6-13. People of Baron Muno Territory (4)
6-13. People of Baron Muno Territory (4)
Satou's here. There's saying that there's a great difference between seeing and hearing, but I think there are a lot of things you don't know until you actually try for yourself, Satou.
β
"U, umm, thank you for the delicious meal."
"You don't have to mind it, everyone has thanked me earlier too."
"Also umm, I'm sorry for the afternoon."
It's the red-haired girl from the afternoon. She's called Totono if I'm not mistaken. She's personally coming to our camping ground to meet me, does she have some business?
The girl is looking downcast, but after she glances a bit at Lulu, her face becomes determined.
She grasps her skirt with trembling hands, and seemingly decides something.
It can't be another, "Please buy me.", situation right.
To be frank, I'm fed up with that.
However, the girl's action is a bit different.
She takes her skirt off. I've said skirt, but her clothes is a one piece, so I could see her ribs--
--or I should be, but Lulu covers her with an apron in a hurry from behind, so I couldn't see it. Let's leave this as it is.
It doesn't seem like she'd wear her clothes back, but she also doesn't brush off the apron.
"T, this is an apology and thanks. We can't do anything, so..."
"You'd pay with your body?"
"Un, my big sister said, 'If you're given something, give something back.', she said that it's no good with just words..."
I don't think that person meant it like this when she said that.
"It's fine to return a thank you to wealthy people. Although I'd like it if you don't take it for granted."
"But"
"Your sister surely meant to say that when you've become a person who lives her life to the fullest, you should share something with other."
"I, is that how it is..."
Since she falls silent, Lulu helps her wear the clothes. I don't have any interest with little girl's body of course, so I avert my gaze.
After Totona has put her clothes on, Lulu invites her to drink a tea. Mia who should have been on watch duty with me is leaning on my back, sleeping. Sleeping even during this uproar, this girl is not fit to be on guard duty.
"Um, this is?"
"It's a blue tea."
"Is it fine to drink it?"
"It's delicious you know."
With Lulu's words, Totona concentrates on the cup while looking awfully surprised. Her cheeks loosens, I wonder if she finds it delicious.
I'm watching that scene while preparing Liza's spear.
"This the first time I've drank something like this."
"Maybe no one drinks it around here. It's master's favorite tea."
It's probably something that only wealthy people could enjoy considering this area.
This tea's name is [Blue Ruby], it's easy to drink like Darjeeling, although they're completely on different level. The tea lets out slightly bluish color when freshly brewed, but it looks like a normal tea when it's cool. I can't help but become curious with how it works.
Totona seems to have calmed down after she has finished drinking the tea.
Since it looks like she's going to try to sell herself this time, let's get ahead of her.
"Totona, won't you lend me strong kids for helping me this morning?"
"Un, if we could thank you with that, everyone will go."
"I'm counting on you, I promise to give two big bags of potatoes to the elders. You guys also need it to survive right?"
"Un, un, thank you, Onii-san."
Totona is saying thank you while crying, Lulu wipes her tears.
Although, two big bag of potatoes are probably not enough for even half a month.
I don't have obligation or reason to help them further than this, but I'll try to do something without giving me trouble. That line of thinking is hypocritical huh.
β
Right now, I'm away from the camping ground, deep in the forest.
At first, I've thought of hunting the spider bears for the children and elders, but I change my mind and check the forest's terrain.
The old woman said that a good place should be beside a river with a lot of humus and well-lit.
I use a holy sword taken out from storage to briskly cut the trees and put them inside the storage. Since the trees are cut down without any resistance, and I instantly put the fallen tree inside the storage, it doesn't feel real. I've cleared 300 meters wide area in 10 minutes.
I did it without lumbering skill somehow.
The outlook has became much better.
Next, I activate Cultivation skill I've acquired before.
I pull the stumps one by one, but this is quite difficult. I can pull the stump easily, but the reaction force makes my feet sink into the soft ground.
Therefore, I give up on pulling the stump, instead I cut away the root with the holy sword after I raise it. This work took more time than I expected, around 1 hours.
Next, it's the removal of weeds and bushes. Since the weeds break apart when I pull them with all my strength, halfway through, I delicately control my power with difficulty. I got, [Gathering], skill when I was pulling the weeds. It seems that there are some herbs mixed in with the weeds I've pulled. Is this the difference (effect) of [Mowing] skill.
I'd have loved to use fire magic and shout, "Mow it down."[1]
When I've finished removing the weeds, I pull the remaining tree roots. It feels strange like pulling string buried in the ground. This is also the same with the weeds, they break easily if I pull with force, so I have to control my power delicately.
I found some huge rocks and stones halfway through, I put them inside the storage. They'd become hindrances for the field.
Now then, I guess the land is good enough for cultivation?
I feel like I'm missing something, I wonder if this is an effect of Cultivation skill.
I haven't read much manga about cultivation.
Since I don't know what is it even if I stare at the ground, I take out a hoe from the abandoned village back then and try to plow the land.
"Hum~m, it's normal."
After plowing for 10 meter, I feel like hitting something hard.
There is a stone in the ground. The stone is about as big as a fist. Afterward, I hit stones whenever I plow for a bit. The edge of the hoe becomes slightly bent.
I adjust the search range of the map and search for stones. First, let's display the ones in 30 cm deep underground. There's a lot of them. I activate gathering skill to the maximum and begin gathering the stones. I gather the stones so fast that it's as if I'm in a gag manga. Sometimes things that look like gemstones or raw ores are mixed in, but they're probably just beautiful stones like the actinolite back then.
After I've roughly completed the removal of the stones, I try plowing the ground. Since I've only did this once when I was a child on my grandpa's countryside, I don't know if I'm doing this right. If I just make the ground soft enough, then the old men could probably direct the children well.
I pile up about 10% of the weeds that I've gathered at the edge of the farmland. It'll be usable for fertilizer.
I also clean off branches from 10 felled tress and pile them on three different locations. Then I cut them into 20 parts in easy to use sizes.
I wrap gabo fruits with cloth and put them below the timbers. It shouldn't get damaged by beasts like this.
"Fuh, it's tiring after all."
My stamina has been decreased by 20%. The stones removal was the most severe.
"Now then, I've reclaimed the land, but what should I do about it."
Yes, it'd look unnatural for workable fields to materialize in one night.
I'll leave this alone, and hope that the children would find the place when they're looking for food. Since it's only 2 kilometers away and near the river, I'm expecting them to find it.
At that time, a spider bear that the old woman were talking about during dinner comes out of the forest.
It's coming to get itself hunted, what a laudable monster.
β
About this spider bear, it's a spider with the body portion looking like bear's. To be frank, it's disgusting.
There are 5 spider bears which appear, I lure them back into the forest. I could eliminate them now, but since I have some things in mind, I'm going to take one monster back to the camping ground. First, I obliterate four monsters soundlessly and put them into the storage.
The remaining one monster is chasing my back without even realizing that its friends have all disappeared.
In accordance with crisis perception, I leap to the side.
Thus I evaded an attack from the spider bear's claw which had its body hanging upside down like a pendulum. Seems that the spider is hanging by using its thread on a big tree.
The spider which has reached the top of the pendulum separates from the thread and makes a landing ahead. The tree behind which has been used as the fulcrum is breaking apart.
The spider bear ahead lifts its forelegs making a threatening pose, I kick it while being careful as not to kill it.
I run past it to the highway.
The spider bear comes out of the forest a bit later. Since it'd be troubling if it loses sight of me, I throw a big lumber at it while purposely missing.
I dash to the camping ground and call Pochi and the girls who are on guard duty.
I'm planning to raise everyone's level while procuring food, killing two birds with one stone.
"Pochi, Tama, get ready for battle. Nana, after you hit the monster with Magic Arrow, wake Liza and Arisa up."
"Enemy~?"
"Fainanoresu."
"Yes, master."
The spider bear lost a bit of its HP from the magic arrow unleashed by Nana. It could cause damage even with so much level difference huh, this magic arrow is quite an excellent magic.
With a short cane to cast Shield, I stop the spider bear.
The spider bear tries to reach behind the shield with its long leg, but Tama prevents it with her stiletto.
"Thank you, Tama."
"Nou puroburemu~?"
Pochi is going at the spider bear from its behind diagonally, she thrusts at the leg joint with her stiletto. Seems that she hits it, but the attack is unable to break the joint.
A red light pierce through the monster's body from the opposite side.
The spider bear loses 10% of its HP with that one blow from Liza. It seems she wakes up in hurry since she's only wearing something that looks like long t-shirt without armor.
The spider bear changes its target to Liza. I must attract the monster's attention.
"Over here, you spider thingy!"
I provoke the spider bear while hitting it with the shield. Is this what they call shield bash?γIts HP decreases. Oh no, it'd die before Arisa and Mia come out.
>[Provocation Skill Acquired]
I immediately activate Provocation skill. After that the battle becomes a cinch. After all, the hardest attack of the enemy is only coming at me obstinately.
With this skill, it should be easy in the labyrinth.
After Arisa and Mia who come out late unleash their magic, it becomes a one-sided battle of the beastkin girls.
Since we're fighting near the camping ground, the old people and the children who have woken up are watching from a distance. The children raise their voice whenever Mia use her magic or Liza's spear lit up.
At last, the spider bear lays down and stops moving after receiving Liza's attack, raising conspicuously loud cheers from the children and the old people.