?

I had been thinking I would have to do it someday, but I could never bring myself to... well, it was hard to work up the motivation.

I would find the right moment to ask. At any rate, I understood that now wasn't the time.

"Rurushi. So you were hiding here?"

Lu and the angel seemed to know each other.

They seemed to be enemies.

"A lot happened. Are you all right? That hurt quite a bit, didn't it?"

"Quite a bit... that went beyond merely hurting."

"I understand. It happened to me too."

"You too?"

"Yes. They don't hold back, after all. And magic hardly works on them, and they dodge it too."

"I thought I was going to die."

"You're lucky you came out all right. You're safe now."

But things seemed different now.

As companions who had suffered the same ordeal, they felt a strange sense of kinship.

"I was in the wrong that time. So let's not fight here."

"To think you'd actually apologize... all right. I won't fight here."

"Thank you. Now, let me introduce you. This is my dear husband."

Lu suddenly introduced me.

"Huh? Ah, right... um... my name is Hiraku."

It felt like it had been ages since I had last been conscious of my own name, and I stumbled over my words.

"How polite. I'm Tia. As you can see, I'm one of the Angels."

Angels.

So that race existed too.

"I came here following Miss Rurushi..." (Translator's note: "Miss" was originally "san." There are too many ways to translate it, and a poor choice could even get the gender wrong, so it was left in romanized form. This explanation will be omitted from now on.)

"Following her?"

"Yes. Miss Rurushi caused trouble in town and had a bounty put on her."

I looked at Lu.

"Ahaha... I went a little too far."

"It wasn't just a little. No one died, but you damaged a noble's reputation."

"Ahaha."

Lu added an explanation.

"I came here to escape from Tia."

Escape?

I thought I understood Lu's personality to some extent already... but running away didn't seem like her.

Lu answered my question.

"She's a little stronger in terms of matchup."

"Miss Rurushi, you really have changed. You never would have admitted you were weaker before."

"Hehe... I've had a real taste of helplessness, after all."

"Ah... I see. Indeed. That would strip away your conceit."

Tia and Lu looked at Kuro and the others, who were watching us from a distance.

"Having that many is cheating."

"Yes."

Well, as long as she didn't fight here, she was welcome.

"Anyway, would you like to come to our house? It's only a modest cabin... but standing here talking is a bit..."

"Yes. Please do come."

Lu invited her more enthusiastically than I had expected.

"...You're right. Then I'll gladly accept your hospitality."

I dismissed Kuro and the others and headed for the cabin where we lived with Tia and Lu.

After we entered the cabin, for some reason, under Lu's guidance, the three of us began a struggle.

"Y-you tricked me! You vicious vampire!"

"My body can't take it on my own. Please, join me."

"No fool would join you in something like this! Please get away from me!"

"Lu alone is enough for me."

"I told you my body can't take it! Come on, now's your chance!"

"No, even if you say that..."

At any rate, we had gained another housemate.

Chapter 11: More housemates

Ten days had passed since Tia started living with us.

After experiencing everything Lu had experienced, she had settled down considerably.

Was fainting at the sight of Zabuton something women had in common?

I really didn't think she was that frightening.

"It really is too much for your body."

"Right? I'm so glad you came."

The two of them, who had rapidly grown close, were enjoying cucumbers and tomatoes.

Tia seemed particularly fond of cucumbers, crunching away nonstop, but the sight of her gnawing on one really didn't suit her cute appearance.

"You can shrink down and escape, but I can't do that. We need a plan... First, we should increase the number of partners."

"You understand what our dear husband is like by now, don't you? I'd like more, too, but I think he'd be furious if we abducted humans."

"True. Don't worry. As long as we don't abduct anyone, it'll be fine."

"Do you have any leads?"

"Yes. I came across something before coming here. I'll be away for a while."

"...If you run away, I'll come after you."

"I won't. After all, our dear husband is here."

Tia had tried various ways of addressing me, but in the end, she had settled on "dear husband," just like Lu.

A few days after Tia left on her errand, Kuro One's children began returning.

Several were covered in injuries.

Yeah, hang in there.

The dogs visiting for the first time were wary of Lu and me, but that faded after Kuro and the others intervened.

There were no major disputes.

One of the returning pups was a little unusual.

He had actually brought back three mates.

Three, huh?

He was one of Iris's children, a male.

The three mates he brought were female.

He looked a little timid, but he didn't seem to have any injuries.

He also seemed to get along well with all three of them.

I had thought they were monogamous... Were they not?

Well, as long as there weren't any disputes, I wouldn't say anything.

And so, for the first time since Fubuki, I gave one a name.

Masayuki.

That was the protagonist of a battle romantic comedy manga from my previous world with a huge number of heroines.

He never chose a particular partner, and the final chapter, in which he got every female character who appeared pregnant, caused quite a stir online.

The legendary harem man, Masayuki.

I didn't particularly admire him, but I hoped this pup could approach life in a similar way.

Huh?

Considering I had already laid hands on Lu and Tia...

Never mind.

Once all of Kuro One's children had returned safely, the population density suddenly seemed to shoot up.

The row-house-like huts I had prepared were well received, too.

Well, they were much better than sleeping outside.

Next, they would probably start breeding.

They went hunting together in the surrounding forest and carried their prey back in their mouths.

I kept busy bleeding the carcasses and removing their organs.

Several times along the way, they also called me out to haul back large boars they had killed.

Since I still had to tend the fields, each day was rather demanding. That was when Tia returned.

She brought seven women dressed for battle.

Chapter 12: High elves

"I'm Ria."

Ria, Risu, Lili, Rifu, Ricott, Rize, and Rita. (Ria, Risu, Lili, Rifu, Ricott, Rize, Rita)

All seven women who introduced themselves belonged to the same race and had long ears.

"Elves?"

"High Elves, to be precise... But you can call us elves."

High Elves? I didn't really understand the difference between them and elves.

"Tia referred us here. Please, let us live here."

"Um..."

When I looked at Tia, she placed both hands on my shoulders and brought her face close.

"Let me explain their tragic past."

These High Elves had originally lived in a settlement they owned far to the north of here, but it had been destroyed after becoming caught up in a human war two hundred years ago.

At that point, their clan had scattered, beginning a wandering life in search of somewhere to settle.

"Until now, we've been living on the move through the forest."

"Without somewhere to settle, we can't increase our clan's numbers."

"Please."

All seven bowed their heads. Although bowing wasn't their custom, Tia apparently had taught them the proper manners beforehand. That explained the awkwardness, but even so, having seven women bow their heads to me was rather startling. I had never experienced anything like it.

"You can count on them as workers, too. Please."

"I think it's a good idea, too. I've heard High Elves are very capable, and they're good-looking. They're still young, right?"

Lu supported Tia's forceful recommendation.

"I'm the oldest, a little over four hundred."

"I'm the youngest, around three hundred."

Apparently, Ria was the oldest and Rita the youngest, but I couldn't see any difference. They all looked like graceful college students. Or perhaps high school students. Being elves, they were all beautiful. Or rather, cute.

In short, they wanted to settle here... To be honest, I was glad to have more workers.

"We already have all sorts of housemates here, but as long as you don't fight, that's fine."

And so, I agreed.

"Thank you."

"I'll work as hard as I can."

"We look forward to living here."

Joyful voices rose from the seven women.

Later, the seven women fainted when they saw Zabuton, then fainted again when they saw Kuro and the others.

This was the first time anyone had fainted at the sight of Kuro and the others. Were they afraid of dogs?

After that, I began building a hut to provide the seven with somewhere to live.

Since they preferred living together to having separate rooms, I decided to build a fairly large hut.

Though, once a hut got that large, did it still count as a hut? It was just an ordinary house.

Besides, something large enough for seven people couldn't be finished in a day. For the time being, Ria and the others stayed in the tents they had brought. At their request, the building site was south of the reservoir and west of the New Field Area. It was southwest of my home.

When I asked whether they minded being a little far away, they insisted on this spot. Why?

If the southwestern area was divided into sixteen plots, four by four, like the fields, their chosen site was a little north of the center.

With nothing around it, a building standing there all alone would look rather lonely...

Well, I wanted to accommodate their wishes as much as possible, so I chose their requested spot as the building site. Afterward, I built a log fence and a ditch to clearly mark out the southwestern area. As for the ditch along the boundary with the New Field Area... After some thought, I decided to leave it. Since people would be living there, a little extra defense was a good thing. I built a well and a toilet in the chosen locations. Thinking ahead, I also built a cellar and a place to store garbage.

Although I could turn all the garbage into fertilizer with the Almighty Farming Tool, they couldn't. That meant they needed somewhere to store it.

Digging and logging were my specialties, but once the timber was ready, all seven helped with construction. No, they were actually more effective and capable than I was. Their methods of processing and assembling the logs gave me plenty to learn from.

I felt I would only get in the way by helping, so I left it entirely to them. Following their instructions, I dug holes, compacted the ground, and gathered timber.

After about ten days, an impressive log house was complete. What was more, it had the raised floor I had given up on. And two stories.

I was a little jealous. But I had learned from it. Their building techniques, that is. Heh heh heh.

Perhaps it was about time to rebuild the hut I lived in.

The log house was rectangular, with its long sides running east to west. Immediately past the entrance was a hall that doubled as a dining room. Apparently, everyone would work and eat there.

In the middle of the room was an enclosure where they could light a fire indoors. Something like a hearth that wasn't sunk into the floor? Something along those lines.

There were doors on both sides of the hall. I would have expected a kitchen and bathroom, but both rooms were used for storage.

Stairs on either side of the hall led to the second floor. The second floor only extended over the storerooms to the left and right of the hall, with just a walkway connecting the two sides above the hall itself. That gave the hall a wonderfully open feel.

Going up to one side of the second floor, I could see doors arranged at regular intervals. Apparently, these were their individual rooms.

Each room was long and narrow, containing a bed, a small cabinet, a table, and a chair.

I had made all the furnishings, using the Almighty Farming Tool. Although they could do finer work than I could, they couldn't match my speed with the Almighty Farming Tool. Well, if they didn't like something, they would probably remake it themselves.

Four rooms on one side, plus the opposite side, made eight rooms. Apparently, one would be kept as a spare.

With cushions, quilts, curtains, and other things made by Zabuton and her children, Ria and the others should have no problems with their accommodations. Yes, good.

While the log house was being built, they had also grown somewhat accustomed to life here.

Their reactions to the taste of the crops, in particular, could only be called deeply moved.

They liked pumpkins, radishes, eggplants, and, for some reason, garlic. As far as appearances went, I wished they wouldn't eat garlic in one gulp. Occasionally, they went hunting with Kuro and the others, showing off their archery skills. Judging by how Kuro and the others didn't mind their company, they must have been quite skilled.

They also talked about clothing with Zabuton and her children. Seeing all this reassured me somewhat.

"If you have any problems, just let me know."

"Understood, village chief."

Incidentally, they called me "village chief." I had resisted, but I couldn't hold out. Considering they had started with "king" and "my lord," this was much better. Getting them to drop the honorific from "village chief" had taken quite some effort.

The night after I was freed from the work of building Ria and the others' home and returned to my usual tasks, several of them crowded into my home.

"W-what's going on?"

They answered my question with an attitude of "What are you talking about?"

"This is reproduction."

"For the sake of our race, please."

"Tia said that if we settled here, we could receive seed... I'll do my best."

I appealed to Lu and Tia for help, but it was no use. Then I understood. The reason they had built their log house in the middle of the southwestern area. It was because they fully intended to reproduce there in the future.

I resisted, but it was no use. Call me weak-willed if you like.

After that.

In a discussion involving only the women, they decided on a rotation. There was absolutely no room for my wishes.

As I sat on the ground hugging my knees, Kuro Two

and Iris's child Masayuki came over to comfort me.

Thank you.

Side story: Ria

My name was Ria. I belonged to the proud High Elf race. Well, that pride was already a thing of the past.

After the village we lived in became caught up in a war and we were hunted, we had become a wandering clan in the Forest of Death.

"Ria. Where should we camp today?"

In answer to my younger sister's question, I indicated a location. The Forest of Death was feared and shunned by so many because the Magic Creatures and magical beasts inhabiting it were abnormally powerful. Most people would become corpses within an hour. We had avoided that fate because we were fortunate enough to find temporary safe areas in the forest. Though called safe areas, they had no markers, nor did they always remain in the same places. They were merely places where the territories of the forest's Magic Creatures overlapped. Since the Magic Creatures and magical beasts found the disputes caused by hunting there troublesome, those places were relatively safe unless they were extremely hungry.

But it wasn't absolute. Some foolish Magic Creatures and magical beasts ignored territorial boundaries. If a Magic Creature holding a territory was defeated for some reason, the safe area would immediately collapse. We lived in places that were only that safe. Staying in one place would make us a target, so we had to move frequently. Food wasn't guaranteed every day, either.

Our clan had numbered over thirty when we fled into the forest, but now only eight remained. The thought that we might disappear altogether if our numbers kept declining made me uneasy. This wouldn't do. (Translator: The earlier text said seven, but here it becomes eight, with no mention later of anyone dying. The protagonist also mentions eight afterward, then it becomes seven again... So the author probably intended to revise the number, forgot, and left this mess. There's no need to dwell on it; this is how it appears in the original.)

Hunger made my thoughts turn in bad directions. I wanted something to eat... But we had no reserves. We needed to go hunting soon.

"Ria. We have a guest."

Huh? Guests were rare in the Forest of Death. Rare, but not unheard of. There were people who could easily cross the Forest of Death that we feared. The guest before me was one of them.

One of the Angels.

They were a famous race that even I, who had lived in the Forest of Death for so long, knew about. Our guest was someone who could easily claim the title of the strongest of her generation among them.

"I'm pursuing a vampire. Have you seen one?"

Our answer to the guest's question was that we didn't know. It wasn't a lie. We hadn't seen one, so we couldn't give any other answer.

The Angel didn't seem to have expected much. She showed little disappointment.

"I see. Understood. It's nearly dark, so please let me stay the night."

In the forest, we had to help one another. So we wouldn't refuse. Well, we couldn't expect food or anything from a guest like this.

"I'll leave the cooking to you. For ingredients... Would killer rabbits do?"

I nodded, but the guest before me looked empty-handed no matter how I looked at her. Just as I wondered where she would produce them from, she suddenly flew into the forest and dispatched several killer rabbits.

Just what I would expect of someone strong enough to enter this forest alone. She so easily dispatched prey that we had to approach with caution. I mustn't be jealous. Right now, I should simply be grateful to benefit from her presence.

Our guest departed early the next morning. She headed toward the center of the forest, where we couldn't venture.

We warned her that there were many Magic Creatures and magical beasts in that area, but I didn't think she would heed it. Well, with luck, we would meet again.

Whether that would be ten years or a hundred years later, lifespan was a word that had nothing to do with us High Elves.

Heh. Rather, the question was whether we could survive in this forest until then.

We met again a month later.

She seemed to have been looking for us. Had she forgotten something? No, she had not. Our guest had come to talk to us.

What she wanted to discuss was the possibility of providing us with somewhere to settle.

Nothing could be that convenient. That was my immediate thought. But what could our guest possibly gain by deceiving us? Besides, if we declined, she would negotiate elsewhere. We had to decide quickly.

After all, we had no attachment to our life here. If there was somewhere we could settle, we would gladly go. But our guest had said it was only a possibility. Nothing had been decided yet. And rather than the other party asking us to settle there, we would have to ask them. In other words, we would need to offer something of equal value.

That was hardly strange. Obtaining somewhere to settle was difficult to begin with. But the only possessions we had... were the bones and hides of the prey we had hunted up until now.

Beyond those, all we had left were our bodies.

I did not want to die, but I could not bear being treated like a slave either. If I could have endured that, I would never have been living in this forest. I did not want to... but if sacrificing myself alone could solve the problem...

Few as we were, I was still the head of our clan.

I steeled myself and told the others in the clan. No one objected. Everyone had reached their limit with life here.

In the worst case... I had to consider the possibility that someone besides me would need to be sacrificed. We asked our guest to lead the way.

An unbelievable sight appeared before my eyes.

In the middle of the Forest of Death were a house and fields...

It was a simple hut, but it was a proper house nonetheless. The fields were far better tended than the house. It was an extraordinary sight.

A house and fields.

Such a sight should have been impossible in the Forest of Death. After all, the ground in the Forest of Death was so hard that cultivating it was nearly impossible. Even if you could cultivate it, what could you grow?

The trees in the Forest of Death were also extremely hard, with some species even harder than iron. How much labor would it take to fell those trees and build a house...?

We were introduced to the man who had made all of this.

His name was Hiraku. He was the man who had lived alone in this forest and made that house and those fields. He was also the man who had taken both the Angel guest who had guided us here and the vampire that Angel guest had been searching for as his wives. That alone was more than enough.

He also kept large numbers of Infernal Wolves, creatures we absolutely had to avoid encountering, and lived on friendly terms with a Demon Spider, a creature whose very appearance meant we had to prepare for death.

...Please let me off with nothing worse than fainting.

We asked to settle here. We made our request by bowing our heads respectfully.

After all, our Angel guest had said that was the most important thing. No, she was no longer our guest. She was Lady Tia, Lord Hiraku's wife.

Lord Hiraku listened to our request. What was more, he asked for nothing in return. We did try sounding him out on that point, but he declined.

What a noble spirit. How shameful of me to have thought of offering my body. What an embarrassing memory. The others must have felt the same. I reflected on myself. Then I recovered. A little anger began to well up.

Were our bodies really that unappealing?

It was true that High Elves were a race with few curves. But we prided ourselves on having beauty that made up for that, you know? That was part of why we feared being enslaved, you know? What was going on?... We were ignored.

First, he would help build our house? That was something to be grateful for. Yes, it was.

First, we watched Lord Hiraku work... and were shocked. A tree in the forest fell in a single stroke.

It truly happened in an instant. Magic? No, this felt like... Huh? This tree... wasn't it one of those great trees that never fell? A tree harder than iron?

I decided not to think too deeply about it. Well then... first, we would dry the felled tree... No need? It was fine. I had already decided not to be surprised anymore.

He would turn the felled trees into logs, then assemble those into a house? In that case, the logs would need to be shaped. How long would that take with the tools we had...?

All right, Lord Hiraku took care of everything.

All we did was assemble it. We would give it everything we had. We might look delicate, but we were strong. We also had tools such as pulleys. We could transport things with ropes. Yes, Lord Hiraku provided the pulleys, and Lady Zabuton provided the ropes. We merely used them.

We used reasons such as payment for being allowed to settle here, gratitude, or compensation for food... but to put it simply, we were seeking a man.

Fortunately, we had already obtained permission from his wives, Lu the vampire and Tia the Angel. After all, failing to discuss this sort of thing beforehand would cause plenty of problems later. Having full stomachs for the first time in ages had raised our spirits in all sorts of ways. Hehehe, we would never let such a good opportunity escape. You understood the order, right? I would be first. Any objections? If so, we could fight to decide the order. Right now? I would take it seriously. Good, as long as you understood. From now on, do not think you could defy your big sister-

-understood? Everyone would get her turn in order. Oh... it looked like he was here. Everyone, attention.

"Lord Hiraku, please take good care of us."

Calmly. Block his retreat.

It was settled. No, perhaps we were the ones who had been dealt with? I wanted to care for him for all eternity.

Chapter 13: Understanding elves

Going back a little, something surprising happened shortly after Ria and the others arrived.

"Huh? You use fire to cook meat?"

"Yes. Are we not allowed to use fire here?"

"No, that's not it... but aren't elves supposed to live alongside nature in the forest and dislike using fire?"

"Hahaha. How could we survive without fire?"

"Well, by living alongside nature..."

"For example?"

"Huh? Well... getting up at sunrise and resting at sunset. Eating fruit from the trees. Cherishing the forest, not harming trees, and not carrying iron objects."

"Um... Lord Village Chief."

"How many times have I told you not to call me Lord Village Chief...? What is it?"

"Please don't underestimate nature. If we lived like that in the forest, we'd die immediately. We wouldn't last even a day."

"R-right. That makes sense."

As I agreed with Ria's thoroughly realistic response, I also abandoned my imagined picture of elves.

Or so I thought...

"You can mine and forge things?"

"Yes. So we'll handle the mining. Please help us build a smithy... mainly the furnace. Please. As long as we have a furnace, we can make all sorts of things out of iron."

"That's great, but... forging..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, um... you can do smithing?"

"Yes. Things like daggers and machetes. Especially arrowheads-how would we get them if we didn't make them ourselves?"

...It looked like there was no room for dwarves to make an appearance. No, perhaps dwarves would not match my expectations either.

Following Ria and the others' instructions, I began making a furnace. I learned a lot. After all, they had spent two hundred years wandering, so apparently they could do most things. The only things they could not manage were settling down and reproducing.

Settling down had been difficult because obtaining a stable food supply was hard, and reproduction was dangerous because they had nowhere to settle during pregnancy. I did wonder what they would do if they found somewhere to settle but had no men, but apparently they would procure one from somewhere. I decided not to ask for details.

In fact, I was now in the position of being that procured man.

Ria and the others were also a tremendous help during the harvest. They were particularly good at handling the wheat I had set aside.

"So this is it... I see."

I thought I had waited until it was dry enough before harvesting, but apparently I had still been a little early. (Translator's note: harvesting wheat requires very specific timing and weather. Waiting until it is fully ripe greatly affects how well-filled the grains are. It must be harvested during the middle stage of ripening, when the entire plant is golden but the stalks are still flexible. There must also be no rain before harvesting, or it can easily develop mold afterward.)

Apparently, it then needed to be dried again, hulled, and ground into flour. I heard rice went through the same process.

Ria and the others hulled the stored wheat and ground it into flour. Once that was done, they immediately began baking bread.

"You need this to make bread."

Rifu showed me a little jar she had carefully kept safe. It seemed to contain something made by fermenting fruit. According to my memories of my previous world... bread apparently could not rise without yeast. So that was what this was.

"You know a lot and carry all sorts of things despite having nowhere to settle."

"This was what we did before we began wandering."

That made sense.

"I'm so happy we can farm. Could I have a field of my own?"

"That's fine... Do you have seeds or seedlings you want to grow?"

"Yes. I have seeds I collected while wandering."

"I see. Then please do it somewhere that won't affect the other crops."

"I won't grow any crops that would affect them. Just a small patch beside the house. If there are any problems, please tell me."

"Understood."

Convenient as the Almighty Farming Tool was, my imagination alone had its limits. It would be best if they could farm on their own, just in case. I hoped they would do their best with this first step.

I knew Ria and the others would be helpful, but I had not expected them to help build the waterway as well.

Working together with Zabuton's children made the work much more efficient. At this rate, we could finish within the year... No, that would be a little difficult. After all, between building Ria and the others' house and various other tasks, it was already nearly that time of year.

Incidentally, Kuro and the others had another wave of births this year. I could no longer keep track of whose puppies were whose. Kuro and the others were intelligent enough to bring their children over and indicate that they were theirs if I asked, but I could not tell them apart.

It would have been nice if they stood out like Fubuki... but practically all of them were completely black.

Their distinctive horns did let me identify individuals by their shape and glow...

But newborn puppies had no horns.

Besides, using those to identify them would become troublesome during horn-shedding season.

Kuro and the others were clever, and they would sulk if I got their names wrong. Those who had not been named yet also worked hard to earn names. No, there really was a limit.

In any case, our food consumption had increased again. I would have to work hard.

I expanded the fields again, south of the New Field Area. The New Field Area now consisted of thirty-two plots, four by eight. Each plot was roughly fifty meters on a side, making the fields in the New Field Area two hundred meters by four hundred meters.

That was eighty thousand square meters. If I remembered correctly, one hectare was ten thousand square meters, so that made... eight hectares.

I did not know whether that was a lot or a little for a farm. But because I grew the crops with the Almighty Farming Tool, I could apparently harvest three or four times a year.

Me, Lu, Tia, Ria, Risu, Lili, Rifu, Ricott, Rize, and Rita.

Kuro and the others... more than a hundred animals.

Ah, counting Kuro and the others as livestock felt a little off, since they were family, so I sometimes used the counter for smaller animals instead.

Still, since I had known them as puppies, I felt very close to them. I would carelessly end up using the livestock counter. (Translator's note: in these passages, the original Chinese characters for the two counters were actually the other way around. However, I left them this way for consistency with the earlier text. Incidentally, the original used the bird counter for rabbits and the small-animal counter for the giant rats and Kuro. Using them that way in Chinese would be problematic, so I settled on this.)

Zabuton.

Her countless children.

...With so many new housemates all at once, it would have been strange if our harvests were enough.

I was also beginning to seriously worry that we might hunt all the forest's animals to extinction.

Of course, if I found crops besides tomatoes that Kuro and the others liked, I would plant large quantities of those too.

When we began to feel the autumn chill, the fruit trees I had planted as a trial bore fruit. It was not quite a bumper crop, but we still harvested a considerable amount.

Apples, pears, mandarins, oranges, persimmons, and peaches.

I had wondered which would be most popular, but they were all well received.

Kuro and the others deftly ate the peaches and left the pits behind. I had planned to save the mandarins for winter, but as Tia's hands turned yellow, they began disappearing at a furious pace. At that rate, they would not last until winter. Ria and the others mainly ate apples and pears.

But when I cut an apple into rabbit shapes as a food carving, those around me seemed unsure whether they should eat it.

Lu seemed particularly fond of peaches and competed with Kuro and the others for them. If possible, I wished she would eat in her larger form.

At middle-schooler size, she stirred my protective instincts.

I gave some of the harvested fruit to Zabuton and her children.

After all, the fruit trees had produced results thanks to them.

Only the trial trees had borne fruit so far, but the year after next, I could look forward to fruit from the trees in the fruit-growing area.

More than anything, I was glad they were popular.

Incidentally, I liked persimmons. Rather than the crisp sort, I liked persimmons with a firmer texture. The ones we harvested were all like that, which made me happy.

Chapter 14: Isekai staples-Reversi and chess

Tia's wings were not decorative. She could use them to fly. But beneath that white dress, she was wearing panties.

Yet even when she flew, I could not see them. How did that work? The angle? Technique?

I understood that, unlike in manga and anime, panties were not so easily visible in reality...

No, I was not disappointed.

Tia could fly quite fast, but she did not fly often because it tired her out.

That was even more true after she got caught in Zabuton and her children's threads while flying near the fields and ended up in an embarrassing state three times.

The wings on her back could be freely folded away

and spread out again. I did not understand how it worked, so I did not look into it too deeply. After all, in another world, the word "magic" could explain anything.

Likewise, Lu could also fly.

She apparently could fly without wings. She said she was not very good at it, though I did not know if that was true. Perhaps she practiced when I was not looking.

Incidentally, like Tia, she had also gotten caught in Zabuton's threads several times.

Lu, Tia, and Ria's group were all at about the same level when it came to cooking. Basically, they could only grill or boil things. But apparently the crops here tasted far better than those elsewhere, so no one complained. They actually praised the food.

That made me happy, but it was all thanks to the Almighty Farming Tool. I pressed my palms together toward the shrine I had made at the great tree.

I had no intention of forcing my faith on anyone, but after seeing me pray, Lu and the others did not treat the shrine lightly either.

Come to think of it, what were religions like in this world? Would Tia know more about them? After all, her people were called Angels. Well, I would ask when I had time.

Besides grilling and boiling, I also knew about steaming and deep-frying. There was also stir-frying, a variation of grilling, and blanching, a variation of boiling. With our shortage of cooking utensils and seasonings, and with no milk or eggs, the number of dishes I could make was limited...

In other words, what I wanted to say was that I ended up on cooking duty a lot.

I did not mind, but with so many women around, why did none of them learn cooking techniques from me?

As an aside, I realized I had made a mistake.

Pepper was a plant.

I could probably grow it with the Almighty Farming Tool. Starting now would be a little difficult, but I hoped to have pepper next year. Also lemons, wasabi, sesame, chili peppers, ginger, olives, and so on.

Thinking it over, seasonings were all plants.

Winter.

I stayed inside my hut, concentrating on carving wood and stone. Living with Lu and Tia made it feel a little cramped. After all, I had originally designed it for one person.

Next spring, I would build a new house for us to live in.

Lu and Tia were making preliminary preparations for some magic I knew nothing about. From the look of it, they seemed to be making herbal medicine. Apparently, they had stored materials gathered during summer and autumn in the cellar.

The two of them apparently also found our current home cramped, and they began asking for a new house and a hut to serve as a laboratory.

For now, I was hearing their opinions and discussing it with them.

Ria and the others also stayed inside their log house during winter. I had given them food and firewood before winter, so they should have been fine. Even if a problem arose, we had made arrangements for contacting each other.

During winter, Ria and the others made small items out of grass and straw. They mass-produced baskets and bags. Since the tubs and boxes I made were heavy, that was helpful in its own way.

Kuro and the girls had completely switched into staying-in-the-hut mode. Zabuton was hibernating, so I did not see her either.

However, she had made a large amount of toweling fabric before hibernating, which was a great help.

Well, um, after all that exertion, various stains were left behind.

Now, about the winter months... I couldn't stand doing nothing but my usual work. I needed some entertainment.

With Lu, Tia, Ria, and the others here, there were more things we could do. As a staple of reincarnation-in-another-world stories, I made a Reversi set. It seemed popular. It especially caught on among Ria and the others.

I also made a chess set, which was popular with Lu, Tia, and Kuro's pack. Kuro and the others actually understood the rules of chess. They seemed to understand Reversi too, but they weren't very good at it because the pieces were hard to move with their mouths. So chess, which was easier to play with their mouths, was well received.

Anyway, since all that mattered in chess was being able to tell the pieces apart, I made a set especially for Kuro and the others, with shapes and sizes that were easy to grip in their mouths. Sometimes, I saw quite a crowd gathered around watching a game.

Watching them... they were probably better than me.

To preserve my dignity, not challenging them was probably the right choice. Still, Kuro and the others seemed pretty smart, so they might go easy on me, but if they actually did that, I'd fall apart inside.

I was better off playing clumsy games of chess with Lu and Tia.

Ah, hey, Lu. Don't challenge Kuro. You'll get beaten to a pulp. Mentally.

She was depressed for about three days afterward.

On fine winter days, I went out to inspect the log fence and ditch for a change of pace. With Zabuton and her children off guard duty in winter, I couldn't let my guard down. After all, Kuro and the others could get over the log fence and ditch. Would it be better to build a fairly high wall near Ria and the others' house? Catching game in the forest would secure fresh meat, but finding any wasn't that easy. In the end, it really was nothing more than a change of pace.

I gathered up some snow and made a snowman. Tia's eyes lit up at the sight of it.

After that, Tia tried making snowmen whenever she had the chance. Worried that her hands might get frostbite, I even made gloves out of leftover cloth.

Chapter 15: The spring the slimes arrived

Spring came.

This year's goal was to finish the waterway.

And build a new house to live in.

After that, there was cleaning the waste storage pit beneath the toilet, which I'd been putting off all this time.

I understood that little things piled up over time. So I asked Lu and Tia whether magic could take care of it, but that seemed difficult. Still, they could make it ferment and break down.

But using that magic to ferment it would make it terribly smelly, which was a problem.

This was a pickle.

The smell had already reached the toilet seat, so I needed to take action soon. The suggestion that came out of this was slimes.

"They can absorb and digest things like that, so towns with a certain level of development make use of them."

I see. There were creatures like that too.

Slimes.

They weren't unusual in fantasy worlds, and their ferocity varied from one work to another. They were fine as early training opponents for heroes, but if they were the sort that killed unsuspecting newcomers in dungeons, I didn't want to go near them.

Still, the slimes in this world seemed to be handy sewer cleaners.

"Where can we catch slimes?"

"Near swamps or ponds, I think..."

"Can you catch some?"

"Please leave it to me. I'll catch some within ten days."

Ria sounded so confident that I left the job to her.

"I'm counting on you."

Then I abandoned the current toilet. I sealed the hole that the smell was coming from and built a toilet somewhere else. Putting up with that stink for ten straight days would be too much.

All I had to do for the toilet was dig a hole, and I could reuse the structure, so it was easy. What a relief.

The slimes Tia brought back were small. Each one was only the size of a fist.

"Is this the average size?"

"They're wild ones, after all. This is about it."

I'd imagined them being a little bigger... These felt like soft baseballs.

"Since they eat carcasses and waste, they're also called the cleaners of the forest, the cleaners of the plains, the cleaners of the labyrinth, and so on."

She brought back a dozen or so of those slimes in a jar.

"Do we just put them in?"

"Basically, yes... It's just..."

Tia seemed to have trouble saying it.

"What is it?"

"Won't Kuro-san, Zabuton-san, and the others eat them...? I realized that might be a problem while I was catching them."

Maybe the toilet's stench had dulled her thinking when she went out to catch them.

"Hmm..."

For now, I called Kuro and Zabuton over.

"Would you eat these?"

Both Kuro and Zabuton answered my question with a no.

I got the impression that, since there were other tasty things to eat, there was no need to eat slimes.

Did slimes taste bad? Well, since I already had things I could eat, I had no desire to try them.

"Then they're our new residents. I hope you'll get along with them. And pass that on to your children too."

Kuro and Zabuton indicated that they understood. Yes, they really were clever.

Tia had brought back seventeen slimes in total.

I put two each in the new toilet and Ria and the others' toilet. I put three in the spot in the Dog Area designated as Kuro and the others' toilet. As for the remaining ten, I opened the sealed hole of the old toilet and put them all inside.

The smell that came out when I opened the hole filled me with terrible guilt... But I valued myself more. I'm counting on you.

As for the downside of slimes.

Knowing there were slimes underneath me made doing my business in the toilet take considerable courage.

Nobody else seemed bothered, but it took a lot of effort for me to get used to it.

Chapter 16: Kuro and the others' courtship and mushrooms

Zabuton's children set out on their travels again this year. It was lonely. But some stayed, and there were new children too. Plus, I'd prepared myself, so I didn't cry.

The first of Zabuton's chil-

dren to be born were already a quarter of her size.

They were already pretty big, but they still had a long way to go before catching up with Zabuton.

For a moment, I started wondering when the children had begun having children.

Should I expand the fruit-growing area to the north first?

Collecting all the horns Kuro and the others shed took a bit of effort.

I'd wanted to use them as decorations, but at this rate, that would become a problem. I had no choice but to put them all in the underground food storage room.

Once their horns had changed, they'd leave to find mates, so I decided to spend some time playing with them before that.

When we played Frisbee... throwing it set off a fierce scramble. So I made balls by wrapping spherical pieces of wood in animal hide. They were quite well received.

Now they could have fun even when I wasn't around. I made twenty or thirty for them. Once I decided where they belonged, they put them back there at night. So clever.

Afterward, I also made a wooden boar for hunting practice, but it was battered to pieces in less than a day.

I should have made the legs and such thicker. After I finished the boar, Kuro came over and showed himself off in front of me. After thinking about what he meant for a bit, I found the answer. He wanted me to carve a statue of him.

I gave it a try. I emphasized his wild side a little.

It came out quite well. Kuro seemed very satisfied too.

The problem was... where to display it.

I placed it near the big tree's shrine as a guardian lion. Remembering that guardian lions came in pairs, I carved Yuki too. Why was that? I'd only meant to carve her normally, but she came out looking wilder than Kuro.

My skills must have improved.

I smiled when Kuro came to look at his own statue and was startled by Yuki's.

While working on the waterway, I also thought about whether we could use fish as food.

Just as I was thinking it would be easy if I could solve the muddy smell, it turned out Ria and the others already knew how. Apparently, leaving the fish in clean water for a few days would get rid of it. Was that like purging sand from shellfish?

Anyway, I tried it.

I hollowed out a large rock to make a tank. Then I poured river water into it...

"Does it have to be river water?"

The river water was drinkable, but...

"River water is fine. The important thing is that they don't eat anything for a while."

"I see."

Hmm.

White-fleshed fish. It tasted pretty good. I was really glad we'd gotten salt. (Translator's note: Japanese people divide fish into white-fleshed and red-fleshed fish, referring to the color of the meat. Black sea bream, for example, is white-fleshed, while salmon is red-fleshed.)

From now on, I'd catch fish regularly and put them in the tank. Having a wider variety of food was a good thing.

Kuro's children... grandchildren, great-grandchildren? They set out to look for mates.

Quite a few left, but fewer than I'd expected.

Half of those born last year stayed.

And finally, before they left, I witnessed it.

The way the females secured males.

First, they courted them. If that failed, they subdued them in a duel. When several females had their eyes on the same male, they settled it through negotiation or a duel. Even while negotiating or dueling, the females worked together to keep the male from escaping. It looked as though the females were the stronger ones.

The males basically waited. That didn't mean they just lay around, though. They also went hunting to show off their strength. If a male was courted by a female he liked, they became mates immediately.

If he didn't like her, they dueled, and if he won, he waited for someone else... but their win rate wasn't very good. Very rarely, a male did the courting, and in those cases, they became mates if the female agreed. If she refused, they dueled. I see.

But from what I saw... even when they fought, they didn't get badly injured. None of their newly grown horns broke off either. If that was the case... what about the injuries Kuro and Yuki had when I first met them?

Yuki's belly had already been big, so those probably hadn't come from a courtship fight. After they'd become mates and done their best... something must have attacked Kuro and Yuki.

Judging by what I'd seen of Kuro and Yuki so far, those two were quite strong. Although living here had played a part in making them stronger, it also suggested that there was a creature here capable of attacking hard enough to break both their horns and send them fleeing.

Surrounded by Kuro's and Zabuton's children, I was living a fairly carefree life, but I needed to stay alert. I'd better pay attention to our surroundings.

About mushrooms.

There was one thing I'd never touched since entering this forest. Mushrooms.

Mushrooms brought two things to mind for me. Deliciousness and poison. Even familiar mushrooms had very similar-looking varieties to watch out for. And the mushrooms I saw in the forest had colors and shapes I'd never seen before.

I had no desire to eat mushrooms like those, so I simply tilled them under with the Almighty Farming Tool.

In other words, I'd given up on mushrooms. They weren't something I could grow in a field, after all.

Then I suddenly had a flash of inspiration. It came when I saw mushrooms growing on a tree I'd cut down for lumber. Once I tilled soil with the Almighty Farming Tool's hoe, it became a field where crops would grow.

In that case, if I did something to a tree with the Almighty Farming Tool, couldn't I turn it into a mushroom-growing bed and grow mushroom crops? I wouldn't go so far as to ask for matsutake. But I did want shiitake.

So I tried all sorts of things on trees, hoping for shiitake.

The result.

Although I wasted a lot of wood, I succeeded. And I confirmed something once again.

What mattered to the Almighty Farming Tool was imagination and a growing medium. All I needed was a clear image of the crop I wanted to grow and the appropriate medium.

The medium could be a field or a mushroom bed. Greedily, I tried growing shimeji mushrooms too.

It worked.

At the time, I was picturing the beech mushrooms I'd often seen in supermarkets in my previous world.

I'd never seen the apparently high-grade hon-shimeji, so I couldn't picture those. (Translator's note: You can look up the specific mushroom varieties on Baidu. These are broader and narrower categories, so there's no need to worry too much about it.)

Next, I pictured delicious mushrooms too. Hon-shimeji successfully grew. (Translator's note: That's what the original says. The author probably made a mistake that the editor didn't fix. Judging by the context, it should probably be matsutake.)

No good.

I'd thought I could get matsutake...

Then I suddenly realized something. Matsutake grew from the ground, not wood.

I tried tilling the ground while imagining matsutake, but that failed too.

Apparently, I still hadn't met all the conditions.

I'd heard matsutake tended to grow near red pines.

Maybe I needed to prepare red pines as the growing medium for matsutake.

Anyway, although it would take a long time, I planted several red pines.

Heh heh heh. I looked forward to the matsutake.

Chapter 17: A new resident, the completed waterway, and a bath

One day, we gained a new resident. Had one of Zabuton's children recommended it?

It was a large honeybee tied up in thread by one of Zabuton's children.

This large honeybee measured about thirty centimeters. If I'd seen it without the restraints, I probably would have immediately fled or attacked it.

From the movements of Zabuton's children, I could infer that they wanted to raise this honeybee.

Looking closely, I noticed fine, fur-like hairs on its head, neck, and limbs, making it look rather impressive. Honeybees might be of some help in growing plants, too.

"But it won't attack us, will it?"

I checked. If it was going to cause that sort of trouble, we should get rid of it. But the child of Zabuton's holding the honeybee gestured that it would be fine. Likewise, the captured honeybee looked as though it was also saying it would be fine.

"All right. Where should we put it?"

After hearing the honeybee's wishes, I built a little hut in a corner of the northern fruit-growing area to serve as its home. Though I called it a hut, it was only a simple shelter against wind and rain, much like the toilet I'd first built.

While I was wondering what to do about food, Zabuton's children brought over strawberries and offered them to it.

They seemed to want to raise it... but where had they gotten those strawberries? Well, I'd turn a blind eye and consider it sneaking a snack.

After that, I saw several of Zabuton's children taking turns looking after it.

Ten days later, a large nest had appeared. It looked like an enlarged hornet's nest. Since it was so big, it was built on the floor, like an anthill.

Worker bees emerged from that nest.

I was a little surprised that the workers were the size of the honeybees I knew.

I'd thought only the queen was large, but bees about fifteen centimeters long, smaller than the queen but larger than the workers, appeared and guarded the nest. Were they guard bees? I hoped they wouldn't fight with Zabuton's children.

Anyway, I left the bees' nest-

to Zabuton's children. If anything happened, they'd probably call me.

Incidentally, while Lu and Tia looked delighted at the sight of the hive, as though looking forward to honey, Ria and the others' faces twitched. Were they afraid of bees?

The waterway was finished. Finally.

I covered it with soil to secure it. Although the channel I had dug was not very wide, the water still flowed through properly. It reached the reservoir without leaking along the way.

Seeing it brought tears to my eyes. Sniff... thank goodness.

And I was grateful to everyone who had helped me so far. Today's meal was going to be a feast.

Now that the channel was finished and water was flowing into the reservoir, the number of things to do increased all at once.

First came the bath I had wanted for so long. With Ria and the others helping, I began building a bathhouse.

A water-heating area, a bathing room, a washing area, and then a changing area.

The water-heating area was where we would make hot water. As things stood, we could not add firewood to heat the bath directly. We could only heat water somewhere else and then channel it into the bathing room. So we built a stove outside the hut and installed a stone pot in it. We made a channel to carry the water heated in the stone pot into the bathing room. At the same time, we built a channel from the reservoir to near the stove, making it easier to draw water.

In the bathing room, we made a tub. Three meters long, one and a half meters wide, and one meter deep. Quite large.

We also made a drain plug in the bottom and a channel to carry the water away. Rather than returning to the reservoir, the drained water would flow directly into the downstream channel leading from the reservoir to the river. Since that one only required digging, I had finished it several years ago.

Tia suggested putting slimes in the discharged water, telling me that would clean it, so we also made a drainage pool before it reached the river and purified the water there.

Protecting the environment was important. Also, slimes were convenient.

The bath was so large that fetching both cold and hot water became a lot of work, but I had always dreamed of a big bath like this, so I left it that way.

We also made a washing area and changing area to match the large bath. For a view while bathing, we put a window in the wall beside the tub. As a result, it felt more luxurious than the hut I lived in. Come to think of it, I needed a new house too. But first, a bath.

Once the bathhouse was finished and most of the preparations were done, I started teaching the others how to use it.

None of them knew about soaking in a bath. They only wet their bodies and wiped themselves with cloths. Well, thinking about it, this required a lot of water and firewood, so perhaps it was quite a luxury.

In any case, I had to teach them how to use it.

Since I could not explain it well in words, I had to demonstrate myself. After all, by this point, nobody was embarrassed to see me naked anymore. I did my best to ignore the women's gazes as I washed myself, then sank into the bath.

"...That feels wonderful." (Translator's note: The original was to seep into. Its literal meaning did not fit here, so I translated it this way. Its surface meaning is to seep into or penetrate.)

Tears welled up before I knew it. A spacious bath, warm water. I had not taken a bath since being hospitalized in my previous world, so it really had been a long time.

"Ahhh..."

The sound escaped me without thinking. I had already forgotten all about the women. I was simply enjoying the bath.

Seeing me like that must have convinced the women that the bath was a good thing. They all came in at once.

It was not that they could not, but I wished they would show a little modesty. Though it was rather late for that. Ah, the way they undressed. The way they undressed was important.

"So this is where we wash ourselves."

"Bathwater... ahh, what a luxury."

"I thought I was already clean, but I was dirtier than I expected..."

"For your hair, this herb works well."

The High Elves, led by Ria, had somehow brought out herbs they had prepared and started washing their hair. Was it an herb that worked like shampoo? I would borrow some later.

"Excuse me, I'll sit beside you."

I did not mind, but was there any need to get so close? Lu, Tia, you did not need to come that close either. Relaxing was the most important part of bathing. This was not a place to exert yourselves... Where were you touching? Whose hand was that?!

My time to enjoy the bath was very short.

18 Preparing the area around the bath and more High Elves

With the bath finished and everyone understanding how to use it, the accompanying facilities quickly came together.

The bathhouse was southwest of the reservoir. Personally, I had wanted it on the eastern side, but considering drainage, it had to be toward the west. And considering future expansion of the reservoir, we avoided its western side, so it ended up farther west than the southwestern area where Ria and the others' log house stood.

So we expanded the southwestern area to include the bathhouse. Our standard size was sixteen fields arranged four by four, with each field measuring fifty meters square, so we expanded by that amount.

That said, we only had to build a log fence and a moat, so it was finished in a few days.

Next, we built a moat and fence around the bathhouse without obstructing its water channels. After all, bathing inevitably left us defenseless. We needed to buy as much time as possible in case something happened. Also, although I liked a bath with an open feel, there was such a thing as too open. Even close friends needed proper manners. It was rather late for that, but seeing the women use the bath so unguardedly still gave me a faint sense of doing something wrong. So we needed a screening fence.

As much as possible, we made it not only block the view but also prevent intruders from entering.

The next thing to consider was how to draw water. Although the channel from the reservoir brought water nearby, we still had to carry it up to the stone pot on the stove to heat it. That was quite strenuous.

So I made a device for scooping up water.

It was a waterwheel fitted with countless wooden buckets. Calling it a Ferris wheel might make it easier to picture. It would have been nice if it could run automatically, but as a beginner, I could only reproduce the shape. It had to be cranked by hand. Even so, it was far better than scooping water up a little at a time.

After that came making bathing supplies.

Things like stools for washing and buckets. Getting too particular would make it endless, but seeing Lu, Tia, Ria, and the others happily using them in the bathhouse, I could not stop. Still, I needed an opportunity to stop somewhere... Just as I was thinking that, the opportunity arrived.

Kuro's children returned. They had brought mates, so their numbers had grown. And considering what lay ahead... we had to add more longhouses in the Dog Area.

They had returned safely this year too. However, none of the new dogs stood out like Fubuki or Masayuki.

Incidentally, although Masayuki had not gone out, two daughters of unknown parentage had become his mates. I could see his characteristic expression of resignation.

As for anything that stood out... there was just one thing.

Five High Elf girls arrived here, guided by Kuro's children. It seemed they had been chased by Kuro's children and, unable to find anywhere to escape, had been brought here.

Once Ria and the others took them under their protection, they explained through their tears. Afterward, persuaded by Ria and the others, they decided to live here.

"My name is Rafa."

Rafa, Rasa, Rasuti, Laru, and Lami (Rafa, Rasa, Rasuti, Laru, Lami).

I had noticed the similarity in their names with Ria's group too. Apparently, that was because nearby families had banded together when fleeing their settlement two hundred years ago.

Only after hearing that explanation did I learn that all eight of Ria's group were sisters or cousins.

Likewise, Rafa and the others were all sisters or cousins.

In any case, even if they stayed in Ria's log house temporarily, five more people were too many. We had to build somewhere for Rafa and the others to live. Things suddenly became busy.

It looked like rebuilding my own home would have to wait until next year. That was what I had resigned myself to, but it did not turn out that way.

The addition of five High Elves who had survived in the forest sped up the work more than I had imagined.

A log house almost identical to Ria's was finished in five days.

And so construction of my new home began. We chose the site where I had made my first field.

There were also fields in the southwestern area, but somehow, I could not leave that tree. After all, Zabuton, Kuro, and Yuki lived there too.

For the new home, I mainly procured and processed timber. They did not ask for my help with assembly or anything like that. Using ropes made by Zabuton, they skillfully moved large timbers and assembled them. It was taking on the same feel as Ria's log house.

Specialized work belonged in specialists' hands. I left assembly to Ria and the others and simply kept procuring and processing the timber they requested.

Perhaps leaving everything to them had not been a good idea. By the time I noticed, it had become a mansion.

19 My home

A mansion with a solid foundation. What was this? Apparently, it was my house.

Huh? Why had it become this big?

"Because I wanted my own room."

"I'd thought the old place was small for a while."

"It's the village chief's house, after all. It needs to be at least this

big."

It had been pushed on me, but there was nothing to be done now that it was finished. Although it was large, it was essentially built the same way as a log house, assembled from wood without nails. So no matter how we built it, there were limits to its size.

Also, because of the lighting, a rectangular layout was the standard. In a large square house, light would not reach the center. That was also a major reason medieval mansions were U-shaped or built around a courtyard.

Likewise, the house before me was a rectangle running east to west. Only the entrance hall protruded slightly. I had thought that projecting section was a gateway, but it was not.

Entering through the entrance brought me straight into an enormous hall. It extended roughly ten meters inward. The width was... about three times that, so around thirty meters? Since it rose through the second floor, it was seven or eight meters high. A building this size needed several pillars to support the roof, but all of them had been decorated to give it a luxurious feel.

"We considered using it as a gathering place."

Rafa puffed out her chest proudly as she spoke.

There were large doors in the hall. Opening them revealed the place I had lived until now, looking almost like a backyard. Of course, the first thing I saw was the great tree where Zabuton lived. Its presence made the new house feel like a gateway guarding that tree.

Like Ria's log house, there were doors and stairs to the second floor on both sides of the hall.

Apparently, the door on the left of the first floor led to my private quarters.

I thought the right side would have been closer to the outdoor toilet, but apparently, the house already had toilets inside.

"We have slimes, after all. How could we not put them to good use?"

There were three toilets on the first floor.

Two were beside the stairs in the hall, and one was in my private quarters.

My private quarters consisted of that toilet, a bedroom, a sitting room, and a storeroom.

Every room except the toilet was larger than the hut I had lived in until now, which startled me a little.

"Lady Zabuton prepared the curtains, sheets, and such."

Looking out the bedroom window, I saw Zabuton waving, so I waved back.

On the right side of the hall was a room to use as a dining room, with an indoor kitchen where we could prepare simple meals.

A door led outside from the kitchen, where an outdoor cooking area had been set up.

There was a roof over both the outdoor cooking area and the path leading to it, so we could use them in the rain.

They had also built a cellar beneath the kitchen, which we planned to use for food storage.

Going up from either side of the hall, there were several rooms on the left. Apparently, Lu and Tia had already reserved one each. Why were there still empty ones? Better not to dwell on it.

Following the second-floor passage from the left side across the hall's stairway area to the right, I found rooms a little larger than the private rooms. Apparently, they intended to use them as workshops and storerooms. Every room was the same size and had windows, letting in plenty of light.

It was a very nice house.

"Next, we'll spend a winter in it and see whether anything needs improving."

Well, although the mansion surprised me, they had asked me to dig holes, make a cellar, and prepare large pillars, so I had had some inkling.

I had simply avoided thinking about it.

Come to think of it, the log fence between this new house and my old dwelling had been removed, and the moat filled in. Since Kuro and the others could easily jump over them, I understood that they did not do much, but I still felt a little lonely without them.

So I turned part of the filled-in moat into a flower bed. While I was at it, I experimented with growing things other than food.

I had some trouble deciding what to grow, but for now, I would focus on roses.

Now, although the mansion was finished, Ria's and Rafa's groups had not been the only ones active in building it.

If I had to say who had worked hardest, it would probably be Tia.

Tia contributed to building the mansion by creating golems with magic. She could make anywhere from one to thirty. With fewer, they could be larger and stronger, and perform delicate tasks. Apparently, the usual method was to rely on numbers for simple work and limit their number for finer tasks.

Incidentally, she had used them when Kuro attacked her on her first arrival here too. However, they had been destroyed while she was making them, so apparently, they had not lasted until I arrived.

Then there was a new discovery, or rather, something I had not realized.

That was the strength of the trees in the surrounding forest. Apparently, they were extremely hard. That made them excellent building materials, but with the drawback of being very difficult to fell and process. However, since I had the Almighty Farming Tool, felling them was not difficult, and neither was processing them. With Ria and the others cutting and shaving away at the wood, I had not thought it was that difficult, but apparently, I was the reason the house had been built so quickly.

I was glad I could be useful.

The house felt comfortable to live in, so I moved in right away.

Rather than dismantling the old hut, we would put it to work as a storeroom from now on. We also installed something like a naruko in the house's ceiling. (Translator's note: A naruko is a Japanese implement for scaring birds from fields, made from several bamboo slats strung together. It is probably something like clappers.) Its cord extended outside, all the way to Zabuton in the great tree where she lived.

This arrangement would let me hear Zabuton's signals even inside the house. Apparently, from now on, she would pull the naruko as well as strike the wooden board. I was very grateful.

There were lots more puppies this year too.

It had reached the point where I could no longer count them. Among them were two completely white puppies, just like Fubuki. Was this a throwback that appeared with a certain probability?

Once I could tell those two apart, I would name them.

20 A construction boom and the surrounding situation

Construction continued after the house was built. A workshop, a drying hut, and a smoking hut.

Thanks to Ria and the others' knowledge, I learned that we needed places to process our harvests, so we built them. They were particularly insistent about the smoking hut. Since smoking would let us preserve meat for a long time, I agreed too.

As for the harvest.

This year, besides main crops like tomatoes and potatoes, I also put effort into growing seasoning crops.

The pepper had been harvested. It was drying now.

The lemons had not borne fruit yet. Since wasabi needed a flooded field, I had not gotten that ready yet.

Sesame, harvested. Chili peppers, harvested. Ginger, harvested. The olives had not borne fruit yet.

Next year, I planned to grow cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, fennel, bay trees, and such, and eventually try making curry.

In any case, since we only needed small amounts of seasonings, I would focus on increasing the variety. All for delicious food.

The main crops yielded abundant harvests as usual. Crops requiring processing, such as wheat and rice, were also being handled smoothly with Ria and the others' help. They were a real help.

With the water channel and bath completed, I started thinking about bamboo as material for simple fences... Since bamboo spread through underground rhizomes and could affect the fields if I chose the wrong spot, I grew it in a corner of the forest a little farther away.

The area was ten meters square. For now, I would give it a try.

I did this a little before Rafa and the others arrived.

Now, before winter, I went to take a look and found it growing well. It had only grown within the ten-meter-square area I had tilled. Nothing had grown beyond it. So it really was only where I had tilled?

However, its growth rate within that tilled area was a little troubling. I was glad I had tested it first. For now, I cut down several stalks and brought them back to use as bamboo material.

The bamboo cups I made simply by cutting and shaving it were well received because they were light.

Winter came.

The new house felt nice. Kuro and the others came over to play now and then, perhaps because it was so spacious. They enjoyed chess near the brazier set up in the middle of the hall. They were more elegant than I was.

Apparently, Ria and the others would make iron goods this winter. They were processing iron goods using the furnace that had seen no use since being built. I felt a little frustrated that I could not help.

So I put my effort into cooking. The power of seasonings was truly great. No matter how busy they were, everyone except those watching the furnace gathered punctually at mealtimes. With things like this, I started wanting miso and soy sauce. I also wanted dairy products and eggs.

I wanted them no matter what, so I considered how to obtain them... Though, really, there was only one way.

Go somewhere and buy them.

Until now, I had not been particularly interested in the outside world, but I was certainly aware that Lu, Tia, Ria, and the others had come from outside.

If there were other people, there were probably towns and villages too. There was also a good chance they had cows and chickens. Should I get them from there? Perhaps it would be better to buy cows and chickens outright and raise them.

Well, that was something for a little further down the line...

Come

to think of it, I had been farming here without permission... Was this someone's territory?

"Lu."

"What is it?"

"Is this... someone's territory?"

"By this... you mean this place?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think it belongs to anyone... but in terms of spheres of influence, I suppose it would fall within the Demon King's."

"The Demon King?"

"Yes."

"...By Demon King, you mean that Demon King?"

"That's right... Is there a problem?"

"Uh... would that Demon King have a problem with me clearing fields and building houses here without permission?"

"You're worried about that? It's fine. This may be within his sphere of influence, but it isn't his territory, so you won't be taxed. Besides, did you receive any support when you were clearing this land, dear husband?"

"No, none at all."

"Then there's even less of a problem. If you cleared this land, dear husband, then this is your territory."

"...Is that how it works?"

"That's how it works."

I see.

But was the Demon King... a terrifying being? I started feeling a little uneasy... but forgot about it while cooking. There was no point being afraid of a Demon King I had never met.

Let's deal with the problem at hand instead.

There were five more women now. Like Ria and her group, Rafa and her group were slender and looked about college age, or perhaps high school age. Every one of them was beautiful. Perhaps having a complaint about that would itself be a problem... I was fighting a battle with my own "chastity." What matters is... mental support. I've prepared several layers of mental support. Do your best, me.