"T-that's so huge..."
"O-one-eyed tiger?"
"How can that be! It's Katame!"
When we returned to the gate of Seiryuu City, the gatekeepers see us carrying the huge tiger and start clamouring.
Knight Thorne is here on horseback, leading a group of bowmen and other soldiers.
"You're the ones that hunted it?"
Knight Thorne rides his horse over here and questions me.
The gatekeepers were talking about his wife giving birth soon, but if he's here now then that probably means that she didn't manage to deliver yet.
"Yes, luck was on our side."
I answer vaguely to avoid giving him the impression that I killed it personally. Hopefully, he believes my excuse that it was mostly due to luck.
"Hmm? Weren't you the Marientail girl's lover?"
I clear up his misunderstanding by saying that I was just friends with Zena-san.
After all, it would be bad if that rumor spreads and affects her prospects at marriage.
"This man-eating tiger has a bounty on its head, about 10 silver. Go grab that later."
After informing me about the reward, Knight Thorne dismisses the group of gathered soldiers.
It looks like that was the group formed to take down Katame.
We all enter through the gate and have a short rest.
It looks like the dog and cat children were pretty tired, since they drop down to the ground exhausted.
"Mouse!"
"Huh? ...Leopard!"
The leopardhead-kin Chita, who was left behind, reunites happily with the rat-kin Kemi.
"Hmm, Satou-san?"
"Tiger hunting?"
Nadi-san and Yuya-san from the general store come up to us waving their hands.
"Yes, but that was mostly a coincidence. Putting that aside, I have something to discuss with you two."
This seems like a good time, so I ask Nadi-san if she has any ideas of what I can do for Arbe, Chita, and her baby.
"Good grief, do you youngsters even think before you act?"
Yona-san roasts me.
"You are right. I have no excuse for my actions."
It's completely true that I bought them without any plan, so I can't defend myself there.
"Fine then, I'll take care of them for you."
Yona-san gives me an unexpected proposal.
Am I just overthinking this, or is she a bigger softy than me?
"Are you sure about that?"
The bear-kin Arbe is fine since she has a decent amount of strength, but is it really okay for her to take in Chita and her baby?
"Hmph, they're friends of Kemi's right? That's just a few more mouths to feed."
"In that case, please accept these child suppor-- these payments."
"Hah? Are you mocking me?"
I tried to give her a bag with 20 gold coins, but she slaps away my hand in anger.
It looks like I may have damaged her pride.
"Please excuse my rudeness."
I lower my head to Yona-san.
I guess I'll hand that money over to Nadi-san instead, and have her lend it out to Yona-san if there's ever an emergency.
The next day--.
Yona-san and I take Arbe, Chita, and the baby to the slave traders in order to transfer their ownership.
Katame's corpse was sent to the butchers. Apparently, the merchants heard the news of Katame's defeat and ran in to buy the tiger hide.
I was surprised at how much the hide sold for, considering how scratched up it was. It was nearly enough to offset how much I spent on the three slaves yesterday.
Since the tiger meat was all sinewy and not really fit for eating, I ended up giving it all to Yona-san.
"Meat, meat, meat~?"
"Meat nanodesu!"
Tama and Pochi are happily eating some meat skewers as I take them to Yona-san's house at the edge of the west quarter.
It's surprisingly close, right behind the butcher's.
She has an overgrown yard of about 160 square meters, and a small rundown shack of about 60 square meters.
"Kemi! Cut off the meat that we're using for dinner. We're smoking the rest."
"Please let me handle that."
The leopardhead-kin Chita takes on the job of cooking the meat. She seems to be good at cooking despite not having the skill for it.
"Master, can I help as well?"
"Sure, I don't mind."
Liza wanted to help out with the cooking too, so I give her permission.
When Yona-san opens the door, it creaks loudly.
This shack is basically falling apart, and that's putting it lightly.
"Don't just stand there, come in."
I enter the house when prompted by Yona-san.
There's a kitchen area with a stove and fireplace, and some mats placed on the dirt floor, but that's about it.
The roof is full of holes, and sunlight leaks through to illuminate the dust-filled air.
"Over here."
Yona-san leads me around the corner and through a door to her personal room.
There's a desk and chair, as well as a small bed with various items scattered about on top.
"■■■ [Boil]."
Yona-san uses some Convenience Magic to heat up some water.
It looks like it takes quite a while to boil even a single kettle.
Right before her MP was about to run out, the water finally finishes boiling.
"Drink up."
"Thank you very much."
This is the same type of herbal tea that Nadi-san gave me.
It's pretty good.
"Thanks for yesterday. It's all thanks to you that me and the runts aren't in that tiger's stomach right now."
She gives her thanks again even though she already thanked me yesterday.
"You can thank Hauha-kun for calling me over."
I change the subject by praising the dog-kin child, and then ask her about what she does for a living.
It looks like she mainly gathers wild herbs and grasses, picking up firewood in the forest, and making traps for pests like foxes and mice.
That seems pretty rough for someone her age.
Suddenly, a ray of sunlight leaks through the holes in the roof and reflects off my teacup.
"I have some suggestions for you--"
As we drink the herbal tea, I offer her some ideas for home improvement.
"Home improvement?"
"Yes, for example, making a garden in the yard and repairing the roof."
"If you're going to pay for it, then I refuse."
Her reply is exactly what I had expected.
"No, I will only provide labour, not money."
She gives me a suspicious look, but accepts the offer. I got her permission to do as much home improvement as I want for today only.
--Now then, time to put my cheat skills to good use.
"Private Tama, Private Pochi, execute the lawn mowing operation."
"Aye!"
"Roger nanodesu!"
Tama and Pochi carry grass cutting scythes in their hands as they head to the spot I designated as the future garden.
There was some scrap wood lying around there, so I throw it into Storage.
"We'll help."
"We'll try too."
The dog-kin and cat-kin children join the effort as well.
I jump onto the roof of the house and start plugging up all the holes.
I was able to plug up all the holes using only the scrap wood from before, but I ended up using my own supply of nails.
She'll probably be fine with such a small donation of materials.
Thanks to my Woodworking skill, repairing the roof is easy. I had thought I might obtain the Construction skill or something similar, but I guess repairing doesn't count.
I move on to straightening out the crooked doors and plugging the holes in the walls.
By the time the kids had finished cleaning up the garden, the house had become much more cozy than before.
"S-Satou-sama, are you a carpenter?"
"Nah, I'm just a little good at repairing."
"A little?"
The leopardhead-kin Chita, who was busy smoking meat, tilts her head at me.
Well, to be honest, all of this is due to my skills so I'm not personally good at it.
"Master~?"
"Operation complete nanodesu!"
Tama and Pochi report in from the garden area.
It used to be covered in weeds, but it's completely clear now.
"Good job everyone."
I compliment all the children on their good work.
"What are you doing, Satou-sama?"
The bear-kin Arbe sees me as she returns from doing an errand for Yona-san.
"I'm making a vegetable garden here."
"Garden? But the earth is so hard and barren?"
"Wouldn't gabo fruit grow well?"
Based on what I've heard from Zena-san, gabo fruit has the resilience of weeds and can grow anywhere. It never fails, can be harvested in one month, and even replenishes the soil. It's basically a cheat crop.
The only downside is that it tastes incredibly bad.
"Well, maybe if you can somehow manage to plow it."
Arbe seems to want me to stop, but I tell her that it's possible as I grab some farm tools out of the Garage Bag.
"Helping~."
"Pochi will show her power nanodesu!"
I hand the tools over to the eager Tama and Pochi.
The other kids look like they wanted to help too, but I only have enough tools for three people.
I put skill points into the Pioneering and Cultivation skills that I had gotten a while back. I activate them and till the entire space with Tama and Pochi's help.
It took about ten minutes, but we ended up making a decently sized garden.
"Liza, your master is ridiculous..."
"Yes, that's our Master."
My Listening skill picks up Arbe's shocked voice.
Liza, you're supposed to defend me there, not agree with her.
"Alright, let's start seeding."
I take the seeds out of the gabo fruit I had in Storage. I hand them over to the dog and cat children for planting.
Arbe has apparently had farming experience before, so she's guiding them.
After it was all finished, I looked over the newly remade garden and house.
"Hmm, I feel like they could use something else...."
It doesn't need to be a lot, it would be nice if they had a steady source of income.
"Great~?"
"Super good nanodesu!"
The dog-kin child Hauha is sitting on the ground next to the garden. Tama and Pochi are sitting next to him and clapping.
I look over his shoulder and see that he was drawing a picture in the dirt with a stick.
"That's pretty good."
I praise him too, and he wags his tail happily.
Picture, picture...? I feel like I'm forgetting something.
--Oh right!
"Can you try copying this picture?"
"Got it."
Hauha draws a picture on the ground while looking at the card I showed him.
"Similar~?"
"They look just the same nanodesu!"
Then, I have Hauha draw three pictures on a few strips of wood.
"I'm heading out for a bit--."
I tell that to everyone and then run off towards a certain person using my map as a guide.
"S-Satou, what sort of magic did you use?"
After finding my target and bringing him back here, Yona-san is standing in front of the house with her jaw almost hitting the floor.
"It was just a little bit of hard work."
I take a look at her shocked expression and savor the taste of a successful surprise.
"Thanks, Satou. It looks like we'll be able to easily make it through winter this year."
"Not yet."
"--Not yet?"
Yona-san parrots my words, but I just introduce her to the person I brought along.
"Who's this boy?"
"It's nice to meet you, Yona-dono. I'd like to request one of your slaves to draw pictures for me."
As he makes the request, the young merchant shows her the study card samples that were drawn by Hauha.
Since Hauha is still a child, he'll first need to complete a set of 100 cards as a trial. If he can do that, then they will make the contract official.
"Drawing 100 cards for 25 coppers? That's impressive earnings for a slave. Go break a leg, Hauha."
"Aye! I'll do my best."
Hauha's tail is wagging back and forth as he gets pet by Yona-san.
The other kids seem to be jealous, and they start trying to draw pictures in the dirt too.
Once we finish our training in the Labyrinth City, we might come back to find a bunch of new artists.
"Please take good care of them."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
As I entrust her with the fate of the beast-girls' old friends, I share a firm handshake with Yona-san.
Now I can finally leave on a journey without regrets.
◆
"--Iona-san?"
"Hmm?"
On my way back to the Gatefront Inn, I ran into Iona-san, the greatsword-user in Zena-san's squadron. She's wearing a normal dress today. This might be my first time seeing her without her armor.
According to my AR display, the cloth-covered object in her hands is a bottle of alcohol.
"Are you heading out somewhere?"
"Yes, Knight Thorne's wife just finished giving birth, so I came to share some spirits with the gatekeepers."
She tells me about how Knight Thorne's wife is a relative of hers.
Oh yeah--.
I introduce Iona-san to the young merchant, who was on his way to Nadi-san's shop.
I also show her the study cards that the merchant is selling.
"These cards are pretty interesting."
"They are educational toys, perfect for helping children learn how to read while playing at the same time."
As she listens to my explanation, Iona-san starts flipping through the cards.
Seeing how interested she is, I whisper to the merchant that he should give her a free set for advertisement purposes.
"I would like to give you this set of cards."
The merchant just flat out tells Iona-san.
This guy really needs to learn how to handle these things indirectly if he's going to keep being a merchant.
"Why is that?"
"I still need to thank you and Knight Thorne for helping me out when I first got here. Also, if his child is seen playing with those cards, then they might catch the eyes of other people. Perhaps even a noble."
"I see, so it's an advertisement then."
Iona-san understood my intentions immediately.
"In that case, I'll gladly accept them. Make sure to write the name of your business on the container. Without that, no one will know where to order them."
The merchant hurriedly follows Iona-san's advice and puts his name in.
It'll probably be several years before these cards actually reach the noble families. By that time, I think these study cards could end up being one of Seiryuu City's specialties.
◆
"Did you want to travel with them?"
After parting with Iona-san and the merchant, I ask the beast-girls on the way back to the Gatefront Inn.
"No, Master. It's impossible to bring a baby on such a journey. And Leopard will be happier if she's with people she knows like Bear and Mouse."
It sounds as if she's trying to convince herself too.
"Lonely, but Tama is fine~."
"That's right nanodesu! Arisa and Mia and Nana and Lulu are here, so Pochi isn't lonely nanodesu!"
Tama and Pochi try to act excited, so I gently wipe the tears out of the corners of their eyes."
"Master!"
Arisa is sitting at the entrance of the Gatefront Inn and waving at us.
"Today's dinner is boar meat steak!"
"Steak!"
After hearing Arisa's report, Liza turns towards her with a tense-looking face.
"Oh, great~."
"Master! The meat will be gone if Pochi doesn't hurry nanodesu!"
The gloomy atmosphere disappears in an instant. Tama and Pochi have wide smiles as they pull me forward.
These two are bad at acting, so that must be their true feelings.
It looks like their appetites overcame their sentiments today.
"Master, hurry~."
"The meat is waiting nanodesu!"
"You two, it's rude to pull Master like that."
Liza scolds Tama and Pochi, but her tail keeps slapping the ground. It looks like she can't wait much longer either.
"You're right, let's hurry over before the meat gets cold."
I bring the beast-girls over to the table prepared just for us in the courtyard of the Gatefront Inn.
It looks like they need meat to maintain their strength, both physically and mentally.
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