《Shoushaman no Isekai Survival ~Zettai Hito to wa Tsurumanee~》


 Prologue

    Prologue


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    Humans were a contradictory being. Since a long time ago, I always had the sudden desire to be alone, to sever all ties with everyone in this world. When I was still a student, I would suddenly cancel the contract for my mobile phone and cut off any communication with everyone to focus on studying for a test. But I still long for the company of others so I would restore my mobile phone contract again.


    The same could be said with my social media. I would suddenly become sick of having any relations with other people that I¡¯d delete my account. Still, I would miss the presence of other people again and so the cycle repeated itself.


    For example, if I could have someone I cherish, a dear friend or someone I love. How could I say I could be sure this impulse of wanting to cut off all ties with other human beings would never come?


    I was always terrified of these contradictions in my heart more than anything else.


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 CH 1

    Chapter 1


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    ¡°Where¡­ Am I?¡±


    My name is Keigo Okuda. I¡¯m 35 years old.


    I was working as a trading company employee of a certain financial conglomerate. The company I worked for was based in Tokyo and I used to travel to Singapore and Australia because I was in charge of managing the business of importing coal from overseas. I won one billion at the year-end Jumbo Lottery. Though it might sound like a lie, it¡¯s actually the truth.


    After I didn¡¯t have to worry about money anymore, I threw my letter of resignation to my arrogant and shitty boss who kept on shouting about how we had to meet the quota target. Then on my way home, I threw my mobile phone from the bridge. In that moment, I put an end to an overly superficial relationship I had with other people. The relationship that I kept for the sake of keeping up with appearances alone, the one that I had gotten sick of. I ended it right here and there.


    I would like to say I was feeling ecstatic about it but at the same time, I was also feeling somewhat sad about it. Before I knew it, the scenery before my eyes became distorted. I couldn¡¯t even remember when was the last time I ever cried spontaneously like that.


    Although I had kept on whining about my life as a corporate slave, it was only after I actually resigned from the company that I realized I wasn¡¯t only working for the sake of money.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After leaving the company, I bought an abandoned house in the rural area of Hokkaido and took up farming as a hobby while enjoying my life by ordering delicious food from the internet. By the way, I only had one friend I talked to on social media. It really made me want to throw a snide remark at myself, like just how severe is your misanthropy?


    I also sent a postcard to my parents.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to become a farmer. Please do not worry about me.¡±


    That was what I had written in the postcard.


    Then one day, an incident occurred.


    Before breakfast, I planned on taking care of the chickens first. I went into the chicken coop that worked as a tool shed as well, to let out the chicken from the coop. When I was leaving the shed along with the chickens, the scenery around me had completely changed.


    First, the main building was nowhere to be seen. There was a forest near me and a grass plain. In the distance, I could see what seemed to be a town. Then in a far, far away distance, I could see the silhouette of something swinging something.


    For the time being, I decided to return to the chicken coop in order to cool my confused head.


    I could see the silhouette of a person from afar so I would try to talk to them though it looked like they were fighting something so I should take extra precautions in the middle of these unusual situations I was in. Better safe than be sorry after all.


    Since I was inside the tool shed, I had my hoe, sickle and pointed shovel. For now, I decided to bring the sickle and the shovel. I locked the shed before I cautiously approached the person who appeared to be fighting against something.


    There, I saw a man fighting with a dagger in hand against something small that didn¡¯t seem like a human. That thing was about 1 meter tall, kept on letting out grating sounds like gigigigi, had red eyes, green skin and pointed ears.


    That thing was wearing poor-looking clothes made from leather and brandishing its club in one hand against the swordsman. Apparently, I had come to the other world.


    Because I loved fantasy stories and RPG games, I knew well what that thing was. Most probably, that thing was a monster called ¡®goblin¡¯. The fact that I was able to remain comparatively calm must be due to this knowledge I had.


    I was somehow in a place I didn¡¯t know. There was a monster in front of me. With those facts alone, I was able to reach the conclusion that I had come to the other world.


    In front of me, a muscular looking warrior that appeared to be an adventurer was fighting against a goblin. In my hands, I had my sickle and shovel.


    Sorry for not living up to your expectations but for now, I decided to run away. I ran, ran as fast as I could. I ran away with snots and tears running down my face.


    No,no,no. Impossible. That frightening monster. It¡¯s just plain terrifying. I¡¯m just an ordinary and good citizen.


    ¡ª Let me ask you myself, can you even fight against a monster with a shovel?


    I ran back to the shed and locked it from inside.


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    T/N: My first shounen novel! ¨t(*¡ä¦á`*)¨s? I love how the MC not afraid to admit he ran away with snots and tears dripping down his face. Definitely relatable and understandable. ( ??? )

 CH 2

    Chapter 2


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    I locked myself inside the shed for a few hours. My face was all mushy from the snots and tears running down my face. It was almost time for lunch so my stomach started to growl.


    I knew deep in my head that I couldn¡¯t stay like this forever but I was too terrified to take any action. In the end, the instinctive desire from being hungry gave me enough willpower to do something.


    For now, let¡¯s analyze my current situation. I came to another world and the world was a dangerous one. I could say my survival difficulty here was higher than living in Japan without having any money.


    That goblin from before could break through the door and come here at any moment. You couldn¡¯t fight a war on an empty stomach.


    I alternately ate the fresh raw egg that I had just harvested earlier and the kikkoman soy sauce I had stocked in the shed.


    Yeah, it¡¯s delicious. For now, I¡¯m glad I¡¯ve become a farmer.


    The chickens laid eggs everyday and if I could keep on protecting this shed, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about starving to death for the foreseeable future. Besides, though I was in another world, I had seen a glimpse of a town. Judging from the distance, it would take me 3 hours to make a round trip there by foot. If that was the case then it was possible for me to buy and sell things there.


    Then I remembered. In an isekai novel, it was typical for the characters to have some sort of appraisal skill or be able to use magic or have some sort of superpower.


    Though in reality, when you came to another world for real, the rule from fantasy imagination wouldn¡¯t necessarily be applicable. For a test, I looked at the chickens and said APPRAISAL! in my mind.


    ¡¾Chicken£ºan ordinary chicken¡¿was displayed. Below that, there were strings of characters that I couldn¡¯t understand.


    OOOH!!


    Now, I am excited. Then what about myself?


    I targeted myself and once again said APPRAISAL! in my mind.


    ¡¾Keigo Okuda¡¿was displayed along with strings of characters I couldn¡¯t understand.


    I was actually a little disappointed because I had thought it would show my status or something.


    After roughly checking the items in the shed, I decided that I would survive. Maybe I got carried away because of my appraisal skill but it did give me a little bit of hope, right? If I could use appraisal, maybe I could also use magic.


    I think if a human doesn¡¯t even have a slightest bit of hope, they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep on living.


    I had a wooden container in the shed so I thought of using it to store rainwater. You could drink rainwater and having drinkable water was extremely crucial to survive.


    And so, with my sickle ready in hand, I slowly opened the door to the shed.


    It was 13:00 Japan Standard Time. I was certain because I had checked the time using my wristwatch. This watch was said to be unbreakable even if an elephant were to step on it and it could work by storing solar power.


    I believed this watch was a valuable item for my survival. I could measure how many hours until the sky turned dark or how many hours until dawn.


    The outside was still bright. The sun was shining on top of the sky.


    I promptly put the wooden container outside and checked the area around the shed. For the time being, I didn¡¯t see any other living beings but there were various vegetations growing nearby.


    It wasn¡¯t because I had taken an interest in agriculture these days but most probably, these plants didn¡¯t even exist in Japan. I collected some of the unknown vegetation and returned back to the shed.


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    T/N: Having that kind of watch sure is convenient in isekai¡­ Maybe I should start investing in those expensive but durable watch¡­ ( ¡ä ? ` )

 CH 3

    Chapter 3


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    The vegetation I collected were purple flowers with jagged leaves, red flowers with round leaves and blue flowers with round leaves. I collected several of them along with their roots. When I used appraisal on them, it only said ¡¾flower¡¿without any additional information. Even after I smelled the flowers, the result of the appraisal didn¡¯t change.


    I had no other choice. I just had to try to eat them myself.


    I decided the first one would be the red flower with round leaves. The reason I chose it was because this flower looked somewhat normal. I didn¡¯t have any strong reason other than that.


    I munched on the leaves and gulped it down. It was bitter and I could feel my body start to sweat a little. Then, I used appraisal again.


    ¡¾Mylene Antidote Herb: An antidote herbs that can neutralize weak poison like gadol poison,  badol poison and other weak poison.¡¿


    The description that used to be only a mere flower, changed into that of an antidote herb. I understood that the appraisal skill had a specification that would give out a different description of an item after I had a bite of it.


    Next, I tried eating the round leaves of the blue flower. I munched on the grass. Then, I could somehow smell the nice scent of a herb. My body felt warm here and there. I could also feel my physical condition improving for the better. Then, I used appraisal again.


    ¡¾Irene Herb: A medicinal herb. It¡¯s beneficial for restoring physical condition and is an ingredient for making potion.¡¿


    A medicine herb! A staple of the fantasy world! It seemed I needed to be more proactive in harvesting this item.


    The last one, the purple flower with jagged leaves. I had a bit of a bad feeling about this plant but¡­ I munched it away anyway¡­


    I felt a sting the moment the plant touched my tongue.


    ¡°Argh-¡±


    I had difficulty breathing and my vision kept flickering. At the same time, I could feel my body temperature rapidly becoming cold. I roughly grabbed the mylene herb from earlier and quickly ate it.


    After lying on my back and resting for a while, I could somehow regain my breathing back.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Okuda Keigo has acquired Lv 1 Poison Resistance¡»


    The mechanical announcement resounded in my head but that wasn¡¯t the problem now. I really thought I was going to die. Though I was still breathing heavily, I managed to stand up again. I shook my head, trying to clear myself from this dizzy feeling.


    I appraised the blue flower with jagged leaves again.


    ¡¾Badol Poisonous Plant: A poisonous plant that can deplete one¡¯s physical condition.¡¿


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I¡­ Just what am I doing by myself?


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    From then on, I decided to collect more mylene herb and irene herb to cultivate medicinal and antidote herbs. For the time being, I collected the plant up to its root, harvested some of its leaves and planted the rest in front of my house.


    I still had some fertilizer amongst my farm tools so I made sure to spread some fertilizer and tilled the soil with a hoe first. Incidentally, I also had some potato seeds so I planted it too. Potatoes were one of the staple plants in Hokkaido.


    I decided to use irene herb as a chicken feed. I made that decision based on the fact that irene herb was not poisonous so the chicken wouldn¡¯t die if they ate it.


    As for drinking water, I cut the top part of the empty water bottle that I had planned on throwing. I used the cut water bottle along with the bucket to gather rainwater in order to secure drinkable water for now.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s begin my survival life.¡±


    Right.


    At this time, I felt more ¡®alive¡¯ than I ever was. I finally felt my real life was really starting and my heart began to pound out of excitement.


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    T/N: Having hope is really crucial so you can have the willpower to survive.


    ©d(?¦Ø?)¥á(?¦Ø?)¥Î

 CH 4

    Chapter 4


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    As I was wandering around my house, I saw some sort of squirming sticky looking liquid thing. I approached the unknown object and the said object changed its mucus body and physically attacked me.


    BAM!


    It hurts.


    The attack was powerful enough to leave a bruise on my cheek. I appraised the unknown object.


    ¡¾Monster: Slime¡¿


    There it is.


    I turned on my heel and ran back to the shed. I grabbed my longest hoe and used the sharp part to stab the slime.


    THRUST!


    I managed to damage the slime with my hoe. While avoiding the slime¡¯s physical attack, or the slime¡¯s punch, I kept on attacking the slime with my hoe. After exchanging attacks after attacks, the slime finally started to lose its strength.


    What remained after the slime was a rock with a strange color and some mucus. I scooped the mucus into a water bottle and I decided to bring it back to my house.


    For a while, I spent my time exterminating about 5 or 6 slimes around my house with a hoe.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now lv 2.


    HP: 5¡ú6


    MP:1¡ú2


    Vitality:2¡ú3


    Strength: 5¡ú7


    Intelligence: 67¡ú68


    Dexterity: 9¡ú10


    Speed: 8¡ú9¡»


    A mechanical announcement could be heard and at the same time, a status window appeared before my eyes.


    Maybe this is the technical specification of this world?


    First, I was surprised at the existence of window status itself. Most of the status was in single digit. The word ¡®weakest¡¯ came to my mind. I was shocked that my MP was 2. I was actually hoping that I could use some sort of amazing magic.


    So far, I hadn¡¯t encountered any creature that resembled the goblin I first saw when I had arrived here. However, there was no doubt I¡¯d be in great danger when it was time for that kind of creature to appear before me.


    Although small, humanoid type monsters attacked with a weapon. To put it into the example of the modern world, it was like encountering a random person attacking you with a kitchen knife.


    I shuddered as I remembered the sight of that grotesque looking creature emitting strings of strange voices.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    There was a slight change. The chickens that I continued to feed with irene herb and mylene antidote herb have changed.


    ¡¾Herb Chicken: The meat can boost strength, can heal HP and has detoxification effect.¡¿


    ¡¾Herb Chicken Egg: Can boost strength, can heal HP and has detoxification effect.¡¿


    Since I had more than 20 herb chickens, I decided to grill one with soy sauce to make yakitori. I had a wire mesh in the warehouse. As for the fire, I had lighter and firewood so I¡¯d be using that to start the fire.


    The yakitori was so delicious it brought me to tears.


    Impatience, anxiety. My mental condition that was repressed to its utmost limit became relaxed the moment I ate this extremely delicious food. Before I noticed it, my vision became blurred due to tears.


    Not knowing exactly why I shed these tears, I continued to focus on eating the yakitori.


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    T/N: Good food is truly the door to someone¡¯s heart. I¡¯m glad the MC can finally feel relaxed while being stranded in a dangerous world  (¤Ã¡ä¦Ø`)?(¨i¦Ø¨i)

 CH 5

    I finally decided to muster up the courage to venture toward the city that I could see from a distance. It would take me about 3 hours to go back and forth between the city and if I locked the shed before I went, everything should be alright. After giving enough water and food for the chickens, I departed for the city.


    Of course, I wouldn¡¯t be going there empty handed. I had some goods with me. I might be able to acquire some useful goods, information and most importantly, establish a connection with another human. I had a carrier meant for picking up edible wild plants so I used it to store various herbs, herb chicken eggs and other various goods for sale before I set out.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    ¡­¡­.. All I can say is¡­ I was too naive.


    ¡°¡«¡ð¡«¡ô¡÷¡î¡«¡õ¡ô¡î¡±


    I had no idea what she was saying at all. Right now I was talking to a woman who appeared to be the merchant of a store called Mithril¡¯s Scale.


    I had used a hand gesture when I was talking with the gatekeeper. I pointed toward the goods I brought with me and twirled my finger to convey my intention to trade these and apparently he understood what I meant. I guess it was obvious when you have a carrier filled with herbs, eggs and chickens.


    This too was one of the skills I learned back when I was still working in that trading company. When I went on a business trip overseas, I would use hand gestures to help with my business discussion.


    While talking with a woman who seemed to be the merchant, I found out her name was Sarasa-san. From the fact that she had a store, it was clear to see she was a merchant. I could already speak the local language for ¡®good day¡¯, ¡®how much¡¯, ¡®sell¡¯ and ¡®buy¡¯.


    I think I was able to tell them my name was Keigo Okuda too. Everything was thanks to my experience of doing overseas business trips when I was still working as a salaryman back in Japan.


    Also about my appraisal skill. After the description of the items, there were strings of foreign language written alongside it. Perhaps this foreign language was the same language they use on the signboard in town¡­..?


    If that¡¯s the case then¡­.


    I pointed to irene herbs with my finger and then I wrote the foreign text I had seen when I appraised the irene herbs back in the shed on a small magic board. I was trying to communicate through writing.


    Then Sarasa-san was now talking in a surprised tone of voice. Judging from the mood we had, I could tell this irene herb was a useful thing.


    I lined out all the bundle of irene herbs I had and then Sarasa-san lined out 5 silver coins. She twirled her finger, trying to use a hand gesture to convey her intention to trade. I then answered ¡®sell¡¯ in the local language.


    We repeated the same gesture to trade mylene herbs and herb chicken eggs. I could sell the bundle of mylene herbs for 4 silver coins and 10 herb eggs for 2 silver coins. I also conveyed the fact that I also brought badol poisonous plants with me to see what her reaction would be. She then gestured for me to follow her.

 CH 6

    We finally arrived at a building marked with the picture of a fire breathing dragon. Sarasa peeled off a paper from the bulletin board and began to talk to the man on the counter while carrying one bundle of the badol poisonous plant I had.


    By the way, I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. But the paper Sarasa had peeled had the writing of ¡®badol poisonous plant¡¯ in the local language.


    If I had to guess, this place must be something like an adventurers¡¯ guild. There was some sort of meeting area where a bunch of muscular and sturdy looking people equipped with weapons and armors looked at us with disinterest.


    Then, that paper Sarasa peeled off must be a request paper. After talking with the man on the counter, Sarasa gestured for me to come to them. She pointed toward a piece of paper and gestured for me to write something down on it. While doing so, she also clearly said ¡®Keigo Okuda¡¯.


    I guess they must¡¯ve wanted me to write down my name there. Maybe this paper was some sort of contract or something. As of now, I had my full trust in Sarasa. I believe she wouldn¡¯t be bringing me all the way here just to do something bad to me.


    Either way, I didn¡¯t understand the local language so I wasn¡¯t capable of living on my own anyway. I willingly signed my name on that paper. I signed my name, ¡®Keigo Okuda¡¯ in this world¡¯s local language.


    By the way, I knew how to write ¡®Keigo Okuda¡¯ because I had appraised myself. I only wrote the same foreign language I had seen. It was quite difficult copying the language of this world. The cursive writing looked similar to arabic.


    After I was done, the man on the counter took the paper inside and then he returned with some sort of crystal ball the size of a soccer ball. The man then gestured for me to hold my hand over the crystal ball.


    I held my hand over the crystal ball and then I could see my face shot appeared on a card that appeared to be some sort of ID or something. When I appraised the card, I found out that in addition to my name and status, this adventurer guild card also had my adventurer class written on it, which was ¡®Inferior Iron¡¯.


    This must be what they call the beginner class for adventurers. As I suspected, this place was the adventurers¡¯ guild. The man on the counter then started to talk while twirling his fingers. I couldn¡¯t understand the language he was talking in but maybe he was gesturing that I could bring other things I got to him.


    For one bundle of badol poisonous plants I had, I got 3 copper coins in exchange. I bowed deeply in 90 degrees because I still didn¡¯t know the word for ¡®thank you¡¯. While bowing, I also said ¡®thank you¡¯ in Japanese.


    The man and Sarasa smiled, it seemed my intention was properly conveyed to them.


    Then since she had finished with her business here, Sarasa waved her hands and left the building. As for me, before I left this adventurers¡¯ guild, I looked at the requests displayed on the bulletin board and copied the words on my small magic board.


    Incidentally, I saw the word for ¡®slime¡¯ there so I peeled the paper off and brought it back again to the man on the counter. Just to be safe, I also brought the water bottle containing the mucus of the slime I had defeated and these black stones they called monster core.


    The request to defeat slime was deemed as completed just with the mucus alone. I got 1 copper coin in exchange for the mucus and as for the monster core, apparently that thing was not part of the conditions I had to fulfill to complete the request.

 CH 7

    After selling the goods I brought, I got 11 silver coins and 4 copper coins in total. I bought some bread from a bakery and water in a leather bag until the carrier I had was half full. Still, it only cost me 1 silver coin. With this, I should be able to avoid dying from starvation for the time being.


    After that, while walking through town I saw a signboard with the picture of a sword and shield on it. I used appraisal and it was said this store was called Mole¡¯s Bed. Inside the store, I saw arrays of weapons and armors. There, a rough looking one eyed man who seemed to be the store owner was sitting there, looking bored.


    I gestured my intention to buy weapons and armors, along with the fact that I only had 10 silver coins with me. The shopkeeper then silently tossed a short sword in a scabbard along with a suit of armor made from leather.


    It was really beginner level equipment but these would do. I said ¡®buy¡¯ in the local language and the deal was done. Trying to haggle for a much lower price would affect our future relationship. I decided it was safer to just go along with the price he asked.


    The rule of the thumb was to only ask for a discount on special occasions, like when you wanted to buy something expensive. Like for herbs and eggs, I still had plans to conduct more business with them in the future so it was important to focus on building an amiable business relationship here.


    If possible, I also wanted the bow and arrows displayed on the shelf but I was told they cost 2 gold coins to purchase. That price was out of my range for now so I should take baby steps first from here on.


    In the end, he introduced himself as Margo and asked me for a handshake with his burly hand. I then returned the handshake while imitating what I assumed as a ¡®nice to know you¡¯ in the local language that he had said to me first.


    Then I left Margo¡¯s armor and weapon shop in order to return to my shed.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Today was quite a fruitful day. First, I was able to make contacts with the people from this world. I learned some of the local language, found trade partners for the chicken¡¯s egg, herbs and materials from monsters.


    For now, I should keep on living by fighting slime with my newly acquired short sword, collecting herbs and trading with the people in town.


    I felt a little tired after walking back to the shed so I munched on the irene herbs. As I did so, I could feel my body becoming warmer and lighter.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    HP 6¡ú7


    Has changed.¡»


    Apparently my strength had increased. I was basically an indoor person except when I had to go for work. I was definitely not the strong type. Today¡¯s activity had made me go through more exercise than what I usually had to go through. While I recovered my strength, it seemed the upper limit of my strength had also increased.


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    T/N: Bread and water in that world are so cheap! I guess medicinal herbs are pretty valuable there! ( ¡ä ¨Œ ` )

 CH 8

    10:00


    The next day, after eating breakfast and tending to my chickens, I set out to explore donned in my leather armor, short sword and the carrier on my back. As usual, I hunted slimes and collected some plants.


    Today I found a plant with long and narrow leaves with yellow flowers and a flower the mixture of pink and purple with maple-shaped leaves. In addition, I also collected irene herbs and mylene herbs.


    Upon thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that I should be able to create potion by boiling down the herb. I was thinking of giving it a try next time.


    Then, I continued my foraging even after I defeated my 12th slimes.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda went from lv 2 to lv 3.


    HP: 7¡ú8


    MP:2¡ú3


    Vitality:3¡ú4


    Strength: 7¡ú9


    Intelligence: 68¡ú69


    Dexterity: 10¡ú11


    Speed: 9¡ú10¡»


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    13:00


    I returned to the shed since it was about time to call it a day.


    Then I wanted to appraise the 2 new plants that only had ¡®flower¡¯ as its description. The first one I chose was the yellow flower with long and narrow leaves. I sniffed the plant, it seemed there was no problem with the smell. I munched on the leaves¡­ Carefully biting into the leaves and swallowing it.


    I could feel the inner part of my head becoming warm. With irene herb, it felt like my whole body became warm but for this plant, it felt like only my head felt more refreshed. Then, I used appraisal on the plant again.


    ¡¾Berzin Magic Herb: The leave and the petal can restores magic and vitality.¡¿


    Phew.


    I was relieved to know this was not a poisonous plant. I felt like I was playing Russian roulette. Since I had gathered some of this herb, I decided to plant them in my garden too later.


    The next one was the plant with maple-shaped leaves and pink-purplish flowers. I had a bad feeling about this plant but I wouldn¡¯t be able to know what this plant was unless I tried to eat it first.


    I carefully sniffed on it but I couldn¡¯t detect any distinguishable scent from it. However, despite my bad feeling, I couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of it being a profitable medicinal herb.


    Whatever.


    I held mylene herb in one hand and mustered the resolve to bring this unknown plant into my mouth.


    ¡­¡­..Ugh.


    It felt like electric current was going through my tongue. I swallowed the leaves and immediately, I could feel a piercing pain in my head. At the same time, I could also feel my consciousness becoming cloudy.


    While still being barely conscious, I hastily swallowed mylene herb. I fell on my back with a thunk and remained in that position for 30 minutes. The detoxification must be taking effect since I could somehow feel my consciousness coming back to me.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Poison Resistance Lv 2.¡»


    Once again, the mechanical announcement resounded in my mind.


    While vacantly looking up at the ceiling like an idiot, I thought to myself maybe this was also part of my training. I heard an excellent assassin would build up poison resistance by digesting a small dose of poison so maybe I was also doing similar things to them in a sense?


    Nah, I doubt it.


    Then I used appraisal on the plant again.


    ¡¾Gadol Poisonous Plant: Poisonous plant that clouds one¡¯s consciousness and can cause hallucination.¡¿


    I was very tempted to just throw these things away immediately because I had almost died thanks to it but then¡­ I remembered I had to utilize all the items I got. Since I had collected some of these poisonous plants as well, I decided to plant them in a separate area, away from the herb and food.


    I thought that since I could sell that badol poisonous plant, maybe I could also find some use for this poisonous plant as well.


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    T/N: I originally thought our MC is the cowardly type but seeing how brave he is to eat what seems to be a poisonous plant that can kill him, I think MC is the dumb type now. ©c(*?¦Ø?)?

 CH 9

    15:00


    Even after appraising all the new plants, I still had some time to go to the city to sell today¡¯s harvest. However, I was thinking if there was a way to shorten the time I needed to make a round trip to the city. It¡¯d be nice if I could get a carriage or something.


    I gave rain water to the chickens then I filled my carrier with herbs, poisonous plants, slime¡¯s mucus and monster cores. After locking up the shed, I set out to the town.


    I was able to enter and leave the town easily thanks to the adventurers¡¯ guild card. I didn¡¯t need to deal with the gatekeeper like I had done when I first came here.


    Showing my face at the adventurers¡¯ guild, I peeled off the paper request for defeating 3 slimes, for gathering one gadol poisonous plant and for gathering 5 irene herbs. Then I submit the paper to the uncle at the counter.


    First, I submitted 3 slime¡¯s mucus. A slime was quite big in size but once the core was extracted from its body, the slime would be unable to maintain its body and would evaporate not long after. The remaining mucus I could gather from one slime could only fill ? of a plastic bottle. Which was why, one plastic bottle full of slime¡¯s mucus was deemed enough as a proof for defeating 3 slimes.


    I also submitted 1 gadol poisonous plant and 5 irene herbs. In total, I received 2 silver coins as my remuneration.


    When I was about to leave the guild, the uncle managing the counter stopped me.


    As always, I still didn¡¯t know what he was talking about so it was time for me to demonstrate my special skill in hand gestures communication.


    Apparently he was trying to explain that I could collect points with my ID. I could receive more points by completing the request. The accumulated guild points then could be exchanged for rewards. He showed me a memo containing the list of rewards.


    One of the rewards he recommended was to receive lessons to acquire combat skill. He gestured with his body the act of swinging a sword while releasing magic. I somehow was able to understand what he meant.


    By the way, thanks to me completing the latest request, I had enough points for that sword swinging skill.


    I decided to accept the guild¡¯s privilege and received the sword lesson.


    And so, through our usual hand gesture communication, I found out the name of the uncle who was working as a staff in this guild. His name was Dan.


    ¡°Thank you, Dan. Nice to meet you.¡±


    I said that in Japanese while bowing in 90 degrees.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After deciding to receive the sword lesson from the adventurer¡¯s guild, I was taken to a place that resembled a dojo in this building. There were puppet dolls that I assumed were used for training and my instructor. The instructor offered his hand to me, asking for a handshake.


    ¡°Good day, Keigo Okuda.¡±


    I said to him as we shook hands. He then introduced himself as Kai. He threw a wooden sword at me, explained and demonstrated the skill to me. I couldn¡¯t understand his explanation but based on his demonstration, it seemed to use this skill I needed to channel my energy into the sword before I delivered the blow.


    The wooden sword glowed white and then Kai-sensei swung his sword at the doll.


    ZUGA!!


    A loud noise could be heard as the doll got destroyed.


    Kai-sensei then gestured for me to give it a try too. Kai-sensei grabbed my hand, closed his eyes as he channeled his energy into my hand. When he did that, I could feel something awakened inside me like something was sprouting.


    I stood in front of the doll, channeled my energy into the wooden sword and struck the doll.


    Of course my strike wasn¡¯t as powerful as Kai-sensei¡¯s blow but mine was powerful enough to produce ¡®GA!¡¯ sound at least. The doll appeared to be slightly dislodged from my blow.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Bash lv 1.¡»


    Kai-sensei then clapped his hands. It seemed he was saying ¡®congratulations¡¯ to me.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I said in return in Japanese and bowed.


    I wonder how you say ¡®thank you¡¯ in this world¡¯s local language?


    Sensing what was on my mind, Kai-sensei then taught me how to say ¡®thank you¡¯ but in my ears the word sounded like ¡®bulelulehyo¡¯ or something. It sounded like French to me and was very difficult for a Japanese man like me to pronounce. I immediately gave up on trying to learn the local language.


    According to Kai-sensei¡¯s explanation (though he explained it through hand and body gestures), skill was proficiency based so I had to keep on practicing it over and over again to master it.


    After I finished listening to Kai-sensei¡¯s explanation, I left the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Kai-sensei¡¯s blow enough to obliterate puppet doll while our MC only enough to sliiiightly moved the doll. Don¡¯t lose faith MC! Keep practicing! (? ??_??)?

 CH 10

    17:30


    I had spent quite a lot of time in the adventurers¡¯ guild. I needed to quickly go to Sarasa¡¯s place. Good thing Sarasa¡¯s store was still open. I breathed a sigh of relief for now.


    ¡°Good day.¡±


    I greeted Sarasa. I laid out the various herbs, poisonous plants and eggs I had brought with me today. Freshness was the most crucial element for these items so Sarasa looked happy when I brought these to trade everyday.


    I was able to sell a bunch of irene herbs for 6 silver coins, a bunch of mylene antidote herbs for 5 silver coins, badol poisonous grass for 2 silver coins and 4 copper coins, a bundle of berzin magic herbs for 1 gold coin and 3 silver coins along with 20 herb chicken eggs for 4 silver coins. As for slime¡¯s core, one core could fetch 2 copper coins and so by selling all of the slime¡¯s core I had in hand, I received 4 silver coins in exchange.


    In total, I got 3 gold coins, 4 silver coins and 4 copper coins. By the way, apparently 10 silver coins was equal to 1 gold coin.


    As I was starting to be able to tell each plant apart, I became more efficient at harvesting them compared to when I first started. My efficiency in collecting them had increased considerably. Although I also could plant and grow them in front of my house,  I still always tried to aim to find a way to be more efficient.


    Since I was already here, I asked Sarasa for permission to take a look around her store. There was a line of magic devices and apparently the monster core I collected from defeating the slime was used as a source of power for these devices. Currently, there was a magic device that resembled a cooking stove in this store. This magic device also used those monster cores as a source of energy.


    There was a slot in this stove-like device to put the monster core in. Sarasa then showed me how to light up the fire in this device.


    I want it¡­ But it¡¯s so expensive. It cost 30 gold coins.


    The monster core was similar to a battery in modern day Japan but a battery alone wouldn¡¯t be able to create fire so technically it produced a different kind of energy compared to a battery.


    There were other things for sale here, for example this lantern. This lantern also used the monster core as a source of energy to create light. I couldn¡¯t help but to wonder how the same source of energy could produce either light or fire.


    I guess it must be because of ¡®magic¡¯?


    You could also convert electricity into light or heat by using high resistance electrically-heated wire (if I remember correctly, it¡¯s called ¡°tungsten¡±). You could power up drier or make it hot enough for an oven so in a sense, it was not hard to see the similarity. At any rate it was something that didn¡¯t exist in Japan so I couldn¡¯t help but to become interested in it.


    And then, there were potions for sale. Irene herb potions that could restore HP were sold for 3 gold coins each. The liquid was stored in a container that looked similar to a test tube. I guess converting the herb into liquid form could make the body absorb the herb¡¯s effect at a faster rate and you could just quickly drink it during battle. When you were in the middle of a battle, you wouldn¡¯t be able to spare enough time to munch on some grass first.


    Although I still didn¡¯t know for sure since I couldn¡¯t use any magic, I think a potion was necessary to restore the vitality required to activate skill. Because after I used ¡®Bash¡¯ once, the wooden sword wouldn¡¯t glow white again no matter how many times I tried.


    I believed the reason was simple. I already ran out of vitality. I also strangely felt lethargic. I should eat berzin magic herbs later on.


    I also asked Sarasa if she had a horse for transportation.


    Of course.


    She answered with a gesture and a drawing on the magic board. However, she said I at least needed 100 gold coins for a horse. It was not the amount I could get right now.


    In the end, I asked for a frying pan, a pot and a little bit of firewood. She gave me all of them free of charge.


    Sarasa is a really generous woman with a great sense of style¡­.


    Though if I said it out loud, I was sure she would be angry at me.


    Yeah, that¡¯s right.


    ¡°Thank you, Sarasa. Can I really have these?¡±


    I didn¡¯t like to lend or borrow anything from someone but still, I couldn¡¯t be suspicious of the woman who had been so kind to me. So, I decided to gratefully accept her kindness.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: A magic stove is 30 gold coins¡­ A horse is 100 gold coins¡­ A potion is 3 gold coins¡­ Our MC needs to become a diligent alchemist to afford a horse. (? ??_??)?

 CH 11

    18:30


    Next, I went to Margo¡¯s weapon and armor store. I still had 3 gold coins, 4 silver coins and 8 copper coins with me. I wanted to take a closer look at the equipment in his store since as of now, I only had the bare minimum equipment in hand, which was a short sword and armor made from leather.


    I greeted Margo and looked through his store. I found a short sword that just from a glance alone, I could tell this sword¡¯s quality was good but when I appraised the price tag, it said this sword cost 5 gold coins.


    Too bad.


    There were other goods in his store. Like light armor made from different kinds of leather than I had or armor made from metal. There were also longswords and shields of various sizes. He also had bows on display.


    I decided to buy a small metal shield that I could attach on my arm along with a set of bow and arrows. I didn¡¯t have any means to do long-distance attacks and my magic power barely existed. I already came to terms that there was no hope in me learning magic so I should just try to strengthen my defense.


    In total, I spent 2 gold coins and 4 silver coins.


    It was already late by the time I left Margo¡¯s store so I went to the bar to buy some garlic and dried meat. I also got some ale and water in a leather bag before I left the town.


    On my way home, I ate a plant that looked like berzin magic herbs and I could immediately feel the fatigue I felt earlier dissipated.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    Vitality: 4¡ú5


    Has changed.¡»


    I still didn¡¯t know whether the limit increased due to the effect of the herb or because of my training but apparently my status has increased. Maybe it was like muscle training?


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    When I finally arrived at my house, I started a fire in the simple stove I had made in front of my house. Then I made a simple meal in a frying pan with herb chicken egg, dried meat and garlic. I ate it together with this hard black bread and the ale I bought.


    Since I already started a fire, I decided to try boiling the irene herbs in a pot. I let the irene herb broth cool down first before I put the liquid into an empty water bottle.


    I tried drinking a bit of it and I felt my body become warmer compared to when I ate the herb directly. Drinking it in liquid form seemed to have a better effect on my body too. I made enough to fill 2 water bottles. This amount of herb broth should be enough to fill 5 test tube bottles that Sarasa sold in her store.


    I appraised the liquid.


    ¡¾Irene Herb HP Potion: The healing effect is higher than ordinary irene herb. Can recover HP (small). ¡¿


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy Lv 1.¡»


    I would try experimenting with other herbs as well after I had accumulated enough herbs in stock.

 CH 12

    The next morning, I had the same breakfast as usual, bread with eggs. After a quick morning stroll and taking care of the chickens, I decided to go out to gather materials. By the way, I felt like it was a waste if I only used herbs to feed my chicken so I mixed some bread crumbs from the bread I bought in a restaurant in the city.


    As of now, my equipment consisted of leather armor, a small arm-mounted shield, short sword and a bow. While I was appraising plants and collecting herbs, I sensed a disturbing presence nearby.


    The green monster was there. The ¡®goblin¡¯ has appeared. Fortunately, the goblin didn¡¯t notice me yet. That monster was equipped with a dagger in his hand. Unlike a slime, a goblin possessed a somewhat more intelligence, making them a much more fearsome opponent.


    But despite that, I couldn¡¯t keep on running forever. I had to prepare myself to face it sooner or later. If there was more than one goblin then, it couldn¡¯t be helped. I had to run away. But right now, there was only one goblin.


    I took out my bow, preparing my stance and readied my aim at the goblin by focusing on the center of my body.


    PWISH!


    The arrow hit the goblin¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°GIIIGYAAAA!¡±


    The goblin picked up the dagger he had dropped when the arrow hit him. He then turned his gleaming red eyes in my direction. For a moment, my body was engulfed in fear but I readied my shield while pointing my sword at the goblin.


    ¡°GIGIGIYAAAAA!!¡±


    With his dagger ready, the goblin came running at me in one straight line while emitting weird, grating noise.


    I blocked the goblin¡¯s dagger attack with my shield, then I countered him by slashing my sword diagonally. My diagonal slash hit the goblin but the cut was too shallow. Green blood was dripping from the wound but the goblin didn¡¯t look deterred. The green monster thrusted his dagger at me in one straight line again.


    ¡­.. Observe him well.


    I took a deep breath, calming myself down so I could observe the goblin¡¯s behavior. The goblin kept on coming at me with one, repeated pattern.


    If that¡¯s the case then¡­


    I blocked the goblin¡¯s attack with my shield again but this time, I countered with a ¡®bash¡¯ attack. My ¡®bash¡¯ attack hit the goblin¡¯s head.


    I had successfully defeated my first goblin.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda went from lv 3 to lv 4.


    HP: 8¡ú10


    MP: 3¡ú4


    Vitality: 5¡ú6


    Strength: 9¡ú11


    Intelligence:69¡ú69


    Dexterity:11¡ú13


    Speed: 10¡ú12¡»


    As I thought, the amount of experience I gained from defeating a goblin was different from the amount I gained from defeating a slime. Even though the goblin¡¯s attack was monotonous, it¡¯d still be quite dangerous hadn¡¯t I had a shield with me. The fact that I was able to defeat the goblin now was thanks to my considerably good luck.


    Just in case, I appraised the goblin.


    ¡¾Green Goblin: A demi-human monster that inhabits the entire Lancaster region.¡¿


    From the goblin, I collected his ear, dagger and monster core. The ear would serve as a proof of subjugation. In fact, I already confirmed it myself that submitting the ear was what they needed for confirmation yesterday. I didn¡¯t want to hold the ear as it was so I wrapped it adequately with leaves.


    I did not run into any other goblin after that. I returned to my shed after I finished foraging and defeating slimes. One of the new items I acquired today was a fruit that resembled grapes. I decided to give it a try later.


    Of course, I was ready with a plastic bottle containing the boiled mylene antidote herb in my left hand.


    ¡¾Mylene Detoxification Potion: Can detox poison (small), can effect faster than just the leaves¡¿


    If the fruit was poisonous, I had to drink this antidote immediately or things would turn ugly.


    The fruit tasted a little sweet and sour. But, it didn¡¯t taste like a grape. It tasted strange. I didn¡¯t feel any discomfort in my body though. In fact, I actually felt better than before.


    I appraised the fruit I had just eaten.


    ¡¾Delune¡¯s Fruit: Can restore HP, MP and vitality. (very small£©¡¿


    I think I could use this fruit to make potions too. I should try doing various experiments later.

 CH 13

    16:00


    As I was starting a fire in my simple stove to make potion, I heard the howling of a woof. Judging from the sound, it seemed the wolf was pretty close to my place.


    I hurried back to the shed. I took my small shield, short sword, bow and then locked the door. Then, I could see three creatures that resembled a wolf coming from 50 meters away.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡±


    When I used appraisal on those creatures, there wasn¡¯t any other explanation but ¡®wolf¡¯.


    So not helpful¡­


    One of the wolves was about 2,5 meters while the other two were about 2 meters. I immediately broke out in a cold sweat.


    I decided to fight by hiding in the shed, utilizing the wall for defense while attacking the wolves with my bow. At least if there was even one wall behind me, it could prevent me from being attacked from all directions.


    I kept on shooting my arrows but my enemies were quick on their feet. The three wolves began to spread out. It was clear to see they were very determined to hunt me. The two wolves began to move with the biggest wolf in the center of their formation in order to flank me from three sides.


    While they were running toward me, I kept on shooting my arrow and somehow I was able to graze one of the smaller wolves. But, the wolf didn¡¯t even look the least deterrent from my attack and continued to close the distance between us.


    Little did they know, I had already prepared the classic counter-measures against monsters beforehand. It was none other than a ¡®pitfall trap¡¯.


    I wonder if they will fall into my trap¡­.


    I stood behind the pitfall, waiting for the wolf to come at me. The leader of the wolf didn¡¯t move though so I focused my sight on the incoming two wolves with my short sword and shield ready.


    One of the wolves jumped at me, leaping over the pitfall I had prepared. I blocked his fang attack with my shield but he managed to slash at my stomach with his claw. My leather armor was damaged, the cut was deep enough to penetrate the armor, making me bleed through my clothes.


    While blocking the attack with my shield and slashing my sword, I somehow succeeded in pushing one of the wolves into the pitfall trap. Seeing the wolf was unable to move, I took my chance and used ¡®bash¡¯ to bring the wolf down.


    Seeing his comrades defeated by me, the remaining wolf retreated back to where the leader was standing. For a moment, a standoff ensued between us. Without taking my eyes from my enemy, I drank the HP potion from the plastic bottle and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.


    Not long after drinking the potion, my ragged breathing stopped. The pain from the wound on my stomach also dissipated. I also ate some berzin herb to restore my vitality.


    Neither of us moved, time felt awfully long during our standoff.


    In the end, the leader of the wolf let out a single howl and the wolves returned to the forest.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­. I¡¯m safe¡­.¡±


    I suddenly lost my strength and just like that, I fell on my back while breathing heavily.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: When the wolf leaped over the trap, I was like ¦²(¡ã¥í¡ã) but fortunately, maybe because of the adrenaline? Our MC somehow managed to kill one wolf. Ahhh, what part of this is slow life? After fighting a goblin during the day, our MC got ambushed by 3 wolves at night. It feels like a fast, dangerous life rather than a slow life¡­ ( ¨i¦Ø¨i )

 CH 14

    Once again, I tried to appraise the wolf I had defeated.


    ¡¾Blue Wolf: A wolf monster that inhabits the entire Lancaster region.¡¿


    In other words, this place I was in was called the Lancaster region.


    I took out the blue wolf from the pitfall and repaired the pitfall tree branches, leaves and dirt. Using the dagger I had acquired from the green goblin, I began to dismantle the wolf but of course, the result was far from satisfactory.


    I had dismantled and drained the blood from chicken and deer but never a wolf. The next time I went to the town, I should ask someone to teach me how to dismantle a monster.


    I separated the skin from its flesh, plucked out the fangs and claws one by one. I took out the blue wolf¡¯s core and then I tanned the skin in the same way I did with a deer.


    I appraised the blue wolf¡¯s meat.


    ¡¾Blue Wolf¡¯s Meat : Edible, lowest quality.¡¿


    I decided to sell half of it and kept the remaining for myself. I could ask Sarasa if she would buy the parts like the leather, fangs or claws. Or I could go to the adventurers¡¯ guild and check if there was any request for subjugating the blue wolf and see which part I could trade to the guild.


    It was already 13:00 so I wanted to cook lunch first and while I was at it, I could make potions by boiling berzin herb. I had blue wolf steak that I had caught before for lunch. I grilled it on a frying pan with garlic and soy sauce. It tasted better than I expected. Maybe because I had hunted this meat myself?


    I wholeheartedly ate the meat while praying to God for the life I had taken.


    As for potion making, I did it by boiling the berzin herb in a pot. I tried experimenting by boiling berzin herb together with delune¡¯s fruit. The finished concoction was enough to fill two water bottles. Then I appraised it.


    ¡¾Dual Potion (small): Can restore HP, MP and vitality. Can restore a small amount of HP and MP. Can restore a very small amount of vitality.¡¿


    I guess by combining them, I could make a different kind of potion.


    Now then, it¡¯s time for me to go to town.


    For today, I had irene herb HP potions, blue wolf¡¯s meat, leather, fangs, claws and core. Then I had green goblin¡¯s core and dual potions (small).


    By the way, for a rough reference, the sun rises at 6:00 and sets around 18:00. It was about the same as when I was still living as a farmer back in Hokkaido. Therefore, I could roughly calculate the amount of sleep I needed and the amount of time I had for doing my various activities.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Rather than a farmer our MC is more like an alchemist instead. I¡¯m all for it though. Potion is a lot more expensive than chicken egg after all ¨t(*¡ä¦á`*)¨s?

 CH 15

    15:30


    I finally arrived at town. By the way, this town was called ¡®Resta¡¯. I knew it after communicating with the gatekeeper.


    First, I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild to see if there was any request I could complete. I saw the words for ¡®blue wolf¡¯ and ¡®goblin¡¯ so I peeled those papers and took it to Dan who was managing the counter.


    I showed the goblin¡¯s ears and the blue wolf¡¯s fangs and claws.


    ¡°¡ð¡«¡ô¡÷¡ï¡±


    After checking the items, Dan said that while making a circle with his fingers, implying the quests were complete with a hand gesture. I guess the word he spoke just now meant ¡®okay¡¯ or ¡®fine¡¯? Today I learned another new word.


    In exchange for the goblin¡¯s ears and the blue wolf¡¯s claws, I got 4 silver coins and guild points as my reward. By the way, Dan had also taught me numbers. I would hold out one finger and he¡¯d tell me the word for ¡®one¡¯. Right now, I have 14 guild points. With a hand gesture, I conveyed my intention to learn magic and Dan wrote I needed to have 150 points for that. I still had a long way to go.


    Next, I stopped by Sarasa¡¯s store. After appraising the store¡¯s sign that was decorated with a picture of a weight scale, her store was really called Mithril¡¯s Scale.


    ¡°Sell.¡±


    I said in the local language to Sarasa. She then pointed toward the counter, telling me to take out the goods I had with a hand gesture.


    By the way, Sarasa was quite a beautiful woman. She had reddish brown hair with sharp facial features. She was pretty tall too, she looked like she was at least 160cm tall. Judging from her appearance, she looked like she was about 25 years old. She was really kind to me even though I couldn¡¯t understand her language. She was a really kind woman.


    Now then for the sale of the goods I brought, I got 5 silver coins for the blue wolf¡¯s leather and fangs. 1 silver coin for blue wolf¡¯s core and 6 copper coins for green goblin¡¯s core. I wouldn¡¯t be selling the goblin¡¯s dagger since I needed it for dismantling.


    A single tube of HP potion could be sold for 3 gold coins. The price was pretty high, maybe it was because making one took time and effort. They could last longer in liquid form too.


    When I showed her the potion that I had stored in a plastic bottle, she judged one plastic bottle could fill 5 test tubes with a little surplus. After deducting the agent¡¯s margin, she agreed to buy one plastic bottle for 15 gold coins.


    Then I showed her the dual potion (small) that I made. I copied the local language of dual potion (small) based on the writing I saw from appraisal in a magic board. Sarasa was surprised to see it, she told me the potion was worth 20 gold coins. After deducting the agent¡¯s margin, Sarasa bought the dual potion (small) for 19 gold coins.


    Sarasa put 34 gold coins, 5 silver coins and 6 copper coins in a leather bag and presented it to me. I took the bag and said ¡®thank you¡¯ in the local language. We concluded our trade by shaking our hands together.


    I gestured to Sarasa, asking if she had any bedding or toothbrush. Somehow my intention was conveyed properly. She showed me a quilt made from blue wolf¡¯s fur and a mattress made of cloth filled with straws. These two items cost 2 gold coins and I agreed to buy them.


    Also, since it was impossible to bring a mattress along with the quilt back with a carrier, I also bought a cart that I could pull manually. Furthermore, I received 3 toothbrushes as a freebie.


    After loading the cart with the items I had purchased, I left the store.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I didn¡¯t know our MC was sleeping on top of a cardboard! Poor MC¡­ At least now his quality of life has increased a little¡­(?©n?)

 CH 16

    17:00


    After leaving Sarasa¡¯s store, I went to the grocery store to buy bread, water, dried meat, greens and some liquor that looked like wine. Since I had obtained a cart, I decided to buy a little bit more dried meat and liquor than usual for my stockpile. In total, everything cost 4 silver coins and 8 copper coins.


    Next, I went to Margo¡¯s weapon and armor store. Appraising the sign, I knew the store was called Mole¡¯s Anvil. I decided to show the gold coins I had and asked for his advice. Margo looked like he was deep in thought as he scratched his chin with his hand.


    Then from between the armor and weapons he displayed, he took out a gauntlet and greave made from a relatively light leather. He also brought me a light armor made from the same material.


    Every one of them looked better than the leather armor I currently had. Oh, he also took the pretty nice shortsword I had been eyeing earlier.


    I tried appraising the current armor I wore just because.


    ¡¾Shortsword: Made from inferior iron. A sword made from the lowest grade material.¡¿


    ¡¾Leather Armor: Armor made from animal¡¯s skin. Made from the lowest grade material.¡¿


    As a comparison, I appraised the armor Margo recommended to me.


    ¡¾Shortsword: Made from pig iron. A sword made from a normal grade material.¡¿


    ¡¾Light Armor: A normal grade armor made from monster¡¯s skin.¡¿


    ¡¾Light Gauntlet: A normal grade gauntlet made from monster¡¯s skin.¡¿


    ¡¾Light Greave: A normal grade greave made from monster¡¯s skin.¡¿


    There you go.


    Although my appraisal skill couldn¡¯t tell me about the material used in detail, I could still know for sure that this new armor was of better quality than my current one.


    The shortsword was 8 gold coins while the complete set of the light armor including the gauntlet and greave cost 20 gold coins. In total, the whole set cost 28 gold coins but he gave me a discount so I only had to pay 27 gold coins.


    I traded in my current equipment back to margo and including the drop in quality from being used, I still got 8 silver coins in return. I said ¡®thank you¡¯ in the local language and shook hands with Margo too.


    He then grinned jovially at me, thumped my shoulder with his fist and made a gesture that said ¡°do your best!¡±.


    ¡°Thank you, Margo.¡±


    I accidentally replied in Japanese which made me go ¡®oops¡¯ but I guess Margo understood what I meant. He still kept the same cheerful smile on his face.


    18:00


    I left Margo¡¯s store and decided to return to my shed while pulling the cart with me. I encountered a slime on my way back so I defeated it. I also saw berzin herb and irene herb so I pulled the whole plants up to their root, put them in the cart and brought them back with me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: An upgrade! £Ü(£þ¨Œ£þ)£¯

 CH 17

    19:30


    When I finally reached my shed, I replanted the berzin herb and irene herb that I had pulled up to their roots in front of my house. I was feeling tired today so I decided to have a simple dinner today.


    I mixed raw herb chicken egg in a bowl with soy sauce and ate them as it was. After that, I munched on dried meat with irene herbs together while drinking the liquor I had just bought. My body became warm, probably due to the effect of the herb.


    I tried appraisal on this liquor that looked similar to red wine.


    ¡¾Milan Fruit Wine: A sweet wine. ¡¿


    While it certainly tasted sweet, the alcohol content was quite strong. I think the alcohol was as strong as a red wine.


    As I was sitting on a wooden stump chair in front of a simple stove while drinking the liquor to warm my body up, one fundamental question came to my mind.


    Just¡­ Where am I exactly?


    It was a question that I still didn¡¯t have any idea what the answer would be. Looking up at the sky, I saw the whole sky was filled with stars and a blue moon. I was the kind of a person who chose to live in the countryside because I had gotten sick and tired of living in the crowded Tokyo and I already had enough money to last me a lifetime if I lived moderately.


    As of now, my current lifestyle has one same aspect as before. Which was living in the countryside just like what I had been doing back in Japan. However, the part where I had to focus on my survival while fighting monsters, that aspect was entirely different.


    This world was like a very realistic RPG game. I had status, skill and there were monsters too. Right now, I only encountered low level monsters like slime and the others but the possibility of me encountering a high level monster was quite high. I must take those factors into consideration and acquire the wisdom to know various ways to survive.


    For the time being, I planned on setting up traps like a pitfall trap around my house and an alarm mechanism that could warn me of an enemy attack. Because as of now, if they attacked me while I was asleep, there was nothing I could do about it. When I visit the town next time, I should try to find a thread to make the alarm.


    Starting to feel sleepy, I brushed my teeth with the toothbrush I had just acquired, grabbed the mattress from my cart and carried it to my shed. I laid the mattress on top of the cardboard, where I had been sleeping on before and went to sleep.

 CH 18

    I felt good when I woke up. Buying this mattress was a good decision. I was able to sleep pretty comfortably thanks to it. In addition to taking care of the chickens as part of my morning duty, I also started practicing my marksmanship by using a target made from wood behind the shed.


    Also since I could develop poison resistance from ingesting poisonous plants, I came to the conclusion that my body became stronger by withstanding the damage I received.


    With potions in hand, I went to search for a slime. After I found one, I let that slime keep on hitting me and when I started feeling dizzy, I drank the potion. I kept on repeating that pattern. From a bystander¡¯s point of view, I must¡¯ve looked like a weirdo.


    And then¡­.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Physical Attack Resistance Lv 1.¡»


    This operation was very demanding, both physically and mentally. I think I didn¡¯t want to do this deliberately anymore. So, I defeated the slime with my sword.


    After that, I walked toward the forest while foraging and there, I encountered a huge bat monster about 1.5 meters wide. When I appraised it, I didn¡¯t receive any additional information other than ¡®a bat¡¯.


    This bat monster was pretty fast. This monster could position itself perfectly, making me unable to reach it with my sword and would occasionally dive down to bite me. For now, I could defend myself using my shield but it seemed this monster¡¯s attack had a blood sucking attribute so it could get pretty dangerous if this monster¡¯s attack got through.


    I readied my bow and aimed at the center of the bat¡¯s body.


    PWISH!


    I missed the bat¡¯s body but the arrow hit the wings instead, making the monster losing its altitude. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I switched to my sword and attacked the bat with ¡®bash¡¯. I successfully crushed the bat¡¯s head.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda went from lv 4 to lv 5.


    HP: 10¡ú11


    MP: 4¡ú5


    Vitality: 6¡ú7


    Strength: 11¡ú12


    Intelligence:69¡ú70


    Dexterity:13¡ú14


    Speed:12¡ú13


    Bash went from lv 1 to lv 2.¡»


    I appraised the bat again.


    ¡¾Giant Bat: A bat type monster that can be found in the entire Lancester region. Has poisonous and HP absorption attack.¡¿


    I dismantled the giant bat right here and there, obtaining its fangs, wings, poison sac and monster core.


    It was almost lunch time so I ended my exploring here. I went back to the shed with the plants I had foraged and the materials I got from the slime and giant bat.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Our MC¡¯s first aerial monster! Good thing the bat is big enough so even if MC missed the body, he can at least hit the wings ( ¡ä-¦Ø?)

 CH 19

    Chapter 19


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    12:30


    When I returned to my shed, I saw Sarasa with an unknown man that appeared to be the warrior type.


    ¡°Good day.¡±


    I greeted them. I told the warrior type man that my name was Keigo Okuda and the warrior man told me his name was Juno in return. Then I made tea using the tea leaves that Sarasa brought as a present. As a thanks, since it was right around lunch time, I made them bacon and eggs using the dried meat and herb chicken eggs I had. I served the bacon and eggs along with bread for them.


    Incidentally, I already had a simple table made from wood that I had created during my spare time. There were nails, a saw and a hammer in the shed. Since I also had suitable lumber for the table, I decided to DIY the table myself.


    I put 3 chairs made from stumps surrounding the table and then the three of us talked while having a cup of tea. According to what I understood from their gesture, it seemed they were here to ask me to migrate to the town.


    I was the type of a guy who hated the crowd and chose to live in the countryside on my own. Not to mention, I couldn¡¯t fully understand the local language yet. So I refused their offer to live near the weir of the town. Of course, I said ¡®no¡¯ to them right away in the local language.


    Also it turned out Juno was Sarasa¡¯s bodyguard. He took on the request to guard her for this trip. Sarasa pointed at the carrier Juno had brought with him. Since we were going to trade, I also took out materials I got from the giant bat, which was its wings, fangs, poison sac and monster core. I placed the materials on top of the table. In addition I also had slime¡¯s mucus and 10 slime cores along with gadol poisonous plants and badol poisonous plants.


    I had decided to not sell medicinal herbs anymore since it was more profitable to turn them into potions first and I could also raise my alchemy level while I was at it.


    Sarasa also asked for some herb chicken eggs so I went to the shed to get them and placed 5 of them on the table.


    I sold the materials I got from the giant bat, excluding the wings that could be used as a proof of subjugation, and got 1 gold coin and 5 silver coins in return. Sarasa bought the slime¡¯s mucus and core for 4 silver coins and gadol poisonous plants along with badol poisonous plants all for 4 silver coins.


    She said the effect, taste and shelf life of herb chicken eggs was better than regular eggs. Last time, I sold 10 eggs for 2 silver coins but now, 5 eggs could go for 6 silver coins.


    In total, I got 2 gold coins and 9 silver coins.


    There were a variety of goods inside the carrier Juno had brought. Hard rye bread, water, milan¡¯s wine, dried deer meat and garlic. They had brought things that seemed to be essential for my daily life.


    I exchanged 3 silver coins for those items.


    After I finished my transaction with Sarasa, I conveyed my intention to buy threads to make a sound alarm to her. I somehow was able to convey my intention by writing the word ¡®thread¡¯ on my magic board.


    With all of their tasks finished, Sarasa and Juno returned to the town.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I really like this Sarasa. Not only has she been so kind and helpful to our MC, she also tries to make life easier for MC by inviting him to live in the town. ( ¡ä ? ` )

 CH 20

    Chapter 20


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    14:30


    After Sarasa and Juno had left, I decided to check out the things I had collected today.


    First, I planned to appraise the newly acquired plants I had gathered today. This plant had long and narrow leaves, there were spiny thorns on the stem and the flower was red. As of now, there was only the word ¡®flower¡¯ as the description of this plant when I appraised it.


    I munched on the leaves but I couldn¡¯t feel any change. It only tasted bitter. Then I appraised the plant again.


    ¡¾Gerber Flower: An ordinary flower that blooms in the mud area. Has no special medicinal properties and no poisonous properties either. ¡¿


    According to the appraisal, this was just an ordinary flower but for some reason, I liked this flower. I decided to put this flower in a plastic bottle filled with water and use it as a decoration in the shed.


    Not only flowers, I also got some useful stuff like these nuts I had found. Apparently these nuts were also delune fruit. Then this thing that only had the simple ¡®stone¡¯ as its description, it could be a useful ore and the result of appraisal might change.


    In the case of plants, I could change the result of the appraisal and understand its effect better by ingesting it first. Maybe the same principle also worked on this ore.


    I decided to analyze the ¡®ore¡¯ I had picked.


    First, the red stone. As I expected, biting the stone directly with my teeth was simply impossible so I used a steel file to grind some of it into fine powder and licked the powder. Immediately, my tongue felt so hot.


    Water, water!


    And then, I appraised the ore again.


    ¡¾Flame Stone: A stone with fire attribute.¡¿


    It was not just a mere stone. I had a lot of things in mind about it but I decided to put this stone aside for now. Next, I grinded the stone with white purple line and licked the powder too but I couldn¡¯t taste anything specific. It tasted bland.


    ¡¾Femto Stone: An abrasive material.¡¿


    It turned out I had brought home two types of stones. For experiment sake, I broke the stone into pieces using a hammer and appraised it again.


    ¡¾Abrasive: Used to polish a gemstone or a metal to improve its efficiency.¡¿


    As for the flame stone, after I tried breaking it into pieces with a hammer, I received ¡¾Flame Stone Powder¡¿as a result. I mixed this flame stone powder with the abrasive and used appraisal once again.


    ¡¾Flame Abrasive Material¡¿


    Once again, I expressed the question in my head with my whole body. My head was inclined and my body was slanting to the side.


    What is the meaning of this? Just what does ¡®flame abrasive¡¯ mean? It¡¯s a familiar word I often see in RPG games but can I just take the meaning as it is? I think I should be able to take the word ¡®polish¡¯ as it is too then?


    If I wasn¡¯t wrong, I also had a whetstone that I used to sharpen my farm tools like the sickle. I went to the shelf and took out my whetstone.


    Just to test it out, I sprinkled the flame abrasive on top of the dagger I used for dismantling and then, I polished it with a whetstone. After a while, the blade of the sword began to glow in pale red.


    I appraised the dagger.


    ¡¾Fire Dagger: Made from inferior iron. A dagger with fire attribute. ¡¿


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Blacksmith lv 1.¡»


    Apparently the act of ¡®sharpening¡¯ was considered as blacksmithing. To test the dagger out, I stabbed the firewood with the fire dagger and then I could hear the ¡®pssssh¡¯ sound accompanied with a small cloud of smoke coming from the firewood. A short time later, the firewood started burning.


    That meant, I could apply fire attributes to the shortsword by using flame abrasive material while polishing it. Though I¡¯d need more flame abrasive material compared to the one I used to polish the dagger.


    In addition, I tried appraising the flame abrasive I used to polish the dagger and it became just an ordinary ¡®powder¡¯.


    SHA SHA SHA SHA


    I tried to polish the shortsword using the remaining flame abrasive material but no matter how long I did it, the shortsword showed no sign of changing. Even after appraising it just to be sure, the shortsword still retained the same description.


    ¡¾Shortsword£ºMade from pig iron. A sword made from a normal grade material.¡¿


    The powder still had the same description too.


    ¡¾Flame Abrasive Material¡¿


    In the end, I couldn¡¯t give the fire attribute to the shortsword.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I guess MC¡¯s blacksmith lv is still too low (¡ä-¦Ø-`)

 CH 21

    Chapter 21


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    15:30


    I unexpectedly managed to create a fire dagger today. I wonder how much I could sell this fire dagger for? Also, I needed more dagger to create a fire dagger. I needed threads to make the alarm sound too.


    With that being said, I decided to go to the town while the sky was still bright. I locked the shed and headed into town. I brought two types of poisonous plants with me, gadol and badol poisonous plants, in case there was a request for them in the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    I didn¡¯t have any plan on buying a lot of stuff this time so I only had my carrier with me. On my way to the town, I encountered two slimes and I used bash to defeat them. I also collected the mucus and the monster core.


    When I arrived at town, I immediately headed to Margo¡¯s store.


    ¡°Good day.¡±


    I greeted Margo. Since we were in the Lancaster region, I decided to call this language the Lancaster language.


    Without any delay, I put the fire dagger with its sheath on the table for Margo with an audible thud. I then wrote on my magic board, ¡®fire dagger, made from inferior iron¡¯ in Lancaster language.


    Margo¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, he muttered something that sounded something like ¡®for real?¡¯.


    Margo then conveyed his intention to borrow this dagger for a moment in hand gesture. I replied ¡®okay¡¯ in Lancaster language.


    Margo went outside and stabbed the fire dagger into a piece of wood. After a while, the wood began to catch fire. Margo observed the fire dagger, nodding multiple times to himself.


    ¡°Sell.¡±


    I said to Margo and then I told Margo that I had made it myself using gestures. Margo looked obviously surprised. Margo then told me this dagger¡¯s selling price was 30 gold coins.


    ¡°Sell.¡±


    I said once again.


    After that, I looked around the store and found a dagger made from inferior iron with a metal sheath. There was a lot of that kind of dagger stored in a wooden box. I took out 5 of those daggers and said.


    ¡°Buy.¡±


    He probably could guess I needed it to make fire daggers.


    ¡°4 silver coins.¡±


    Margo said with a nod.


    ¡°Buy.¡±


    I said once again in return.


    After that, since I often get my hands injured when using my bow, I bought a leather glove that cost 1 gold coin.


    Margo wanted to know how I made that fire dagger but I said it was a secret using hand gestures. Margo nodded, understanding that it was to be expected that I wouldn¡¯t tell him my trade secret.


    After leaving Margo¡¯s store, I went to Sarasa¡¯s store. I raised my hand, greeting her and asked her if she had any threads for me with a hand gesture.


    Sarasa said ¡®wait a minute¡¯ with a hand gesture. She then came back with enough thread for me to cover a whole house. I looked around the store and ended up buying a new pot and small bottles. I was thinking of making a poison to coat my arrow with by boiling gadol and badol poisonous plants down.


    Threads, pot, small bottles, firewood and some food. The total came to 1 gold coin and 7 silver coins. The slime¡¯s monster core I had bought was already deducted from the total.


    ¡°Thank you. Goodbye.¡±


    I said in Lancaster language after I finished paying. Then I left her store and went to the adventurers¡¯ guild to submit the request for gathering badol and gadol poisonous plants and for defeating a giant bat.


    The point in my ID card went from 14 points to 24 points.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: One fire dagger can go for 30 gold coins?! ¦²(?§¥?|||) I guess it won¡¯t take long for our MC to be able to buy a horse!

 CH 22

    Chapter 22


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    18:30


    I arrived at the shed without encountering any monsters. I immediately set up the sound alarm by tying naruko on the end of the thread that I set up around the shed.


    This is ¡®naruko¡¯.


    With this, if an intruder were to touch the thread, the naruko inside the shed would make a clunking sound. Just to be safe, I dug 3 more pretty deep pitfall traps near the thread. I covered the trap with leaves, branches and some dirt to camouflage it with the surrounding ground.


    I had a pretty productive day today so I was pretty tired. I ate some irene herbs to replenish my energy and then, I could feel my body becoming warm not long after.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    HP 11¡ú12


    Has changed.¡»


    After that, I grilled blue wolf steak on top of a wire mesh and ate them together with the new fruit wine I had just bought. This new fruit wine had a clear, whitish color and tasted a little bit dry.


    ¡¾Bargo Fruit Wine: A fruit wine that tastes dry.¡¿


    This wine looked like white wine but it tasted slightly different and kind of strange.


    Since I already had a fire going on in the simple stove, I decided to make potions and poison while I was at it.


    First, potion. I boiled irene herb, berzin herb and delune fruit together. I took one small lick on the finished mixture and almost instantly, my head felt clear and my body felt warmer. I appraised the finished mixture.


    ¡¾Dual Potion (medium): Can heal HP (medium), MP (medium) and vitality (medium).¡¿


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy Lv 2.¡»


    Next, I used a different pot to make the poison. I boiled gadol and badol poisonous plants together. The result was a mixture that just from a single glance alone, looked poisonous. I used appraisal on it and it only gave me ¡®poison¡¯ as a description.


    With mylene detoxification potion in one hand, I mustered my courage from within and licked a single drop of that poison.


    And then, my vision was spinning.and my ears were ringing. I immediately drank the detoxification potion and collapsed on the spot.


    Looking at my watch, I realized I had passed out for 30 minutes. Shaking my head, I was somehow able to stand up.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Poison Resistance Lv 3.¡»


    I appraised the poison again.


    ¡¾Gebal Poison: £ºEffectivity (medium). Poison Resistance Lv 5 or higher is required to resist this poison.¡¿


    The reason I was somehow still alive must be due to the combination of my level 2 Poison Resistance, the detoxification potion and because I only took a small lick of the poison.


    It was not an exaggeration to say poison resistance was extremely crucial in this world.


    I soaked the arrowhead in the gebal poison and let them dry for a little while. I put the rest of the potion in the small bottle I had bought beforehand in Sarasa¡¯s store.


    I really needed to make sure I didn¡¯t accidentally cut myself with the arrowhead. It was for this exact reason I had bought a pair of leather gloves from Margo but I was still feeling a little bit anxious about this. At least, I had to equip myself with a detoxification potion.


    After that, I started working on the fire dagger. I worked on them while sipping bargo fruit wine occasionally. Polishing one dagger made from inferior iron with fire abrasive material took me more or less 10 minutes.


    In an hour, I managed to make 4 fire daggers.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Blacksmith Lv 2.¡»


    I kept one fire dagger for myself and the other three for sale. As for the last one ordinary dagger, I¡¯d kept it as it was for dismantling. If I used the fire dagger to dismantle, I wouldn¡¯t be able to drain the blood because the wound would close up not long after.


    The timing was perfect though. I had just ran out of fuel for the lighter but with this fire dagger, I would be able to start a fire without the lighter.


    23:00


    Naturally, I was feeling very tired. I brushed my teeth then I went to sleep.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    In the middle of the night, the naruko I had set up made a bunch of clunking noise. I immediately woke up and threw my futon away.


    I put on my shield and grabbed my shortsword before I went outside. There, I saw two goblins had fallen into my trap.


    I took out my poisonous arrow and shot them from on top of the pit.


    SWISH


    SWISH


    The two goblins convulsed before they laid limp in the hole.


    I pulled the two goblins out from the pit, fixed the sound alarm and camouflaged the pitfall trap again. It was already late at night so I decided to dismantle the goblin tomorrow and went back to sleep again for now.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Minimum poison resistance level 5! Our MC could¡¯ve been dead! The poison is even powerful enough to kill a goblin! (?¦¤?¡Î)

 CH 23

    Chapter 23


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    The next morning, I dismantled the goblins after I had finished taking care of the chickens. For breakfast I had rye bread, herb chicken egg and some greens. After that, I continued on with my daily bow practice.


    I wanted to make another fire dagger by using the loot I got from the goblin but then, I realized I had run out of flame abrasive material. So I went out to collect more femto stones and flame stones.


    On my way to the forest where I had got the stones before I encountered and defeated 3 slimes. I gathered the stones until the carrier I had put in the cart was full with materials. I left my cart there and decided to venture even closer to the forest.


    After walking for a while, I encountered a bipedal monster. When I tried to appraise it, all I got was a plain ¡®monster¡¯ as its description.


    The monster was about 100 meters away from me and so, I readied my bow. Observing my opponent, I saw the monster was equipped with a scimitar and a shield. The monster looked pretty muscular, about 2 meters tall and had the head of a dog. It had sharp claws and emerald green hair. Its body was covered in fur all over.


    The monster looked pretty strong. Cold sweat started to drip from the temple of my head.


    PWISH!


    I calmed my heart, aimed at the center of the monster¡¯s body and shot out my poisonous arrow. But¡­ My opponent blocked the arrow with its shield.


    PWISH! PWISH!


    Not giving up, I fired another two arrows in rapid succession.  As soon as the second shot grazed the monster¡¯s leg, the monster started to wobble before falling on its knees. I readied my sword and slashed the monster but was somehow able to pick itself up. The monster blocked my attack with its shield. I kept on attacking the monster with my sword but the monster kept on blocking my attack with its shield. The monster was breathing heavily, it seemed the gebal poison was still affecting it.


    I made a feint, pretending to slash the monster from its side but instead, I used ¡®bash¡¯ as soon as I saw an opening.


    ZUG!


    My sword penetrated the monster¡¯s belly. It was a clean hit. The monster was losing its footing and so, I thrusted a fire dagger right into its heart.


    I¡¯ve successfully brought my enemy down.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda went from level 5 to level 6.


    HP: 11¡ú13


    MP: 5¡ú6


    Vitality: 7¡ú9


    Strength: 12¡ú14


    Intelligence: 70¡ú71


    Dexterity: 14¡ú16


    Speed: 13¡ú15


    Bash went from level 2 to level 3. ¡»


    I used appraisal once again.


    ¡¾Kobold Fighter: A bipedal monster that inhabits the forest of the Lancaster region.¡¿


    I finally realized the forest was most probably filled with dangerous monsters. I then dismantled the kobold with a dagger. I collected the scimitar that was made with inferior iron and the shield as part of my loot. I dismantled the skin, meat, foot¡¯s claw.


    I appraised the kobold¡¯s meat.


    ¡¾Kobold Fighter¡¯s Meat: Pretty delicious. Status, poisoned.¡¿


    It was poisoned and so, I threw the meat away.


    As I put the materials I got from dismantling into my cart, suddenly, I felt weak on my knees.


    Once again, I realized just how dangerous it was when you took a life away, even if it was a monster¡¯s life.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I¡¯m 160cm so I definitely can¡¯t imagine fighting a muscular looking monster towering 2 meters tall. If I were MC I¡¯d back off quietly while the kobold hadn¡¯t noticed my presence yet. (>_<)

 CH 24

    Chapter 24


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    11:00


    When I returned to my shed, I saw Margo, the owner of the weapon and armor store, sitting on top of the chair made from a tree stump. He was yawning, looking bored from waiting.


    I asked what was the matter for him to come today with body gestures. In response, Margo pointed at the fire dagger that was lined up in front of the shed. I placed the 3 fire daggers on top of the table with a thump.


    Margo tested the dagger by thrusting it into a piece of wood. He nodded, confirming that there was no problem with the dagger. He then did the same with the remaining fire daggers. Margo conveyed his intention to buy 3 fire daggers for 90 gold coins in which I said ¡®yes¡¯ and the deal was sealed.


    After that, Margo took out a helmet made from pig iron from his cart and placed it on top of the table with a clank. He said something in Lancaster language. I couldn¡¯t really understand it but I somehow could tell he was recommending this item to me. After trying out the helmet and appraising it, I gratefully bought the item.


    Margo then made another gesture, asking if I wanted to live in town. I refused his offer with a ¡®no¡¯ gesture.


    Margo looked worried but unfortunately, I was really, really bad at keeping a ¡®connection¡¯ with another human being.


    I then gestured to him that I wanted to try making a sword or a dagger myself. Margo looked a bit surprised but then he slapped his chest, making a gesture that said ¡®leave it to me¡¯.


    I asked how much it would cost. Margo thought about it for a moment before he answered that it¡¯d cost me 60 gold coins. I paid all 60 gold coins on the spot.


    Blacksmithing wasn¡¯t only limited to making weapons or armors only. For example, I could use a blacksmithing technique to make cooking utensils made from metal with it.


    While we were at it, Sarasa also came to my shed in a wagon. It seemed she was coming here alone today. How dangerous¡­ I reminded her that the next time she wanted to come here, she needed to be accompanied by someone else.


    Sarasa bought 3 water bottles worth of irene herb HP potion for 45 gold coins. I asked her to return the water bottles to me later. I also sold the skin from the kobold fighter for 1 gold coin and herb chicken eggs for 6 silver coins.


    I checked the goods she had brought with her in the wagon and bought all the wood she had.


    According to Sarasa, the trip that would take me one and half hour by foot, would only take 30 minutes with a horse. In other words, I could get to the town 3 times faster than usual. I really wanted a horse. I remembered Sarasa had told me before that it¡¯d cost me 100 gold coins.


    Since I already had saved enough money, I asked her about it and she said I could buy a horse-drawn carriage without any problem.


    I paid 50 gold coins to Sarasa and conveyed in gestures that I¡¯d pay the rest after I received the carriage.


    After that, Sarasa and Margo returned together to town.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I mean, so far our MC only saw slime on the way to the town. I don¡¯t think Sarasa is that helpless if it¡¯s only slime~ ( ¡ä-¦Ø?)¦î©ß©×¨T¨T©¥Ò»

 CH 25

    Chapter 25


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    14:30


    ¡°Now then, what should I do now?¡±


    I muttered to myself while glancing at my watch.


    As of now, my sleeping arrangement consisted of cardboards on top of the floor. At the very least, I should have a wooden plank covering my sleeping area. I could use the woods I had bought earlier from Sarasa.


    I cut the wood into the right size using a saw and used a plane to smooth it out. It was really the epitome of a DIY woodworking project on the weekend.


    Somehow, I was able to cover the living space part of the shed with wood. While I was at it, I also made a partition to separate the living space with the chicken area and then, I swept the area with a broom.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    17:00


    This type of woodworking was endless. Just when I felt like I had done everything and wanted to have a drink, my usual habit kicked in.


    I kept on reasoning with myself.


    ¡°No, wait.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not safe yet.¡±


    I denied myself from my well deserved break. My reasoning always won and I ended up starting another blacksmithing work.


    I hit the femto stone and flame stone into small pieces and then mixed the two powder together to create flame abrasive materials. I wanted to test if I could give fire attributes to a shortsword made from pig iron now that my blacksmith had reached level 2.


    After polishing the shortsword with flame abrasive material for 20 minutes, the blade finally glowed in thin red light.


    I appraised the shortsword.


    ¡¾Fire Sword: A medium grade sword made from pig iron. A sword with fire attribute.¡¿


    CLINK CLINK CLINK


    Suddenly, the naruko I installed in the shed made a noise. My tension rose up. With a weapon in hand, I slightly opened the door, surveying the surrounding area. There, I caught a glimpse of a blue wolf. It seemed my enemy was also standing guard, waiting to see what was about to happen next.


    I put my equipment on and tried to get out by erasing my presence as much as possible. There were 3 wolves who appeared to be 2 meters big. One of the wolves had fallen into my pitfall trap. I quickly shot a poisoned arrow to kill it.


    Only 2 remained.


    While keeping my distance, I shot out my arrows. I managed to graze one but it wasn¡¯t enough to kill it instantly. With my back against the wall of the shed, I readied my sword and shield.


    The remaining wolves flanked me from two sides, jumping at me simultaneously. I bent down and blocked one with my shield and stabbed the other wolf with my fire sword.


    The wounded blue wolf fell rolling on the ground.


    While protecting myself with a shield, I pushed the other one into a pitfall trap. The moment the wolf fell into the trap, I thrusted my sword into its head to finish it off.


    After that, I faced the wolf who was still rolling on the ground.


    GROARRRRRR!!


    The wolf roared. Blood was dripping from the wound on its torso that I had caused when I stabbed the wolf with my sword. I took a careful aim at the wolf who was unable to move much and killed it with a poisoned arrow.


    I had won the fight against 3 wolves.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda went from level 6 to level 7.


    HP: 13¡ú16


    MP: 6¡ú8


    Vitality: 9¡ú10


    Strength:14¡ú16


    Intelligence:71¡ú71


    Dexterity:16¡ú17


    Speed:15¡ú16


    Has changed.¡»


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: 3 wolves! (¡ã¥í¡ã) MC really can¡¯t have a break in this world¡­. But I guess he¡¯s living in the countryside because he wants to keep his human interaction to the minimum¡­ He chose the risk of being ambushed over living in a society¡­ I really need to praise MC for his determination (£þ¡õ£þ£»)

 CH 26

    Chapter 26


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    19:30


    Night came and my stomach started growling. I was feeling tired today so I only ate dried deer meat and irene herbs along with bargo fruit wine. The meal soaked into my body, which had grown tired from the battle today.


    Margo and Sarasa would be coming tomorrow so I spent the rest of my day making potions.


    While I was eating dinner, I was thinking of writing about the daily survival life I had the moment I came to this world. I wanted to leave a writing, a proof of my existence. Something like a will. Considering how often I get invaded by monsters, it seemed like my life wouldn¡¯t be long.


    The battle I had to go through everyday made me realize the most important thing I needed now was ¡®safety¡¯. However, even if that was the case, I still didn¡¯t have any intention of becoming close with another person. I didn¡¯t want to start a relationship that would end up becoming troublesome later on.


    To choose solitude over safety¡­ I must be really weird.


    ¡­.. No. It¡¯s not solitude. What I want is freedom.


    And so, the night continued on.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    6:00


    Morning came. I woke up and started working. I washed my face and wiped my body with a towel. I took care of the chickens and went on to practice swordsmanship and marksmanship. The usual routine.


    7:00


    For breakfast, I cooked vegetables, herb chicken egg and dried meat on a frying pan and ate it together with rye bread.


    8:30


    I started making potions. Today, I wanted to try mixing berzin and mylene herbs together.


    Then, I appraised the finished mixture.


    ¡¾Paruna Detoxification Potion: Detoxififes medium level poison. Can recover MP (small).¡¿


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy level 3.¡»


    I successfully developed a new detoxification potion. Alchemy must have the same working principle as a blacksmith. I wish I could have a strategy guide book~


    After that, Sarasa and Margo arrived with the worker. They were going to build a stable and a blacksmith workshop for me.


    CLINK TOK THUD CLINK TOK THUD


    The sound of nails being hammered resounded through the plain. The worker had started working on the stable and the smithy.


    They set up a furnace and an anvil in the blacksmith workshop and brought in a fire tong, hammer and coals. As for the stable, they prepared a watering trough, feeding trough and harness for the horse.


    It took them two days to finish making the blacksmith workshop and the stable. While the workers were busy with the construction, Sarasa taught me how to use the horse¡¯s harness and the basic horse riding techniques. Margo also taught me blacksmithing techniques like how to make inferior iron shoulder pads from inferior iron dagger¡¯s materials.


    I¡­ Started to sense ¡®something¡¯ more than just a business relationship with Margo and Sarasa. I kept on hiding inside my shell, refusing their offer to live in town but despite that, Sarasa and Margo¡­ They kept on knocking on my door gently.


    As of now, I still failed to know the true identity of this ¡®something¡¯ I felt.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Could this be¡­ Character development?! Wow, it¡¯s pretty early. Chapter 26 and we can see the telltale of character development ¦²(?§¥?|||)

 CH 27

    luukia4-5 minutes 22.07.2022


    Chapter 27


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    The next morning, I decided to go to town after taking care of the chickens. I brought 2 goblin¡¯s ears, 1 kobold fighter¡¯s claw and 3 blue wolf¡¯s claws. I planned on submitting the request in the adventurers¡¯ guild because I wanted to utilize the guild¡¯s skill learning benefit. After several dozen minutes of journey with the carriage, I arrived at the town.


    I left my horse in the stable which was a part of the adventurers¡¯ guild building. The town was bustling with life, there were street stalls here and there. I also could see the sign for an inn and for a clothing shop.


    When I arrived at the adventurer¡¯s guild, Dan raised his hand upon seeing me and I also raised my hand in return. I checked the request board and saw the request to subjugate goblins, blue wolves, kobold fighters and slimes. I peeled those papers off and submitted the subjugation proof for 2 goblins, 3 blue wolves, 1 kobold fighter and 8 slimes.


    After Dan confirmed the items, he gave me 3 gold coins, 3 silver coins and 8 copper coins. I got 27 guild points too. So my guild points rose from 24 to 51. I asked Dan to tell me about the perks I could exchange for the guild points.


    Level 1 bow skill cost 50 points, level 1 shield skill cost 50 points, level 2 sword skill cost 100 points and level 1 magic skill cost 150 points. By the way, the skill ¡®bash¡¯ I had acquired before, was free. The guild taught this skill free of charge as part of beginner¡¯s assistance. They implanted the policy of teaching beginner level skill for free because the number of casualties of new adventurers was endless.


    Since I had more than 50 points, I could choose between level 1 bow skill or level 1 shield skill but no matter what, I really wanted to learn level 1 magic skill instead so I decided to save my points instead of exchanging them now.


    The adventurers¡¯ guild also had an area where they sold a variety of goods. They had potions and other essential items for adventurers. While I was looking through their sale corner, I found something good.


    ¡¾Ankle Snare : A trap for capturing a walking animal or monster.¡¿


    This was the so-called foothold trap or bear trap. If you get caught in this trap, you would lose the freedom of movement in your leg. This useful trap was exactly what I needed now. I gestured to Dan my intention to buy every foothold trap they had.


    For a total of 3 gold coins, I got a lot of ankle snares.


    After I finished my business at the adventurers¡¯ guild, I went to Sarasa¡¯s store. I wanted to buy some clothes there. I had been working on my farm when I arrived here. I had no change of clothes so I really wanted to buy some new clothes.


    I bought two tops and bottoms in a suitable color for me.


    Lunch. I found a street stall with chairs and tables placed in front of it. It was like an open terrace type. I chose a rye bread with meat stuffed between it and a fruit juice I had never seen before. I paid for my order before I started eating.


    This fruit looked like a red orange but it wasn¡¯t an orange. The fruit had a peculiar taste. According to appraisal, this fruit was called ¡®Rumi Fruit¡¯. I liked the rumi fruit so much that I asked the auntie managing the street stall to sell me some of it.


    In the afternoon, the sky became cloudy. It looked like it was going to rain soon so I decided to quickly return to the shed.


    Right when I arrived at my shed, the rain started dripping. I placed the bucket outside to store rainwater.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Magic skill is so expensive here (T?T)

 CH 28

    luukia3-3 minutes 22.07.2022


    Chapter 28


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    It was raining so I immersed myself in doing blacksmithing. I started the fire in the furnace. I had 1 shortsword made from inferior iron, 1 scimitar, 1 round shield and 1 shoulder pad. I decided to melt them all and refined them into an ingot.


    I melted them all together with coal so I could refine them. Then I could see the impurities from the inferior iron coming up to the surface. I took out the melting metal with a fire tong and put it on top of the anvil. I started beating the melting metal with a hammer. I then hardened the shaped metal with cold water. As for the impurities that were floating to the surface of the metal, I scraped them all off with a file.


    I appraised the finished metal ingot.


    ¡¾Pig Iron Ingot¡¿


    As of now, I was still using leather armor. Next, I decided to reinforce the vital area and place that was easy to hit with this pig iron. From my shoulder, chest, knee and to my elbow.


    I melted the pig iron ingot in the furnace again and shaped it into the shape I had in mind with a hammer and fire tong.


    Although the result wasn¡¯t enough to give me the perfect score, I was able to reinforce my armor.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    19:00


    It seemed I had been focusing on doing blacksmithing for a pretty long time. When I came to my senses, the rain had already stopped. The sky was filled with stars. While being careful of my footstep, I set up the ankle snares trap outside of the boundary of the sound alarm.


    Suddenly, I wished I could take a hot bath. While I was thinking about what I could do to make it come true, a good idea came to me.


    After that, I made gebal poison by boiling gadol and badol poisonous plants together. I dipped the arrowheads with the poison and lined it up near the fire to dry it.


    Sweating, I soaked the towel with water from the bucket and wiped my body with it. After that, I changed into the clothes I had just purchased today and lightly washed the clothes I had been wearing with water. I let the clothes dry by placing them near the fire from the stove.


    21:30


    I drank for a little bit, brushed my teeth and went to sleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I guess next up, we¡¯re going to see MC making a bathtub or something.

 CH 29

    Chapter 29


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    The next morning, I felt the presence of a beast coming from outside the shed. Bringing my sword and bow with me, I went outside. I circled around the shed with my bow ready.


    It turned out, it wasn¡¯t a monster but an ordinary deer. The deer had gotten caught in the ankle snare trap, unable to move. I immediately captured my prey and hung it up on a tree to drain the blood and dismantled it. Freshness was the life of a liver so I immediately ate it.


    Yeah. Delicious.


    It¡¯d be great if I could have sesame oil and salt with me. For breakfast, I had deer steak from the deer I had just caught. As for the meat I couldn¡¯t eat now, I pickled them with salt to make dried meat out of it.


    Now then. I¡¯ve finished eating breakfast so let¡¯s go out to forage again today.


    I was thinking of going toward the direction of the forest today. However, since I recently had encountered a strong opponent like a kobold fighter, I was moving cautiously and prepared to run the moment I encountered an enemy that seemed impossible for me to defeat.


    While hunting slimes and other small fries, I focused on collecting plants I hadn¡¯t appraised yet and the herbs I already knew.


    Suddenly, something that looked like a stone statue caught my attention. Upon closer inspection, this stone statue was a goblin stone statue, and was very well made.


    Wait. Or rather, could this be¡­ A petrified goblin instead?


    Cold sweat broke out in my forehead.


    GIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!


    A high pitched shrill could be heard. It was obviously the cry of a monster. I crouched down out of fear, advancing toward the source of the voice cautiously. And then¡­ There it was. I saw a strange looking monster.


    From its appearance alone, the monster looked like a chicken. It was very big, about 5 meters tall and had the tail of a snake. It seemed the monster hadn¡¯t noticed me yet and so I hid myself behind a tree and tried to appraise it but all I got was a plain ¡®monster¡¯ without any additional information.


    However, I already knew what type of monster this was. It was a cockatrice, a classic monster that often appeared in RPGs. It was supposedly a powerful monster that could petrify its opponent and had a poisonous breath. With my back against a tree, I tried to calm myself down. And then I¡­.


    My apologies but I ran away. That was the best thing I could do. I left my carrier in the shade of a tree and ran away with all of my might. Snots and tears were dripping down my face as I ran as if my life was depending on it.


    Hey, you. Yes, you. Do you think YOU can take down that kind of a monster with a mere shortsword? Well, my apologies but that kind of feat is simply impossible for me.


    Once again, I made a dash to my shed. I locked the door and hid under the cover, taking refuge in the safety of my shed.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    As I was hugging my herb chicken while hiccuping as tears and snots were still running down my face to heal my wounded heart, I heard someone knocking at the door of the shed.


    No one¡¯s home.


    I ignored the knock but the other person was more persistent.


    Just who is it? How annoying.


    Since it couldn¡¯t be helped, I finally relented and opened the door. There stood Sarasa. Sarasa¡¯s gentle voice resounded in my broken heart. By the time I realized it, I was already clinging to Sarasa while crying. Sarasa looked surprised at first but she then started to stroke my head without saying anything.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: What a perfect timing! But I think Sarasa and Margo often come to MC¡¯s place at this point already? ¨t(o¡ä¨Œ`o)?

 CH 30

    Chapter 30


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    This spectacle was also seen by Margo and Juno. How embarrassing. I described the terrifying monster I had encountered with body gestures and drawing on the ground to them.


    Then after stroking his bald head, Margo gestured for us to beat that monster.


    For real? I¡¯m definitely against it, you know?


    I thought to myself but then Margo gestured for me, Junho and him to fight together and told Sarasa to stay here instead.


    ¡°Just how are we supposed to stand a chance against that thing???¡±


    Unable to hide my shock, I said that in Japanese. Margo then pointed to my ¡®paruna detoxification potion¡¯. I wondered if things could go well if we had this?


    And so, I was forced to participate in a mission to subjugate the cockatrice. Margo and Juno coated their weapon with gebal poison. Margo had a two-handed axe while Juno had a longsword.


    Although I was still feeling anxious about this, there was nothing I could do. I just had to rely on paruna detoxification potion to deal with the enemy¡¯s abnormal status attack.


    After discussing our strategy with the combination of magic board, drawing and gestures, we set out to subjugate the cockatrice.


    The cockatrice was still standing there in plain sight.


    I slowly crouched down while watching from the corner of my eyes as both Margo and Juno continued to move cautiously to flank the cockatrice from both sides.


    After placing the ankle snare trap out of the range of my bow, I got closer to cockatrice, enough so I could hit it with my bow. Then, I started firing poisoned arrows at the cockatrice.


    BASH BASH


    GIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!


    After being hit by the poisoned arrow, the cockatrice started charging at us while letting out its war cry. The poison seemed to be showing an effect to some extent. So scary.


    I backed away while still firing my bow.


    BASH BASH BASH


    The cockatrice stepped on the ankle snare and the metal trap immediately pinched its leg.


    GIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!


    The cockatrice let out a terrifying cry and then, Margo and Juno ambushed the cockatrice from both sides. Margo swung his two-handed axe down at the snake tail while Juno slashed the cockatrice¡¯s leg with his longsword.


    The cockatrice started to writhe upon being attacked by a weapon coated by gebal poison. Seeing this, I rushed in with my fire sword ready. I used ¡®bash¡¯ on the cockatrice¡¯s leg.


    GIEEEEEEEE!!!!


    The staggering cockatrice then unleashed its petrification attack and poison breath with all of its might, hitting me and Juno. The skin on my body started to froth and I drank the paruna detoxification potion in a haste. The frothing on my skin then stopped. Juno also seemed to be fine. It must be due to the paruna detoxification potion.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Petrification Resistance level 1. ¡»


    My adrenaline must be overflowing because for some reason, I didn¡¯t feel terrified.


    Meanwhile, Margo, who had escaped from the poison breath and petrification attack, successfully cut the snake tail off. Losing its balance, the cockatrice fell on its body on the spot.


    Seeing this opportunity, I used ¡®bash¡¯ on the cockatrice¡¯s neck from the left side while Juno also used ¡®bash¡¯ from the right side.


    ZAZAN! THUD!


    The cockatrice¡¯s neck fell.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda went from level 7 to level 9.


    HP: 16¡ú18


    MP: 8¡ú10


    Vitality: 10¡ú12


    Strength: 16¡ú18


    Intelligence: 71¡ú73


    Dexterity: 17¡ú 20


    Speed: 16¡ú19


    Has changed.¡»


    Somehow, we managed to win.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 CH 31

    Chapter 31


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    This was not an opponent that I could defeat on my own. But when you joined forces with someone, you would be able to overcome difficulties that seemed to be impossible. I really felt that after this death and life battle.


    The three of us clenched our fist together and patted each other on the back with a smile that said ¡®we did it!¡¯.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    The three of us dismantled the cockatrice on the spot. From dismantling the cockatrice, we could get its eyes, beak, claws, wings, meat, poison sac and monster core. We threw away the meat though because the meat was already contaminated with poison.


    The cockatrice was able to unleash a petrifying attack with its eyes so I appraised the eyes.


    ¡¾Cockatrice¡¯s Eyes: A material for granting petrification attribute.¡¿


    But when I appraised the poison sac, I only received ¡°Cockatrice¡¯s Poison Sac¡± without any additional information. I appraised the meat and the description said it was pretty tasty. I wish I could try it.


    For the time being, we took the materials from the cockatrice back to my place.


    When we arrived at my house, Sarasa was already waiting for us with a meal ready. I had told Sarasa beforehand that she could cook anything she wanted with the ingredients in my house.


    We had the deer I had hunted this morning. We had fresh liver sashimi, deer steak, salad and then soup made from deer bones. My stomach was growling at the sight. After that, all of us started eating our late lunch meal.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    I was told after that cockatrice was not a monster that often appeared in this area. It was a high-level monster that only appeared in a dungeon in the middle of the forest. Though it was rare, the monster from the dungeons could overflow to the outside. But really, it rarely happened.


    The three of them were talking about how they needed to report this to the adventurers¡¯ guild and the one in charge of the town to conduct an investigation on the dungeon.


    Apart from that, we talked about dividing the raw materials we got from the cockatrice. I wanted the eyes and the poison sac because I could use the poison sac to create new poison and the eyes could allow me to grant new effects to weapons. The remaining claws, beak, wings and monster core were given to Margo and Juno.


    Apparently the beak was used as a proof for subjugation so Margo, on the behalf of our team, would be reporting the subjugation of cockatrice to the guild. The rewards and the guild points would be divided into 3 for each of us.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So our MC is living close to a dungeon and the dungeon might be on the verge of an outbreak? Good luck MC (? ??_??)?

 CH 32

    Chapter 32


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    16:00


    After we settled the discussion regarding the distribution of the material from the cockatrice, I came up with an idea for a little experiment. Because this cockatrice¡¯s poison sac I had, could be used to develop a new poison.


    Margo and Juno decided to leave first because they had something they needed to do while Sarasa, maybe because she sensed something disturbing from me, she said that she¡¯d stay around.


    The experiment I wanted to do was a simple one. I just wanted to know what kind of poison I could get if I boiled gebal poison together with the cockatrice¡¯s poison sac. Just as simple as that.


    In the boiling pot, I gently simmered badol and gadol poisonous plants along with the cockatrice¡¯s poison sac. I was concentrating on stirring them together.


    After letting the mixture boil down to a certain extent, the leftover liquid in the pot glowed. Gebal poison had a light purple color but this liquid had a deep reddish color. It seemed the poison was done. I tried to use appraisal but it only showed ¡®poison¡¯.


    To be honest, I was really, really terrified but if I didn¡¯t try it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to know what this poison could be used for.


    Somehow able to sense what I was about to do, Sarasa widened her eyes and grabbed my arm to try to stop me. But, I already prepared my resolve. With paruna detoxification potion, a potion that could resist the cockatrice¡¯s petrification attack, I licked a drop of that poison.


    Immediately, I felt like my head was struck by lightning. My vision started to spin. I quickly gulped down the paruna detoxification potion but then, I still fell unconscious right here and there.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    The moment I woke up, I had a very terrible headache.


    ¡°Wa¡­ Water¡­¡±


    Sarasa was looking at me, looking worried. She helped me to sit up and gave me water.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Poison Resistance level 4. ¡»


    Sarasa looked like she had a pair of demon horns growing from her head.


    I¡¯m really sorry.


    Once again, I gulped down the paruna detoxification potion and then, I could finally feel my head all refreshed.


    Ah¡­ Which reminds me, this is not the time to feel relieved. I was almost knocking on the death¡¯s door again¡­


    As usual, I appraised the poison.


    ¡¾Donur Poison: Effectivity (big). Poison Resistance level 7 or higher is required to resist this poison.¡¿


    The effectiveness of gebal poison was (medium) so this poison was more potent than gebal poison. At any rate, if I use this new poison to coat my arrowhead, I could take down my enemy easier than before.


    15:00


    Apparently I had been unconscious for a whole day. If Sarasa weren¡¯t here to look after me, I¡¯d be in great danger.  Donur poison was a very dangerous poison.


    After that, I looked at my adventurer guild card. My points had risen from 51 to 95. I didn¡¯t really exactly know how it worked but it seemed Margo had reported about the cockatrice and we each got our points.


    After confirming that I was safe, Sarasa went back to town.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Sarasa is so niceee! She had to close her shop for 2 days just to take care of our MC


    (? ?>? ¨Œ ?<? ?)

 CH 33

    16:00


    I checked all the things I got from defeating the cockatrice. First, donut poison, the very thing that I risked my life to create. Then, cockatrice¡¯s eyes. It seemed I could use this to grant the petrification attribute. For the time being, I should dry the eyes and grind them into fine powder after that.


    In the meantime, while I was waiting, I decided to practice marksmanship for 30 minutes.


    17:00


    The arrows coated with donur poison have dried. I put them all into the quiver. As for the cockatrice¡¯s eyes, it seemed they still needed time to be completely dry. After that, I stored the collected plants on a shelf in the shed.


    This time, I had collected 2 irene herbs, 1 mylene herb and 1 berzin herb. The leaves were important. After planting them in the garden, I needed to prune the leaves to some extent and then stored them in the shed according to their type. Especially the poisonous item, I needed to make sure to store them in a safe place so the chicken wouldn¡¯t be able to accidentally touch them.


    18:30


    Since I had eaten something while I was doing my stuff, I was not hungry yet even though it was already dinner time. And so, I decided to do some blacksmithing instead.


    I pulverized femto stone and flame stone into small pieces and mixed them together to create flame abrasive material. I also spared ordinary abrasive material and stored them all separately.


    Next, I repaired the firesword that had been overused due to my fight with the cockatrice. I polished it with abrasive material and whetstone.


    20:00


    I was getting pretty hungry so I decided to have a meal. I made something that resembled bacon and egg with herb chicken egg and dried meat. Then, I stir-fry some vegetables with a frying pan. I ate them all for late dinner together with bargo fruit wine, which resembled white wine.


    While I was eating dinner, I was thinking about my goals. Currently, I needed to save 150 guild points so I could learn basic magic skill level 1. After that, about my life quality. I wanted a bath. Maybe I could go to the blacksmith guild and buy the cheapest metal I could find to make a bathtub.


    But if I made it with metal, then I¡¯d need to put a wooden board on the bottom side to make something resembling ¡®goemonburo¡¯.


    My fatigue had accumulated quite a lot so I really wanted to have a bath by all means.


    I wonder, does this other world have the culture of soaking in a bath?


    Either way, since I didn¡¯t have any plan on living in town, it had nothing to do with me even if they didn¡¯t.


    Feeling good and sleepy, I brushed my teeth and then I went to sleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Making a bath is also a staple in japanese isekai novel (¡ä?`)

 CH 34

    Morning came. As usual, I took care of the chicken then I went to practice marksmanship. I then wiped my body with a wet towel before I started preparing breakfast. I had bacon and eggs along with bread and water.


    The cockatrice¡¯s eyes had properly dried and so, I grinded it into fine powder before I appraised it.


    ¡¾Petrification Powder: Powder with the magical power of petrification.¡¿


    While wearing a glove, I carefully put the powder into a plastic bag. I then stored it in the material storage area I had in my blacksmith workshop.


    Now then. Today I planned on exploring toward the opposite direction of the forest. I locked the shed, donned on my equipment and just in case I was able to catch a big prey, I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry it back with a mere carrier so I went with my horse-drawn carriage.


    After going through the plain for 30 minutes, I could see a body of water and a group of something flocking nearby. Upon closer inspection, they looked like a group of water buffalo and when I used appraisal, I only got ¡®buffalo¡¯ in return.


    I stopped my wagon there and cautiously approached them with my bow ready. Since my prey didn¡¯t seem like a powerful monster, I wouldn¡¯t be using poisoned arrows. Since I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat the meat if I used poisoned arrows.


    PWISH


    The arrow pierced the water buffalo¡¯s hind leg, making the buffalo fall onto the ground. Sensing the danger, the other buffalo ran away toward the opposite direction from me. I approached the fallen buffalo and stabbed the head with my sword.


    Upon closer look, I realized this buffalo was pretty big. About 2 meters. I used appraisal again.


    ¡¾Battle Bull: A bull type monster that inhabits the water holes in Lancaster region.¡¿


    So it said.


    I guess technically this buffalo was a monster? Certainly this buffalo had a pair of horns, just like a bullfighter and compared to a normal buffalo, this one was more muscular.


    I only drained the blood from the battle bull. Somehow or another, I was able to put the battle bull onto the wagon.


    In town, they had a shop specializing in dismantling monsters or animals. This dismantling shop was a joint establishment with the adventurers¡¯ guild. If I dismantled it myself, I most probably would damage the quality of the material. This battle bull looked obviously delicious to the boot so I planned to go to a dismantling shop to get fresh battle bull meat.


    I steered the wagon directly into the direction of the town.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: 2 meters bull! Our MC is going to have a feast! Too bad they don¡¯t have a fridge in this world. The leftover meat has to be pickled with salt otherwise the meat will rot¡­ (¡ä?¦Ø?`)

 CH 35

    Chapter 35


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    11:30


    I knocked on the door of the dismantling shop. I pointed at the battle bull on the wagon, gestured to the bearded old man that I wanted the battle bull to be dismantled. The bearded old man nodded lightly. He then gestured with his thumb for me to follow him to the back of the building.


    After walking around to the back of the building, we arrived at a wide dismantling area with large equipment. About 5 workers were working there. It looked like this facility could also dismantle a fairly large monster.


    The bearded old man showed me 5 copper coins. This must be the cost needed to dismantle the battle bull. I said ¡®okay¡¯ in return.


    I handed the battle bull over to them and went to visit Margo¡¯s weapon and armor shop.


    Margo gave me 8 gold coins and 9 silver coins as the reward for subjugating the cockatrice. I also bought inferior iron ingots from Margo¡¯s shop. There were also ingots that showed up as ¡®precious iron ingot¡¯. I also bought those precious iron ingots from him.


    I bought quite a lot of inferior iron ingots so in total the price came up to 2 gold coins and 4 silver coins. As for the precious iron ingot, although I didn¡¯t buy a lot, it was pretty costly. It came up to 14 gold coins for the precious iron ingots alone.


    The dismantling shop had already finished dismantling the battle bull. There was the meat, skin, horn and the hoof. The hoof would be used as a proof of subjugation to the guild. I only took the meat for my own consumption  and the hoof  as subjugation proof and decided to sell the rest of it. As for the meat, of course the beef¡¯s tongue was also included. I had great expectations for tonight¡¯s dinner.


    For the materials I sold, I got 9 gold coins and 3 silver coins. The materials were very fresh and in good condition, hence why I could fetch a high price for it.


    I left the dismantling shop and went to the adventurers¡¯ guild to report the subjugation of the battle bull. I received 3 silver coins and 7 guild points as the reward.


    After that, I went to the grocery store to buy some food and water before I headed back home.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Precious iron ingot! That means our MC is going to level up his blacksmith even more!


    ¦×( ` ? ¡ä )¦×

 CH 36

    16:30


    I finally arrived at my house. I had done a lot of things so it took me quite a while to return. For some reason, Sarasa and Juno were already waiting for me. They were sitting on a chair in my garden while chatting.


    Do you guys have that much free time? I see¡­


    I parked the wagon next to the stable, put the horse back into the stable and filled the water trough. By the way, the name of my horse was Rocinante. The two of them helped me to unload the food and the ingots I had purchased.


    I prepared today¡¯s spoil, the battle bull by marinating it with salt and crushed garlic. Then I cut the vegetables into suitable sizes. Today¡¯s meal was beef barbecue.


    Since we were having beef, red wine would be the best pair. I served a fruit wine that was similar to a red wine although the taste was slightly different from red wine. I set out cups, plates and forks for 3 people and began grilling the meat.


    It smelled very good. When I bit into the meat, the particular flavor of the beef filled my whole mouth. The deliciousness of the beef brought me into a moment of bliss. After that, I drank the red wine-ish fruit wine. It was the best. Sarasa and Juno were also munching into their meal with supreme bliss painted on their faces.


    We were enjoying our meal when I heard the cry of a beast.


    It turned out a blue wolf was approaching us without me realizing. The wolf got caught in the ankle snare trap. But still, this wolf was really big. It was about 3 meters big and the color of this wolf was a bit different from the blue wolf I knew¡­.


    We grabbed our equipment, ready for battle. After all, wolves usually hunted in groups. I immediately shot an arrow coated with donur poison at the blue wolf. The arrow hit the wolf¡¯s body. The blue wolf convulsed before it laid limp. We circled around the shed, searching for any additional enemy but we didn¡¯t see any other wolf.


    We went back to the blue wolf we had defeated. Out of curiosity, I used appraisal on the wolf.


    ¡¾Ash Wolf: A type of high-ranking blue wolf. A rare monster.¡¿


    There you go.


    As we approached the ash wolf to dismantle our kill, we heard a soft whine coming from the pitfall trap.


    It was the ash wolf¡¯s pup¡­


    I held the pup in my arms and the pup started to wag its tail.


    But¡­. This pup¡­ Is so adorable¡­.


    I gave the wolf pup a small portion of the battle bull steak along with some water. The wolf pup wagged its tail happily as it ate the meat. Maybe because the pup had eaten until it was full, the pup walked toward a bundle of straw near Rocinante, curled its tail and went to sleep.


    I¡¯ve become this wolf pup¡¯s parent.


    The wolf was trying to kill me so there was nothing else I could do but in return, I had become this pup¡¯s parent. As I stared at this innocent wolf pup, suddenly I felt like something was prickling and stinging into my heart. I was filled with feelings of guilt.


    Although I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if it was because of guilt or something else, I had decided to bear the responsibility of becoming this ash wolf¡¯s pup parent. If I raised this pup since it was young, the pup might be able to learn to love humans. If by the time this pup became an adult and this pup still bore hostility toward humans, then when the time comes, I had no other choice but to take responsibility and dispose of the wolf later on.


    But most importantly, what if the pup realizes I was the one who killed its parent and then the pup wants to avenge its parent? When that time comes I just have to deal with it the best I can with sincerity since this world is based on the survival of the fittest after all.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    As for the adult ash wolf, I dismantled it together with Juno. I appraised the fang.


    ¡¾Ash Wolf¡¯s Fang: When used to refine a weapon, the metal will change.¡¿


    And so, I decided to take the fang. As for the skin, since it belonged to a high-ranking individual, it could fetch a considerable amount of money. We decided to divide the total amount of money we could get from this ash wolf and then deducted my portion based on the price of the fang.


    Sarasa decided to buy the skin for her shop and Juno would be the one to report the subjugation to the guild for me.


    Also, I liked this shade of gray with a hint of black hue so I gestured to Sarasa if she could make it into a mantle for me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ahh this chapter makes me feel complicated. On one hand I feel bad for the ash wolf but on the other hand, this wolf is coming to MC¡¯s house with the intention to kill. Both the adult wolf and the wolf pup are innocent. They had to hunt, otherwise they couldn¡¯t eat. Ahh this chapter makes me want to hug my dogs tight¡­ (?_?)

 CH 37

    20:30


    The two of them came here with a wagon so they were able to bring the materials from the ash wolf back with them. We had been drinking endlessly so I had thought they were going to stay over the night.


    Now then. I still have some spare time. Should I do some blacksmithing instead?


    First, I stored the ash wolf¡¯s fang in the storage area of the blacksmith workshop. Then I planned on using the inferior iron I had bought to make a drum shape for my bathtub. I lit the fire in the furnace and melted the inferior iron ingots.


    I tried to give it a go but making a circular shape was difficult to do. I immediately decided to not get fixated on a drum shape and just went on with a rectangular shape. With this, I only needed to make the parts and then welded them together after.


    CLANK CLANK CLANK


    The sound of me hitting the metal with a hammer echoed.


    Then, I finally completed it. A rectangular, reasonably sized metal box. Or rather, my bathtub.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Blacksmith level 3.¡»


    I arranged stones that were roughly the same size according to the size of the tub then I placed the tub on top of the stones. Then I made a wooden plate for the bottom and a cover for boiling the water.


    With this, my goemon bath was finished.


    T/N: Like this but square.


    The problem was water but there was a watering hole in the place where I found the battle bull. I could go there with a wagon in order to fetch water for my bathtub then.


    After finishing all the preparations, I wiped my sweat with a wet towel. I held the wolf pup in my arms and went to sleep together in my futon.


    By the way, I had been thinking of a name for the wolf pup but in the end, I decided to just name him ¡®Ash¡¯. It seemed the wolf pup liked that name too. When I called him ¡®Ash¡¯, the pup would bark in return while wagging his tail excitedly.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So much work to do just for a bath¡­ Also, I like how our MC is getting closer with the pup. Emotional progress! (¨R?¨Q) ?

 CH 38

    The next morning, I took care of the chickens and my horse, Rocinante. I also taught Ash to not eat the chickens. He was just like a little puppy. I then carried Ash in my arm to the place where I practiced my bow. I had to carry Ash because it¡¯d be dangerous if he were to get caught in the ankle snare trap.


    While I was practicing my marksmanship, I gave Ash a bull¡¯s bone for him to gnaw on and let him ran around as he liked.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    Dexterity: 20¡ú21


    Has changed.¡»


    It seemed my status could also increase if I practiced with my bow.


    After that, I played with Ash by throwing bull¡¯s bone for him to catch and then I taught him the ¡®hand¡¯ and ¡®sit¡¯ commands.


    After sweating for a little bit, I had breakfast together with Ash. For breakfast we had rye bread, eggs and dried meat. I then decided to take a bath in the new bathtub I had made yesterday.


    I loaded the tub onto the wagon, prepared my equipment and then locked the shed before I set out to the water hole. I was sitting on the driver seat while Ash was busy gnawing a bull¡¯s bone on the back.


    I encountered a goblin on the way and so, I shot him with gebal poison arrow. I could feel my accuracy getting better.


    I had arrived at the water hole but there was no battle bull today. I was about to unload the tub to fetch water when I heard Ash growling at something. I picked up my sword and shield, checking the surroundings cautiously.


    Then, from the water, a water ball came shooting at me. I blocked it with my shield, knowing I wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it in time but I ended up getting blown away by the impact. My back got hit hard by the impact, so I immediately drank a HP potion. While I was doing so, water balls kept coming at me from the water in succession but I somehow managed to avoid them all as I retreated back.


    I waited, standing guard to see any change in the water surface and then, it appeared with a splash.


    A bipedal humanoid monster, about 2 meters tall. Its body was filled with shiny blue scales, had the face of a fish, web footed fingers and complete with sharp teeth and nails.


    I appraised it but as always, I only got the simple ¡®monster¡¯ as its description.


    I readied my bows while sweating profusely. I retreated back to my wagon while shooting gebal poison arrow as the monster chased after me.


    And then, Ash jumped from behind the monster, attacking it. The monster became distracted due to Ash¡¯s sudden attack. I was able to hit the monster with donur poison arrow thanks to the opening.


    PWISH!


    My arrow hit the monster¡¯s left knee and the monster fell in agony. I quickly approached the monster and cut its head off with my sword.


    I appraised the defeated monster.


    ¡¾Merman: An aquatic monster, good at water magic.¡¿


    I guess the water ball from before was water magic?


    However, I was saved thanks to Ash¡¯s vigilance. I might¡¯ve been fatally wounded had I not defended myself with a shield.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has went from level 9 to level 10.


    HP: 19¡ú21


    MP: 11¡ú12


    Vitality:13¡ú15


    Strength:20¡ú21


    Intelligence: 73¡ú74


    Dexterity: 21¡ú23


    Speed: 19¡ú21


    Acquired Physical Resistance level 2. ¡»


    Apparently the water ball attack from before was considered as a physical attack. It was really powerful after all. I check up on Ash. He was covered with scratches here and there. I tended to his wound by giving him HP potion.


    Feeling concerned about Ash¡¯s condition, I used appraisal on him.


    ¡¾Ash: An ash wolf puppy, level 2. Has extremely slow growth rate due to its rarity.¡¿


    Hm?


    Curious, I also appraised myself.


    ¡¾Keigo Okuda: A mediocre person from another world. Level 10.¡¿


    So it said.


    At the beginning, when I appraised myself, there was only my name as the description.


    Just what is the meaning of this? So the appraisal can show the level too?


    After putting the merman into the wagon, I started to do what I had intended to do here. I filled the tub with water and left the water hole.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ash is so useful in battle! But since he¡¯s still a puppy, I hope he won¡¯t get hurt later¡­ Also, this is MC¡¯s first time encountering a magic attack. The description of ¡®water ball¡¯ attack doesn¡¯t sound too dangerous but it turns out the impact is pretty strong, huh¡­

 CH 39

    11:00


    When we returned to the shed, I decided to take a bath immediately since me and Ash were both dirty from our fight with the merman.


    The tub was already filled with water so I just placed the cover and started heating it with fire from underneath it. When the water temperature was about right, I turned the heat down and went in with a splash.


    It was the most blissful experience. Ash also looked happy. He was swimming in the tub doggy style.


    Ahh¡­ I feel like I¡¯m in heaven¡­


    After soaking in the tub long enough, I got out of the tub to cool my body down. Then I went into the tub again for another 30 minutes when Margo came to my house.


    Seeing how I got out of the tub, Margo then also took off his clothes and went into the tub with a splash. Margo then sighed. He looked like he was experiencing supreme bliss as well.


    Ash shook his body, splashing water droplets everywhere.


    After Margo finished with his bath, he took out a small keg of ale that he had brought for some reason and so, the two of us started drinking.


    The sight of bad two grown men drinking during the day could be seen.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: This chapter is so short! I¡¯m so shocked when I see how short this chapter is! I guess the author just wants us to focus on MC enjoying his hard-earned bath. Yes, from making the tub to even getting the water! Getting the water was so dangerous for MC too!

 CH 40

    14:00


    After filling our belly with smoked meat and ale, we decided to go to town. I wanted to have this merman disambled and to report the subjugation of the goblin too. As for what we should do with Ash, we decided to bring him with us since it¡¯d be pitiful of him if we left him all alone here.


    For now, I would present Ash as my pet dog.


    During our trip to the town, there was nothing special that could be said about Ash. He was rolling around on the back and gnawing on a bone. He looked like an ordinary puppy no matter how you looked at him.


    After we arrived at town, I parted ways with Margo once we reached the main road.


    Now then. First, I went to the dismantling shop.


    I arrived at the dismantling shop and entrusted the merman I had in my wagon to them. The dismantling cost was 5 copper coins. The cost would be deducted with the price of the materials I¡¯d be selling to them. I decided to wait here since they¡¯d be already finished with the dismantling if I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild first.


    The merman was dismantled into its teeth, claws, tail fin, scale, meat and monster core. I appraised all the materials one by one.


    ¡¾Merman¡¯s Scale: Has the magical attribute of water. A material to grant water attribute.¡¿


    ¡¾Merman¡¯s Meat: Pretty delicious. Status, poisoned.¡¿


    And so, I decided to take the scales. I gestured to them that the meat was inedible. The tail fin would be used as a report for subjugation and as for the rest, I sold them all to the dismantling shop.


    I got 7 gold coins and 8 silver coins in total after deducting the dismantling cost.


    Then I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild, which was a joint establishment with the dismantling shop. I looked for a request to subjugate the merman and the goblin in the bulletin board. After I found the request form, I peeled them off and went to Dan.


    I put the form along with the merman¡¯s tail fin and the goblin¡¯s ear on the counter. Dan confirmed the items and I received 127 guild points as a reward. I also received 11 gold coins and 4 silver coins as a reward for subjugating the ash wolf, merman and the goblin.


    The reward for subjugating the ash wolf was divided between me, Sarasa and Juno. For this occasion, the guild had been keeping the money for me.


    It seemed Dan was interested in Ash who had been wandering around his feet. Dan took out a dried meat and started to tease Ash with it. In return for the meat, Ash did the ¡®hand¡¯ command with Dan.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go, Ash!¡±


    I left the adventurers¡¯ guild and went home.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I love how the people here are not scared of Ash. Even though I think they are clever enough to know the difference between a real dog and a wolf monster. (*?¦á?*)

 CH 41

    16:30


    I arrived at the shed along with Ash. I put Rocinante back into his stable and filled his water and food trough.


    Ash was already laying curled up on my futon in the shed. Probably he was tired from being too excited since it was his first time visiting the town.


    After having a decent meal, I went to the blacksmith workshop together with Ash.


    First, what was the meaning of a ¡®water attribute¡¯ in this merman¡¯s scale description? Usually in RPGs, this was a term used to give fire resistance or something like that.


    For the time being, I decided to put the investigation of this item on hold. I turned the scale into fine powder and stored them in the storage area for later.


    Next, I melted the precious iron I had bought before together with the ash wolf¡¯s fang and coal. I hammered this bright red metal in order to make a shortsword.


    CLANK CLANK CLANK JWISHHH


    I attached the blade with a handle and the shortsword was finished. I appraised the finished product.


    ¡¾Wolverine Sword: A sword made from wolf iron. The hardness of the precious iron is enhanced.¡¿


    Apparently the ash wolf¡¯s fang had the effect of strengthening the hardness of a metal by one level. Then, I remembered.


    I remembered the time when I was able to give fire attributes to a weapon by mixing the abrasive with fire attribute material. Then maybe the petrification attribute from the cockatrice¡¯s eyes and the water attribute from the merman¡¯s scale also worked in the same way?


    Since I had plenty of merman¡¯s scale, I decided to experiment on it first. I mixed the powdered merman¡¯s scale with abrasive and then I gave the end result a lick before I appraised it.


    ¡¾Water Magic Powder: Effective in granting water attribute.¡¿


    For experiment sake, I crushed a fire stone into fine powder and then I mixed the fire stone powder with water monster¡¯s powder. I gave it a lick to see if the experiment worked or not.


    Immediately, I felt an electrifying sensation running through my body.


    ¡¾Thunder Magic Powder: Effective in granting thunder attribute.¡¿


    I see. So you will get the thunder attribute if you combine water and fire attributes together.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy level 3.¡»


    I decided to try to polish this wolverine sword with thunder magic powder.


    SHA SHA SHA SHA SHA


    After 15 minutes of polishing, the wolverine sword finally began to glow in yellow and started letting out small sparks. I appraised the sword.


    ¡¾Wolverine Thunder Sword: A sword made from wolf iron with thunder attributes. The hardness of the precious iron is enhanced. ¡¿


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Blacksmith level 4.


    Dexterity: 23¡ú24


    Has changed.¡»


    I tested the finished sword on wood and there was an electric discharge on the cut before it started to burn. The sharpness was several times better than the pig iron sword I had been using. And so, I decided to make this wolverine thunder sword as my main weapon.


    20:00


    I drank a little bit of ale before I slept together with Ash.

 CH 42

    The next morning, I went about my daily routine which was taking care of the chickens and the horse. Then I went to practice marksmanship.


    I made a rolled omelet with herb chicken eggs and ate it together with rye bread and fruit juice. As for Ash, I gave him some dried deer meat, bread and water. He looked very happy as he ate it.


    And then, I decided to take care of my one pending issue, which was the thunder attribute sword I had created yesterday,  wolverine thunder sword.


    Putting this in the same sheath I had used for the fire sword was dangerous because the sheath would end up getting electrified. So, I wrapped the sheath with insulating tape that I had in my shed.


    And thus, the electrification problem was solved. I could carry this sword anywhere without any problem.


    Soon, it was about time for me to start making  fire attribute weapons like dagger or shortsword to sell to Margo but I could just sell other kinds of weapons just fine.


    I started thinking about creating something else. Maybe I should try experimenting with water and petrification attributes next. Maybe I could also make material to grant the petrification attribute by mixing femto stone powder with cockatrice¡¯s eyes powder.


    Also, I needed to take the mechanism of skill level into consideration. When my blacksmith level was still too low, I could only grant fire attributes to weapons made from inferior iron. However, now that my blacksmith level had increased, I could enchant weapons made from pig iron and even precious iron.


    Given that there wasn¡¯t any other explanation, the increase in level must be the reason why I could do that now.


    I guess the same could be said about the alchemy skill too. I could make a higher level concoction now.


    About the powder that I had created yesterday, the one that could grant a thunder attribute, maybe if my skill level was too low, I wouldn¡¯t be able to create it.


    It was a new discovery. It turned out mixing fire and water attributes together could create thunder attributes.


    Maybe I should show this new sword to Margo and ask him if he had any other enchantment suggestions. First thing first, I needed to know how much this weapon was worth.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Meanwhile, Margo and Sarasa had arrived at my house. First, Sarasa. She came to deliver the finished ash wolf¡¯s mantle to me. I paid 11 gold coins for the processing cost.


    The mantle was gray with blackish hue and white spot patterns. It looked very cool.


    Though¡­ I was anxious to know Ash¡¯s reaction about this mantle¡­


    Ash didn¡¯t seem bothered. He was busy chewing on bull¡¯s bone like usual. I guess that meant there was no problem with this mantle.


    Now then, it¡¯s time to get back to work.


    I brought my ash wolf¡¯s mantle and cleaning brush into the blacksmith workshop. I crushed the merman¡¯s scale and femto stone and mixed the powder together.


    I smeared the brush with the powder and used it to brush the mantle. Still, this mantle was really useful and cool. It also came with a hood.


    SWUSH SWUSH SWUSH SWUSH


    I must¡¯ve already brushed this mantle for at least 20 minutes. The fur on the mantle started to glow slightly before it started to settle down.


    I appraised the mantle.


    ¡¾Ash Wolf¡¯s Mantle (Fire Resistance+): Mantle made from ash wolf¡¯s skin. Has the attribute of water and is resistant to fire attack.¡¿


    So far, I had never encountered any monster that could let out fire attack but it was better to have a resistance for it rather than not.


    This experiment meant that I could grant water attribute to other equipment too. For example, shields. It might be a good idea to grant water attribute to shields.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I guess the author forgot to write that Sarasa and Margo came back home after MC received and paid for the mantle?

 CH 43

    I know I have said this before. I had been thinking about my skill build and hence, I had been saving up my guild points because I really wanted to learn magic no matter what.


    But now, I decided to reconsider. Because, when I think about all the battles I had been going through so far, I mainly relied on my sword, shield and bow as a means for attacking and defending.


    I knew I had high intelligence status and if I learned magic, maybe I could unleash high damage magical power but I knew the main reason I thought that was because of my own desire to be able to use magic.


    I had a feeling if I ended up learning magic, my magic would be dull and weak at best.


    Both basic level bow and shield skill only required 50 guild points so I decided to make them my priority first.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    And so, the next morning, together with Ash, I immediately went to the adventurers¡¯ guild to ask Dan about it. I gestured to Dan that I wanted to learn shield and bow skill. I pointed toward the skill table and made the number 50 with my fingers.


    Dan then gave me the ¡®okay¡¯ gesture. He took me to the dojo where I could learn and practice skills with Kai-sensei, the instructor who was in charge of teaching martial arts.


    Kai-sensei clad the bow in white aura and then he fired a powerful arrow attack at the target.


    DODON!!


    That white aura must be the vitality, a different status than magic power. Though I wasn¡¯t really entirely sure either since we only communicated with gestures. It was just my guess.


    Then it was my turn to try to imitate Kai-sensei. I did manage to fire a more powerful arrow than usual but my attack wasn¡¯t nearly as powerful as Kai-sensei¡¯s.


    TWHAP!


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Charge Arrow level 1.¡»


    Next, shield skill.


    Kai-sensei took up a wooden shield and gestured for me to try to attack him. I tried to attack him and the shield he held glowed. My attack was easily blocked, it felt like I was hitting against a solid steel.


    I then tried to imitate him again. My shield did get enveloped in aura but when Kai-sensei tried to hit me, I still ended up getting knocked backward with a loud scratching noise as I tried to hold onto my ground as best as I could.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Fortress level 1.¡»


    At any rate, I was able to acquire the skills without any problem. Thank you.


    I tried to appraise the newly acquired skills and here was the result.


    ¡¾Charge Arrow level 1: Unleashing charged power to fire a more powerful bow attack.¡¿


    ¡¾Fortress level 1: Increasing the defensive power of a shield.¡¿


    Nice. They sound like a good skill.


    While I was practicing my skill, Ash, who had all the spare time in the world, curled up and slept at the edge of the dojo.


    ¡°Come on Ash, it¡¯s time to go home.¡±


    I said ¡®thank you¡¯ in Lancaster language to Kai-sensei and returned to my shed.

 CH 44

    16:00


    It took me quite a long time to learn the skill. When I returned home, I decided to go to the blacksmith workshop to enhance this ¡®small shield¡¯ that had saved my life so many times.


    Using a mixture of crushed merman¡¯s scale and femto stone, I refined the shield with a whetstone. The shield then emitted a pale, blue light before it disappeared. I appraised the shield again.


    ¡¾Small Shield (Fire Resistance+)¡¿


    It seemed I had successfully enhanced the water attribute to the shield.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    Dexterity: 24¡ú25


    Has changed.¡»


    If I used this shield with ¡®fortress¡¯, I might be able to block a fire attack.


    21:00


    After having a decent meal, I felt sleepy. I cleaned myself and Ash with a wet towel, brushed my teeth and then I went to sleep.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    The next morning, I decided to practice my newly acquired skills.


    I had a light breakfast, did my daily sword training and then I practiced ¡®charge arrow¡¯ while I was practicing marksmanship.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Charge Arrow level 2.¡»


    After that, with a slime as my opponent, I kept on going on the defense, practicing by activating ¡®fortress¡¯. I kept ¡®fortress¡¯ on by replenishing my vitality and HP through eating berzin herb and irene herb.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Fortress level 2.¡»

 CH 45.1

    The next day, I decided to venture a little bit into the woods together with Ash. I had learned a lot of new skills so maybe I started to get a little carried away with my confidence.


    I was picking various plants I had never seen before and putting them into the carrier when I¡­


    GIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE


    There it was, in the forest. A cockatrice.


    Please don¡¯t call me pathetic but I immediately held Ash in my arms and ran away as fast as I could back to the direction I came to. In the middle of running for my life, I glanced sideways for a moment and saw a fire breathing dog fighting against a monster that looked like a wolf-headed kobold.


    Scary. The forest is scary. The forest is scary.


    I went back to my house and went into the futon with Ash still nestled in my arms. I hid inside the futon, trembling out of fear. Ash then let out a soft whine to try to comfort me.


    15:00


    I was finally free from my state of panic and I realized that the most important thing was defense. I would never willingly fight against that kind of monster but when push came to shove, the most important thing was HP and then defense power, including resistance against various things.


    With a bottle of paruna detoxification potion, I mustered my courage and then licked the fine powder made from crushing the dried cockatrice¡¯s eyes, or the ¡®petrification powder¡¯.


    BRRR¡­. CLACKCLACKCLACKCLACK


    My skin started to froth and petrified. I could feel my body temperature dropping rapidly.


    HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!


    I immediately drank the paruna detoxification potion and collapsed on the spot.


    I was laying on the floor for about 1 hour. Ash kept on licking my face, worried about me. I drank another bottle of paruna detoxification potion again before I finally felt better. I stroked Ash¡¯s head, who was still looking up at me worriedly.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Petrification Resistance level 2.¡»


    17:00


    The next thing in my mind was that fire breathing dog monster. Without any doubt, I was sure I¡¯d be burned to a crisp if I got attacked by that fire.


    I crushed the merman¡¯s scale and femto stone, mixed them together and used a whetstone to add ¡°fire resistance(+)¡± to all my equipment like my armor, gauntlet and greave.


    20:00


    CLANK CLANK


    After eating dinner, I was thinking if I should drink alcohol or not when the naruko rang. I took my bow and my sword and headed outside, surveilling my surroundings.


    And there it was. A pitch black dog monster with fiery red eyes about 3 meters big was staring into my direction ominously, threatening me with its gaze alone. Most probably, this was the same monster I had seen earlier.


    GRRRRRRRROARRRR!


    The enemy began to ignite his fire in his throat.


    I immediately held my shield up and activated ¡®fortress¡¯.


    BBOBOBOBOBO! BWAHHHH!!


    The enemy launched its fire breath attack and hit me directly. A puff of smoke was floating to the sky but I still stood on my ground. My whole body was stinging in pain.


    I prepared my bow, shooting donur poison arrow at the enemy with ¡®charge arrow¡¯ and somehow, my arrow was able to hit its leg. The enemy began to twitch, the attack was a success. Then I charged forward with my sword ready. I activated ¡®bash¡¯ and cut my enemy¡¯s head off.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has went from level 10 to level 11.


    HP: 22¡ú24


    MP: 12¡ú13


    Vitality: 15¡ú17


    Strength: 21¡ú23


    Intelligence: 74¡ú75


    Dexterity: 25¡ú27


    Speed: 21¡ú23


    Acquired Flame Resistance level 1 and Fortress level 3.¡»


    I fumbled to look for a small bottle of dual potion(medium) that I had kept inside my mantle¡¯s pocket and fell onto the ground with a thud.


    30 minutes or so must¡¯ve passed. I somehow was able to move again and appraised the monster.


    ¡¾Hellhound: A fire breathing dog type monster. Agile. Its weak point is the monster will become stiff after unleashing its flame attack.¡¿


    If it was not for the stiffness it had after that flame attack and my fire resistant equipment, things would¡¯ve been much more dangerous. Most probably, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hit him with a normal arrow either due to its agility.


    I fixed the sound alarm again and loaded the hellhound into the wagon for me to bring to the guild later.


    Exhausted, I immediately fell back to sleep the moment I touched my futon.

 CH 45.2

    Chapter 45.2 : (Ash¡¯s POV) If Your Beloved Dog Can Talk


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Ash. It¡¯s a very precious name that my Master gave to me! I¡¯m always staying by my Master¡¯s side! We even sleep together! I¡¯ve already decided that my spot to sleep is near my Master¡¯s foot on the futon.


    My favorite food is meat! The deer meat my Master gave to me was so delish!


    My Master took me to many places. When a scary monster is about to attack my Master, I will surprise the monster with my voice. After that, my Master will pat my head.


    Ehehe~


    One day, Master¡¯s close friend, Margo oji-san and Sarasa onee-chan, got into a fight and I told them to stop! For some reason, onee-san will hug me real tight.


    Wow! Sarasa onee-chan smells so good! I love you!!


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Master, there¡¯s no water left! There¡¯s no water in my bowl! Wake up! Don¡¯t just lie there!


    I love to sing! I always sing ¡®dadadada~¡¯ with my Master.


    I also love it when my Master throws a bone for me to catch! I¡¯m good at running! When I catch the bone and bring it back to Master, Master will pat my head.


    Ehehe~


    But¡­ There¡¯s something I¡¯m very worried about¡­ When Master is in the hot room, he will lick things he should not lick and then fall down. I try to wake him up by licking his face but he just won¡¯t wake up. I can¡¯t take this anymore!


    My name is Ash and I¡¯m master¡¯s sidekick!

 CH 46

    The next morning, after eating breakfast, I made dual potion (medium) by boiling berzin herb, delune fruit and irene herb together. I also made paruna antidote because I needed it to increase my petrification resistance so I also boiled berzin herb and mylene herb together after that.


    After that, I got on my wagon to go to Resta so I could go to the adventurers¡¯ guild to report the subjugation of this hellhound I had defeated last night.


    12:00


    The guild¡¯s bulletin had the request paper for subjugating the hellhound so I was able to receive 29 guild points and 2 gold coins as a reward. I had also defeated slimes and other small fries so in total I got 59 guild points.


    I had the hellhound dismantled. The hellhound could be dismantled into its fire pouch, claw, skin and meat. But the skin was already poisoned so it was inedible. I took the fire pouch and one of the claws since I could probably make something out of it. I sold the rest of the materials and got 7 gold coins out of it.


    By the way, I also showed the uncle in the dismantling shop some herb chicken eggs, since I had too much of it and the uncle agreed to buy it from me for his personal use.


    16:00


    I bought some food and drinking water to replenish my stock and then I headed back home.


    17:30


    After I arrived at home, I went to the blacksmith workshop and decided to challenge the ¡®petrification powder¡¯ once again.


    Ash was sitting next to me, looking at me with concern.


    It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m alright.  Now then¡­ Here I go¡­


    This time, I took twice the amount of powder than I had before. I licked it and¡­.


    CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE


    My skin became petrified at a slower rate than before but it still didn¡¯t change the fact that my skin still got petrified due to licking the powder. I could also still feel my body temperature dropping rapidly.


    ¡°GYAHHHHHH!!!¡±


    I drank the paruna antidote in haste and fell flat onto the ground.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Petrification Resistance level 3. ¡»


    ¡°Haah¡­. Haahh¡­.¡±


    I breathed heavily. With this, I already had the perfect countermeasure against the cockatrice.


    On the other hand, Ash snorted, he looked like he was feeling exasperated.


    By the time I fully returned to my senses, I realized it was already pretty late. I had some proper dinner before I went to sleep.

 CH 47

    The next morning, a pompous looking man came while I was practicing ¡®charging arrow¡¯. He was riding a gaudily decorated horse and there were an entourage of about 30 armed adventurers following him. Juno and Margo were also there. This man must be a noble or something since he looked so pompous.


    According to Juno¡¯s gestures and his drawing on the ground, these people were going to the dungeon in the forest to conduct an investigation.


    So? What¡¯s that got to do with me?


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡÷¡ô¡«£¡¨‹¡ñ¡ö¡Á¡«£¡¡±


    The nobleman was saying something.


    Oh please no Sir. I¡¯m just a lowly commoner. Things like monsters should be dealt with by strong people like all of you, instead of someone from a humble background like me.


    I told Juno ¡®no¡¯ but Juno shook his head in response. He looked ghastly pale.


    I guess that means I can¡¯t say ¡®no¡¯ here?


    Though I didn¡¯t want to, I said ¡®yes¡¯ and the nobleman nodded his head, looking satisfied with my answer.


    But if things are about to go south, I¡¯m going to run, okay?


    I donned on my gear and went along with this pompous man¡¯s entourage. As for Ash, I felt bad for leaving him behind but I had to leave him here. I chained his collar to a post and let him loose in the garden. I made sure to prepare him with enough water and food. Rocinante (my horse) and the chickens too, I also prepared enough food and water for them.


    ¡°Papa needs to go to work now. Be a good boy, okay?¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    Being the good boy he was, Ash sat up straight as he saw me off.


    And so, I left my house.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    It was safe to say we were obliterated before we even reached the dungeon. If you want me to tell you what had happened, well¡­ We were surrounded by 3 cockatrices and 4 hellhounds.


    One hellhound had come to my house before and if you went deeper into the woods, of course you were bound to be swarmed by them. If there was only one, it was very possible to defeat it. But facing 7 of them at the same time was a bit of a stretch to say the least.


    The nobleman said something that seemed like ¡°CHARGEEEEE!!¡± but everyone was scattering everywhere instead. Some of the adventurers died from being poisoned, petrified or even burned to crisp.


    When I glanced at him, I saw the nobleman was also escorted to safety by his follower.


    I gave paruna antidote to Margo and Juno and activated ¡®fortress¡¯ to become their shield. I received the hellhound¡¯s flame attack straight on. I was barely able to drink dual potion (medium) and hit one of the hellhound with donur poison arrow, bringing one down.


    The three of us managed to escape, shoulder to shoulder.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Fire Resistance level 2.¡»


    When we arrived at my house, the three of us were laughing so hard at how ridiculous all of us were. Hopefully the nobleman would learn from this experience and could restrain himself from being unreasonable in the future.


    I heated the water to clean ourselves from dirt and tended the wound with potion. I set Ash free from his chain, allowing him to play around in the garden.


    We decided to have a drink and a meal in order to reward ourselves for our service.

 CH 48.1

    According to Juno¡¯s story, that stupid nobleman was Bavarian. After that escapade, he came to my house, together with his meek looking men and started yelling about something.


    I guess it was a good thing I couldn¡¯t understand a word he said otherwise, I¡¯d be apologizing to him as he shouted. Then after saying ¡®sorry¡¯ in Lancaster language, I offered 5 gold coins to him but he looked like he wanted more so I offered him 10 gold coins instead.


    By doing that, I turned him mood for the better and so, he went back to Resta. I could stop a nobleman from glaring at me with just 10 gold coins, it was a small price to pay. In fact, I actually offered 5 gold coins at first before adding another 5 deliberately. It was a trade technique to see if you should raise your price or not based on the other party¡¯s reaction.


    Dearest idiot nobleman-sama. Please do not come here ever again. You¡¯re making me less and less inclined to move into Resta.


    In addition, the other adventurers who were recruited by that stupid nobleman were also got scolded harshly. How outrageous. Well, it had nothing to do with me though.


    After that, Margo and Juno went back to town.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    10:00


    The next morning. I was in a good mood because of the plants from my previous foraging I had planted in my garden. It was a plant with deep blue leaves the shape of a spade. Even if I appraised it, appraisal would only tell me it was a ¡®plant¡¯ without any additional information. The only thing I could do to know its utility was to try to eat it.


    I held a bottle of paruna antidote in my left hand, mustered up my resolve and then ate the blue leaf.


    Hm¡­..Not good. My body is becoming numb.


    I hastily drank the paruna antidote. But, the numbness didn¡¯t get better in the slightest. And so, I collapsed on the spot just like that. I was still conscious but my body was so numb I couldn¡¯t even move. Worried about me, Ash kept on nudging my right foot.


    16:00


    After being paralyzed for 6 hours, I was finally able to move. There weren¡¯t any particular abnormalities in my body. If I had to say something then I guess I was feeling hungry because I had to skip lunch.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Paralyze Resistance level 1.¡»


    Then I appraised the plant I had eaten.


    ¡¾Gleene Anesthesia Plant: A plant with a powerful anesthetic effect. The anesthetic effect can¡¯t be treated with an antidote.¡¿


    It was an anesthetic. This could be used for medicinal purposes or when I wanted to hunt some meat. I immediately boiled the gleene anesthesia plant and planned on smearing the end result, which was ¡®gleene anesthetic¡¯, onto the ankle snare trap I had installed around my house.


    When I went out of my house, I saw a wild boar got caught in the ankle snare trap. I killed it with my sword and decided to have a pork nabe today.


    By using gleene anesthetic on the ankle snare trap, I could paralyze the trapped monster. The meat wouldn¡¯t get poisoned so it would still be edible. I also applied the anesthetic on some of the arrowheads. I coiled the arrowheads in plastic tape so I could separate them from the poison arrows.


    20:00


    I drained the blood and dismantled the wild boar. After that, I boiled the meat together with some herbs, garlic and salt. The pork nabe was so delicious. Ash was also eating the pork nabe happily.

 CH 48.2

    My name is Resta von Bavarian. I am a nobleman of a prestigious lineage hailing from the town of Resta. There is no single person in this town who does not know my glorious name.


    And the other day¡­ I had experienced a devastating experience.


    The monsters had been very active recently and I had predicted that soon, the monsters that were born in the dungeon would soon overflow outside. It is my duty as a nobleman to handle this problem and so, I set out to conquer the dungeon but¡­


    Those useless blockheads¡­ To run away at the sight of a mere cockatrice was very unbecoming of an adventurer. They kept on apologizing, making pitiful excuses and so, I punished them with an iron fist! FUHAHAHAHA!


    If I tossed them into a jail for a week, they will surely thoroughly reflect on their faults. But¡­ Only that eccentric who¡¯s living in the outskirts of the town was different. He was so humble, he even offered me gold coins as an apology.


    So he knew what I meant! FUHAHAHAHA! He made me so happy that I forgave him along with the two other adventurers that were with him.


    They better be grateful that my heart is bigger than the sea itself! FUAHAHHAHAA!


    If only the other adventurers had done the same, they wouldn¡¯t have to receive the punishment from me, you know?


    Mind your manner, you foolish plebeian! You better bow down on the floor and beg for mercy!! I will definitely conquer the dungeon and make all the people in Lancaster know me as the great hero!


    Becoming the grand duke won¡¯t become a fleeting dream for me anymore!! FUHAHAHAHAHA!!


    Just you wait, you monsters!! I will make you become the stepping stone for my success!!

 CH 49

    I was thinking about my skill build again. I asked Dan-san about magic and he said there were 6 basic attributes to learn. Fire, water, wind, earth, light and dark. Of course, I was able to learn about this information through gestures and drawing on the magic board.


    And so, since I still planned on learning magic, I tried to envision each attribute¡¯s utility.


    First, fire. Obviously you could create fire with this magic but I already had my fire dagger so I don¡¯t think I needed any more means to create fire as of now.


    Next, water. Water attribute could be useful for guaranteeing drinkable water for me but in the first place, I had been collecting rainwater and getting drinkable water from the town. As for the water I needed for a bath, I could just fetch it from the river. Still, having water magic would be convenient.


    And then, wind. Wind! A gentle breeze to cool yourself~ I don¡¯t need it.


    Earth. Earth, hm¡­. Stone Bullet! I guess I could throw flying stones at my opponent? A bow and arrow could work just fine.


    Light¡­ Light! Even at night, I could make things bright! But I could only produce light for a second before the light disappeared¡­.


    To begin with, I was the type that was early to bed, early to rise. Besides, I liked the warm and gentle light from the bonfire. It calmed me down. I even retired to the outskirts of Hokkaido and took on life as a farmer.


    I was the traditional type of a man who changed the modern stove in my house to a firewood stove, even before I got warped into this world. A weird magic like light would only become a hindrance to me.


    Dark¡­ Curses! Or maybe summoning demons! Maybe something like that? I definitely don¡¯t want that kind of magic.


    Now that I think about it, the differences between all of them were subtle. Though if I mastered them, they could be useful in a lot of ways.


    However, was it really a good idea to spend 150 guild points to learn it now? I still think it¡¯d be safer to use those points for defense skill or skill for the weapons I currently had. I was also interested in martial arts.

 CH 50

    Today too, the sun was rising again. I yawned as I woke up and then I went to wash my face with water from a bucket. The cold water really helped me in clearing my head from sleep.


    Ash was running in a spin, going round and round. His cuteness level was very high too today.


    I went through my daily morning routine. I took care of the animals first and then I did some light exercise to flex my tendon. Then I did sword practice by swinging wooden sword and practicing my marksmanship.


    After exercising, I had breakfast. I fried the egg and dried meat on a frying pan and had them together with bread. I also made tea by boiling irene herbs. I liked herbal tea made from irene herbs so much because it revitalized my HP from all the training.


    Now then, what should I do today? Oh, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s been a while since I last had a hot bath.


    I had already decided my plan for today. I would go to the river to fetch water for my hot bath. I also wanted to make another square bath to store water so I was thinking of going to Margo¡¯s store to stock up on inferior iron. I wanted a container for clean water that I could use for bathing, laundry and watering the crops.


    When I told Margo I was planning to heat the water for a hot bath, Margo chuckled, conveying to me that he¡¯d come to my place for a bath and a drink.


    And so, that¡¯s how I usually decide my plan for the day. I am really living a carefree life.

 CH 51

    I basically believe monsters and animals were the same as long as they didn¡¯t try to harm me. Like with the blue wolves. I only took them down because they were trying to kill me. I wouldn¡¯t kill them if I had developed emotional attachment with them like I did with Ash. Or rather, there was no way I¡¯d kill something as cute as Ash. Ash was really the cutest in this world.


    One morning, I saw a goblin had gotten caught in the ankle snare trap. There was a club near him. He might¡¯ve dropped his weapon. He must be unable to move due to the paralyzing effect from the gleene anesthetic.


    Donned on my protective gear, I approached the goblin and removed the ankle snare trap from his leg.


    Perfect. Just when I need to raise the level of ¡®fortress¡¯.


    I picked the goblin¡¯s club and placed it near him. Then I waited for the paralyze effect to wear off.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    ¡°Gugya? ¡­.Gugya!!¡±


    The paralyze effect finally wore off. The goblin took up his club and started to hit me.


    ¡°Fortress.¡±


    BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!


    His club was repelled by my shield. I didn¡¯t even flinch from the attack. The goblin kept on brandishing his club for another 30 minutes, hitting me mindlessly.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Fortress level 4.¡»


    I kept this up while munching the berzin herb that I had stuffed into my mouth.


    ¡°Gugyagya?¡±


    The goblin¡¯s shoulder was heaving, he was breathing heavily. I guess this was the limit of his strength.


    ¡°GIGIGYAAA!!¡±


    The goblin turned on his heel and ran toward the direction of the river.


    I didn¡¯t really do anything to catch him. If he was going to run away then so be it. Judging from his condition, I doubt he¡¯d try to come near here again. But still, if he tried to attack me again, I¡¯d bring him down.


    Which reminded me. I just realized I hadn¡¯t been attacked by any blue wolves recently.


    At this point, I was still completely ignorant that the reason for this was because Ash, a type of high-level Blue Wolf, was already emotionally attached to me.

 CH 52

    10:00


    I asked Dan from the guild if I could learn some type of martial art with 50 guild points.


    Then Dan made a gesture and a kick pose. Apparently it was some sort of foot skill.


    If it was foot skill, that means I could have a new way of attacking. If it was fist skill like straight thrust, it¡¯d be a little complicated for me to use because that means I needed to throw away my weapon first. But if it was foot skill, I could still use it while still holding onto my sword and shield.


    Therefore, I decided to spend 50 guild points to have Kai teach me martial art skill.


    What Kai did was something akin to a ¡®side kick¡¯. He shortened the distance between him and the target by crossing his left and right leg alternately then he did a side kick as if his toe was the point of a blade and the wooden target was destroyed with  a ¡°DOKA!¡± sound.


    I took off my greaves and tried to imitate him but all I could produce was a soft ¡°bam¡± sound. As I thought, it was a matter of the difference between our proficiency.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Leg Sword Kick level 1.¡»


    Apparently, I had successfully acquired the skill. I said ¡®thank you¡¯ to Kai and left the dojo.


    After that, I stopped by Margo¡¯s store to buy precious iron and hellhound pelts. My intention was to make suitable foot equipment for ¡®leg sword kick¡¯.


    19:00


    After finishing dinner in a haste, I holed myself up inside the blacksmith workshop to make the foot equipment. The food equipment I currently had was focused on defense so it was not suitable for ¡®leg sword kick¡¯.


    In order to achieve this, I customized the original one  by reinforcing the front part that would touch the enemy when I used ¡®leg sword kick¡¯ with precious iron.


    CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK SWISHHH


    After several adjustments, the foot protective gear that I had reinforced with precious iron and hellhound pelts was completed.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Blacksmith level 5.¡»


    My blacksmith level had also increased. I quickly put on my new equipment and tried to do a ¡®leg sword kick¡¯.


    Yeah, not bad.


    I planned on adding ¡®leg sword kick¡¯ practice into my daily regimen tomorrow.


    After wiping the sweat and dirt from my blacksmithing job with a wet towel, I brushed my teeth and went to sleep together with Ash.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Those equipments must be heavy now since our MC reinforced it with iron

 CH 53

    The next morning, I woke up with Ash tapping on my face with his foot. It turned out, Ash¡¯s water bowl was already empty.


    Apparently Ash was trying to say,¡±Give me water~¡±. And so, I played with Ash for a while. Recently, I have taken a liking to playing ¡®Beethoven¡¯ with Ash.


    I put Ash on my back and let him hug me from behind then I pretended to be a conductor. When I sang the note for ¡®Symphony No. 5¡¯ by Beethoven, Ash howled together with me. How adorable.


    Now then, it¡¯s about time for me to start my morning practice.


    I feed Rocinante (my horse) and the chickens. Then I moved to the training area I had built outside. I doubt Ash would get caught in the ankle snare trap or the pitfall trap but I still took him  with me by holding him in my arms just to be safe.


    Today, I have added martial art training to my regimen. While pretending as if I was in an actual battle, I practiced the ¡®foot sword kick¡¯ technique while equipping the foot protector equipment I had enhanced yesterday.


    The wooden target broke nicely. It was pretty powerful.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Leg Sword Kick level 2.¡»


    Now that I had worked up a sweat, it was time to eat breakfast. For breakfast, I had raw herb chicken egg, bread, dried meat and irene herb tea. As I expected, the fresh raw egg tasted really delicious. After that, I also made steamed potatoes from the potatoes I had planted and harvested myself. Potatoes were the kind of plant that you could store for a long time at room temperature.


    10:00


    Today, I decided to make smoked egg and smoked meat. I had enough spare time to smoke food so I decided to do it while sipping on liquor occasionally. Well, to be honest this was the kind of life I yearned for when I decided to retire into the countryside.


    After I was done with the smoking, I ate some of the meat. I rinsed and sun dried the rest then I placed it in some kind of a jute bag. Rather than for preserving food, I was doing this to make a gift for Margo more.


    16:00


    I loaded the smoked meat, 2 herb chickens and some of the potatoes  I had harvested into the wagon. After everything was set, I started heading into the town. Of course, Ash was coming with me too.


    17:00


    I had bought some liquor on my way to Margo¡¯s store.


    I handed over the three inferior iron fire daggers I had made to Margo. Apparently the fire dagger had become popular as an easy and convenient item to start fire, rather than as a weapon. I received several more daggers made from inferior iron from Margo for me to enhance them into fire daggers..


    We concluded our business transactions in a haste, Margo¡¯s eyes kept on getting stuck at the liquor, herb chicken and the smoked meat I brought with me.


    I heard the herb chickens I had raised, along with the eggs, had become one of the most popular items in this town. I guess I must be the only person who mixed medicinal herbs into their chicken¡¯s food.


    Margo started closing his store for today, since he said there¡¯d be no visitor coming anymore anyway. I really couldn¡¯t speak anything about his capricious behavior since I¡¯m a hopeless adult too.


    Coincidentally, Juno was coming to Margo¡¯s store to have his sword sharpened so I invited him to join us. Since there were already 3 of us, I decided to invite Sarasa as well. While Juno was out to get Sarasa, I borrowed the whetstone and the polishing stone from Margo¡¯s blacksmith and started sharpening Juno¡¯s sword. On the other hand, Margo was starting the preparation for the grilled chicken. My head was already completely in the drinking mood.


    Sarasa brought garlic and other vegetables that would go well with grilled chicken. After that, the four of us were drinking liquor together while grilling chicken using the fire from Margo¡¯s blacksmith.


    Ash did the ¡®hand¡¯ command and Margo gave him grilled chicken as a reward. We all had a great time at this grilled chicken party.


    22:00


    I stayed at Margo¡¯s place for far too long. The four of us cleaned up after our grilled chicken party and called it a night. The leftovers were split between all four of us to bring home. It was a beautiful night with the blue moon and the crystal clear sky filled with stars.


    23:00


    I finally arrived at home. It was about the time when I usually went to sleep. Ash had already fallen asleep on the way home. The sound of his sleeping could be heard. My stomach was full and I was feeling sleepy too.


    I carried the sleeping Ash to the futon. After wiping my body with a wet towel, I also slipped into the bed.


    Good night.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: You know, for a slow-life isekai story, the MC rarely gets to have an actual slow-life like today. Usually he needs to defend his home from monster invasion or saw scary monsters while foraging.


    Also, I¡¯m going to set a schedule and a kofi goal for extra chapter. My current schedule is 1 chapter/day during the weekday (Monday-Friday). So basically 5 chapters/week. I¡¯m not posting or touching my laptop on weekend.


    For each kofi ($3), I will post one extra chapter of isekai survival novel. I will post the extra chapter the day after I receive the kofi. So for example I receive 2 kofis on Tuesday. That means I will post 2 extra chapters on Wednesday.


    I feel like 1 chapter/day is already fast though so if you guys don¡¯t want to donate or can¡¯t donate any kofi, it¡¯s completely fine! I will still post 1 chapter/day ?(>??)

 CH 54

    When I went to the river to get water for my bath, I saw a merman fighting against a giant snake, about 10 meters long. The giant snake raised its head, it looked like it was accumulating something inside its mouth before the snake spit the content of its mouth out. Maybe it was some sort of poisonous breath or something. The merman, receiving the hit directly, melted immediately. It was an instant death.


    SCARYYYYY!!!!!


    Without missing a single beat, I turned my wagon around and returned to my house as fast as I could. I locked the door shut and hid in the futon while hugging Ash. My body wouldn¡¯t stop trembling. Trying to comfort me, Ash let out a series of weak whines.


    Impossible. That thing is definitely impossible.


    But¡­ What about my bath¡­


    For the time being, I had no other choice but to wait for the giant snake to somehow go away somewhere.


    14:00


    I¡¯m starving¡­.


    For now, I¡¯ve calmed down enough. I ate an egg and nibbled on a piece of bread.


    What should I do..


    It was then I suddenly remembered. The adventurers¡¯ guild existed for a situation like this. Only the hero in RPG games could defeat any monster that came in their way.


    I immediately started preparing to go out and turned my wagon to the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    I was sitting on a table in the adventurers¡¯ guild while having a heated discussion with Dan. On my magic board, I drew the town, the forest and the river. I circled the river area and drew a picture of a giant snake. I drew a picture of a merman fighting against the giant snake and drew a cross mark on top of the merman¡¯s drawing while alternately stabbing the merman¡¯s scale I had with my finger.


    Somehow Dan was able to understand what I was trying to say. He made a gesture for money. He must be asking what we should do about the subjugation reward. I handed 5 gold coins to Dan.


    Then Dan wrote a new subjugation request for the giant snake on paper and plastered the form onto the bulletin board. The strong looking adventurers were looking at the newly plastered paper curiously.


    I¡¯m sorry for pushing this burden to another person but please, I hope someone can defeat it¡­¡­¡­.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Wow. I think this is the first time I actually read an MC requesting monster subjugation to the adventurers¡¯ guild instead of the other way around. Good, good. There¡¯s no need for MC to risk his life for the sake of a bath when he can safely use his money to carve the way for him.


    ¡ã???(???)???¡ã

 CH 55

    Chapter 55


    T/N: Today we will have 10 extra chapters! (? ?? ? ¨C ? ) ?


    Please be patient while I¡¯m uploading all of them. Posting 10 chapters takes time (¡ä?¦Ø?`)


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    After putting out a subjugation request for the giant snake at the adventurers¡¯ guild, I went back to my house to get my bathtub and filled the tub with water in town. Since I couldn¡¯t get the water from the river for the time being.


    That giant snake. That snake would surely cause a lot of damage if it were to come to town. My house would be in danger too. I needed to think about some more extra precautions¡­


    I decided to reinforce my shovel with precious iron. I went to my blacksmith workshop and lit up the fire at the furnace.


    CLANK CLANK CLANK SHHH SHHH SHHH SHHH


    I strengthened the part used to shove the soil and sharpened the edge with whetstone.


    THUNK


    When I tried to use it to dig up the ground, I felt like it was a lot easier for me to dig with it now that I had reinforced it.


    I dug a hole around the perimeter of my house. I piled up the excavated soil toward the side of my house and hardened the soil with my shovel to make some sort of mud wall. Having a mud wall was better than having nothing.


    I also carefully made a slope from the outer part toward the wall side as best as I could to create a difference in elevation between the wall and the outer part.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    In the end, my paranoid fear against the giant snake ended just like that. Apparently a party of skilled adventurers had defeated the giant snake. With this, I could finally start drawing water from the river again.


    This was a prime example of the correct way for a common civilian to utilize the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    Become a famous adventurer by defeating a strong opponent? Nay, nay. In reality, that kind of thing is simply impossible for us common folks.


    At most, the best thing I could do now was to request a subjugation from the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    If things like cockatrice and hellhounds were to come swarming to my house, I¡¯d be in trouble¡­ Or to be precise, it was very likely that I¡¯d die. And so, I decided to deposit 10 gold coins to Dan at the adventurers¡¯ guild for them to use as a reward for subjugating the monster at the forest.


    I got an additional 1 gold coin as a reward for each defeated monster.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So quick! In just one chapter, the giant snake problem is finished?! Well I¡¯m happy for our MC but that quick??

 CH 56.1

    I think of Margo as my friend. Of course, there is a reason why I think like that. I think we are similar in a sense that we both love solitude but contradictorily, we somewhat easily succumb to loneliness.


    He¡¯s usually a jovial, dignified old man who never shows his weakness to others though.


    Judging from how dignified Margo is, I thought he must have a wife already but up until now, I¡¯ve never seen any sign of his wife. I suspect there are some circumstances that make him unable to find a wife but that¡¯s not the kind of topic I¡¯d deliberately talk about through writing.


    If Margo wants to talk about it then I¡¯m all ears but I won¡¯t deliberately pry into his matter. Just carefreely jumping into the bath and having a drink merrily together with him is enough for me.


    When I was still working for that trading company, I sometimes got to make an acquaintance with a foreigner. I have many experiences where I felt comfortable with the distance between us where we wouldn¡¯t invade each other¡¯s privacy due to us unable to communicate properly given the language barrier.


    A friendship blossomed by overcoming the language barrier between us.


    The relationship between me and Margo is just like that. Therefore, I won¡¯t dare to invade his precious privacy. The same can be said regarding Sarasa and Juno too. I can feel it by watching their behavior but I won¡¯t dare to pry.


    I am that kind of person.


    I once went drinking with my friend and then I ended up prying into his thoughts, more than I should have because I was drunk. I really regretted that incident.


    However, I won¡¯t have to worry about that in this world because I can¡¯t talk in their language in the first place. The fact that I don¡¯t need to choose which words to say makes me feel comfortable and at ease instead. I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t need to worry about anything when I¡¯m having a drink with them.


    I love the relationship I currently have with them.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Cha-Character development?! Or rather, we finally get to know about MC¡¯s mind since he¡¯s been like this before he got isekai-ed? It¡¯s really confusing when you¡¯re like MC. You like to be alone but on the other side, you¡¯re prone to loneliness. Ahh~

 CH 56.2

    Chapter 56.2 : (Sarasa¡¯s POV) Isekai¡¯s Mi Amore


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Sarasa. My family have been working as a merchant in the town of Resta for generations. Since I¡¯m the only daughter of my family, I took over the administration of my family¡¯s shop in my father¡¯s stead.


    I have a strange friend. His name is Keigo Okuda. When he first came to me, I had been wondering just what kind of person he was. Despite being unable to speak our language, he was able to write in our language. I helped him with various things.


    He¡¯s able to make potions and good at taking care of both the animals and the plants. He sells me high quality goods that I will then sell in my store. Those who can mix potions are very indispensable. There are only several people in this town who can mix potions. Keigo really has been a great help to me.


    The chickens and the eggs they laid from him are nothing but excellent either. I even heard his chickens and the eggs have a nourishing effect on one¡¯s body. When I put them for sale in my store, they will get sold off right away. Really, can¡¯t he increase the production even more so I can sell more?


    I once offered him that I would lend him an employee for my store to help him so he can produce his goods at a bigger scale but he politely refused my offer.


    He¡¯s really a human with no greedy desire but he has this weird habit. He once liked the poison made from cockatrice¡¯s poison gland! Unbelievable! Sure enough, he collapsed after he licked the poison! That incident was really dangerous!


    I also really admire the relationship between him and Margo. The two of them can have a proper conversation but at the same time, they are similar.


    My parents keep on urging me to get married to a young man from a rich family but I actually already have someone that I like. I can¡¯t tell you who but he¡¯s a really nice person. He doesn¡¯t notice my feelings at all but I¡¯m sure he will turn around someday.

 CH 56.3

    Chapter 56.3 : (Juno¡¯s POV) Isekai¡¯s Mi Amore Part 2


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Juno. I¡¯m nothing but a humble adventurer living in the town of Resta. I am barely making ends meet.


    I have a strange friend. His name is Keigo. For some reason, I couldn¡¯t just leave him be. I ended up helping him in various ways in the beginning but recently, I¡¯m the one who keeps on receiving his favor.


    He lives between the town of Resta and a forest where strong monsters lurk. I often stop by his house to take a break from hunting. He¡¯s handy, good at cooking, can make potions and good at doing weapon and armor maintenance too.


    The nobleman from our town has caused a lot of trouble for Keigo. I¡¯m really sorry about that. Technically speaking, he¡¯s not the resident of this town so he shouldn¡¯t have to follow the nobleman¡¯s order but you really can¡¯t reason with that nobleman.


    Although Keigo can¡¯t speak our words, he¡¯s the type of a man who can understand the reason. I was relieved to see he had successfully avoided being glared at by that nobleman.


    I am on good terms with the old man running the weapon shop at Resta, Margo and Sarasa, who¡¯s working as a merchant. Sarasa, me and Elsa are childhood friends. Elsa is the daughter of the innkeeper where I stay.


    To be honest, my first love was Sarasa. No, maybe it¡¯s strange to say ¡®was¡¯? After all, my affections for her still stays the same. But Sarasa is a young woman from a prestigious family who has taken over her father¡¯s family business as a merchant. On the other hand, I¡¯m just an adventurer who could die at any given moment, just like a stray dog.


    The two of us are simply too incompatible. So, I¡¯ve decided to hide my love toward her. But it seems Keigo has somehow noticed my feelings. That guy is pretty sharp. He has keen eyes.. But nonetheless, he never said anything and just kept it to himself. He¡¯s really a good guy.


    It seems Sarasa is in love with that old man, Margo. I wonder if that thickheaded old man doesn¡¯t notice it for real or he¡¯s just pretending? I don¡¯t want to ruin our current relationship and I don¡¯t want to go out of my way to have an honorable defeat when I have 0 chance of success.


    As long as I keep my love under wraps, no one will notice it. Everything will be alright.


    That¡¯s why¡­ This is for the best.


    ¡­.They said love is, sometimes it¡¯s sweet, sometimes it¡¯s painful but for me, all I ever experience is pain.


    Good grief, love is really a troublesome thing.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: THE ONE SARASA LOVES IS MARGO? (???¡¯) I see¡­. So Sarasa likes buff soft men¡­.

 CH 56.4

    Chapter 56.4 : (Margo¡¯s POV) A Widower Blacksmith


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Margo. I run a small weapon and armor shop in the town of Resta. My wife, Isabelle, died when she was still young. I¡¯ve been a widower for quite a long time. I don¡¯t have any children either.


    Recently, I befriended an interesting man. In a way, he¡¯s different from Sarasa and Juno, whom I have a business relationship with. That guy is called Keigo. He can¡¯t speak our language but he can write in our language. He¡¯s a really strange man.


    When we defeated that cockatrice monster together with Juno and him, I could feel my blood boiling and my flesh dancing.


    For some reason, Keigo hates the thought of living in town. I guess that guy has his own belief so I won¡¯t say anything against it.


    Keigo has a knack for blacksmithing. After all, not only can he make weapons and armor, he can also add fire or water attributes to them. His sword also has an attribute and it¡¯s a rare lightning attribute that I don¡¯t even have in my store. I¡¯d like it if he would teach me how to do it since that¡¯s a feat even I can¡¯t do but I doubt he¡¯d share such an important trade secret with me.


    It is a basic courtesy, even if we are friends. I won¡¯t force him to share his trade secret with me.


    That guy, I¡¯m getting the fire daggers he made and then I sell it at my store for cheap. I¡¯m able to make profit too so I won¡¯t pry any further. It¡¯s a beneficial give and take relationship.


    If the noble in the town of Resta realized Keigo can make fire daggers, Keigo is at risk of getting in big trouble in regards to tax collection. That¡¯s why I just keep on pretending the fire dagger that I sell in my store is made by me since I¡¯m working as a blacksmith too.


    Keigo has a bath in his house. Having a drink after taking a bath at his house feels so exceptional. The ¡®marinated egg¡¯ he makes tastes nothing but exquisite too.


    The other day, I was recruited by the noble in the town of Resta and I ended up causing a lot of trouble to Keigo. He protected me and Juno from the monster¡¯s fire attack when we were escaping from the hellhounds.


    He¡¯s a really reliable guy.


    That guy, he has a gray puppy. His puppy is very friendly and adorable. The puppy is so cute that I can¡¯t stop wanting to pet him but I have to restrain myself. After all, I¡¯m afraid the puppy will be creeped out if such a rigid old man like me were to do that.


    I¡¯m really a stiff and rigid old man. Even now, I still don¡¯t have any intention of getting a new wife. But still, being a widower sure is hard. I do want to have a child but on the other hand, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m capable of raising a child.


    Lately, I¡¯ve been able to distract myself from this feeling of loneliness thanks to Keigo. I¡¯m really grateful for him.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ah¡­ Margo and MC are really similar¡­ Lucky for Margo though, he has Sarasa. I hope Sarasa can break Margo¡¯s tough skin. Somehow I can imagine Margo feeling reluctant to accept Sarasa¡¯s feelings because Sarasa is still young and beautiful. Like Margo is going to tell Sarasa that a young and vigorous man will suit her better than him.

 CH 57

    As usual, I woke up to Ash fidgeting around me. Today, I was thinking of having a hot bath. After finishing my morning training and breakfast, I went to the river. The weather was looking fine today so I decided to dry my straw mattress and blue wolf¡¯s quilt out in the sun.


    10:00


    When I arrived at the river, I encountered another merman. The merman shot out its water ball attack and I immediately put up my shield and activated ¡®fortress¡¯.


    BAM!


    I took less damage compared to the last time I fought against the merman. While still keeping ¡®fortress¡¯ on, I drank dual potion (medium) to recover from the damage I had taken.


    I quickly approached the merma. While repelling the merman¡¯s claw attack, I found the opportunity to unleash ¡®foot sword kick¡¯ attack at the merman. My attack hit the merman¡¯s head, bringing the merman down.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 12.


    HP: 25¡ú26


    MP: 14¡ú16


    Vitality:17¡ú19


    Strength: 24¡ú25


    Intelligence: 75¡ú76


    Dexterity: 28¡ú29


    Speed: 24¡ú25


    Acquired Physical Resistance level 3, Fortress level 5, Foot Sword Kick level 3.¡»


    If it was against a merman, I already could put up a decent fight.


    After that, I filled my bathtub with water, put the merman¡¯s carcass into the wagon and went to my house to drop the bathtub before I set out to town.


    13:00


    I left the guild after submitting the proof of defeat for the merman. I got 24 guild points and 7 silver coins as the reward for subjugating the merman this time.


    In addition, I was able to acquire the most important materials for me now. Which was the merman¡¯s scale, a material I needed to grant water attribute. As for the other part, there was the merman¡¯s flesh. I tried to appraise it.


    ¡¾Merman¡¯s Meat: Quite delicious.¡¿


    Since that was the result of the appraisal, I decided to bring some portions with me, enough for me to eat at home later. I took a small bite out of it just to try it out and it tasted like white flesh fish.


    15:00


    I got several daggers made from inferior iron from Margo so I went to the blacksmith workshop in my house to try giving water attribute to one of the daggers. I mixed the crushed femto stone and merman¡¯s scale together and added the combined mixture as I sharpened the dagger with a whetstone.


    SWISH SWISH SWISH


    The dagger then glowed in pale blue light.


    ¡¾Water Dagger: Made from inferior iron. A dagger with water attribute. Drops of water will trickle down from the dagger.¡¿


    Apparently I could grant water attribute to weapons. When I added water attribute to armor, the armor became fire resistant but when I added it to weapons, the weapon could be used as a household item to save water.


    To test it out, I hung up the water dagger with a string and placed a bucket underneath it to store the drop of water. After about two hours, the bucket was filled with water from the water dagger. I took a sip out of that water and it seemed the water was drinkable and there wasn¡¯t any problem with the quality of the water.


    I was thinking of selling the water dagger by thrusting it into a flask and selling it as a water bottle with the slogan ¡®for your adventuring essential!¡¯ or something.


    I continued to add water attribute to the rest of the daggers before I called it a day.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    Dexterity: 29¡ú30


    Has changed.¡»


    20:00


    I sauteed the merman¡¯s meat in a frying pan and ate it. After that, I boiled the water for my bath and jumped into the bath together with Ash. In addition, I also used a toothbrush to brush Ash¡¯s teeth.


    After having a little drink, I snuggled into my bed. The futon smelt of the sun because I had dried it in the sun before. Just when I thought Ash was being quiet, it turned out Ash had comfortably fallen asleep near my feet.


    As I laid on my bed, I was thinking of trivial things like should I sell the water dagger to Margo since it was a weapon or should I sell it to Sarasa as a household essential.


    As I did so, I fell asleep before I realized it.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I mean at this point, the fire daggers are also sold as a lighter instead of a weapon too.

 CH 58

    The next morning, after finishing my usual duties and having a light breakfast, I went to visit Margo¡¯s store. My purpose today was to have him check the water dagger I had made yesterday.


    I put the 4 water daggers into a relatively big bucket in order to prevent the water from leaking out and set out to town with my wagon.


    Margo looked at the water dagger and the explanation of the water dagger in Lancaster language that I had copied onto the magic board based on the result of the appraisal with his eyes wide in shock. After that, he tried to drink the water from the water dagger and gestured 30 gold coins to me.


    I gestured back that maybe I should give 2 daggers to Margo and 2 daggers to Sarasa but Margo vehemently insisted that he should take all 4.


    He made a gesture like he was riding on a horse while puffing out his chest, trying to tell me ¡®nobleman, dangerous¡¯. Somehow I understand what he meant. I did agree that it was not a good idea to distribute my goods to many places and ended up gathering unnecessary attention. So, I exchanged 4 water daggers in that bucket for 120 gold coins.


    Coincidentally, Sarasa was stopping by to give Margo his lunch box.


    As soon as she saw the explanation of the water dagger on the magic board, suddenly Sarasa changed into her merchant mode. It seemed she was arguing about something with Margo but I had no idea what they were talking about.


    I could somehow guess they were arguing about the rights to sell the water dagger.


    Eventually, although she looked reluctant, Sarasa backed down. My Ash, the cutest thing in the world, also helped in mediating the argument.


    Good job, Ash.


    11:00


    Since I had more money to spare, I decided to deposit another 15 gold coins to Dan in the adventurers¡¯ guild as a reward for subjugating the monsters in the forest. The target for subjugations were cockatrice and hellhound. As for the giant snake I had encountered before that could spit out deadly poisonous breath, apparently that monster was called ¡®serpent¡¯. I also deposited a subjugation reward for the serpent just to be safe.


    14:00


    I bought some food before I headed home.


    16:00


    I immediately immersed myself in the blacksmith workshop since I had an idea to make another convenient item. I was thinking of making a water bottle for my personal use by making a scabbard for the water dagger. Just by putting the dagger into the scabbard and voila! You could drink delicious water by taking the dagger out first.


    I used the cheapest metal, which was inferior iron. As of now, I had no intention of selling this scabbard. This was solely for my personal use. I kept one scabbard water bottle inside the pocket of my mantle so I could drink water from it anytime I wanted. It was a convenient item.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Other MC is out there making soy sauce or mayonnaise¡­ Meanwhile our MC just successfully made A WATER BOTTLE (???) Also¡­ Won¡¯t the scabbard get rusty if you use it as a water bottle¡­? Metal that you use for water can¡¯t have iron in it otherwise it will get rusty, right?

 CH 59

    The next morning, I woke up to Ash licking my face. Listlessly, I woke up and washed my face with cold water. Last night, I had put the water dagger into a barrel and the barrel was properly filled with water in the morning.


    Okay, looks good.


    After taking care of Rocinante (my horse) and the chickens, I did my daily training. From sword swinging, target shooting and foot sword kicking. I also practiced my other skills, ¡®bash¡¯ and ¡®charge arrow¡¯.


    After sweating a little, I had breakfast. Today I had a light breakfast which consisted of fried egg, smoked meat and bread.


    10:00


    A deer and a rabbit were caught in the paralysis trap. After draining the blood, I dismembered the meat. I decided to have grilled rabbit for lunch. I didn¡¯t want to waste the leftover deer meat so I would make smoked meat and dried meat out of it.


    I was smoking the meat while occasionally sipping on an alcohol when Juno and Margo came over donned in full armor. The three of us then had smoked fish while drinking a bit.


    You two, aren¡¯t you guys going to go hunting monsters?


    13:00


    After I gave dual potion(small) and paruna antidote to Juno, he set out to hunt. Margo was donned in his battle armor but when he realized I had a bathtub full of water, he went to start the fire for the bathtub instead.


    Just¡­ Do whatever you want.


    Perhaps as a thanks for the smoked meat and the bath, Margo pointed at the wagon filled with femto stones, inferior iron ingots and pig iron ingots with his finger. He motioned for me to take them and so, I decided that I¡¯d use his gift without any reservation.


    15:00


    I went to the forest together with Margo to gather materials. Ash was coming with us too. We did not encounter any strong monster like the cockatrice or the hellhound when we were in the forest. Instead, we were confronted by a bear monster called ¡®gray bear¡¯ and ¡®kobold warrior¡¯. Since I was coming with Margo, we fought together with me shooting paralysis arrows at the enemy and Margo finishing it off with his battle axe.


    We threw the monsters we had defeated into the wagon. We also gathered femto stones, fire stones, gleene paralysis grass and delune fruit before we decided to call it a day.


    18:00


    When we got home, I planted the gleene paralysis grass in the field and stored the other things we had gathered in the blacksmith workshop. As for the monster, Margo would be the one to handle the dismantling and the subjugation report.


    Margo heated the water in the tub with firewood and went into the bath with a splash since he was feeling tired before he returned to the town.


    21:00


    After getting out of the bath, I checked my guild card and saw that my guild points had increased by 28. It seemed Margo had finished with his subjugation report without any problem.


    I had recently purchased a ¡®lantern¡¯ from Sarasa. A magic device with a monster core in it to produce light. I took out the monster core that worked as the lantern¡¯s source of power to turn the light off. Then I went to sleep together with Ash.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: At this point MC¡¯s home is like a vacation house for Juno, Sarasa and especially Margo.

 CH 60

    Even the leftover water from the bath could be useful. I could use it to wash clothes or to water the plants. As about the drinking water for Rocinante (my horse) and the chickens, of course I¡¯d be using either rain water or the water from the water dagger.


    I also bought some paper, quill pen, ink and binding string to make an illustration book. To be specific, I wanted to write down the description and the characteristics of the monster along with a drawing of the monster and the result of appraisal and the things I could do with the materials I got from that monster. I also wanted to write down the description of the plants and stones I had gathered along with their illustration. Furthermore, there was also the utility of the skills I had learned, recipes for potions and poisons. I also wanted to write the result of the appraisal in the Lancaster language in that book.


    It¡¯d be convenient to carry this ¡®illustration book¡¯ when I go to town.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    When the fire pouch from the hellhound had completely dried up, I tried to mix it together with fire stone, then I appraised the end result.


    ¡¾Blazing Flame Powder: Powder with strong fire attribute magic. ¡¿


    Then I appraised the hellhound¡¯s claws.


    ¡¾Hellhound¡¯s Claw: Can be used in metal refining to strengthen the metal.¡¿


    Immediately, I shut myself in the blacksmith workshop. I melted the pig iron ingot to make a sword and added the hellhound¡¯s claw.


    ¡¾Hellhound Sword: A sword reinforced by a hellhound¡¯s claw to make the metal stronger. Made from pig iron.¡¿


    I polished the hellhound sword with a mixture of blazing flame powder and femto stone. The sword was glowing in a stronger red light compared to the one I polished with fire stone.


    ¡¾Hellfire Sword: A fire attribute sword with medium level magic. ¡¿


    Additionally, the small shield I had been using was already tattered from being overused. It seemed just doing the usual maintenance for this small shield wouldn¡¯t do either so I planned on making a new buckler. I used pig iron and combined it with a hellhound¡¯s claw to make this buckler and I also added fire resistance by using a merman¡¯s scale.


    ¡¾Hellhound Buckler: A buckler reinforced by a hellhound¡¯s claw to make the metal stronger. Made from pig iron. Fire resistance+.¡¿


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    Dexterity 30¡ú31


    Has changed.


    Acquired Blacksmith level 6. ¡»


    I left the blacksmith workshop and went to the training area to test the new hellhound sword. When I swung it, the blade was covered in fire and a pretty strong blaze was sprayed from the blade. The wooden target was instantly carbonized.


    I thought that leaving this sword bare as it was would be dangerous so I decided to make a scabbard with the remaining pig iron ingots. I also added merman¡¯s scale to grant water attribute to the scabbard. This fire resistant scabbard would be used for the hellfire sword.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: You know¡­ At this point, does our MC even need to master magic? Technically he already has fire, water and lightning magic with all these enhancements¡­.

 CH 61

    T/N: There you go! 1 normal schedule chapter and 10 extra chapters. 11 chapters in total! I will see you guys tomorrow! ( ¡ä ? `)¥Î¡«


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    Today I went to the river to go hunting for merman. By now I already knew the merman¡¯s water ball attack wouldn¡¯t pose a problem as long as I defended myself with ¡®fortress¡¯.


    While guarding myself with ¡®fortress¡¯, I approached the merman and attacked the merman¡¯s head with either my sword or ¡®foot sword kick¡¯ to bring it down. By the way, I had already tested attacking the merman with hellfire sword¡¯s blazing flame spray attack but it didn¡¯t seem to have much effect on the merman. Probably because the merman¡¯s skin was wet all over. Perhaps fire attack wasn¡¯t as effective against water attribute enemies.


    I deliberately hunted for mermans because I wanted the merman¡¯s scales. Margo was urging me to make more water dagger for him.


    I was walking down the river, hunting for merman when I saw it.


    KISHAAAAAAAA!!


    A 10 meters tall gigantic serpent was raising its head high threateningly toward me.


    SCARRRYYYY!!!!!


    I immediately made a quick dash. I whipped Rocinante (my horse), making him run with all his might despite the weight of several mermans back at the wagon. Rocinante (my horse) was running for his life with his eyes bulging out and tongue lolling to the side.


    The ever brave Ash was barking at the giant snake at the back of the wagon.


    ASH! YOU DON¡¯T NEED TO BARK AT IT! THE SERPENT IS GOING TO COME FOR US!!


    I locked myself in the shed while hugging Ash tight and went to hide in my futon.


    Snakes are scary. Snakes are scary.


    My body wouldn¡¯t stop trembling. I was getting carried away because I could easily win against merman now.


    I¡¯m sorry. I beg you, please don¡¯t come here.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Will the serpent chase our MC to his house?! Or will the serpent stay guarding its territory instead?! I think the serpent¡¯s territory is in the river so as long as MC stays away from a certain part of the river, it should be okay?

 CH 62

    15:00


    After finally being relieved of my state of panic from running away from the serpent, I made Rocinante (my horse) run to the adventurers¡¯ guild. I piled up 20 gold coins in front of Dan.


    ¡°River, serpent!¡±


    Then using both the combination of gestures and drawing on the whiteboard, I asked for a request to subjugate the serpent in the river.


    Most probably, just like merman, serpent was the type of monster that inhabited the river.


    Dan made a gesture that I translated as a ¡®leave it to me!¡¯. Without missing a beat, he started writing the subjugation request form for the serpent and plastered it onto the bulletin board. The adventurers swarmed around the bulletin boards, they seemed to be talking about something with their arms folded together in front of their chest.


    Please, I beg you.


    I also bought some extra ankle snare traps just to be safe.


    After submitting the proof of subjugation for the merman I had brought on the back of my wagon, my guild points became 53 points.


    17:00


    I added more ankle snare traps in my house in the direction of the river. I also coated the traps with gleene anesthetic, hoping this trap could be effective against the serpent if the serpent were to come attacking me¡­


    18:00


    That¡¯s right!


    Suddenly a great idea came to mind. I took out donur poison and paruna antidote then I went to the blacksmith workshop. I sat cross legged on the floor.


    ¡°Hnng¡­.¡±


    Ash whined worriedly at me.


    The amount was 1,5 times compared to the last time I did this.


    It¡¯s alright. I can still do it.


    I gave it a lick and then¡­..


    My head felt like I was being struck directly with lightning. My body was trembling, my consciousness started to become hazy but despite that, I somehow was still able to grab the paruna antidote with my right hand and drink it up before I ended up collapsing on the spot.


    20:00


    I woke up to the sight of Ash licking my face. My ears were still buzzing and my head still hurt. I drank up the rest of the paruna antidote and somehow, I was able to regain my consciousness back.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Poison Resistance level 5.¡»


    Great. With this, my countermeasure against the serpent is complete.


    But¡­ Maybe because of the vertigo I had experienced due to the poison, I had no appetite. For the time being, I forced myself to eat the smoked meat and bread. I washed it all down with tea I made using irene herbs and decided to call it a day.

 CH 63

    I could barely sleep last night. Just lying down was already tiring for me but I couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Well, of course. I couldn¡¯t help but to be worried that the big snake I had barely managed to escape from might come chasing after us here.


    With dark circles on the bottom of my eyes, I fed and gave water to my livestock and Ash then I washed my face with cold water.


    After finally feeling refreshed, I was eating the breakfast I had just made when Ash suddenly started growling.


    ¡°What is it¡­?¡±


    Even though I was in the middle of having breakfast, I let my food be and began donning on my weapons and armor. Then I scoured the surrounding area.


    KISHAAAAAA!!


    GYAAAA!!


    The giant snake I had been talking about since yesterday was rushing toward us. I picked Ash up, put him inside the shed and closed the door.


    ¡°You need to stay quiet here, Ash.¡±


    ¡­¡­..Yeah. This is the part where I¡¯m going to die.


    I left the shed and pointed my bow toward the direction of the serpent. The serpent was about to enter the area where I had set the ankle snare traps at.


    KISSHAAAAAAAAA!!


    The serpent was wriggling around, threatening me.


    Yeah. Definitely impossible.


    The serpent reached the spot where the ankle snare trap was. I could hear the crushing sound as the serpent trampled on the trap. The trap and the anesthetic poison didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on the serpent.


    I used the arrow coated with paralyzing poison and used ¡®Charge Arrow¡¯ toward the serpent¡¯s throat.


    BASHHHH! THUMP!


    I was able to hit it and the serpent appeared to stop moving.


    Did I get it?


    However, the serpent started moving again almost immediately and entered its poison breath stance.


    So this is how far I can go.


    And then¡­.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¨‹¡õ¡«¡ô!¡±


    A group of adventurers I didn¡¯t know came dashing in. The adventurers looked strong and there were 3 of them.


    A muscular tank type man wielding a big shield. A magician type woman and healer type woman.


    The healer type woman cast auxiliary buff magic on the tank type man and the man put his shield up, preparing to block the serpent¡¯s breath as the serpent raised its head and attacked him straight on. The serpent let out its deadly poisonous breath but somehow the man was able to withstand the attack.


    The healer type woman immediately cast healing magic onto the man and then the magician type woman, who had been chanting this whole time, screamed out loud. I couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying but a huge tornado appeared. The tank type man jumped sideways to steer clear from the tornado¡¯s path as the tornado hit the serpent. The serpent was torn into shreds due to the tornado attack.


    I was able to barely grip onto my life, which had been on the verge of disappearing.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I thanked the party of three and gave paruna detoxifying potion to the tank type man. The three of them continued their way toward the town of Resta.


    It was still noon but I was heavily sleep deprived and so, I went to the shed where Ash had been waiting for me and then I fell into deep sleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MAGIC SO OP IN HERE! Like for real, the magician¡¯s tornado is an overkill! Now I¡¯m excited to see how OP our MC will be when he finally learns magic because of his high INT stat!

 CH 64

    16:30


    I ended up falling asleep at an odd hour. I woke up to Ash tapping my face with his foot.


    Oh, his water bowl is already empty.


    As I filled Ash¡¯s water bowl, I remembered that my peaceful daily life had finally returned.


    Hmm~


    I stretched my body to ease my muscles.


    Then I collected the scattered ankle snare trap that had been trampled by the giant snake. I needed to buy more ankle snare traps from the guild to replace the broken one.


    But for today, I needed to take a bath first.


    I installed the ankle snare traps that were safe in the same place that the giant snake had trampled upon and installed the rest of the ankle snare traps evenly around my house.


    20:00


    After that, I fetched water from the river and burnt the firewood to heat the water for my bath. At the same time, I also made smoked marinated egg and cheese.


    When the water was hot enough, I jumped into the bath with an audible splash.


    Haaah~


    My muscles that had been tense from the tension finally relaxed. Ash also joined me together in the bath quietly. While dipping in the hot bath, I looked up. The night sky was adorned with stars, the sky looked so beautiful.


    I stepped out from the bath and wiped my body with a bath towel. I also wiped Ash with a small tower. Ash¡¯s towel was decorated with an embroidery of cute pawprints. This towel was a gift from Sarasa.


    After finishing my bath, I had a smoked fish together with a few glasses of alcohol.


    I¡¯m so happy.


    Ash was sitting upright in front of me, begging me to give him some and so, I gave him some bits of smoked fish too.


    What a quiet night¡­


    Just when I was thinking so, a pale faced Margo and Juno arrived in a wagon. Most probably, they had heard about the serpent incident from the guild.


    Feeling relieved I was looking very relaxed, the two of them then also entered the bath before they joined me by the fireplace. The three of us were sitting on a tree stump, surrounding the fire while drinking merrily.


    Really, they¡¯re ruining my quiet night moment but¡­ This kind of thing is not bad either.

 CH 65

    The next morning, Margo and Juno, who had been staying at the blacksmith workshop, were both still asleep. I did my daily routine of tending to the livestock, morning training and then preparing breakfast.


    The two of them woke up to the smell of breakfast.


    Just what are you guys doing eating a meal as you please? Go and make your own portion. Really, these two are so carefree.


    What should I do for today? First, I needed to replace the ankle snare traps since the serpent had destroyed a lot of them. After that¡­ Maybe I should go to the forest to forage? Nah, I had these two guys with me today so I should go foraging first.


    I gestured to Margo and Juno to accompany me foraging in the forest and they gave me the ¡®okay¡¯.


    We thoroughly made a plan on how to deal with the monsters that might appear and our coordination strategy by drawing a picture on the ground with a wooden stick.


    10:00


    The three of us went to the forest. Ash was coming with us too. As soon as we entered the forest, we immediately encountered a kobold and hellhound. Ash was the first to notice the enemy. Him growling to warn us had been very helpful.


    Margo and Juno were there as the vanguard while I was as the rearguard. I fired donur poison arrow from behind to bring the enemy down. A cockatrice also appeared.


    This time, I was serving as the vanguard because of my petrification resistance skill. Using ¡®fortress¡¯, I served my role as a tank and attacked the cockatrice with the flame from the hellfire sword. The cockatrice then attacked me with its petrification attack.


    My skin was starting to harden.


    CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK¡­


    Hiii!!!


    The petrification was progressing slowly but surely. I drank paruna detoxifying potion in a haste.


    While I was distracting the cockatrice, Margo and Juno flanked the cockatrice from behind. They attacked the cockatrice and we were somehow able to bring it down.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda level went from 12 to 13.


    HP: 27¡ú28


    MP: 16¡ú17


    Vitality: 20¡ú21


    Strength: 26¡ú27


    Intelligence: 76¡ú77


    Dexterity: 32¡ú33


    Speed: 26¡ú27


    Acquired Fortress level 6 and Petrification Resistance level 4.¡»


    It had been a while since I last leveled up since I had been doing nothing but running away recently. As I thought, defeating a cockatrice alone was not a simple feat.


    The three of us then continued to hunt and forage in the forest until afternoon..


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I feel like our MC is being too hard on himself. He already hunted so many merman to make the water dagger. It¡¯s not like he literally only runs away at every chance he gets!

 CH 66

    14:00


    For now, we returned to my house. I put the things we had gathered in the blacksmith workshop and then I planted the new plants in the field. After we had lunch, the three of us loaded the monsters we had defeated onto the wagon and headed to the town.


    16:00


    We left the monsters we had defeated to the people at the dismantling place, received only the part that we needed as a proof of subjugation then we went to the guild to report the subjugation. Now I had 112 guild points in my card.


    I bought ankle snares from the guild¡¯s merchandise section.


    Since I already had more than 100 guild points, I was hesitant of what I should do with the skills I could get for 100 points but for the time being, I decided to leave the points be. I asked Dan about the details of the skill just in case but I couldn¡¯t really understand his explanation.


    The three of us split the 15 gold coins and 4 silver coins as the reward from the guild and the monster parts we got from the dismantling before we went on our own way.


    I got cockatrice¡¯s poison gland to make donur poison with and hellhound¡¯s fire pouch to make blazing flame powder with.


    17:30


    I showed my face at Sarasa¡¯s store to inform her that I was safe and sound. Juno had reminded me before how worried Sarasa was and that I had to show up at her place to reassure her.


    I sold dual potions (medium) and herb chicken¡¯s egg to Sarasa. Then I bought thread for the clapper and some firewood. After deducting the total with the price of the things I bought, I got 5 gold coins and 2 silver coins from Sarasa.


    Sarasa gave Ash, that I brought along with me, a bone with some dried meat still attached to it as a snack. Ash jumped around Sarasa and licked her excitedly.


    19:00


    I was finally home. I put away the things I had bought and installed the ankle snare traps around the perimeter of my house that faced the river and the forest.


    20:00


    It felt like a waste to immediately throw away the water from the bath yesterday so I reheated the water again and took a bath with it.


    Haaah~


    I could feel my stiff muscles relaxing.


    For dinner, I had a fairly simple meal. Bread, dried deer meat, rumi fruit and milan fruit wine. Ash must be already feeling tired after doing various things today. He was already sleepy.


    I took Ash with me and laid on the bed with him.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I guess¡­ Since the MC always cleans his body first before soaking in the bath¡­ The water is more or less still clean-ish¡­.? But I still have mixed feelings about using leftover water for a bath¡­¡­

 CH 67

    Hm.


    I was laying on my back against the futon as I was thinking to myself. Ash was sleeping near my foot. The sound of his constant breathing could be heard.


    I did most of my thinking while getting into the futon and closed my eyes.


    So far, there wasn¡¯t any particular problem in terms of my daily life basis. If I needed to say it I guess it was the existence of the monster but if it was just this much, I still felt like there was no point in worrying about it. It was just something inevitable that I had to face. Of course, living in the town would be much safer but having the ¡®binding¡¯ with other people meant I¡¯d lose my freedom.


    I don¡¯t want that.


    In the first place, I still didn¡¯t know just how strong the monsters were. If I were attacked by a dragon, an existence that was common in RPG games, I was 100% sure I¡¯d die. But still, there was no point in worrying about it now. I just needed to keep on practicing wholeheartedly.


    I also needed to think about the next skill I should pick. Should I aim for magic skill or should I get the extension of the current skills I had?


    The other day, I saw it myself how the magician defeated the serpent with a tornado. If I could do something like that too then the survival difficulty of my life would decrease considerably. Of course, I never thought things would go so smoothly like that. Also, there was one other thing I noticed.


    Apparently I had an excellent blacksmithing skill. The fact that a skilled blacksmith like Margo didn¡¯t possess the skill to grant an attribute was a good living proof of my capability. I could also say the same about potion making or alchemy.


    Although I needed to go do poison tasting, which was an extremely dangerous task to do, both blacksmith and alchemy, which derived from the appraisal skill, really helped me a lot. Mastering blacksmithing and alchemy might be the shortcut for me to be able to stay alive in this world.


    Another thing I had in mind was the relationship between Margo, Juno and Sarasa. Though I could do nothing but watch about this so there was no point in worrying about this problem either.


    As I let my mind keep on wandering about all sorts of trivial stuff, I had fallen asleep before I knew it.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The love triangle between Juno, Margo and Sarasa is really¡­ Hmm¡­ Though I think Juno won¡¯t sever their relationship if Margo and Sarasa got together since he already decided to hide his feelings in the first place. I do hope Juno can have his own lover though. I don¡¯t want him to be the single 2nd ML in Margo and Sarasa¡¯s love story.

 CH 68

    The next morning, I woke up to the strange sound accompanying me. A beautiful small bird was perched on the edge of the bucket I used to store water. The bird used its beak to peck at the water.


    Maybe this bird came from the forest?


    I carefully threw the chicken¡¯s breadcrumb near the bird.


    Yeah. The weather is good too. Today is a nice day to wake up.


    I stretched and loosened my stiff muscle before I went on to do my daily duties. I felt like my accuracy with the bow had increased considerably.


    10:00


    After having breakfast I went to hole myself in the blacksmith workshop.


    I mixed the powdered dry cockatrice¡¯s eyes and crushed femto stone which served as an abrasive agent together. Then I used the mixture to polish the arrowhead. After a while, the arrowhead started to glow in gray.


    ¡¾Pettrifying Arrow: Has petrification attribute. Can inflict petrification on the target hit by this arrow.¡¿


    Good. I had one more way of attacking. However, just like with poison arrow, I needed to pay more attention when handling them. I continued to add a petrification attribute to the other arrowheads that I made myself using pig iron and wood. With this, I had other uses for the petrification powder other than licking it myself in order to increase my petrification resistance skill¡­


    Ash sat near me and whined worriedly at me.


    Ash, you don¡¯t need to be so worried. Papa won¡¯t lick it and end up collapsing on the spot.


    Regarding which skill I should acquire that I pondered about the other day, I was thinking of getting a bow related skill. When I recalled my fight against the serpent before, my only means of attacking the serpent was by using my bow. If I got close and got caught in the serpent¡¯s breath attack, I¡¯d be dead in an instant.


    I really had no other choice but my bow.


    If I were to meet another enemy that could easily one hit kill me when I got close to it, the bow was my only means of attacking. Besides, I could add poison, paralysis, petrification and other debuffs to my arrow.


    I couldn¡¯t really catch the details about the skill I could acquire from Dan but it was very likely that I could get a more powerful skill than ¡®charge arrow¡¯.


    After having a slightly late lunch, I put the water daggers that I had made when I was making the petrifying arrow, in a bucket and set out to the town of Resta in my wagon.

 CH 69

    14:00


    I arrived at the adventurers¡¯ guild. I conveyed to Dan using gestures that I wanted to learn bow skill. He took my guild card and deducted 100 points from it.


    After that, I was taken to the dojo in the guild. Dan was saying something to Kai-sensei then Kai-sensei said ¡®understood¡¯ as he looked at me. Then, Kai-sensei threw a practice bow to me.


    Kai-sensei motioned for me to watch him and he quickly released the arrow.


    PWIIISH! STOMP!


    The arrow pierced through the target. How to say it¡­ If ¡®charge arrow¡¯ was an attack that damaged the surface, this technique I just saw now was focused on penetrating one spot.


    Kai-sensei instructed me using gestures and motioned for me to try it out. I imitated Kai-sensei¡¯s motion and gave it several tries.


    THUD!


    Thud, huh¡­.


    Although I couldn¡¯t really penetrate through the target, the arrow still went pretty deep.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Sharpshoot level 1.¡»


    Apparently it was a success. I thanked Kai-sensei and left the dojo.


    17:00


    I stopped by Margo¡¯s shop and delivered several water daggers. Then, I also bought a brand new bow because my old one was already tattered from being used too much. I bought a pretty good product.


    Using gestures, Margo invited me for a drink and was about to close his shop but I refused because I couldn¡¯t just keep on drinking everyday.


    Your store is going to go under if you keep on doing this, you know.


    18:00


    I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild again and deposited 20 gold coins for the subjugation reward. The target was the monsters in the forest and the river that I couldn¡¯t defeat on my own.


    I didn¡¯t know what kind of monsters were there so I used the combination of both gestures and magic board to ask Dan to put out a subjugation request for the monsters other than the one I had subjugated.


    I didn¡¯t frequent the forest much and considering the dungeon in the forest, there must be a lot of other stronger monsters in the forest. Those kinds of monsters should be handled by a strong party of adventurers like the one that had defeated the serpent the other day.


    19:00


    Now then. I was starting to get hungry so I decided to go home. I placed Ash onto the wagon and went home.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    The next day, I started adding ¡®sharpshoot¡¯ training in my bow regimen. I used the skill against a wooden target and I could hit the target from a farther distance than I normally could. Apparently this skill also had the effect of increasing the range of my shooting.


    I felt like consuming a potion would be a waste so I just munched on berzin herb instead to restore my vitality. I continued to practice ¡®sharpshoot¡¯.


    Then¡­


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Sharpshoot level 2.¡»


    I was able to reach level 2 of the skill pretty quickly. Since this was a piercing type of skill, maybe this skill could make me inflict debuff status toward the enemy easier. This skill might be my winning skill.


    Ash, that I had left because I was focusing on my training, was chasing a yellow butterfly nearby. He was jumping and running playfully with the butterfly.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: What a rather peaceful day. But¡­ Is it what people call ¡®the calm before storm¡¯?

 CH 70

    T/N: Today we have 1 extra chapter! Thank you for the kofi ?(?? ? ? )?


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    I was eating lunch in the afternoon when that stupid nobleman came with about 20 adventurers in tow.


    You¡¯re here again¡­¡­?


    He was looking pompous as ever as he sat on top of his horse. Fortunately, Juno and Margo weren¡¯t here. I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡ø¡ô¡«¡«¨Œ!¡±


    He was saying something again and although I couldn¡¯t really understand the meaning, I had already learned my lesson.


    I made an apologetic face, said ¡®sorry¡¯ in Lancaster language while kneeling on the ground. I then said ¡®sorry¡¯ once again while taking out 5 gold coins from my pocket.


    The stupid nobleman still looked a little bit dissatisfied so I took out another 5 gold coins.


    All of a sudden, the stupid nobleman looked elated.


    He¡¯s falling for the same trick again!


    I thought to myself.


    The stupid nobleman then went toward the forest along with the other adventurers. For some reason, the song ¡®donna donna¡¯ was playing on repeat inside my head as I saw them off while hugging Ash. Ash was also whining sadly at the sight of them.


    Namu amida butsu. At least, I hope you will all return back alive. What an idiot.


    Since this thing was not worth worrying about, I continued to eat the rest of my lunch.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Our MC can just bribe his way through safety! I thought we could finally get to see his ¡®sharpshoot¡¯ skill in action but I guess money makes the world go around, huh? ( ¡ä ? `)¥Î¡«

 CH 71.1

    I felt sorry for the adventurers that were forcibly dragged by that stupid nobleman but their expedition was actually a good thing for me. Putting aside the fact that they could actually do it or not, they were still a group of people who were trying to conquer the dungeon.


    My house would have less risk of getting invaded thanks to their effort. However, if any of the adventurers were to die, it¡¯d be a problem. If the number of people who could accept my subjugation request decreased, I¡¯d be the one who would suffer the loss.


    I could only pray they would all be coming back safe and sound. Also if possible, it¡¯d be great if they could hunt a lot of monsters while they were at it.


    After I finished with lunch, I went on to create paruna detoxifying potions and dual potion (medium) since I was starting to run out of stockpile for those potions.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy level 5.¡»


    Which reminded me, I hadn¡¯t appraised the new plants I had found in the forest the other day. It was a risky thing to do but there was the possibility that those plants could be used to make something new with my alchemy skill. I didn¡¯t want to eat the poisonous one but if I had to then¡­


    17:00


    While I was thinking of appraising the new plants, I saw that stupid nobleman along with the other adventurers came running here as fast as I could from the direction of the forest.


    ¡°¡ð¨Œ¡ô¡«¡Á¡ð!!!¡±


    I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about!!


    I thought to myself but then I realized that the stupid nobleman that was being carried by an adventurer was in the process of being petrified at great speed. The sound of his skin crackling into stone could be heard.


    Flustered, I made that stupid nobleman drank the paruna detoxifying potion and let him sleep in my blacksmith workshop. In addition, there were many other adventurers who were in the middle of being petrified too. Some were burned and others were poisoned. I gave them dual potion (medium) and also paruna detoxifying potions to drink and let them sleep in the blacksmith workshop too.


    When I compared the number of adventurers here with the number of adventurers I had seen before, it seemed there weren¡¯t any casualties. Everyone was safe. However, I didn¡¯t see any sign of that stupid nobleman¡¯s horse.


    I really can¡¯t care less but remember to pay me properly after this, okay?


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    That stupid nobleman and the adventurers slept through the night until they finally recovered enough the next day.


    Good grief. These guys, just what are you guys doing?


    ¡°¡Á¡ð¡«¨Œ¡ô¡±


    Probably, the adventurers were thanking me from the bottom of their heart. I could tell from looking at their expressions.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s no problem at all.¡±


    I said while waving my hand. Hoping my gesture could convey my intention. That stupid nobleman had also recovered and woke up. I bowed repeatedly at him, acting timidly as I offered him some food for breakfast.


    This stupid, haughty nobleman. I really don¡¯t care but the other adventurers around you are looking at you coldly, you know. You stupid nobleman.


    The adventurers paid me money to thank me. That stupid nobleman was still acting pompously, shouting something unintelligible that sounded like,¡±Melty! Melty!¡± as he returned.


    That guy is really nothing but trouble.


    ¡­¡­.. Don¡¯t ever come back again. Please don¡¯t disturb my peaceful life.


    I thought to myself as I saw the nobleman¡¯s retreating back. My thoughts were filled with venomous thoughts.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Whoa. Even after going through a near-death experience, this nobleman is still acting all haughty. There¡¯s no helping this nobleman. Nothing. He¡¯s just too stupid beyond helping

 CH 71.2

    Chapter 71.2 : (Bavarian POV) Les Mis¨¦rables?! My Beloved Melty-Chan (My Horse) Got Petrified


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Ahh¡­. My beloved Melty-chan (my horse)¡­¡­¡­


    Blasted! That damned cockatrice! I endured it when I was in front of those useless adventurers however, as soon as I arrived in my mansion, I holed myself inside my room. Suddenly, I was overflowing with sadness. I spent 3 days and 3 nights soaking the pillow with my own tears.


    The stone statue of Melty-chan (my horse) was carefully transported by my subordinates into the treasury room. I heard somewhere in town, there was a healer who could lift this petrification curse.


    I will definitely bring back Melty-chan (my horse) no matter how many gold coins I need to spend! Wait for me! My beloved Melty-chan (my horse)!


    ¡­¡­..But still, those useless adventurers¡­ They made my blood boil. They were getting all worked up at the sight of a mere cockatrice.


    Once again, we couldn¡¯t even reach the dungeon¡¯s entrance!


    It was the duty of my subordinates to strive for my honor. So of course I ought to punish those who failed to adhere to their duties, right?


    Well, there was no use thinking about that now since the punishment for them had already been decided and prepared. I could finally feel a little bit better now.


    Good, good¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­. But still, that man, the one who lived in the outskirts of town. He was a pretty useful one. He was even able to cure me of my petrification, didn¡¯t he? Unlike those useless adventurers, he was actually useful.


    Next time, I would surely bring him under my command and make him come with me to conquer the dungeon in order to bring honor to my name in this land!


    FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: At first I felt bad for him because it looks like he actually loves his horse but then¡­. He wants to drag our MC with him! Unforgivable! (?ÑÔ?¨p)

 CH 72

    It was in the afternoon. I was wood chopping with an axe by putting the wood on top of a tree stump when Margo, Juno and Sarasa came in a wagon. They all had a worried expression on their faces.


    Most probably, the rumor about that stupid nobleman¡¯s scandal had spread through the town. The three of them looked visibly relieved when they saw the carefree pastoral atmosphere around me. There was no way I¡¯d make a blunder of being forcibly dragged along with that stupid nobleman.


    When Ash caught the sight of the three of them, he immediately wagged his tail and jumped straight at them. I was a little bit jealous seeing how easy it was for Ash to become close to anyone.


    I continued to chop the woods. The thunking sound of the woods being chopped reverberated around the perimeter. In between the wood chopping sound, I could also hear the sound of the birds singing from somewhere.


    After I finished chopping the woods, I wiped my sweat with a towel and went to play with Ash together with the three of them. I also offered them a cup of tea. We then had a friendly chat on the wooden stump table I made myself. Although I could only understand the nuance of their conversation at best and when they asked for my opinion, I¡¯d answer with gestures. It was the usual thing we do to converse.


    They must be asking me about the nobleman. I conveyed to them that I had given him money for him to leave me alone and the three of them burst out laughing.


    The timing for their arrival was perfect though. There was a rabbit that got caught in my trap this morning. I then conveyed to them I was planning to make marinated smoked egg and cheese. We were going to have a party today.


    These guys, they¡¯re really¡­


    It was given that Margo and Juno could drink well but I didn¡¯t expect Sarasa to be able to drink this well too.


    Since we were already going to have a drinking party, I was thinking of making grilled chicken too. So I asked the three of them to handle the chicken while I smoked the egg and the cheese. Of course the three of them grilled the chicken while sipping on drinks occasionally.


    What a bad adult they are.


    Although I couldn¡¯t understand their words, I could see that they were having fun from how blissful they were. Seeing them like that also made me happy too. While sitting around the bonfire, the three of us were singing, dancing and drinking alcohol together.


    Ash was begging Sarasa with the ¡®hand¡¯ command and so Sarasa gave him some snacks in return. It was really fun. Without realizing it, I had been singing a pop song that suited this quiet starry night. The three of them also listened to me singing.


    The party continued on until late at night and so, the three of them decided to stay the night at my place. It was already past Ash¡¯s sleeping hour. I found him sleeping comfortably in his usual spot at the bed.


    I spread the straw in the blacksmith workshop to set up an area for them to sleep in. It was going to be a chilly night so I lit up a small fire in the hearth to keep them warm.


    The next morning, I offered a cup of water to those three hangover people. I was surprisingly unaffected by the alcohol, maybe because I was a strong drinker or because I restrained myself well.


    The three of them then returned to the town, looking obviously pale.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I think it must be because of MC¡¯s poison resistance skill.

 CH 73

    Early in the morning, I saw the hangover and pale faced Margo, Juno and Sarasa off. They went back to town in the same wagon they had come with. After that, I continued to do my daily routine.


    After working up a sweat by practicing bow, sword and martial arts, I went to prepare breakfast for myself.


    10:00


    I had collected a few plants from the forest and planted them in the field so now I wanted to try to test them out. With one single leaf in one hand and paruna detoxifying potion, I went into the blacksmith workshop and sat cross-legged.


    The appraisal only gave out the description ¡®grass¡¯ without any additional information so really, I had no other choice but to eat it myself.


    It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll be alright.


    Ash was sitting in front of me too. He was whining worriedly at me.


    Hap. Munch munch¡­


    Huh? That¡¯s weird? I don¡¯t get the usual pain as if my head is being beaten vigorously by a hammer. In fact, I feel refreshed instead. This grass tastes kind of minty even.


    ¨D¨D Hey you, don¡¯t look a little bit disappointed like that. I can see the dissatisfaction on your face.


    ¡¾Marble Leaf : An edible herb. Can be used to make herb tea when it¡¯s dry.¡¿


    I immediately took out some of the marble leaves and let them dry in the sun.


    12:00


    After having dried meat and bread for lunch, I decided to go fetch water in the river. In addition to cooking and washing, I also needed to take care of the field and the animals. I really couldn¡¯t have enough water with all those activities combined.


    I¡¯d feel anxious if I couldn¡¯t save some water for a reservation. Which was why, when I needed the water for luxurious things like taking a bath, I went to the river to get the water. Although the water daggers could help me in producing water, the amount wouldn¡¯t be enough if I used it to have a hot bath with.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    When I arrived at the river, I encountered a battle bull. I quietly readied my bow and fired a quick ¡®sharpshoot¡¯ at the bull.


    PWIIISH! STAB!


    The paralyzing arrow pierced the battle bull deep in its stomach, bringing it down. When I was at the dismantling shop, I received the basic instructions on how to dismantle battle bulls and other monsters. I¡¯d be only draining the blood in here and do the actual dismantling at my house later.


    After filling the bathtub full with water, I went back to my home.


    15:00


    I dismantled the battle bull. Freshness was the prime key of the liver. I did have salt but I wished I could have sesame oil too. I gave the fresh liver a taste.


    Yeah. Delicious.


    I gave Ash a bone with some meat still sticking onto it. He looked pleased with the bone.


    16:30


    After I finished with the dismantling, I went to heat the water for my bath.


    I planned on having beef steak for dinner. Of course I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the rest of the meat by myself so I went on to make dried meat while I was at it.


    18:00


    I jumped into the bath with a splash. I could feel my stiff muscles become relaxed.


    Haaah~


    Ash was also enjoying his time in the bath while swimming doggy style.


    19:00


    After I finished taking a bath, I could feel the blood rushing into my head for a bit. I then started the dinner preparation. I grilled the beef, seasoning it with garlic and salt. Then I added smoked cheese and marble herb. I also prepared beef liver sashimi. As for drink, I had milan fruit wine. I arranged all the food and drinks on the stump table and ate them all.


    Yeah. Delicious.


    I had more meat than I could eat so I grilled some meat for Ash too. Ash was chomping down onto his meat excitedly.


    After dinner, I made tea using the dried marble leaves to relax myself.


    21:00


    Feeling relaxed and sleepy, I brushed my teeth and went to sleep together with Ash.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ash must be feeling so happy whenever our MC hunt a battle bull

 CH 74

    The next morning, I decided to work in the blacksmith workshop when I woke up. I decided what I wanted to do today right on that day. That was the kind of lifestyle I yearned for that drove me to live on my own in the rural farming village in Hokkaido that was rich in nature. Most probably, I was already living my dream lifestyle as of now.


    There was no monster in Hokkaido though. Although there was an animal called ¡®brown bear¡¯ in Hokkaido. Though most probably the me right now could win a match against a brown bear.


    I could use a poison arrow and other things after all.


    While thinking about those mundane things, I went on about my daily routine. After working up a sweat from my morning training, I wiped my body down with a wet towel.


    I had a light breakfast and brewed a herb tea made from marble leaves while I took a small break.


    Haaah~


    I gave Ash a dried bull bone that I had hunted yesterday. He looked so happy as he gnawed on the bone.


    10:00


    Now then, should I start to light up the fire in the furnace?


    I put the coal and raised the temperature in the furnace. The quality of the coal that I had bought from Margo in bulk was surprisingly good.


    Before I went to live on my own in the countryside, I had been working as a trading company employee for one of the largest industrial business groups, the one with four edge logo, and traveled around the world for work.


    While I was working, I was conducting business with Switzerland¡¯s natural resources company, Glencore, Chinese¡¯s coal company giant, Yanchou Coal Mining Company and the coal mining in Hunter Valley in Australia. I was in charge of doing the wholesale high-grade charcoal to coal-fired power plants or to large steel companies.


    I was also involved in the transportation logistic development through the Barito River in Indonesia coal mines. I was in charge of handling the business of selling high-quality charcoal to thermal power plants. For that reason, I was actually pretty finicky with the quality of the coal I used.


    These coals in front of me were good quality cooking coals. It was suitable for steel manufacturing. As expected from Margo.


    I folded my arms together, thinking of what I should make while looking at the shelves filled with inferior iron ingots, pig iron ingots and various materials.


    I had a hellfire¡¯s fire pouch so maybe I could use it to make blazing flame powder and add fire attribute to my foot equipment and then¡­


    Hellfire Foot Sword Kick! ¡­.. Or something.


    Nah, rejected. If I use that kind of equipment in the forest, I could cause a forest fire if I wasn¡¯t careful enough.


    Hmm¡­¡­


    I ended up making arrowheads using pig iron ingots in the end. Then I decided to add a fire attribute to the arrowhead by using blazing flame powder.


    ¡¾Hellfire Arrow: A medium level fire attribute arrow.¡¿


    The iron part had sparks of fire coming out of it so I also added a water attribute to the quiver. I put the hellfire arrows inside the quiver that was covered with water. For the time being, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about the fire from the hellfire arrow.


    13:00


    My stomach started growling after I finished making the hellfire arrows.


    I guess it¡¯s time for me to have a meal.


    I made steak with the battle bull meat I got yesterday while sipping on Milan fruit wine.


    14:30


    Now then, what should I make next? Hmm¡­.


    Using the inferior iron ingots, I made a plate and matched the size so it could fit into the bottom of a bucket and added a water attribute into it using merman¡¯s scale.


    ¡¾Water Board: A board with water attribute. Made from inferior iron. Water is gushing forward from it.¡¿


    So in other words, anything could be used, not only a dagger. I didn¡¯t have any plan on commercializing it because I didn¡¯t want to stand out though. I installed the water board onto the bottom of the bucket and decided to keep that as a water source.


    Though well¡­ Judging from the speed of the water it produced, it¡¯d be hard to manage if I stopped going to the river to get the water for my bath.


    18:00


    I made enough water board to put in the buckets. I was starting to run out of stock for merman¡¯s scale and femto powder. I needed to replenish my stock soon.


    Well now, I guess it¡¯s time for me to have dinner.


    For dinner, I made offal stew by using the battle bull¡¯s offal that I had cleaned and salted after I had dismantled it yesterday. I used fruit wine and herbs as seasoning and I also lit up the firewood to heat the leftover water from yesterday.


    19:30


    While I was working on my dinner and my bath, Margo came.


    What great timing. He really has a keen nose.


    After getting into the bath, while the offal stew was simmering,  we sat together by the bonfire on top of the chair made from tree stump and ate the offal stew together. We also had a drink to accompany our meal.


    Yeah. The liver sashimi from yesterday was good but this offal was really the best. Margo¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, he was saying something but I couldn¡¯t care less. I waved my hand and made a gesture for him to eat some more.


    It was a beautiful night with the blue moon illuminating the sky with its pale, fleeting light.

 CH 75

    T/N: Here¡¯s the extra chapter for today~ Thank you for the kofi!


    ¡î ¡«(¡®¨Œ^ÈË)


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    I woke up early in the morning and went to the blacksmith  to check up on Margo. I saw he was still laying down, he looked terribly hungover. I offered a glass of water to him. Margo gulped down the water and went laying down again, groaning like a cow. His face was still pale.


    Being the ¡®my own pace¡¯ kind of guy, I went to do my daily routine. I tended to the chickens and the horse and then I went to do my morning practice before I started preparing breakfast. I checked on my traps and saw a deer was caught in the ankle snare trap so I killed it.


    12:30


    In the end, Margo still hadn¡¯t recovered even until noon.


    This guy¡­ Is his shop going to be okay? I¡¯m getting worried¡­


    I served him bread with vegetable soup made from beef bone stock since it seemed that kind of food was easy to digest. Somehow, he looked a bit better.


    Margo then went back to town on his wagon even though he was still looking pale.


    Good grief¡­


    After seeing Margo off, I went on to disassemble the deer. Today I¡¯d be having deer sashimi and steak. I¡¯d also make some smoked meat.


    While I was working, Sarasa came in a wagon with Juno as her escort. Juno was¡­ How should I say it¡­ He looked happy.


    The wagon was mostly filled with food and other goods from Sarasa¡¯s store. I was really helped because I was running out of vegetables and garlic.


    From my side, I gave Sarasa herb chicken¡¯s eggs, battle bull¡¯s dried meat and the skin and meat from the deer I had just disassembled. I got the goods I needed from her in exchange for those items I gave.


    I received alcohol from Sarasa free of charge. During the party the other day, they had drunk a lot of my alcohol but to be honest, half of the alcohol I was getting right now would end up being drunk by these guys anyway.


    I handed them a cup of herbal tea that I made from marble leaves as we sat on the table set that I had made myself. I decided to take a break and had a nice chat with them.


    16:00


    As I expected, they were going to go home for today. Of course they couldn¡¯t afford to have a drinking party everyday.


    After seeing them off, I continued to work on making dried meat and smoked meat using deer meat. I had more cheese in stock so I also smoked them too.


    Of course while I was doing all that, I was snacking on a fresh deer meat sashimi that I had sprinkled with salt and sipping alcohol occasionally.


    Ash was also looking up at me as I ate the deer sashimi. The sound of him sniffing could be heard. I commanded him to sit and wait before I shared the deer sashimi with him.


    18:30


    I finally finished processing the deer meat and was about to start preparing dinner. Just in time, I had received some vegetables from Sarasa so I made stir fried vegetables with deer meat on a frying pan using the fire from the bonfire.


    I lined up the smoked deer meat, deer sashimi and smoked cheese on the table and ate them together with a glass of fruit wine.


    ¡­..Yeah. It¡¯s good.


    Especially the deer sashimi since I could only eat it while it was still fresh. I wholeheartedly savored  the taste as I ate it.


    Ash made another disgruntled voice as he was sitting near my feet so I shared some smoked cheese with him too.


    20:00


    The sky was getting a bit cloudy. The sky was usually filled with stars but today I couldn¡¯t see any stars. It seemed a heavy rain was about to come¡­


    I wiped my body clean and Ash too with a towel and brushed my teeth before I went to my house.


    Let¡¯s go to bed early once in a while.


    I carried Ash in my arms to the bed and turned off the light from the lantern.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Another peaceful day with Ash ?(¨@?¨A*)? ?

 CH 76

    The next morning, I woke up to the sound of rain. I actually didn¡¯t hate the rain. Rainy days made my head silent and calmed my heart.


    I took out the buckets and uncovered the bathtub¡¯s lid in order to store rainwater. I felt grateful that I didn¡¯t need to water the plants in the field.


    Ash loved the rain. It was a little troublesome when he got covered in mud but it was a sign that he was healthy so it was actually a good thing.


    I decided to make some potion in my house for today. After that, maybe I would finish the work Margo had asked me to do. After I finished going through my training regimen, I took care of the livestock and finished it up with breakfast.


    10:00


    I picked irene herbs, mylene antidote herb and berzin herb from the field. I lit up the fire in the blacksmith workshop and started boiling down the medicinal plants to create paruna detoxifying potions and dual potions.


    13:00


    After having an adequate lunch which consisted of dried meat, egg and bread, I went on to work on Margo¡¯s request.


    It was still raining outside.


    Ash was curled up beside me, sleeping peacefully. He must be tired from playing outside since this morning. He was covered in mud so I needed to wash him later.


    I took out the fire stone, merman¡¯s scale and femto powder and crushed them with a hammer to make a powdered version of them. I took out the daggers and then I mixed the fire stone powder with femto powder and merman¡¯s scale powder with femto powder respectively. After that, I used the mixed powder to polish the dagger.


    SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH


    Blacksmithing was a nice thing to do. When I touched the metal, my mind became empty. I kept on polishing the blade until it radiated a glowing light.


    I spent the rest of my afternoon doing just that. Mindlessly repeating the same thing over and over again. The rain showed no sign of stopping anytime soon today. I doubt anyone would come on a day like this.


    Today, my mind felt so peaceful. I deliberately avoided drinking any alcohol on a day like this.


    At night, the sky was pitch black without any stars. By relying on the light from the lantern, I had dried meat and bread for dinner inside the blacksmith workshop. I also drank herbal tea from marble leaves after dinner in order to relax my body and mind.


    Before I went to sleep, I washed Ash since he was covered in mud. He was whining, clearly he didn¡¯t want to have a bath but I only told him to endure it. As for myself, I used a wet towel to wipe the sweat off from my body. Then I brushed my teeth.


    Having done with my daily hygiene, I had nothing else to do today so I went to sleep with the sound of the rain accompanying me.


    Rainy days are good. My mind feels so peaceful. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m going to have a good sleep tonight.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Somehow when I¡¯m tling this chapter, I¡¯m reminded of the harvest moon. Rainy days sure are nice, especially because I don¡¯t need to water my plants.


    (?¡ä ? `)


    Ash must be complaining because he doesn¡¯t want to take a cold bath. I feel you Ash.


    (¡ä-¦Ø-`)

 CH 77

    The rain cleared up the next morning. Drops of rain were still dripping from the leaves from the crops in the field.


    I don¡¯t dislike rain but somehow when I see the sky cleared up like this, I feel happy. I don¡¯t know how to express this strange feeling.


    The wind felt pleasant. The air after the rain felt so refreshing because of how clean it was. It seemed today was going to be a good day. Right. During such a beautiful day like this, I should just spend the whole day idling around. It¡¯d be a waste to work on a day like this.


    I only did the bare minimum, which was taking care of the animals and watering the field. After that, I spread out a blue sheet on the grass and laid down on top of it, basking in the sun.


    Ash was also with me but he was laying on the grass instead. I was laying on my back with my face up to the sky, doing nothing as I stared at the sky. The piercing blue sky, the slow moving clouds, the gentle sunlight, everything felt so good.


    It was still early in the afternoon. As I was about to close my eyes to doze off in the sun, a group of three came riding on a wagon with their same, unchanging smiles.


    Ash jumped toward the trio and licked their faces.


    As I thought, I do feel a little bit jealous.


    When I looked at the back of their wagon, I saw the wagon was loaded with a lot of alcohol and fish.


    In the end, things are going this way again.


    It seemed tonight was going to be another boisterous night. With gestures, I warned the three of them to not drink too much but I also thought doing things like this was not bad either.


    But I was sure it wasn¡¯t just my imagination that I had the feeling of deja vu when I saw the three of them looking all pale the next morning.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I feel like MC has accepted the trio as part of his life by now. I¡¯m happy for our MC, he¡¯s not that afraid of having a friend that bothers him every now and then.

 CH 78

    After taking care of the hangover Margo and the other two, I went to do my daily morning routine at my own pace. Those three, they must be still laying sick up until the afternoon like the japanese kanji for river (´¨).


    I fed and groomed Rocinante then I fed the chickens and then collected their eggs. After I was finished taking care of the animals, I continued on with my morning practice.


    SLASH!


    Yeah, my kick was looking good today.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Foot Sword Kick level 5.


    Strength: 30¡ú31


    Has changed.¡»


    I wiped my sweat off with a towel and went to prepare breakfast.


    10:00


    I made a soup using dried meat along with mylene antidote herb and irene herb since it seemed those herbs were good for a hangover. After all, alcohol was more or less a poison too. I guess mylene antidote herb should be effective for a hangover.


    I brought water, bread and the soup to the three of them and had them eat it. Then, their pale faces became completely clear. I see. From now on I could avoid this disaster by serving them soup made from mylene antidote herb and irene herb after we had a drinking party. Maybe I should call this soup the ¡®closure soup¡¯. I was able to learn a new thing from this.


    11:00


    The three of them returned in a wagon to the town of Resta.


    Yeah. Since it had been a while, I wanted to have a bath today. I was getting bothered by the smell of my body since I had been making smoked food and had a drinking party yesterday. I put dried meat, water dagger flask and bread in the pocket of my mantle. Then I set out to the river.


    I shared the dried meat appropriately with Ash as we rode our wagon to the river.


    12:30


    There was a merman in the river so I approached it cautiously with my shield up and when I was close enough, I brought it down by unleashing ¡®foot sword kick¡¯ at its head. I guess today I¡¯d be having sauteed merman¡¯s meat, which I cooked in the same way as I cooked a white fleshed fish. I filled the bathtub with water and put the merman onto the wagon to carry it home with me.


    14:30


    I started to disassemble the merman. I peeled the scale using a dagger and cut the meat apart. I put the tail aside since I could use this tail to report the subjugation of the merman to the guild so I could get more guild points.


    17:30


    I started cooking for dinner while waiting for the water in the bath to become hot enough. Today dinner was sauteed merman¡¯s meat in white flesh fish style garnished with rumi fruit.


    19:00


    I jumped into the bath with a splash.


    Haaah~


    I could feel that I had exerted my muscles quite a bit today. Bathtub sure was nice. My heart felt purified.


    I looked up to the sky and saw the sky was filled with stars and a blue moon while the crackling sound of the wood burning could be heard from below.


    This is the best.


    Ash also seemed to like taking a hot bath. I washed his teeth with a toothbrush while we were at it.


    After getting out of the bath, I went to the table set I had made myself. There was sauteed merman¡¯s meat and bargo fruit wine ready on the table. I sat down and enjoyed the food with all my heart.


    Taking a hot bath and enjoying delicious food in the great outdoor. I really couldn¡¯t ask for any luxurious life than this.


    Ash was sitting down while looking up at me. Only during mealtime did Ash become a very good boy.


    You, didn¡¯t you already eat a lot of dried meat before?


    I teasingly put a glass of fruit wine near Ash¡¯s mouth but he turned his face away while huffing at me. I guess he didn¡¯t like the smell of alcohol. It couldn¡¯t be helped, I guess I had to share my sauteed fish a bit with him.


    21:00


    With the glittering starlights shining from above, I tidied up the tableware and decided that I wanted to stare at the night sky for a while.


    I sat on the stump and just sat there, doing nothing as I stared at the night sky for about 30 minutes. After that, I started to yawn. Feeling sleepy, I decided to go to bed.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Another peaceful day! Ash is so spoiled~ He must be plump because our MC spoils him with good food everyday ( ??¡ä?`??)

 CH 79

    The next day, in the early afternoon. I was wiping off the sweat from my body with a towel after tending to the field when Margo, Sarasa and Juno came to my place in a fit of panic.


    Just what is happening¡­? Or rather, why do I have this terrible bad feeling¡­


    For the time being, I gestured for them to calm down and served them herbal tea made from marble leaves.


    Be cool, be cool¡­


    The four of us sat on the handmade tree stump table set. The situation seemed severe so I brought out my magic board just in case.


    From what I heard for them, apparently that stupid nobleman was planning on going to the frontline again.


    So? What¡¯s that got to do with me? Shouldn¡¯t we just leave that kind of thing to the strong people?


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡ö¡õ¡­¡ø¡Á¡£¡ð¡ð¡Á¡õ¡­¡­¡±


    Margo¡¯s words made me want to seriously pretend I couldn¡¯t understand what he was talking about.


    ¡°Huh? Yoko-san, what did you just say?¡±


    I started to pretend to act like a senile grandpa.


    ¡°Yoko-san, is the food ready yet?¡±


    I continued to display my skill in pretending to remain oblivious.


    Actually, I really couldn¡¯t understand their language but in the end, this secret technique Yoko-san still failed.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Apparently this time the guild master was the one who chose the participant for this dungeon assault. Moreover, not only Margo, Juno and Kai-sensei were involved but they also invited the adventurer party who had defeated the serpent before.


    I really can¡¯t run away from this? Just look at me. I¡¯m just an ordinary farmer, you see?


    Didn¡¯t you guys see me tending with the leaves in my field just now?


    After arguing about various things, in the end I had no choice but to also participate with them. Margo and Juno were also coming so it was impossible for me to avoid it.


    While we were going to the dungeon, Sarasa would be taking care of the chickens and Rocinante. Ash was also attached to Sarasa too¡­.


    I looked down and saw Ash rubbing against Sarasa with his tail wagging excitedly. It made me feel a little jealous.


    15:00


    The three of them returned to Resta because they had some things to prepare. I should start preparing too so at the very least, I could survive through this ordeal¡­


    I made potions and checked the preserved foods I had. Then I went to the blacksmith workshop and thoroughly did the maintenance for my equipment.


    20:00


    Ugh¡­ I really don¡¯t want this¡­ I can feel my stomach churning and twisting¡­.


    After having a quick dinner, I held Ash in my arms and went to the bed, trembling from stress.


    Give my peaceful days back.

 CH 80

    The day finally came. There were about 10 adventurers coming with the nobleman. Sarasa was looking at me worriedly. I also couldn¡¯t help but to feel anxious¡­..


    Kai-sensei hit me on my shoulder and said something that gave off the nuances ¡°I have high expectations from you!¡± but really, just what do you expect from me in the first place¡­.


    Most probably in his head, the nobleman was already thinking about the triumphant fanfare upon his return. I could tell just from his facial expression and his valiant sounding words.


    But in my own head, the song ¡®donna donna¡¯ was playing endlessly¡­.


    I patted Ash in the head while he was being held in Sarasa¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Papa needs to go to work. Be a good boy, okay?¡±


    Then, off we go to the dungeon.


    Looking sad, Ash was whining ¡®kuuun¡¯ as we left.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    I brought a lot of potions in my carrier. I really could only see the future where everyone was either burned to death, petrified to death or poisoned to death.


    Haaah¡­ I really don¡¯t want to go. I just can¡¯t see what¡¯s the point of going into the dungeon.


    Dungeon was basically a cave teeming with monsters, right? Just why in the world should we dive right into that kind of place?


    Our group managed to safely arrive at the dungeon. This time, due to our relatively small numbers, we were lucky enough to not encounter any strong monster like a cockatrice. And so, we all stepped into the dungeon¡¯s big entrance¡­..


    KISHAAAAAAAAAAA!! GIEEEEEEE!!


    Arghhhhhhh¡­..


    It turned out serpents were coiling around in the wide area just beyond the spacious passageway we went through. And there were 3 of them. There were plenty of cockatrice in here too.


    Yeah. This is where we die.  I guess this is the part where we all got annihilated completely by either poisonous breath or petrifying attack?


    However, that stupid nobleman pointed his sword at the enemy and shouted something that I assume was ¡°CHAAAARGEEEEE!¡±.


    Just where does his strong mentality come from¡­¡­¡­..?


    Contrary to my expectations, Kai-sensei, the guild master and the trio that had defeated the serpent before, were unparalleled. However, they were very outnumbered. No matter how strong the five of them were, the other adventurers couldn¡¯t stand against the enemy¡¯s attack.


    That stupid nobleman was safe and sound since the guild master was protecting him. As for me, I was in charge of giving out potions and antidotes to the adventurer who got caught by either the deadly poisonous or petrifying attack.


    I¡¯ve changed my job into a healer instead! I wonder if we can go home when I run out of potions? I really don¡¯t want to be here anymore¡­.


    At any rate, although there were several wounded adventurers from this battle, we somehow managed to win thanks to those 5 unparalleled people. But still, the other adventurers were all battered and wounded. I almost ran out of potions. Margo and Juno were wounded too.


    I went to the guild master since he seemed to be the person who was open for sensible conversation. I gestured that I had run out of potions and pointed toward the other adventurers who had fallen victim to the deadly poison and petrification attack. I conveyed that it was impossible for us to advance with gestures.


    The guild master nodded and continued the report to that stupid nobleman. Then they seemed to be arguing.


    Just hurry up and make your mind, you stupid nobleman. It¡¯s obvious that this is impossible for us.


    It was already a miracle that we were still alive. That stupid nobleman looked so reluctant until he finally yelled something that I assumed was ¡°Retreatttt!¡±.


    I don¡¯t really care either way but I¡¯m going to be properly compensated for this, right? Hey, nobleman, the price for life is not cheap, you know?


    Or rather¡­ I don¡¯t care about the money just please stop getting me involved.


    I lent my shoulder to Margo and Juno. With an exhausted look on my face, I went toward my house where Sarasa was waiting for us worriedly.


    As I thought, I definitely can¡¯t do this.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Turns out that trio is not an ordinary adventurer. They¡¯re the elite of the elite. I guess this time the group is lucky because they have those awesome 5 with them. Otherwise, our MC would become isekai-ed to another world already.

 CH 81

    I¡¯m so tired¡­ Or rather, just remembering about that incident is already enough to make me seething in anger¡­.


    Me, Margo and Juno dragged our feet that felt like a stick and we finally arrived at my house where Sarasa had been waiting for us. Ash was the first one to jump at me.


    Yeah, papa is home. You must¡¯ve been missing me. Yeah, papa also missed you!


    Finally reuniting with Ash, I felt happy and healed. Then, it was Sarasa who came to greet us. It seemed she had been cooking for us. I looked at my watch and saw it was already 19:00¡­.


    Of course I¡¯d feel tired after walking and fighting for a whole day. As soon as Sarasa saw how tattered we were, she took us to the blacksmith workshop and tended to us. After eating the food that Sarasa had made for us, we all slept like a log.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    The next day came. I slept all day until noon. It was a solid proof of how tired I was. Sarasa had been awake since early in the morning and took care of the animals.


    I thanked Sarasa for her help.


    Margo and Juno were still sleeping while snoring magnificently. I decided to let them sleep some more.


    While I was eating the late breakfast that Sarasa had prepared for me, the guild master of the adventurers¡¯ guild, Shrike-san, came in a wagon.


    I gestured at him to convey how grateful I was to him yesterday. He then carried a big bag from his wagon and dropped it on the ground with a thud.


    700 gold coins. He said the payment for the large amount of potions I had to use yesterday was also included in that bag. The gold coins were counted one by one. Ash was itching to dive right into that pile of gold so I had Sarasa to hold him in her arms.


    After that, Shrike-san dropped another two bags on the table, saying it was Margo and Juno¡¯s portion. These two bags had 60 gold coins each. I also counted those gold coins properly.


    I gestured for Shrike-san to sit at the table and served him herbal tea made from marble leaves. He must be feeling tired too but he still had to go all over the place. It must be hard. I hoped he could relax for a little bit here.


    14:00


    He then drank the herbal tea and then went back to the town in his wagon again. He must be really busy.


    I decided to boil the water for a bath today. Taking a bath was the best cure for exhaustion. I went to the river to fill the tub with water and then I started a fire for the firewood using a fire dagger.


    The sound of the wood crackling in fire reverberated in this quiet space. I just continued to gaze at the fire absentmindedly. Somehow, doing this calmed me down.


    17:00


    Margo and Juno finally woke up. Sarasa served them a meal that looked easy on the stomach.


    19:00


    The three of us jumped into the bath with a splash to relieve our body from fatigue. After that, we decided to have a drink by the bonfire like usual. It was a bit like a celebratory party for our hard work.


    I gulped down a glass of alcohol while enjoying the magically beautiful moon.


    Yeah, it¡¯s delicious. Having a drink after taking a bath is the best.


    The side dish to accompany our drinking party tonight was a deer meat based dish from the deer that had gotten caught in the ankle snare trap. The deer was paralyzed by the drug I had coated in the trap so it was safe to eat.


    Fresh deer sashimi was especially delicious. I loved to eat it together with grated garlic. The fresh meat was practically melting in my mouth. Mixed with the rich taste of the garlic that was spreading from within.


    Margo took a mouthful of deer sashimi that was topped with grated garlic. His eyes widened as he groaned something out loud. His voice sounded like a cow to me. With my hands, I gestured to him that it was alright so just keep on eating and eating.


    Juno and Sarasa also had a similar reaction. I guess it was delicious enough to make their eyes widened in shock. Surprisingly, the people¡¯s reaction to delicious food was the same no matter where.


    The party by the bonfire continued on until late at night.


    Really, what a bunch of heavy drinkers they are.


    Of course, it went without saying that after learning from experience, I also made them my self-proclaimed hangover soup, the ¡®closure soup¡¯ that I made from mylene herb.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The peaceful day returns! Also since our MC got 700 gold coins¡­ That amount of money should be enough to make a very simple house for him, right? Nothing big, just something small so our MC won¡¯t have to sleep with the chickens everyday

 CH 82.1

    The next morning, contrary to how they usually were, the three of them woke up full of spirits. After I saw them off as they returned to Resta in a wagon, it finally dawned on me that I had various things to think about.


    First, my guild points had reached 215 points due to the recent dungeon capture. Next, I needed to think on how to spend the 700 gold coins I received as a reward for participating in the said dungeon capture.


    I didn¡¯t want to stand out so I decided to think about the money first. Even if I increased the number of livestocks I had, I wouldn¡¯t be able to take care of them. In the first place, I was already planning on living on my own so the current amount of livestock I had was plenty enough for me.


    As for using the money to buy expensive equipment, I felt like making my own equipment myself would suit me better. If there was a weapon I couldn¡¯t make, it was highly likely that Margo already had those in stocks.


    Maybe I could ask Sarasa to make some cute clothes for Ash. Beside from depositing the money to the guild for monster subjugation reward, I couldn¡¯t think of any other usage for the money.


    In the first place, I already had a pretty stable income due to my business relationship with Sarasa and Margo. I didn¡¯t feel like I was in need of anything even after I received a large sum of money now.


    Then next, I should think about what to do with the guild points. Since I had more than 200 guild points, that meant I could acquire the basic magic skill which cost 150 guild points.


    I had been gearing toward martial arts skill build so normally at this point I should¡¯ve continued to expand my skill by focusing on martial arts related skills but¡­ Magic, huh¡­


    That strong magician who defeated the serpent with tornado magic. Most probably, she was using wind magic. That wind magic was the main attack power of our recent dungeon capture too. I felt hesitant.


    In the end I decided that I should start practicing magic early on. Adding magic to my martial arts skill build could be beneficial for me in the distant future.


    I decided to acquire wind magic.


    11:00


    I arrived at the adventurers¡¯ guild together with Ash.


    First, I gave 30 gold coins to Dan for a subjugation reward. I told Dan specifically the subjugation target would be the serpent or any other strong monsters in the forest or the dungeon that I couldn¡¯t defeat myself.


    Then, I asked Dan about acquiring wind magic. I showed him my guild card and asked him to draw the point cost from it.


    Dan told me to wait and after waiting for a while, I was finally guided to the same usual dojo. However the one waiting for me there was an old gentleman with white hair and straight, taut back. Though that old man had a cane and a missing left foot.


    The old man¡¯s name was Han so I called him Han-sensei. Han-sensei had lost one of his legs during a fight and so he retired from his family¡¯s business, which was being an adventurer. Thus, he worked in the guild as a magic instructor.


    We immediately started to get into the process of learning magic.


    First, Han-sensei held his right hand out, that was holding onto nothing, toward the wooden target as he recited a short phrase.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡÷¡ö!¡±


    After that, a strong wind appeared, blowing the wooden target off.


    Amazing¡­ Just the power of wind alone is able to do that.


    Han-sensei gestured to me to give it a try.


    I imitated him and chanted the same phrase.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡÷¡ö!¡±


    But nothing happened.


    Han-sensei gestured for me to concentrate and so I concentrated on my right hand. I repeated the same thing over and over again.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡÷¡ö!¡±


    Swish~


    A gentle breeze about 10m/h appeared, flowing toward the wooden target.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Magic:Wind level 1.¡»¡£


    ¡°Congratulations.¡±


    Instead of clapping, Han-sensei tapped his cane on the ground multiple times as he congratulated me.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I thanked Han-sensei before I left the dojo.


    17:00


    I had spent quite a long time learning magic. But, what could I use this magic for? Maybe I could use this to flip someone¡¯s skirt.


    Useless.


    I thought to myself as I headed toward Sarasa¡¯s shop together with Ash. There, I saw Sarasa. Coincidentally, she was wearing a skirt.


    Why is she wearing a skirt out of all days today?


    I felt a little guilty even though I hadn¡¯t done anything wrong.


    I gestured to Sarasa to ask her to make clothes for Ash and handed her 5 gold coins. 5 gold coins was too much so Sarasa returned 2 gold coins to me. Because she was an honest person like this that I could trust her.


    But really, I couldn¡¯t think of any good usage for this large sum of money. I should ask Sarasa and the other two about this and discuss it together with them.


    Since I was already here, I bought vegetables, drinks, bread and other foods including other daily necessities like firewood from Sarasa before I headed back home.


    On my way home, I immediately practiced wind magic while driving the wagon. However, not long after, I could feel my magic depleted. Suddenly the fatigue came rushing in and I almost fainted.


    I quickly drank dual potion to prevent myself from fainting. For the time being, I would need some more time to know how to pace myself when using magic.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC, even Rocinante has his own house. You deserve to have a house where you don¡¯t need to share your living quarters with the chickens!

 CH 82.2

    Chapter 82.2 : (Juno¡¯s POV) Juno¡¯s Resolution


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    As we set out to the frontline with Bavarian-sama to the dungeon, Sarasa gave the three of us a bracelet with poison resistance as a charm.


    I really felt happy, she was truly worried about us. But I noticed the degree of worry and the gaze she had toward Margo was different compared to me and Keigo. Therefore, these charm bracelets she gave to me and Keigo were merely a cover up to hide her embarrassment.


    I couldn¡¯t stop this nauseating ugly feeling that arose when I realized the real person she wanted to give this gift to was Margo only.


    I really fell into a pit of self-hatred. I knew very well that it wasn¡¯t true. I knew Sarasa was also really worried about me and Keigo too.


    The three of them were genuinely good natured people. I knew that very well.


    We came to Keigo¡¯s house almost everyday. We drank, laughed and fooled around and sometimes cried while we were drunk.


    This kind of relationship would surely never come again twice in my whole life. This relationship was my most precious treasure.


    Ahh¡­ Just why did I fall in love¡­


    No matter how many times I thought about sealing this love myself, this feeling just continued to smolder and wouldn¡¯t go away.


    If that was the case then at the very least, I¡¯d absolutely bring Margo back from the battlefield alive so my beloved person wouldn¡¯t become sad.


    ¡­¡­. I swore to bring Margo back.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: If the author won¡¯t give Juno his own happy ending with a lover that loves him back, I¡¯m going to riot

 CH 83.1

    Wind magic training was added to my regimen the next morning.


    Wind!


    Swish~


    Ash was enjoying the gentle breeze he received as he scratched his ear with his hind leg. The gentle sunlight, combined with the sound of birds chirping reverberating from somewhere¡­. What a peaceful day¡­.


    This magic. I was starting to get terribly anxious about what I could use it for.


    10:00


    The other day, I had made too many potions that the amount of herbs in my field was starting to deplete. Hence why I donned my carrier today to do some gathering.


    While I was working toward the forest with Ash, I appraised every little bit of grass I saw.


    Irene herb, mylene antidote herb, berzin magic herb, these were the plants that I primarily dug up from its roots. On a rare occasion, I would find marble herbs so I also gathered them.


    Okay, my carrier is almost full.


    This amount of herbs should be good enough. I had thought I¡¯d encounter a monster but contrary to my expectations, I didn¡¯t get attacked by any monster.


    14:00


    I dropped my carrier beside my house and began having a little late lunch. I fried both the egg and dried meat on a frying pan then brewed tea from marble leaves.


    Ah~ As I thought, tea sure is nice. It calms me.


    15:30


    After taking a short break, I started planting the plants I had collected in the field.


    After gardening for nearly an hour, I heard a sharp cry ¡°kyan!¡± coming from somewhere. I looked around my house and saw a bluewolf about 2 meters big got trapped in an ankle snare trap.


    I quietly readied my bow and approached it but then, Ash suddenly sat down in front of me as if he was trying to protect the bluewolf. He then whined ¡®kuuun¡¯ at me.


    I see. Now that you mention it, this wolf is also one of your friends, huh.


    I continued to approach the bluewolf to see its reaction and to my surprise, the bluewolf didn¡¯t bear any hostility toward me. The wolf was paralyzed from the drug so I deemed the situation should be safe enough. I then released him from the ankle snare trap.


    His leg that got caught in the trap was hurt. I went to my house to get some bandages and grind some medicinal plants to make a salve. I coated the wound with the salve and wrapped a bandage around it. After a while, the blue wolf that had been staring at us intensely, left for the forest.


    Come to think of it, this very same thing has happened to me too before but with a goblin. If they¡¯re not going to attack me then I wouldn¡¯t go all the way to fight them first.


    ¡°Come now, Ash. Let¡¯s go. We need to continue working in the field.¡±


    I quickly went back to the field to continue my work.


    20:00


    After finishing dinner, I brushed my teeth and was about to go to sleep when I remembered that I hadn¡¯t repaid Sarasa for the bracelet she had given to me.


    Maybe I should discuss what present to give to Sarasa and buy it together with him. I¡¯d feel bad if I didn¡¯t get anything to repay her back after all. As for Margo¡­ Well, I doubt I had to worry about him. I should go to the inn where Juno was staying at tomorrow.

 CH 83.2

    Chapter 83.2 : (Juno¡¯s POV) Melancholy?! The Heartbroken Juno¡¯s Love Consultation!!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    In the morning, Keigo and Ash came to the inn where I was staying. An adventurer wouldn¡¯t be able to afford a house unless they were very wealthy. Living in a cheap inn would suit a poor adventurer like me better.


    My face must¡¯ve looked terrible since Keigo made a gesture for me to wash my face.


    ¡°You can sit here while you wait for me.¡±


    I told Keigo and went to wash my face with cold water.


    ¡°Go shopping with me.¡±


    Apparently Keigo was here to ask me that. Ahh, the return gift for Sarasa, huh. I had been thinking about that myself too. It¡¯d be more convenient and easier if I could give her the gift together with Keigo.


    I gave Keigo the ¡®ok¡¯.


    As we walked, I was talking about various things with Keigo. Although it was more like I was the one who was talking one-sidedly while Keigo only nodded his head and made the ¡®yeah, yeah¡¯ sound.


    Still, my feelings felt so much lighter now. Keigo never said anything out of bound. Keigo was the first person I ever talked to about the things I could never talk to anyone else about.


    On one hand, I was sure he didn¡¯t understand about half the things I said because he couldn¡¯t understand our language yet but on the other hand, he was sometimes by my side when I was at my lowest point. Because of that, I had an inkling he actually understood me. Nevertheless, I was most grateful to him for listening to me without saying anything back.


    I went to an accessory store together with Keigo. The two of us then bought a necklace and hair ornament made from silver and blue gemstone with different designs but would look good when worn as a set.


    Keigo bought the necklace and I bought the hair ornament. Sarasa must be happy with these gifts.


    We stopped by Sarasa¡¯s shop and gave the jewelry as a thanks for the bracelet. Indeed, she was very happy when she received it. When I saw Sarasa¡¯s smile, my heart ached a little but thanks to Keigo, I wasn¡¯t feeling as hurt as I was before.


    After pouring everything to Keigo, I felt like I could finally let my feelings for Sarasa go. It was not manly to keep on weeping around so I should start looking for a new love soon.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: In reality, most people only wanted to be heard. We don¡¯t need someone to say something in return, just being heard is good enough. I hope Juno will find a new love soon and it¡¯s not a rebound but a real love instead.

 CH 84

    Today¡¯s weather was very sunny. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. It was a really refreshing day. Yesterday, I had been listening to Juno while we were going to buy a return gift for Sarasa¡¯s bracelet.


    He had a really painful look on his face. Like he¡¯d burst into tears at any given moment. I just listened to him quietly. I could sense he was talking to me not because he wanted my advice.


    I also had a tight-lipped friend who would listentened to me in silence when I was having a rough time. When I told him I was tired of the business-like relationship and the fiercely competitive environment and that I wanted to retire to a farming village in the outskirts of Hokkaido, he only said.


    ¡°Ah, I see. I knew it.¡±


    And laughed.


    Though it differs on each person, I think if the problem could be easily solved with just an advice, they wouldn¡¯t be discussing it with other people in the first place. In my mind, I already knew what the answer was. I only wanted to have someone to hear me and affirmed that I wasn¡¯t making the wrong choice.


    That was why I could sense Juno was the same as me. Even though I couldn¡¯t understand his words, I could feel his pain and sadness. And that was enough.


    But still, when we parted ways, he gave me a beaming smile and said.


    ¡°Thank you. See you.¡±


    In Lancaster language. Even though I didn¡¯t say anything, I guess just that was already enough as an answer for him.


    I looked up at the blue sky.


    There¡¯s really no rain that won¡¯t stop.


    I thought to myself and while I did so, the chickens and Rocinante (my horse), began crying for me to feed them. Ash was also circling around me, begging me to feed him soon.


    Well then, I guess today will be another day where I spend the day at my own pace.

 CH 85.1

    T/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday. I was sick¡­ Well I still am. I¡¯m better now but not fully recovered yet. I¡¯m going to head back to bed after I post this chapter¡­


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    I was thinking about my exchange with Juno yesterday when there were angry choruses coming from all directions, asking me to feed them.


    It¡¯s already morning so why don¡¯t you hurry up and feed us!


    They really couldn¡¯t be helped¡­.


    After feeding Rocinante (my horse), Ash and the chickens, I went to do my daily training. Although I could use wind magic, it was still not at the level where I could utilize it.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Wind level 2.¡»


    It seemed magic skill required longer training compared to ordinary martial arts skill to level up. I practiced ¡®foot sword kick¡¯, ¡®bash¡¯, ¡®fortress¡¯, ¡®charge arrow¡¯ and ¡®sharpshoot¡¯ before I decided to finish practicing.


    10:00


    I wiped my sweat with a wet towel before I started preparing breakfast. Today¡¯s breakfast consisted of stir fry vegetables and dried meat, bread and herbal tea made from marble leaves.


    Ash was being a good boy, waiting for me while sitting up. I held a piece of dried meat near the tip of his nose and ordered him to wait. His tail was wagging so fast that I thought his tail would get torn off.


    Now then, let¡¯s brew some potions today since I¡¯ve used up a lot of it.


    11:00


    I placed the pot for brewing the potions over the fire and started boiling down the medicinal herbs. The paruna antidote potion really helped me a lot. If we didn¡¯t have that antidote with us, Margo might¡¯ve lost his life in battle the other day. The same could be said about the other adventurers too.


    I boiled berzin magic herb and mylene detoxification herb together and stirred the pot until the solution became an extract. Just like that, the paruna antidote was finished. The concentration of the liquid was essential when making a potion.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy level 6.¡»


    Maybe by increasing the level of the alchemy skill, I could expand the range of the things I could make? In the end, I needed to try experimenting with various things so I could know what kind of things I could make. Unless I could have an instructor for alchemy, just like I had with martial arts skill.


    Next up, making dual potions (medium). This potion had also saved a lot of lifes. Juno was one of those who¡¯d be in danger without this potion. I washed the pot once and then I put irene herbs, berzin magic herbs and delune fruit into the pot and began stirring even after the mixture started simmering.


    I couldn¡¯t stop working once I started the job so for lunch, I had dried meat and water from the water dagger flask. Ash was sniffing around noisily so I gave him a water buffalo bone and he finally quieted down.


    16:00


    I finally took a break from making potions.


    Phew.


    My shoulder felt stiff. Maybe I should heat the water for a bath.


    I went to the river in a wagon to get water for my bath. If there was a water buffalo or a merman, I would¡¯ve hunted them but I didn¡¯t see any of them today.


    18:00


    The crackling sound of the firewood burning could be heard. The water temperature would be just right in a minute.


    SPLASH!


    Phew¡­


    Hot bath really worked wonders for a stiff shoulder. I placed a towel on top of my head and looked up to the sky.


    The whole sky was filled with stars. I could hear the rustling sound of the trees, the sound of birds chirping and the sound of insects singing. It all sounded like music to my ear.


    For a moment, I just soaked in the bath in a daze.


    Just as I was starting to feel dizzy from soaking in the hot bath for too long, Ash, who had been swimming doggy style in the tub, got out first. I also got out of the bath and wiped my body and Ash¡¯s body with a towel.


    Suddenly, an idea came to my mind. WIND!


    Swish~


    ¡­¡­.. Ash¡¯s hair dried up not long after I used wind magic on him. It was at this moment that I finally realized the way to utilize the wind magic.


    19:30


    I had dinner on a table that I made myself. I didn¡¯t catch anything today so I only had stir-fry vegetables with dried deer meat and smoked marinated egg. As for the alcohol, I had ale to accompany my meal. As I thought, after working for a whole day, taking a hot bath and then drinking alcohol after that was the best.


    21:30


    I started to yawn. I guess I must¡¯ve been drinking a bit too much today. The stars and the blue moon were just so beautiful today that I ended up drinking too much. Because there was no artificial light around, the moon and the stars looked so beautiful as they were.


    Since I was drinking alone, I didn¡¯t bother making any soup. I munched on mylene detoxification herb to sober myself up before I went to sleep together with Ash.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The 150 guild points magic skill can be used as¡­. A HAIR DRYER! The tornado seems so far away¡­¡­¡­

 CH 85.2

    Chapter 85.2 : (???¡¯s POV) A Proud Forest Hunter


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    I¡¯m a proud hunter in this forest. Our master, a superior being, was defeated by a human. That human is very strong and he uses strange techniques.


    We pride ourselves on our high intellect but even the three of us were no match against such a formidable enemy.


    To our surprise, our young lord, the child of our late master, was captured by that human. We are unable to touch that human ever since then. We don¡¯t have any other choice but to watch over our young lord¡¯s situation from a distance.


    Our young lord is not being treated particularly badly by that human. Or rather, if I have to say it, our young lord is getting along well with the humans from what I see.


    We were frozen by fear when we saw our young lord and the human was attacked by that formidable serpent. Our young lord bravely stood in the front, protecting the human from that strong enemy. But the human then fought against that serpent in order to protect our young lord. At that time, we were already aware that this human is a patron of our young lord.


    There were times when our young lord and the human came to the forest. We removed the unfaithful ones who were hiding nearby to harm our young lord.


    What a blunder on my side! I came too close to the human because I wanted to protect our young lord but I ended up getting caught in that human¡¯s mysterious technique!


    Gunununu¡­. I can¡¯t move my body!


    The human noticed me and was coming my way. There was nothing more regrettable than being killed in this way.


    To my surprise, our young lord came standing between me and the human in order to protect me. I was so deeply moved that I could feel my heart trembling. Furthermore, I was even more surprised that the human released my leg that got bitten by this mysterious technique and healed my injured leg.


    I was so shocked.


    When it comes to humans, our relationship with them is either kill or be killed. It was at this moment that I once again realized this human is special.


    We are blue wolves, the proud hunter in this forest and our loyalty runs deep. We are a being that pledge our loyalty to our young lord and the human that is protecting our young lord.

 CH 86

    The next morning, a deer was left behind in front of my house. There was a bite mark on its neck and the deer was still warm to touch. It looked like this deer had just been freshly hunted.


    I was wondering why the deer was here but I was more focused on the fact that I got fresh deer meat in front of me. I quickly drained the blood and started working on dismantling the deer.


    Wild game~


    Today¡¯s meal would be focused on deer meat. Without realizing it, I had started drooling just at the thought. I immediately slurped my drool back. I could recall the taste of that delicious deer sashimi that melted in your mouth.


    Wild game~


    While I was engrossed with the deer, I could hear angry choruses coming from all sides.


    Don¡¯t forget to feed us!


    I know.


    12:30


    I spent the whole morning dismantling the deer. As for lunch, I was having deer liver sashimi. Of course I also sipped on alcohol occasionally as I ate. The flavor of the fresh liver that spreaded in your mouth together with the salt was seriously amazing. The liver wasn¡¯t smelly in the slightest. I could really feel my body filled to the brim with nutrients.


    A short time later, Margo arrived in a wagon.


    Margo came looking at my meal curiously. He then picked the liver sashimi that was seasoned with salt and ate it on his own. He also gulped down on my alcohol.


    Margo froze when he ate the liver sashimi.


    Well, I can understand his feelings well. This is seriously amazing. I know the word ¡®seriously amazing¡¯ is cliche but I really can¡¯t help myself. Please be understanding.


    I took another bite.


    Seriously amazing.


    The two bad adults drinking during the day could be seen again.


    14:00


    Apparently, Margo was coming here to ask me to make water daggers and fire daggers for him. I could see a pile of daggers in Margo¡¯s wagon.


    Hey, hey¡­ Margo-san¡­ Are you seriously asking me to do all of these daggers¡­.?


    But Margo¡¯s attention was already glued at the deer in front of him. With gestures, he told me that I could take my time finishing the dagger, anytime was alright. For now, focus on the deer.


    18:00


    There was leftover bath water from yesterday so I burnt the firewood to heat it up again. The two of us went with a splash and after we relieved the stress from our body, we enjoyed the deer again.


    There was still some leftover of the deer liver sashimi. I also made another batch of deer meat sashimi and made stir fry using deer meat and vegetables. We also had a few drinks as we ate. I felt so happy.


    The fresh deer sashimi practically melted in my mouth. The flavor of the meat combined with the taste of grated garlic¡­.


    Everything else became inconsequential.


    Margo then said something about the nobleman. He hoped the nobleman would stay low now. I gestured to him that I also wished the same. I didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary. In the first place, I couldn¡¯t speak their language yet so I couldn¡¯t communicate well with them. But that was a good thing. I could get drunk as much as I wanted. I didn¡¯t even need to worry about hurting anyone to begin with either.


    Feeling good, I started singing a Japanese song while Margo clapped his hands for me. Margo didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary either. Well in the first place, I couldn¡¯t really understand their language so it¡¯d be hard trying to get their words across to me.


    I couldn¡¯t understand their drunken blabber or get stuck in their heart like a thorn either. Margo also started singing. I couldn¡¯t understand the lyrics but it sounded like a wild song, which was pretty typical of Margo. I clapped my hands back as he sang.


    There was no need to read further the meaning of someone¡¯s words or force myself to become the life of the party for business entertainment,  which was a routine that I had to go through when I was still working for that trading company.


    I was connected to Margo in a relationship between two individuals.


    ¡°How do I say this, it feels comfortable.¡±


    I murmured to myself as I watched Margo merrily singing a song.


    In Japan, people had a pretty strict view against people who were drunk but it seemed in this world they didn¡¯t see being drunk as something bad. At least, that was what I could see with the friends I was close with here.


    ¡°As I thought, it feels relaxing here.¡±


    As I watched the bonfire making crackling sounds, I wished this kind of relationship would last forever.


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    T/N: The wolves are giving tribute to our MC lol. Also! I love how MC and his friendship in this isekai transcends language barrier, culture and even world!

 CH 87

    The ¡®closure soup¡¯ was effective in making Margo able to return home the next morning. I gave dried meat and water to Margo for him to eat as breakfast.


    Now then, I guess it was time for me to do my daily morning training. My ¡®foot sword kick¡¯ was looking sharp today.


    I guess I¡¯d spend the rest of the day working in the blacksmith workshop.


    10:00


    After I finished breakfast, I took a look at the huge amount of daggers that Margo had brought in the blacksmith workshop. I didn¡¯t mind spending time talking with the iron. Touching the metal calmed my heart.


    Sssh Ssshh Ssshh Ssshh


    I talked with the dagger, sharpening my mind along with it. I begin asking the dagger questions. The dagger that Margo made each had their own personality, it was interesting.


    What kind of change do you want?


    I asked the dagger to decide what kind of attribute I¡¯d give to them based on their answer.


    Sssh Ssshh Ssshh Ssshh


    I talked with the iron again. The time went by pleasantly¡­. There. Water attribute would suit this one just fine. I finished every dagger, piece by piece meticulously. This amount of work was to be expected as a courtesy to Margo, a first rate craftsman.


    I might act like a fool when I drink but when it comes to work, I won¡¯t cut corners. I believe that¡¯s just what you should do when it comes to work.


    18:00


    While talking with the iron, I ended up forgetting to eat. As I expected, I was starving. I wiped my body with a wet towel and ended my work with a proper dinner.


    My mind felt sharpened today that I didn¡¯t feel like drinking.


    19:30


    As I expected, I was already tired in a good way because I had been concentrating too much on sharpening the daggers. It seemed today I¡¯d be getting a good sleep.


    ¡°Fuahhhn¡­ Good night, Ash.¡±


    After patting Ash, I went to bed and fell asleep not long after.


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    T/N: Wow¡­ So I guess that¡¯s why our MC is so good at making potions and enhancing daggers. He¡¯s really focused at work. Like he knows when to give it his all. I guess that¡¯s also why he¡¯s tired of human society in general. He worked too hard¡­

 CH 88

    The next day, I was working out after I had finished tending to the animals when Margo, Juno and Sarasa came. I raised my hand and said good morning to them in Lancaster language.


    Hm?


    For some reason, Sarasa looked upset somehow. Her cheeks were puffed out and she didn¡¯t wear the seashell earrings she used to wear.


    I wonder what happened?


    10:00


    After I finished with my training, I returned to my house to see the three of them had made breakfast and the meal was already lined up on the table.


    It seemed they had brought a whole wild boar that had just been butchered so there were pork steaks on the table. I munched on the steak and the flavor of the meat immediately spread through my mouth. It was delicious.


    After we finished breakfast, we had a relaxing time by drinking marble herb tea.


    11:30


    I gestured to Margo that I had finished the dagger. The finished daggers were piled up near the entrance of the blacksmith workshop and so, I pointed my finger there. Margo then immediately went to check the dagger with a serious expression on his face.


    He¡¯d stab the dagger into a wood until he saw the wood become burnt and hold the dagger over the sunlight to check the blade. He¡¯d do this motion over and over again.


    I got 25 gold coins for each dagger just by enhancing them with an attribute. It didn¡¯t matter if the end result was bad or not but I didn¡¯t intend to do a half-hearted job. I always did my job adequately.


    Margo paid me and then he carried the dagger into the back of the wagon. While on the other side, Ash was jumping up and down in front of Sarasa, making her unable to hold back from picking him up and squeezing him tight. Hopefully playing with Ash would put Sarasa in a better mood.


    15:00


    Since the three of them had taken the trouble to come all the way here, I decided to let them go into the bathtub. Just like always, I fetched the water from the river and then lit up firewood to heat the water.


    As per the ¡®ladies first¡¯ etiquette, I let Sarasa go into the bath first. Sarasa insisted that she wanted to take one together with Ash and she wouldn¡¯t budge about it. Ash was wagging his tail excitedly at the notion too.


    I¡¯m feeling a little bit jealous.


    18:30


    After we all had dipped into the bath to loosen our stiff muscles, we started to have another party with the pork hotpot as the complement.


    Sarasa was getting so drunk that I could see a pair of horns growing from her head. She was wearing the blue gemstone necklace I had given to her as a present. She grabbed that said necklace and thrusted it into Margo¡¯s face. She said something in a strong tone to Margo and although Margo was supposed to be a man with a large physique, he seemed to gradually become smaller and smaller.


    I see.


    It seemed Margo hadn¡¯t given anything to repay Sarasa for the bracelet she had given to us out of worry. Juno tried to calm Sarasa down while Ash came to lay down next to me, showing no sign of interest at the scene.


    It was just like they said, even a dog wouldn¡¯t dare to come between a husband and wife¡¯s quarrel.


    I had planned on asking them on how I should spend my money but I guess that was out of the question now. It was funny seeing this scene from the sideline. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from chuckling.


    And so, our bustling and fun night continued on.


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    T/N: I bet Margo is feeling betrayed like¡­ HOW COULD YOU TWO WENT TO BUY A PRESENT TOGETHER WITHOUT TELLING ME? (?©n?)

 CH 89

    After I made sure the three of them were sleeping in the blacksmith workshop, I was all alone with my thoughts. Ash was on my feet, the sound of his breathing indicated how deeply asleep he was. Technically it was me and one animal but I was the only one deep in thought.


    Humans are such a contradictory creature.


    Since a long time ago, I often had the sudden urge of wanting to be alone. When I was still a student, I¡¯d suddenly cancel the contract for my mobile phone and cut contact with everyone on the pretense of studying for an exam. But, I still longed for the company of others and so, I resumed the contract for my mobile phone again.


    About my social media too. There were times when I¡¯d suddenly get sick of all human relations and deleted my social media account. But still, I longed for the company of others and so, the motion was repeated over and over again.


    The same could be said about my decision to retreat to Hokkaido and become a farmer. I was sick of having to smile and seeing that fake smile that was typical of a trading company employee. At that time, I decided I didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with other people ever again.


    I tried to become self-sufficient and cut all contact with other people. Coming to this place with a mysterious blue moon didn¡¯t change my basic principle. Even at the risk of my own safety, I refused to move into the town of Resta.


    Aside from the minimum interaction necessary for my survival, I thought I wouldn¡¯t have any relations with another person. When I first came to this world, Margo, Juno and Sarasa were categorized as ¡®necessary interaction for my survival¡¯ in my mind. The same could be said about Dan, Kai-sensei and the old man at the disassembly shop.


    Thanks to the language barrier, strangely enough I didn¡¯t have any unpleasant feelings toward them. Instead, I felt like they were kind people even. But¡­ If I were to put them in a category, they were still in the ¡®necessary interaction for my survival¡¯. Now that I looked back into it, it was such a terrible thought on my side.


    However, that thing that always came to my mind was still there. Unconsciously, I longed for heart to heart connection with these three loveable idiots. I found something beautiful that made me peel off my fake smile.


    I hoped I wouldn¡¯t suddenly have the sudden urge to become alone again. I hoped this relationship with the comfortable emotional distance I had with the three of them could continue on.


    I was terrified of the contradiction in my mind. Like suddenly canceling the contract for my mobile phone, deleting my social media account, suddenly cutting contact with all of my business relationships.


    How could I say for sure that the day where I suddenly wanted to cut contact with the three of them wouldn¡¯t come? Those thoughts became a thorn in my heart and I couldn¡¯t get rid of it.


    My thoughts were going round and round in circles and I couldn¡¯t stop it. It seemed the morning would come just like this.


    I slowly got out of my bed and decided to have a warm cup of marble herbal tea to relax. I could hear the loud noise of the orchestra conducted by those two from the blacksmith workshop and couldn¡¯t stop myself from giggling. It made me feel silly for worrying about those thoughts.


    After I finished drinking my herbal tea, this time I was able to go into a deep sleep.


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    T/N: So this is why the author insisted on keeping the language barrier. It is a crucial part of our MC¡¯s emotional development.

 CH 90

    The next morning, I woke up feeling great. I washed my face with cold water. It was a refreshing morning. The three of them were already awake too so we decided to train together while Sarasa helped me take care of the animals and make breakfast for us.


    The three of us trained for about an hour. It was nice to be able to practice while having a partner so I could have a mock battle type of training.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda


    Strength: 34¡ú35


    Agility: 29¡ú30


    Has changed.¡»


    9:00


    For breakfast, we had sunny side up herb chicken eggs,  bread with dried meat and accompanied with rumi fruits. After we finished breakfast, Margo and the others returned to Resta.


    I decided to work in my field and forage for plants for today.


    11:00


    I walked to the river with a carrier on my back. I appraised the plants and dug them from the roots before I put them into the carrier.


    13:00


    Feeling hungry, I decided to eat the lunch box I had prepared. Although I said ¡®lunch box¡¯, I had only prepared dried meat and bread along with rumi fruits. I had also put cooled herbal tea into my water bottle to moist my dry throat.


    Phew¡­


    The meal tasted so delicious after doing manual labor.


    Now then, it¡¯s time for me to continue foraging.


    14:30


    It was about time for me to conclude the foraging. My carrier was about to get full too. Strangely enough, I didn¡¯t encounter any monsters today. Maybe it was due to the subjugation request I had put in the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    15:30


    When I returned home, I put down the carrier and took a small break on my handmade table set. I was out in the sun and did a lot of physical workout. I was really living a very healthy lifestyle.


    Now then¡­ I need to start working in the fields.


    I turned my attention to the plants in my carrier.


    18:00


    I had finally finished the first stage of the work in the field. Both Ash and I were covered in mud so I decided to get into the bath after I finished heating the water first.


    ¡­. The warmth from the firewood really makes my heart feel at ease.


    When I think about how this bathtub was heated with the fire from the firewood, somehow I felt more relaxed. It was truly a mysterious feeling.


    I dived into the tub together with Ash.


    Haah¡­


    Ash looked like he was enjoying himself too.


    I wiped my body with a towel after I stepped out of the bath and then I used ¡®wind¡¯ to dry Ash¡¯s body. I still had some leftover pork from the wild boar from yesterday so I planned on having pork steak for dinner tonight.


    I grilled slightly more meat for Ash¡¯s portion and then I enjoyed the grilled pork steak together with Milan fruit wine. Ash was also munching on his meal with gusto.


    In order to relieve my body from the exhaustion of today¡¯s work, I sipped the fruit wine bit by bit. At times like this, I tried to pay no attention to the time on the clock.


    When I started getting a little tipsy, I went under the cover together with Ash. After saying ¡®good night¡¯ to Ash, I took out the monster¡¯s core from the lantern to turn the lights off.

 CH 91

    The next morning, I was eating breakfast after I had finished with training when a flurry of people came by. They were the people from the previous dungeon attack. I organized my presence of mind and greeted them with a polite smile.


    Oh! So you¡¯re here to buy potions! Thank you for your patronage!


    I was feeling afraid because both Margo and Juno stayed expressionless. People tend to become expressionless when they are really angry, right? Since they came here so suddenly even though they had already visited me not too long ago, that must¡¯ve meant they were forced to come abruptly too. If not, they would¡¯ve already said something to me when they visited me before.


    Sarasa was with us today too, she looked extremely worried.


    That stupid nobleman gallantly descended from his horse with a wonderful smile on his face. He grabbed my shoulder tight with his right hand and said something that sounded like ¡°I¡¯m counting on you¡± to me.


    I could feel the tears coming from my eyes. The song ¡®donna donna¡¯ started to flow in my head again when¡­


    That incident occurred.


    SWISH! SLASH!


    That stupid nobleman¡¯s right arm was suddenly torn off from the base. It was happening so suddenly that I didn¡¯t know what had just happened. Fresh blood started gushing out from the open wound. I was stained red with blood. My consciousness instantly froze.


    GROARRRRRRR!!


    In the sky, a big winged lizard was flying and roaring.


    GYAAAAAA!!!


    I fell into a state of panic.


    I grabbed a hold of Ash, who was standing nearby me and raised my shield up against the flying lizard in the sky while leaning against the stump chair and activated ¡®fortress¡¯. I tried to make my body as small as possible behind the shield.


    Please, don¡¯t let that lizard notice me!!


    Juno pulled Sarasa¡¯s hand and took her to hide in the blacksmith workshop. The Healer-san from that Unparalleled Five helped in stopping the bleeding from that stupid nobleman¡¯s arm.


    Among the other Unparalleled Five, the guild master, Kai-sensei, Tank-san and Magician-san were starting to launch an attack on that flying lizard. This was already at the level of the Great Monster War.


    I curled myself up behind my shield, shivering and trembling while holding onto Ash.


    An earth-shattering roar reverberated, along with the sound of angry voices and tremendous roar. I timidly looked out from behind the shield to see the glimpse of the flying lizard being directly hit by the tornado magic. The injured dragon then flew away, running from us.


    Although a lot of us were injured, none of them seemed to have died. Margo, Juno and Sarasa were also safe.


    After making sure that the flying lizard had gone, I gave potions to the injured person. That stupid nobleman was somehow able to escape death but he seemed to be in a state of shock. His face was ghastly pale. Feeling merciful, I also gave potion for that stupid nobleman to drink.


    The area around my house became a mess. Some of my fields became ruined but I should still be satisfied because I was able to keep my life intact.


    After all the wounded people were tended to, the guild master decided to withdraw for today. The dungeon attack personel returned to town while walking around the wagon carrying the wounded stupid nobleman.


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    T/N: That stupid nobleman is still not giving up¡­ Hopefully after losing his right arm, that nobleman can finally have some working brain cells¡­ Also, dragon?! MC THERE¡¯S DRAGON NEAR YOUR HOUSE? ISN¡¯T TIME FOR YOU TO IDK SEEK SHELTER SOMEWHERE ELSE?

 CH 92

    I saw off that stupid nobleman returning to Resta.


    11:00


    I reinstalled the ankle snare traps that didn¡¯t get damaged all around the perimeter equally. After that, I decided I needed to go to the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    This is part 2 on how the commoner utilizes the adventurers¡¯ guild in the right way.


    13:00


    I came to Dan and placed a sack containing 100 gold coins in front of him. Then I drew a picture of that flying lizard to explain the situation to him. Dan stopped me with his hand and gestured to me that he had already understood.


    I see. So the adventurer¡¯s guild is already discussing about that flying lizard. Then, that makes everything easier for me.


    I decided to add all of that 100 gold coins as a reward for subjugation. This was not the time to be nit picky about things. If that thing were to come attacking me again, I¡¯d die. 100% I would die for sure.


    There must be strong adventurers in other towns too. Even if I had plenty of gold, I¡¯d be the one to be troubled if that flying lizard didn¡¯t get subjugated.


    After that, I bought more ankle snare traps to replace the broken one.


    From today on, I need to continue living in fear of the threat of that monster¡­ The trauma I got from that serpent incident is coming back again.


    15:00


    I thought about staying at Margo¡¯s place but after further thinking, I decided to not do that. After all, there was also the possibility of the monster flying to town. Rather than that, I decided it¡¯d be better to hide in my house, holding my breath and hide my presence as much as possible.


    As soon as I arrived home, I immediately worked on installing the ankle snare trap, smeared paralyzing drugs on the trap and then fixed the destroyed earthen wall with a shovel.


    I couldn¡¯t see how these countermeasures could work against that flying lizard but it was better than not doing anything at all.


    18:00


    After wiping the sweat off my body with a towel, I seek shelter inside my house. Being inside would be so much safer than being outside. I also took my dinner inside.


    While watching the light from the lantern, I tried to distract myself by drinking alcohol. Then I hugged Ash tight as I trembled out of fear under the cover.


    As if trying to cheer me up, Ash continued to lick me.


    ¡°Ash is fine!¡±


    I could hear him saying that.


    Drinking alcohol didn¡¯t help in trying to distract me from this fear. I was too naive. I didn¡¯t expect I¡¯d feel terrified to this extent.


    I knew that other people might not be able to understand why I was feeling this terrified but they had never seen a flying lizard over 10 meters big, right? They wouldn¡¯t have the slightest desire to try to bring it down if they did.


    In the end, I couldn¡¯t sleep until the morning. I should¡¯ve stayed at Margo¡¯s place and then the two of us could drink together. I really regretted my decision. It was a really painful and bitter night for me.


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    T/N: Ash is so precious! He knows how terrified our MC is so he¡¯s trying to cheer his master~ Also MC, you should seek shelter in the city at least until the dragon gets subjugated you know.

 CH 93

    Morning came and I didn¡¯t get to sleep at all. I forced my sleep deprived body to rise and washed my face with cold water. I had to feed the animals at the very least.


    I didn¡¯t feel well today so I decided it¡¯d be better if I didn¡¯t go outside today. I stayed inside while nibbling on bread and dried meat. I also drank herbal tea to calm myself.


    Let¡¯s just lie down for now.


    Ash looked like he was in high spirits, totally oblivious to my anxiety. I gave him deer bone and he played with it excitedly.


    11:00


    I seemed to have fallen asleep for a little bit. I yawned and sluggishly got up.


    Going outside would be dangerous since that guy might have taken notice of me so I did whatever the things I could do inside. I went to the blacksmith workshop and did some practice I could do indoors like practicing ¡®foot sword kick¡¯, magic and swordsmanship.


    13:00


    My stomach was rumbling so I decided to have lunch. For lunch I had the simple dried meat with raw egg, bread and plain water.


    Going outside was dangerous. There was also the possibility I could let the flying lizard know the existence of a human if I lit up the fire in the furnace to do blacksmithing work. It was better to use fire as minimum as possible.


    I did nothing but work hard in training inside the blacksmith workshop to distract myself.


    18:00


    My body was sweating from working out so I soaked the towel in water and used it to wipe my body since I couldn¡¯t get into the bath at times like this.


    I slowly opened the door to the blacksmith workshop and peered outside.


    It seems like everything is alright for now.


    With food and a water dagger flask in my hand, I moved quickly into my bedroom.


    19:00


    It was a quiet night. From the outside, I could hear the faint sound of the birds, the insects and the rustling sounds of the trees like usual. But, you couldn¡¯t be vigilant enough.


    Today I decided to not run away from reality by drinking alcohol. If I drank, I wouldn¡¯t be able to move properly when the time came. I needed to face reality properly. I should eat, drink water and go to bed properly. I should also put my equipment on and prepare my sword and shield so I could immediately grab them when I needed to.


    Next, minimize the usage of fire and refrain from going out as much as possible. I should erase all traces of people in my house.


    Those were the only things I could do right now but it was fundamental for me to do those things perfectly.


    20:00


    After dinner, which consisted of dried meat, bread, rumi fruits and water, I decided to go to bed early.

 CH 94

    Chapter 94


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    I woke up the next morning. I was still alive. I slowly opened the door, peering outside.


    Seems safe.


    I went outside to wash my face with cold water and feed the animals.


    10:00


    I had breakfast inside the house and then, I decided I should take care of the field for a bit.


    Donned on my battle gear, I went to the field while keeping watch of the sky. The field was still partially destroyed and some of the plants were already rotting, however, I was relieved to know only a small part of my field was destroyed.


    I leveled the ground that got damaged because of the battle from the other day and watered the crops that didn¡¯t get harmed. After quickly finishing tending to the field, I returned to my house by keeping my body low on the ground and staying vigilant of the sky.


    12:30


    I had lunch. I didn¡¯t use any fire to make lunch.


    13:30


    I trained in the blacksmith workshop.


    SWISH!


    I combined both my body and spirit to unleash the ¡®foot sword kick¡¯.


    SWISH!


    I practiced thrusting using a sword made from pig iron inside the blacksmith workshop.


    I trained wholeheartedly, paying no heed even when the sweat was trickling down my body. I did nothing but work hard at training martial arts and swordsmanship.


    18:00


    This might be the first time I ever devoted so much time in training. Not only did my martial arts and swordsmanship improve but I also felt like I was more prepared in case of emergency. Even though if I were to think rationally, it was impossible to try to bring that flying lizard with ¡®foot sword kick¡¯. But I just felt like when I had to face that kind of situation again, I felt like I¡¯d choose a different course of action than before.


    I wiped the sweat from my body with a wet towel and then for dinner, I had preserved food and the water from my flask. Then I slowly opened the door, peering outside to check if there was any danger.


    After making sure the coast was clear, I took Ash in my arms and went back to my bedroom. I placed the lantern near my pillow and laid on my back without changing out of my battle gear. My sword, shield and bow were placed within my arms reach.


    I drifted to sleep, hoping I could make it alive through this night as well.

 CH 95

    The next morning.


    Knock knock.


    I could hear someone knocking on the door. The chickens were making a noise because they were surprised.


    Who is it?


    When I opened the door, I saw the large built Margo standing there with a smile on his face. Apparently according to the story he told me, that winged lizard monster was already exterminated by skilled adventurers from the neighboring town.


    Margo used a tree stick to draw the picture of that lizard and then he made an ¡®x¡¯ mark before he rubbed the picture away with his foot.


    I¡¯m glad¡­ With this, I can return to my normal life.


    I was thinking if I could find a safe place outside of town and then maybe I could build a house there and move there for good. I asked Margo about his opinion using gestures.


    According to Margo, there was a dungeon north from here near the town so as I expected, there was no safe place except for being inside the town. In fact, the town was also in danger due to the threat from this lizard monster so in actuality, there was no safe place.


    But still, I don¡¯t want to live in the town.


    If that was the case then for the time being there was no other choice but to keep offering reward money to mitigate the risk of monster attack. Furthermore, according to Margo, this lizard monster didn¡¯t come from the dungeon but that lizard was coming from somewhere far away. In other words, it was safe to say that since the lizard monster was already defeated, we could return to our pretty much safe daily life.


    I was feeling deeply relieved but just in case, I should add more money for the monster subjugation reward.


    I handed 50 gold coins to Margo when he was on his way home and asked him to put that money as a subjugation reward in case that lizard monster would appear near the vicinity again.


    Let¡¯s have something warm over the fire for my meal today.


    After Margo had left, the tension in my body broke. Sitting on top of the tree stump, I did nothing but stare at the blue sky for a while.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Well to be fair if there¡¯s no safe place then living outside the city is alright too. Since there¡¯s no guarantee MC can be safe living there.

 CH 96

    10:00


    Margo returned to the town after he informed me that the lizard monster had been defeated. I was feeling so relieved that I didn¡¯t feel like doing anything today.


    Well, it¡¯s nice to have a day like this once in a while. Let¡¯s take it easy for today.


    I laid down a blue sheet and spent a suitable time laying down there while taking care of Ash.


    13:00


    A wild rabbit got caught in the ankle snare trap. I decided to have a whole roasted rabbit for dinner tonight and had some drinks too. The sky was cloudy but I was feeling good today. The cloud was starting to get thinner. Maybe we will get a hazy moon tonight?


    I spent the time lazing around and playing catch the bone with Ash.


    18:00


    I decided to fetch some water in the river so I could finally have a hot bath for the first time in a while. When I entered the hot bath, I could clearly feel how stiff I had been these past few days. I could feel the tension in my body loosened but not completely gone yet.


    Haah¡­


    I soaked the towel with the hot water, squeezed the excess water and put the warm towel on my eyes. It felt so amazingly good.


    19:00


    After I got out of the bath, I started cooking the whole roasted rabbit. I rubbed the dissected meat with salt and garlic. Then I thrusted a wooden skewer into the rabbit and roasted it over open-fire.


    The appetizing smell of food floated all around the vicinity.


    Ash was sitting up, acting like a good boy but the drool on the side of his mouth was clear for anyone to see. It was obvious what was on his mind.


    I got up to get a keg of ale and sipped the ale while watching the whole rabbit as it cooked.


    When the meat turned light brown and looked like it was already cooked, I took a bite of it. The taste of the juicy meat immediately spread through my mouth.


    Feeling disgruntled, Ash kept on tapping me with his forefoot.


    I get it, I get it.


    I cut a small part of the meat and put it on a plate reserved only for Ash. Just having roasted rabbit felt a little sad for me so I also made marinated smoked herb chicken eggs and smoked cheese while sipping on alcohol occasionally.


    As I thought, we¡¯re having a hazy moon tonight.


    I looked up at the sky to see the magical looking blue moon. I continued to eat my dinner without thinking about anything as I watched the night sky.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Phew, thankfully our MC doesn¡¯t need to be stressed out for long! Money is justice! The most powerful tool is indeed money!

 CH 97

    Morning came. I went outside and it was getting a little foggy. I yawned and then I splashed cold water on my face. I was feeding the animals when I heard a sound that resembled the sound of a bull.


    Or to be precise, it was a bull. It was the cry of a battle bull when it got caught in the trap. I took my bow and headed to the source of the sound and saw the leg of the battle bull got caught in an ankle snare trap. For some reason, there was a bite mark on the butt part of the bull. I wondered if something had attacked it so the bull tried to escape and ended up here.


    While wondering about this strange incident, I drained the blood from the paralyzed bull and dismantled it.


    11:00


    I had fresh liver sashimi with salt for lunch. Of course, I ate it bit by bit to savor it.


    This is too amazing. Fresh liver is seriously too amazing.


    Next, I rubbed the innards with salt and washed it. Then I tried smoking some of the meat parts. I also tried tasting the smoked meat as I cooked it.


    Damn.


    I ended up eating some tiny pieces as I cooked. I also munched on some mylene detoxifying herb and then, I could feel my body become refreshed instantly.


    14:00


    Margo and Juno came in a wagon. Their sharp eyes easily detected the food I was making and so, they also started nibbling on the food.


    Just why are the two of you here?


    Since Margo and Juno had come all the way here, I heated the leftover water from yesterday¡¯s bath at an earlier time than usual.


    I made beef innards hotpot, beef liver sashimi, beef steak and also smoked beef. A full course beef meal.


    Ash¡¯s eyes were glued to the food. I used a towel to wipe his fur that was getting sticky from his drool.


    19:00


    The morning fog had cleared, revealing a clear sky full of stars. We had a party in the evening. Though it seemed the party had already started since those two arrived at my home. I even had to make ¡®closure soup¡¯ for them in the middle of it.


    In the first place, judging from the equipment they wore, weren¡¯t they here to hunt some monsters? Well to be fair, if I had fresh beef liver and innards hotpot in front of me, I wouldn¡¯t be in the mood to hunt either.


    Juno and Margo moaned out loud everytime they had a bite of the liver sashimi and innards hotpot. I knew their feelings very well. I also unconsciously drank more alcohol than I should.


    We drank until late at night. The thought of checking the time didn¡¯t even cross my mind so I didn¡¯t know how long we drank for.


    I was also getting tired from singing along with the two of them even though they were singing songs in the Lancaster language that I didn¡¯t know about. I had a faint memory of when we somehow managed to drink soup made from mylene detoxifying herb though.


    Before I knew it, the three of us were already sleeping in the blacksmith workshop. Drinking until I lost my memory was something I had never done even during the time when I was still in Japan.


    A relationship where it¡¯s fine to show the disgraceful side of us. I just now realized that kind of relationship is called being a ¡®best friend¡¯.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Bonding through drinking and eating! Good food really brings people togethe

 CH 98

    The next day. The three of us were sleeping tightly together like the character ¡®river¡¯ (´¨). Our faces were pale and it took us until noon before we could somehow rise from the dead.


    I drank too much yesterday¡­.


    I drank some water and reheated the leftover mylene detoxifying herb soup I had made yesterday. While doing so, I also feed the animals.


    I¡¯m sorry for being late.


    Rocinante (my horse), neighed in return.


    We ate the soup with bread and somehow were able to get our physical strength back. Margo and Juno decided to go hunting just like what they had originally planned and so I decided to follow them along. I could also forage in the forest while we were at it.


    14:00


    With a carrier on my back, I picked up delune fruits and other useful stuff. We also encountered a hellhound but that hellhound was already fighting against several blue wolves. I chimed in the fight by shooting donur poisonous arrow at the hellhound, bringing it down.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 14.


    HP: 30¡ú31


    MP: 20¡ú21


    Vitality: 24¡ú25


    Strength: 35¡ú36


    Intelligence: 78¡ú79


    Dexterity: 34¡ú35


    Agility: 34¡ú35


    Has changed.¡»


    When the blue wolves saw the hellhound had been defeated, they left the place. We also decided to leave after we had defeated the hellhound.


    17:00


    I placed the carrier filled with the things I foraged near the entrance of the blacksmith workshop and took a small break while Margo and Juno loaded their wagon with the monsters they had defeated along with their backpacks.


    I told Margo I wanted a little bit of hellhound¡¯s skin and hellhound¡¯s fire pouch because I wanted to use them to make equipment. I also asked him to do a favor for me if he planned on coming back here again. I asked him to buy some food and ankle snare traps for me and handed him the gold for it.


    Feeling tired, the three of us took a break by sitting on a tree stump chair surrounding a bonfire while drinking tea made from irene herbs.


    18:00


    The two of them returned to Resta. I planted the plants that I had gathered that needed to be planted in the field and then I decided to eat yesterday¡¯s beef based food leftovers.


    I was silently eating in front of the bonfire when¡­ Ash tapped me with his forefoot, asking me to share some food with him.


    It can¡¯t be helped.


    I placed some of the beef based food on Ash¡¯s plate. As I expected, I shouldn¡¯t drink tonight. I was thinking to myself while staring mindlessly at the flickering fire of the bonfire.


    As much as my heart became warm when I was with Margo and Juno, my heart would immediately become cold when I was alone too. The fun time was over in a flash before I knew it. The view in my eyes became blurred. I wonder why? I didn¡¯t even drink anything today.


    I like to be alone? What a joke.


    The night breeze that should¡¯ve felt pleasant and the orchestra conducted by the insects, everything made me feel lonely.


    I¡¯m lonely. It seems tonight is going to be a long night. I¡¯m scared.


    At times like this, drinking warm herbal tea helps in relaxing my mind and makes me able to have a good night¡¯s sleep. I heated the water by the bonfire and drank herbal tea.


    Phew¡­


    I let out a long sigh. Just for a little bit, I could feel my heart getting warm.


    20:00


    I yawned again. Somehow, I was able to suppress my emotional swing.


    Good grief. How troublesome.


    I fall asleep peacefully while holding onto fluffy Ash inside the cover.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Poor MC, I hope he will be able to resolve his inner turmoil soon.

 CH 99

    I woke up the next morning. I didn¡¯t get a good night¡¯s sleep. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t get to sleep all night but I was just slightly sleep deprived.


    After tending to the animals and Ash, I went back to sleep again.


    10:00


    I squirmed out of the bed. I didn¡¯t have the desire to do anything and so I just casually looked at my guild card and saw that I had more than 100 guild points. Since my guild points already got over 100, I decided to have a training session with Kai-sensei for a change of pace.


    11:00


    After having an appropriate meal, I went out to Resta.


    12:00


    Right now, I was face to face with Dan from the adventurers¡¯ guild. Ash was leisurely pinning a bone with his forefoot and nibbling on it. My eyes had been stuck on the list but I just couldn¡¯t find the right answer yet.


    Swordsmanship, martial arts, shield skill. Which one is better?


    In the end, I decided to go for martial arts. It was quite appealing since I could still use it in battle even when I didn¡¯t have my sword with me. I immediately asked to have a training session with Kai-sensei.


    Kai-sensei made a gesture that told me to watch him closely and then he went over to the wooden target. He crouched down and then he unleashed a backward somersault kick, pulverizing the wooden target.


    ¡­¡­.. No matter how I look at it, it looks like Guile¡¯s skill. Even the names are similar.


    Kai-sensei told me to give it a go and so, I started practicing. I was worried if I could do a backward somersault but I was able to do it. Perhaps it was due to the fact that my status had risen or maybe due to the fact that my physical ability had improved.


    At first I was worried I¡¯d end up falling to the floor and breaking my neck, like that ¡®hadouken¡¯ character who became the victim of Zangief¡¯s spinning piledriver. But it seemed, it was just my groundless fear.


    I crouched down, amassing power and then I did a backward somersault kick!


    THUMP!


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Moonsault Kick level 1.¡»


    Kai-sensei clapped and congratulated me. I also replied ¡®thank you¡¯ to him. I bowed then I left the dojo.


    15:00


    I bought replacements for the ankle snares at the adventurers¡¯ guild. Then I went to buy some food and alcohol at Sarasa¡¯s store before I continued on to go to Margo¡¯s store.


    16:00


    Margo was in his store, looking like he had a lot of spare time as he rested his chin on his hand on the table. The store looked empty, void of any visitor. Margo glanced at the food and the alcohol I had bought and then he flipped his store sign to ¡®closed¡¯.


    Is your store going to be alright?


    Seeing a slightly worried expression on my face, Margo put his thumb up, giving me a ¡°it¡¯s fine¡± gesture. The two of us sat down with a thud in a less crowded space in the blacksmith workshop and started drinking.


    Apparently, Margo hadn¡¯t bought the ankle snare traps and the food I had asked him to yet so when I told him I had already bought them myself, he handed my money back. Coincidentally, Sarasa stopped by Margo¡¯s store in order to take his lunch box back with her and so, the three of us decided to drink together.


    I told Margo about the new martial arts skill I had just learned while Sarasa was playing with Ash. It was like, things that seemed inconsequential before became very important now. It was like I was basking in the sun.


    We decided to round it off at what we considered as a good time and called it a day. On that night, I slept soundly. It was as if the cold I had felt in my heart yesterday was just a mirage.

 CH 100

    When I woke up this morning, I realized I had caught a cold.


    Ah, this is definitely a bad one.


    The sluggish feeling when you have a fever, sore throat along with the pain when you cough. My nose was runny too and although I was staggering on my feet, I was somehow able to feed the animals and Ash.


    I didn¡¯t have any appetite but I forced myself to eat at least fruit and bread. After that¡­ Medicine¡­ Although I said ¡®medicine¡¯, I only had irene herb and mylene detoxification herb that I had already dried and made into powder beforehand. I drank them together with water and then I laid down on the bed again.


    I might be in my worst possible situation ever. Now I truly understood how blessful modern day Japan was. I started getting anxious, worried if I might die just like this. There was no hospital in this world. Well, maybe there was one in Resta but I wouldn¡¯t know for sure. I was also worried about the standard of medical knowledge in this world. I should¡¯ve done more research about this.


    Either way, I didn¡¯t have enough energy to get on a wagon, enduring the rattling and the shaking as I went to town. My condition would surely become worse before I could get any doctor. I might die just like this. At any rate, if there was no hospital at the same level as modern day Japan, that means they wouldn¡¯t have medicine for colds either.


    There was no guarantee the herbs would work either. I shuddered in fear at the thought.


    As I was laying down, looking all depressed, Ash came near my head. A piece of dried meat, all sticky from drool, was placed in front of me. This was the dried meat I had put in Ash¡¯s bowl for him to eat.


    You¡¯re giving this to me?


    Ash¡¯s fur was getting sticky from drool but he still properly sat up and waited for me to eat. Even though he wanted to have this dried meat all for himself, he still gave it to me.


    I couldn¡¯t help but to hug Ash.


    ¡°Ash, let¡¯s eat it together.¡±


    I split the dried meat in half and shared it with Ash. This gesture really warmed my already weak heart a lot.


    After that, I laid down again and closed my eyes. I would fall asleep, eat something, drink the herb, lay down and repeat the process again.


    If I was alone, I would¡¯ve already become crushed under my anxiety but thanks to Ash, I strangely didn¡¯t feel anxious.


    Within the darkness of the night, I left the lantern¡¯s light on.


    My feet felt warmer than usual.

 CH 101

    When I woke up in the morning, I was still feeling sick. I still had a headache and my body felt heavy and sluggish. After feeding the chicken, Rocinante (my horse) and Ash, I used a wet towel to wipe the sweat off my body. At any rate, I needed to eat something for breakfast.


    I made a soup with mylene detoxification herb and dipped the bread with the soup. I also cut rumi fruits with a knife for me to eat. After that, I went back to my bed once again.


    When you¡¯re sick, you really feel like you are truly alone.


    I suddenly remembered that when I had a cold as a child, my mother used to buy canned white peaches for me.


    I wonder if my mother is doing alright? Right now, I can¡¯t even talk with my mother anymore. I wonder if she cried when she realized I was gone? I might be considered missing in Japan by now.


    What a cruel world¡­.


    12:00


    I had been doing nothing but laying down since I didn¡¯t feel well. When I started to squirm out of the bed, Ash, who had been laying down near my feet, also followed suit.


    I reheated the soup I had made this morning and added herb chicken egg and dried meat in it for me to eat. I also put some of it into Ash¡¯s plate and he gobbled it off excitedly.


    I wasn¡¯t fully recovered yet so I had no choice but to lay down again. I deliberately drank more water than usual then I went to bed again.


    18:00


    Finally, I could feel my condition getting better. I didn¡¯t have a headache and my body didn¡¯t feel as sluggish.


    I¡¯m glad. I guess I¡¯m just having a simple cold. I was wondering what I should do if I caught a strange disease peculiar to this world only.


    My body was all sticky from sweat so I wrung the water from a wet towel and used it to wipe my body. After that, I made another soup in the bonfire with dried meat, herb chicken egg, mylene detoxification herb and various vegetables.


    I dipped the bread into the soup and ate it together with the soup. After I finished dinner, I made herbal tea using marble herbs. I sighed in relief as I drank the herbal tea.


    While holding a cup of herbal tea with both of my hands, I stared absentmindedly at the bonfire for a while.


    20:30


    By the time I realized it, the herbal tea in my hands had completely cooled down. I gulped down the rest of the tea in one go. Then I decided to go back to bed since I didn¡¯t want the night breeze to make me sick again. Ash also curled on the cover, looking visibly relieved.


    21:00


    I turned the light off from the lantern and closed my eyes again.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Getting sick when you¡¯re alone does feel much muchhh more miserable. I¡¯m glad MC at least has Ash with him.

 CH 102

    Chapter 102


    T/N: I got 5 kofis so I¡¯m going to post 5 extra chapters today~


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    The next day, I finally felt my physical condition had returned to normal. There was a slightly morning mist but overall, it was a refreshing morning.


    I washed my face with cold water and I could feel my senses become sharp and clear.


    At the very least, I should find out if there¡¯s any doctor in Resta or not. I guess I will ask one of those trio later.


    I had skipped a lot of training but I was still recovering so I decided I shouldn¡¯t force myself to train today.


    After feeding the chickens, Rocinante (my horse) and Ash, I began to prepare breakfast for myself. For breakfast I had sunny side up, dried deer meat, bread and vegetables soup. Then I brewed a cup of irene herbal tea to relieve myself.


    10:00


    I took care of the field and gathered the herbs. I didn¡¯t want to force myself to do too much physical labor so I was thinking of spending the rest of the day making potions.


    12:30


    While I was in the middle of having lunch, Juno came over. Judging from his appearance, he was on his way to go monster hunting.


    Using both gestures and drawing on the ground, I conveyed to Juno that I had been sick but right now I was already recovered. Then I asked if there was any doctor in Resta.


    According to Juno, there was a doctor in Resta. I decided that I should pay that doctor a visit with a gift because I was sure I would be in need of their favor in the future.


    Juno was trying to invite me to join him in subjugating monsters and foraging but because I was still recovering, I turned down his offer. Juno said that he understood and went toward the direction of the forest.


    14:00


    I decided to make dual potions and paruna detoxifying potions. If it was only brewing potions, I had no problem in doing it during my convalescent period.


    After that, I decided to make smoked egg and smoked cheese. When I was making them, I had the urge to sip on a little bit of alcohol but I held back because I was still recovering.


    18:00


    I filled the bins with the potions I had made and decided to have smoked food and bread for dinner. Just then, I saw Juno returning from the forest. Juno¡¯s wagon was filled with the monsters he had hunted and the various plants he had foraged.


    Using gestures, I conveyed to Juno that it was getting late so he should stay over and have dinner together with me.


    Juno then said ¡®okay¡¯ in return.


    We were having a drink while eating smoked fish as we sat surrounding a bonfire. Of course I was being careful enough so I wouldn¡¯t end up drinking too much.


    I received some delune fruits and medicinal herbs from Juno and in return, I gave him some potions I had just made. I gave him more potions than the value of the fruits and herbs he gave me according to the market price.


    It seemed Juno remembered which one to forage because he had seen me foraging before. I was honestly really grateful for his help since it was difficult for me to go foraging myself when I was still recovering.


    Ash wasn¡¯t eating any dried meat yet but his drool was already dripping from his mouth. He held his bowl in his mouth and placed it near me. It was really adorable seeing him doing this because it was clear for anyone to see what Ash hoped he could get.


    I held Ash in my arms with his backside facing me and then dived my face into his fluffy fur.


    Then I made Ash do the ¡®sit¡¯ and ¡®paws¡¯ commands before giving him dried meat and smoked meat.


    21:00


    The night breeze was starting to get a little chilly so we decided to hit the bed. I set a small fire in the blacksmith¡¯s furnace for Juno then I went to wipe my own body and Ash with a wet towel before I brush our teeth. After the cleaning was done, I went to sleep with Ash.


    It seems I¡¯m going to have a good night¡¯s sleep tonight.


    I closed my eyes, feeling grateful for my friend who was sleeping in the other room for coming and talking with me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I¡¯m glad Juno came over~ At least our MC doesn¡¯t feel as lonely anymore.

 CH 103

    I slept extremely well last night. I could even say my physical condition had completely recovered. After feeding the animals, I went to have morning training together with Juno who had just woken up. I immediately showed the ¡®moonsault kick¡¯ I had just learned.


    I prepared my stance by activating ¡®fortress¡¯ with a shield in my hand while crouching and then I immediately followed up with ¡®moonsault kick¡¯.


    BAM!


    The wooden target got blown away and I was able to create a distance behind me. If I became proficient at using this skill, this skill might prove to be pretty useful in certain scenarios. As for the rest of our training, I practiced mock battles with Juno.


    Since I couldn¡¯t practice due to falling sick, I was pretty out of tune.


    10:00


    After a good workout, we wiped our body with a towel and I started preparing a light breakfast. After breakfast, we decided to go to Resta. I needed to go shopping for food since my stock was running low and I also wanted to greet the doctor there.


    I tied Rocinante (my horse) to Juno¡¯s wagon and then I went to town together with Juno.


    11:30


    First, I asked Juno to guide me to the doctor¡¯s place. Apparently the doctor¡¯s name was Kishuu-sensei.


    I had prepared quite a bit of food as a gift for him along with alcohol and paruna detoxifying potions. He showed a particular reaction at the potions. Paruna detoxifying potion could be used to treat pertification. Since he knew about this, that means he was a real doctor.


    The next time I got sick, I guess I could go to him to get treated.


    13:30


    I parted ways with Juno when we arrived at the main road. I went to Sarasa¡¯s store to buy some food and alcohol.


    After leaving Sarasa¡¯s store, I somehow found myself walking to Margo¡¯s store. Even though I didn¡¯t have anything in particular to do here.


    When I entered his store, I could hear the sound of a blacksmithing job resounding from inside his workshop. I didn¡¯t want to disturb him so I placed a small cask of Margo¡¯s favorite ale on the table and left his place.


    Now then. Since I¡¯ve finished with my business I guess it¡¯s time for me to head home.


    ¡°Ash, let¡¯s go home.¡±


    It seemed Ash was happy since he was wagging his tail excitedly.


    15:30


    I left Resta.


    18:00


    I defeated a merman that I encountered while fetching water in the river with ¡®foot sword kick¡¯ and so, I decided to saute the merman¡¯s meat for dinner. I lit up the firewood to heat the water for my bath.


    The crackling and snapping sound of the firewood felt pleasant to hear. I seasoned the sauteed merman¡¯s meat with garlic, salt and bargo fruit wine. I cooked a bigger portion so I could share it with Ash.


    I served the sauteed merman¡¯s meat on a plate with irene herbs and other leafy vegetables. I also filled a glass with bargo fruit wine and laid them all on the table.


    Soon, the bath¡¯s water was ready for me to use. I jumped into the bath with a splash.


    Phew¡­


    My muscles that had become stiff due to recovering these past few days, slowly loosened. The hot water felt not half bad. Ash also seemed to be having a good time. Since we were already taking a bath, I took this opportunity to brush his dirty tooth with a toothbrush.


    I could hear the quiet crackling and snapping from the firewood along with the rustling sound of the trees and the sound of the birds and insects.


    It was a quiet night with beautiful stars in the sky.


    I got out of the bath, wiped both my body and Ash¡¯s body with a towel and used ¡®wind¡¯ to blow dry Ash¡¯s hair. We then went to the table to have dinner.


    I ate the sauteed merman¡¯s meat and gulped down the alcohol.


    Delicious.


    Having a glass of alcohol right after you got out of the bath felt exceptional.


    Ash was also chomping down on his sauteed meat.


    Hey, don¡¯t leave the vegetables out.


    While leaning against the table, I kept on drinking bargo fruit wine while staring blankly at the starry sky.


    My throat felt hot and it was at this time that I truly felt I was still alive.


    21:00


    I yawned out loud then I went to brush my teeth and then crawled under the cover with Ash in my arms.


    I turned the light off from the lantern and closed my eyes.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re still alive too! I hope our MC will find someone soon. No, wait. Our MC needs a house first ???

 CH 104

    The sky looked cloudy when I woke up in the morning. I splashed my face with cold water and brushed my teeth. Then I fed Ash, the chickens and Rocinante (my horse) before I started my daily training.


    Swordsmanship, martial arts, marksmanship, shield arts and wind. I practiced all of them and then I went to have breakfast.


    Today, I planned on improving my foot equipment for ¡®moonsault kick¡¯.


    10:00


    Without wasting any time, I lit up the furnace in the blacksmith workshop. I melt pig iron ingots so I could use it to reinforce a part of my boots. I added the processed pig iron ingot on the part of the boots that would hit the enemy when I used my kick skills and put the boots on to test it out.


    Yeah, the center of gravity is pretty bad. I¡¯m a little unbalanced. It¡¯d be bad if I can¡¯t move properly at the most crucial times.


    Once again, I removed the metal part from the boots and reworked it. After repeating the same process several times, I was able to more or less complete it.


    14:00


    After finishing a late lunch, I equipped my armor and went to practice ¡®moonsault kick¡¯ on a wooden target.


    I unleashed a ¡®moonsault kick¡¯ on the target and the target was pulverized from the impact.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Moonsault Kick level 2.¡»


    I might be able to use this skill while attacking to create a distance between me and the enemy. The compatibility between this skill and ¡®fortress¡¯ was good too. The result of today¡¯s practice was really satisfactory.


    16:00


    Now then, the cloud was starting to get thinner and thinner. It seemed today we wouldn¡¯t have any rain. I decided to utilize yesterday¡¯s bath to wash off the sweat from my body. I lit up the firewood and waited for the bathwater to become hot.


    After a quick bath, I grilled the deer meat I had bought in the city and washed it down with a glass of ale.


    Delicious.


    Even though we had already taken a bath together, Ash¡¯s hair became sticky again because of his drool. He was sitting up, waiting for me.


    While thinking that I would need to clean his drooled hair later, I cut up part of my deer meat and put it on Ash¡¯s plate. I told him to wait and to do the ¡®hand¡¯ command before I allowed him to eat. He then started chomping down on the food vigorously.


    20:00


    Let¡¯s go to bed early today.


    I brushed my teeth and then wiped Ash¡¯s drooled hair with a wet towel. With the sound of the music performed by the insects, I went into the bed together with Ash and fell asleep just like that.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The money MC prepared for the guild really works wonders. I don¡¯t see MC getting ambushed anymore these days.

 CH 105.1

    The next day, in the early afternoon. I was making smoked eggs and smoked cheese while sipping on alcohol occasionally when that idiot nobleman came to me.


    I put my guard up. I didn¡¯t know what kind of unreasonable demand he¡¯d force on me.


    But¡­ How weird. He didn¡¯t have a group of adventurers in tow. Today he only had one soldier as his escort.


    While rubbing my hands together and acting pliantly, I asked what that idiot nobleman wanted while watching his expression. Somehow, the nobleman had an apologetic expression on his face. He was saying something and then bowed his head at me.


    Hm? Did I just hear him saying ¡®sorry¡¯ in Lancaster language? Did I hear it right?


    The soldier that worked as his escort then handed a heavy looking bag at me. He said there were 500 gold coins in that bag. Judging from the weight of this bag, it seemed to be true.


    I counted each piece one by one and sure enough, there were 500 gold coins but, I still wouldn¡¯t let my guard down just yet. I still couldn¡¯t really tell if they were going to ask me to do something ridiculous again or not.


    But, that stupid nobleman said this was a remuneration for the nuisance he had caused and then he kept on apologizing repeatedly at me.


    I see. It¡¯s hard to believe but it seems this person has changed job from being a stupid nobleman to being a honest nobleman. It can¡¯t be helped then if that¡¯s the case.


    I decided to serve them my treasured smoked egg and cheese.


    I made marble herb tea and lined up plates of smoked food on the table along with some alcohol together.


    Munch¡­


    The nobleman¡¯s eyes widened as he said something. It was a reaction I had already grown accustomed to. I served the same smoked food and alcohol to the soldier who had been standing guard and he also widened his eyes in the same way as that nobleman.


    In the end, the three of us embarked on a drinking party while sitting around the bonfire.


    Though I couldn¡¯t understand their words and vice versa, we were still able to converse through gestures. I talked about a lot of things with the nobleman. Apparently his son was going to take over the family¡¯s leadership. It turned out, a lot of things had happened in the town without me realizing it.


    The two of them seemed to really like the smoked food. A wild rabbit was also caught in the ankle snare trap this morning. I seasoned the rabbit with garlic, salt and herbs and then I whole roasted it over the bonfire. Their eyes were fixated on the rabbit, they were eager to eat it.


    Ash must be wondering about his share since he came close to me and whined.


    ¡°Kuun¡­.¡±


    It¡¯s alright. I will save some for you.


    I filled Ash¡¯s plate with vegetables, meat and smoked food too.


    Hey, don¡¯t leave the vegetables behind.


    The soldier¡¯s name was Donny.


    The two of them were so drunk they ended up passing out so I brought them into the blacksmith workshop where they could stay the night. I lit up a small fire in the furnace and then I laid out a straw futon for them to sleep.


    Ah. I forgot to make them drink ¡®closure soup¡¯ made with mylene detoxification herb. At this rate, they¡¯re going to continue sleeping until tomorrow¡¯s noon.


    I yawned after settling them in and then, I wiped the sweat off my body with a wet towel, brushed my teeth and then I went to sleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Oh? That stupid nobleman has character development too?! ¦²(¡ã¥í¡ã)

 CH 105.2

    Chapter 105.2 : (Bavarian¡¯s POV) Turning Disaster Into a Blessing! The Stupid Nobleman Is Going to Make It Right?!


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    My name is Resta von Bavarian. I was attacked by a lesser dragon and lost my right arm. I became terrified of everything, making me unable to leave my room. As a very minimal form of consolidation, I put the stone statue of my beloved Melty-chan (my horse) in my room.


    The people around me must be thinking that I¡¯ve gone crazy. But, I couldn¡¯t even care less. To be precise, I¡¯m now able to take a good look at myself. I¡¯m not even aware that I¡¯ve gone crazy. I¡¯m just terrified of everything.


    My hand trembles when I need to go before the public¡¯s eyes. I can¡¯t even eat on the table properly. Since I¡¯ve lost my right arm, I¡¯m unable to eat my meal well.


    I have a feeling the servants are mocking me. Even when I¡¯m curled in my bed at night, only black, negative thoughts circulating in my mind.


    ¨D¨DI want to disappear from this world.


    ¨D¨DI wish everyone will just die.


    By the time I realized it, it was already morning. I fell unconscious to sleep as if I had run out of battery.


    By secluding myself in my room, I become more sensitive to every incident happening. For example the weather outside, the seasonal change and the change in the servant¡¯s expression and behavior.


    In the middle of the night when everyone is already fast asleep, I slip out of my room and walk around the house. I¡¯ve started to notice inconsequential things I had never noticed before.


    My current crazy self and myself before I went crazy. Which one of us is the actual crazy one?


    My name is¡­.. I can¡¯t even say my name so smoothly like before. When I look at myself in the mirror, I see my cheeks become hollowed because of how skinny I am and the dark circles under my eyes. My face looks terrible.


    I think it¡¯s good that I can realize that my face looks terrible. Since I can¡¯t even sleep, I don¡¯t even know how much time has passed. The only thing that keeps my heart on the ground is my Melty-chan (my horse) who has now become a stone statue.


    I think the servants are acting colder to me than before.


    One day, a technique user who¡¯s able to lift the petrification arrived at my residence. It seems Shrike was the one that arranged for the technique user to come because he¡¯s worried about me.


    To my surprise, Melty-chan¡¯s (my horse) petrification curse is lifted. She returns to her usual healthy self.


    I break down into tears right here and there.


    My condition is even better than before. To my surprise, I¡¯m now able to leave my room during the day and visit Melty-chan¡¯s (my horse) stable.


    I remember that it feels like the sunlight is pouring directly into my heart. Gradually, I¡¯m able to get more sleep.


    It¡¯s still painful for me to sit on the table to eat and see the servants face on but still, my heart is gradually healing. I think I¡¯m going to be alright now.


    Myself before I went crazy, myself after I went crazy and my current self. I can say it clearly now. I¡¯m not crazy anymore.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: His love for Melty-chan is no joke, huh¡­ He becomes a completely better person because his Melty-chan is back¡­. (?£ß? )

 CH 106

    T/N: And this is the last chapter for this week! See you guys next week! If you want me to post extra chapter, go check my kofi page~ I will post 1 extra chapter for 1 kofi~


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    The next morning, just as I expected, the two of them were still laying in the blacksmith workshop, looking visibly pale. I handed them each a glass of water for them to drink. Pushing the matter with them aside, I washed my face, fed the animals and went to do my morning training.


    10:00


    After I finished with my training, it was time for breakfast but both Bavarian-sama and Donny-san weren¡¯t awake yet.


    I then went on to tend the field.


    13:00


    They finally woke up when it was lunch time. I served them soup made from mylene detoxification herbs and dried meat along with bread.


    14:30


    They somehow managed to recover and returned to Resta.


    Now then.


    I had saved quite a bit of money so I really needed to think on how I should use it. Maybe I should go to Margo¡¯s place to discuss it with him.


    16:00


    Riding on the wagon together with Ash, I arrived at Margo¡¯s place. Margo¡¯s store was empty, devoid of any customer so it was the perfect moment for me to have a consultation with him.


    Ash showed an interest in the weapons so I kept on holding him in my arms because I was afraid he¡¯d get hurt.


    Using a combination of both gestures and a magic board, I conveyed to Margo that Bavarian-sama had given me 500 gold coins and I was wondering how I should use that money.


    Margo also used both gestures and a magic board to tell me to arm my house. He then brought a bowgun he sold in his store to me. He suggested that I should surround my house and the shed with a stone wall and armed the wall with bowguns. The total cost for the walls and the bowgun should reach up to 400 gold coins.


    Hm. It looks like it is safer than my current condition since I only have a dirt wall protecting me. Also, using the chicken coop as my sleeping place is not only unsanitary, it¡¯s also not comfortable.


    I asked him if it was possible to build a living room and bedroom next to my blacksmith workshop.


    According to Margo, I could have both a bedroom and living room if I added another 200 gold coins.


    I paid 300 gold coins in advance to Margo to start the construction work. The remaining 300 gold coins would be paid after the construction was completed. They should start the construction in two days. The stones and other materials would be transported from Resta to my place and there would be 5 workers for the project. I was told that the workers would be sleeping in the blacksmith workshop.


    17:30


    After that, I went to Sarasa¡¯s store to restock my food and alcohol before I went back home.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: THIS IS THE MOMENT I¡¯VE BEEN WAITING FORRR. FINALLY A HOUSE FOR OUR MC. FINALLYYYYYY ??_??

 CH 107.1

    The worker stayed at my place for a while.


    At the end of their work, the construction for an additional bedroom and living room along with the stone walls surrounding my place and the space for the bonfire and the wooden table was completed. The workers also added a bed for me in the bedroom using the leftover woods.


    I took care of the worker¡¯s meal and they really could drink. They drank and drank. The alcohol I had just restocked from Sarasa¡¯s store, disappeared in the blink of an eye. I even had to ask the worker in charge of transporting the stone to buy some food and alcohol.


    But still despite that, they didn¡¯t drink until they became hungover and unable to do their job properly. They could still quietly do their job.


    The finished stone wall was about 2 meters high and there was an iron fence in front of my house made from welded iron poles. The gate was wide enough for a carriage to pass through it.


    And then they also installed a wooden staircase in the interior side of the stone wall. A total of 8 bowguns were installed around the 4 sides of the stone wall. The bowgun could be fired while climbing onto the wooden steps and hiding behind the stone wall.


    With this, enemies like goblins or kobolds wouldn¡¯t be able to invade my place easily. Monsters like serpent or that flying lizard wouldn¡¯t target me much either cuz they wouldn¡¯t deemed me as their food.


    When the construction was finished, the workers returned to Resta and I gave the 5 of them smoked food and alcohol as thanks.


    In the evening, Margo came and I paid him the remaining 300 gold coins. Margo smirked broadly and he made the gesture for a drink. I guess he wanted to use the finished construction as an excuse to drink.


    It can¡¯t be helped then¡­.


    I lit up the fire to reheat yesterday¡¯s bathwater and then I also made smoked egg and smoked cheese in the bonfire. I also smoked the wild rabbit I caught. Of course Margo and I were sipping on some alcohol while we were at it.


    We dipped into the bath with a splash to loosen our stiff muscles, sitting around the bonfire and singing songs while eating smoked fish. I was singing Japanese songs.


    Since tonight¡¯s party was a celebratory one, I didn¡¯t drink any ¡®closure soup¡¯ on purpose. I had learned how to drink happily until I became dead drunk with my trusted friend.


    On the other side, Ash snorted his nose at us. Looking tired at our antics.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So MC being drunk is also a sign for character development. Good for you MC!

 CH 107.2

    Chapter 107.2 : (Margo¡¯s POV) Margo in Dilemma! Getting Lost in the Labyrinth of Love?! (That Saying Is Pretty Old Fashioned Though¡­.)


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    Recently, there has been a staggering amount of pressure coming from Sarasa. I¡¯m really grateful that she brings me a lunch box everyday but she has now started bringing yurifa flowers and arranging them on the table.


    Yurifa flowers are a symbol for a happy marriage. We have a custom where we have to bring yurifa flowers when we want to propose. And those very flowers are decorating my boorish store everyday.


    Of course it goes without saying the pressure is high but the discomfort I¡¯m feeling is nothing to scoff at either. The customer keeps on asking me if I¡¯m going to get married. I really hope they will give me a break¡­.


    Which reminds me, Keigo asked me what he should do with his money. Apparently he received 500 gold coins from Bavarian-sama. Adding the compensation he received the other day, that guy becomes pretty rich now.


    How to use it, huh¡­.


    Keigo¡¯s house is located on the outside of the town¡¯s wall so having a mere trap won¡¯t be enough to guarantee his safety. Which is why I suggested to him that he should have a stone wall equipped with bow guns. Keigo agreed to my suggestion easily.


    My friend, is it alright for you to put that much faith so readily like that? I¡¯m getting a little worried about you, you know.


    Well, I¡¯m sure this is the best way to use his money though.


    I immediately contacted my acquaintance from the construction guild to get the construction work ready.


    The construction for the stone wall in Keigo¡¯s house is finally finished. This time as well, those guys from the construction guild have done a great job.


    Now then! I need to quickly slip out from the store and use the finished construction as an excuse to go to Keigo¡¯s house before Sarasa gets here! Recently the shackles from Sarasa are getting pretty tight so it can¡¯t be helped that I need to take a little breather here and there.


    Just thinking about drinking alcohol, I can¡¯t help myself but to act fidgety and restless, stranger than usual. If I get questioned later on, I can just say that I went to Keigo¡¯s house to collect the rest of the payment and then we had a party to celebrate the finished construction.


    Sarasa might get angry at me for going there without telling her but I believe I have the perfect excuse.


    After that, with one bottle of alcohol in hand, I slipped out from the store, trying to make myself as small as possible so Sarasa won¡¯t catch me.


    But¡­ Unbeknownst to me, there was a piercing gaze directed at me from behind.  As I bounced out from the south gate with a bottle of alcohol in one hand, the owner of that piercing gaze was still staring at me with a terrifying expression on her face.

 CH 107.3

    Chapter 107.3 : (Sarasa¡¯s POV) The Awakening of Love and Hate?! Inspector Sarasa¡¯s Maiden Heart Is a Complicated One!


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    I saw Margo trying to make his body appear as small as possible as he hurriedly escaped from the store.


    Just what is he trying to run away from?! This baldie!! No, that¡¯s not it.


    Haah!! I¡¯m getting so confused. Just what have I done? But this settles it. He¡¯s definitely cheating.


    When Margo is sober, he¡¯s an earnest but stubborn man who doesn¡¯t even want to consider the thought of getting married for the second time since he still cherishes his late wife but tends to drink too much and act without restraint when he¡¯s drunk.


    Margo often comes up with a bunch of excuses like ¡°I¡¯m accompanying them because of my work¡± or ¡°it¡¯s just a drinking session between adults, nothing serious¡± but that kind of excuse doesn¡¯t matter in front of a woman in love like me.


    Isn¡¯t that considered cheating without any doubt?


    My eyes burst into flame in anger. When I imagined the sight of Margo flirting with another woman, my anger reached its peak.


    It¡¯s a strange feeling, huh. When you become so calm when you¡¯ve become excessively angry.


    My angry expression completely changed, the anger completely disappeared from my face.


    ¡°That man¡­. Even though he clearly knows how I feel about him¡­. What should I do now?¡±


    I decided to become a cool headed assassin and continued to stalk Margo. With my eyes as sharp as eagle¡¯s eyes, I observed Margo¡¯s movement, not wanting to miss a single move.


    For the time being, I planned on catching him in the act and then questioned him.


    But contrary to my expectations, instead of going to the entertainment district, it seemed Margo was heading outside of town.


    ¡°What¡­ So he¡¯s only going to Keigo¡¯s place¡­.¡±


    It was anticlimactic, not like what I had expected. The anger completely disappeared from my eyes.


    Hmmm?? But why did he have to make his body appear as small as possible and escape so stealthily like that¡­.? That means the one he¡¯s running away from¡­ It¡¯s definitely me, right?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡±


    There¡¯s no mistaking it. He¡¯s definitely running away from me!


    My eyes burst into flame from anger once again. By the way, the fire of anger was burning even greater than before now.


    ¡°¡­¡­. What kind of punishment should I give to him?¡±


    I was so angry that I ended up laughing.


    ¡°Ufu¡­. Ufufufufu¡­..¡±


    ¡°Hiii!¡±


    ¡°Motherrrrr!¡±


    The children, who saw me standing imposingly while laughing in the main street, became stiff before they immediately ran away while crying but, I couldn¡¯t afford to worry about that now!


    ¡°Hmm¡­ First thing first¡­For the time being, I need to clean the store until the store is sparkly clean and then prepare an array of delicious food on the table.¡±


    Thinking about what I should do to scare Margo lifted my mood a little.


    Fufu¡­ I think I¡¯m starting to enjoy this a little..


    ¡°Then I will fill the store with yurifa flowers as I wait for him¡­.¡±


    After that I will ask him ¡°where have you been?¡± with a cold voice and a smile on my face.


    ¡°Ufufufu¡­..¡±


    Margo, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too cruel by trying to run away from me?


    A man who hurts a maiden¡¯s heart will get what he deserves¡­.

 CH 108.1

    The next morning, Margo and I had a hangover. Which was to be expected. My head was throbbing and I felt sick.


    I went out of my house and puked out the contents of my stomach. I drank some water and munched on mylene detoxification herb before I went back to my bed again. After what seemed to be an hour, my condition was getting better somehow.


    I gave Margo, who was looking pale, some water and mylene herbs. I couldn¡¯t remember when I became drunk last night. Why did it feel so much fun when I was drinking but then the next day, I¡¯d become this miserable? And then because drinking with your close friend felt so fun, I think I¡¯d end up repeating the same mistake again.


    We¡¯re really a bunch of bad adults.


    Thanks to eating the detoxification herbs, I was able to recover. I washed my face with cold water and rinsed my mouth.


    I could hear the sound of the chickens, a horse and woofing from all sides. They all raised their voice in disapproval so I immediately went on to feed them. For breakfast, I made soup with mylene detoxification herb just to be safe and ate it together with bread. Coincidentally, Margo was already awake so we ate breakfast together.


    10:00


    Margo went back to Resta.


    Come to think of it, Sarasa didn¡¯t come yesterday. She always stopped by Margo¡¯s store everyday so I thought it wouldn¡¯t be weird if he invited her to come here too.


    Well, whatever.


    I looked up to the sky. It was a clear blue sky. The sunlight was tickling my cheeks, it felt so good.


    I think I¡¯m not going to do anything today when the weather is this good.


    I aired the bed and then I laid out a blue sheet in the area of my house. My house. That had increased its safety level. It felt so good laying on the blue sheet like this that I ended up falling asleep again before I realized it.


    I hope a peaceful day like this can go on forever.


    I sincerely hoped so from the bottom of my heart.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Our MC is having a very peaceful day in his new house (a legit house!) while Margo¡­ Poor guy, he doesn¡¯t know what awaits him¡­.

 CH 108.2

    Chapter 108.2 : (Margo¡¯s POV) Margo Is in a Big Trouble?! Don¡¯t Underestimate a Woman¡¯s Intuition!


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    After spending the whole night drinking at Keigo¡¯s place, I returned to my shop and there was Sarasa. Sarasa was directing her chiling smile at me¡­


    There were already cooled down meals on the table and the whole store was decked out with yurifa flowers. The usually messy store was tidied up so perfectly that I found it hard to believe this was my store.


    For some reason, I could feel my whole body being drenched in cold sweat.


    Why¡­. Even though I didn¡¯t do anything wrong¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡°Where have you been?¡±


    Her cold tone caressed my spine. I unconsciously straightened my back.


    ¡°I was drinking at Keigo¡¯s place.¡±


    I had thought it was the perfect excuse but I couldn¡¯t shake off this bad feeling creeping up my mind.


    I mean, it¡¯s not even an excuse. I really only went for a drink just like usual. I¡¯m absolutely certain I didn¡¯t cheat on her or anything.


    Recently, I had refrained myself from flirting with the woman at the bar and on the occasion that I did flirt with the woman, I was being careful so I wouldn¡¯t get caught so I should be fine.


    ¡°Why did you sneak out of the house like you¡¯re running away from me?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s¡­¡±


    I could feel I was drenching in cold sweat. The pressure from Sarasa was so terrible that I was certain running was the best option.


    But, how did she find out?!


    While shivering, I kneeled with my feet flat on the floor.


    And so, I had a rough time trying to calm the angry and crying Sarasa. After a few hours, I somehow had successfully lifted Sarasa¡¯s mood back.


    That was dangerous¡­ You really can¡¯t tell where the landmines are¡­.


    Since we already made up, we decided to reheat the already cooled down meal and ate it together. For today, I let Sarasa spoonfed me as she pleased.


    In the end, I was trapped in the corner.


    Just what should I do?!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I mean, sneaking away like that of course will make anyone suspicious. Even though Sarasa already knows Margo is only going to Keigo¡¯s place, I think as of now, their relationship is not solid enough so Sarasa needs to have a lot of reassurance? Well in any case, Margo sure has it tough~

 CH 109

    It was early in the afternoon when I woke up on top of the blue sheet because my stomach had been growling. I had been indulging in my desire to do nothing at all for quite a long time. Maybe due to the pleasant sunlight, Ash was also curled up next to me, sleeping peacefully.


    I yawned and stretched my body.


    No good. Being surrounded by the stone wall makes me feel safe. If this goes on, I¡¯m going to be lazier and lazier with each passing day.


    Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I decided to reheat the smoked cheese and smoked egg I had made yesterday and ate them together with bread. Since I was still sleepy, I kept on sitting on the tree stump chair and rested my head against the table and did nothing for a while.


    A small bird was perching on top of the stone wall and singing. It was a sound unique to this world. At least, I had never heard that kind of singing even when I was living in rural Hokkaido. I watched in daze as Ash was jumping and hopping as he chased after a rainbow coloured butterfly that had been resting on irene herbs I had planted. The field was also within the protective barrier of my stone wall.


    So peaceful¡­. I wonder why? Even though my house is only surrounded by a mere stone wall, I feel so incredibly safe.


    Then it finally dawned on me. I had been living in a place where it wouldn¡¯t be strange for monsters to come attacking me. While it was true that I had ankle snare traps, sound alarms and other traps surrounding my house, up until recently, my house was still in full sight of my enemies.


    But thanks to this stone wall, my existence couldn¡¯t be seen from outside. The sound alarm was just basically a bunch of clappers connected with string but this stone wall. This stone wall actually physically prevented my enemies from invading.


    Maybe I was able to feel this incredible sense of security because of it. Also, because my sense of security increased, my motivation that originally only reached 10% at most now decreased even further to 3%.


    Well, that¡¯s fine too.


    After eating a late lunch, the sleepiness hit me again so I laid down on the blue sheet again. I could see Ash snorted at me, seemingly given up on my antics.


    Today, I laid down basking in the sun until the sun went down. At night, I gazed at the blue full moon while sipping on alcohol occasionally as I made another batch of smoked food.


    Then, without being binded by the constraint of time, I went to sleep at any hour I wanted.


    Before I realized it, the kind of life I had been yearning for finally came true.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I¡¯m glad we only need 100 chapters before our MC finally has a real house.

 CH 110

    The next day, I woke up very early. I checked my watch and it was only 4:00. I guess it must be because I had been leisurely sleeping all day yesterday due to the sense of security from the stone wall.


    I boiled hot water to make marble herbal tea and then I just kept on sipping the tea beside the open bonfire. This moment before daybreak was precious to me. I liked this quiet time after bedtime. Everyone was still asleep, I was the only one already awake.


    The time before I fell asleep and after everyone was already asleep was the best time to gather my thoughts about various things. I thought about Juno, Margo, Sarasa and while I was at it, about Bavarian-sama too.


    I wondered if Juno had given up on Sarasa and already started searching for a new love. Juno was a handsome young man so I was sure the woman in the town wouldn¡¯t leave him alone.


    I wondered how it was going with Margo and Sarasa. From the way I see it, it seemed Margo was trying to run away from Sarasa¡¯s fierce attack the other day.


    Though I don¡¯t know how long he can keep on running away. I can already see the finish line for them.


    As for Bavarian-sama, something must¡¯ve happened to him. Otherwise, it was simply unbelievable that his disposition would take a drastic change like that. It might have had something to do with the fact that he had lost his right arm. I had accepted Bavarian-sama¡¯s apology and the money he gave to me as a nuisance fee had contributed to the construction of this stone wall that greatly increased my survival rate.


    I don¡¯t have any resentment toward him anymore.


    Rather than that, I was more concerned about the fact that Bavarian-sama¡¯s son, Heinrich-sama, now held the true authority over the town. I didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of being involved with them but I couldn¡¯t really say for sure that Bavarian-sama wouldn¡¯t come to ask me for help.


    If that happens then I will have no choice. I will need to do the things I can do.


    Like a clear stream, the thoughts about the people around me were flowing smoothly from upstream to downstream.


    Dan, Kai-sensei, Han-sensei, Kishuu-sensei, Donny who was working as Bavarian-sama¡¯s bodyguard, the old man from the dismantling shop and the workers who built my stone wall too.


    As I continued to gaze mindlessly at the flickering fire from the bonfire, the faces of the people I had met and helped me in this other world came and went in succession.


    About Ash, it must have been two months since I first met him. He showed absolutely no sign of growing into adulthood, still remaining as the cutest thing in this world. Maybe because Ash was a creature unique to this world only.


    Right now, Ash was still curled up like a ball on my bed, sleeping peacefully. Unconsciously, my face turned into a slovenly smile.


    I¡¯m a little weak if it¡¯s about Ash.


    Compared to when I first came to this world, the days were starting to get shorter. It seemed fall was about to come, followed by winter. I wasn¡¯t that worried about winter since I could keep myself warm with either firewood or coal. Or rather, I was looking forward to taking a dip in a hot bath while watching the falling snow.


    ¡­.The morning is coming soon.


    As for today, I was thinking of going to the river to procure water for my bath and spent my time leisurely fishing. Just imagining the grilled river fish made my stomach hungry.


    The morning sun was rising and the chickens started to sing.


    Now then, let¡¯s start another round of lazy days like usual.

 CH 111.1

    Chapter 111.1


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    10:00


    After finishing my daily routine of taking care of the animals and training, I decided to go fishing in the river. I loaded the empty bathtub, a bucket for the fish and a shovel into the wagon. I also brought some food like dried meat and bread along with a water dagger bottle with me.


    As for the fishing gear, I had bought them because I had taken fishing as a hobby back then. I still kept my fishing gear in the farming tool shed. I planned on using them to fish today. The set came with a reel, weight and several hooks. It was a cheap item that only cost me 10,000 yen.


    I had seen plenty of earthworms while tending on the field so I¡¯d procure the fishing bait locally. Monster might come attacking me too so I donned on my fighting gear just in case.


    Now then, let¡¯s get going.


    I held Ash in my arms and put him onto the wagon. Rocinante (my horse) was neighing, snorting at me. We then departed for the river with the clacking sound of Rocinante (my horse)¡¯s feet accompanying us.


    I yawned as we slowly went through the quiet and peaceful meadow. After a while, we finally reached the river. I couldn¡¯t see any sign of the monster as far as my eyes could see.


    The river was located in the middle of nature so it was very beautiful. The water was crystal clear, I could even see the fish swimming vividly.


    I dug the surrounding area with a shovel to procure the needed earthworms for fishing. I hooked the earthworm, connected the hook with the string and dangled the rod into the river. On the other side, Ash was chasing after the fluttering butterfly. He hopped and skipped as the butterfly flew leisurely to avoid being caught.


    I was basking in the sun while listening to the sound of the river flowing. Realizing that I¡¯d end up falling asleep at this rate, I munched on some dried meat. It helped in stimulating my brain a little.


    While I was chewing on dried meat, Ash came sitting up straight next to me. I gave him a piece of dried meat after making him do the ¡®hand¡¯ command.


    A strange bug that resembled a dragonfly perched on the edge of the rod but because the rod suddenly got pulled, that strange bug immediately flew away. I rolled the reel and pulled the rod. I successfully caught delicious looking fish that looked similar to sweetfish. I filled the bucket with the water from the river and threw the¡­ Sweetfish-ish in.


    I was torn between cutting it into 3 parts and eating it as sashimi or just went wild and grilled it over the bonfire with salt. I could feel the drool accumulating in my mouth because of how excited I was at the thought.


    Let¡¯s keep the rhythm going and continue catching more fish steadily.


    After fishing for about 3 hours, I was able to catch 20 sweetfish-ish. I was aware this must not be a sweetfish, it must be some other kind of fish. I appraised the sweetfish-ish.


    ¡¾Tucarus: A very delicious fish that lives in the clear stream. There¡¯s no harmful parasites in the habitat of this fish so it is safe for human consumption and can be eaten raw too.¡¿


    It seemed this fish was edible.


    Tucarus, huh? What a strange name for a fish.


    17:00


    When I arrived home, I saw Margo, Sarasa and Juno were coming to visit me. Their wagon was loaded with various kinds of food and alcohol. I was really grateful for it.


    I slightly raised my hand and greeted them then I decided to prepare some sweetfish while waiting for the bathtub water to become hot.


    First, I shaved the tree branches with a knife and then skewered the fresh tucarus through it. I rubbed grated garlic and salt all over the fish so I could grill them over the bonfire later. I¡¯d start grilling after I finished taking a bath.


    Next, I chopped off the head of the live tucarus, washed the internal organs over running water then I cut them into 3 parts to eat as a sashimi. I was glad I already had the experience of fishing in the mountain stream when I was living in the rural Hokkaido. I knew how to prepare and cook sweetfish by myself thanks to it.


    I put some salt over the sashimi and ate it. As I thought, I really wanted to have soy sauce. Maybe I could make it myself?


    18:00


    Sarasa insisted that she wanted to get into the tub together with Ash so I relented and then after she was finished, the three of us went into the tub.


    This sweetfish-ish fish, tucarus, was really delicious. Even if I ate it raw or grilled it, this fish tasted exquisite. It was a good pair with ale too.


    Margo, Sarasa and Juno had the same shocked face when they ate tucarus sashimi. In the end, the night continued on into a merry drinking party just like usual.


    Sarasa hand fed Margo a piece of tucarus sashimi. I felt like my mouth was going to become coarse from seeing this overly sweet lovey dovey scene before me. I glanced at Juno. He had the expression of a dead fish. I offered him more tucarus sashimi to lift his spirit up.


    And so, the fun night continued on.

 CH 111.2

    Chapter 111.2 : (Margo¡¯s POV) To My Wife, Isabelle, in Heaven


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Recently, I can¡¯t help but to think that Sarasa is looking very adorable and lovely. I¡¯m sorry, Isabelle. I might end up having a new wife. I don¡¯t know if heaven truly exists. I¡¯m not a very religious person after all.


    Up until now, I¡¯ve been living my whole life by placing my trust on metal. If there¡¯s a God of Blacksmith, I might put my faith into that God. But anyway, I¡¯m not the type who becomes drowned in the idea of love.


    But right now, I think I might believe in the God of Love. After all, there¡¯s a woman who loves such a boorish and helpless man like me. If this is not the work of God of Love then whose deed is it?


    Up until now, I¡¯ve been refusing to let myself get caught with Sarasa because I was afraid my wife in heaven might be watching, but I decided to stop and think about it thoroughly.


    Recently, I¡¯ve been thinking that religion exists for the sake of the living. What does it mean for the deceased though? Those guys at the church said that my wife has become a God and is now always watching over me.


    But I wonder if it¡¯s really true? Is Isabelle really watching over me from heaven? Isabelle might¡¯ve already reincarnated and started over a new life just like what those guys said. There¡¯s the possibility that when I die, I might be reincarnated and if Isabelle and Sarasa are reincarnated into the same world I¡¯m in, I might be having a brand new relationship already too.


    Isn¡¯t that how the world works? That¡¯s why I wondered if Isabelle would forgive me if I were to take on a new wife. Maybe Isabelle in heaven is saying something like ¡°just what is that guy doing?¡± as she watches me grieving and stubbornly enduring my own loneliness all by myself.


    Isabelle is the type that hates gloomy, depressing things.


    ¡°Raise your head, look forward and make the most of the present! The guy I¡¯m getting married to is not a feeble man!¡±


    I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what she would say.


    Isabelle often got incredibly angry at me because when I drink and become sdrunk, I¡¯m the type that becomes a womanizer and a little bit loose. Isabelle is the type of woman who has absolute confidence in herself. Because of that, I can¡¯t ever get my heart separated from Isabelle.


    Appearance wise, Sarasa doesn¡¯t resemble Isabelle but her intense, fiery disposition resembles Isabelle a little.


    I see¡­ Maybe that¡¯s why I can feel that Sarasa is so precious to me.


    After I¡¯m aware of my feelings, I immediately decided to stop fretting about it. I¡¯ve had enough acting half-heartedly. I prepared my resolve for it. After all, Isabelle did say that one of my strong points is how manly I am.


    My whole life, nothing ever goes smoothly without any hitch. After all, there are many occasions in your life where you need to compromise and choose the better option even if it¡¯s not the best option, right?


    For example, if all newbie adventurers were to be given expensive equipment, their survival rate would surely go up drastically, right? But who will pay for it? That¡¯s why as the better option, I use the cheapest materials I can find and sell the weapon and armor I made myself to the newbie adventurer for free. That should be enough to raise the survival rate of those young hatchlings. I can declare it confidently with my pride as a craftsman.


    The same can be said about my problem with Sarasa. Sarasa and Isabelle. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no best answer that can satisfy me on this matter.


    When I looked at Keigo, a thought came to my mind.


    ¡°Do what you want and live as you like.¡±


    That guy will never say it but I can feel those words coming from him when I see his back. Just by seeing how he lives his life, you will be able to tell even if he doesn¡¯t say it himself.


    From now on, I will also live by following my heart and walk forward with my life by being honest to myself.


    Right now my feelings¡­.


    ¡°Sarasa, I¡¯m sorry for making you wait. Let¡¯s get married. Isabelle, please allow me to be happy.¡±


    Those words overflowed from my mouth naturally just like that. This is the conclusion I¡¯ve reached in order to face both Sarasa and Isabelle with sincerity.


    I feel like I can hear someone laughing from heaven after she hears what I¡¯m saying.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Good for Sarasa and Margo! I¡¯m glad they¡¯ve resolved their issues~

 CH 111.3

    Chapter 111.3 : (Elsa¡¯s POV) Sunny Girlfriend


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    I¡¯m Elsa. I¡¯m running my family¡¯s inn, Sunny Pavilion, that I inherited from my papa after he became a member of the town council of Resta.


    Both adventurers¡¯ guild and commerce guild more or less provide monetary support so we can set the rent fee cheaply for both adventurer and traveler. Because of how cheap the rent fee in my inn is, the adventurer stays at my inn regularly.


    One of those adventurers is my childhood friend, Juno. I¡¯ve known both Juno and Sarasa the merchant ever since we were little and I¡¯ve always liked Juno. I¡¯m aware that Juno likes Sarasa. I can tell right away who the person I love, loves.


    But Sarasa likes Margo from the armor and weapon shop. I can do nothing but watch in silence as Juno¡¯s heart screams. It¡¯s really hard for me to see him like that. Even though for an adventurer, your body is your main capital but Juno, his body steadily becomes worn out because he¡¯s not eating properly.


    He¡¯s really a fool.


    ¡°Shut up! Just leave me alone!¡±


    Even though he said that to me, I still keep forcing him to eat.


    I have an insecurity with Sarasa¡¯s appearance. Everytime I look at myself in the mirror, I will slowly run my finger over my freckles and sigh. I know that Sarasa¡¯s beauty¡­ She¡¯s not only beautiful from the outside but from the inside as well. But still, I can¡¯t help but feel jealous over her.


    I was about to give up, thinking that my love for him would melt away like a sugar cube in water but then one day, Juno asked me to be his girlfriend.


    He said that my freckles made him feel warm and pleasant when he looked at me. I was really happy that I ended up crying right here and there. Above everything else, I was very happy that he was aware of my love for him. I think that was the moment that made my insecurity completely disappear.


    Right, right. It seems Juno recently made a new friend. His name is Keigo-san. I remember him well when he came to visit Juno in the inn the other day. He has pitch black hair and kind eyes that left a deep impression on me.


    Also, the doggie that was running incessantly around his foot was so adorable. I ended up stroking the doggie¡¯s head unintentionally. I poured some milk onto a plate and gave it to him. He then licked the milk vigorously. So adorable!!


    Juno told me that Keigo-san is living a short walk away from the town in the direction of the forest. He said he will introduce me to Keigo-san one day.


    Fufu~ I really can¡¯t wait to see that cute doggie again!!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Another member of Ash Fans Club! ?( ?? ? ?? ?)

 CH 112

    The day after the party where we ate tucarus sashimi, a fish that resembled sweetfish, Sarasa told me that she was going to get married to Margo, to my surprise.


    She broke the news when they were about to go home. We were conversing with gestures but it was plain to see after I had seen how they interacted last night.


    Then Sarasa told me she wanted to hold the wedding ceremony here. Two days from now. In addition to our usual party member, she also wanted to invite another woman, Elsa. To my surprise, Elsa was Juno¡¯s girlfriend.


    What?! Juno has a girlfriend?!


    I exclaimed in my heart.


    I was a little worried because Juno looked like he was going through a heartbreak yesterday but I guess my worry was for naught. It was pretty  sudden but I still said yes nevertheless.


    After recovering their physique with breakfast of mylene detoxification herb soup, the three of them returned to Resta.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.It is a joyous occasion. Two of my best friends are going to get married. Of course I¡¯m going to celebrate it too. Two days from now, huh. It¡¯s pretty sudden¡­


    I planned on making tucarus sashimi since they really liked it and I could fetch new water for the bath while I was at it. And then, I guess it¡¯d be good to cook something using herb chicken since it had been a while since I had chicken.


    Which reminded me that I used to get addicted to eating gizzard, liver and heart sashimi dipped with soy sauce and garlic at a chicken specialist restaurant in Kyushu. I¡¯d eat them together with sweet potato shochu mixed with carbonated water.


    Poultry sashimi served on top of ice¡­. It was simply exquisite¡­


    I don¡¯t have soy sauce but I do have garlic and salt. I guess I need to make do with those. I can also make something with chicken breast¡­ Not chicken sashimi but garlic chicken¡­ Garlic chicken sounds nice too¡­


    No good. I¡¯m starting to drool.


    With that thought in mind, I continued on with my daily routine which consisted of tending to the animals, training and then taking care of the field.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I know, I know. Chicken sashimi. How salmonella. I¡¯m also not keen on the idea of eating raw chicken but hey, I¡¯m not the author. The author really likes anything as sashimi, huh¡­

 CH 113

    The day for Sarasa and Margo¡¯s wedding finally came. I woke up early and went to the river when the sun was not up yet. I fished for fish early in the morning. After all, I couldn¡¯t just sit around fishing leisurely after they came.


    After I had caught a substantial amount of fish, I planned on preparing the food for the wedding. Of course, I shouldn¡¯t forget about filling the bathtub with new water. I had already decided what I wanted to prepare for the party.


    If we¡¯re talking about weddings then that thing is a must.


    The fish were taking the bait pretty well.


    I guess it¡¯s because it¡¯s still early in the morning.


    Ash must be still sleepy since he was curled up next to me. His breath was even like he was already asleep. Even though we went to bed early last night. I also yawned as I continued on fishing.


    ¡­¡­.. I¡¯ve caught quite a lot of fish.


    I put the fish I had caught in a bucket filled with river water. I wanted to have the freshest fish since I planned on preparing sashimi. After that, I filled the drum tub with river water and went back home.


    11:00


    After I finished feeding the animals, I decided to start preparing the food.


    They should be coming at around noon, right? Now then, I can cut the tucarus fish into 3 parts before I¡¯m about to eat it so let¡¯s start preparing the chicken first.


    I drained the blood from several chickens then I plucked the feathers off from the chickens. There was nothing to be wasted from the chickens. From the meat, gizzard, liver, heart, everything could be eaten.


    I tried cutting the chicken as sashimi and ate it together with grated garlic and salt.


    It¡¯s not bad but not amazing.


    Usually I¡¯d have a little bit of alcohol while I worked but as I thought, I had to restrain myself from drinking today. This herb chicken sashimi was as fresh as I could get it. It¡¯d be a lie to say that this highest quality chicken didn¡¯t taste good.


    12:00


    As I was cooking the chickens, Margo, Juno, Sarasa and Elsa-san arrived.


    ¡°Good day, nice to meet you.¡±


    I said to Elsa-san in Lancaster language.


    If I¡¯m not wrong, I¡¯ve seen her before when I went to visit Juno at the inn he¡¯s staying at but this is our first actual meeting.


    Elsa-san smiled warmly to me, her smile was just like the sun.


    ¡°Good day.¡±


    She returned the greeting to me. I looked at Juno, he was smiling shyly.


    This girl is wasted on you, damn it. Well, knowing how hard it was for him, I really need to congratulate him from the bottom of my heart.


    Now then, let¡¯s start the joyous wedding celebration.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Wedding celebration time! (¡î¨Œ¡î)

 CH 114

    Now then, it¡¯s time to start the happy hour.


    We started preparing the stage for the food and the entertainment for the wedding and most importantly, the main event. We spread the blue sheet so you could see the stage and arranged the food. We also placed the stump chairs and table at the appropriate place.


    As for the food, I had prepared chicken sashimi using the herb chicken I had raised with utmost care. From the liver, heart, gizzard and the meat, not a single part of the chicken was left to waste. I also prepared chicken skewers. Today was a special day so I didn¡¯t want to hold myself back.


    They brought a whole deer and cow. The deer and cow were freshly butchered this morning and they had loaded all part of the animals in the wagon. It seemed Sarasa had bought the finest alcohol she had in her store too. I couldn¡¯t wait to try it.


    On the other side, Ash was totally engrossed with the cow¡¯s bone with bits of meat still intact on it that Sarasa had bought for him.


    While we were preparing for the wedding party, an unknown man with silver-rimmed glasses came to my house.


    ¡°¡ð¡ø¡­¡­¡Á¡ð¡ö¡ø!¡±


    He had two soldiers coming with him.


    What a tactless guy to come on such a special day.


    Margo, who had just finished cooking the deer steak, went to talk about something with the silver-rimmed glasses guy near the gate.


    Margo¡¯s face was steadily turning paler. I could feel the silver-rimmed glasses guy¡¯s eyes shining. He then walked briskly to the fire dagger I had left in front of the blacksmith workshop. Margo tried to stop him but he didn¡¯t even pay Margo the slightest bit of attention.


    For some reason, this haughty behavior of his gives me a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. This is my house. If we¡¯re in Japan, I can report this guy for trespassing.


    The silver-rimmed glasses guy took one of the fire daggers I had made and thrusted the dagger into a piece of firewood, igniting it.


    Oi! What if my house gets caught in the fire because of you?! You bastard! Maybe I can also report him for arson while we¡¯re at it?


    The silver-rimmed glasses guy had a look that gave me the imagination of a pair of demon horns growing from his head.


    Margo was looking down. His face was completely pale.


    ¡­¡­It can¡¯t be helped.


    I decided to interfere. I brought my ultimate weapon, tucarus sashimi, with me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: It was the father before now the son. Aishhh this family is really¡­ (?£ß? )

 CH 115

    Perfect timing. I already had 2 plates of 3 slices of tucarus sashimi ready on hand that I was about to serve. Just as I was about to step in between the silver-rimmed glasses guy and Margo while acting like ¡®good riddance~¡¯, Bavarian-sama, accompanied by his guard, Donny, gallantly came galloping here with his horse.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡Á!!!¡ø¡ö¡ñ¡ô¡ð!!!¡±


    POINT!


    Bavarian-sama pointed his finger toward the silver-rimmed glasses guy as he spoke to him. He started scolding the silver-rimmed glasses guy about something in Lancaster language. This time, it was the silver-rimmed glasses guy¡¯s turn to grow pale and paler. The look of relief was plain to see in Margo¡¯s expression.


    Since I thought the timing was perfect, I offered both a Bavarian-sama and silver-rimmed glasses guy each a plate of freshly made tucarus sashimi.


    Please, feel free to enjoy them with grated garlic and garlic. Feel free to drink the ale too.


    They started to eat it using a wooden fork I had made. The two of them stiffened. It was a sight I was familiar with. The next moment, they got out of their stupor and started drinking the ale I had poured into a wooden cup.


    According to Margo¡¯s explanation, those two were father and son. So that silver-rimmed glasses guy was also a nobleman.


    Well, I don¡¯t live in the city so that kind of thing doesn¡¯t really concern me.


    Apparently his name was Heinrich-sama.


    Since they were already here, I also invited Heinrich-sama and Bavarian-sama and the guards accompanying them to attend the wedding celebration. Perhaps tempted by the food, the two noblemen nodded their heads enthusiastically and then asked me to shake their hands.


    The three of us shook our hands simultaneously. You know, the kind of handshake the politician liked to do. We shook our hands together at the same time. Noblemen were also considered as politicians so I guess it wouldn¡¯t be weird for them to act similarly like the politicians.


    Then we resumed the wedding preparations again. The soldiers also offered to help. They were being really helpful while the two noblemen were relaxing on top of the blue sheet.


    On a normal occasion, I wanted to chastise them that those who didn¡¯t work wouldn¡¯t get to eat but since their subordinates were working to help us, I decided to turn a blind eye on them.


    I boiled the water for the bath and implemented the ¡®ladies first rule¡¯.


    Elsa-san was in charge of the wedding dress.


    Out of the two noblemen, only Bavarian-sama took the bath. What a waste that Heinrich-sama didn¡¯t get to experience the taste of drinking a glass of alcohol after you freshly got out of the bath.


    15:00


    Now that the food was ready, I also changed my clothes to get ready for the main event. I was honored to witness a precious sight with my very own eyes. Margo in formal clothes.


    Sarasa looked beautiful in her blue dress. Her blue dress had the same hue as the moon in this world. It was the kind of blue that strangely made me feel calm.


    So this is what a wedding ceremony looks like in this world?


    I felt so deeply moved to be able to witness this scene.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Our first wedding! Congratulations to Margo and Sarasa! I guess next we will have Juno and Elsa¡¯s wedding?

 CH 116

    The wedding ceremony started solemnly with Bavarian-sama offering a few opening words since he volunteered to become the officiant.


    Ash, be a good boy.


    I was holding Ash in my arms in order to prevent him from rushing to the stage to go to his favorite Sarasa. It was obvious for everyone to see that Ash was interested in the fluttering blue dress Sarasa was wearing.


    Margo went down on one knee while offering a large bouquet of pure white flowers to Sarasa. He was casting his gaze down as he offered the bouquet and then, Sarasa accepted the bouquet. After that, they exchanged wedding rings and kissed each other.


    After Bavarian-sama declared something that had the same meaning as ¡®I now declare you as husband and wife¡¯, everyone started cheering and clapping while throwing words of congratulations.


    Sarasa threw the bouquet to Elsa and she caught it perfectly. Juno, who was standing beside Elsa, hugged her and gave his thumb up to Sarasa, making a sign that basically said ¡®leave it to me¡¯.


    Everyone in this place all had a smile on their face.


    After the stage was cleared, the solemn atmosphere took a drastic change. We all embarked into our party vibe.


    I was busy making more tucarus sashimi and herb chicken sashimi since those two were really popular with the crowds. Of course I was cooking all of that while sipping on high quality alcohol while watching the entertainment unfolded before me. The soldiers also started doing impromptu dance and singing in a weird way, making everyone burst out laughing.


    I also performed the entertainment I had prepared. When I was still working in a trading company, I had performed a lot of entertainment for business purposes so I was used to doing it. Which reminded me, there was a company with a strange tradition where they made someone put on a stocking over their head as a punishment game to make the other party member laugh.


    What a very masochistic company.


    I sang a very famous wedding song. When you think of a wedding, this song would definitely come to your mind. It was a familiar song that they liked to use in commercials.


    As I started singing, tears started to well up on the corner of Sarasa¡¯s eyes. I thought it was strange since we didn¡¯t even speak the same language.


    Margo, Sarasa. From the bottom of my heart, I offer you my sincerest congratulations.


    Each and everyone here congratulated the happy couple. The feeling of euphoria was overflowing, turning the entire plot of my house into the color of happiness.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Congratulations congratulations! ©c(*¡Ð¨Œ¡Ð*)?

 CH 117

    Margo and Sarasa¡¯s happy wedding ceremony had ended and dawn had broken. Everyone had drunk until they all became drunk. They were still laying in the blacksmith workshop, their faces were all pale.


    I went on with my usual daily job. I took care of the animals, stretched my body and started doing my daily training. Recently I felt the power of my ¡®wind¡¯ had increased.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Wind level 3.¡»


    While I was training, Ash started making out a loud noise. Ash was showing a reaction he usually showed for any sign of hostility. He was directing it toward me.


    I surveyed my surroundings, looking for any sign of an enemy. Then from the direction of the river, I saw a serpent slithering over here in zigzag motion.


    This is bad.


    Right now, everyone but me was still down from a hangover. I could feel the cold sweat dripping down from all over my body.


    I need to do something.


    The timing was perfect though. I was in the middle of my daily training so I was already donned in my battle gear.


    Time to start the fight.


    I fired a ¡®sharpshoot¡¯ arrow at the serpent but my arrow was repelled because of the serpent¡¯s hard scales. I let my arrow and bow go and switched to my sword and shield. Then, just to be safe, I appraised the serpent I was facing.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Appraisal level 2.¡»


    ¡¾Monster: Serpent. A snake monster.


    Skill: Deadly Poisonous Breath. It can melt almost everything.


    Weakness: It has no resistance against its own poison breath. Repelling its own Deadly Poisonous Breath with the magic ¡®wind¡¯ is highly effective against it. ¡¿


    At the very last moment, the skill I hadn¡¯t been able to use effectively, ¡®Appraisal¡¯, rose in level. To my surprise, I was able to find out the weakness of the serpent.


    Then from the direction of the serpent, I saw two blue wolves gallantly appeared. They moved around while keeping their distance against the serpent. It was really reassuring to know I had a reinforcement. I carefully watched the serpent to find the perfect timing for when the serpent was about to blow its poisonous breath.


    However, the blue wolves couldn¡¯t last for long. They were soon hit by the serpent¡¯s tail, rendering them immobile. The serpent immediately turned its attention back to us.


    Finally, it¡¯s coming¡­


    The serpent leaned its head back, entering the motion for its poisonous breath attack. I outstretched my hand toward the serpent. Then, not long after that, the serpent shot out its poisonous breath toward me. I waited for the timing and¡­.


    ¡°Wind!¡±


    BLOWWWWWWWWWWW!! KISSSHHHHAAAAAAAA!!


    The poisonous breath was repelled back. The serpent¡¯s hard scales were hideously burned as it was on the receiving end of its own breath. The serpent then stopped moving. Without letting any moment go to waste, I quickly approached the serpent.


    Since the serpent¡¯s head was pretty high up, I then unleashed a backward somersault kick attack, ¡®moonsault kick¡¯,  using my boots that I had improvised with iron.


    BAM!!


    The serpent¡¯s head was smashed. Then I thrusted my sword to finish it off since the serpent was still wriggling.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 15.


    HP: 32¡ú34


    MP: 22¡ú24


    Vitality: 26¡ú28


    Strength: 37¡ú38


    Intelligence: 79¡ú80


    Dexterity : 37¡ú38


    Speed: 36¡ú37


    Has acquired Moonsault Kick level 3.¡»


    I wrote down my new status on a paper I had bought from Sarasa just to be safe. Then I hurried over to the blue wolves. I made them drink the HP potion I had made using irene herbs to tend to their wounds.


    Thank you for always helping me. I¡¯m really grateful for your help.


    I was really lucky to be able to defeat a formidable enemy of mine, the serpent.


    11:00


    The people who had been lying dead in the blacksmith workshop finally came out. I prepared bread and soup made from mylene detoxification herb for them. When the recovered people saw I had defeated a serpent, their mouth opened up in shock.


    12:00


    The nobles returned to town. I loaded the dead serpent on a wagon and went to town together with Juno.


    13:00


    Elsa came to greet us when I dropped Juno at her inn. She was really surprised to see a serpent on the back of the wagon. I then went straight to the adventurers¡¯ guild to report the subjugation of a serpent to Dan. Dan was also really surprised to discover I had defeated a serpent. His mouth was hanging open like everyone else.


    I received 9 gold coins and 84 guild points as a reward for subjugating a serpent. I now had 169 guild points.


    Maybe it¡¯s about time for me to start thinking about the next skill I need to get?


    I left the serpent at the dismantling shop and then went back to Dan to discuss the skill I could get.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: How convenient~ The timing is so perfect for our MC~ Now MC only needs to learn how to utilize that crossbow gun to defeat the lesser dragon!


    (? ??_??)?

 CH 118

    Before I started talking about the skill with Dan, I was hit by anxiety that the serpent might come attacking me again again because the serpent had come attacking my house for the second time already.


    I started worrying about the possibility of dungeon overflow again. I was lucky that I was able to subjugate the serpent by chance but if that serpent were to spew his poisonous breath in town, it would certainly become a great disaster. I decided to add 30 gold coins as a reward for subjugating the serpent. I entrusted the subjugation reward allocation for each serpent to Dan.


    Next, it was time to discuss the skill I could get. First and foremost, I could just continue accumulating the points until I had enough to get the higher level skill for wind magic. At this rate, it was possible for me to get it if I kept on training and subjugating monsters.


    Second option, I could get either attack or defensive skill. The second skill would cost me 100 guild points while the third skill would cost me 500 guild points. With my current guild point, I could get the second skill if I wanted now.


    Third option, I could learn other basic magic skills. It would cost me 150 guild points to learn another basic magic skill. In addition, a certain level of basic magic skill was required to learn the higher tier of same type magic. Besides, just like ¡®wind¡¯ was a countermove against the serpent, other basic magic could be effective in certain situations.


    After a lot of pondering, I decided to take another basic magic skill. Light magic.


    I conveyed my intention to Dan and held my guild card over the crystal ball. I could see my guild point had become 19 points.


    15:00


    Then I was taken to the dojo where Han-sensei had been waiting for me. I said ¡®please take care of me¡¯ in Lancaster language and offered a handshake to him. And so, it was time to start the training session with Han-sensei.


    ¡°¡Á¡÷!¡±


    Han-sensei chanted a short incantation and then a ball of light appeared, flying in a straight line toward the wooden target. The ball hit the target and my whole field of vision was enveloped in light.


    So this is the basic spell of light magic.


    Han-sensei told me to give it a try. I memorized the short incantation in Lancaster language in my mind many times over and tried to imagine the same ball of light like I had seen before.


    Then, I tried to become aware of the flow of magic power in me.


    After practicing for 2 hours, finally a ball of light could appear from my hand. The ball of light flew unsteadily and before the ball could even reach the target, the ball of light disappeared. The ball of light burst and  disappeared, just like a soap bubble.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Light level 1.¡»


    Han-sensei clapped and said ¡®congratulations¡¯ in Lancaster language. I then said ¡®thank you¡¯ in return. I shook Han-sensei¡¯s right hand and left the dojo.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Finally! We have another glorified light bulb! Now MC won¡¯t need a lantern at night~

 CH 119

    18:00


    After I had finished my business with the adventurers¡¯ guild, I went to the dismantling shop. Perfect timing. The people at the dismantling shop had just finished dismantling the serpent. The serpent was divided into its scales, meat, fangs and poison gland.


    They said the scales were pretty high in demand since it was used as a material to make scale mail armor. I should go to Margo¡¯s store directly from here and sell the scales to him. The meat might be tasty but still, I¡¯d have to decline. I sold the serpent¡¯s meat to the dismantling shop for 8 gold coins.


    I didn¡¯t know why the meat could fetch such a high price but remembering the wriggling, slithering sight of the serpent made me feel sick. I didn¡¯t want to eat it.


    I kept the fangs and poison gland though since it seemed I could use it to make something.


    19:00


    When I opened the door to Margo¡¯s armor and weapon shop, I was instantly greeted with the sight of Margo and Sarasa kissing intensely. They were so engrossed in their kiss that they didn¡¯t realize I had come at all.


    This place feels so hot.


    I reflexively slammed the door shut.


    Come on, Ash. Us, hindrance should leave now.


    Ash stared at me with the eyes of a dead fish. Then he whined, seemingly sad.


    The only one who can comfort me is  no one but you, Ash¡­.


    While I was being healed by Ash¡¯s cuteness, Margo opened the door, looking visibly flustered as he scratched his head.


    I carried the serpent¡¯s scales inside. Using the paper from Sarasa, I wrote ¡°Serpent¡¯s Scale¡± and twirled my finger, in order to convey my intention to trade with him.


    Sarasa¡¯s eyes immediately glistened, turning her merchant mode on. She then appeared to be arguing about something with Margo.


    The two of you are already married so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need for you to fight about it though.


    I didn¡¯t want to throw cold water into their passionate love moment so I decided to give the serpent¡¯s scales to the two of them without taking any money.


    I wrote on a piece of paper ¡°it¡¯s a wedding gift¡± and showed the paper to them.


    With this, the problem will be solved.


    Margo then asked me if I wanted to have a drink with them but they were still in their honeymoon period after all. I didn¡¯t want to disturb a newlywed couple.


    I¡¯m not that senseless.


    I said ¡°going home¡± to them in Lancaster language.


    Sarasa then asked me to at least take the high quality liquor she had served during her wedding ceremony. I didn¡¯t know how much the serpent¡¯s scales were worth but I was grateful for the gift nonetheless.


    20:00


    I put the serpent¡¯s fangs and poison gland in the storage in the blacksmith workshop. The experiment would need to wait for another day though. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to lick poison today. I was tired since I had done a lot of things today.


    I cooked a simple stir fry using dried deer meat and vegetables.


    I warmed myself beside the bonfire while munching on the stir fry and sipping the high quality liquor I received from Sarasa.


    Then, I sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m so tired¡­¡±


    Humans will finally realize how tired they are the moment they sighed.


    The high quality liquor penetrated my internal organs. The orchestra conducted by the insects and the crackling sound of the firewood. It was my first quiet night in a long while.


    I sat there in a daze for a while.


    After I started feeling drunk and pleasant, I decided to go to sleep. I wiped my body with a wet towel and Ash too while I was at it. Then I thoroughly brushed my teeth.


    I went under the cover, sighing once again. Ash was already deep asleep near my foot. I could hear the sound of him sleeping.


    I took the monster core from the lantern to turn the light off and then snuggled into my bed. After feeling the warmth of Ash¡¯s body and loosening the muscle on my cheeks, I fell asleep without realizing it.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I think our MC is feeling melancholic because he¡¯s the only single in his group of friends.

 CH 120

    The next morning, I woke up feeling great. Probably due to the high quality liquor I had last night from Sarasa. After splashing my face with cold water, I made herbal tea while taking a short break.


    After taking care of the chickens and the horse, I started training. I decided to incorporate light magic in my training regimen. While I was using it, it occurred to me that I might be able to blind my opponent if I increased the power of the light ball.


    For breakfast I had dried beef along with sunny side up egg and bread. As for the drink, I brewed another herbal tea for myself. I also gave some dried beef to Ash.


    I spent the rest of the morning working in the fields and chopping wood.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    While I was chopping wood, Juno came over by riding on a horse. He made some gestures that meant something like ¡®woman¡¯ and ¡®drink¡¯.


    I guess he¡¯s inviting me to some kind of a club or a bar?


    I replied ¡°I got it¡± to him. I often went to a club or a bar for both business matters and private matters. When I was stuck on an idea, I often went to my favorite club and just had a drink by myself while gathering my thoughts.


    I couldn¡¯t take Ash to a place that served food and drinks with me though but I also felt bad if I had to leave him alone in the house.


    While I was pondering what I should do, Juno handed me another piece of paper that said ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up at night¡± and then he went back to town.


    Good grief, just what is he up to?


    After I finished chopping wood, I went to prepare lunch. After that, I immersed myself in making fire daggers and water daggers.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Oooh? Our MC is going to a club in isekai?

 CH 121

    17:00


    Margo and Juno came in a wagon. I loaded some fire daggers and water daggers I had made on the back of the wagon for my business with Margo. The chickens and Rocinante (my horse) would be staying at my house so I replenished their food and water.


    I carried Ash in my arms, climbed into the wagon and then, all of us departed to town.


    17:30


    We still had a little bit of time before the bar opened so we went to have a pregame at Margo¡¯s store. I said to them that I¡¯d be leaving for 30 minutes so I left Margo¡¯s store together with Ash. I needed to ask Sarasa to help look after Ash while I was away.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    It seemed Sarasa had nothing to do since I found her resting her chin on her hand against the table, looking visibly bored. When she saw me, she looked confused but when I handed Ash to her, she immediately smiled happily.


    Using gestures, I told Sarasa that I wanted to go drinking with Margo and Juno so I needed her help to watch over Ash while I was gone. I mimicked the same gesture as Juno, the gesture that emphasized a woman¡¯s voluptuous figure and gesture for drinking.


    ¡°Ash, be a good boy, okay?¡±


    I stroked Ash¡¯s head, who was being held in Sarasa¡¯s arms. It loathed me to do it but I had to bid him farewell.


    I wonder why. Sarasa is smiling but her eyes are not smiling at all.


    18:30


    I returned to Margo¡¯s shop. It turned out Juno and Margo had already finished drinking. Apparently the bar was already opened and they were only waiting for me to return.


    A bar in another world¡­ I hope it¡¯s a good and peaceful place where I can drink and talk calmly.


    I was getting a little excited, imagining various kinds of drink I could get there. I felt like I was stepping into a bar overflowing with exotic atmosphere during an overseas trip. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from feeling elated at the thoughts.


    And so, the three of us headed to the bar, shoulder to shoulder.

 CH 122

    The three of us decided to go to an establishment with a quiet but somewhat glamorous ambiance to it. This establishment¡¯s signboard had the picture of a colorful butterfly with a symbol of a cradle and there were some popping out words written in Lancaster language. The signboard was so beautifully made that it made me wonder if there was an occupation similar to ¡®designer¡¯ in this world.


    When I appraised the Lancaster language written on the sign, it gave me the result ¡¾Butterfly¡¯s Cradle Pub¡¿on it.


    We quickly entered the place and were greeted by a beautiful young woman clad in red dress. As for the male waiter¡­. It seemed there wasn¡¯t any male attendant in this place.


    Now then, are we going to sit at the counter? Or maybe she will show us to a table?


    If I were to come here alone, I¡¯d prefer to sit at the end of the counter and quietly drink alone. Since there were 3 of us today, they would commonly have us sit together and have a female employee entertain us.


    However for some reason, the three of us were led into separate places individually. Margo and Juno gave me a gesture that means ¡°good luck!¡± but since I didn¡¯t understand what they meant, I only inclined my head to the side.


    Good luck at what?


    The last one to be guided was me and they showed me to a seat that was slightly bigger than the other. The woman who accompanied me had silky silver hair and a mole under her eyes that suited her. She was a slender and beautiful woman who gave off the impression of a somewhat gentle and quiet woman.


    ¡°Hello, nice to meet you.¡±


    I greeted her in my toittering Lancaster language and took out a bundle of paper to communicate with her.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Yurina.¡±


    She introduced herself as Yurina. Yurina-san put a glass of liquor on the table and sat down next to me.


    Which reminded me, a university friend of mine who became a certified public accountant said that he used to learn English with all of his might when he was studying abroad in the Philippines so he could talk with the girls at the pub. He said that he was able to learn the language a lot more in the pub compared to learning in language school.


    Maybe if I frequented a place like this, I could improve my Lancaster language greatly.


    I casually glanced around to see how Margo and Juno were doing. Just like me, Juno was drinking normally while Margo¡­.


    He was acting without restraint.


    I think Sarasa will get angry if she sees this¡­ Though I do understand his feelings. Of course he will feel happier when a beautiful woman accompanies him.


    I decided to focus on my conversation with Yurina-san who was pouring liquor into my glass next to me. It¡¯d be considered rude if I ignored her and kept on looking at my surroundings instead.


    I stirred a bottle of spirits and drank it straight up. The burning sensation on my throat felt nice.


    Using the combination of my poor Lancaster language and gesture, I asked Yurina-san to tell me more about herself. If no matter what I did I couldn¡¯t get my thoughts across to her, I¡¯d communicate with her in writing.


    I had a lot of fun drinking and talking about various things with Yurina-san. When she knew I was a foreigner who couldn¡¯t speak the Lancaster language, she told me a famous folklore in Lancaster about a minstrel with a lute in one hand. This folklore was commonly used as a material for conversation in Lancaster.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    In a steep mountain somewhere on the west, there was a sacred tree. The tree was over 10.000 years old and near the root of the tree there grew a plant called ¡°ilune grass¡± with shining silver flowers. That sacred tree was guarded by terrifying monsters.


    Legend has it that the nectar of that silver flower could cure all kinds of sickness. To create the panacea, you needed to have the nectar from ilune flowers, irene herbs, mylene detoxifying herbs and the hair from the monsters guarding the sacred tree.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    I jotted down the legend I had just heard from Yurina-san on my note.


    I heard that the quickest way to learn a foreign language is by flirting with the woman at the pub in that foreign country.


    The advice from my CPA friend might be true so I decided to come back again to talk with Yurina-san.


    Enveloped in a good mood, the three of us then left the establishment together.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The legend feels like an exposition. I guess MC will need to make that panacea in the future.

 CH 123.1

    T/N: Sorry for the late update. I will need to be hospitalized soon so I don¡¯t think I can keep up with the constant update. I will still translate this novel since each chapter is pretty short but I can¡¯t promise constant update. I guess I will just update whenever I can?


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    After saying goodbye to the ladies at the storefront, the three of us started walking back to Margo¡¯s store. Margo and Juno then gave me a thumbs up.


    I see. The two of them must¡¯ve invited me to that pub for my sake.


    I thanked the two of them because if not for them, I wouldn¡¯t be able to meet with Yurina-san. If I was on my own, there was no way I¡¯d go to that kind of place.


    Suddenly.


    All of a sudden, Ash jumped to me.


    Ah, there, there. Ash is really the cutest thing in the world.


    I held Ash in my arms and snuggled my face into his fluffy fur. I was already feeling good because I was tipsy from drinking but now when I held Ash, the cutest thing in the world, I was feeling even better.


    Hm¡­.? Wait? Why is Ash here?


    Not to mention, at the same time, I started sweating with this uncomfortable feeling nagging at the back of my mind. When I turned my gaze to the street, I saw two demons. They were being ominously quiet.


    It was Sarasa and Elsa.


    Now then Ash, let¡¯s go home.


    CLING!!


    However, I wasn¡¯t allowed to go home.


    When I made gestures to convey I wanted to go home, Sarasa glared at me. That single glare alone was enough to nail me shut on the ground. Her stare was like a basilisk¡¯s stare.


    Now that I think of it, I did leave Ash with Sarasa before I went to the pub. She must¡¯ve found out because of that¡­. I was too careless¡­


    After that, Margo, Juno and I¡­ The three of us were dragged by hand to Margo¡¯s store by Demon Sergeant Sarasa and Executioner Elsa.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    The three of us were kneeling in seiza style in front of Demon Sergeant Sarasa and Executioner Elsa.


    Three grown men kneeling in seiza¡­. This is the saddest thing I¡¯ve ever heard.


    Ash also looked sad. He was whining pitifully.


    Demon Sergeant Sarasa, who had been quiet during our journey here, shifted her attention to me.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¨Œ¡¢¡ô¡ð¡Á£¿¡±


    Just from the tone alone, I could feel she was strongly questioning me¡­.. They must be asking for my testimony as the third party here. But, I decided to exercise my rights to remain silent. I shook my head left and right vigorously.


    There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to sell out my own friend.


    After that, Margo and Juno, they threw out every last ounce of pride and shame they had and kept on apologizing while kneeling in seiza style with their head rubbing the floor. Seeing this, the expression on Demon Sergeant Sarasa and Executioner Elsa softened a little.


    However, the relief was short-lived because of what occurred next.


    Ash¡¯s eyes turned mischievous, just like a kid that found a new interesting toy. He continued tugging a piece of string hanging out from Margo¡¯s coat and then he brought that unknown object to Demon Sergeant Sarasa.


    I stared at that unknown object for a while before I finally realized the true identity of that unknown object.


    That damned old man!!


    At that moment, it felt like the whole world was frozen solid.


    That unknown object was a ¡° woman¡¯s upper underwear¡±. No, even if I changed the term of that object in a more acceptable way, it still wouldn¡¯t give Margo even a micron of forgiveness.


    Though he might be forgiven for a little bit if he just straight up apologized right here and there.


    That thing was a ¡°bra¡±.


    Picking up that evidence from Ash, Demon Sergeant Sarasa treated that thing like she was handling a piece of garbage. She then gave off her best smile but her smile looked very, very strained.


    It was plain to see that Demon Sergeant Sarasa was furious. Honestly speaking, she looked really scary.


    Beautiful women look really scary when they¡¯re angry.


    Demon Sergeant Sarasa stroked Ash¡¯s head and then picked him up. She then handed Ash over to me and gestured for me to go home. Margo was rapidly turning blue and Juno also became pale under the suspicious gaze of Executioner Elsa.


    It seemed there was nothing else I could do here. I could only apologize to Demon Sergeant Sarasa and Executioner Elsa along with those two men.


    While chanting a prayer for the safety of those two men, I left Margo¡¯s store. On the other side, Ash was wagging his tail left and right happily.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ash definitely knows what he¡¯s doing. He¡¯s a really good tracking dog~

 CH 123.2

    Chapter 123.2 : (Ash¡¯s POV) From Marriage to Ash¡¯s Bra Incident


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Ash. I¡¯m my master¡¯s partner!


    Big sister Sarasa was wearing a fluttering dress. Master said no so I tried my best to hold myself back from jumping at her!


    When Master was singing a song, big sister Sarasa cried. I wonder why?


    But even though she was crying, she looked happy.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Master told me that I had to house sit together with big sister Sarsa.


    No! I¡¯m going to get lonely!


    But my loneliness disappeared when big sister Sarasa hugged me.


    Huh? Big sister! It hurts! You¡¯re putting too much strength in your arms! Too tight!


    After Master left, big sister Sarasa murmured something while casting her gaze downward. After that, we went to big sister Elsa¡¯s place. They gave me milk. Yay~


    Big sister Elsa also casted her gaze down, murmuring something.


    I¡¯m going to welcome Master back! Yay!


    I jumped into Master¡¯s embrace. He smelled good!


    Huh?


    Big sister Sarasa and big sister Elsa were mad at Master and the others.


    Maybe they ate something they shouldn¡¯t eat?


    Don¡¯t fight!


    Ah! Something is hanging out from uncle Margo¡¯s clothes! I¡¯m curious!!


    That¡¯s right! I have a good idea!! I¡¯m going to pull the thing hanging out from uncle Margo¡¯s clothes to stop the fight!


    I pulled the thing hanging out from uncle Margo¡¯s pocket and brought it to big sister Sarasa. Then, big sister Sarasa praised me a lot.


    Ehehehe~ With this, everyone will become good friends again!~


    My name is Ash. I¡¯m my Master¡¯s partner!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ashhh! He has the best intention in his heart! Sadly Margo is a disappointment as a married man¡­. ???

 CH 123.3

    Chapter 123.3 : (Margo¡¯s POV) Judgment! What¡¯s the Verdict From Ash¡¯s Bra Incident?! Inspector Sarasa¡¯s Fair and Benevolent Judgment!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Margo. I just got married recently. I¡¯m married to a woman called Sarasa. She¡¯s beautiful just like burning flame and she also has a tempestuous temperament which is good too. She was a close friend of mine and then we became lovers and before I knew it, I was already asking her to marry me.


    I was happy. I was so happy that my vision got cloudy. I didn¡¯t have the slightest idea that a terrifying trap was waiting for me.


    I have a close friend. His name is Keigo. This guy¡­. Does he not have any carnal desire or something?! He¡¯s someone who¡¯s very wise and if it wasn¡¯t for me dragging him to a place where he could meet women, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll never get a girlfriend for his whole life.


    After all, he¡¯s a misanthropist. So much that he even refuses to live in a town where it is safe.


    And so, Juno and I came up with a plan. I was delighted but that was my very first mistake.


    The ¡°Ash¡¯s Bra Incident¡± followed not long after that. Keigo opened the door and left with Ash in his arms. His face was ghastly pale. But, I didn¡¯t have the luxury to worry about Keigo.


    ¡°What is this¡­.¡±


    Sarasa was hanging her gaze low as she muttered to herself. Her face resembled the color of a candle in the dark.


    I was trembling violently, it felt like my blood was being drained from my body.


    Just what is the best answer at a time like this?


    I couldn¡¯t stop the cold sweat from trickling down.


    ¡°Clo-¡­. Cloth?¡±


    Sarasa¡¯s eyes burst into flame.


    C-crap! I was wrong! I shouldn¡¯t have tried to deceive her! I¡¯ve made a grave mistake! If I don¡¯t do something, she¡¯s going to unleash her weapon!


    At times like this, the only thing I could do was apologize sincerely with all of my heart.


    ¡°I was deluded temporarily. I¡¯m sorry. I will never lose to temptation ever again! Also, Juno really hadn¡¯t done anything at all.¡±


    I apologized while kneeling on the ground. Juno was also kneeling on the ground next to me.


    ¡°I was really only going for a drink. Margo and I came up with that idea so Keigo could have a chance to find a girlfriend. I also think Margo was caught in temptation temporarily. Please forgive us!¡±


    And so, of course the two of them judged me as guilty. Juno was also guilty because he turned a blind eye on my crime.


    I received a suspended sentence on the condition that I¡¯d never step foot in the entertainment district ever again.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So? What do you guys think about a married man/woman going to umm.. Like stripclub or a club where they have staff ¡°entertaining¡± them?

 CH 124

    Chapter 124


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    It was midnight. I had successfully escaped from the land of carnage and returned alive. I then made soup using mylene herbs and dried meat.


    I was lost in my own thoughts as I stared at the crackling bonfire dumbfoundedly.


    I wondered why men were so fascinated by boobs. Even the men in this other world were the same. It seemed the issue was not in our DNA. When we were born into the world, the first thing that we saw was our mother¡¯s breast. Breast was the symbol of motherhood and peace of mind.


    Boobs came in different shapes and sizes, no boobs were alike any other. In the pursuit of boobs, men became boobs hunters and dared to venture into the land of carnage even though they knew well what was waiting for them there.


    I came to the conclusion that men¡¯s continued pursuit for various shapes of boobs was because the men were merely chasing after the shadow of their mother¡¯s boobs. It couldn¡¯t be helped that when presented before the sight of boobs, Margo¡¯s eyes turned into that of a chicago bulls. After all, it was a primordial desire and instinctive urge.


    This was an extremely important philosophical point of view so I wrote it down in my note. For a moment, I thought of presenting my philosophical point of view I had reached and stood in front of my friends who were still kneeling with pale faces but then, I felt chills running down my spine so I decided to forgo that thought.


    I¡¯m not that reckless. Head Defender Okuda, decided to make a strategic retreat.


    Men and women were creatures that could never understand each other.


    I concluded that we could never understand each other because of the difference in the way of our thinking on DNA level. That was the theory I used to reach that conclusion. I should try to unpack this for a little bit more.


    Boobs for men and boobs for women inherently had different meanings. When I saw a bra coming out of Margo¡¯s pocket, as a man, I could be more generous about it since it couldn¡¯t be helped, that was just the way it was. To my understanding, that just further became another proof of my hypothesis of men¡¯s primordial desire and instinctive urge.


    However, what about Demon Sergeant Sarasa? She didn¡¯t have the same primordial desire and so, she couldn¡¯t be as understanding as I was. The gap between the perception of boobs between men and women were so far apart, the distance could be comparable to a milky way.


    To be precise, the milky way that separated Orihime and Hikoboshi was the difference in perception of boobs between men and women itself.


    I looked at the twinkling, shining sky full of stars. Searching for the milky way in this other world while pondering about the mystery of the universe. While I was thinking about the mystery of life, I felt like the constellation of the stars in the sky resembled that of a boobs. How strange.


    That¡¯s right! Maybe this is how our ancestors remember the stars¡¯ constellations?!


    I decided to name the star constellation in the sky I had just found as ¡°The Boobs¡±. I wrote down the name of the star constellation and its shape in my note so I wouldn¡¯t forget about it. Then, I prayed to the stars for my friend¡¯s safety.


    The soup I had been cooking in the pot over the fire was completed at the perfect moment. I sipped the warm soup, warming my body to its core. After that, I went to bed. Ash was already waiting for me. He was curled up in a ball on top of the bed. I turned off the lantern light, held Ash in my arm and then closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I¡¯d already started to lose my consciousness to slumber.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`

 CH 125

    I woke up the next morning, thinking about how stupid the things I had pondered last night.


    Women are truly a strange creature. They will get angry when you say you¡¯re aiming for their bodies but they will also get angry when we say we¡¯re not interested in their bodies.


    Mentioning the word ¡°boobs¡± repeatedly in front of Sarasa and Elsa and then talking about the philosophy behind it would surely add more fuel to the fire. It was simply out of question and would only end up in them looking at me in disdain.


    Remembering about yesterday¡¯s carnage made chills run down my spine again.


    The point is, it¡¯s a matter of how you say it. Saying things like ¡°I like your body, I love you.¡± or ¡°I love your personality the most.¡± Even though both sentences are talking about the same thing, the latter can serve as a great pick up line and definitely won¡¯t make the women angry. I believe this is why people say that the fastest way to learn a foreign language is by flirting with a woman from another country.


    The difference in subtle nuances in language could greatly affect the results.


    While I was thinking about something trivial and insignificant, the musical trio started making their voices heard, asking me to feed them soon. After washing my face with cold water, I started taking care of them.


    The morning seemed to have gotten much colder.


    Which reminds me, what do the 4 seasons in this world look like?


    Since it seemed winter was coming, I needed to increase my rations and stock up on more firewood for warmth just to be safe. After that, I had to install a fireplace in the bedroom-cum-living room. I should talk to Margo about this.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After I finished eating a decent breakfast, I spent the rest of the morning chopping wood diligently. The sound of the ax hitting the wood felt pleasant to my ear. I really liked this kind of simple work that allowed me to work on an empty mind. However, even though wood chopping was a simple job, I really couldn¡¯t focus on it because the sweet smell of Yurina-san¡¯s and her pleasant voice kept on appearing in my mind vividly.


    But, I¡¯m sure this feeling of mine is nothing but a fleeting emotion.


    I, who had never stayed in love with someone for a long time, tried to analyze the situation calmly. In the past, whenever I went to a bar alone, it wasn¡¯t because I wanted to flirt with a beautiful woman. It was more because I wanted to have a conversation with them. Hence why I always choose an establishment where I could be at ease.


    It was nothing more than a mutual relationship where we both knew our boundaries. But somewhere along the way, we started becoming comfortable with each other and our relationship turned into something where we began caring for each other.


    That¡¯s right. I should try visiting that place for a while first.


    Saying that I was going to that place in order to learn the language of this world, it was merely an excuse I made myself so I could meet with Yurina-san again.


    I honestly think I¡¯m really a troublesome man myself.


    The older I got, the more I needed to find a reason behind my action. I felt like it¡¯d be so much easier if I could remain as a child forever.


    Then, I started to feel restless when the time for that bar to open was near. Just for a little bit, negative emotions and feelings of guilt started creeping up my mind.


    There he is. The sight of a narrow minded man that you can find almost everywhere.

 CH 126

    In the end I ended up coming to Yurina-san¡¯s bar that very night.


    You ended up coming here after all!


    I thought to myself but I couldn¡¯t care less. I really didn¡¯t have any more excuses.


    Talking with Yurina-san felt very relaxing and there were a lot of alcohols that I couldn¡¯t find anywhere else but here. There was no reason why I shouldn¡¯t come here.


    Before sitting down, I gave her a gift. Smoked herb chicken eggs. On the way to the bar, I went to check on Margo first. It seemed he managed to get through the land of carnage in one piece. I felt glad for him. I left Ash in Margo¡¯s shop.


    In this bar, they could serve you your drinks straight, watered down or on the rocks. I think the ice they used must have been created using magic since as far as I knew, there was no refrigerator in this world and there was no place nearby where you could harvest ice naturally.


    Yurina-san cut up the smoked egg I had brought for her as a snack while drinking. When Yurina-san tried having a piece of it, she also looked surprised just like other people. Judging from her appearance alone, Yurina-san looked young but she had the mentality of an adult woman. She knew exactly what I was wishing for.


    I was the type of a person who built walls around my heart. I was the kind of person that didn¡¯t want to have a physical relationship with anyone other than the person I could relax my guard with. I had a terrible experience where I carelessly got closer to someone and ended up hurting that person and hurting myself too.I felt like the older we got, the more we were unable to fall in love defenselessly.


    Yurina-san must¡¯ve seen through my heart in just one look. She tried her best to keep me entertained with drinks and talks. I always thought that I really couldn¡¯t beat a woman in this kind of thing.


    I wanted to know more about her. There were a lot of things I wanted to talk about with her. Through her words, I became interested in this town and in this world.


    How and where this liquor we¡¯re drinking is made? Are there any other towns in this world?


    I felt like the color of the scenery before me became more brightly colored. I also asked her why the moon in here was blue but to her, the moon was always blue. It was considered as something obvious in here. I jotted down all the information I got from her in my note.


    Thanks to her, this world, that I had absolutely no interest in, suddenly became more colorful.


    She suggested that we should exchange gifts.


    ¡°I want to know more about you so please give me the things you like the best.¡±


    I told her. On the other hand, I also added.


    ¡°I will also give you the things I like the best.¡±


    I needed to prepare a gift for her before I came here again.


    Before I knew it, the time I spent with her became a very pleasant experience for me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ah~ Love is in the air~ Also MC bringing smoked egg as gift is just


    (?©n?)


    Reminds me of a girl who got a wheel of cheese after her date with a farmer.

 CH 127

    After leaving Yurina-san¡¯s place, I immediately asked Margo to install a fireplace in my bedroom-cum-living room. According to the information I received from Yurina-san, it seemed the winter in this whole region was cold enough that you could even see diamond dust.


    I should be prepared for the Hokkaido-level cold. If it could get as cold as winter in Hokkaido then spending the winter without a fireplace would be tough. I gave gold coins to Margo in order to pay for my request and then I went to Sarasa¡¯s store in order to buy the materials I needed to make a present I promised Yurina-san.


    It seemed there was really no problem between Margo and Sarasa anymore. I felt glad to see that. Margo was the one that brought my shut-in self to that place after all.


    ¡°Go take a look at the outside for a little bit.¡±


    And it was really through Yurina-san that I developed an interest for the world outside. Sarasa didn¡¯t seem to have any particular problem with me going to see Yurina-san at the bar either. In fact, I felt like she was looking at me warmly instead.


    As for Juno and Elsa, it seemed they had somehow settled their issue themselves too. Juno and Margo must¡¯ve prepared a plan for me in secret. Sarasa and Elsa definitely had noticed and understood that.


    23:00


    When I arrived home, I spread out a piece of paper on a wooden board in the chicken coop. Then I started writing with the light from the lantern illuminating the place. On the left side of the table, there was my note that I wrote on a daily basis. In that note, there were the characteristics and information of plants and monsters I received from appraisal along with the drawings of the said plants or monsters.


    There was various information about this world I had collected and their folklore too. My observation of the stars alignment, cooking recipes too. Though I excluded any kind of recipe that might attract the attention of the noble.


    I took only the part in Lancaster language and copied it down smoothly on that piece of paper. The thing I wanted to give to her, my favorite thing, was a ¡®book¡¯. It might seem like it was a bad idea to give a woman a book I made myself but this was my most favorite thing. I couldn¡¯t think of anything else since we were set on giving each other a thing that we both most liked.


    Which reminded me, I once gave my past girlfriend a thing that I liked the best and her response was.


    ¡°It¡¯s too cheap.¡±


    She complained. Then things suddenly became so cold between us. I chuckled wryly at the memory of that time. They weren¡¯t interested in what kind of things I chose, they cared more about the price of the things I gave them instead.


    In other words, I came to the conclusion that¡­


    ¡°Ah, so she¡¯s not actually interested in me.¡±


    Well, the price of a book in this world was not as cheap as in Japan so I doubt she¡¯d complain to me because it was too cheap anyway. I had seen books being sold in Sarasa¡¯s store but they were all handwritten and the price was way too expensive.


    I was a little worried at how Yurina-san would react to my gift but I didn¡¯t want to earn a point from her by buying her an expensive gift that a girl would like just so I could get along better with her. If I did that, she¡¯d become interested in the gift, not at me. Giving gifts to a woman was a very complicated thing to do.


    Finally, I wrote a preface.


    ¡°To Yurina-san, from Keigo.¡±


    I bound the paper together with a leather strap and the book was finished. Yurina-san had given me a bottle of liquor I had partially drunk for me, so I decided to dilute it together with some cold water and drank it. The weather was getting cold so I sat down by the bonfire and stared absentmindedly at the blue moon.


    For some reason, the night sky looked a little bit different than usual. I wondered what kind of thing Yurina-san liked the best. I wanted to know more about her.


    Taking a few more sips of the liquor, I patted Ash¡¯s head, who was already curled up on the bed then I also slipped into the cover and fell asleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: My only concern is¡­ Out of all places in his house¡­. From his actual house to the blacksmith workshop¡­. Does he really need to make that book inside the chicken coop??? Won¡¯t the smell of the chicken get stuck on the book???

 CH 128

    The next day.


    During the day, Margo brought a bunch of workers with him to install a fireplace equipped with a chimney in my bedroom-cum-living room. I could also cook in that fireplace. After that, they made a small table with the leftover woods.


    To test the newly installed fireplace, I filled the fireplace with firewoods and lit the fire using a fire dagger. The heat from the fireplace was pretty warm and had an elegant charm to it. I was so happy that after they all had left, I diligently chopped more firewood. This time, I could finally let the thought of Yurina-san go from my mind and focus on chopping wood. I then temporarily stored the chopped woods inside the blacksmith workshop so that it wouldn¡¯t get wet from rain.


    The night came and showed my face at Yurina-san¡¯s place.There was one thing I noticed. I felt at ease when talking with this person. Perhaps for me, this must be the most important thing that I had realized. I had never felt ¡°at ease¡± with a woman that I had never met before. I think being in love might be synonymous with trusting someone. I might be only stating the obvious but, as a human, having a mutual trust was essential when you were in a relationship with someone.


    I handed her the book I had prepared as her present. When she saw the ¡°to Yurina-san, from Keigo¡± part, she smiled happily.


    Is a coincidence like this possible?


    To my surprise, our present to each other was the same. We both gave each other ¡°a book¡±. Moreover, Yurina-san included a dark blue top and bottom clothes for me. She said that she liked a man who wore this kind of color. I immediately changed into it and she seemed elated.


    Then Yurina-san told me the book she gave to me was a magic book. She also started reading my book and was surprised at the content of my book. Of course I tried to give her some money because I felt like the value of my gift for her was far below her gift for me but she refused. Apparently according to her, the book I gave to her was also worth quite a lot.


    I appraised the book Yurina-san gave to me. Then I found out that this book contained the basics of ice type life magic and that I could learn the said magic by opening the book and chanting the spell inscribed in the book.


    I immediately opened the magic book, put my palm on it and chanted the ¡°magic spell¡± by imitating Yurina-san. Then, sparkling snow crystals formed in the air and eventually formed together into a transparent small block of ice. The ice then fell into a glass that Yurina-san had prepared underneath beforehand, making a clinking sound as the ice hit the glass.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Ice Magic level 1.¡»


    I made ice using magic for her glass and mine so we both had liquor on the rock. The size of the ice could be adjusted depending on the time it needed to gather the magic power. I was able to create a beautiful round ice that was perfect for making drinks.


    It turned out the things she liked the best was also a book. I was really happy to know that.


    We both spend enjoyable time drinking the amber colored liquid with the sparkling, beautifully shaped ice made with magic.


    Our tender and enjoyable time together, passed by slowly.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: She gave our MC magic book and clothes?! Best girlllll! The book must be very, very expensive too since it¡¯s a magic book!


    ¦²(¡ã¥í¡ã)

 CH 129

    They said that happy times would pass by in the blink of an eye but I felt like the time I spent together with her seemed to flow slowly. If I were to describe it, it was like the slow current of a large river.


    When I opened the door to Margo¡¯s store, Ash immediately popped up with his nose twitching at me.


    Ash is really super adorable.


    I held Ash up in my arms, went into the store and found Margo and Sarasa were being intimate together. They were not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. They were already a married couple. The emotional distance between them felt entirely different. Because of that, I felt like this house was just like a warm fireplace.


    Though the heat I felt definitely didn¡¯t only come from the fireplace.


    When I was on my way home, a thought came to me. When I was spending my time in my own house, I felt like time was going by slowly. Maybe Margo and Sarasa were also feeling the same as me, that their time was moving slowly.


    The time I spent alone, the time I spent with her and the time I spent with Margo and the others. I liked all of them. The time I spent together with Margo and the others would fly by in an instant, it was like spending time at a festival. But, the time I spent with Yurina-san went by slowly. I couldn¡¯t feel the passage of time, like I was drifting in clear water.


    As for the time I spent alone¡­ When I was sitting by the fire alone or when I was laying in my bed, thinking about various things, I felt like I was in a cradle. Like I was spending my time in a small but complete world by myself.


    The time I spent together with her felt similar to that but there was a slight difference. It didn¡¯t feel like a moratorium or a festival. It was a strange and somewhat nostalgic feeling. She was just there, silently, not interrupting my thoughts.


    The small and complete world of a baby sleeping in a cradle, slowly expanding gently.


    It took me later than it should that this feeling I felt was just like a home with a tight-knitted family.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I guess when MC is alone, he feels complete in his own small world but now with Yurina-san, his small world is slowly expanding¡­. But in a good, comfortable way.

 CH 130

    When I was alone in my bed, I started thinking.


    Life is like weight training.


    Schoolwork and jobs were also like that. With each experience we accumulated, we could carry a heavier load on our back and we could achieve a higher level as a result. But at the same time, the higher your level, the more difficult it was to retrace your steps back. It might be easier to understand if I use this example. It was more difficult to quit a company that you¡¯ve worked for 20 years compared to 3 years.


    But then, what was the correlation between this with love?


    Love was a free thing, a romantic feeling that came all of a sudden. And basically speaking, age was irrelevant in love. Love always felt so fresh and moreover, no two encounters or farewell were the same.


    Although with each passing experience we became less inclined to hurt ourselves or others, the fact still stood that we still fell in love because we selfishly believed we were getting better at it.


    Sure enough, I still didn¡¯t know if this feeling could be defined as love either. Even though I was already this old, I still didn¡¯t know the answer to that.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So short! But anyway, it seems our MC is still confused with his feelings.

 CH 131

    For some reason I couldn¡¯t sleep well today. I kept on worrying endlessly in my bed. When I was alone, the incident that had happened in the past which caused a chain reaction to the incident that happened today, kept on popping in my head.


    I liked to trace back the thought process that had happened like that.


    The sin of being late is comparable to that of a murder.


    Suddenly that phrase came to my mind. Where did I hear that phrase? If I remember correctly, I must¡¯ve read that in some business book before. As for the meaning of that phrase, it meant that when we were late, we basically stole someone¡¯s time and stealing someone¡¯s time was equivalent to stealing their lifespan.


    I always act in consideration of others but of course, when I was alone, I didn¡¯t need to care about anyone else. But, the difference between when I was alone and when I was with other people was really extreme. I could only become selfish when I was alone. Generally speaking, other people were more selfish than me. I was always pushed around by others. In other words, when I was with other people, I was always deprived of my own lifespan.


    That¡¯s one of the reasons why I decided that I definitely won¡¯t interact with other people.


    A salaryman was the best example for this. I couldn¡¯t help but to feel that the company just kept pushing me for the sake of the company and that the company kept on stealing my lifespan. I was so busy with my job that the time I could spend with my family kept on decreasing. I couldn¡¯t even attend my special person¡¯s important event.


    ¡°For the sake of the company.¡±


    I didn¡¯t exactly know the reason why but I continued deceiving myself with that reason and I only finally realized if after I lost the most important thing in my life. And of course I couldn¡¯t turn back time. I couldn¡¯t get the lost time back.


    But, Margo, Juno, Sarasa and Elsa were different. They didn¡¯t push each other around. Well, in actuality they might be pushing each other around but it didn¡¯t feel that way to me. Though there was a business side to our relationship, for me it was more like¡­ ¡°I made this thing myself and they just happened to buy it.¡±


    So, I didn¡¯t feel like my time was being stolen by them.


    Then, what do I think about Yurina-san?


    So far, I didn¡¯t feel like she was the type that pushed others around. Not at all. I think she was a truly kind person who acted with consideration of other people.


    I see.


    I suddenly realized. It was not about stealing someone¡¯s lifespan. It was snatching each other¡¯s lifespan. It was about a destined person, a partner whom we could feel like we were sharing each other¡¯s lifespan.


    I couldn¡¯t help but to smile wryly because such romantic words like ¡°destined person¡± could come out from a self proclaimed lone wolf like me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: It depends on the sentiment and feeling. Yes, yes.

 CH 132

    I woke up early in the morning and I could feel the weather was starting to get much colder. I pushed the blanket away but it was too cold after all so I went back to sleep again. When I finally got out of the bed, I filled the newly installed fireplace in my bedroom-slash-living room and then I lit up the fire with a fire dagger.


    The gentle warmth penetrated the room slowly and gently. The wooden floor made the room feel even warmer. I brought the stump chair and placed it in front of the fireplace. Then, I sat in front of the fire and watched it with an empty mind.


    I washed my face and brushed my teeth with cold water in a bucket.


    I don¡¯t want to leave the house¡­.


    I, who was originally an indoor type of person, suddenly started going around¡­


    I put on the dark coloured clothes that I got from Yurina-san. The clothes were pretty thick. Since the weather was going to get colder from now on, I could use these thick clothes to dress warmly. I felt truly grateful for the present I received from her.


    Anyway for the time being, I went on to feed Ash and the other animals. As for myself, I had bread with dried meat and fruit juice. I ate my meal in my own cabin with my back against the fireplace.


    I¡¯m going to spend the rest of the day lazing around.


    I decided to practice light and ice magic while sitting on top of the stump chair since those two magic could be practiced inside of the house without any potential trouble. I could finally gradually move the ball of light in any direction I wanted. As for the ice, of course I could put it in any beverages but I could also use it while serving raw food like chicken sashimi by putting the ice underneath the food.


    I placed the smoking kit outside of the house to make smoked egg, cheese and venison.


    ¡°Hoam¡­¡±


    While yawning, I returned to my warm house. I looked at the time with my watch to punctually measure the time needed for smoking. As for the firewood, I had chopped a lot of firewood lately so I had a good amount of firewood stocked. I still needed to stockpile a lot of food and liquor for the upcoming winter though.


    Also, I needed something like a coat for when it started snowing. Sarasa¡¯s store must have clothes made from fur.


    But today, I would spend the rest of the day by the fireplace. I had already decided to do that after all. This kind of time was necessary for me. The kind of time where I did nothing and just let my mind go blank.


    If I had to think about other people everyday, I felt like my head was going to explode. Even though I said I already planned on doing nothing, I still wrote on paper. Collecting the thoughts in my mind, I wrote things like poems and folktales that came to my mind.


    Of course I also wrote about practical things like the result of appraisal from plants, animals and monsters. I wrote it right here and there and then I would sort each page according to their category later on.


    Currently, I was sorting the pages containing the description of monsters. The living room had enough light thanks to the light from the lantern and the fireplace.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    I made quite a lot of progress in my writing. Looking at the watch, I realized I had been working until it was pretty late. It must be proof that I was able to concentrate on my writing.


    I immediately started having dinner. I had the newly finished smoked food along with fruit wine.


    Just to test it out, I tried making ice using magic and put it inside the fruit wine. The wine tasted so much better like this. This magic was really a good thing to have.


    I slowly added more firewood to the fireplace. Ash was curled up comfortably beside the fireplace. Just like this, the warm, quiet and calm time passed by. Even if I spent my time selfishly like this, no one could criticize me.


    This is my most favorite and precious time.

 CH 133

    Today I was sitting in front of the fireplace, staring blankly while thinking. I think I lacked the feeling of attachment toward anything. I never felt attached to the company I worked for, money and most of all, people. When I came to this world, I had close friends. I believe this was the first time I felt scared that the value of our relationship could be destroyed.


    I think I had never been truly in love. Since I worked for a top tier trading company, I was pretty popular with women but I could never make any of my relationships last for long. It seemed my old girlfriends ended up feeling hurt because of my very lack of affection or they just felt tired and gave up on me.


    Relationships like that kept on repeating and it made me think that maybe I was not cut out for love. I would only end up hurting both my partner and myself by being in love so I came to the conclusion that I absolutely didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with love.


    But,after meeting Yurina-san, I realized something and changed my mind about it.


    Love is the byproduct of an attachment. Isn¡¯t it the kind of relationship with a value that is finally established after getting attached and being persistent even after you¡¯re getting covered in mud and injuries all over your body?


    When I think about that, I believe there was nothing more difficult to me than that. The essential thing here was not about whether my partner was attached to me or about my love technique or anything like that. The main problem was about how attached I was to my partner. Being attached to someone depended on my own feelings. I couldn¡¯t control my own feelings so basically, it was out of my own control.


    The more I think about her, the more I felt like I was lost in a deep and complicated maze. If someone asked me whether I like her or hate her, then I would definitely say I ¡®like¡¯ her. But, if someone were to ask how much I ¡®like¡¯ her, how deep my ¡®like¡¯ for her was, I would become at a loss for words.


    I don¡¯t understand my own heart myself. Why is love so complicated like this?


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I personally think that if it¡¯s about love, you need to think less and just feel more. Because really, love is illogical so even if you try to think about it, you won¡¯t find the answer you¡¯re looking for.

 CH 134

    Chapter 134


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    I felt like it had been a long time since I last came to Resta. I had purchased a thick and long fur coat from Sarasa for me to use in the winter and now I was sitting next to Yurina-san, drinking distilled liquor diluted with water.


    By the way, the water was produced with a water dagger that I had given to Yurina-san. She was very happy with the water dagger because clean water with high purity was regarded as something valuable here. Since it was a secret that I was the one who made it, I pretended that I had bought it from Margo¡¯s store.


    Communicating with her was the same as how I communicated with Margo and Sarasa. It was actually good that we couldn¡¯t converse smoothly. Even if I was acting egoistic, I at least didn¡¯t need to worry that I¡¯d upset her with my words. After all, humans tend to make careless remarks and act snobbish after drinking alcohol. Because of that, I didn¡¯t like to go drinking with someone I had only met for the first time or with a friend that I still couldn¡¯t let my guard down with.


    But I didn¡¯t speak the same language as the people from this world. Hence, I could drink without feeling worried. It felt amazing being like this. In fact, I think it was not necessary for me to fully understand the language of this world. After all, I could know the emotions of the person I talked to just from the mood between us.


    Yurina-san seemed to be a very calm person. I had never seen her feel upset or sad.


    ¡­..Though I didn¡¯t want to see her feel upset, let alone sad.


    If I appraised the written Japanese characters, the appraisal would show the Japanese character in Lancaster language so communication through writing was possible between us. However, communicating through writing was surprisingly difficult to do. I only communicated with her through writings when I couldn¡¯t understand her intention even after she explained it to me with words or gestures.


    Actually, I had been communicating with her with a mixture of words and gestures since a while ago but I still couldn¡¯t grasp the details of it. Well, it was good like this though. Neither of us could hurt each other with our drunken remarks. I couldn¡¯t help but to feel that talking with her felt very, very comfortable.


    I wonder why?


    I stared at Yurina-san¡¯s face from the side as she moved her hands slowly to make my drink. Suddenly, I was reminded of the feeling I felt when I was warming myself by the fireplace in my cabin. And at the same time, I felt upset at the thought of the things Yurina-san had to do with another man and the excessive body touching she had to do since she was working in a bar in another world.


    I couldn¡¯t really express the feelings I felt right now with words.

 CH 135

    The next day. I trained inside the perimeter of the stone wall like usual. I started my training with martial arts training, which was foot sword kick and then I continued on with practicing magic. When Ash started growling, I vigilantly scoured the area outside of the wall, looking for what made him growl and then, I saw a red bear monster loitering around outside of the wall.


    ¡¾Red Grizzly: A bear-shaped demon beast. A rare fire attribute variation bear monster that appears in autumn. Has the body of a bear with red hair.¡¿


    It was a monster with the color of autumn leaves. I fired the bowgun that was installed in the stone wall, in rapid succession. I was finally able to defeat it after the bowgun pierced through his forehead.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 16.


    HP:34?36


    MP:24?26


    Vitality:28?30


    Strength:38?40


    Intelligence:80?82


    Dexterity:38?40


    Speed:37?40¡»


    11:00


    I dismantled the red bear and cut the bear meat in thin slices to make a bear hot pot. I ate the thin bear meat slices in sukiyaki style by adding beaten herb chicken egg into the pot. The bear meat was overflowing with wild flavor but I guess depending on how I cooked it, the wild flavor could come out mild. But, there was one thing that kept my mind occupied when I dismantled the bear.


    ¡¾Red Grizzly Testicles: Has a powerful nourishing and strengthening effect. An ingredient to make recovery medicine. ¡¿


    I boiled the bear¡¯s thing together with irene herbs. I honestly didn¡¯t want to drink it but I wouldn¡¯t be able to know the result of the appraisal unless I tested it out myself first.


    ¡¾Egil Recovery Potion: Can recover HP (big) and can restore the lost parts.¡¿


    I successfully created a new item. The recovery effect was the best out of all other potions I had made so far but because you needed that thing to make this, I felt reluctant drinking it.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy level 7.¡»


    I thought to myself.


    ¡°I was attacked by a huge bear and then I beat it down with a bowgun. I disambled the bear and cooked it into sukiyaki.¡±


    I wonder what would happen if I said something like that at the company I used to work at back in Japan?


    I think I¡¯ve actually done some incredible feats.


    17:00


    While I was tanning the red bear skin, Juno and Elsa came by. I think this was the first time these two came by themselves here. I decided to make bear hot pot for them. The night felt a little cold but actually, the temperature created the perfect ambience to eat a hot pot together by the bonfire.


    I conversed with them using a combination of gestures and words. As I thought, communicating in a broken language felt really wonderful. I couldn¡¯t directly receive rude questions and I also didn¡¯t feel tired because I didn¡¯t need to be overly cautious with my choice of words either.


    They both knew I was going to see Yurina-san. Juno and Elsa asked what was going on with me and Yurina-san but I conveyed to them using gestures that I couldn¡¯t understand their question. Other than that, they didn¡¯t ask me any other questions regarding Yurina-san.


    Elsa said that she couldn¡¯t drink alcohol so I gave her rumi fruit juice. She looked a little exasperated upon seeing Juno and I chugging on alcohol while eating the delicious bear hot pot. It seemed Elsa really liked Ash since she kept on holding Ash in her arms. Sometimes, she¡¯d also blow the piping hot bear meat to cool it a little before she gave it to Ash.


    The sound of the insect had also changed compared to the sound of the summer insect I heard when I first came to this world. Maybe this was the sound of winter insects in this world? The leaves of the tree growing near the cabin had also started to change into various shades of red and yellow. This kind of scenery made me feel like wanting to eat freshly baked sweet potatoes.


    Right now, we¡¯re most probably entering the autumn season.


    Spending the night by the bonfire with my friends in this cold weather was really fun for me.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Back to alchemy! Also¡­ Testicles¡­ I also don¡¯t want to drink it¡­.. Unless I really, really have to.

 CH 136.1

    The next day, after I finished my daily routine, I decided to escort my friends who walked over to visit me, back to the town in my wagon.


    10:00


    I parted ways with Juno and Elsa then I headed off to Dan in order to report the red grizzly subjugation. The red grizzly¡¯s head would serve as the proof of subjugation. The guild point displayed on the guild card changed to 61 after reporting.


    After that, I handed the tanned skin to Sarasa.


    ¡¾Red Grizzly Skin: Has a small heat generation effect and is very warm.¡¿


    I decided to make it into a quilt. It seemed I could get two quilts out of it.


    12:00


    After having an adequate lunch, I went to finish my last errand.


    I was standing in front of the gate of Bavarian-sama¡¯s mansion. I saw Donny, the soldier, yawning while standing guard in front of the gate. I told him that I wanted to see Bavarian-sama.


    I was already acquainted with Bavarian-sama and he must have had a lot of free time ever since he retired from his position as the feudal lord of this town since I was immediately told I could see him right away. I was escorted into Bavarian-sama¡¯s office. I took an item out and placed it on top of the table.


    It was a potion inside a bottle. I was certain they had never seen anything like this in town before.


    ¡¾Egil Recovery Potion: Can recover HP (big) and can restore the lost parts.¡¿


    I knew someone who needed this item the most. That person was him. Someone who became disabled after a monster came flying and cut his right arm off. It was Bavarian-sama.


    I wrote down the result of the appraisal on a piece of paper. When Bavarian-sama and Donny read the paper, their eyes widened. Timidly, Bavarian-sama drank the potion. Then, on the spot where his right arm was supposed to be, particles of light appeared. Those light particles gathered together and his right arm was restored.


    Bavarian-sama was deeply moved to the point of tears. After crying and crying, he then vigorously shook my hand in gratitude. Above everything else, there was also one additional side effect, other than his restored right arm.


    Yeah. That¡¯s good. I was curious about that too.


    Since I had finished my errand here, I was about to go home when Bavarian-sama grabbed my arm. He told Donny to do something and a short time later, Donny returned with a big bag. It was a big leather bag filled with a large amount of gold coins.


    I told him I didn¡¯t need it but he insisted. It would be discourteous of me to not take their intention to return the favor into consideration so I accepted the leather bag.


    16:00


    When I stopped by at Sarasa¡¯s store, I found out that the red grizzly skin was already finished being processed into two quilts. I handed two gold coins to pay her but she said two gold coins was too much so she gave me some silver coins back. As a fellow merchant, I really liked her earnest attitude.


    Since I was already here, I bought a lot of firewood, food and alcohol until my wagon was full. As for the payment, I pointed toward the leather bag that Bavarian-sama gave to me and told her to just take the money as she saw fit but she instead counted all the price down to the last copper and gave me my precise change.


    This kind of attitude must¡¯ve come naturally to her as a merchant. I felt like she and Margo as well, took pride in their occupation as a merchant. Hence why I could trust her.


    17:30


    When I arrived home, I carefully stored the gold coin bag I had received from Bavarian-sama in a hidden safebox made with a mechanism under my bed. By the way, I didn¡¯t count the amount of gold coins I got because it was too much trouble to do so. All I knew was that there was a large amount of gold coins inside. Even though the cabin could be locked, it was better to take extra precaution. After all, monsters were not my only enemy.


    When it was time for me to sleep, I changed the blue wolf quilt I had with a red grizzly quilt. The red grizzly quilt was pleasantly warm. With this, I could keep myself warm enough when the cold season came.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: One additional side effect? Maybe restore Bavarian-sama lost brain cells?

 CH 136.2

    Chapter 136.2: (Donny¡¯s POV) The Miraculous RiUP


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Donny. I¡¯m a soldier employed by Bavarian-sama. I was keeping watch in front of the gate of Bavarian-sama¡¯s residence. I subconsciously yawned.


    Nevertheless, this was a very sleepy job indeed.


    I was reminded of a dish called sashimi that I ate at Keigo Okuda¡¯s house. I wished I could eat it again¡­


    I gulped down the saliva in my throat as I was reminded of the soft and juicy texture of the dish.


    Then, the very man I was thinking about, Keigo Okuda, came in a wagon. I guess even a rare thing could happen once in a while.


    Keigo Okuda said that he wanted to meet with Bavarian-sama. Right now, Bavarian-sama was taking a stroll in the garden. He didn¡¯t have anything special to do.


    I asked Keigo Okuda to wait for a moment and then I went on to get Bavarian-sama¡¯s permission. I then guided Keigo Okuda to the stable and secured his wagon there and then I guided him to Bavarian-sama¡¯s office.


    I knocked on the door before entering. I then stood next to the office¡¯s door, making sure I wouldn¡¯t become a hindrance to Keigo Okuda and Bavarian-sama.


    ¡°Keigo. I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve come. Please, sit down first.¡±


    ¡°Thank,you.¡±


    As always, he was still speaking in a broken language.


    Keigo took a seat on a sofa that was part of the luxurious seating set. Then he took a bottle out of his bag and placed it on top of the table. He then wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it over to Bavarian-sama.


    Upon reading the content of the letter, Bavarian-sama¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Unable to contain my curiosity, I took a peek at the paper.


    ¡¾Egil Recovery Potion: Can recover HP (big) and can restore the lost parts.¡¿


    The most important thing written on the paper was ¡°restore the lost parts¡±. I¡¯ve heard about potions that could restore someone¡¯s lost part but this was the first time I actually saw it with my very own eyes.


    Bavarian-sama timidly took the potion into his hand and slowly drank it. Then, light particles started to accumulate and his right arm was restored. It was just like magic. No, it must be magic for real. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I started to tremble at the sight.


    ¡°Donny, bring a big bag of coins.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    I showed the treasurer the note from Bavarian-sama and then carried a big bag filled with 2000 gold coins back to the office as soon as possible.


    But Keigo-sama gestured that he didn¡¯t want to be paid. What a man he was. I honestly admired this man¡¯s selflessness. Keigo Okuda had saved Bavarian-sama twice, someone I had pledged my allegiance to. This was the moment I became greatly indebted to him.


    The change didn¡¯t only affect Bavarian-sama¡¯s arm. His hair, that had turned gray and thin due to the shock of losing his arm, also returned to its black and luxuriant self just like when Bavarian-sama was still young!


    I had a stupid thought in my mind that maybe baldness was also considered as a ¡°lost part¡±. A lot of the people in the upper echelons had problems with hair loss. If this thing became widely known, things would definitely become very troublesome.


    I vowed to keep my lips sealed shut for the sake of my great benefactor.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: WELL NOW NOW NOW, TURNS OUT THAT POTION CAN BE USED TO FIX HAIR LOSS?? Our MC will be in deep deep trouble if this fact becomes known. Red bear will become extinct too. Also RiUP is a Japanese brand for hair loss medicine. Do you guys have hair loss medicine in your place too? Here, we have hair loss PREVENTION serum/oil/whatever but not hair loss medicine.

 CH 137

    What if you have a billion yen on a deserted island? How will that money help you? Of course everyone will say that the most important thing when stranded on a deserted island is to have survival skills and basic supplies like food, shelter and clothes.


    In a world filled with lesser dragons flying in the sky, money might not have that much value. Having enough money to buy the basic necessities so you could keep on living was more than enough. What was important was the freedom to spend your time as you pleased and not having your lifespan taken by other people.


    Time is money might not be entirely correct.


    Time and money were never equal. For me, time was far, far more valuable than money.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Today, I was planning on making iron plates in the size that I could put in a drum. I crushed merman scales to give water attributes to the iron plates.


    I had been thinking about transportation problems when it was snowing in the winter. It seemed that it¡¯d be difficult for me to carefreely fetch water from the river in a drum with a wagon like I used to do. So, I decided to make an iron plate that could produce water, or ¡¾water board¡¿and installed them on a drum to store water for a bath.


    The water produced was clean but it was producing water at extremely low speed. One drum wouldn¡¯t be enough so I made 3 drums in total. Furthermore, when snow started to pile up, I could also melt the snow and use it for a bath.


    Just about time. I had just finished making 3 water boards. My whole body was drenched in sweat, making me want to take a bath. I really wanted to take a bath right now so I loaded the empty drums in a wagon and went to the river to fetch water for my hot bath.


    18:00


    ¡°Fuah¡­.¡±


    I exhaled deeply and my breath turned into steam. Looking up to the sky, the blue moon looked unusually bigger than usual. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind. I didn¡¯t think about Yurina-san at all today. People really couldn¡¯t live only for love, unlike what they showcased in TV dramas.


    You need to put in a lot of effort in order to live a real life. For example, I spent the whole day thinking about how to get enough water for a hot bath.


    My boss used to say that I should ¡°compromise¡± and that I had no dream since it seemed at this rate I would never get married.


    Is what my boss said true though?


    Compromise, get married and build a family. I think the people who actually made that happen were amazing and I didn¡¯t have the right to say otherwise. However, no matter what, I couldn¡¯t think of anything more valuable than the relationship I created with my close friends in this strange world.


    By the time I realized it, I had found myself becoming a pitiful creature who was analyzing myself calmly and objectively after getting so excited at the thought of her.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: A roller coaster of emotions~

 CH 138.1

    Chapter 138.1


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    The next day, I got lost deep in my thoughts while taking care of the leaves in my field. I remember during my time in Japan, there was a song with a lyric that went something like ¡°Sleeping under the bed won¡¯t change anything¡±. And another thing called ¡°8040 problem¡±, a term created by the mass media. It referred to the problem of parents in their 80s that still had to provide for their shut-in child who was already 40s years old.


    Then I thought to myself.


    What¡¯s so bad about psychosocial moratorium?


    It was wrong for a third party, someone who was not related to have a say in anything. Society existed for the individual, not that the individual existed for society. Ordering other people to do something was basically making that individual a victim of society. I had experienced it myself the gravity of society¡¯s sin for forcing people to live as a corporate slave. Each individual should have the freedom to choose how they live.


    But in the end, it all boiled down to the problem of money. Although being a parasite to their 80 years old parents was not a commendable act, I still think that as long as both parties had mutual agreement then there shouldn¡¯t be any problem with it.


    My parents were worried about what would happen after they died but when I tried to see myself in this situation, in a situation where I became a real loner, it made me want to say ¡°what about it?¡±.


    Humans, when they were put in a situation where they became a real loner, they could somehow manage better than expected. In this world, there was no welfare assistance or anything like that. Hence why I wanted to live freely and leisurely without following what the society forced me to do.


    I could spend my whole day holed up in my hut, writing, or single-mindedly tend to the field or chopping firewood. Even things like potion making and blacksmithing, I did it out of my own volition, without any coercion from anyone. The things requested by Margo too, I simply did so in the name of friendship.


    It wasn¡¯t that I was completely self-sufficient. I still needed to receive favor from the people in Resta but I still had the same mindset despite that.


    I guess it was a bad habit of mine.


    Having my freedom taken away unreasonably.


    I could hear the footsteps of winter approaching. Soon enough, it¡¯d be too troublesome going back and forth to town. Once again, I had the sudden impulse to sever all of my ties with other humans.

 CH 138.2

    Chapter 138.2: (Heinrich¡¯s POV) Codename TSUTSUMOTASE


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Resta von Heinrich. I¡¯m the one ruling this town called Resta.


    Recently, a few strange incidents have happened. My father¡¯s right arm was healed and his white, bald head with only scattering hair remained, became luxuriant with black hair. I pressed a question to both my father and Donny about what had happened but they would never disclose the truth to me.


    But then, it finally dawned on me. My father and Donny gave a fleeting glance toward a bottle of potion.


    ¡­. Most probably this was Keigo Okuda¡¯s doing. Since I already had a guess, I went to collect evidence with the treasurer. Apparently my father had rewarded Keigo Okuda with money for the medical treatment.


    Fufufu¡­. Now what should I do?


    A lot of nobles had troubles with baldness. Even the king of this kingdom, Lancaster Kingdom, had a shiny bald head. If I could cure his baldness and take credit for it¡­ Just thinking about the reward I could get from the king already made me drool. Selling it to the other shiny baldy noble would surely fetch me an enormous profit.


    If such a valuable thing existed, then I wouldn¡¯t have anything to say about Keigo¡¯s cooking. I shall turn Keigo Okuda as my personal potion factory and turned him into my slave. But, I needed to do something about my father¡¯s interference.


    That¡¯s right. Maybe I can pull off a ¡®tsutsumotase¡¯ on him. I shall name it codename: TSUTSUMOTASE.


    First, I needed to dangle money to the thugs that had some subordinate stationed in the pleasure district and then, after luring Keigo Okuda with a woman in the pleasure district, the thugs would threaten him and then kidnap him. From then on, I could force Keigo Okuda to make a cure for baldness for me for his whole life.


    Fufufu¡­. It¡¯s a perfect plan, if I may so myself.


    Ring~


    I quickly rang a bell while sitting in my office.


    ¡°Did you call for me, Heinrich-sama?¡±


    ¡°Jill, I have something I need you to do. I will tell you about my plan and then you will head to the pleasure district immediately.¡±


    I told Jill the details of my plan and then handed him a bag of gold coins.


    ¡°Well then, I shall take my leave. Heinrich-sama, you may entrust everything to me.¡±


    Today, from Heinrich¡¯s mansion, a figure of an elderly gentleman clad in all black from head to toe could be seen dashing toward the pleasure district while completely erasing his presence. However, no one really knew the elderly gentleman¡¯s true identity.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I think the TSUTSUMOTASE is a word play of two words. One is ÃÀÈË¾Ö (tsutsumotase) meaning a scheme in which a man and woman trick another man into a compromising situation for blackmail. Then another one is ¥Ä¥ë¥Ã¥Ñ¥² (TSUruppage) meaning a bald man so bald his head is sleek and shiny. Or maybe it¡¯s only ÃÀÈ˾Ö? But I like to believe it¡¯s a play of 2 words~

 CH 139

    I was all by myself at night. Sitting on the table while letting my pen run through a piece of paper with a lantern lighting the room. I wonder how many days have passed since I arrived in this strange world as I glanced at the date shown on my wristwatch.


    The days I spend in this world are getting longer. Well, it¡¯s only natural since the temperature outside is starting to change too.


    Today, I was planning on thinking about the hypothesis about ¡°declining birthrates is an inevitable phenomenon due to the popularization of internet usage¡±.


    The things that occasionally popped into my head were often more important than I expected. So everytime it happened, I always tried to gather my thoughts and left it in writing.


    Now then, let¡¯s get to the main issue right away.


    In a period without the internet or social media. Humans could only communicate through direct one on one communication. However, as the internet became popular and due to the development of social media, the world of human¡¯s communication became much wider and at the same time, more diluted.


    People started to get comfortable with shallow relationships. Because the burden on the mind became light, it was now possible to prevent the overcapacity of the mind by being selective of who you communicate with.


    Contrary to that, the burden on the mind regarding love was extremely heavy. In fact, you could even define love as the overcapacity of the mind itself. Humans were creatures that instinctually would go in the direction where the comfort and ease were at. The developments of science and technology was also the by-product of our base desire for comfort.


    As a result of that, humans started to refuse anything that could cause the over capacity of their mind and so, the inclination to refuse love was born. People no longer felt comfortable in being in love.


    If people stopped being in love and direct communication dramatically decreased, it was only natural there would be no children born. Maybe we could conclude that this was the reason for the declining birth rates?


    I had a lot of things I worried about regarding Yurina-san. In other words, my mind was at over capacity. And then, my brain, which already became dependent on the internet society, deemed it as not a good idea and caused my heart¡¯s self-defense mechanism to activate.


    I like her but my mind is rejecting that feeling.


    You could think my seemingly contradictory attitude was based on this behavioral principle¡­


    Suddenly, I felt sad and so, I placed my pen on top of the table. I calmly dug deep into my heart, searching every nook and cranny but instead of finding an understanding, I came to believe that there was no human more miserable than me.


    I¡¯m going to drink today. I still have the distilled liquor I received from her.


    And so, after emptying the bottle of distilled liquor so I wouldn¡¯t be reminded of her again, I hid in my bed and cried.

 CH 140

    I went to the river early in the morning and when I was cleaning the fish I caught right here and there, I found that the fish was packed full of eggs that tasted similar to cod roe. To prevent food poisoning, I used ice magic to freeze the fish before I brought it back home with me. (Though Poison Resistance also worked against food poisoning so I should be alright but well, I still freeze it just to be safe anyway)


    After I thawed the fish, I pickled the fish roe, which tasted similar to cod roe,  in salt. Aside from the portion I was going to make into sashimi, the rest of the fish meat would be turned into dried fish.


    While I was processing the fish, suddenly there were 3 beautiful women donned in a coat approaching the gate of my hut. They seemed to be appealing to me about something but I couldn¡¯t understand them since they were speaking in the Lancaster language. Also, for some reason, Ash was growling.


    For the time being, I approached them and using gestures, I asked ¡°is there anything I can do for you¡± to them.


    The women then clasped our hands together and said ¡°please help us!¡± using gestures. There was no way I could leave these women standing outside in a cold weather like this even though they were wearing a coat, so I decided to invite them into the hut where there was a warm fireplace.


    After I finished preparing the fish and washed my hand with cold water, I also went into the hut. Then, the lightly dressed ladies who had taken their coats off, stood from the stump chair by the fireplace and clasped my hand with theirs as they said ¡°thank you¡± to me in the Lancaster language.


    I could smell a nice scent coming from them. Reflexively, I was about to lose my self-control in front of these women. Geez, they were really tempting, like a poison in my eyes.


    I then urged the ladies to sit back on the stump chairs. I boiled hot water in the fireplace to make marble herb tea for the ladies, since their bodies seemed to be cold.


    I asked them what had happened and apparently they were running away because they were being chased by someone. From the way they were dressing up, it seemed they had run into some sort of trouble in the red-light district. The blacksmith workplace was empty so I pointed toward the blacksmith hut and using gestures, conveyed to them that they could stay there as long as they liked.


    Once again, the ladies said ¡°thank you¡± to me and before I knew it, Ash had grown quiet around them.


    19:00


    I decided that I should go to sleep early today because I was tired after taking care of other people today. Something that I hadn¡¯t done for a long time. I had prepared a hot bath for the ladies outside and so, I gestured to them that I was going to go to sleep first and then, I went under the covers.


    Phew¡­ Finally I can be at peace.


    I really liked this moment more than anything else.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    I fell asleep immediately as soon as I hit the bed but then, I was woken up suddenly. The three ladies, clad only in lingerie, were coming into my bed. They slammed the door shut and with a bewitching smile on their face, these beautiful ladies sidled up to me.


    ¡°Wai-Wait a moment¡­ Please wait!!¡±


    Out of reflex, I yelled in Japanese. On the other side, Ash snorted at me and curled up on top of the bed again, looking exasperated.


    But, when I was barely exchanging offense and defense against these three beautiful women, Ash suddenly growled.


    BAM BAM BAM!!


    Someone was violently banging the door of the hut.


    What?


    With a hellfire sword in one hand, I opened the door and there, I saw a guy with a mohawk hairstyle that looked like a thug. The mohawk guy took out a long and slender sword and pointed it toward the ladies. He was saying something and then he jeered at me.


    Maybe he was saying something along the lines of ¡°how dare you get your hands on my women?!¡±.


    Ah.. Is this¡­ The so-called ¡®tsutsumotase¡¯? The one where they¡¯re trying to trap me by using a woman to seduce me?


    The mohawk guy put down a bottle of potion in front of me and said that I had to give him this. It was at this point that I could guess who sent this guy. I assumed he was talking about the potion that I used to heal Bavarian-sama¡¯s missing right arm.


    If that¡¯s the case then¡­


    I went outside and distanced myself from the mohawk guy. Brandishing my hellfire sword, I sent a fireball flying to the mohawk guy and made his hair caught on fire.


    Screaming, the mohawk guy rolled his body on the ground. Then, the mohawk guy vigorously thrusted his head into a bucket of water.


    Psssshhhh¡­.


    The mohawk guy had transformed into an afro guy.


    The afro guy then stood up and ran away while threatening me, saying something that I assumed was ¡°you will regret this!¡±.


    I then glanced at the ladies, their faces were ghastly pale.


    Tsutsumotase, huh¡­. I know it¡¯s a trap but I don¡¯t really understand what¡¯s going on. It is against my principle to kick out a woman when it¡¯s cold outside. I¡¯m basically soft against women so I can¡¯t really act harsh against them.


    While I was at a loss of what I should do, Margo and the others came in a wagon. When I saw who was coming here together with Margo, my eyes widened in shock subconsciously.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: ¡°Poison in my eyes¡± is like something bad that is better not to be seen otherwise, you will want it.

 CH 141

    Yurina-san was riding the wagon together with Margo. She looked worried but once she saw I was all safe, she looked relieved instead.


    However, that moment was nothing but brief since Yurina-san¡¯s mood suddenly turned sour once she took a good look at me.


    After that, Yurina-san talked with the three beautiful ladies that were trying to trap me. It was already late at night so it was decided that they would stay at the blacksmith hut for tonight and then they would return to town in the wagon tomorrow.


    Once again, I received another apology from the three beautiful ladies.


    At Margo¡¯s suggestion, we also decided to hold a party in the bedroom-slash-living room. I also invited the three beautiful ladies to join us but as I expected, they felt bad for their malicious intentions. Since it was getting pretty late, I only made something simple. Using herb chicken eggs, cheese and the pickled cod roe, I made rolled egg with cheese mentai.


    Margo became stiff when he tried the cheese mentai rolled egg. In addition to cheese mental rolled egg, I also served smoked meat and smoked egg as an accompanying snack for drinking.


    Yurina-san had a perpetual smile on her face but she refused to make eye contact with me. I tapped her on the shoulder and gestured to her that I wanted to talk with her outside. Yurina-san and I sneaked out of the warm hut and went outside, where we could hear the incoming footsteps of winter.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    ¡°Haah¡­¡±


    Our white breaths were dancing together. Yurina-san was holding both of her hands in front of her mouth, trying to warm her hands. She was shivering slightly from the cold so I gently draped an ash wolf mantle over her shoulder.


    Suddenly¡­


    ¡°Yunos¡­¡±


    ¡°Snow¡­¡±


    Over voices interlapped.


    The glittering snow was fluttering down. It was a scene I had often seen in Hokkaido. It was something called ¡®diamond dust¡¯. Our voice was gently wrapped up by pouring snow rain and did not reach the hut. As she stood there looking at the sky  with the slightly shining snow as the background, she looked just like a fallen angel with pure white wings.


    With her cheeks puffed out, she was pouting. She was upset at me for not showing my face at her place without saying anything.


    As I thought, she can see through my cowardice. I¡¯m really no match for her¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I like you.¡±


    I conveyed my feelings to her in broken Lancaster. Her expression then slightly brightened.


    Then, after a brief silence, as if she was pondering about something, she said.


    ¡°Me too. I like you too.¡±


    And then once again, the curtain of silence befalls between us. All of the unnecessary noises were drowned out by the sound of the gentle snow falling quietly but when I was with her, the silence didn¡¯t feel unpleasant in the slightest.


    It was nothing but a peaceful and gentle moment.


    I brushed off the angel¡¯s cold wing that adorned her beautiful hair. It¡¯d be terrible if she were to catch a cold. While I watched the snow fall, I unconsciously slowly hummed a tender Christmas song. My mother always sang this song while we were putting up Christmas decorations.


    Then, suddenly she hugged me and gently stroked my head. I felt as if I was being wrapped by an angel¡¯s wings. Apparently without even realizing it myself, inexplicable feelings filled my heart for some reason and I ended up shedding tears.


    She looked at me worriedly so I smiled and wiped my tears while saying,¡°I¡¯m alright now¡±.


    After that, the two of us laughed while holding hands together and facing each other as the night sky was filled with the fluttering snow. I could clearly remember the intense impulse to break things off that dominated my heart disappeared somewhere together with the melting snow on top of my palm.


    When she was in trouble, I would be the first person to come running helping her. I wanted to always be by her side when she felt sad.


    In this magical night sky with dancing angel¡¯s wings, I swore to become her sword and shield.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Wow, our MC is so romantic in this chapter.

 CH 142

    Yurina-san and I were holding hands while watching the fluttering snow crystals for a while. Our glittering white breath was the tell-tale of how cold the outside air was but strangely enough, I didn¡¯t feel cold in the slightest. Instead, my heart felt warm, like I was sitting by the fireplace. But, I didn¡¯t want her to get sick because of the cold.


    Just when I was thinking that we should get back into the hut soon, suddenly I could hear the loud falling sound of the barrels that I had lined up next to the hut¡¯s wall. At the same time, Ash came running at full speed and jumped on me.


    I caught Ash into my arms and fell on my back. Ash then licked my face excitedly.


    Looking at the falling barrels, I saw Margo, Juno, Sarasa and Elsa. Apparently, Ash, who was currently being held in my arms, was unable to hold himself back and came rushing to me.


    With an awkward, embarrassed expression on their face because they got found out, my best friends approached us. When I threw Ash onto the snow covered ground, he kept on running in circles, as if he was trying to congratulate Yurina-san and I.


    My best friends who were drawing near, unanimously said ¡®congratulations¡¯ in a teasing, merrily way. Juno and Margo were even whistling through their fingers at us.


    These guys¡­  Just how long have they been watching us?


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After that, we had a drinking party along with snacks in order to celebrate Yurina-san and I¡¯s love story. I had never even dreamed that such a joyful night would come before me. I didn¡¯t make soup from mylene herbs as a way to get back at them for peeking at me.


    On a night like this, let¡¯s drink the night away until we have a hangover.


    The cheese mentai rolled egg received a very favorable praise so I made another batch of them and served them on the table. At this rate, it seemed it¡¯d take me until tomorrow¡¯s late afternoon before I could send the three ladies sleeping in the blacksmith hut back to Resta.


    While thinking ¡®good grief¡¯ to myself, I gulped the liquor with ice in one go as I watched the crackling firewood in the fireplace. When I glanced at Yurina-san who was sitting next to me, I saw her shrugging her shoulders as she chuckled. She must¡¯ve known what was going on inside my heart.


    Yurina-san was starting to get sleepy, she was nodding her head off so I brought her to my bed and tucked her in warmly with the quilt made from red grizzly bear fur. As soon as I finished tucking her in, she immediately fell asleep. The sound of her cute sleeping breath could be heard.


    As for me, I wrapped myself in a futon while hugging Ash in my arms. Furthermore, Margo and the others were also going to use the quilt made from fur that they had always used when they stayed the night at my place. These quilts were something that Sarasa brought to my house on her own.


    And so, I lost my consciousness to sleep before long with Margo and the other¡¯s jovial singing voice as the background music.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The issue is resolved peacefully~ Our MC is not a harem king so honey trap won¡¯t work on him~ He¡¯s too apathetic after all.


    ©´(¡ä-£à)©°

 CH 143

    After merrymaking until dawn, I found myself waking up on the floor near the fireplace instead of in my bed like I usually did. Every joint in my body ached.


    Come to think of it, I gave my bed to Yurina-san so I was sleeping in a huddle on the floor.


    Pushing the quilt away, I looked at my surroundings. Margo and Juno were splendidly sprawled on the floor, with both their arms and legs outstretched to the side while snoring loudly. Sarasa and Elsa had fallen on my bed, sleeping there. While Yurina-san had already woken up and started fixing her appearance.


    I said ¡®good morning¡¯ to Yurina-san. For some reason, I felt bashful.


    Unable to stand how cold the room was, I put firewood on the already extinguished fireplace and lit the fire again with a fire dagger. Suddenly, I felt like taking a bath. While preparing breakfast, I decided to take a bath while watching the snow later. As the menu for our breakfast today, of course I prepared a soup made from mylene herbs. I seasoned it with salt and added herb chicken eggs. Then I cut vegetables in an adequate size to serve as a salad.


    Yurina-san also helped me with both the cooking and bath preparations. I guess I should say, ¡®as expected from a professional!¡¯ since Yurina-san didn¡¯t have any hangover.


    When I went outside, I was greeted with the sight of a complete snowscape. Maybe because they were tempted by the smell of food, the ladies from the entertainment district came out from the blacksmith hut. They looked unkempt and disheveled, making me turn my head away reflexively. Flustered, Yurina-san immediately told the ladies to fix their attire.


    I let the ladies from the entertainment district and Yurina-san take the bath first while I prepared food for a large number of people and served them up on a table in the living room. I gave a soup made only by using detoxifying herbs to Margo, Juno, Sarasa and Elsa. They were all still pale and had practically fallen dead asleep from a hangover.


    I shrugged my shoulders and thought ¡®good grief¡¯ to myself seeing them like this before I started eating breakfast.


    The ladies from the entertainment district and Yurina-san came into the living room, having finished with their bath. They also started eating breakfast. Since they had finished with the bath, I then went out to take a bath while watching the snow.


    Phew¡­  Taking a bath while watching the snow like this really has a nice charm to it.


    I could feel all of the stiffness in my body due to sleeping on the floor being untied apart. Saying that the snow felt warm might sound like a contradiction but I really felt that way. Both my mind and body felt peaceful.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    09:30


    I felt bad if the ladies had to wait for Margo and the others who were still down from hangover so I decided to escort the ladies from the entertainment district back to town on a wagon myself. It was cold sitting on a wagon like this so I brought quilts made from fur to wrap our body with.


    I left Ash with Yurina-san at home.


    On our way to town, we were surrounded by 3 kobold fighters. They were equipped with scimitar and shield. But, we received help from blue wolves who came out from their hiding place.


    Taking the opening given by the blue wolves that kept the kobold distracted, I fired my bow with ¡®sharpshoot¡¯ skill. I successfully shot the kobold fighters at their head one after another.


    After the fight, I stroked the head of the blue wolves that approached me. I also fed them dried meat that I had brought in my wagon and healed their wounds with a potion. Having finished with their business, the blue wolves then left us.


    The ladies from the entertainment district who had been watching this scene unfold looked surprised. Their mouths were gaping open.


    After safely escorting the ladies from the entertainment district back to town, I parted ways with them at the city¡¯s gate and went to the guild in order to hand over the kobold fighter¡¯s claw as a proof of subjugation.


    Since I didn¡¯t have anything particular to do in town except for reporting the kobold fighter subjugation to the guild, I decided to track back the wagon wheel¡¯s trace on the snow field back to home.


    On my way home, I loaded the empty wagon with the corpse of the three kobold fighters that I had left behind and continued on with my journey back to home.


    14:00


    When I arrived at home, I dismantled the kobold fighters together with Margo and Juno who had recovered from their hangover.


    I appraised the meat.


    ¡¾Kobold Fighter Meat: quite delicious.¡¿


    That was the result of the appraisal. So I decided to eat the meat as a steak. We had a large amount of kobold meat. It was impossible for us to finish all of the meat so I decided to make dried meat using the portion of the meat that I wouldn¡¯t cook today.


    As for the kobold fighter¡¯s emerald green fur, Sarasa, Elsa and Yurina-san helped me in tanning the fur.


    16:00


    Today, all of us had our stomachs full of foods made from using kobold fighter meat.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Trying hard to not think of kobold meat as dog meat.


    (?£ß? )

 CH 144

    18:00


    Margo and the four others, along with Yurina-san, got on the wagon to return to Resta. Feeling worried that Yurina-san might feel cold, I brought a quilt made from fur and wrapped her in it.


    While feeling embarrassed, Yurina-san said ¡®thank you¡¯ in Japanese. Just like I was learning some words in the Lancaster language, Yurina-san was also learning some words in Japanese.


    Somehow, I felt happy.


    And so, Yurina-san returned to the town in a wagon together with Margo and the others. Although she kept on looking back at me, appearing to be reluctant to leave. I just stood there, not moving an inch amidst the fluttering falling  snow until I couldn¡¯t see the wagon she was riding on.


    ¡°Hachoo!¡±


    I let out a magnificent sneeze. Although I had wrapped myself in an ash wolf mantle, it seemed I still had lost quite a bit of my body heat.


    ¡°Kuuun¡­¡±


    Ash was whining worriedly while looking up at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Now then, let¡¯s get back inside.¡±


    I opened the door to the cabin and the warmth of the living room gently wrapped myself and Ash.


    ¡°It¡¯s so quiet here¡­¡±


    I muttered to myself. The bustling liveliness that was here a while ago felt like a lie now. And, that thing suddenly came to my mind.


    The feeling of loneliness.


    I want to meet with my lover.


    I want to fool around with my close friends.


    I don¡¯t want to be all by myself.


    I¡¯m such an idiot.


    Having a me time is more important than anything else? Ha! How laughable. Aren¡¯t I the one who easily succumbs to loneliness easier than anyone else?


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Didn¡¯t have anywhere else to throw these feelings away,so I threw my mantle on the bed with a thud.


    I wonder how Yurina-san is doing right now? She seems accustomed to dealing with drunk men.


    However, I seriously couldn¡¯t stand the thought of those beasts with ulterior motives in their mind gawking at her body, like they wanted to lick her all over. In fact, I even had this urge to kill those beasts.


    I scratched my head with my right hand, pacing back and forth in the room like a bear. I was feeling restless.


    ¡°Meddling in on her job is not a nice thing to do, but¡­.¡±


    Seeing the unsightly state I was in as I kept on mumbling things that even I couldn¡¯t really understand, Ash snorted exasperatedly at me.


    The next thing I knew, I was already picking up the ash wolf mantle I had thrown on the bed and got on the wagon to go to the entertainment district in Resta, the place where Yurina-san worked.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: We need Yurina-san¡¯s POV here. If she enjoys her work then I think MC shouldn¡¯t stop her from working but if Yurina-san also doesn¡¯t feel comfortable with the hungry gaze, then it¡¯s okay for her to stop working.

 CH 145

    ¡°Haaah¡­.¡±


    I let out a deep white breath while holding Ash inside my mantle. The trace of the wheel from the wagon Yurina-san riding on had already disappeared due to the snow fall that was pouring incessantly. The light from the town was the only guidepost I had.


    The wagon made a rattling sound as I went through the snow covered road. I saw a goblin on my way to town but because the goblin didn¡¯t come approaching us, I just let the goblin be.


    21:00


    After a while, the town¡¯s gate came to a view. I raised my hand at the gatekeeper as I went into the town. I then parked the wagon in the stable at Margo¡¯s shop. The night was getting late, he might be already sleeping so I didn¡¯t call out to him because I didn¡¯t want to wake him up.


    I put Ash on the ground and walked through the bustling street. Ash was trotting along behind me, leaving his adorable paw prints on the snow-covered road.


    Finally, I could see the establishment where Yurina-san worked. I came here on a spur of a moment burst but now, I feel kind of embarrassed.


    However, I had come this far already. Whatever. I decided to open the door leading to the establishment and leave the thinking for the later.


    If there was one moment in my life that I could refer to as the ¡°no turning back¡± moment, this must be it without any doubt. Right now, I was already at my wit¡¯s end though so actually I didn¡¯t really think twice about that kind of thing at all.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Hearing the sound of the ringing doorbell, the ladies said ¡°welcome¡± to me in the Lancaster language. When I entered the establishment, I saw those beasts ogling on my precious Yurina-san¡¯s body with their dirty eyes.


    I called out to her and nonchalantly forced my way in between those beasts and Yurina-san, who was holding on to a silver tray.


    Just like what I had suspected, those beasts were really gawking at Yurina-san.


    Yurina-san looked surprised but she must¡¯ve already sensed what I was feeling based on my gesture since she jumped into my arms happily. On the other side, Ash was sitting near my leg, looking up to me while inclining his head to the side. The other ladies were excited to see how adorable Ash was acting. Over the course of visiting this establishment several times already, Ash had become some sort of mascot character of this place.


    Ash was being hugged by all the ladies in turn, like they were playing a bucket relay game. Ash seemed happy too since his tail was wagging so fast that I was afraid his tail might get torn off.


    I sat down on my usual seat with Yurina-san still sticking to me. As for the beasts, they were looking at me angrily.


    I used ice magic to make two circular rock ice and put it inside the glass. Yurina-san then poured a small amount of distilled liquor that you couldn¡¯t find in anywhere else but this establishment, making a liquor on the rock for both of us.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Ice Level 2.¡»


    The ¡®mama¡¯ of this establishment then came to greet me. At first glance, she looked like that grim-looking female pirate from that floating castle anime.


    I politely returned the greeting. I should never go against this person. My instinct told me so. My danger sense was also reacting to this person.


    After spending some peaceful time with Yurina-san for a while, I heard the sound of the establishment being opened roughly along with 5 guys who looked like a thug came pounding in.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: For anyone wondering, this is Captain Dola from Laputa, Castle in The Sky. I never watch the show myself either, the reference from this anime is too old for me to understand so I had to google it but I THINK, I¡¯m 99% correct? This must be the pirate lady MC is talking about, right?

 CH 146

    The 5 thug-looking men looked around the inside of the establishment and then the skinhead man walked toward us.


    Hm? Now that I look at him closely, the skinhead guy, isn¡¯t he the afro guy from the other day? The one that tried to honey trap me? I guess he¡¯s the type of guy that¡¯s quick to change his hairstyle.


    ¡°¡Á¡÷¨‹¡ð¡ð£¡¡±


    I could see his vein popping out on his temple as the skinhead guy shouted about something. I guess it was given that he¡¯d be angry, given the fact that his hair got burned and then turned into literally barren land.


    Feeling bad for the skinhead guy, I gave him a bottle filled with¡¾Egil Recovery Potion: Can recover HP (big) and can restore the lost parts.¡¿and gestured for him to drink it.


    The skinhead guy looked unconvinced but he still drank the potion.


    I wonder what¡¯s going to happen next.


    The skinhead guy¡¯s head was engulfed in particles of fleeting lights and then, his head completely returned to its original state. In fact, his mohawk hair was a little bit longer than before.


    All of the other four mens who appeared to be the mohawk guy¡¯s underling  pointed at the mohawk guy¡¯s head and cheered.


    Good, good. Now then, I guess that settles our problem.


    Once again, I returned to enjoying my time relaxing and drinking with Yurina-san.


    ¡°¡Á¡÷¡Á¡ð¡ð¨‹£¡¡±


    The mohawk guy pointed his finger at me and said something at me again.


    What is it? I thought our business was already done here.


    And then, to my surprise¡­


    The mohawk boss forcefully pulled Yurina-san¡¯s arm and carried her away. Yurina-san immediately screamed.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°¡Á¡Á¡ð¡ð£¡¡±


    At the same time, Mama hit the mohawk boss¡¯s solar plexus with her straight punch attack and I hit his mohawk hair with my hellfire sword. The mohawk boss was thrown onto the wall with fire burning on his mohawk hair while I quickly went over to Yurina-san, checking if she was hurt or not.


    Apparently, she didn¡¯t seem to be badly hurt or anything.


    Thank goodness.


    However, I couldn¡¯t bear to let Yurina-san keep on working in this place given the danger she was in. I told Yurina-san ¡°run away¡± in the Lancaster language and she nodded her head while laughing mischievously.


    I gestured to Mama that I wanted to take Yurina-san with me. Mama¡¯s expression then turned sour, she looked just like a demon. She was much scarier than a bunch of thugs. I took out a leather bag filled with 300 gold coins and held it out to Mama.


    Mama still didn¡¯t break out of her sullen expression though but when she looked at the sight of the two of us happily holding hands, she pointed her chin to the exit, as if she was saying ¡°go¡± to us.


    Yurina-san hugged Mama and said ¡°thank you¡±. Mama¡¯s expression then turned tender, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.


    While all of these were unfolding, the thugs were starting to get back on their feet. I had been so frightened with the existence of Mama that I had completely forgotten these thugs were here.


    The fire on the mohawk guy¡¯s fire had been extinguished and his hair turned into an afro. He became the afro boss. He was really the type of guy that changed his hairstyle in rapid succession. The afro boss looked angry, he was glaring at me.


    Don¡¯t glare at me like that. Aren¡¯t you just paying for your own mistake?


    Mama¡¯s face turned furious again as she faced the thugs with her arms folded together.


    ¡°Ash!¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    Ash jumped down from the lady¡¯s lap and ran toward us. And then I ran out of the establishment while pulling Yurina-san¡¯s slender hand along.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The miraculous potion is being used as hair growing potion¡­.

 CH 147

    Two people and one dog. Hands joined together, long and white breath coming through their mouth as they ran through the bustling entertainment district that was covered with flickering snow. The people who got curious and observed the running couple for at first, lost their interest before long and eventually entered the establishment they had planned to go in.


    Yurina-san looked like she was feeling cold so I put the ash wolf mantle over her shoulder. From behind me, I could hear the sound of the establishment¡¯s wooden door being kicked open.


    The Afro Boss along with Lackey A and Lackey B came out from the establishment while Lackey C and Lackey D were somehow being handled by Mama. Those thugs were holding swords, axes or other weapons in hand.


    I signaled Yurina-san to crouch and hide behind the shadow of the building. I made a shushing gesture to Ash and he sat down like a good boy he was.


    ¡°Ice!¡±


    I aimed my magic power toward a puddle of water on the bustling street. The puddle made a crackling sound and turned into basically a skating rink. Then I drank dual potion (medium) so I wouldn¡¯t run out of magic power. After that, Afro Boss, Lackey A and B came approaching us.


    ¡°Wind!¡±


    SWISH!


    ¡°Kyaa!!¡±


    This time, I aimed my palm toward the skirt of the ladies in the entertainment district who were touting for customers. The skirt of the ladies flipped magnificently, making the ladies scream.


    I¡¯m really sorry.


    Afro Boss, Lackey A and B were running with all of their might toward us but their necks made a 90 degrees turn in order to stare at the ladies¡¯ panties. The Afro Boss and the lackeys were easily charmed by the ladies. The three thugs then accidentally put their feet onto the puddle of water I had frozen.


    BAM!!


    The slippery puddle gave zero friction resistance, making the thugs unable to hold their footing and all three of them fell to the ground magnificently with the back of their heads hitting the ground first. They had been running with all of their might so the fall made quite an amazing sound.


    The three thugs fainted with the white of their eyes showing. They didn¡¯t even move an inch.


    They¡¯re not dead, right?


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Wind level 4.¡»


    ¡°Ouch-¡±


    Yurina-san pinched my arm, her cheeks were puffed up. Apparently she wasn¡¯t happy because I had flipped the skirt of the ladies.


    I apologized to her, saying ¡°sorry¡± while scratching the back of my head with my right hand.


    I took the sword, axe and other dangerous weapons from those three unconscious thugs and then I hurried Yurina-san and Ash to get to my wagon.


    Two people and one dog, riding on a wagon. We¡¯d be alright now. It was cold sitting on top of the wagon so I put a red grizzly bear quilt on Yurina-san who was sitting next to me.


    Then Yurina-san, who was sitting next to my right on the driver part of the wagon, turned the left edge of the quilt toward me. She then placed her head on my shoulder, warming my body and soul. Ash, who was riding on top of the wagon, sniffed at us, as if he was trying to say ¡°me too!¡± and so, I held him in my arms.


    For a while, Yurina-san and I went to the city gate on a wagon in silence. None of us were trying to start a conversation. The old man guarding the gate gave us a thumbs-up with a wide grin on his face, gesturing ¡°good luck!¡± to us.


    If it was the usual me, I¡¯d feel bothered by it but for some reason, I just couldn¡¯t care less about it at all.


    While riding on top of the rattling wagon, Yurina-san and I stared at each other in silence.


    And then, the two of us shared a long and sweet kiss.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    We were on our way home. The snowfall had already stopped. In a world surrounded by snowscape as far as your eyes could see, the sky was perfectly filled with stars and adorned with the sparkling big, blue, full moon.


    The blue wolves were howling simultaneously toward the blue full moon.


    For me, I felt like the howling sounded like the wolves were blessing our escape from the town.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I feel like it¡¯s really romantic that MC and Yurina-san can connect their heart despite the language barrier. Like, there¡¯s something in chemistry level (?), instinctual level (?) that connect them together.

 CH 148

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to stop if you think it¡¯s too hard. It¡¯s okay to run away if you want to run away. I might cry but nevertheless, I will still love you.¡±


    She told me so. I never thought someone like her could exist. She could see through all of my feelings. She knew everything about my misanthropy disposition and still fully accepted me as I was. She also prepared a way for me to escape.


    She became my everything.


    It was just like a miracle.


    I had never met anyone like her.


    The best I could do in order to keep her from crying was by writing in a paper like this so I could sort out my feelings. I couldn¡¯t really know for sure that the urge to be alone and to be left alone wouldn¡¯t ever come again. But, in regards to my relationship with her, I was absolutely confident that things would be alright now.


    On a hard night when I felt alone, I was certain she would hug me and lured me into a dream while being filled with an overwhelming euphoric feeling.


    I already couldn¡¯t live without her. Until the day she died, I would always become her shield and sacrifice myself for her sake. I would do all that so she could keep on living.


    She might get angry if I said that out loud but I was certain sacrificing myself for her would be for the better. She might get away by merely feeling sad over my sacrifice but as for me, if she was gone, I would definitely die.


    I think for me, that¡¯s what being in love is.


    Cooking was one of my fortes. I¡¯ve cooked a lot in this world. I wanted to let her eat a lot of delicious food. I wanted to see her smile.


    Everything in my life also belonged to her. Today too, I was thinking of making delicious food so I could prevent her smile from disappearing.


    She liked to knit so in order to keep the room warm, I would chop firewood today as well. She knitted while I wrote. The slow passing of time that I spent with her was an irreplaceable moment for me.


    Even after both of us grew old, even after we became grandfather and grandmother, I would still tell her that I love her every single day.


    That was why, we¡¯d definitely be alright.


    Living and dying together.


    That¡¯s all there is to it.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: In male MC isekai novel like this, we don¡¯t get to see the MC getting very deep in unraveling his feelings so I actually really like this kind of chapter. It¡¯s nice to know how sincere and deep the MC¡¯s feelings for Yurina.

 CH 149

    In the evening, only the sound of the crackling firewoods could be heard. I was appraising the thoughts that I had written in Japanese and then writing down the appraisal result, which was in the Lancaster language.


    My writing looked just like squirming worms. It must be hard to understand what I wrote. It made me want to jab at myself, saying that my writing looked like arabic script. Although lately, I have been getting used to writing down the Lancaster language.


    After I finished writing my letter, I looked at Yurina-san.


    She was quietly sitting on a chair while knitting. She was knitting vertically so I guess she might be making a muffler or something. I had asked her earlier what she was making but she put her forefinger in front of her mouth instead, gesturing to me that it was a secret.


    Let me be honest here. She was so adorable.


    I called out to Yurina-san and then I handed out the letter I had been writing, as if I was handing out a love letter to her.


    No, I just realized after handing it to her that this letter itself is undoubtedly a love letter.


    Even though we were this close, I felt like I was exchanging letters with my long distance lover living in a distant country. Since Yurina-san and I had different native languages, there was a limit to what we could communicate verbally or with gestures.


    However, there was one way where we could communicate our thoughts without miscommunication. It was through writing by using appraisal to translate the written letter. If there was something we wanted to convey accurately without fear of miscommunication, we¡¯d do it through writing. This was something that the two of us had decided.


    Yurina-san looked at the letter I had written over and over again. Tears began to well up in her eyes before it eventually dripped down.


    Oh no. I only wanted to make her smile but I ended up making her cry instead. What should I do?


    She tucked the letter carefully into her pocket and then she hugged me. I slung my arms over her shoulder. She looked up at me, her eyes were moist with tears.


    Then for the umpteenth time, I slowly put my lips over her lips.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After that, I exchanged many love letters with her. She also wrote down the reason why she fell in love with me.


    I was happy.


    I decided to keep the promise I had written in the love letter. In the love letter, I wrote that I would cook a delicious meal because I wanted to see her smile.


    The menu of our meal would be cooked by using the deer meat that I had received from the blue wolves. I made deer sashimi and steak but there was one more thing I wanted to make. I guess I¡¯d make cheese mentai rolled egg.


    I cooked together with Yurina-san, while feeding deer sashimi to Ash who was scurrying around our feet.


    Since we were having a meat dish today, let¡¯s pair it up with milan wine.


    Yurina-san and I sipped on milan fruit wine as we cooked. Unable to keep our patience, we kept on feeding each other deer sashimi while laughing.


    For some reason, the deer sashimi tasted 4 times better than usual.


    I never thought that the day would come for a recluse like me could suddenly find myself in such a domestic everyday life like this.


    It was a happy and sweet days.

 CH 150

    T/N: I received so many kofi but I don¡¯t have much stockpile so I¡¯m just going to post all of my available stockpile today. I¡¯m sorry guys, I can¡¯t translate as much as I used to because I have a new baby.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    After the two of us plus one animal had a happy meal, I sat on a table in front of the fireplace by myself with my chin leaned against my hand, getting lost in my thoughts. Yurina-san and Ash were already deep in the dreamland, maybe because their stomachs were full.


    By the way everyone, do you know the meaning or the origin of the word ¡®honeymoon¡¯? The literal translation is ¡®honeymoon¡¯ but it actually refers to the month of the couple¡¯s marriage. It seems the word is created based on the sweetness of the newlywed life and that sweet life will soon wane just like the full moon.


    Right now, I felt so happy that I felt like I was living in a fleeting dream. My everyday life with Yurina-san was so sweet, just like a honey. It made me wonder whether this world with its beautiful blue moon and everything else was also a fantasy of mine.


    This blue moon I saw was completely different from the moon I used to see back in Japan.


    How could I firmly say that the full moon wouldn¡¯t wane or disappear and that the moon I saw wouldn¡¯t be the only familiar thing I used to see from Japan?


    I am an irregular factor in this world. Basically, I¡¯m not an existence from this world. In this world, I¡¯m an unnecessary picture in a flipbook. Like a wave that pushes and returns back. Like a metronome ends up getting stuck at the right side.


    Isn¡¯t it the general rule of nature for things to come back to where it belongs? What if I suddenly wake up and find that I¡¯m the only one who has returned to Japan? What if I suddenly find myself separated from Yurina-san and Ash?


    I¡¯m sure my heart will be broken apart.


    I would keep this hypothesis of mine away from her, who was already sleeping on the bed before me because it would only make her feel anxious.


    Well, this is what people refer to as a ¡®death flag¡¯.


    I somehow managed to get rid of my anxious ridden state by staring at her adorable sleeping face as she continued to sleep soundly on the bed. I reminded myself that I didn¡¯t need to worry about that.


    Yes. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be alright. After all, this sweet life I have with her is real. I need to sleep. If it¡¯s by her side, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to fall asleep.


    I quietly turned off the light from the lantern on the table and then, I slipped into the bed where she was sleeping.


    I stroked her soft and fluffy hair.


    The faint sweet scent coming off from her soothed my mind and before I knew it, I already drifted to dreamland.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC¡¯s worries are understandable. After all, MC doesn¡¯t have a God or something that gives him a tutorial introduction at the start of this isekai.

 CH 151

    The next morning, I took care of the animals and trained while Yurina-san cooked breakfast. While we were doing so, Margo and Sarasa arrived with Yurina-san¡¯s luggage.


    Margo and I carried the heavy wooden closet into the bedroom-cum-living room.


    Now then, I¡¯m going to get into cooking as a way to thank Margo and Sarasa.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After that, I decided to go fishing in the river.


    Apparently Margo and Sarasa couldn¡¯t forget the taste of the cheese mentai rolled egg from the other day so they pestered me to make it again. However, I didn¡¯t have any fish roe left so I had to go and get some first.


    After donning my equipment, I packed my fishing gear and headed to the river. I entrusted Margo, Yurina-san and Sarasa to take care of the house while I was gone. There was no way I could leave the women alone in the house since there might be other people like that Afro Boss coming to attack us again. Ash, who was being held by Yurina-san, was also staying at home.


    10:30


    After kissing Yurina-san goodbye, I slowly drove through the snow-laced field to the river in a wagon.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: This chapter is so short! Too short!

 CH 152

    After leaving the house, I slowly drove the wagon through the snowy road toward the river.


    When I arrived at the river, I saw something laying on the ground. It was a merman¡¯s corpse. The body was littered with holes all over.


    Sensing something disturbing, I raised the level of my vigilance. I checked my equipment. I had my bow and arrow, two swords and there was nothing amiss with my armor either.


    I stopped the wagon, raised my shield up and activated ¡®Fortress¡¯. I approached the merman to take a closer look at it. As I thought, the merman was pierced by some sort of needle.


    BAM!


    And then suddenly something hit my shield. Some sort of a big needle tumbled to the ground. On the surface of the water, two huge shadows emerged.


    Those things were sea urchins. However, their size was strange. I tried to use appraisal on them.


    ¡¾Giant Urchin: A huge echinoderm monster. Attack by using flying needles. Weak to lightning attribute. Serpent is Giant Urchin¡¯s natural enemy.¡¿


    It seemed Giant Urchin was on a lower level of the food chain than that giant snake. Maybe the ecosystem around this place went into ruin because of my own hunting and the guild¡¯s subjugation activity.


    I readied my shield and pulled out my Wolverine Thunder Sword.


    Carefully, I observed my enemy. The giant urchin shot their needle roughly every 3 seconds. I waited for the timing and then I ran diagonally toward the giant urchin.


    SMACK! RIPPLE! RIPPLE!


    I approached the giant sea urchin and when I managed to position myself slightly in front of it, I stabbed the giant sea urchin with my sword. Then, I distanced myself from the other giant sea urchin before I defeated the last one using the same motion with the first one.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 17.


    HP: 36¡ú38


    MP: 26¡ú28


    Vitality: 30¡ú32


    Strength:40¡ú42


    Intelligence: 82¡ú83


    Dexterity: 40¡ú43


    Speed: 40¡ú41¡»


    I cracked the defeated sea urchin open and used appraisal to check the content of it.


    ¡¾Giant Urchin¡¯s Ovary: Extremely delicious.¡¿


    I took a bite of the so-caled extremely delicious thing.


    Hap¡­ Melt¡­ BOOM!


    Thunder roared behind me.


    Purple sea urchin from Rishiri Island, a first class urchin that grew up to become so delicious by only eating the kelp from Rishiri Island, paled in terms of deliciousness before this giant sea urchin. Not to mention this huge size. No wonder even the serpent would go crazy over this and live by eating this giant sea urchin.


    It seems today¡¯s meal will be sea urchin.


    I could imagine the happy faces of those three people plus one dog. I originally planned on fishing in order to procure some fish roe but I decided to change my plan.


    While being careful of the spines, I put the giant sea urchin on the wagon and went back home.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: TIL that ¡®uni¡¯ is the sea urchin¡¯s genital. Turns out the uni we eat is not the sea urchin¡¯s roe or body but its genital. I thought ¡®uni¡¯ is the body part¡­ Like the part we eat from clams¡­

 CH 153

    I arrived at my home in the evening. Upon arriving, Ash immediately jumped on me.


    Ash is really the cutest thing in the world.


    Margo, Sarasa and Yurina-san who were coming out to greet me, inclined their heads to the side upon seeing me bringing back the giant urchins or should I say, the huge uni.


    I guess the people in this world didn¡¯t eat sea urchins. Though when I think about it, just who would ever think of eating such a grotesque thing like this? I couldn¡¯t help but to think the ancestors who ate this sea urchin first were really amazing.


    Now then, let¡¯s take our time to make a sea urchin based dish today.


    While I was preparing the sea urchin, I decided to boil water for a drum-bathtub in order to relieve the fatigue from my body after battling today.


    First thing first, when you think of sea urchin based dish, of course raw sea urchin is the best.


    The brined raw sea urchin that was served in a glass together with salt water at a restaurant I went to before was both exquisite in appearance and taste wise.


    Let¡¯s prepare it like in that restaurant.


    I laid out the glass and put the raw sea urchin in the salt water. It would taste better cold with ice in it so I put the ice I had made with magic in there too. Then, I served it on the table in the living room.


    Margo, Sarasa and Yurina-san became stiff after they scooped the raw sea urchin into their mouth with a spoon. Then, they started eating the raw sea urchin with great vigor. When they finished, they handed me the glass back like they were offering a prayer. The glass was completely devoid of any raw sea urchin, only salt water remained.


    Sarasa, you¡¯re ruining your beautiful look when you have food scraps in your mouth.


    After preparing another serving of raw sea urchin, I decided to make an omelet with raw sea urchin in the open fire stove.


    I beat herb chicken eggs together with raw sea urchin and cheese and finished it off by frying it on a pan until it became fluffy. I seasoned it with salt and my secret ingredient, bargo fruit wine. Finally I finished the dish off by adding raw sea urchin on top of the omelet.


    I made 5 omelets for all of us, Ash included.


    The rich scent permeated through the room, Ash¡¯s fur became sticky from drool.


    I guess after this I need to take a bath together with him to make him all clean and pretty again.


    ¡°Ice.¡±


    The ice was added into the glass with a clinking sound. Yurina-san then poured some distilled liquor into the glass. This distilled liquor was the one that Mama had given to me, Yurina-san, Margo and the others. I continued making fluffy sea urchin omelets while sipping a glass of distilled liquor.


    When Margo, Sarasa and Yurina-san ate the omelet, their reaction was beyond my expectation. They were crying while eating it.


    Maybe the alcohol is getting into these guys?


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After making a good amount of food, I decided to get into the drum-bathtub. Cooking felt worthwhile if I could make them happy to that extent.


    With an iced glass of distilled liquor on one hand and a towel on my head, I soaked in the tub.


    Phew¡­


    Ash was dog-paddling happily in the tub.


    ¡°This is the best.¡±


    I sighed in the midst of a steam drifting to the sky. There was no cloud in the sky tonight. The clear winter night sky was adorned with stars.


    Suddenly, I could see someone approaching me. I couldn¡¯t see clearly because of the steam. Maybe Margo was coming to urge me to cook more omelets?


    ¡°Keigo¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough! Cough cough¡­!¡±


    But as soon as the figure became clear to me, I immediately coughed magnificently thanks to the distilled liquor entering my trachea because of how surprised I was.


    Yurina-san was coming to get into the tub. Her naked body was only covered by a piece of towel.


    Overwhelmed by embarrassment, I turned my body away completely from her. Maybe because she became embarrassed as well after seeing my reaction, Yurina-san also turned her back on me.


    Ah, my shoulder is touching Yurina-san¡¯s shoulder.


    Her soft, fair skin felt like a silk against me.


    Inside the drum-bathtub, two people were completely stiff with their backs against each other. Our faces were bright red.


    Just who gave her this idea? Those idiots. Sarasa must be the biggest culprit and Margo the second.


    Ash jumped down from the drum-bathtub with a splash, as if he was exasperated. He shook the water away from his body, splashing water everywhere.


    Anymore than this is definitely impossible for me, in one way or another. I don¡¯t mind even if they call me a coward.


    Since Ash had given me the perfect opportunity, I gestured to Yurina-san that I would be going first. Then, I successfully left the place with Ash in my arms.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ahhhh! I hope Yurina-san doesn¡¯t think MC hates her or anything! MC is just awkward and needs to take things slowwwwwly! Yurina-san! Please don¡¯t misunderstand!

 CH 154

    I got out of the drum-bathtub before Yurina-san and wiped Ash¡¯s body with a towel. After I finished getting dressed, I returned to the living room with Ash in my arms. I didn¡¯t have the heart to find out Yurina-san¡¯s expression after I had left her to soak in the bath.


    Sarasa was grinning from ear to ear upon seeing my completely bright red face.


    So you¡¯re the culprit!


    ¡°Wind.¡±


    Swish~


    While sitting in front of the fireplace, I used ¡®wind¡¯ to dry my hair and Ash¡¯s wet body. It was important to dry your hair so you wouldn¡¯t catch a cold in winter.


    Swiiiiiiiish~


    At that moment, the door to the cabin was opened with a clank. The cold winter wind was blowing into the living room together with Yurina-san who had finished bathing. Yurina-san¡¯s cheeks were puffed magnificently. As soon as our eyes met, I could see a vision of a flickering burning blue flame behind her.


    Maybe she¡¯s mad because I left her alone in the bath?


    I handed her a letter that said ¡°beautiful Yurina-san¡± written on it. The burning flame behind her changed from blue to red and the puffed cheeks became slightly smaller.


    In addition, I also showed her another letter that said ¡°I like you. I love you, Yurina-san. I¡¯m sorry for running away before¡±. The fire behind her was completely extinguished and her smile finally returned.


    She then slipped her arm into mine and gestured to me to dry her hair as well. Gently, I stroked her hair and used wind magic to dry it.


    Although I felt like I wanted to have a few words with Margo and Sarasa who were watching our whole exchange from the start to finish with a lukewarm gaze in their eyes. I recommended them to take a bath and the two of them went for a bath together, showing how intimate they were.


    We still had some raw sea urchin left. The party continued on until late at night, complemented with a side dish that in my opinion, was not an exaggeration to say that it was the best food I had ever tasted since I first came to this world.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N:Good thing the issue is resolved quickly~ Also, I personally don¡¯t like uni either. I tried one in Japan and I don¡¯t really like it. The¡­ Sea flavour is fishy for me. Maybe it won¡¯t taste as fishy if you mix it with egg? But I feel like it¡¯s a waste to use such an expensive ingredient like uni to make an omelet.

 CH 155

    The shock of the raw sea urchin finally ran through me after the party. I was writing in front of the fireplace while everyone else was dead asleep from drinking. I could hear the scratching sound of the pen running through the paper. I really loved this indescribable scent of ink.


    When I first arrived in this strange world, I was already happy enough that I could sleep on a bed. Ash then came to me and I became even happier. Right now, impossible as it may seem, I even had someone I love, my girlfriend.


    She was in danger because she got caught in my problem and so, I took her away from the town. At that moment, I certainly felt like a hero from a manga, the main protagonist, so to say. Now that I had become a hero, I had something I needed to protect too. That something was the real deal this time. Something that was really precious to me.


    I couldn¡¯t pretend to be a lone wolf anymore. The hero had to protect the heroine, at least that was so according to the conventional belief. As for the enemy, I guess it would be that nobleman called Heinrich. I like this house but it was a different matter entirely if there was the possibility of her being in danger if we stayed here.


    I had plenty of money. Maybe I could entrust the livestocks to Sarasa and pretend that we were going on a long, long honeymoon by riding the wagon I had.


    I¡¯m not alone anymore.


    When tomorrow comes, I should try to discuss this with the three of them after they wake up.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: They don¡¯t have marriage ceremony yet but they¡¯re already jumping to honeymoon~

 CH 156.1

    T/N:Last chapter for today~ I hope I will see you guys soon~ ?(?? ? ? )?


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    The next day, I showed the letter I had written and translated to Yurina-san, Margo and Sarasa in that order. Yurina-san looked happy while Margo had a difficult expression on his face as he stroked his beard and Sarasa looked sad with her eyes downcast.


    Since this was an important matter to discuss, we sat surrounding a table and communicated by using a mix of gesture and writing. We talked about Bavarian-sama¡¯s right arm and how the potion cured it. We also talked about the thugs that came attacking us which ended up making me have to take Yurina-san away. The thugs were most probably sent by Bavarian-sama¡¯s son, Heinrich. I told them everything without hiding anything. I also told them that since I had healed Bavarian-sama¡¯s arm, he might¡¯ve helped me if I asked him to?


    Based on the information from Yurina-san¡¯s place and the vast connection Margo and Sarasa had from doing business, it seemed Bavarian-sama and Heinrich were in a power struggle. They said it might be difficult for Bavarian-sama to be able to hold Heinrich down.


    Also, there was the possibility of Bavarian-sama being blinded by greed again too.


    In the end, the conclusion we all reached was the same as mine from last night. If the noblemen were to utilize all of their power for real, it wouldn¡¯t be long before we got captured without being able to resist.


    In other words, it¡¯d be best for me and Yurina-san to get on a wagon and go on an elopement journey.


    Sarasa yelled,¡±You can¡¯t!¡± but Margo talked to her to make her understand that this was the best course of action.


    Margo gave me the map of the surrounding area. Up until now, I never had the need for this map but from now on, I will be living on the run after all. I thanked Margo and read the title of the map. It said ¡°Map of Lancaster Kingdom¡±.


    ¡°Keigo. I will definitely defeat that damned Heinrich together with Juno and Erza. After that, we will definitely come to pick you up. Until then, just enjoy your honeymoon with Yurina-san. You can leave the rest to us.¡±


    Margo wrote all that on a piece of paper and handed it to me with his usual cheerful smile on his face.


    I decided to entrust the chickens to a farmer that Sarasa knew and as for this cabin, I would leave it to Juno. He often went out to subjugate monsters so he definitely would be happy to use this cabin.


    If we were going to leave this house then it¡¯d be better if we start packing up soon. Yurina-san and I decided to pack up our belongings and put it on the wagon while Margo and Sarasa returned to town to pick Juno and Erza up so we could at least say our goodbyes.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    After I finished packing up, I picked a single flower from the field. The flower was covered with snow so I gently dusted the snow off with my hand. I hid the flower behind my back and then I got down on one knee in front of Yurina-san before I slowly presented the flower to her from below.


    It was yurifa flowers.


    And then I¡­ I didn¡¯t know where I had heard it, maybe from Sarasa? I then proposed to Yurina-san by using a cliche ¡°set phrase¡± of this world. I looked into her eyes and spun the words out of my mouth.


    ¡°I will love you for the rest of my life. Please be my ground.¡±


    I¡¯m sure¡­ I didn¡¯t say it right but nevertheless, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes as she gave me her answer.


    ¡°I will love you for the rest of my life too. Please be my sun and shine the ground.¡±


    And so we kissed, pledging our vow of eternity. It was our own wedding ceremony before we eloped. Ash was the one who played the role of a priest. He was an extremely adorable priest. He looked up at the two of us as he howled adorably.


    Then, the blue wolves howled in succession, giving us their blessing.


    I remembered that when I heard their howl, I felt a strange sense of courage welling up inside of me.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Yurina-san and I, along with Ash in my arms, we boarded on the wagon, the one that we had already filled with our belongings. We had loaded over 3000 gold coins, firewood, bedding, clothes, toothbrushes and other household items, two chairs, wooden table, dried meat, fruit, liquor, water and other foods. We also brought the drum with waterboards in it and my blacksmithing equipment, like wheatstone and things like raw materials.


    For the time being, I¡¯m thinking of heading north to Tairant so I can get away from Resta. Then I¡¯m going to get a covered wagon at Tairant. That way, we¡¯ll be able to sleep comfortably by laying out the bedding in the covered wagon.


    With that thought in mind, Margo and Sarasa already returned in a wagon with Juno and Elza in tow. Margo told me that he was planning on overthrowing the noble but honestly speaking, I think the probability of him succeeding was low. I was sure we wouldn¡¯t be able to meet again.


    That thought is making the corner of my eyes feel stinging hot.


    I took a break from packing to hand farewell letters that I had written before to Margo, Juno, Sarasa and Elza one by one. We then hugged each other and said our goodbye, although it pained us to do so. I knew that tears were unnecessary when we were saying goodbyes but I couldn¡¯t stop my tears from flowing out.


    Margo and Juno were trying to hold their tears back and kept on standing straight, although they had a sour look on their faces. On the other hand, Sarasa, Elza and Yurina-san were hugging each other while crying.


    At this rate, we won¡¯t be able to leave the house.


    With my eyes red and swollen, I grabbed Yurina-san¡¯s hand and boarded the wagon once again. Sarasa hugged Ash goodbye, she seemed reluctant to part from Ash that Margo had to gently pry Ash away from Sarasa and handed Ash over to me. Sarasa then broke down crying.


    It¡¯s going to be bad if we stay here any longer. It¡¯s getting harder and harder to leave.


    I said ¡±then, I¡¯ll see you guys again soon?¡± to the four of them, as if I was only going for a light stroll.


    (I¡¯m sorry for this heavy and gloomy farewell. Besides, I¡¯m definitely planning on returning here again though.)


    Rocinante (my horse), neighed and made clicking noises as he walked slowly. Yurina-san was crying and waving widely at the four of them as she bent forward out of the back of the wagon while I was facing forward, trying to hold myself back from crying.


    After all, I don¡¯t have the confidence that I¡¯ll be able to hold myself from crying if I see those guys¡¯ faces now.


    Besides, this is not the time to cry about.


    I have to protect Yurina-san no matter what it takes. After all, Heinrich¡¯s private army might come at any moment and surround Yurina-san and I in great numbers.


    ¡°Pull yourself together, me.¡±


    Nevertheless, I still couldn¡¯t stop the tears from distorting my view of this scenery.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The goodbye is so painful! Also, considering that most of the adventurers in town hate the noble (remember how Bavarian forced those poor adventurers?), I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be that hard to gather the townsfolk to overthrow Heinrich.


    Once again, thank you for the kofi! I really appreciate it! Especially because I have a new baby!~ I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t translate as much as I used to though! ?( ?? ? ?? ?)

 CH 156.2

    Chapter 156.2: (Keigo¡¯s Letter) To Margo


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    Dear Margo,


    It¡¯s kind of embarrassing to write you a letter after all this time but I¡¯m still going to do it anyway. Margo, you did say that you¡¯re going to overthrow Heinrich but please don¡¯t push yourself too hard to achieve that.


    Yurina-san and I, we¡¯re going to be fine. If push comes to shove, we can run away to the neighboring country after all.


    Margo, I¡¯m really indebted to you. When I first came to this world, I was still poor and you sold me weapons and armor for practically nothing. I¡¯m really grateful for that. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I might already have died at the hands of an ordinary monster back then.


    But after that, you kept on coming to my house for whatever reason you came up with. Honestly speaking, you were troublesome but strangely enough, I didn¡¯t hate it. I wonder why?


    I know I¡¯m a bit perverse by nature and I also know you actually went out of your own way to keep me company.


    Thank you for always staying by my side without saying anything. I feel that just by you doing that, you¡¯ve saved me.


    Please take care of everyone in Resta, especially the adventurers. Since their lives are at your hands after all.


    And then¡­. I hope you and Sarasa can be happy!


    You said that you¡¯re going to do something about Heinrich but please don¡¯t do anything unreasonable. I think I won¡¯t be able to return to Resta but please keep this a secret from Sarasa and Elza. You know why, right? Margo, we¡¯re both weak to women¡¯s tears after all. I don¡¯t want to say anything that might make them sad if I can help it.


    I don¡¯t want to write too much and ended up babbling so I will end the letter here.


    Take care.


    Keigo.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Keigo really underestimates Margo¡­. Or maybe Keigo is underestimating the townfolk¡¯s hatred of the oligarch instead?

 CH 156.3

    Chapter 156.3: (Keigo¡¯s Letter) To Juno


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Dear Juno,


    Somehow I feel really embarrassed writing this. I know Margo said that he¡¯s going to do something about Heinrich but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to return to Resta. That¡¯s why I¡¯m also writing a letter to you, Juno.


    Juno, you¡¯ve really helped me. We beat the cockatrice together. If I were alone, I don¡¯t think I could do anything. We had a tough time but after we managed to defeat it, I felt great! It was really the best feeling ever!


    Juno, when you were wasting away because of your broken heart with Sarasa, I was at a loss. I didn¡¯t know what to do when you were feeling down. Then you spoke your minds to me, letting out your worry to me. When I saw the clear expression on your face, I knew that you¡¯re going to be alright.


    After that, you then properly introduced me to your girlfriend, Elza. I was really happy, you know. I knew for sure that no woman could leave a man like you alone.


    From now on, I¡¯m going to head over to Tairant. After that, I¡¯m thinking of continuing to travel and spending the rest of my life protecting Yurina-san. When a man and a woman love each other, the man has to protect the woman, right? Juno, you understand what I¡¯m talking about, right?


    I wanted to keep on staying with Juno and the others if I could. It feels like we¡¯ve known each other for several years already even though we¡¯ve only met less than a year ago.


    I also wanted to celebrate Juno and Elsa¡¯s marriage in a grand way as your close friend. I¡¯m very vexed that I won¡¯t be able to do that but for me, Yurina-san¡¯s safety takes precedence over anything else. Please forgive me for that.


    Juno, please take care of everyone in Resta. I will definitely live a happy life with Yurina-san so please don¡¯t worry about us.


    Lastly, to Juno the adventurer. Please don¡¯t be too excessive with your adventuring and don¡¯t make Elsa cry. You definitely must not die. You have to make Elsa happy. You¡¯ve promised that you will make her happy, didn¡¯t you?


    On the day when we were forced to join the dungeon capture, you almost died because you were protecting Margo, right? That¡¯s why I will say it again. No matter what the reason is, you definitely must not die. Cherish your own life. You definitely have to live on.


    Also, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to return to Resta. Please keep this a secret from Sarasa and Elsa. After all, they will probably be sad if they knew so please keep this fact only to yourself.


    Ah, right, right. My cabin might prove to be convenient for when you¡¯re going to the forest so feel free to use it. I¡¯ve entrusted the key to Sarasa. If you want, why don¡¯t you stay in the cabin together with Elsa? Just think of it as having a small vacation and I think your relationship with Elsa will become much closer in one gulp if you treat her every once in a while.


    You might think I¡¯m being a busybody and my advice is not necessary but please consider this as my last piece of advice to you as your close friend.


    Well then. I will end my letter here. Bye!


    Keigo.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: They can turn Keigo¡¯s place into a rustic airbnb. Also, I agree with Keigo here. You need to take a vacation with someone to know their true color. Well, maybe not the whole of their true color but a glimpse of their true color I guess?

 CH 156.4

    Chapter 156.4: (Keigo¡¯s Letter) To Sarasa


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Dear Sarasa,


    Sarasa, you might be worried that I won¡¯t come back to Resta so I want to tell you now that I will definitely return. I can¡¯t return yet in the near future because the noble is still eyeing on me but we will definitely meet each other again one day. Sarasa, your most beloved Ash is going to be lonely without you too so I will definitely come back as soon as possible.


    ¡­¡­¡­.That¡¯s right. Given the situations we¡¯re in, there¡¯s something that I need to tell you. I know it¡¯s going to be hard to believe but I¡¯m actually not a human from this world. I have appraisal skill though. That¡¯s why I can barely read and write but I can¡¯t speak your language. The chicken hut came together with me to this world. I will entrust this place to you so can you please see with your own eyes if there¡¯s anything strange or not? After all, I might have overlooked a hint that can help me return to the world I was from.


    Also, I need to say thank you to you, Sarasa. When I first came to this world, I still didn¡¯t know which one was left or right but you were still willing to make a business with me and you were also the one who introduced me to the adventurer¡¯s guild. If it weren¡¯t for you, I would have already died back then. I¡¯m truly grateful for your help.


    About Ash too, thank you for always loving him. I know it must be really hard for Ash to be apart from you. I hope you will dote on him when we meet again.


    The raw uni that we ate yesterday, it was the ovary of an aquatic monster called Giant Urchin. I wish I could make Juno and Elsa eat it too but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to do it in the near future.


    That¡¯s right. If you walk along the river I used to go to fetch water, you will be able to find those Giant Urchin. You can have Margo and Juno hunt them for you. The Giant Urchin is weak against lightning attributes and they attack using flying thorns so please tell Margo and Juno to be careful of the thorns.


    There are so many things I want to write about but I can¡¯t seem to gather my thoughts properly in writing so, I¡¯m going to end my letter here.


    This is just a ¡®what if¡¯ story but I can¡¯t help but to tell you that if I hadn¡¯t met with Margo or Yurina-san, I think I would definitely fall in love with you instead. That¡¯s just how precious you are to me.


    That is why I won¡¯t say goodbye.


    I will always pray for your happiness. Take care.


    Keigo.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: At first I thought Sarasa is the FL too but I¡¯m happy that she¡¯s not. I think she suits Margo more.

 CH 156.5

    Chapter 156.5: (Keigo¡¯s Letter) To Elsa


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Dear Elsa,


    Elsa, you¡¯ve really helped me a lot. Yurina-san and I, we will definitely return to Resta and when that time comes, let¡¯s hold another party again. My only regret is that I won¡¯t be able to attend Elsa¡¯s wedding and that really frustrates me.


    But, no need to hold back for me. Just go on and get married quickly, okay? I will live a happy life with Yurina-san too, so from the bottom of my heart, I hope Elsa and Juno can be happy too.


    Ah, right, right. About my cabin, you can use it however you want together with Juno. If you like, I also don¡¯t mind if you and Juno want to live there. If you stay here, the bustling sound of the city won¡¯t reach you so you can think of it as some kind of a trip I guess? The relationship between you and Juno might become closer if you stay at this cabin too.


    Also, there¡¯s something I want to ask of you so please hear me out. Juno is a little bit too adventurous and his sense of self-sacrificing is over the top so please watch over him so he wouldn¡¯t do anything too unreasonable. Though I guess, you¡¯re going to do that anyway without me telling you first.


    Elsa, you always dote on Ash too, right? I¡¯m sorry you have to be separated from Ash. Ash will definitely feel sad too so no matter what it takes, I will definitely reunite you with Ash again.


    By the way yesterday, I had Margo and Sarasa eat a new dish called ¡®raw uni¡¯ for the first time ever. The new dish was very well received by Margo and Sarasa. That made me really want to make you guys taste it too but¡­ I guess that wish of mine wouldn¡¯t be able to come true, huh¡­


    And so, I gave the recipe for the new dish to Sarasa. Go and give it a try, okay?


    Right¡­ I still have so many things I want to tell you but at times like this, I can¡¯t seem to gather my thoughts well. Sorry about that.


    Okay, last but not least. I really like Elsa, the Elsa that supports Juno. Of course, I like you as a friend, a close friend. That¡¯s why for me, Juno and Elsa too, you¡¯re the most precious and best friend in this world. I can assure you that this fact is definitely true.


    Thank you for being my friend. I won¡¯t say goodbye. After all, as long as we keep on living, we¡¯ll be able to meet again one day.


    Keigo.


    (There¡¯s a trace of tear stains on the letter.)


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Haaah¡­I feel bad for MC¡­ He finally opens his heart to a bunch of new friends but not long after that, he already has to leave the town because of greedy noble¡­.

 CH 156.6

    Chapter 156.6: (Margo¡¯s POV) The Most Foul Alcohol in My Whole Life


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    The sound of the shattering glass resounded in the store.


    The night after Keigo left, I was alone in the store when I threw the glass filled with alcohol to the wall. On top of the table, there was the letter Keigo had left for me.


    I wonder what was going through Keigo¡¯s mind when he wrote this letter?


    ¡°How can someone who doesn¡¯t even want to live in Resta be able to survive without our help?!¡±


    ¡­..Damn it. It¡¯s so frustrating.


    Sarasa said that she wanted to be left alone for a bit and then she went into her room at the store. I knew how painful it must be for Sarasa since I was stuck in the same situation as her too. Just a moment ago, we had lost an irreplaceable friend.


    I was glad Sarasa wasn¡¯t here. I didn¡¯t want her to see me in this state. My heart was in turmoil, as if a sandstorm was raging inside of me.


    There was no one as gentle and kind as him. Just what had Keigo done to receive this kind of treatment?!


    ¡°And what the hell is Bavarian doing? Wasn¡¯t Keigo the one who fixed his arm?!¡±


    I was all by myself, spreading my frustration to the stone wall that had received the glass I had thrown.


    The one who always listened to my complaint was Keigo. That guy, he always listened to my foolish banter while smiling gently. I felt like I had lost something precious to me, like there was a big, empty hole in my heart.


    Before I read Keigo¡¯s letter again, I took a glass from the shelf and filled it with alcohol. There was no way I could read his letter while sober. I downed the alcohol in one gulp and started reading the letter properly once again.


    ¡­..Then, the next thing I knew, my shoulders were already shaking as I cried. I couldn¡¯t help but to feel miserable and pathetic. I couldn¡¯t forgive myself for failing to protect my precious best friend.


    I cried out loud, taking advantage of the fact that no one else was there.


    You couldn¡¯t go against the noble. That was a given fact. But, why couldn¡¯t I come up with an idea that could overrule that fact?


    Keigo said that everything could be resolved if he left but in the end, nothing was resolved. He only gave in to the nobleman¡¯s arrogance and was forced to leave his home.


    It¡¯s not too late yet. Something¡­. I need to do something. If I don¡¯t, I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself for the rest of my whole life.


    However, I had to proceed carefully. If I made a bad move, not only me but Sarasa, Juno and Elsa would get dragged along with me too. Now I understood what Keigo meant when he said he wanted to live without having any ties of obligation.


    I wonder how Keigo is doing right now. I hope Heinrich¡¯s soldiers haven¡¯t captured him yet.


    Whenever I let my guard down, these kinds of thoughts would pop in my mind. My mind would swirl down into a whirlpool of regret again.


    Why didn¡¯t I take any measures sooner?


    I should¡¯ve been able to predict this outcome when I heard that potion is able to cure a lost part.


    Just what was I doing? Spending my time being optimistic and all?


    Even though I should¡¯ve been the one who supported Keigo since he had no access to information about the town.


    I wonder when was the last time I had a drink while feeling this bitter and lonely? Maybe on the night when the first newbie adventurer that had bought my equipment went into a fight for the first time and got killed by goblins. Even though I had swore to myself that I would never let myself feel that kind of feeling again.


    I decided to dive my head into a bucket of water to sober up.


    After cooling down my anger for a while, I could feel my emotion calming down and my mind became clearer.


    ¡­¡­.First, I needed to find someone to cooperate with. I took a pen and a piece of paper and spread it on the table.


    ¡°I have Bavarian-sama, Juno, Elsa and Elsa¡¯s father, Barrack-san. Barrack-san is a town council member. Then I have the adventurers who are the regulars of my equipment shop, the Mama from the entertainment district, Yurina-san¡¯s friends¡­..¡±


    I wrote down the people that I believed would be on our side on the paper.


    ¡°We will never let Heinrich do as he pleases with our town.¡±


    And then we need to make sure both Keigo and Yurina-san can live freely in this town again.


    ¡°Of course that one is a matter of course.¡±


    That¡¯s right.


    We would never recognize a lord who didn¡¯t prioritize something obvious like the wellbeing of their people. Hence why I should gather my friend and remove Heinrich from the position of our lord.


    We will take our town back with our own hands.


    Keigo was nothing but the trigger. Now that I thought about it, the nobleman¡¯s tyranny had happened so many times already. There must be a lot of people who didn¡¯t feel happy with the nobleman¡¯s tyranny that continued to become worse. So if I told them about Keigo, there must be a lot of people willing to cooperate with us.


    I jotted down the plan I had on the paper and analyzed whether the plan was feasible or not. After I had put the plan together,  tomorrow I would discuss this with the other three people who had received a letter from Keigo first thing in the morning.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Bavarian is lucky he had a change of heart before the townsfolk are planning this revolution.

 CH 157

    Margo and Sarasa had investigated things about Heinrich and so, Margo handed me a letter before we parted ways. According to the report, apparently Heinrich had been gathering a private army in his residence. Unlike Bavarian-sama, Heinrich wouldn¡¯t dive into the dungeon recklessly. Without any doubt, his target must be me, the one who could concoct part-healing potion. It seemed it was only a matter of time before my cabin was surrounded by Heinrich and his private army.


    In the end, that potion was really something that shouldn¡¯t be revealed to the eyes of the public. Still, there was no use regretting it now. Now that I had Yurina-san as my spouse, the chance came at the right time. I should look at the situation positively and seize the chance to go on a honeymoon with Yurina-san.


    I steered the wagon north toward Tairant while taking a big detour west of Resta. It didn¡¯t matter wherever we went. At any rate, as long as we kept on moving, our pursuer wouldn¡¯t be able to catch us. The blue wolves were also following us from behind. I could see a glimpse of their figure from the shades of the tree.


    I was sitting on the coachman¡¯s seat together with Yurina-san. The two of us were wrapped in a quilt made from red grizzly bear skin. The quilt was very warm. Of course Ash was with us too. He was being held in Yurina-san¡¯s arms. It looked like Ash was feeling comfortable too.


    I was attacked by goblins and giant spiders along the way but I knew fire was their weakness after using appraisal. While the blue wolves were keeping them busy, I grabbed the opening created by the blue wolves and attacked them with the flame from hellfire sword to finish them off.


    16:30


    I could see the sun setting on the mountain ridge. The silver white world around us was dyed in a beautiful crimson red color. Yurina-san and I decided to camp under an evergreen tree to protect us from the snowfall. Continuing to travel in a wagon at night could be dangerous so we decided to camp here because we wanted to travel cautiously.


    I lit the firewood with a fire dagger to make a bonfire then I used the bonfire to make warm soup with dried meat and vegetables. The soup worked wonders in warming our cold bodies. As for the water, we used water produced by the water board.


    I had placed two tree stump chairs in front of the bonfire. Yurina-san and I sat next to each other by the bonfire.


    It was a really nice honeymoon.


    I wonder if this is what they called the ¡®suspension bridge effect¡¯?


    I remembered that term was used in a movie called ¡®Speed¡¯. There was a part in the movie where the main protagonist, played by Keanu Reeves, made love with the heroine in a life threatening situation, in which the bomb that had been planted in the bus would explode if the bus slowed down.


    Our situation was exactly like that.


    We were literally in danger where a nobleman was chasing after us. In the thrill of that danger, we were huddled together while sipping a warm soup. In the midst of the dark night, my heart was beating faster than usual as I could feel her body temperature while watching her visage that was illuminated by the light from the bonfire. This beat of my heart, I honestly didn¡¯t know if it was due to the thrill or simply because of her charm.


    It seemed thrill was indeed the spice for love.


    Besides, a honeymoon in a horse-drawn wagon between two people and one dog while being surrounded by the silver white nature all around us like this¡­ If you really think about it, the situation really created the perfect mood for us. Most girls would be delighted and judging from the cheerful expression on Yurina-san¡¯s face, my prediction was not far off from mark.


    ¡°Ice.¡±


    I uttered and almost immediately I could hear the sound of the ice making a clinking and crisp noise against the glass. While warming my body by the bonfire, I sipped the alcohol with the ice I had created together with Yurina-san. The burning sensation on my throat felt irresistibly delicious. The alcohol we drank during our journey felt many times better than usual.


    After enjoying our time drinking alcohol while watching the snowy scenery, we decided to clean ourselves using the water warmed by the bonfire before we went to sleep. Since she had become my wife, I decided to wipe her back. At first I wondered if she hated it because she was embarrassed but it turned out, that was not the case. She had old scars all over her body and she covered her body with a tattoo to cover the scars.


    When she told me the story behind her scars, I almost lost my cool for a moment but I knew there was no point in getting angry now so for now, I gave her a part-healing potion to drink.


    Then, within seconds, her scars were healed. In fact, not only her scars but her tattoo also disappeared. I guess the tattoo was identified as scars too. Her body was now clean of any blemish and scar.


    When she looked at her scar-free body ,she became very happy.


    I¡¯m glad she¡¯s happy.


    ¡°Contrary to my expectations, life in isekai is surprisingly hard too, huh.¡±


    My heart ached a little upon knowing the dark part of this world. It turned out the dark part of this world wasn¡¯t any different from the world I was originally from.


    After that, Yurina-san and I laid the quilt on the back of the wagon. We huddled together under a single quilt to keep our body warm. From a distance, we could hear the howling of the blue wolves. Under the starry sky, Yurina-san and I laid down together while looking up at the blue full moon in the sky.


    Suddenly, I wondered if my best friends were staring at the same moon as me too or not. No matter how far apart we were, we were still connected because we were still looking at the same scenery after all.


    I felt a little embarrassed because I thought of something sentimental like that for a moment. On the other side, Yurina-san was looking at me curiously as I was feeling embarrassed at myself.


    Then suddenly, Ash slipped into the futon slowly, as if he was trying to say ¡°me too!¡±. Looking at Ash¡¯s cute behavior, Yurina-san and I unintentionally made eye contact before we then laughed.


    Yurina-san and I kept our gaze locked at each other as we kissed. Ash, who was snuggling near our stomach, then popped his face from the futon, as if he once again said ¡°me too!¡±. The two of us then rubbed our cheeks together against Ash before we kissed him too. Satisfied, Ash squirmed back under the quilt.


    After that, Yurina-san and I continued to kiss and hug each other until we were satisfied.


    ¡­¡­..We need to go to sleep before we go overboard.


    I said to her, ¡°let¡¯s sleep.¡±


    She then nodded and pulled the red grizzly bear quilt to cover our head. The temperature outside was reaching the minus and it was even colder at night. It would be better to minimize the part of our body that came in contact with open air as minimum as possible.


    Thanks to Ash¡¯s high body temperature, the inside of the quilt felt comfortably warm.


    I could feel her breath, the sound of her heartbeat and scent with all of my five senses. Everything about her felt pleasant to me.


    A short while later, I could finally start to hear the sound of her breathing soundly as she fell asleep, looking all comfortable. As I thoroughly savored the feeling of her, the greatest happiness of my life, I was also falling asleep before I knew it.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I like this chapter. This chapter really shows their bonding moment. I also hope Yurina-san can heal mentally too since MC has healed her physical scar for now.

 CH 158

    GIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!


    The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a terrifying monster. At the sound of that monster, Ash reacted. He raised his voice and raised his vigilance in the direction of the forest.


    ¡°Ash, don¡¯t. Yurina-san, please hide together with Ash.¡±


    I picked Ash into my arms along with the red grizzly bear quilt and left it in the custody of Yurina-san. With the red grizzly bear quilt with them, they should be protected from the petrifying gaze attack for the time being.


    With a gesture, I told her to hide in the back of the wagon. Yurina-san then took Ash and hid behind the shadow of the wagon. I quickly donned on my gear and headed toward the sound of the monster¡¯s cry cautiously.


    Then, with heavy footsteps, I came close to the huge monster that was sweeping down the trees. The monster that I came to was a formidable monster that had tormented me numerous times. It was a cockatrice.


    ¡°Seriously? Give me a break¡­¡±


    Somehow or another, I had managed to defeat a serpent by myself but I had never defeated a cockatrice all by myself. Cockatrice was a formidable enemy that attacked using both petrifying gaze and poisonous breath. There was no way I could have the confidence to defeat it alone.


    I was able to defeat the serpent by myself because I could know its weak point from using appraisal on it. If I didn¡¯t know its weakness, there was no way I would be able to defeat it even now.


    Hm? Wait¡­?


    ¡°For now, I should try using appraisal on it. There¡¯s nothing to lose anyway.¡±


    ¡¾Cockatrice: A high level monster with petrifying gaze and poison breath attack. Has the head of a chicken and the tail of a snake. The petrifying gaze attack can be defended by using light magic to blind its eyes while the poison breath attack can be deflected using wind magic.¡¿


    The weakness?! Furthermore, the cockatrice can be dealt with by using basic wind and light magic?! The heck? Even though this is the monster that almost killed me numerous times like those times when I was in the forest or in the dungeons. What the?


    GIEEEEEEEEE!!!


    While I was stuck in shock, the three blue wolves were already lined up next to me without me noticing and howled.


    ¡°Blue wolf, thank you. I will definitely give you guys dried meat later on!¡±


    I said my thanks to the blue wolves while keeping my gaze locked at my enemy.


    The distance between me and the cockatrice was about 30 meters¡­ 20¡­. 15¡­.


    Then, as the blue wolves pounced on the cockatrice all at once, I also¡­


    ¡°LIGHT!!¡±


    I shot a ball of light toward the cockatrice¡¯s eyes. The ball of light bursted, creating an explosion of light.


    GIEEEEEEEEE!!!


    With this, the cockatrice shouldn¡¯t be able to use its petrifying gaze attack.


    The blue wolves attacked the cockatrice while avoiding the cockatrice¡¯s claw and snake head attack. The cockatrice was brandishing its claw and snake disorderly as it exchanged blows with the blue wolves.


    Using the opening given to me by the blue wolves, I used arrows coated with donur poison and used sharpshoot to fire the arrow toward the cockatrice¡¯s torso.


    THUD THUD THUD


    The cockatrice rampaged upon being hit by the arrow but then suddenly¡­.


    BUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!


    I was caught off guard because I had thought the cockatrice¡¯s movement had become slower but it turned out the cockatrice spit out its poisonous breath attack without even going through its usual preparation motion.


    ¡°RUN AWAY!!¡±


    This is bad! At this distance, ¡®wind¡¯ magic won¡¯t be able to cut it!


    JUWA


    One of the blue wolves was completely caught by the poisonous breath attack. The blue wolf started twitching and convulsing.


    ¡°WIND!!!¡±


    When I released wind magic toward the cockatrice that was firing its poisonous breath in a mad frenzy, the poison flowed back to the cockatrice¡¯s head, successfully hitting it directly.


    GIEEEEEEE!!!!


    The cockatrice let out a terrifying roar before it fell writhing on the ground.


    ¡°Now!! Let¡¯s finish him off!!¡±


    The two blue wolves that could still move bit the lower half of the cockatrice¡¯s body, preventing the cockatrice from moving and at the same time, I used ¡®bash¡¯ using the hellfire sword with all of my might at the cockatrice¡¯s neck.


    SLASH!!


    I burned through the cockatrice¡¯s neck.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 19.


    HP:43¡ú45


    MP:39¡ú40


    Vitality: 38¡ú40


    Strength:46¡ú47


    Intelligence: 87¡ú88


    Dexterity: 50¡ú51


    Speed: 46¡ú47¡»


    I immediately went to treat the blue wolf that had been hit by the cockatrice¡¯s poisonous breath with paruna detoxifying potion but the blue wolf had already died¡­..


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: NOOOOO!!!! I DON¡¯T WANT THE BLUE DOG TO DIE (¨i©n¨i)

 CH 159.1

    Yurina-san and I decided to make a grave for the dead blue wolf. While I was making the tomb from some convenient wood I had, Yurina-san, who was good at handicrafts, made a necklace by using a leather strap and an ash wolf fang that we had saved as an offering for the dead blue wolf.


    In the early afternoon, the grave for the blue wolf was finally done. I took out the ash wolf fang necklace that Yurina-san had made from my pocket and put it on the cross marker of the grave. This blue wolf must¡¯ve protected us because they were looking after Ash. Ash¡¯s mother, a superior specimen, must be some sort of master figure for this blue wolf.


    Blue wolf. I¡¯m sorry I can only bury you in such a lonely place like this. But, so that you won¡¯t feel lonely, I will at least mourn you together with your master.


    ¡°Thank you for always protecting us.¡±


    After that, I put dried deer meat in front of the blue wolf¡¯s grave as an offering and put my hands together to pray. Dried deer meat was something the blue wolf always loved to eat, hence why I chose it as an offering. Yurina-san also followed me suit, clasping her hand together to pray.


    Seeing us offering our respect to the fallen blue wolf, Ash howled into the clear blue sky. After that, the blue wolves pack, who had gathered in large numbers without me realizing it, also started howling in unison.


    I could feel a dignified strength in their howl, as if they were celebrating the triumphant return of their hero.


    I thought this scene before me was simply magically beautiful.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: An honorable death for the honorable warrior. I¡¯m imagining this scene like the fallen blue wolf is going to Valhalla, welcomed by his fellow brethren. I feel sad about Ash¡¯s mother¡¯s death too. I know it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s just how nature is but still¡­.I can¡¯t help but to feel sad¡­

 CH 159.2

    Chapter 159.2 : (Blue Wolf¡¯s POV) The Place Where Soul Returns, the Resolution of the Brave Warriors


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    I am Blue Wolf, the guardian of my Lord.


    My lord and this gentleman¡­. His name was Keigo-sama according to what my lord had told me¡­ Along with Keigo-sama¡¯s wife¡­ The three of them were on a journey. We, the wolves who were in charge of protecting our lord, decided to follow them in their journey.


    We encountered goblins and giant spiders along the way but Keigo-sama was strong. He mowed down the enemy with flame. The breath coming out of his lung was white, maybe it was due to his high body temperature from running.


    It seemed our lord was going to spend the night under that green tree so we decided to guard the area around that tree. After that, we hunted a deer. We ate that life so we could survive for the day. Then, we rest our body in preparation for what will come tomorrow.


    The next morning, I felt a disturbing presence. Something was approaching, whilst sweeping down the trees with its high-pitched shrill. My comrade, who had been out on a patrol, signaled to us with a howl. The one that was approaching us was a cockatrice.


    We immediately returned the howl and ran back toward that gentleman together with our comrade.


    We are the brave wolves. One for all, all for one. If it¡¯s to protect what is dear to us, we will challenge even a stronger enemy than us.


    We will never allow anyone to harm our lord!


    And so we all leapt at the cockatrice in unison.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    ¡­¡­..By the time I came to consciousness, I was already dead. Only my soul remained in existence.


    ¡ºWolverine Requiem¡»


    I heard a song that belonged among all of us. A song that was meant to send the soul of the dead to the sacred tree.


    In a sacred mountain range, west of the small house where our lord lived, there was a village of wolves. In that very village, there exist a sacred tree protected by Sacred Beast-sama, a beast that reigned at the top of us wolves.


    I had only seen the great sacred tree once and I was so overwhelmed by its sheer divine aura that I ended up prostrating right here and there. When a wolf turned into an adult, we all underwent a ceremony where we swore our life to that great sacred tree and we were taught by the Sacred Beast-sama that when a wolf died, we¡¯d become one with the sacred tree and became a heroic spirit.


    Hence why us wolves were more brave than anything else. No matter how powerful our enemy was, we would face them head on without fail.


    We are proud of that fact.


    My lord and my comrades were playing the long, long ¡®Wolverine Requiem¡¯. Their song made my soul tremble and something hot welled somewhere deep inside of my heart.


    ¡°My comrades! I will leave our lord in your hand from now on! I will always watch over all of you!¡±


    Before long, my consciousness then was wrapped in a warm light and I returned to the great sacred tree.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Turns out the mountain near Resta is such a pivotal place for the wolf. That means MC and the others definitely need to return. Ash might need to go to that sacred tree to assume his place as the sacred beast or something.

 CH 159.3

    Chapter 159.3 : (Yurina¡¯s POV) The Immediate Tragedy and the Warmth of the Outstretched Hand


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Yurina. I work in the entertainment district in the town of Resta. Mama¡¯s place is small but everyone is warm, just like a family.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.I had a bitter past. My father was so terribly violent that my brother and I were covered in bruises everyday. My mother, she committed suicide when I was only 7 years old because she was unable to withstand my father¡¯s abuse.


    My big brother, Seth, took me by hand and took me to run away from the house when my father¡¯s violence was raging. And then, we became orphans in the slums.


    Us, brother and sister, had to resort to begging and stealing in order to survive. My big brother always let me ate more food than him because I was prone to get sick. When I got sick and had a fever, my big brother brought me to the best doctor in town, Kishuu-sensei. I probably would¡¯ve died back then hadn¡¯t I gotten the treatment. That was how weak I was.


    My big brother never told me how he managed to get the money to pay for the treatment.


    ¡°Leave everything to onii-chan!¡±


    He¡¯d told me that with a big smile on his face, revealing the gap between his teeth from his tooth falling out.


    But in the end, we were just young children without any intelligence nor power. Us siblings finally reached our limit.


    My big brother fell ill.


    It didn¡¯t take long before my brother died. Left with nothing to live for, I was rotting on the street, skinny and waiting for death to come.


    I was so terribly skinny and filthy that even a kidnapper didn¡¯t even want to touch me.


    But, a helping hand was outstretched to me.


    ¡°You, what¡¯s your name? Do you want to come with me?¡±


    The brawny woman said so as she picked the stick thin me up. That woman was Josephine-san, a woman who ran a night establishment in the entertainment district.


    I didn¡¯t even have the strength to answer her and so, she just carried me back home just like that.


    She picked me up, gave me decent food and allowed me to rest on a clean bed. Gradually, I started to recover. And then, as my cloudy consciousness started to clear up and I was able to speak properly, to the woman who had been kind to me, I¡­.


    ¡°Onii-chan is¡­. Onii-chan is¡­¡±


    I cried on Josephine-san¡¯s chest. Even when my big brother died, I didn¡¯t have the willpower to cry, so why? Maybe it was because as soon as I felt safe, my tears overflowed and poured out just like that.


    Up until now, I still vividly remember how she just stayed silent and stroked my very young head as I cried.

 CH 159.4

    Chapter 159.4 : (Yurina¡¯s POV) There Are Love That Came to Fruition Because of Language Barrier


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    After that, I pushed myself hard at work. From washing dishes, cleaning and laundry. There wasn¡¯t much a child like me could do and yet, the people at this establishment welcomed me with open arms.


    Josephine-san also picked up other children from the slums and raised them in this establishment she managed. All of the women here, we all lived huddled up together. Every woman here called Josephine-san ¡®Mama¡¯. This full of endearment title was born because Josephine-san loved us dearly just like a real mother.


    Our pub, Butterfly¡¯s Cradle, was like a real cradle, for giving me a life where no one would hit me anymore. The wound in my heart was healed little by little.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    Many years had passed since then and I had completely grown into an adult. And then, I suddenly fell in love. That person was my first love. I had received numerous love confessions from the men that came to the pub but maybe because of the trauma I had from my drunk and violent father, I never fell for the drunk patron of this pub.


    Besides, Mama had already drilled the technique for me to defend myself against men and along with Mama¡¯s shining,watchful eyes, no men were able to force me to take their hand. That was why I always thought I would never get close with men more than necessary.


    But the man I fell in love with was somewhat lonely, as if he was looking somewhere no one else knew about and I found that part of him peculiar. He couldn¡¯t speak but he could read and write. He wrote a book and gave it to me as a present.


    Exchanging letters felt fresh and brand new to me. It was wonderful how careful and conscientious words were written in order to convey one¡¯s thoughts. It made me think to myself,¡±what a man he is, his words feel so tender and kind¡±.


    He was a shy one but, his gaze was filled with kindness as he stared at me. From the words he used, I could see he was a man with a very delicate and yet strong heart.


    For myself who had been traumatized with violence and cruel words, I felt so comfortable exchanging gentle words with him. I couldn¡¯t help but to be fond of him, who said,¡±I¡¯m not really good with other people¡±.


    Yes.


    I had fallen in love with this person a long time ago.


    One day, I visited his house. And then, I watched the first snow together with him. At that time, we conveyed our feelings to each other. When he was shedding tears as he sang the perfect melody for the snow, I reflexively hugged him and stroked his head while saying,¡±It¡¯s alright.¡±


    He was so, so lovely. I couldn¡¯t help but to adore him. At that time, the emotional scars that I carried must¡¯ve completely disappeared along with the light snowfall.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Two lonely people falling in love~

 CH 159.5

    Chapter 159.5 : (Yurina¡¯s POV) My Beloved


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    To get away from a bunch of gangsters that attacked me in town, he took my hand and we ran away together. We took his wagon and during the ride, he kissed me while profusing his love confession to me so many times. It was cold and snowy outside but my heart felt so warm.


    Apparently we were being chased by a nobleman from Resta. He was a very honest and kind man, there was no way he became a wanted man because he did a crime. So that meant my boyfriend was actually a really amazing person.


    On the contrary, I was really proud of that fact.


    After that, we had to leave that cabin and I received a proposal from him. While presenting a single yurifa flower to me, he said,¡±I love you. Please marry me.¡± in Lancaster language with much difficulty. And on his feet, there was the adorable Ash-kun, looking up at us.


    Fufu~ What a wonderful proposal and wedding we had, with Ash-kun as our priest-san.


    Of course I said to him,¡±Yes¡­¡±. I was so happy that I thought I might die when tomorrow came..


    After we got married, I could no longer hide the scars I received from my father¡¯s abuse during the time I was still living with my parents. When I told him about the abuse I had to bear, he became so angry that his hand was trembling furiously. He then took out a potion and told me to drink it.


    And then, within the blink of an eye, the scars from the abuse along with the tattoo I got to cover it, all disappeared. There was not a single scar on my body, my body became so clear without any blemish in sight.


    I was stunned beyond amazement, to think the complex I had for so many years could be removed so easily just like that. My dear husband must be an incredible magician or something. I became even more in love with him and I hugged him tight, acting like a spoiled little kitten.


    .


    His name was Keigo Okuda, my beloved.

 CH 160

    Yurina-san and I bid goodbye to the blue wolf¡¯s grave before we set our way to Tairant City, which was located straight north from Resta. The only materials we recovered from the cockatrice was its eyes and poison gland only. I gave up on the idea of reporting it to the guild since if I didn¡¯t report it correctly, the report might get traced back to me. It seemed a little wasteful since with guild points, I could get skill and magic but I didn¡¯t have any other choice.


    Now that I knew basic magic was good enough to use, I definitely wanted to acquire the basic magic of other attributes. Once everything settled down, I should save up more skill points so I could learn a new skill. I was also interested in ¡®shield bash¡¯, which I had seen on the list before.


    Apparently Tairant City was an art city where traveling entertainers would come and go. Yurina-san never went there before but she had heard stories about the city from the traveler. It was just as well since recently, we had been entirely sleeping outdoors and it seemed Yurina-san was getting tired.


    I should stock up on necessities and let Yurina-san rest.


    18:00


    Finally, we could see the lights coming from Tairant City.


    When we arrived at the south gate of Tairant City, I showed my adventurers¡¯ guild card to the gatekeeper and Yurina-san showed her clothing guild card before we entered the town.


    After leaving the wagon at an inn near the gate, I gave silver coins to a young boy working in the inn to guard the wagon and help us with our purchases. I was a little relieved since I had been wanting to let Yurina-san rest on a proper bed.


    The next morning, I decided to go out to procure a new wagon since I had been wanting a covered wagon ever since we were sleeping outdoors to keep us warm and protect us from the wind and the snow. Yurina-san looked tired so I told her she could rest and stay in the room together with Ash.


    I paid another silver coin to the boy from the inn and asked him to guide me to a shop where I could buy a wagon.


    At the shop, there was a big, big signboard that said (Bruno¡¯s Shop, offering goods from potions to carriage to help you with your adventure!!) and on top of that big sign, there was another phrase that said (we¡¯ve started selling skills too!).


    When I entered the shop, a young girl that appeared to be the sales promotion girl came to greet me. I conveyed my wish to get a covered wagon and then I asked her about the (skill selling) part. Then, Bruno-san, the owner, came out and explained to me about the wagon and the skill selling.


    For the skill selling, Bruno-san was a former adventurer and he would teach us skill in exchange for money. Bruno-san was the classic warrior type that used one handed sword and shield so he could teach me skills related to sword and shield. Bruno-san and his beloved wife had a daughter and so, Bruno-san started diving into trade business like this so he could spend time with his child as long as possible.


    I decided to put the (skill selling) part on hold and focused on discussing buying a wagon. I told him that I wanted a covered wagon with as much living space as possible so I preferred to have a big wagon.


    Bruno-san then led me to the warehouse where a big two-horse covered wagon was on sale. This wagon was much bigger than the wagon I currently had and Bruno-san was also selling horses.


    I already liked the wagon Bruno-san showed to me just at first glance so after bargaining for a little bit, I purchased the wagon. As for the horse, since I already had Rocinante with me, I only bought one additional horse. My purchase cost me 198 gold coins in total.


    Getting the wagon ready would take some time so Bruno-san then said.


    ¡°In the meantime, would you like me to teach you some skills?¡±


    Of course I took on his offer since this was a chance I had been wanting for. I paid him 5 gold coins and asked him to teach me some skills while I waited for the wagon to be prepared.


    We moved to the yard and spent about an hour practicing with a wooden sword and one-handed shield. After being thoroughly beaten up, finally¡­


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Shield Bash level 1¡»


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Round Slash level 1¡»


    I managed to acquire the skills, one way or another. It turned out I could pay adventurers money for them to teach me skill or magic so if I found another opportunity like this, I needed to use it proactively. Because in my current state of economy, if I could pay several gold coins in exchange for skills then of course the cost-performance was highly in my favor.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Wah! Turns out MC can use his strongest power, money, to get skills! I hope MC can meet a magician so MC can learn another magic skill¡­ Or maybe MC can pay for Yurina-san to learn combat skills? So Yurina-san won¡¯t become a damsel in distress. It¡¯s not like MC can stick 24/7 to Yurina-san after all.

 CH 161.1

    After practicing the newly acquired skills, I decided to procure some food and alcohol in bulk. The skills that Bruno-san taught me, shield bash, was a skill that allowed me to hit and knock my opponent back with a shield. While round slash was a sword skill that allowed me to slash the enemy with my sword while spinning in a full circular motion sideways.


    These two skills would be useful in a battle where I had to defend myself while fighting multiple enemies. According to my conversation with Yaoran, the sales promotion girl, in the past Bruno-san was called as (Bruno the Gale). He was a pretty skilled adventurer.


    Right, right. Since this was an art town, Bruno-san¡¯s shop also sold lute. Since I had dabbled with a guitar before, I bought the lute for 3 gold coins and 8 silver coins. I should practice playing it.


    And now, I went to buy food in my new covered wagon. Since this wagon was bigger than before, it could carry a much bigger load too. I was grateful for that simple fact. In addition to food, a grilling stand and charcoal were on sale too. They seemed useful for cooking so I also decided to get them.


    As I was looking down from the driver¡¯s side of the wagon, Rocinante looked somewhat happy to have a new partner, May Queen (name courtesy of me). The driver¡¯s side and the living space was pretty big, it could serve as a good place to shelter from the rain and wind. Buying this wagon was really the right decision.


    I paid the young boy another silver coins to ask him to work in transshiping our luggage.


    When I returned to the inn, Yurina-san looked more spirited than before, maybe because she just had a good and nice rest. Since we were already here, the three of us (along with Ash) decided to walk around the town.


    Yurina-san and I were walking slowly in town with our fingers interlocked together. At our feet, Ash was walking a half-step ahead from us while occasionally looking up at us.


    We saw a clown juggling with daggers in the snow. When the clown finished juggling,the clown turned his hat around, asking for us to toss coins to him. I handed 3 copper coins to Yurina-san and the two of us tossed the coin at the clown and gave the clown a round of applause.


    Not just a clown, the plaza was filled with other street performers like portrait painters and musicians. We had the painter draw a picture of us, with me holding Ash in my arms and the end result was even better than my expectations so I paid the painter double the asking price. Instead of 2 silver coins, I gave the painter 4 silver coins.


    We bought skewered meat and shellfish from the food stalls and ate our food while enjoying the street performances.


    In the middle of the plaza, there was a large tent where they seemed to be showcasing a performance. The three of us paid 9 copper coins for the viewing fee and went into the tent. There, we were immediately wrapped by the cheers and enthusiasm of the audiences.


    A play was being played on the stage. Yurina-san¡¯s face lit up as she saw the play. Our hands were still interlocked together. I felt so much happier looking at Yurina-san¡¯s happy face rather than watching the play.


    After we finished enjoying the play, we immediately went to check out from the inn so we could leave Tairant City. Now that we were being chased after by a noble, it wouldn¡¯t be good to stay in one town for a long time.


    And then it turned out my hunch was right. We were totally oblivious to the fact that we had escaped from our pursuer sent by Heinrich by a hair¡¯s breadth.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Finally! They have a roof over their head! No more getting soaked by rain or snow!

 CH 161.2

    ¡°What is happening?!¡±


    I slammed the report onto the desk in my office out of reflex. Then, I took off my silver-rimmed glasses and put it down on the desk and rubbed my eyes with my right index finger and thumb.


    My head was hurting from the report that Jill gave to me. Upon receiving the information that Keigo Okuda was staying at Tairant, Jill¡¯s unit was rushed to the inn but it turned out the inn was already empty.


    Lucky bastard.


    A greedy and bald nobleman in Tairant was the one who gave me that information in all seriousness. As I thought, giving them the hint that a cure for baldness existed proved to be effective. After all, popularity was crucial in aristocratic society. The more popular you were, the more successful you were.


    In other words, for the intemperance nobleman, a potion that could restore one¡¯s body parts was a commodity they all desperately wished for.


    And yet¡­¡­..That guy managed to escape.


    This is really ruining my reputation and honor!!


    Blood rushed to my head again, making me slam my fist on the desk.


    ¡°Anyone there?!¡±


    With a loud voice, I yelled for the servant.


    For me to circulate a wanted poster all over the city in Lancaster, I needed to increase Jill¡¯s unit. Stretching my network up to the city that guy most likely would go to and then once we received the information, it was time for Jill¡¯s unit to rush to catch him.


    In the meanwhile, I already had several scouting units chasing after him but they were having a pretty hard time grabbing his tail.


    As I thought, Keigo Okuda might not be an ordinary man after all. Maybe I should put a bounty on him? Of course he needed to be captured alive.


    No, no.


    Everything would become worthless if he were to die due to some unfortunate accident.


    If I overdid it and acted too conspicuously, I fear that another greedy noble might catch the wind of the potion that could restore one¡¯s body part.


    As I thought, we had to work in secret for this. Keigo Okuda was essential for me to reign supreme in the aristocratic society.


    ¡­¡­..Let¡¯s cool my head down for a bit.


    I tightly grasped the pendant that represented Zerarion, a god that I believed in while trying to adjust my breathing.


    Phew¡­ No matter what happens, I must never lose my composure. I must remain determined and composed until the end.


    Let¡¯s think if there was any other effective method I could use. The key point was mobilizing the unit as soon as we received the information about Keigo Okuda. I should try giving all soldiers under Jill¡¯s unit a horse to increase their mobility.


    I should put a unit specializing in torture in Jill¡¯s unit. If we tortured Yurina, a girl who was reported to be Keigo Okuda¡¯s lover, then he would have no choice but to listen to what I said obediently. That crazy young girl from Priest Goliath¡¯s place would be perfect for the job.


    Fufufufu¡­. It¡¯s a nice idea if I may say so myself.


    I put my silver-rimmed glasses on again and repositioned it in place with my right middle finger.


    Kukuku¡­ Keigo Okuda¡­ I will make you regret for treating me so badly like this! I will make you be crushed by despair!!


    I instructed my subordinate to secure mobility and to add torture unit in Jill¡¯s unit.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: You know, Heinrich is pretty much downright evil. I hope he will get a true punishment for this.

 CH 162

    We decided to go east after we acquired a covered wagon. We didn¡¯t have any particular destination so we could take it easy.


    Even though it was warmer being inside of the wagon, Yurina-san still insisted on sitting next to me in the driver seat. Naturally, Ash would feel lonely being left alone in the luggage side so the three of us, two humans and one animal, were sitting huddled up together in the driver seat to warm each other up.


    Our covered wagon advancing through the snow covered world. On the ceiling of our covered wagon, snow ferrets that had jumped from nearby trees were running around. Several snowbirds with feathers as white as snow were perched on the horseback, resting their wings.


    It was truly a tranquil scenery.


    There was a rural village and river within sight that weren¡¯t drawn on the map.


    I decided to camp here, the location was nice. It¡¯d be nice to have a nice warm bath since it had been a while since we last had one. There could be mermans and other aquatic monsters near the river so I parked the carriage a little distance away from the river then I approached the river on foot. And then¡­


    SPLASH!


    My uni-, no, I mean, a giant urchin and 3 mermans emerged from the water. At the same time, one of the blue wolves appeared beside me.


    UNI!~


    A few weeks ago, I would¡¯ve felt like I was in a great pinch but that was not the case right now. In fact, when I remembered how delicious that uni was, I ended up drooling unconsciously.


    I unsheathed my wolverine thunder sword and readied my shield up. While the blue wolf was distracting the giant urchin, I went to take care of those three mermans.


    I unleashed a shield bash skill at one out of the three mermans that were surrounding me to knock it off.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Shield Bash level 2¡»


    After breaking free from their crowding besiegement, I banged my shield, making noise to attract the attention of the mermans and went up to the dry land. The three merman then surrounded me once again and I quickly unleashed round slash, a new sword skill I had just learned.


    CRACKLE CRACKLE!!


    A flash of electric shock appeared in accordance with my rotating movement. It was just like the skill ¡®Giga Slash¡¯ from Dragon Quest. Then the three merman received lightning attribute slash head on and fell on the ground with their face facing the sky.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Round Slash level 2¡»


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s defeat the uni next.¡±


    I stealthily approached the giant uni from behind while the giant uni was focusing on shooting its thorn at the blue wolf and once I was close enough, I stabbed the giant uni with my wolverine thunder sword.


    Okay, we got the giant uni. I¡¯m looking forward to tonight¡¯s dinner.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I had a hard time figuring out this ¥É¡ð¥¯¥¨¤Î¥®¡ð¥¹¥é¥Ã¥·¥å part. I never played Dragon Quest¡­ The author is really into old school games¡­. I¡¯m not old enough to understand the reference¡­

 CH 163

    After that we decided to camp a little higher up the hill from the waterfront while eating dishes made from fresh raw uni. We also got some merman meat which we¡¯d sauteed. I started the fire and lined up the tree stump chair around it. I also wanted to take a warm bath in the drum bath so I also boiled water for the bath. Just in case, I installed ankle snare traps around our camp.


    Today, I wanted to try making pasta with raw uni. I would be using the pasta I had bought from Tairant. While boiling the pasta, I made sauce from raw uni. I went for the simple method for the sauce. I made it by using raw uni, garlic, salt and bargo fruit wine. The finished sauce then would be poured onto the pasta and then for the finishing touch, I topped the pasta with a generous amount of raw uni. As for the sauteed merman, I flavored it with some herbs I had in stock.


    Yurina-san and I then started eating the raw uni pasta.


    Munch¡­


    BOOMMM!!


    I could feel thunder blaring from behind me. It was so delicious that it made me freeze on the spot. Ash was tapping on my knee so I also put some on Ash¡¯s plate. The sauteed merman also tasted pretty good due to the result of me improving the recipe.


    I downed the ale in one gulp. Yurina-san was also drinking a glass of bargo fruit wine elegantly. We enjoyed another serving of uni pasta to our heart¡¯s content.


    Adhering to ladies first etiquette, I handed Yurina-san a towel and a soap for her to take a bath first. After Yurina-san stepped out of the bath, I then went to take a drum bath after her.


    SPLASH!


    Phew¡­ I can feel my body being warmed into the very core.


    Without waiting much longer, I promptly used the soap. My whole body felt so refreshed. It felt great. Next to the drum bath, I had already placed a side table beforehand with a glass of alcohol. I had also prepared uni sashimi that I served in a glass of salt water. Uni was simply the best.


    While soaking in the bath, I looked up at the blue moon and toasted to the moon. I wondered if it was alright for me to have such delicious alcohol like this.


    I was drying my hair with wind magic in front of the fire after getting up from the bath when the blue wolves approached us. I washed the blue wolves with the remaining water and used wind magic to dry their fur too.


    After that, since we still had a lot of leftover raw uni and merman¡¯s meat, I picked up a generous amount of the food to feed the blue wolves.


    ¡°How is it? It¡¯s good, right?¡±


    I asked and the blue wolves wagged their tails in return, asking for another serving.


    We ate the uni as sashimi but unfortunately, there was still too much leftovers. We then decided to pickle the uni we couldn¡¯t eat in a jar with salt. I quite liked this place. This place was near a village and most importantly, we could use water as much as we wanted.


    Let¡¯s camp in this place for a little while.


    Beside uni and merman¡¯s meat, there was another fish in the river too.


    We didn¡¯t have any particular destination in mind and furthermore, it¡¯d be better to stay away from human settlement  as much as possible. In fact, I believed it¡¯d be safer for us to camp outdoors in the middle of nowhere.


    The night was getting late and so, after brushing our teeth, Yurina-san and I huddled together in the same bed inside the warm covered wagon to keep our body warm. I could breathe in the nice scent of soap permeating from Yurina-san¡¯s body. I kissed her goodnight and fell asleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So the blue wolves have become their pet now. Maybe MC will acquire beast tamer skill or something?

 CH 164

    When I woke up in the morning, somehow I felt like Yurina-san¡¯s cheeks were puffing out a little bit.


    I wonder what I have done¡­.


    OH! Shoot! I forgot to say ¡®I love you¡¯ to Yurina-san last night!!


    I did my best to say ¡°Good morning, Honey! I love you!¡± in Lancaster language to brighten her mood again. She then donned an apron to make breakfast while humming a song while I went toI splash my face with cold water.


    Phew¡­ I feel so awake now.


    I didn¡¯t know what would happen from now on so I decided to keep on practicing. I couldn¡¯t afford to be negligent. We had already decided to stay here for a little while but staying in one place like this had its own risk too.


    I think the best course of action to make us harder to find was to stay in the middle of nowhere for a little while like we were doing now, move and repeat the cycle by finding another remote place to stay at. But I was also afraid of us running out of stuck during the coldest period of this winter. We could only stock up on the barest minimum and it¡¯d be difficult if we only stayed hidden without continuing moving on.


    Well, we just need to train ourselves so we can be prepared for any possibilities.


    With that being said, I then practiced martial art, swordsmanship, archery and magic after I finished feeding hay and water to the horse. I was especially focusing on practicing my newly acquired skills, shield bash and round slash.


    Ash wanted me to play with him but I told him,¡±Papa needs to practice¡± so I let the blue wolves play with Ash instead.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Shield Bash level 3.¡»


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Round Slash level 3.¡»


    After finishing a round of my usual practice, I went to have breakfast that Yurina-san had prepared. Today¡¯s menu consisted of a sandwich with pickled raw uni and soup made from dried meat. I praised her cooking,¡±It¡¯s delicious, Honey.¡± in a way that didn¡¯t sound too unnatural. Ash, who was looking at the scene unfolding, wagged his tail happily.


    09:00


    I chopped some wood for firewood. The sharp sound of wood being chopped could be heard. The chopped firewood would then be stored into the covered wagon. Since we could never know when we need to move, it¡¯d be better to store the goods that could be stored in the wagon.


    11:00


    After that, I took out irene herbs, mylene detoxification herbs, berzin magic herbs, delune fruits and red grizzly bear testicles from the covered wagon to make egil recovery potion, dual potion (medium) and paruna detoxification potion.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Alchemy level 8.¡»


    As I was mixing the concoction, the usual mechanical voice of the system could be heard together with the system screen popping out.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Unlike the usual isekai novel, this MC doesn¡¯t have item box skill so he needs to be mindful of his storage, just like in real life. It makes me wonder how big the wagon is since MC can store his alchemy and blacksmithing equipment there.

 CH 165

    13:00


    After having a light lunch, Yurina-san and I decided to have some fun fishing. There was no monster in the river, probably because of our big fight yesterday. Even if there was any monster, the blue wolves would protect us anyway so it¡¯d be safe either way for Yurina-san to get near the river. I started preparing at the fishing spot, making a bonfire so Yurina-san could stay warm.


    After that, we started fishing but since we had a lot of free time while waiting for the fish to take the bait, I entrusted Yurina-san to watch the rod while I made fire daggers. I sprinkled crushed fire and femto stones on the whetstone and started grinding the dagger.


    When we stopped by a village or any settlement in the future, they would be happy if we could barter this fire dagger with them. Winter was a cold season after all. Surely the people in a small village would be more delighted to have some goods or food rather than money during the winter. Besides, we could still get several gold coins from selling the fire dagger in town so there was nothing to lose by making more fire daggers. Our money was not infinite by any way so we should think of finding a way to earn money too.


    After getting bored of making daggers, I then started practicing playing the lute I had bought in Tairant. Plucking the lute, I started playing some chords, accompanied by the sound of Ash howling,¡±auuuuu¡±,  in accordance with the melody.


    He sounded so cute, like he was singing so I ended up playing with Ash instead of practicing the lute.


    ¡­¡­¡­Ah, crap. I forgot I was fishing.


    Looking at the stupid me and the stupid dog¡­ I mean, stupid dog, Yurina-san looked a little exasperated, like she was thinking ¡°it couldn¡¯t be helped¡±.


    At first Yurina-san was struggling since she couldn¡¯t fish but after I taught her the trick and tried pulling the rod together with her, she gradually improved. Thanks to Yurina-san¡¯s help, we caught a lot of tucarush fish, the isekai equivalent of sweetfish.


    Let¡¯s have another fish-based meal for dinner tonight.


    16:00


    I started preparing dinner while boiling water for the bath. I made the stick for the skewer by shaving a tree branch with a dagger and skewered the tucarus fish so I could grill it over the fire with salt. I also didn¡¯t forget to filet some tucarus fish in three pieces and serve them as sashimi.


    The food I made was the basic classic but they were still delicious. I believed having a fresh ingredient was the best spice you could get for any meal.


    And today¡¯s alcohol would be ale.


    Gulp, gulp.


    Puah¡­.


    The feeling of the sashimi going down the throat together with the ale was irresistibly delicious. Yurina-san also looked very happy as she enjoyed the fish-based meal together with the ale.


    Several of the blue wolves were approaching us so I shared some grilled tucarus fish with them. The blue wolves and Ash ate the tucarus fish with vigor.


    After that, Yurina-san went to have a bath together with Ash. Just like the case with Sarasa, everyone really loved Ash. I also wanted to get into the bath together with them but¡­ Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped I guess. It was reassuring to have Ash becoming bodyguard for Yurina-san after all.


    When Yurina-san was done with her bath, I decided to take a bath too. The snow was falling tonight so I treated myself to having a bath while watching the snowfall.


    Phew¡­ I can feel my cold body is being warmed into its very core.


    I could hear the crackling sound of the firewood burning. The night was growing quieter than ever.


    19:00


    Yurina-san told me to get into the bed first so I wouldn¡¯t feel cold after the bath. Since my body was already feeling warm all over, I decided to head into bed earlier than usual. Of course I didn¡¯t forget to say,¡±good night, Honey. I love you.¡± and gave a peck on her adorable cheeks as per the rules between us. If I didn¡¯t do it, her cheeks would become all puffed out the next morning after all.


    If I stood still by the typical japanese mindset like,¡±there¡¯s no way I can do such an embarrassing thing!¡±, pretty sure Yurina-san would thrust the divorce paper (or whatever the isekai equivalent of it) to my face before long. Apparently the people in this isekai had the same mindset as the modern Japanese people back on earth.


    Turning off the light from the lantern, I closed my eyes and fell into deep slumber with the warmth from Yurina-san and Ash in my embrace.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So not only Yurina-san is adapting with MC¡¯s quirk, MC is also adapting to Yurina-san¡¯s quirk. It seems the people in this isekai are not afraid of any PDA or being affectionate straight on. I like this though! While having a silent gesture of affection is nice, having someone tell you they love you with their words is nice too~ Of course those words need to come from their heart!

 CH 166.1

    When I woke up the next morning, Yurina-san was still sleeping next to me. I was unable to resist the temptation of her warmth. This temptation was beyond anything else, making me go back to sleep once again in the bed just like that while hugging her, enjoying the gentle scent of her.


    However, not long after that, the cutest living thing in the world started to let out a sound of grumbling. Of course this living thing was no one else but Ash.


    It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m feeling like sleeping all day but I guess it¡¯s time for me to wake up now.


    I was about to wake up so I could feed Ash when Yurina-san opened her eyes.


    ¡°Good morning, Honey.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Keigo.¡±


    We said our morning greetings while kissing each other lightly.


    Love is really a great thing.


    I didn¡¯t have any intention to learn how to speak in the Lancaster language but if it was just a daily conversation of this level then, it was possible for me to pull it off. Strangely enough, I felt that communicating through letters only was a little unsatisfactory for me. Which was why, when I had any spare time, I started learning the Lancaster language from her little by little.


    Yurina-san and I went out of the covered wagon to wash our face and brush our teeth using the water stored in a bucket. While we were doing our morning routine, the blue wolves brought a deer they had just hunted.


    Maybe they had learned that the food became delicious if I was the one to prepare it?


    The blue wolves looked like they were practically saying,¡±Praise us!¡± and asking me to pat their head so I did. I patted the blue wolves¡¯ head.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s have a deer meat party today!¡±


    ¡°Awuuuu!!¡±


    And so, I started disassembling the deer.


    I drained the blood from the deer and then I washed the liver with running water. Freshness was very important for offal like this liver so I then seasoned the fresh liver with garlic and salt before I cut it up so I could serve it as a liver sashimi. Aside from a portion of the meat that we were going to eat today, I cut the meat in appropriate pieces and then I covered it with clean cloth and tied it up with a string and froze them.


    Yurina-san and I, along with the blue wolves who had experienced the taste of a distinguished service, ate the liver sashimi with a sprinkle of salt on it.


    Yeah, it¡¯s delicious. Simply scrumptious.


    And then we lightly grilled the meat and ate it with bread.


    Eating it like this is good too. Game meat is delicious~


    I gave the blue wolves and Ash the deer meat sandwich. They were all eating the sandwich cordially. By the time I noticed it, the blue wolves were already gone after they had their fills of deer meat.


    I was enjoying myself with a cup of herbal tea made from marble grass after a meal. I needed to train but after having such a luxurious meal, I wanted to soak in the afterglow first.


    Yurina-san said that she wanted to knit in the wagon afterward. She was good at sewing and knitting. She could also make handicraft like that necklace using an ashwolf fang. She was actually pretty good with her hands. The design she created was quite good that it made me think,¡±Maybe we can also sell them.¡± But right now, there was no need for us to sell them yet.


    I was already done with training and fishing in the early afternoon but I was lacking in motivation to do anything. As proof of that, I was snacking on deer sashimi while sipping on some alcohol.


    I¡¯m actually a bad adult.


    Yurina-san and Ash were also by my side. The two of them were enjoying the wild game by piercing the deer meat with skewer sticks that we had made by shaving tree branches. Yurina-san was grilling that deer skewers by the bonfire.


    With even more freetime on hand, I smoked the deer meat and the cheese I had bought in Tairant while continuing fishing. The sound of the water flowing from the small stream combined with the sound of the bird chirping was really pleasant to hear. I was truly feeling relaxed from the bottom of my heart.


    I let out a yawn, it was so peaceful that it somehow made me feel sleepy. Yurina-san was also nodding off, maybe because she was feeling full or maybe because she was relaxing by the bonfire. Ash looked sleepy too, he was nodding off too.


    I beg you guys, please don¡¯t fall asleep onto the bonfire, okay?


    While I was thinking that, my fishing rod twitched. I wonder what I caught?


    I pulled the rod in according to the tempo of the reel and on the end of the fishing line, I found a different fish than the sweetfish I used to catch dangling on the line.


    ¡¾Neitolius: A cod-like fish native to the Lancaster Kingdom. Its roe is especially delicious. ¡¿


    What¡­ A cod jam packed with fish roe¡­ Or to be precise, a neitolius, appeared. I really couldn¡¯t get bored at all. One after another, new ingredients kept on appearing, so fun!


    That¡¯s right¡­ Let¡¯s have cod roe spaghetti for dinner.


    I took a peek at the water¡¯s surface again and saw kelp-like water plants swaying from side to side so I gathered them up with a sword.


    ¡¾Zircoot Water Plant: A water plant that can be used for cooking. It has a peculiar taste to it.¡¿


    Since the appraisal said this plant could be used for cooking, I took a bite of it and it turned out it tasted exactly like a kelp. I guess I could use this to make kobujime or as an ingredient to make soup stock.


    16:00


    After I finished fishing, I wrapped the tucarus and neitolius sashimi in a zircoot plant¡­. Curing those two fish sashimi with kelp like how you made kobujime¡­.  I didn¡¯t know what was the isekai language equivalent of this but I was basically curing sweetfish and cod sashimi by wrapping them between layers of kelp.


    The outside part of this covered wagon had a storage space so this storage space basically became a nature made freezer at this time of the year. This kelp-covered fish sashimi should be stored in the freezer for one month.


    Together with the uneaten deer meat I had set aside, we had secured quite a lot of food. It seemed for the time being, we could keep on hiding with this amount of food in reserve.


    After that, I started preparing tonight¡¯s main dish, the cod roe spaghetti. I boiled the spaghetti and then I mixed them up with the cod roe sauce and garnished the dish with irene herbs. The medicinal herbs were good to restore one¡¯s energy so I believed this meal was good to help us get through this cold winter.


    Once Yurina-san took a bite of the cod roe spaghetti, she stiffened.


    19:00


    I entered the bath together with Yurina-san and Ash. While I was staring at the clear night sky filled with stars, I was thinking of moving to another place soon. Unfortunately, it was risky for us to stay at one place for too long.


    I was thinking of going to the village to procure some food and salt but I wanted to avoid being tracked by them if I could help it. We were still pretty stocked up anyway.


    Right. Let¡¯s follow the river branch and head on to the east. In that way, at least we will be able to take a bath everyday and have a comfortable journey.


    ¡°Yurina-san, tomorrow,we move.¡±


    I told her in broken Lancaster language that we would be on the move again and she nodded with a smile on her face while playing with Ash.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The author really loves raw food. His diet is so healthy.

 CH 166.2

    Chapter 166.2: (Donny¡¯s POV) The Loyalty of a Soldier?! The Captain of the Soldier in Resta!


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    My name is Donny. I¡¯m a loyal soldier of Bavarian-sama. I¡¯m working as a captain for soldiers belonging to Resta.


    Recently, Heinrich-sama had been acting strangely. He seemed to be doing something with his private army. It¡¯d be good if he was carrying out his noble duty like subjugating monsters or something like that but¡­.


    I had a bad hunch about this. And it turned out, my hunch was right on the mark.


    I had just finished my shift in guarding Bavarian-sama¡¯s room and I was about to hand over the responsibility of guarding Bavarian-sama¡¯s room to the chief captain, Brutus, when that incident occurred.


    Thieves, dressed in black with a cloth covering their nose and mouth, infiltrated Bavarian-sama¡¯s house.


    ¡°Who are you guys?! Do you know that this is a noble¡¯s residence and what you¡¯re doing is a crime?!¡±


    I daunted the enemy and defeated their leader with my sword.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..!! Why you guys?!¡±


    Upon closer inspection of the way they moved, I recognized them. It seemed the enemy was a group of Resta soldiers under Heinrich-sama.


    However, I was outnumbered. The enemy silently and slowly surrounded me.


    ¡°Ugh¡­.¡±


    Then another man who appeared to be another leader of their group appeared from behind me, jumping out from the group of enemies that had been surrounding me and thrusted his sword at me. Upon looking at that man¡¯s face, I immediately recognized that very familiar face.


    ¡°Brutus¡­. You too, huh¡­ Even though you¡¯ve swore your allegiance to Bavarian-sama¡­ Why?!¡±


    That man was Brutus, the chief captain of Resta soldiers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take this in the wrong way, Captain. After all, this world is all about money, power and status. If we can get Keigo Okuda¡¯s part healing potion, then we will be able to get anything we want. Captain Donny, will you please stop with your useless resistance and come join our side?¡±


    This guy, does he even understand what he¡¯s saying?!


    ¡°I refuse! You will have to step over my dead body if you want to pass through me!¡±


    ¡°Haaahhh¡­. The captain¡¯s warrior spirit has been activated. But still, it will be troublesome to deal with the aftermath if we killed the captain so¡­. Hey, use ¡®that thing¡¯ just like we planned!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!!¡±


    Damn it!


    But by the time that thought crossed my mind, it was already too late. The enemy behind me had shot something at my feet.


    Ugh- This smell is?!


    It was a paralyzing bullet made from refining the extract of gleene grass, a plant with paralyzing poison.


    I had unconsciously inhaled the paralyzing smoke, filling my lungs with it, making me unable to move right here and there. How regretful.


    I was tied up with a rode and exiled from the town. My life was spared thanks to my title as the captain. As soon as I was rendered immobile, they immediately captured Bavarian-sama and put him under house arrest at Heinrich-sama¡¯s mansion under the watchful eyes of Brutus.


    While Bavarian-sama was unable to move due to the paralyzing poison, he immediately ordered me,¡±Protect Keigo Okuda!!¡±.


    Bavarian-sama, I¡¯m truly sorry. However, this Donny will definitely rescue you no matter what it takes.


    I was stripped of all of my possessions before I was thrown away. For the time being, I had to find some shelter so I could stay warm.


    Maybe I need to quickly dig a hole in this snowy mountain¡­.? But, that hole won¡¯t be able to let me stay warm for long¡­ That¡¯s right. What was the last thing Bavarian-sama said to me? Keigo Okuda. If it¡¯s his cabin, I should be able to get inside there even when I¡¯m banished from the town.


    Judging from our current situations, Keigo Okuda should¡¯ve run away already but I highly doubt he can run away while carrying that building along with him. That place is the most ideal place for me to stay warm temporarily.


    With those thoughts in mind, I headed toward Keigo Okuda¡¯s cabin. When I arrived at Keigo¡¯s house, I saw Juno, an adventurer, and Elsa, the daughter from an inn called ¡®Sunny Pavilion¡¯.


    I told Juno and Elsa the details of our circumstances.


    Heinrich-sama had taken control of the entire town. Since I persisted on being on Bavarian-sama¡¯s side until the very end, I was exiled from Resta. Bavarian-sama was confined at Heinrich-sama¡¯s residence. I was ordered by Bavarian-sama to help Keigo Okuda, who was being chased after by Heinrich-sama.


    I told them everything.


    Juno seemed to be calm but he was obviously angry as he listened to me.


    ¡°Donny-san, if you¡¯re taking Keigo¡¯s side then we¡¯re your comrade too. We will definitely bring Keigo back and for that, we need Bavarian-sama¡¯s help.¡±


    ¡°So you mean-?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Our interest and Donny-san¡¯s interest are aligned. Heinrich-sama is definitely keeping his eyes on us. According to what Donny-san had told me,they are certain you are going to freeze to death after they threw you out of the town, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what Heinrich-sama said.¡±


    ¡°Then that means Donny-san, you¡¯re not under their mark. Donny-san, I want you to chase after Keigo and please hand this over to that guy.¡±


    ¡°This is¡­?¡±


    ¡°That thing is necessary to guarantee the safety of Keigo and the others, who are being chased by Heinrich-sama. Sarasa¡¯s father is the leader of the merchant guild and he¡¯s been helping us out with this.¡±


    Juno said that as he handed me a fist-sized gemstone.


    ¡°Yes, of course. I also have my order from Bavarian-sama after all.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I owe you one for this. Now then, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do¡­.¡±


    And so, I decided to follow after Keigo Okuda¡¯s footsteps. Juno gave me some money for my traveling expenses for the time being along with a horse tied with a wagon, warm bedding made from fur, firewood, foods and other stuff that I would need for my journey.


    Also, I also borrowed some armor and weapons that Keigo had left behind in his blacksmithing workshop. Amongst the weapons, there were fire daggers and water dagger too. With this, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about procuring water or fire. The journey would become much easier.


    ¡°Donny-san, Keigo is heading north to Tairant. I don¡¯t know where he¡¯s heading after that but you will need to go to Tairant first to track him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand. I will also send you a letter if I find something.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for this. If you want to send us a letter then please send it to Josephine-san from the entertainment district because she¡¯s probably not marked by Heinrich-sama. Once again, please be careful out there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You guys better be on your toes too. I will leave Bavarian-sama to you.¡±


    And so I set my wagon off north in order to track Keigo Okuda down, the man who was the center of the current rebellion orchestrated by Heinrich-sama.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Is Heinrich that stupid to immediately assume Donny is dead that easily? I mean, finding shelter in the cold is hard but not impossible. Especially since Donny is a skilled soldier.

 CH 166.3

    Chapter 166.3: (Donny¡¯s POV) Looks Like an Adult at First but It Turns Out His Head Is That of an Adult Too?! Inept Detective Donny!


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    After parting ways with Juno and Elsa, I headed off to Tairant, a city located north from Resta.


    I was sitting on the stagecoach part of the wagon in the middle of the freezing cold, warming my body by drinking milan fruit wine from a flask. I had warmed this fruit wine beforehand by the bonfire before. After the hot liquor traveled through my throat, I deeply sighed out a white and drunken breath. Then I slowly chewed a dried meat made from deer. I kept on chewing in order to keep myself awake.


    Yeah, it¡¯s delicious.


    Juno and Elsa gave me some food from the cabin they were staying at since it¡¯d be a waste to spend my time cooking meals during my travels. Ever since I had been captured by Heinrich¡¯s soldier, I had been surviving without drinking or eating so it was natural the meal I had finally got would taste so incredibly delicious. I could feel my body was overjoyed to finally be able to eat.


    ¡°Hey, Horsie, won¡¯t you say something to me? I¡¯m bored.¡±


    I said to the mare that was pulling the wagon I was in but I received no reply in return.


    If I was traveling with someone, I could distract myself by talking with them but unfortunately I didn¡¯t have anyone to talk to right now. Having no one to talk with throughout the day, by the time I realized it I had already found myself talking to the horse.


    If I don¡¯t meet and join Keigo group soon, I might be in serious trouble.


    ¡°Horsie, I¡¯m sorry but I will need you to pick up the pace.¡±


    I made Horsie continue to run with all of her might until she reached her limit. Of course I still made sure to give her water and much needed breaks. I encountered some monsters along the way but fortunately it was just some small fry like goblins so it was not a problem for me.


    And then, I finally arrived at Tairant. First, I dropped my luggage at an inn I was familiar with.


    Now then, it¡¯s time for me to start finding his track.


    First, I went to the adventurers¡¯ guild but what a surprise. I found a portrait of Keigo and Yurina on the bulletin board. There was a request to search for them under the name of a noble from Tairant. It was said the noble would give 20 gold coins in exchange for the information of their whereabouts?


    In my head, the image of the noble from Tairant came to my mind. He was someone with three triple trouble traits. Fat, short and bald. I was acquainted with him since he was a close associate of Bavarian-sama. Most probably, Heinrich-sama was using the part healing potion as bait to move the noble from Tairant.


    If only we could make our move better, we could¡¯ve used the noble from Tairant to restrict Heinrich-sama¡¯s movement instead¡­. Putting his personality aside, Heinrich-sama was actually a pretty capable person.


    Well, if we can predict what Heinrich-sama is thinking then this problem wouldn¡¯t exist in the first place.


    Pretending to take this quest, I took Keigo and Yurina¡¯s portrait and started searching for information about them.


    Then the night came. I sat at a desk by myself, then by relying only on the light from the lantern as a source of light, I started to write down the information I had gathered from my travels and asking around the city for the last few days on a paper.


    Keigo and Yurina were in this town, Tairant, a few days ago. Then Keigo switched his ordinary wagon for a covered wagon. He bought a shield and sword skill and practiced those said skills. He threw some coins to a street performer on the roadside of the town and had his portrait taken by a portrait painter in the central plaza.


    After that, Keigo and Yurina went on to watch a play, the two of them looked intimate as they watched it. I was also able to pinpoint the specific inn Keigo was staying at along with the young errand boy that was tending to them. Up until this point, the information gathering was doing great but people were naturally feeling less inclined to talk about their acquaintance to a stranger at a moment¡¯s notice.


    However, this was where the gemstone-like magical device that Juno handed to me proved to be useful.


    According to the errand boy that had taken care of Keigo and the other, Keigo said that he was going to capture a ¡®Giant Urchin¡¯. Speaking of Giant Urchin, Giant Urchin is a troublesome aquatic monster that uses flying thorns as a means of attack. They are going to eat such a grotesque thing¡­?


    However, there is no other clue but that. If that information is true then they must be heading to a road with a river beside it.


    After summarizing the information I had gathered up to that point, I sent the letter I intended for Juno to Josephine-san, the Mama from Butterfly¡¯s Cradle Pub at the entertainment district of Resta.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: You know, I also want to meet the first person that saw an urchin, cracked it open and be like ¡°this yellow thing must be delicious!¡±.

 CH 167

    We drove our covered wagon along the river toward the east. Even if we were on a run, there was no reason for us to be hasty. There was nothing standing in our way. I was even thinking that it¡¯d be fine for us to keep on going to the national border just like this and escape to the neighboring country.


    Anyway for the time being, I felt like it¡¯d be better if we slept outdoors as much as possible and kept on moving periodically and repeated that cycle while standing guard for any movement from Heinrich¡¯s side. After all, we might get caught at the national border¡¯s inspection if we tried to go to the neighboring country..


    As we were moving along the river, there were settlements scattered here and there. It wasn¡¯t big enough to be called a village since there were only several houses there. Both people and animals were attracted to the source of water after all.


    At night, while I was making a fire for the bonfire when we camped outside, an idea occurred to me.


    Is it possible to make a fire inside the covered wagon?


    That was the main idea. The only problem with making a fire inside the covered wagon was that there was no pathway to let the smoke out. Then if that was the case, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if I just made some sort of chimney hole for the tent part?


    Though it felt good when Yurina-san and I pressed against each other for warmth, the inside of the covered wagon was definitely not warm enough for us. I really couldn¡¯t say our current living conditions were good enough. It¡¯d be extremely bad if Yurina-san were to catch a cold since we couldn¡¯t afford to see a doctor for the time being.


    In conclusion, I decided to install a simple wood stove inside my covered wagon. The image I had in mind was similar to the kind of stove you used inside a tent when you camp outdoors. I was able to make a bath from iron. I think I should be able to make a chimney tent then.


    However, ¡®Project: Installing a Stove in the Wagon¡¯ suddenly came to a halt.


    ¡­¡­¡­..I don¡¯t have a furnace.


    I had brought coal, inferior iron ingots, hammer and other blacksmithing tools but without a furnace to heat the metal, there was nothing I could do with it.


    Hmm¡­


    Just when I was wondering what I should do, the problem I had in hand suddenly got resolved just like that.


    I was walking along the river the day after I thought of installing a stove in the wagon when I saw smoke, the kind of smoke that was produced as the aftermath of blacksmithing with coal from the nearby settlement.


    In other words, there was a blacksmithing workshop in that settlement. Although I should stay as conspicuous as possible, I judged that obtaining a stove to warm ourselves during the winter inside the wagon and improving the quality of life outdoors for our journey to come was essential.


    And so, upon seeing the shadow of the figure of the people from the settlement, I waved my hand to the left and right at them grandiosely.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Upon googling, it turns out having a stove with a chimney peeking out from the hood is a thing in the past. MC and Yurina-san just need to be careful so they won¡¯t burn anything in the wagon.

 CH 168

    We were welcomed into the small village, although in reality there were no more than 10 houses in this village. I went to the small house where the smoke of the coal was coming from and asked if I could borrow the furnace. I offered several silver coins and the owner, Vince-san, was more than happy to allow me to use it since there was no more blacksmithing work to be done for today.


    And then on, I spent the whole day holed up in the blacksmith workshop. The sound of me hammering the iron reverberated all over the small village. While I was working, Yurina-san was resting in the guest room adjoined to the blacksmith workshop. Her fatigue must¡¯ve already piled up due to traveling in a wagon, something she was not used to along with other various reasons.


    And so, after a lot of trial and error, I somehow managed to finish making the firewood based chimney stove. I used the stone I got from the village to make the baseline floor of the stove and made a small aperture to refill the firewood from inside the wagon. Since the smoke would be running upward, I decided to install the chimney right on top of the stove.


    An opening was made on the top of the stove in accordance to the size and the dimension of the chimney and then I processed the joint part between the chimney and the stove to prevent the heat from the chimney from burning the canopy part of the wagon.


    After I somehow finished installing the stove, I gave it a test run. I used a fire dagger to light the firewood and waited for a little while before the warm air started filling the covered wagon, just like the warmth you could get from lighting a fireplace inside a house.


    This stove came with a cooking stove on top of it so I could make food while staying inside the covered wagon. I didn¡¯t have to go outside and ended up feeling cold in order to cook. I was really happy with the finished result.


    With this, we would be able to get through the upcoming cold winter night. I would like to believe that my decision to visit this small village was not a mistake after all.


    The night was getting late by the time I finished with work so I decided to stay in this small village tonight. I gave Vince-san, the owner of this place, 1 gold coin as hush money.


    The next day, I had the villager to share with me some food and other necessities like fuel for our journey through Vince-san. Of course at first they were reluctant to do so since necessities to get through the winter was a precious commodity for a small village like this one, especially since we were already entering the winter period where snow started to pile up. However, their attitude immediately changed upon tasting the food and other goods I was willing to barter in exchange.


    The thing I offered was not money but things like cured tucarus and neitolius with zircoot plant (basically kombu jime), smoked egg and cheese and the fire daggers that I had made in between my fishing break.


    Money wasn¡¯t worth as much during the winter season where peddler¡¯s feet became heavy from the snow. Instead, they were more happy to get ingredients from the river since the river was dangerous due to the monster and the smoked food. Also the fire daggers were greatly appreciated since it was basically a useful tool to create fire, you could use it not only during the winter but during other seasons as well.


    I¡¯m glad I made those fire daggers in between my fishing break.


    On the other hand, I managed to stock up on salt, garlic, soybean, alcohol, egg, chicken meat, milk, cheese, pickled vegetables, frozen fruit, wheat flour and firewood along with other stuff. Among those things, there was this thing called soybean sauce and when I licked it, I realized it tasted exactly like regular soy sauce.


    ¡°UWOHHHH!!!¡±


    Tears of gratitude immediately ran down my face and I shook Vince-san¡¯s hand vigorously. With this, our culinary repertoire would become much more exciting¡­


    Having a good meal and alcohol was a very important part of the honeymoon after all. This discovery would be passed down to the next generation¡­. Probably.


    Another thing we got was an alcohol called ¡®seryu¡¯. Apparently this alcohol was made using isekai rice and had the same dry taste similar to japanese sake. It could be used not only for drinking but also for cooking.


    Since I was keeping my visitation to a town to the bare minimum, I had to stock up as much as I could when I had the chance.


    Apparently on ordinary business transactions they usually had, there was no opportunity that could allow them to obtain a fire dagger and so, the villager who had been so cold and distant before, suddenly became very friendly.


    They said that we should stay for several nights more but since we wanted to avoid any human interaction as much as possible, we decided to leave that small village on that very day.


    Well, though it¡¯s good that they¡¯re now acting friendly with us.


    When I asked Vince-san to not tell anyone that I had visited this small village because I was being pursued by someone relentlessly, he then pounded his chest energetically while saying,¡±Leave it to me!¡±


    And so, the covered wagon carrying Yurina-san, Ash and me, left the small unknown village that was filled with kind people.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Hopefully the villager is not easily swayed by money so they won¡¯t snitch on MC. I thought fire dagger is pretty common since fire dagger is not that expensive but it turns out for a village in the middle of nowhere like that, fire dagger is an extremely rare tool

 CH 169

    We slowly made our way on the snow-covered road along the river toward the northeast. We took numerous breaks and made a camp but as I thought, the level of comfort was entirely different now that we had a stove inside the wagon.


    Just when I thought with how things were going on, our current living quality wasn¡¯t that different from sleeping in an inn with a fireplace in it, an incident occurred.


    Yurina-san was sitting next to me in the driver seat. She was holding Ash in her arms while being wrapped up in a red grizzly quilt when suddenly Ash let out a small bark,¡±Woof¡± and acted as if he was trying to get Yurina-san¡¯s attention.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ash?¡±


    Then, Yurina-san put her head on my shoulder. At first I thought Yurina-san was only acting spoiled but then, I noticed there was something unusual with her condition.


    ¡°Yurina-san?¡±


    She was breathing hard and her face was a little red. Grabbing her head with both of my hands, I put our forehead together.


    ¡°This is bad, you have a fever.¡±


    I immediately steered the wagon to the side and upon seeing an empty spot with trees providing shade from the sun, I parked the wagon there.


    After parking the wagon at a suitable place, I tucked Yurina-san in and nursed her there.


    In the meantime, I checked the surroundings to make sure there was no danger around us. Then, while I was inspecting the vacant space with Ash, Ash suddenly growled. There was something there.


    Raising my guard, I gripped the hilt of my hellfire sword.


    KISHAAA!!


    On top of the tree, there was a spiderweb and something like a giant, purple spider around 2 meters big baring its fang as it jumped on me.


    DOSH! BOM!!


    I backed away to avoid the giant spider¡¯s attack and as soon as I drew my sword out, I thrusted my sword at the spider, skewering the giant spider¡¯s body. Immediately, the giant spider¡¯s body burst into flames. Unable to shoot out its venom because of the fire engulfing its body, the spider started shaking its whole body, making a motion as if it was about to do something.


    Maybe the spider is going to use its venom? Or maybe something else?


    At any rate, it¡¯s best if I made some distance from it first.


    I then used the ¡®Shield Bash¡¯ attack with my shield. Basically killing two birds with one stone because I was able to prevent the spider¡¯s venom attack and hitting it at the same time.


    BAMM!!


    The spider tipped over.


    As a finishing blow, I unleashed a fireball with my hellfire sword, a middle-distance attack, at the spider.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 20.


    HP:45¡ú46


    MP:40¡ú42


    Vitality:40¡ú41


    Intelligence:88¡ú89


    Dexterity:51¡ú52


    Speed:47¡ú48


    Acquired Sword Piercing level 1.


    Acquired Shield Bash level 4.¡»


    The usual mechanical voice could be heard together with a terminal screen popping out. I then used appraisal on the dead spider.


    ¡¾Purple Tarantula:A high-level monster with deadly venom. Once caught in its thread, it¡¯s almost impossible to escape from it. It attacks by shooting out thorns contained in its whole body. ¡¿


    ¡°How dangerous. So that motion from before was its preparing stance for the thorn attack¡­¡±


    I was curious if that spider¡¯s thorn attack was stronger than the giant urchin¡¯s thorn attack or not but I wouldn¡¯t go out of my way just to test it out.


    If the monster was that strong then maybe the threads and the venom gland could be used for something. I should collect the material from the spider after things with Yurina-san settle down. I also needed to check the newly acquired skill with appraisal.


    ¡¾Sword Piercing: A thrust attack imbued with fighting spirit in the sword.¡¿


    I see.


    This was yet another new type of technique. It seemed with this I could implement various patterns to my swordsmanship without relying on bash type technique only.


    After patrolling the vacant lot for a while, it seemed there was no other enemy around. I called out to the blue wolves and the wolves immediately appeared from the bushes. I then decided to entrust the surveillance of the area to them.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Waiting patiently for beastmaster skill¡­ Or tamer skill¡­ Or wolf whisperer skill..

 CH 170

    After that, I put the firewood inside the stove in the covered wagon and lit the fire using a fire dagger. Once the inside of the wagon became warm, I started cooking medicinal food for Yurina-san. The ingredients I used were irene herb, mylene detoxification herb, garlic, deer meat and uni pickled in salt. Then, to make the pasta easier to digest, I crushed it in small pieces with a knife before boiling it in a pot. After that, I added milan fruit wine to bring out the flavor of the soup.


    The delicious scent of the food filled the entire wagon.


    I took out some deer meat from the pot and placed it on Ash¡¯s plate. However, although Ash was drooling all over the floor, he still dragged his plate to Yurina-san and sat patiently in front of her. Apparently, he was offering his favorite meat to Yurina-san. Ash was truly a gentle boy. He was worrying about his owner, Yurina-san.


    I helped Yurina-san to sit up, poured the medicinal meal into a wooden bowl and fed it to her with a spoon. When someone had a fever, it was very important to make sure that person drank enough water so I also gave them Yurina-san a cup of clean water made from the water dagger.


    ¡°Look, Ash. Yurina-san is fine. You need to eat your meat too as well.¡±


    Then, maybe because Ash finally felt relieved, he started munching on his deer meat too.


    It seemed Yurina-san had grown very fond of Ash since she kept on hugging Ash all through her meal.


    Holding Ash in your arms, gives you a sense of relief. I understood it well too.


    After that, I gave paruna detoxification potion for Yurina-san to drink and then I tucked her back to sleep again. She pestered me to give her a kiss on the cheek so I did. I gave her a ¡®sleep well¡¯ kiss on the cheek.


    She then giggled before she finally closed her eyes¡­.


    Somehow, this kind of thing felt nice.


    I added more firewood into the stove and then I went outside to take care of the horses, check the wagon and do all other things as well.


    ¡°Ash, please watch over Yurina-san for me.¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    Putting on warm clothes, I went outside, away from the warmth of the covered wagon. When I looked up at the cold sky, I saw glimpses of transparent looking stardust from between the trees. It was a beautiful night but right now, I wasn¡¯t in the mood for having fun.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely going to be alright. It¡¯s going to be fine.¡±


    My precious person had fallen ill and I was in a different world without any doctor around. Although I had magic potions with me, I was well aware that an illness like this was not an easy thing to cure.


    It would be crazy to not feel anxious at a time like this.


    ¡°Please, please let the medicine work¡­¡±


    After that, I distracted myself by collecting materials from monsters and chopping firewood before I went back to continue nursing Yurina-san.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: In a world without the convenience of modern medicine, a common cold can be dangerous indeed¡­.

 CH 171

    After I dismantled the purple tarantula, I obtained its poison sac, thread as well as explosive materials that were meant to help the purple tarantula send the thorns covering its whole body flying at its enemy. Apparently this purple tarantula, not only was able to create a poison from its own body but it was able to produce explosive material as well. The explosive material seemed like a dangerous thing but I still kept it anyway since I still didn¡¯t know what I could use it for.


    While I was still nursing Yurina-san, I had already finished collecting monster materials and chopping wood so I was feeling bored since I didn¡¯t have anything to do.


    And so, I decided to try to make something out of the materials I obtained from the purple tarantula.


    First, its venom.


    I tried mixing purple tarantula¡¯s venom gland with donur poison and then¡­


    ¡¾Tarantin Deadly Poison: An enhanced version of a spider¡¯s venom. This poison is so strong that it¡¯s effectivity if simply out of this world. Most creature will die in an instant. Poison Resistance level 8 is required to withstand this poison.¡¿


    A pretty dangerous thing had been created. If I wasn¡¯t wrong, you need Poison Resistance level 7 for donur poison so just from that fact alone, you could already imagine how powerful this new poison was.


    I soaked a few arrows in Tarantin Deadly Poison to make a poison arrow out of it so I could use it when I was in a crunch.


    Also, since I was basically entangled with a noble, there might come a time when I needed to fight other people even though I personally didn¡¯t want to fight anyone. I wanted to have some sort of weapon that I could use that wouldn¡¯t cause a fatal wound that might kill someone.


    Hmm¡­ Is there any idea I can come up with¡­. Right. It is in the middle of winter so there are a lot of fallen dry nuts in sight. Maybe I can use it¡­.


    I gathered the dried nuts and gouged the inside out so only its thin skin would be all that left. Then, I took out this particular material I had obtained from the purple tarantula.


    ¡¾Spider Explosive: Explodes upon impact.¡¿


    I wrapped the explosive with paper and placed it on the center of the hollowed nut. Then I poured a mixture of wheat flour and finely crushed gleene paralyzing grass around the explosive material. After that, I joined the other half of the nut with resin to finish it off.


    My homemade paralyzing hand grenade was complete.


    Using the same method, I covered the explosive powder with the spider thread I had unraveled so that it wouldn¡¯t get tangled in place of the paralyzing powder. I decided to name this one, Spider Thread Hand Grenade.


    To test it out, I threw both kinds of hand grenades into the trees and the hand grenade immediately exploded upon impact. The paralyzing hand grenade looked good. The grenade sent up a cloud of powder smoke up in the air so I used ¡®wind¡¯ magic to prevent the smoke from drifting toward me.


    As for the spider thread hand grenade, the spider thread got stuck on the trees when the grenade exploded. It seemed just one of these grenades would be enough to immobilize a person.


    These spider thread hand grenades and paralyzing hand grenades were both simple to use since you only had to throw it at your opponent so Yurina-san must be able to use them too. I was also happy that I could use them for hunting to secure our food supply since these grenades were both non toxic.


    Once Yurina-san was cured from her sickness, I would teach her how to use these for her own self-defense.


    ¡°Now then. It¡¯s time for me to start cooking soon.¡±


    I basically had created a new weapon from purple tarantula¡¯s material so I went back to nurse Yurina-san again.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: That purple tarantula is kinda like isekai-ed Bakugou then. Also according to the author¡¯s note it seems the LN version doesn¡¯t have this hand grenade. Since the manga follows the LN, that means you won¡¯t get to see the hand grenade in action in the manga either. Seems like the hand grenade is WN exclusive weapon.

 CH 172

    In the wagon, I woke up while feeling cold. It seemed I had fallen asleep while leaning against Yurina-san¡¯s bed. Yurina-san was still deep asleep along with Ash who looked comfortable sleeping in Yurina-san¡¯s arms.


    The fire from the stove had already died so it was pretty cold here in the wagon. I threw the firewood I had piled before by the stove into the stove and ignited the fire with a fire dagger.


    ¡°Fire, fire¡­.¡±


    I threw some firewood from a pile that I had stacked by the stove beforehand into the stove and ignited the fire with a fire dagger. The room temperature gradually became warmer and warmer. I held my hand out over the crackling firewood powered stove. Finally, I could catch my own breath.


    Apparently, I had fallen asleep without noticing it when I was nursing Yurina-san.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I wonder how her fever is?¡±


    I touched Yurina-san¡¯s forehead to find out and it felt like her fever was considerably better than before.


    ¡°Yes, great.¡±


    Her breathing was more stable than a short while before too. She seemed to be getting better now. All that I needed to do was to keep the wagon warm and humid and made sure she continued having enough food and water. Then, she would surely be alright.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad¡­¡±


    I had been wondering what I needed to do if she really contracted a strange disease. I¡¯ve heard of people getting seriously ill just by being bitten by a flea. In an unknown place like this, there must be an unknown disease as well and when either of us got infected by that said unknown disease, I wouldn¡¯t know what I should do.


    We couldn¡¯t let our guards down yet though, it was a relief to know she was getting better.


    I changed the towel on Yurina-san¡¯s forehead and filled the slightly distorted kettle that I had made myself with water and heated it on top of the stove. Of course this was done in order to raise the humidity in the wagon.


    After that, I somehow couldn¡¯t fall asleep so I just stared blankly at the flickering, waving fire in the stove and the steam coming from the kettle.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I can relate with MC here. My baby suddenly had red spots all over her legs and I panicked so bad. Fortunately it was just an allergy reaction from her cough medicine.

 CH 173

    ¡°Keigo¡­ Good morning¡­.¡±


    The next morning, Yurina-san opened her eyes. On the other hand, I had been watching the fire without falling asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. But strangely enough, I didn¡¯t feel sleepy at all. Though it wasn¡¯t like I had gone without any sleep, I had been closing my eyes while sitting down to give my body a break.


    I¡¯ve got enough rest.


    ¡°Good morning, Yurina-san.¡±


    I gave a good morning kiss on Yurina-san¡¯s cheek then I put my forehead against her to check her temperature. It seemed her fever was almost gone now.


    ¡°It seems you¡¯re already fine now but, don¡¯t let your guard down yet. You still need to rest for another day, okay?¡±


    While saying that in Japanese, I gestured for her to go back to sleep. Yurina-san understood what I meant but she looked a little bit displeased.


    Even that simple gesture of hers looked very adorable.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Let me wipe the sweat from last night off your body and then I will help you change your clothes.¡±


    Yurina-san had sweated a lot. I wet the towel with hot water from the kettle and used it to wipe Yurina-san¡¯s body. Yurina-san¡¯s pajamas were completely soaked with sweat too so I also helped her change her clothes.


    Then Yurina-san¡¯s body made a series of adorable sounds so I decided to go on to make a meal for us. Besides, Ash had been pestering me like he was practically saying,¡±Feed me!¡±.


    Today, I decided to make a soup with mylene detoxification herb, root vegetables and various seafood I got from the river. I used kelp to make the soup stock and seasoned it with salt. I also made roasted deer meat by cutting the deer meat in thin slices first. Then I garnished the roasted meat with irene herbs and fruit along with gravy sauce. Instead of bread, I made pancakes by using flour, sugar and eggs that I had purchased beforehand. I also added cheese to the pancake as a secret ingredient to make it taste better. To finish the pancake off, I added some raspberries-like fruit that I had received from the villagers.


    When I told Yurina-san to give the dish I had made a try, her eyes widened in delight.


    I guess at this rate, her health is only going to get better?


    After a meal, I made her drink a glass of hot water and paruna detoxification potion and told her to lie down again.


    You can¡¯t stare at me like that, okay? You need to rest.


    After Ash had plenty of food, I took him outside to do his business. He normally would play outside all day until the sky got dark but now, he never left Yurina-san¡¯s side.


    He must be worried about Yurina-san too.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Pets are family too~ They know when their family member is feeling unwell~

 CH 174

    In the early afternoon, I started going around to check on the ankle snares trap that I had placed around the perimeter and found a rabbit got caught in the trap. I quickly skinned the wild rabbit and disassembled it. I rubbed salt and garlic all over the rabbit meat and roasted it whole.


    The savory smell of the juicy meat drifted around the whole area, making the blue wolves come approaching us. Using a dagger, I sliced some of the meat off and the blue wolves happily ate it.


    Evening came. I propped Yurina-san¡¯s shoulder, helping her to sit up from her laying down position. She had gotten better but her condition was still not perfect by any means yet. I needed to feed her something energizing.


    She leaned her body against a pillar supporting the wagon and smiled reassuringly at me. And so, we decided to eat the remaining soup from this morning along with a less-sweet pancake and freshly roasted juicy rabbit meat.


    Yurina-san looked so happy as she ate. The gluttonous Ash realized he could have an endless loop of his favorite food, meat, if he begged Yurina-san so he was always stuck by Yurina-san¡¯s side throughout dinner.


    ¡°Yurina-san, please don¡¯t feed Ash too much.¡±


    When I said that, Yurina-san gestured to me that Ash was so cute that she couldn¡¯t help it.


    Well, I¡¯m also like that too I guess.


    ¡°Ash, you¡¯re going to become like a sumo wrestler if you keep on eating like that, you know?¡±


    I warned Ash but he couldn¡¯t care less. He was too focused on chomping down on the whole roasted rabbit meat.


    After dinner, we cleaned our bodies with hot water before we slept on a futon together. Yurina-san looked like she was all better already so I didn¡¯t need to stay up all night to nurse her anymore.


    Of course, I still made sure she would drink her medicine.


    I must be completely exhausted after nursing her yesterday because I immediately fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Fortunately it seems Yurina-san only caught a common cold~ Well, it¡¯s winter after all.

 CH 175

    The next morning, Yurina-san looked completely healthy. When I hugged her, I noticed she didn¡¯t have any symptoms of illness anymore and she was eager to cook first thing in the morning since it had been a while since she last cooked.


    Yeah, I think she¡¯s alright now.


    After breakfast, we decided to slowly continue traveling in the wagon again.


    We¡¯re on a run with no particular destination in mind so let¡¯s take our time slowly.


    According to the map, if we followed the road down the river, we would be able to see a town called Baileys. If we were to run short on supplies, we could come to that town to restock.


    There was no need to rush so we took a lot of breaks in between our journey. I taught Yurina-san how to use the hand grenade(the spider thread and the paralyzing ball) in between our breaks.


    Yurina-san was happy to know that she could also be useful in battle. We still had a surplus of spider thread, paralyzing herbs and dried nuts so when I taught her how to make the hand grenade, she was enthusiastic to make it herself.


    She wanted to sit in the driver seat but I told her to obediently sit in the wagon together with Ash. She was still in a convalescent period so she mustn¡¯t force herself if possible.


    In the middle of the peaceful scenery, Rocinante (my stallion) and  May Queen (my mare) were merrily trotting down the road, making a series of click clack noises. Then, all of a sudden, from the direction of the river, a huge serpent raised its head and glared straight at us.


    That was none but the infamous serpent, a monster I knew very well of. Normally, I would¡¯ve already made a dash out of it with my wagon but now, the serpent didn¡¯t scare me anymore.


    I stopped the wagon and pulled out my Wolverine Thunder sword. The three blue wolves also appeared out of nowhere and started taunting the serpent.


    ¡°Yurina-san! Stay hidden!¡±


    ¡°¡ó¡ð¡÷¡ñ¡Á!¡±


    ¡°Woof!!¡±


    With the hand grenade in her hand, Yurina-san started saying that she wanted to fight as well. Apparently, she wanted to be useful in battle too. Sarasa and the other women from this different world were really strong-willed. In my original world, I doubt there would  be any woman who would dare to face this terrifying serpent. Ash also took his stand in front of Yurina-san, showing his spirit in order to protect Yurina-san.


    Nice job, Ash!


    ¡°Yurina-san! You definitely have to stay behind me!¡±


    Though I was reluctant, I still agreed for her to join the fray.


    The serpent was the one that made the first move in the midst of our standoff. While facing me, the serpent went into its poison breath motion.


    However, I already expected the serpent to do that.


    ¡°Wind!!¡±


    SWISHHHH!! SPLASHHH!!


    GISSSSHHHAAAAA!!!


    Completely receiving its own poison breath attack, the serpent writhed in pain.


    ¡°Yurina-san! The spider thread!!¡±


    ¡°There!!¡±


    The hand grenade that Yurina-san threw, hit the flailing serpent¡¯s body. Spider thread stretched out upon impact, successfully pining the serpent¡¯s body to the ground.


    ¡°Well this is¡­ No, Sword Piercing!!¡±


    STABBB!!


    I stabbed the gaping Serpent¡¯s head with my Wolverine Thunder sword. The serpent, having its head skewered, writhed on the ground before it finally stopped moving.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Sword Piercing level 2.¡»


    Come to think of it, if I¡¯m not wrong, the serpent¡¯s meat can fetch quite a price. How many gold coins was it? Well, I won¡¯t know unless I sell it now.


    For today, we decided to spend the night on a high ground, a short distance away from the river, and tried on some meal made by using serpent¡¯s meat.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N:For manga readers, Yurina-san already shows her capability in fighting by using a slingshot but in the webnovel, it seems it¡¯s going to take some time before Yurina-san finally uses the slingshot.

 CH 176

    The whole riverbank was filled with a fragrant smell. To be precise, this fragrant smell of a unique sauce from a high-class eel restaurant I often frequented in Tokyo. To make this sauce, first, I used this soy sauce I had procured from the village as the base, then in exchange for mirin, I used seryu sake (a sake that tasted similar to seishu sake) and added sugar before I stirred the mixture while simmering it.


    Then in exchange for the eel¡¯s head and liver¡­. I used the serpent¡¯s head and liver (I had made sure the liver was not poisonous first) and grilled them on a wired net. Then the grilled head and liver was added into the sauce mixture and simmered over low heat. After about 20 minutes, the eel sauce was completed.


    The reason why I came up with this idea was because of the serpent¡¯s wriggling form when it was writhing in pain. When I cut a slice of the meat and lightly grilled it to try it out, the unique texture of the serpent¡¯s meat felt really similar to an eel.


    And what a perfect timing since I had recently acquired a soy sauce from the village so I really wanted to try to recreate, if not a similar taste of grilled eel from that high-class eel restaurant. Not to mention, I had bought a grilling rack and charcoal at Tairant too. I couldn¡¯t help but to think that God had brought me and the grilling rack together just for this chance.


    Of course I could cook it using the wood stove I had installed inside the wagon but still, it goes without saying that you have to grill it slowly over a charcoal grill on a wired net and thoroughly coat it with the sauce without rushing.


    I used a cooking spatula to slather the serpent filet with eel sauce as I grilled the meat over charcoal fire. Coated it with paint, grill, coated it with paint again. I repeated the process over and over again.


    As a result, the whole area was enshrouded with an aromatic smell.


    Around the grilling rack, there was me, Yurina-san, Ash and at least 10 drooling blue wolves. The smell made you feel like you were standing in front of the ventilation fan of an eel restaurant. All eyes were completely fixated on the grilled serpent¡­. No, the grilled eel.


    I served the glistening, golden brown grilled eel on a plate and slowly brought it to my mouth to try it out. Of course the drink I had by my side was not a draft beer but a chilly cold ale instead.


    HAP¡­. Munch munch¡­.


    DUARRRR!!


    A lightning flashed behind me and I spontaneously finished the ale in one gulp.


    ¡°I¡¯m so damn happy¡­.¡±


    I cried involuntarily. Yurina-san, who was looking at my current situation while waiting impatiently, also took a bite of the grilled eel.


    DUARRR!!


    That¡¯s the best reaction I¡¯ve ever seen from her!!


    ¡°Ash, and the blue wolves too, eat up.¡±


    I put the grilled eel on the plates and shared it to the blue wolves and Ash, who had been waiting obediently. All of them were lost in delirium as they ate


    After that, I used the wired net to grill more eels. The blue wolves seemed to like it so much that they kept on coming back for more numerous times.


    ¡°You guys have risked your life to protect us. Eat up.¡±


    I thanked the blue wolves since they hadn¡¯t helped us with the cockatrice only but they had also secretly helped us on other occasions too.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: When MC is back, he can open his own eel restaurant too¡­

 CH 177

    I decided to eat the pseudo grilled eel with rice and other condiments, essentially making a dish called ¡®hitsumabushi¡¯.


    Zircoot water plants¡­ Or rather, kelp, was available so I could make soup stock out of it.  I didn¡¯t have any rice so I would finely chop pasta in exchange for rice. As for the condiments, I used this dried green onion-ish vegetables (appraisal said this vegetable was called ¡®nell grass¡¯) that I had gotten from the village.


    Cut the grilled eel into bite sized pieces and placed them on top of fake rice made from finely chopped pasta. Sprinkled them with green onion and then poured the broth made from kelp. For the flavor, add salt and soy sauce based on your own preference.


    Now then, it¡¯s time to actually taste this dish.


    Hap¡­. B-BBOOOOMMM!!


    The taste between the broth and the condiment along with the taste of the grilled unagi, interweaved, making a beautiful harmony.


    This is dangerous. It seems I¡¯ve created another sinful dish.


    And then, Yurina-san, Ash and the blue wolves also enjoyed the fake ¡®hitsumabushi¡¯ with all of their heart.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­I can¡¯t eat anymore.


    The serpent had been eaten clean without leaving any trace. It was such a huge serpent but it was barely enough for the blue wolves.


    The blue wolves, maybe because they had eaten so much, were now laying down with their stomach out in the open by the bonfire. Ash was also laying down with his stomach out on top of the laying down blue wolves, making them look like a ¡®kagami mochi¡¯ (a stack of two round mochi).


    The ¡®hitsumabushi¡¯ must¡¯ve tasted incredibly good for them. That ¡®hitsumabushi¡¯ was really worth making.


    After enjoying eel to our hearts content, Yurina-san and I took some water from the river and started boiling the water for our bath. After Yurina-san and Ash had finished bathing, I took a dip alone. I placed a table beside the bath so I could enjoy the bath with some distilled liquor and some leftover grilled eel as a snack to be paired with my drink.


    Yeah, this feels nice too.


    With a towel placed on top of my head, I looked up at the night sky in the midst of the steam from the hot bath. The moon and the stars were beautiful tonight as well, along with the sound of the stream from the river and the birds, it was perfect.


    While I was soaking in the tub, I almost fell asleep with a towel soaked in the hot water I had placed on my eyes to warm my eyes up.


    This is not good. My body is getting warm too. I need to get out soon.


    After getting out of the bath, I went into the covered wagon to dry my hair in front of the stove. Yurina-san¡¯s long hair wasn¡¯t dry enough yet too so I sent out a warm wind by using wind magic passing through the stove. Ash was already curled up on the bed, the adorable sound of his breathing could be heard as he slept.


    And then, Yurina-san and I had a post-bath drink. We were drinking a glass of ale that had been chilled outside beforehand.


    Uuughhh, how irresistible! Like seriously, this is the best honeymoon ever!


    Feeling happy, I decided to end this day by going to sleep. I had thought Ash might woke up when I entered the bed but after looking half-asleep for a moment, he immediately went back to sleep again after taking his place near Yurina-san and I¡¯s feet. That gesture of his was so adorable that Yurina-san and I couldn¡¯t help but to unconsciously hold our breath before we laughed.


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    T/N: Small animals look so adorable doing whatever when they¡¯re half-asleep~

 CH 178

    The next morning, I was digging a hole in order to bury the bones and other discarded parts of the river eel-¡­ I mean, serpent, when I found two types of ore.


    ¡¾Shiny Green Stone: An ore with wind attribute.¡¿


    ¡¾Hard Yellow Rock: An ore with earth attribute.¡¿


    I guess these stones are  the siblings of the fire stone that I used as a material to make a fire dagger? I¡¯ve brought my hammer and whetstones with me so let¡¯s try it out later.


    Then, we decided to pack our luggage into the wagon and continued our journey down the riverside.


    After about half a day of traveling, we found a clearing by the riverside where we could set our camp at. When I got off the wagon in order to check the surrounding area to see if there was any monster around, Yurina-san, who was carrying Ash in her arms, insisted that she wanted to come along too.


    Maybe the battle with the serpent had awakened something inside Yurina-san¡­ Though I personally didn¡¯t want her to do anything dangerous too much if I could help it. But still, she said that she wanted to be able to protect herself. This world was different from the peaceful Japan. In this world, you could easily lose your life here. So, maybe her way of thinking was actually the norm in this world.


    And then, together with Yurina-san and Ash, we moved along the riverside. After all, if there was any monster, the riverside must be the place.


    And sure enough¡­.


    SPLASHH!!!


    ¡°Ah, I knew it. It appeared.¡±


    Three merman appeared in the direction Ash had growled in alertness. We attacked first before the merman could shoot water balls at us.


    ¡°Yurina-san! Paralysis!¡±


    ¡°There!!¡±


    Yurina-san threw a paralyzing ball made from a dried nut¡¯s shell filled with gleene paralyzing grass at the merman in the head. The ball immediately exploded upon impact. Unfortunately, all of the merman, who were standing close next to each other, ended up inhaling the powdered paralyzing grass. After the smoke cleared up, their bodies twitched and spasmed, unable to move.


    ¡°Good job, Yurina-san!¡±


    I said to Yurina-san and she made a ¡®guts pose¡¯, looking very happy.


    The woman in this world is really tough, huh?


    Because she might level up from slaying the merman, I then went on to deliver the finishing blow with Wolverine Thunder Sword together with her at the same time.


    I asked with a gesture whether her level went up or not and she answered it did. Apparently the pop up screen and the mysterious voice weren¡¯t exclusive only for me to hear. I asked her to write the status she saw on the screen onto a piece of paper.


    Then I looked at the merman before me. Their meat and scales were useful so I dismantled them there.


    Let¡¯s cook something with merman meat today.


    ¡°If Yurina-san is going to keep joining the battle like today, that means I need to make some sort of armor for her¡­¡±


    I wonder what I can make for her with the materials I have on hand¡­


    I thought to myself as I dismantled the merman.


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    T/N: Fortunately (or unfortunately?) we won¡¯t see any bikini armor in this novel.

 CH 179.1

    After dismantling the merman and securing the ingredients I could get from them, I didn¡¯t have anything better to do so I decided to experiment with the stone I had discovered yesterday.


    ¡¾Shiny Green Stone: An ore with wind attribute.¡¿


    ¡¾Hard Yellow Rock: An ore with earth attribute.¡¿


    Since these stones possessed attributes, I guess that meant they were like some sort of sibling to fire stone. By combining crushed fire stone and femto stone together, I was able to add fire attribute to stuff. In other words, it was safe to assume that I could also use the same method with these stones.


    And so, I decided to work on them using the same method as the one I did with the fire stone.


    I took a femto stone from a bag in the baggage area and smashed it into small pieces using an anvil and hammer. I combined the refining material made from crushed femto stone with crushed shiny green stone and hard yellow rock respectively.


    I appraised them and got Shiny Green Refining Material and Hard Yellow Refining Material in return.


    From the green coloured Shiny Green Refining Material, although it was faint, I could feel the same power like the one I sensed when I used wind magic. I could also faintly feel a different kind of power from Hard Yellow Refining Material. Although I had never sensed that kind of power before.


    And so, since I planned on trying to use these new refining materials to polish something, of course the familiar iron dagger would be the perfect choice. I took out two daggers and tried polishing the dagger with the new refining materials respectively and then¡­


    ¡¾Wind Dagger: An inferior iron dagger with wind attribute. It provides +3 Speed and made the wielder 10% lighter.¡¿


    ¡¾Earth Dagger: An inferior iron dagger with earth attribute. Gives Hardness (provides additional power to physical attack) effect.¡¿


    And so it appeared. At the same time, the appraisal result of Shiny Green Refining Material and Hard Yellow Refining Material also changed.


    The Shiny Green Refining Material could provide additional speed points and reduce the weight of the wielder if I used it to polish both weapon and armor. While Hard Yellow Refining Material could add Hardness effect to both weapon and armor. Hardness raised the physical attack and physical defense of items.


    ¡°I see¡­.¡±


    And then I remembered I had things that I wanted to make.


    Of course that thing was none other than making armor and weapon for Yurina-san who had been joining me in battle recently. It should be something that a powerless woman could even use but at the same time, the issue about its defense ability still left me concerned.


    And so, this was the point where the effect of these two attributes implementation came to play. Wasn¡¯t it just perfect that I could magically raise both physical attack and defense and at the same time reduce the wielder¡¯s weight?


    To test it out, I polished the wind dagger with Hard Yellow Refining Material. A short time later, the wind dagger started to emit a faint yellow light. Based on my experience so far, this meant the dagger was finished. I then appraised the dagger.


    ¡¾Wind Earth Dagger: An inferior iron dagger with wind and earth attributes. Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical attack).¡¿


    I see. So it¡¯s not like you can only grant one attribute to a single weapon.


    Considering that combining water and fire attributes resulted in lightning attribute, it seemed that mixing compatible attributes together was possible.


    ¡°Then, if we try to add these attributes to Yurina-san¡¯s leather winter clothes¡­.¡±


    Taking off my winter clothes, I called out to Yurina-san, who was in the middle of knitting, and took her winter clothes with me. I sprinkled Hard Yellow Refining Material and Shiny Green Refining Material on the leather clothes and carefully brushed it. Then, Yurina-san¡¯s winter clothes started emitting yellow and green light. I appraised it and¡­


    ¡¾Wind Earth Leather Shoes: A leather shoe with wind and earth attributes.  Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical defense).¡¿


    ¡¾Wind Earth Leather Hat: A leather hat with wind and earth attributes.Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical defense). ¡¿


    ¡¾Wind Earth Leather Glove: A leather glove with wind and earth attributes. Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical defense).¡¿


    ¡¾Wind Earth Leather Hat: A leather hat with wind and earth attributes. Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical defense).¡¿


    ¡¾Wind Earth Leather Coat: A leather coat with wind and earth attributes. Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical defense).¡¿


    ¡¾Wind Earth Dagger: A dagger made with inferior iron with wind and earth attributes.  Provides +3 Speed, reduce 10% weight and Hardness (provides additional power to physical attack).¡¿


    It seemed the experiment went smoothly.


    When I returned her winter clothes to Yurina-san and asked her to wear them, she was surprised because of how good the clothes felt and how easy it was to move in them. With this, not only for combat purposes but, we could also apply the enhancement to everyday use clothing too to increase its durability and make it feel lighter. These items would certainly become a huge hit too.


    At the same time, I suddenly felt hungry. I had been so absorbed with my work that I didn¡¯t notice I was feeling hungry. I thought I smelt something good and it turned out Yurina-san was preparing fish-based dishes like fish balls soup and sauteed fish using merman¡¯s meat that resembled white fleshed fish.


    I¡¯m really fortunate to have a wife who¡¯s good at cooking.


    ¡°Yurina-san, thank you.¡±


    Using both gestures and Lancaster language, I thanked Yurina-san before we had dinner, although it was a little bit late to call it dinner.

 CH 179.2

    Chapter 179.2: (Donny¡¯s POV) A Nuisance?! Inept Detective Donny 2!


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    After gathering information and preparing for my journey in Tairant, I decided to go chase after Keigo. According to the information I gathered from the young boy, there was a high chance that Keigo was traveling along the riverside. Although I wasn¡¯t entirely confident with my deduction, I still think it¡¯d be good if I search for him by going along the riverside as well.


    And so, I left Tairant.


    Then, I drove the wagon to the northeast. If I were to go down the road like this, I would arrive at a city called Baileys but before I could reach Baileys, I would need to go through several small villages dotted along the way.


    After repeatedly camping at night and moving out during the day, I found traces of someone camping on a highground by the riverside and a discarded shell of a Giant Urchin. The little boy did say that Keigo wanted to eat Giant Urchin. Maybe my guess was correct after all.


    Then, I decided to find more information from one of the settlements nearby.


    I acquired a testimony saying a couple was seen flirting with each other by the riverside in a covered wagon. They said the aforementioned couple was a plain man with black hair and a beautiful woman with silver hair.


    With this, that means the credibility of the information I had gathered is quite good, right?


    I asked them if they¡¯d heard where the couple was planning to go but it turned out the couple left to go somewhere else after camping out for several days.


    In any case, let¡¯s just try to track them down by going down the road.


    After that, I tried to go down the road and asked around the other nearby settlements but I was unable to find any useful information.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ve lost their trail¡­.¡±


    Just when I started to feel dejected because I didn¡¯t receive any useful feedback, I suddenly came across useful information. To my surprise, I discovered a settlement where a person who had a similar description as Keigo had stopped by. Apparently a man named Vince-san in that settlement, had done business with them. They had come to buy some food and borrowed his blacksmith workshop.


    I was able to hear that story thanks to this magical device in the shape of a crystal ball from Juno. After thanking Vince-san, I decided to continue chasing after Keigo and the others¡­


    There was a peddler coming to the village so I purchased some food and other stuff from them. The food that I had consumed until I managed to reach this settlement too, was bought from that same peddler. That peddler was really working hard in such cold weather.


    After leaving the village, I drove the wagon further downstream along the road by the riverside.


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    T/N: Donny is slowly catching up to Keigo! Though, given how easy it is for Donny to catch Keigo¡¯s track, I guess Heinrich¡¯s men must be nearby too.

 CH 180

    After dinner, I presented the Wind Earth Dagger to Yurina-san because I thought this dagger, that had been magically enhanced so it provided lightness and hardness, would be most suitable for a woman. Although a weapon didn¡¯t really suit her, she seemed to be happy upon receiving it. She asked me whether she could join me in my morning training tomorrow.


    Right, right. She had shown me the transcription of her terminal screen that popped up when she leveled up from defeating a merman and I discovered something interesting from it.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Yurina went from Level 1 to Level 4.


    HP: 1¡ú4


    MP:1¡ú4


    Vitality:2¡ú5


    Strength: 5¡ú7


    Intelligence: 3¡ú7


    Dexterity: 31¡ú35


    Speed: 2¡ú6¡»


    I also asked her to write down the skill she had when the screen pop up appeared and this was the list:


    Cooking Level 2


    Customer Service Level 3


    Poison Resistance Level 1


    Sewing Level 3


    Design Level 3


    Handicraft Level 1


    Beast Master Level 1


    Throwing Level 1


    Her dexterity was exceptionally high. She also had MP points so she might be able to use magic depending on the training regiment. The other thing I liked was the fact that she had Poison Resistance. Alcohol was basically a drug and if you drink too much of it, alcohol could become a harmful poison to the human body. She must¡¯ve naturally developed Poison Resistance skill while working because she had to drink. I was a little relieved because Poison Resistance skill was really crucial in this world.


    She liked to sew and knit so it was understandable she had those skills. These skills must probably be the reason why she had high dexterity. Since she had crafting skills, in term of occupations in RPGs games, she might be like an Item Master who fought by relying on their high dexterity status and the gadgets they made.


    As for Beastmaster skill, it must be a skill that originated from her relationship of mutual trust with Ash and the blue wolves. In fact, I also had Beastmaster Level 2 and Cooking Level 2 too.


    In other words, it was quite an interesting discovery.


    When I told her about my thoughts, she said¡­


    ¡°Item Master is so cool!¡±


    She said happily.


    I was happy she had a similar mindset akin to that of a chuunibyou.


    Then after dinner, just like a true Item Master, she was engrossed in making paralytic grenades and spider thread grenades using the leftover materials we had.


    As for me, because I was feeling bored since I had nothing to do, I ended up playing with Ash while thinking about what other ways I could use wind attribute and earth attribute with.


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    T/N: I knew it! Beastmaster skill! I knew it!! Also, chuunibyou is basically like weebs acting cringey.

 CH 181

    Chapter 181


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    The next morning, Yurina-san also started training with me. The equipment she was using was the leather set equipment that I had enhanced with dual attributes yesterday and a wooden suit made from appropriate wood. Also, an earth wind dagger. She also had two types of grenades and a dagger scabbard hanging on her waist.


    She practiced thrusting and slashing with the dagger. Then instead of grenades, she practiced throwing at the target by using rocks instead. She was practicing hard with all of her might but somehow there was something incredibly cute with how she practiced. I wonder what it was¡­. I guess it was the same feeling when you teach your girlfriend how to play golf? Though I didn¡¯t play golf.


    After we finished with morning practice, Yurina-san and I had a light breakfast of bread and soup that we made by using the leftover merman meat. Of course, Ash had been with us since the moment we started training.


    Now then, I have a few things I want to do today.


    From here after, the work I wanted to do was a bit dangerous so I entrusted Ash, who had been loitering around our feet, to Yurina-san. After that, I used the fireball from Hellfire Sword to melt the snow piling up on the riverbank. I melted the snow until the ground became all bald.


    ¡°I knew it¡­.¡±


    I tried appraising the exposed riverbed ground and found a good amount of Shiny Green Stone and Hard Yellow Rock. Upon investigating, I found another rock with a light attribute, Volatile Light Rock. I reflected on my action for passing through these without appraising them first.


    I was interested in light attribute too but today¡¯s objective was to find an effective way to use the wind and earth attributes.


    First, let¡¯s make a shield for Yurina-san.


    I beat a steel plank used for reinforcing until it became thin and long and then polished it with a whetstone to give wind and earth attributes to it. After that, I stick the steel plate onto a wooden shield that she used for practice. This should make the shield strong and light.


    Now then, the other thing I wanted to do today was to improve our wagon. Rocinante (my stallion) and May Queen (my mare) were strong but I think they could go even faster if I could make the wagon lighter. We would be able to carry more luggage to a certain extent too.


    I already knew for a fact that we could reduce the weight by 10% if we applied wind attribute to things. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t take advantage of this fact.


    And so, I wanted to grant wind attribute to the whole wagon but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be easy to do. So for today, I would be starting with the cover part first. I took a brush and mixed crushed polishing material with crushed Shiny Green Stone then I started brushing the outer part of the hood carefully. And the result was¡­.


    ¡¾Wind Hood: A wagon¡¯s hood with wind attribute. Reduce weight by 10% and increase +3 Speed for work-horse pulling the wagon.¡¿


    ¡°The naming sense¡­.¡±


    Looking at the pop up screen from the appraisal skill, I ended up unconsciously giving a jab at the system¡¯s naming skill.


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    T/N: Since you guys have read the novel this far, would you mind leaving a review and rating in NU? It will make me happy to read positive comment~

 CH 182

    It wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to stay by the riverbank for long. I needed to worry about our (more or less)pursuer too. With that thought in mind, I decided to gather as many attributed rocks as I could and loaded them into the wagon before setting out. After all, as long as I have the materials, I could work anywhere. Yurina-san was also gathering dried nuts with similar texture as pinecone to use as a material for hand grenades.


    We were running out of spider¡¯s explosives to make hand grenades with so we had to start looking for purple tarantulas. It was a bit troublesome. I really wished I could put up a request to the guild to subjugate them but right now, I couldn¡¯t afford to do that. However, beyond this point, we would be traveling through an area with rather thick trees so we might encounter purple tarantula there. Let¡¯s keep our fingers crossed for that.


    As our horse-drawn wagon continued on the road by the riverside for a while, the forest surrounding us gradually became thicker and thicker. Until the sunlight could barely reach the ground.


    Then Ash, who was being carried in Yurina-san¡¯s arm, suddenly perked his ears and barked toward the sky.


    ¡°What is it now¡­..¡±


    Pulling my Hellfire Sword out, I kept my vigilance high. Yurina-san also had a shield in her left hand and her right hand was in her pocket, holding the hand grenades.


    Then something came swooping from the sky, tearing through the foliages in its wake. I immediately readied my Hellfire Sword and threw a fireball at it. That something avoided the fireball I fired and went hovering again in the sky.


    ¡°A hawk? No, I think it¡¯s way too big to be a hawk?¡±


    ¡¾Phantom Bird: A huge bird monster. It preys on big animal by using its talon to grab the animal. It has an ejection mechanism on its feather, allowing it to shoot its feather like an arrow. Wind magic is effective against its feather ejection attack.¡¿


    Ugh¡­ So this guy is in some sort of flying group monster.


    While I was appraising the bird monster, three blue wolves came approaching us. While all these things were going on, the phantom bird started gathering strength in its body.


    Crap.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to shoot its feathers! Wind!!¡±


    I fired the wind magic with all of my might toward the bird monster and at the same time¡­ BAM!! Together with the sound of explosion, the feathers were ejected in large numbers. The gush of wind and the feather attack collide, sending the feather trajectory off its course. The feather didn¡¯t go back like it did with poison breath though.


    The phantom bird then swooped down again, maybe the bird didn¡¯t like the fact that its feather attack had failed. However, one of the blue wolves hurled itself at the phantom bird¡¯s flank.


    ¡°There!!¡±


    At that moment, Yurina-san threw the hand grenade. BAM!! The hand grenade exploded with a dry sound, spreading a network of gray spider thread, entwining the blue wolf together with the phantom bird.


    ¡°Nice! Yurina-san, now is the time to throw the paralytic grenade!¡±


    ¡°There!!!¡±


    While shouting, Yurina-san threw the paralytic hand grenade at the phantom bird, who was thrashing violently on the ground while being coiled by the spider thread. The grenade hit the area around the phantom bird¡¯s neck and exploded. The phantom bird inhaled the smoke from the exploded hand grenade and it twitched, convulsing, before it ceased to move.


    The blue wolf that was tangled together with the phantom bird got caught in friendly fire too but it was fine since the blue wolf was only unable to move for a while. In fact, removing the spider thread that got tangled with its fur would pose a bigger problem instead.


    ¡°Great job, Yurina-san. Let¡¯s deal the finishing blow together.¡±


    Then the two of us, held Hellfire Sword together, to finish the phantom bird off.


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda is now level 21.


    HP: 46¡ú48


    MP:42¡ú45


    Vitality:41¡ú42


    Strength: 48¡ú49


    Intelligence: 89¡ú90


    Dexterity: 52¡ú54


    Speed: 48¡ú49


    Acquired Wind Level 5.¡»


    Also Yurina-san, who was level 4, was now level 7. Her Throwing skill seemed to have improved too since it was now level 2. The way Yurina-san looked so happy when she saw the pop up screen was so adorable.


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    T/N: Keigo carrying his smurf account be like¡­. Also according to the author, Phantom Bird only available in kakuyomu version. Which means you guys won¡¯t get to see phantom bird in manga adaptation.

 CH 183

    ¡ºIndividual Name: Yurina went from Level 4 to Level 7.


    HP: 4¡ú8


    MP:4¡ú10


    Vitality:5¡ú9


    Strength: 7¡ú10


    Intelligence: 7¡ú11


    Dexterity: 35¡ú42


    Speed: 6¡ú10


    Acquired Throwing Level 2.¡»


    While I was disassembling the phantom bird, Yurina-san happily showed me a piece of paper that showed the transcription of her level up screen. I wondered what kind of comment I should give at times like this. I believed that was one of the most important things in a romantic relationship.


    For some reason, I had 90 intelligence points however, since the beginning I already had high status points in general. Her intelligence point was lower than mine and because she was a woman, her HP point was also lower than mine.


    Men tend to become prideful and act condescending when it comes to women but most probably, that wasn¡¯t the right way to approach things in a romantic relationship. I shouldn¡¯t say things like ¡°you have less intelligence points than me¡±. In these kinds of situations, you should find the positive points of things and praise them for it. Whenever you were in a situation that required you to comment on something, you needed to be sure to praise the woman so they would be happy.


    I looked for good points about her status.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    Yurina-san was very good with her hands and great at sewing. Her dexterity points were unusually high so I decided to praise her for it.


    ¡°Thank you, Yurina-san. You¡¯re very good at sewing and your dexterity point is high too. You¡¯re so amazing.¡±


    I praised her by making sewing gestures and handed back the paper that was written with her status on it.


    Maybe she was satisfied with the praise, she looked so happy after hearing my words.


    See? I told you so. Now, now. Time to continue disassembling the phantom bird.


    The feathers seemed to be in a good quality and would be good to use as a material for quilt, down pillow or cushion. Yurina-san was good at sewing so let¡¯s gather as much as we could put in the wagon.


    Next, the meat. Just like sea urchin, the meat was said to be ¡®amazingly good¡¯. Wondering what the meat would taste like, I couldn¡¯t wait for dinner time to come. The other inedible parts like intestines or offal should be thrown away but appraisal said that these were ¡®very resilient materials¡¯ so just in case, I washed them with water and brought them with me.


    And then, the most important thing was the explosive materials underneath the wings that appraisal described as ¡®monster bird¡¯s explosive¡¯. This thing was the secret behind the feather attack mechanism.


    ¡ºMonster Bird¡¯s Explosive: Explosive used to shoot feathers during feather attack. By putting magic power into it, this explosive can be detonated at any time as long as it can be seen from the user¡¯s distance. ¡»


    I guess this must be similar to a spider¡¯s explosive so we might be able to use this to make a hand grenade for Yurina-san. However, unlike spider¡¯s explosive, this monster bird¡¯s explosive had additional information,¡¯By putting magic power into it, this explosive can be detonated at any time as long as it can be seen from the user¡¯s distance.¡¯. Though, there was no guarantee that this explosive wouldn¡¯t explode upon impact.


    To mitigate the risk of this explosive material exploding upon impact, I gathered all of the monster bird¡¯s explosive in a cushion bag and covered the bag with layers of cloth and phantom bird¡¯s feather.


    When Yurina-san knew about the existence of the monster bird¡¯s explosive, she was quick to take the initiative to help me with collecting the explosive materials even though she wasn¡¯t very good at disassembling work.


    We also would need to verify how this monster bird¡¯s explosive worked.


    After we were finished with the disassembling work, we decided to leave the forest. In a worse case scenario, we could camp in the forest but other monsters might come popping out. If we could, it¡¯d be better to camp in a place with a good vantage point.


    After driving with the wagon for a few hours, finally the setting sun could be seen from the crevice between the trees. Upon coming out of the forest, we found a good place without any obstruction but the river. The glimmering reflection of the crimson red setting sun on the river was very beautiful.


    ¡°Okay. We¡¯re out. Yurina-san, let¡¯s camp here today.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Got it.¡±


    I called out to Yurina-san, who was squinting her eyes, probably because her eyes were dazzled from being basked in the setting sun. And then¡­.


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    ¡°Hey, Ash! Stay down!¡±


    ¡°Ash! It¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    Ash was squirming, ready to jump out to the snow field, which was dyed in crimson red by the setting sun¡¯s light. Yurina-san was holding Ash in her arms, trying to calm him down because I was in the middle of holding the reins.


    Even though this was a pretty dangerous place and literally speaking, our lives were in danger just a moment ago, I was still feeling this extremely heartwarming sense of happiness.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I think this works for other scenarios too. When your friend is asking for your opinion and you know they can¡¯t take criticism at that time, it¡¯s better to find something positive to praise about. Brutal honesty is not always the right answer.

 CH 184

    According to the map, we were still halfway to Baileys city after leaving Tairant. I was able to guess that by comparing the peculiar topography on the map, like the river or the forest,  with the scenery I could see with my eyes. I wasn¡¯t in any rush or anything and in fact, going into a city might be more dangerous for us instead. I think it¡¯d be better to take it slow and camp in a place without many people around to avoid getting caught.


    Besides, Yurina-san had shown a surprisingly remarkable growth in terms of combat so in the case if something were to happen, she could surely play an active role. I didn¡¯t want her to get hurt but I¡¯ve changed my mind. If she could protect herself by getting stronger then it¡¯d be better if I became proactive in raising her level. Currently, her HP and strength point had risen from the original status, which was 1. The increase in those status would help her to become more resilient against disease so there was no reason to not raise them.


    Yurina-san and I decided to camp in a spot not too far from the forest¡¯s perimeter. Though I said ¡®camp¡¯, the cooking space was located within the wagon itself. The only outdoor part that could be considered as a ¡®camp¡¯ was the drum bathtub in which we¡¯d be boiling water to take a bath with. This wagon was really convenient to have.


    For today¡¯s dinner, we¡¯d be having phantom bird¡¯s meat. We¡¯d be cooking the meat in a simple teriyaki style but what was special about today¡¯s dinner was the liver. I tried to lick it lightly to taste it and to my surprise, it tasted richer and creamier than chicken liver. It melted in my mouth just like monkfish liver.


    Thi-This is¡­?! Oh my, this must be the taste of foie gras, something that I¡¯ve only eaten once in my whole life.


    I was delighted at the unexpectedly high class ingredient. It seemed I would be able to fetch quite a high price if I were to sell this to a noble but well, I wouldn¡¯t sell it. I decided to saute the foie gras in an orthodox way.


    I made a sweet-tasting sauce by boiling Bargo fruit wine (that tasted similar to red wine) with sugar and fruit. After that, I sliced the foie gras about 1cm thick, grilled them until the surface became crispy, then poured the sweet sauce over them.


    As for the other regular part of the phantom bird, it tasted just like chicken but it was so delicious that even the chicken from Nagoya paled in comparison. In addition, the sauteed foie gras was simply terrific.


    Yurina-san was also so surprised upon having a bite of today¡¯s dinner that her eyes became completely round. Ash and the blue wolves also looked overjoyed.


    You guys, what an extravagant dog you are¡­ No, I mean, wolf.


    Now, now, since I¡¯ve eaten dinner to my satisfaction, I thought it was time for me to start experimenting with monster bird explosives but then, suddenly sleepiness attacked me after I had gotten out of the bath.


    ¡°Yeah. I guess let¡¯s stop here today. Fuahhhh¡­¡±


    After yawning grandiosely, I crawled into my bed in the wagon and fell asleep in a speed that could even surprise Nobita-kun.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Nobita from Doraemon btw. Also, I¡¯m glad at least today¡¯s dinner is not raw liver.

 CH 185

    I had set up ankle snare traps around our camp and thanks to the blue wolves who provided additional security for us, we were able to sleep peacefully. I went for my morning practice together with Yurina-san. Her throwing had become quite good and I think her throwing speed had reached up to 100km/hr considering the improvement from her status and skills. She would be able to deal a considerable amount of damage just by throwing a simple stone.


    After breakfast, Yurina-san and I decided to experiment with Monster Bird Explosive and Volatile Light Rock. According to the explanation I read from the appraisal, the explosive could be timed to explode at any time if we put magic power into it. Or so it said.


    Well, let¡¯s give it a try.


    I placed the explosive material that I had put magic power into on a tree stump. I put my magic power into it in the same way I did when making potion. The explosive emitted a violet light before the light subsided.


    ¡°What is happening? Well, let¡¯s just give it a try anyway.¡±


    Then while silently thinking,¡±Explode!¡± in my mind, the Monster Bird Explosive suddenly exploded with a loud ¡®BANG!!¡¯ sound. The stump became a little charred.


    I see~ We might be able to use this. Maybe we can use it by setting it up like a trap or something?


    Having grasped the technical specification of the explosive material, this time I tried to teach Yurina-san on how to use it. Though as I expected, it was difficult trying to teach her with only gestures so I wrote the explanation on a paper in Lancaster language.


    Then, maybe because her magic power had increased because of her level up, she was able to pour her magic power into it without any problem.


    As another experiment, I threw a hand grenade that I had made by using the Monster Bird Explosive and it turned out the grenade wouldn¡¯t explode even after it hit the target if I didn¡¯t want it to explode. On the other hand, if I willed for it, the grenade would explode mid-air even without any physical impact. We found out that we could scatter paralyzing powder in this way.


    My adorable Yurina-san is steadily having more and more weapons in her arsenal¡­ I¡¯m grateful for it though since we¡¯re on a run.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Now Yurina-san has a magic-controlled bomb¡­. They can also plant the bomb underground all around their house (when they are able to return home) later to kill off any intruder.


    Also this is how I imagine Yurina-san with those bombs¡­

 CH 186

    Then, we continued on by experimenting with Volatile Light Rock. I thought a light attribute stone would have the same effect like ¡®light!¡¯ kind of thing so an idea came to my mind.


    First, I made iron sand by shaving inferior iron. Then I mixed the iron sand with crushed Volatile Light Rock and femto stone powder and then¡­..


    PIKAHHHHH


    Then, as if a chemical reaction had happened when I mixed the powders, a strong flash of light so blinding that it was on par with Tien Shinhan¡¯s Solar Flare attack appeared.


    ¡°My eyessss!! My eyesss!!¡±


    Well, I guess this is not the time nor the place to be pretending to be Colonel Muska in his death scene.


    The flash subsided a short while later, leaving dimly lit ¡®Light Iron Powder¡¯. I was interested in this ¡®Light Iron¡¯ itself but I already have a thought on how I could use the property of this powder where it would emit an intense flash of light.


    In any case, here was the experiment. I put 3 things inside a paper bag. An empty nut shell Yurina-san had collected. Monster Bird Explosive that had been injected with magic power. A mixture of femto powder, iron sand and Volatile Light Rock. After putting all 3 of them in, I covered the paper bag with resin. Then, I scurried away to a safe distance from that paper bag and willed the Monster Bird Explosive to detonate.


    PIKAHHHHHHHHHHH


    Okay, the experiment is a success. We¡¯ve successfully created a flash bomb.


    To try it out, I also asked Yurina-san to make another flash bomb together with me and then she threw the bomb mid-air and detonated it. A blinding flash of light could be seen in the sky even though the sky was so bright outside.


    A success is a success but Yurina-san is slowly becoming more like a walking bio-weapon¡­. I was the one who taught her but I couldn¡¯t help to notice that Yurina-san is starting to lift her left foot before throwing her catch just like a baseball pitcher¡­ What is this¡­ I feel like the image of Yurina-san I have in my mind is being greatly distorted¡­


    I didn¡¯t want to teach Yurina-san anything too violent. After all, violence didn¡¯t suit Yurina-san. Also, the flash bomb was a bit too intense. I wonder if there was any way we could create sunglasses somehow? Though that meant we also needed a gas mask for the paralyzing bomb.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I never watch Dragon Ball or Laputa so I had a hard time finding the actual meaning behind the meme since the author censored the word in jp raw for Tien Shinhan¡¯s Solar Flare (Ìì¡ðÎÌ«¡ðÈ­) and Colonel Muska (¥à¡ð¥«´ó×ô)


    Anyway¡­ This is Solar Flare


    For Colonel Muska, MC is acting the part where Colonel Muska died in Laputa where he went ¡®my eyesss my eyesssss¡¯ then fell.

 CH 187.1

    Not really liking Yurina-san¡¯s form when she threw something, I started thinking if there was something that could help her in throwing things that would be appropriate for her. Perhaps, I might be able to create that thing by combining hardwood, any common metal I have at ready, animal¡¯s skin and then elastic phantom bird¡¯s intestines that resembled a rubber?


    I decided to put my idea into action immediately.


    ¡°Yurina-san, come here.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    Even with a question mark floating on top of her head, she let me measure the length of her arm to better equip her with that device.


    Yup. The length of the materials I have is just perfect.


    And so, the finished product was none but a slingshot with an arm lock attached to it. Equipping the slingshot on her arm, I had her test the new device by firing a rock with it. She then successfully hit the target that we used during our training.


    Even though she must be unfamiliar with slingshot, she was able to wield it well. This must be thanks to her own power. Without any doubt, her Throwing skill and increase of status points had become her attack power.


    And most importantly, even when she was attacking, she still maintained her beautiful form. For example, anyone would find the figure of an elf shooting an arrow with a bow beautiful. But, what if that elf was to shoot an arrow with their leg up in the air and spread wide? The figure wouldn¡¯t look as beautiful, right?


    ¡°Your attack style is so cool!¡±


    I complimented her figure but she didn¡¯t look all that pleased. She then continued to practice shooting nuts at the target with the slingshot until the sun went down. She had a serious expression on her face. It was very clear to see that she didn¡¯t want to always be protected.


    Not wanting to disturb her determination, I decided to start preparing dinner until she herself felt hungry from practicing.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The author didn¡¯t like that Yurina-san was throwing things with her hands so the author decided to introduce a slingshot into the equation. I personally prefer the slingshot too because more power and less burden on Yurina-san. She can converse her energy better for longer fights this way.

 CH 187.2

    Chapter 187.2: (Johnny¡¯s POV) Overflowing Mohawk Love?! A Gang Boss Preparing His Resolve!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Johnny, the boss of a gang in Resta, Johnny and The Seven Devils. I¡¯m a man who loves mohawk beyond anything else.


    However, my mohawk¡­¡­


    Looking at the barren land on my head reflected in the mirror, I sighed. I drowned in my sorrow while unconsciously holding a mic on my right hand out of habit.


    A mysterious old gentleman in a hood always commissioned a high paying request to us whenever the chance arose. Most recently, he had brought us an unbelievable request. He offered us a surprising amount of money, 10 gold coins just to kidnap a bonker named Keigo Okuda.


    I had a bit of a bad feeling with how outrageous this request was but I also had a hunch that if I had refused his offer there, things would become dangerous for us instead.


    I don¡¯t know who you are but please, forgive us. Afterall, it¡¯s only a matter of factly that your own life is the most important thing in life, right?


    So, although I was unwilling, I ended up accepting his request but, contrary to my expectations, the request didn¡¯t go smoothly. The fire attack I had received, burned my mohawk I was proud of to the ground. During the course of events, I ended up drinking the lost part potion and my mohawk immediately returned right here and there.


    After that, once again, my head was burned to the ground again. I desired to have that lost part potion again. I was also sad to see my lively followers, who were also proud of my mohawk, became somewhat dejected. I wanted to get my hands on the potion but this hunch inside my head kept on ringing loudly, reminding me that I shouldn¡¯t poke my nose deeper into this matter.


    But then, another chance came to me. That mysterious old gentleman paid us a visit at our hideout.


    ¡°This is your last chance. Participate in the unit chasing after Keigo Okuda.¡±


    That old gentleman was smiling but his smile didn¡¯t reach his eyes even in the slightest. His eyes really possessed incredible power¡­


    ¡°Bi-Big bro¡­.¡±


    ¡°Ye-Yeah¡­. You guys, don¡¯t you dare go against me¡­¡±


    After that, me and my followers were deployed in the unit chasing after the running Keigo Okuda. Right now, we were riding a horse, heading north from Resta to a city called Tairant.


    However, the objective of our group, Johnny and The Seven Devils, was not to kidnap Keigo Okuda. Of course if we were to prioritize our personal safety, we ought to do what that old gentleman had said to us but, you shouldn¡¯t underestimate our love toward mohawk, you know?


    In any case, there was no way they would give me a lost part potion after they managed to bring Keigo Okuda under their control anyway. I couldn¡¯t even dare to imagine how much that kind of awesome thing would cost. However, in order to restore my mohawk, I definitely needed to get my hand on that potion.


    Then, what should I do?


    Of course for now, I needed to pretend to be on their side and then¡­ No one could tell what was going to happen next, right?


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Their love for mohawk is real.

 CH 188

    After several nights had passed, the next city finally came to view. Most probably the city we were seeing was Baileys city. Everytime we camped, I always searched for Shiny Green Stone and Hard Yellow Rock on the river beds to add attributes to each part of the wagon. Perhaps because of this, the distance the wagon could cover in one day increased by about 1,5 times. It seemed the wagon was considered as an equipment for the horses.


    My marriage life with Yurina-san was going well and at this rate, it wouldn¡¯t be long before we have a child. I had to be careful though since our current situation was not suitable for giving birth.


    And so, after a few hours riding our wagon, we finally arrived at Baileys city at dusk. The old man at the gate stopped us but after I showed my adventurers¡¯ guild identification card and Yurina-san¡¯s clothing guild identification card, we were able to get into the city.


    In addition, upon inspecting Yurina-san¡¯s clothing guild identification card, I found out that she was in Iron class. A reasonably high class in its own league. My adventurers¡¯ guild card was originally in inferior iron class then it went on to bronze, copper and then iron. After I had defeated a serpent, my class rose to noble iron class.


    According to Yurina-san, the higher the class showed on the card issued by every guild, the better it worked as an identification card. The effect of some guild cards even worked in multiple countries. Adventurers¡¯ guild, especially those who aimed to subjugate monsters across borders, allowed you to cross the border if you were in iron class or above.


    The clothing guild Yurina-san was part of was a pretty powerful guild in its own right but unfortunately, this guild was not a multi-country organization.


    If we continued to be on the run like this, we were bound to hit the border someday. It was worth considering to put Yurina-san in the adventurers¡¯ guild and raise her class to iron class as soon as possible.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s no point in rushing it now though. Yurina-san must be tired too.¡±


    I turned my gaze to Yurina-san, who was brushing Ash¡¯s fur inside the safety of the wagon¡¯s canopy. I felt mentally warm and fluffy upon seeing the most peaceful sight in the world.


    That¡¯s right¡­ For today, we¡¯re going to rest in an inn. Let¡¯s have a slow and relaxing rest day~


    Then, after receiving a recommendation from the gatekeeper, we decided to stay at an inn with a slightly drool-inducing name, ¡°Phantom Bird¡¯s Bed¡±.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC is preparing to feed his smurf account! Also I guess that means each guild is independent of each other. Like each adventurers¡¯ guild is a whole single organization in this world instead of like one big multi-country organization like in most isekai settings.

 CH 189

    The next morning, after we finished with our morning practice and breakfast, we decided to go to the adventurers¡¯ guild of Baileys city. Yurina-san¡¯s Throwing skill had been raised by 3 levels and it was powerful enough to be able to pierce a goblin¡¯s head. Her skill could become as powerful as a pistol. Next, if only we could grant either wind or earth attribute to the ball that served as her bullet, we could raise her offensive capability even further¡­.


    Fufufufu¡­.


    Although I was chuckling in secret, I felt like I  would be in grave danger in the event of a marital quarrel if I did extreme modification on Yurina-san.


    ¡°There are a lot of things I want to do but first thing first, I need to find a way on how to get away from Heinrich.¡±


    Since we were going to show our face at the adventurers¡¯ guild anyway, it would be a good idea to send the report of our monster subjugation while we were at it. According to the owner of the inn, the adventurers¡¯ guild was too far to go on foot so we decided to go there on our wagon. We also wanted to shop for various things.


    ¡°Found it.¡±


    At the center of the plaza, west from the inn, a signboard of a dragon breathing fire could be seen. Compared to Resta, Baileys was several times bigger after all.


    Upon entering the adventurers¡¯ guild that was much bigger than the one in Resta, I saw three reception counters. They were jammed packed with so many adventurers. Some of them were clearly non-human races. The bulletin board where they posted the request was large as well. There were a lot of request forms posted there.


    The first thing we had to do was to register Yurina-san as an adventurer. Pulling the anxious looking Yurina-san, we queued at the end of the line.


    Finally, it was our turn. We were greeted by a young girl who looked like she was born and raised in a city.


    ¡°¡ð¡Á¡÷¡ó¡ð¡ö!¡±


    As always, I couldn¡¯t understand a word they said thanks to their unique pronunciation. Judging from the ambience around us, I knew she was only greeting us. At times like this, it was time for me to whip out my greatest skill, communicating with gestures, into act. If it didn¡¯t work then, I would communicate in writing.


    I told the receptionist, who introduced herself as Vila, that I wanted to register Yurina-san as an adventurer and to report the monster we had subjugated. She gave us an ¡®OK¡¯ sign as she handed us a blank registration form. After that, she took out a magical device that looked like a crystal ball.


    Somehow, I¡¯m feeling nostalgic.


    Reading the form, I filled out the required information.


    I wonder what I should write her job is¡­


    The adventurers¡¯ guild card had an entry called job and I was registered as a ¡®fighter¡¯ when I first came to this world because my weapon of choice at that time was a dagger. I was listed as ¡®magic warrior¡¯ as of now since I could use both magic and sword though. On the other side, Yurina-san¡¯s weapon of choice was a slingshot.


    A shooter?  But a ¡®shooter¡¯ is not part of the job classification listed by the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    We showed the slingshot to the receptionist and after discussing it with her, it was decided Yurina-san would be registered as an archer. After that, Yurina-san held her hand over the crystal magic ball to perform a ritual required to write the status, level and other various informations on her adventurers¡¯ guild card


    Yurina-san started off as an inferior iron class, just like me when I first became an adventurer. Well, her situation was entirely different from when I first started though. She was already level 7 and not to mention, she was able to win against a goblin easily. And also, she had already managed to complete a monster subjugation before she even registered as an adventurer.


    And so, in order to immediately raise Yurina-san¡¯s class, we handed out the necessary body parts for the subjugation report. We handed in a subjugation report of  3 Merman, 1 Phantom Gird and 5 Goblins that we had defeated on our way here. By the way, I also handed the subjugation report of the monsters I had defeated, which was 1 Cockatrice, 3 Giant Urchins, 1 Serpent and 1 Purple Tarantula. We actually had defeated other small fries too but the points from the small fries monster was way too low for us to consider disassembling them. After all, there was only so much luggage we could carry during our journey.


    As a result of our subjugation report, Yurina-san rose from inferior iron class to bronze class and then to copper class. Unfortunately, she was one class short from the iron class. In addition, she received 97 guild points, 7 gold coins, 6 silver coins and 5 copper coins.


    Feeling so happy to be able to earn all of that all by herself, Yurina-san held her cheek with both of her hands ecstatically. Although Ash most probably didn¡¯t understand what Yurina-san was feeling happy about, or maybe he was just feeling happy upon seeing how excited Yurina-san was, he jumped up and down happily together with Yurina-san.


    As for me, I received 321 guild points, 42 gold coins, 8 silver coins and 2 copper coins. In addition with the guild points I had accumulated, I now had over 500 guild points so I might choose to learn either another magic or martial skill together with Yurina-san who would be using her beginner¡¯s perk.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Imagine if MC did something wrong and Yurina-san threw a stone at MC¡¯s head out of anger. MC would get isekai-ed to another world in an instant. Though, I doubt it will happen since MC seems like a decent guy albeit a bit old fashioned.

 CH 190

    Accompanied by Miss Vila Yurina-san and I headed to the practice hall located in the guild. Of course, it was to learn skill by using guild points we had acquired as a reward from subjugating monsters. Yurina-san used 50 guild points and her beginner¡¯s perk in order to learn 2 weapon skills. As for me, I decided to acquire 3 basic magic skills, fire, water and earth. Each one of them cost 150 guild points so in total I had to use 450 guild points. Based on what I knew, those three were the only magic attribute I hadn¡¯t learned yet.


    We mustn¡¯t underestimate basic level magic skill. After all, wind and light magic were very useful during battle. No matter how crappy a magic skill looked at the first glance, it all depended on how you utilize it.


    When we arrived at the training ground under the guidance of Vila-san, we were introduced to Miranda, a woman with large-built who had a job called Battle Master, one who could handle all weapons with ease. And there was also a guy called Nahar waiting for us. He had a hook nose and a pointy hat covering his white hair.


    Miranda-san grabbed Yurina-san¡¯s slingshot, nodded her head multiple times before she suddenly faced the target and threw a stone with the slingshot while using some sort of skill.


    ¡°Please take care of me.¡±


    I said to Nahar-san and then he started to teach me the basic magic skills I had chosen beforehand.


    I glanced at Yurina-san to see how she was holding up and it looked like she was receiving various guidance from Miranda-san. Apparently a slingshot was a known weapon in this world too. Yurina-san learned ¡®Eagle Eye¡¯, a skill that improved the accuracy of the bullet and she would be learning ¡®Eagle Shot¡¯, a skill that increased the speed and distance of the bullet too.


    Now now, let¡¯s see how it goes.


    First, under the guidance of Nahar-san, I learned a beginner level fire support magic skill called ¡®Burning Muscle¡¯. I was told that there were various basic fire magic skills including the type that allowed you to shoot out fire but since I had Hellfire Sword in hand, I decided to learn another type of fire magic skill instead. So there you have it. Although, there was one problem¡­


    Nahar-san shouted the skill name,¡¯Burning Muscle¡¯, while making a pretty sweltering pose. I was told to copy him and if I mumbled the skill name or half-assed the pose, I would get scolded by Nahar-san.


    Also, with wind and light attributes, magic was basically the manifestation of image and interfering with the law of physics in physical space. Vocalization of the spell name was not necessary to be spoken in Lancaster language. In fact, it was easier for me to visualize the magic invocation by using Japanese language instead.


    Damn it¡­ It can¡¯t be helped then¡­.


    ¡°BURNING! MUSCLE!!¡±


    After making sure Yurina-san was engrossed with her own training and not looking my way, I decided to shout out the skill name while striking the pose.


    This pose is definitely unnecessary¡­.


    Hm? U-UWOHHH!! My body is brimming with power!


    ¡ºIndividual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Burning Muscle Level 1. Strength+3, HP+3.¡»


    Just like usual, a terminal screen like a touch panel appeared before me, along with the sound of a mechanical sounding voice.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ughhhh I also dont want to strike a cringey pose in the middle of a battle like Louis Armstrong

 CH 191

    Then I moved on to learn water and earth basic magic skills. There were 3 types of earth basic magic skill. ¡®Stone Bullet¡¯ for attacking, ¡®Stone Wall¡¯ for defending and ¡®Stone Skin¡¯ for supporting. Between those three, I choose ¡®Stone Skin¡¯, a support magic just like ¡®Burning Muscle¡¯.


    Nahar-san said,¡±watch me¡± along with gestures before he threw his clothes away and hardened his right arm. Combined with ¡®Burning Muscle¡¯ and him showing off his muscled arm, the sight of him reminded me of Master Roshi with his kamehameha skill.


    ¡°I guess, it¡¯s time for me to try it out then¡­¡±


    After that, I successfully acquired Stone Skin level 1 and was able to harden my skin, although I couldn¡¯t reach Nahar-san¡¯s level of skill yet. Hardening the skill not only increased your physical defense but also physical attack and of course, the offensive ability when you used a skill would increase too. The degree of skill hardening depended on how high the skill level was. It seemed activating ¡®Stone Skin¡¯ while practicing martial arts would be effective.


    Last one, magic. There was a magic called ¡®Water¡¯ that allowed you to produce water but I didn¡¯t need that kind of skill. I heard there was advanced water magic used for attacking but I really couldn¡¯t imagine the usage of beginner level water magic in attacking. Other than that, there was ¡®Bubble¡¯ a skill to increase fire resistance and ¡®Cure¡¯, a detoxification magic. And so, I decided to get ¡®Cure¡¯ in the hope it would allow me to expand my reach to healing magic skill tree.


    Of course I could just make potions when I needed to get some healing but there was no way I could carry a potion all the time with me and considering how many times I nearly died from poison in this world, I believed having a detoxification magic was pretty essential in life. But if possible, I also wanted to acquire ¡®Bubble¡¯ to help me defend against a fire attack with a membrane of water. Being able to use a water membrane to defend yourself in battle although it was only a basic level skill, would certainly come in handy.


    After that Nahar-san taught me how to imagine and grasped the sense of water magic, allowing me to acquire Cure Level 1. Then, here was the moment my skill as a salaryman came into action. I bribed Nahar-san¡­ No, not quite. I asked him whether it was possible to have him teach me skills by paying him normally using coins instead. To my surprise, he immediately agreed. He charged me 16 gold coins for a skill. It was more expensive than learning sword-based skill but if I was able to acquire magic skill in this way, 16 gold coins was pretty cheap.


    And so, I was able to get Nahar-san to teach me ¡®Bubble¡¯ by paying him gold coins since I was unable to learn that skill through the guild due to insufficient guild points.


    By the time I finished with the transaction and learning process, Yurina-san had already finished her lesson before me and had been waiting for me to finish. We thanked Nahar-san, Miranda-san and Miss Villa before leaving the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC is getting so many skills he¡¯s like inspector gadget

 CH 192.1

    ¡°Then Yurina-san, let¡¯s quickly raise your class to Iron.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Yurina-san, who had acquired new skills, nodded her head excitedly. She seemed to be polishing her life to become more like a combat wife but since she was happy about it, I didn¡¯t see any problem with it. After all, there was nothing more valuable than her happiness.


    ¡°Ah? Is it already this late?¡±


    The sun was already beginning to set. I was starting to get tired and wanted to just go back to the inn to eat and sleep but staying in a place with many people for long wouldn¡¯t be good for us. So considering all that, we decided to quickly procure some food, fire and other essentials so we could leave Baileys city as soon as possible.


    After buying all the things we needed, we headed to the south gate, the one near the forest, when we were approached by a familiar face.


    ¡°Keigo Okuda!! ¡ð¡Á¡ó¡÷¡ó¡­.¡±


    ¡°Donny-san?¡±


    That person was Donny-san, a soldier from Resta who worked under Bavarian-sama. I immediately stopped the carriage and listened to his story. Apparently after Heinrich staged a coup d¡¯etat, Donny-san was banished from Resta. Then with the support of Juno and the others, he was able to follow me all the way here.


    ¡°Donny-san, for the time being, let¡¯s leave this place first.¡±


    After hearing the gist of his story, I gestured to him that we should move to another place without any people. I parked the carriage by the side of the road that led to the forest after leaving Baileys and asked Donny-san for a more detailed story.


    ¡°So Resta has become like that¡­.¡±


    Donny-san told me that Heinrich had staged a coup d¡¯etat and put Bavarian-sama under captivity and Donny-san was certain that Heinrich-sama was trying to chase after me. So, Donny-san offered to become our guard. Since he was originally the captain of the soldier under Bavarian-sama, Donny-san certainly looked strong.


    ¡°Thank you very much. As of now, we¡¯re thinking of raising her class to Iron so we will be able to escape to the country in the east. Since we only need to raise one class more, we¡¯re planning to go to the forest to get it done quickly.¡±


    I told him that with combination of gestures and a written memo.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    Donny-san responded. By the way, up north from here there was a country called Highlander Kingdom and if we went over to the border to the east, we would reach Keel Kingdom. According to Donny-san, Resta had been at war with Highlander Kingdom for so many years now so it would be hard to pass their checkpoint. It would be better for us to escape to the east to Keel Kingdom. If we escaped to another country, even Heinrich wouldn¡¯t be able to touch us there.


    Now then. The sun had completely set and at the same time, I realized I was famished.


    ¡°Eating?¡±


    Using gestures, I invited Donny-san to eat dinner with us.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Why can¡¯t Japanese author just use common english name¡­.

 CH 192.2

    Chapter 192.2 : (Heinrich¡¯s POV) Coming When You Least Expected It?! The Heinous and Cruel Glasses Guy!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Fufufu¡­.


    I raised my glasses with my right hand¡¯s middle finger as I read through report after report of Keigo Okuda¡¯s movement. And in the report, there was¡­


    ¡ºDonny is currently moving downstream along Buller River from Tairant.¡»


    So it was written.


    There was no way I would just exiled Donny out of town without killing him without any reason. That Donny. He was such a stupid guy for not realizing he had been dancing right on top of my palm. I already had my subordinates disguising themselves as peddlers and clinged to Donny to keep track of him. I already knew that Donny had received support from the people who were close with Keigo Okuda and Donny was now trying to go to Keigo Okuda¡¯s place.


    In other words, if we kept an eye on Donny, he would guide us to Keigo Okuda¡¯s place on his own accord just like a puppet doll on a string.The cavalry unit under JIll¡¯s command was waiting on standby at Tairant but considering Donny¡¯s location, I ordered them to go to Baileys City ahead of Donny.


    Fufufu¡­.


    It seemed the day I finally got my hand on my ¡®Gold Tree¡¯ was dawning near. I reveled in pleasure, dreaming about the mountain of gold coins I would get after selling damaged part potion to wealthy nobles for a high price.


    Money is power.


    I didn¡¯t have any intention to end up as a mere noble from Resta. With that money, I would be able to build a large army and stand at the top of nobleman society. If I took Yurina hostage and utilized Keigo Okuda¡¯s power, that dream would certainly come true. I could feel the moment my dream became reality was just right around the corner.


    I was confident that this period of time where we played a silly game of chase would soon be over.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Ughhhh¡­ I really hate this Heinrich. Pure evil. I hope he will get a real punishment.

 CH 192.3

    Chapter 192.3 : (Margo¡¯s POV) Margo Starting


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    I had made my determination to save Keigo. I made up my mind the night I lost my one and only best friend and drank my frustration with tears running down my eyes.


    I will get my best friend back. I want to do everything I can do now so I won¡¯t regret it later.


    I vowed to myself that I would never drink such awful alcohol like this again.


    (¡­¡­¡­..Forming a resistance.)


    We only had one mission.


    ¡ºRescue Bavarian-sama and bring Heinrich down.¡»


    I was the leader and of course, if this mission was to fail, I¡¯d be killed. Sarasa wouldn¡¯t be spared either since we were fighting against a noble after all. That meant, I didn¡¯t only put myself in danger but my action also put Sarasa, my wife, in danger.


    I¡¯m sorry, Sarasa¡­ But I simply can¡¯t abandon my best friend.


    And so, I spoke about this matter with Sarasa.


    ¡°What? Stop talking in an overly cautious manner like this. It¡¯s already obvious that I¡¯m going to help Keigo too.¡±


    So she said.


    She said that as a merchant, she would help us financially. My weapon and armor shop was not enough to support this operation after all. We needed potions and if things proceeded into war of attrition, we would need to secure a steady amount of provisions.


    I immediately asked for Juno and Erza¡¯s help as well. Erza said that we could use her inn as our base of operations. She probably had her own thoughts about this incident. Juno also served as a great fighting potential.


    I then talked to the Mama in the entertainment district. The Mama who considered Yurina as her own precious daughter promised that she would support us with all of her power. You mustn¡¯t underestimate the entertainment district. The connections and relationships between women were strong and many men had been rendered hopelessly enamored with them.


    Due to the nature of my job as a weapon dealer, I was familiar with a lot of adventurers. I couldn¡¯t even count the number of adventurers I had helped when they were still little chicks. And so, I went out to call for the adventurers I could trust.


    (¡­¡­¡­Strangely enough, I don¡¯t feel like we¡¯re going to fail.)


    Upon talking with the adventurers, I found out that Bavarian-sama was surprisingly well-liked. So did the rest of the townspeople, they were fond of Bavarian-sama as well. Apparently, after Bavarian-sama resigned from his position, he went around to apologize to all the people he had inconvenienced. The people hadn¡¯t seen his figure for a while and they were starting to get worried. Everyone was outraged when they found out that Bavarian-sama was being held captive by Heinrich. The adventurers who had been saved by Keigo were also furious to the point their hands were trembling in anger upon learning that Heinrich was targeting Keigo and had driven Keigo out of town.


    (¡­¡­¡­..That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not alone!)


    I realized that although I wasn¡¯t ¡®obligated¡¯ to all the people in town, I was still ¡®connected¡¯ with all of them.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: It¡¯s nice that all of the townspeople is banding together to fight dictatorship

 CH 193

    After finishing a round of hunting in the forest, we entered Baileys city through the south gate. In the forest, we were surrounded by 3 Hellhounds so Donny-san, Yurina-san and the blue wolves, we all worked together to defeat those Hellhounds.The combo of Round Slash and Shield Bash worked exceptionally well when we were surrounded by multiple enemies. Also, the compatibility between me acting as the vanguard and Yurina-san attacking with her slingshot from the back was simply excellent.


    Anyway, the goal of today¡¯s hunting was to raise Yurina-san¡¯s class so we could gain enough social status to pass the neighboring country¡¯s checkpoint with ease. If an adventurer was recognized as Iron Class, they could pass the checkpoint easily. By the way, Donny-san was a Silver Class while I was a Noble Iron Class so there wasn¡¯t any need for us to raise our class even further.


    We were now at the adventurers¡¯ guild and after submitting 3 Hellhound¡¯s Claw as a proof of subjugation, Yurina-san¡¯s adventurers¡¯ guild card changed from Copper Class to Iron Class.


    ¡°Yurina-san! You did well! Great job!¡±


    I told her that and she hugged me tight with a smile on her face. She seemed really happy.


    ¡°With this, we can bid this country goodbye.¡±


    There was no need to overstay our welcome in a crowded place. After we finished processing the payment for subjugating the monsters, we immediately left through the east gate. The sun was already setting in the sky at the west.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s hurry up. We need to leave Lancaster Kingdom and go to Keel Kingdom. Time is of the essence.¡±


    Yurina-san and Donny-san nodded.


    Next, we need to¡­


    ¡°Horsies, from now on, we will need to work you guys a little bit harder¡­. Burning Muscle!! Stone Skin!!¡±


    Red and earth colored magic power surrounded our beloved horses. With this, their strength and sturdiness became elevated and they would be less likely to get stuck in the muddy snow. By the way, it went without saying that even though I used Burning Muscle, I didn¡¯t flex that weird pose and used that weird voice either.


    ¡­¡­The fact that Donny-san had caught up with us meant that Heinrich¡¯s troops could catch up with us at any moment.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Run Keigo run!!

 CH 194

    We headed to Keel, a country in the east. The pathway along was filled with trees all around. The horses seemed to be in great shape though, it must be thanks to the support magic I had put on them. But¡­ Somehow, it felt a little bit too quiet¡­.


    I couldn¡¯t see anyone else but us on this road.


    ¡°Keigo.¡÷¡ð¡Á¡ó¡ó¡÷¡­.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. I also think so.¡±


    Donny-san, who was coming closer, was saying something that I assumed was ¡°There¡¯s something strange going on here¡­¡± The blue wolves were also running alongside us but there wasn¡¯t anything particularly different about them. According to the map, the checkpoint to the Keel Kingdom shouldn¡¯t be far. We should be able to reach our destination by today.


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s just my imagination¡­¡±


    After several minutes of driving in the wagon, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse. We had reached a part of the forest where the foliage was getting considerably thicker and in front of us, there was a cavalry troop of what I assumed was a part of a military unit blocking our path along with infantry soldiers waiting to ambush us in the forest to cut our escape route. Both the cavalry and infantry units drew their swords. There were about a total of 50 enemies.


    Crap. Are they Heinrich¡¯s men?!


    But we couldn¡¯t afford to get caught here. If we could get through them here, we would be able to escape to the neighboring country.


    ¡°Blue wolves!!¡±


    In response to my voice, the six blue wolves that had been running alongside us appeared from between the trees and took up their positions surrounding our wagon. The growling from the blue wolves appeared to be effective since the cavalry unit flinched for a second there. Then, some thug-like guys within the cavalry unit started to fight with each other. I didn¡¯t exactly understand what was happening but this situation was definitely in my favor.


    ¡°Yurina-san! Paralyze! Spider! Donny-san! Back!¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    ¡°Got it!!¡±


    ¡°Ah, wait a minute¡­¡±


    I cast Burning Muscle and Stone Skin on them while drinking MP recovery potion. I also cast those supporting magic to the blue wolves who were threatening our enemy. And of course to myself too. In the meantime, Yurina-san threw a paralyzing ball with a slingshot towards our enemy at both the front and behind and detonated the ball right above their head.


    Seeing everything unfolding, Donny-san didn¡¯t immediately rush toward the enemy. Instead, he stood alongside the blue wolves, intimidating the enemy together with them. As a silver ranked adventurer,the intensity of his presence definitely couldn¡¯t be underestimated.


    ¡°Ooops! Wind!!¡±


    The paralyzing powder was about to drift toward us so I used Wind to carry the paralyzing powder back to their detonation location. In the meantime, Yurina-san detonated a Spider Thread bullet on top of the enemy¡¯s head. Despite the considerably distance between the enemy and us, Yurina-san was still able to demonstrate her sniper shot ability by hitting the enemy accurately thanks to her skill, Eagle Shoot and the additional power from my Burning Muscle.


    My combat waifu is so damn amazing. Moreover, she¡¯s able to avoid hitting the cavalry units that are supporting us.


    When I looked behind, I saw an enemy that looked like the magician type preparing to throw a fireball to counterattack us.


    This is¡­


    ¡°Bubble!!¡±


    I deployed a defensive barrier magic, Bubble, at the blue wolves who were in front of my line of sight. A water membrane enveloped the blue wolves, protecting them from the fireball. In the meantime, five people riding a horse came toward us from among the fighting cavalry unit and so the blue wolves immediately intercepted them, standing between the incoming 5 horsemen


    and us.


    It seems they¡¯re on our side but I feel like I¡¯ve seen them before¡­ I wonder where I¡¯ve seen them? Well, let¡¯s just think of how to get this over with for now.


    ¡°Yurina-san! Over there, throw paralyzing and spider! Hey, horse guys! Come over here!¡±


    I asked Yurina-san to scatter paralyzing powder at the place where physical fighting was going on and asked those five guys who I assumed was our ally to come over to our side.


    Hm? These guys¡­ Could it be¡­?


    I reached into my pocket and fetched a potion out of it. I then flaunted the potion in hand toward those five guys and just like what I had expected, their faces immediately shining brightly, their eyes glittering in greed. I could practically see the money sign on their eyes.


    Well, let¡¯s just consider this as an upfront investment.


    I handed the potion to a guy with a familiar face and cast Burning Muscle and Stone Skin to all five of them. I sent three of them to the front and two of them to the back. Somehow I felt like the loyalty those thug guys had toward me just increased or maybe it was just my imagination?


    As the enemy drew near, our vanguard took up a defensive formation to protect the line and at the same time, Yurina-san threw another round of paralyzing bullet and spider thread bullet to seal the enemy¡¯s movement.


    I backed my comrade up with supporting magic like using ¡®Bubble¡¯ to help them defend against the enemy¡¯s fire attack and since I had plenty of potions in stock, I helped heal them with potions and used ¡®Cure¡¯ too. I would occasionally shoot paralyzing arrows from the rearguard too.


    The enemy, who possessed an overwhelming advantage in military prowess, seemed to be at a loss, not knowing how to continue at the face of our impregnable defense and then¡­ A swordsman with long, dark purple hair stepped forward from within Heinrich¡¯s infantry unit. That swordsman possessed an extraordinary aura.


    ¡°Brutus¡­.¡Á¡Á¡ð¡ó!!!¡±


    As soon as Donny-san saw that long haired man, he immediately yelled. His eyes looked like he was looking at his archenemy. It seemed the two of them had some history going on between them.


    Donny-san, who was commanding both the blue wolves and the thugs team, made both teams stand back. Donny-san stepped forward on his own, it seemed he wanted to deal with the long haired swordsman all by himself.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: 3 people + 6 wolves + 1 puppy against 50 infantry units¡­. Either Heinrich¡¯s man sucks or that paralyzing powder is an OP weapon. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve seen Brutus in manga yet so idk what he looks like but here¡¯s a pic of MC and Yurina-san.

 CH 195.1

    ¡°Brustus¡­.¡Á¡Á¡ð¡ó!!¡±


    Donny-san¡¯s eyes were burning when he looked at the long haired man who I assumed was Brutus. Judging from the fact that Donny-san was telling our team to not interfere with this fight, the two of them definitely had some history going on. Donny-san unsheathed his greatsword from his back, holding it with both of his hands. I could practically see the wrath aura coming from Donny-san. He looked like a seasoned warrior like this. On the other hand, Brutus showed no sign of losing either. Judging from the tone of his voice, Brutus was provoking Donny-san back.


    While both the enemy and our sides were watching those two¡¯s decisive battle unfolding, I whispered something into Yurina-san¡¯s ear.


    And the one who made the first move was Brutus. Their collision was so fast and powerful that my eyes couldn¡¯t follow their movement. After exchanging blows, the two of them stepped back before they rushed in to attack each other at an unbelievable speed. This back and forth was repeated over and over again, they were fighting each other fiercely.


    It seemed the two of them were equally matched.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ This might be a bit bad. Donny-san might get angry at me later but well, it can¡¯t be helped I guess.¡±


    After all, when the anesthesia on the enemy¡¯s wore off and they became able to move again, we would be the one at disadvantage.


    ¡°Then, Yurina-san, I will leave it to you?¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    The two of them kept on clashing their swords, repeating the motion of clashing and stepping back over and over again, searching for any gap from their opponent¡¯s movement. They were fully concentrated with their fight but it seemed they weren¡¯t paying much attention to their surroundings. I guess they truly believed there would be no outside interference in a one-on- one fight between two veteran warriors. Maybe that belief was the common sense of this world.


    ¡­¡­..But that kind of ¡®common sense¡¯ had nothing to do with me or Yurina-san.


    The first shot. From Yurina-san¡¯s beautiful hand, she shot a flash bullet made from volatile light rock high into the air and detonated it. Suddenly, a dazzling light appeared on top of their head, surprising our enemy. Since our side was facing away from the light, we suffered no effect from the flash bullet.


    The second shot. With a facial expression akin to a hunter, Yurina-san she fired a paralyzing bullet silently. Apparently Yurina-san¡¯s Eagle Shot not only increased the distance of her range but also gave a silencing effect like a silencer on a pistol which was very suitable for sniping.


    The bullet, which was being shot at ultra high speed, did not deviate from its trajectory and the bullet successfully arrived overhead of Brutus, who was momentarily distracted by the flash bomb.


    ¡°Explode.¡±


    BAFFFOOO!!


    Accompanied by a comically stupid sound, Brutus¡¯ face was covered with paralyzing powder. Involuntarily inhaling the scattered paralyzing powder, Brutus immediately fell to the ground. His body was twitching as he rolled on the ground.


    ¡°Yesss! Nice combo!¡±


    I gave a high five to Yurina-san, who looked very ecstatic. Donny-san was staring at me with an expression that sort of looked like contempt but I decided to pay him no mind.


    Is it cowardly to force my way through into a one to one fight between two veteran fighters? I say, who are you trying to fool? In a situation where you are being surrounded by 50 people, there¡¯s absolutely no legitimate reason to call you a coward.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s quickly tie these guys up with a rope and run away from this place.¡±


    We rendered all enemies immobilized by using spider thread and paralyzing powder. Then we tied them all with a rope before we finally ran away to Keel Kingdom in the east with our wagon.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I think when the enemy is outnumbering you 50 to 3, all card on deck is fair to use.

 CH 195.2

    Chapter 195.2 : (Josephine¡¯s POV) Boiling With Rage?! The Lady of Butterfly¡¯s Craddle Pub Is Furious!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Josephine. I¡¯m running a small establishment in the city¡¯s entertainment district called Butterfly¡¯s Craddle Pub. My girls call me ¡®Mama¡¯.


    One day, an incident occurred.


    ¡°Khukhu¡­ That Keigo guy, what a loser he is. He¡¯s probably already caught by now and being tortured together with some woman called Yurina.¡±


    One of the soldier guys said so while encircling his arm around my girl¡¯s shoulder.


    BAM!!


    The face of that soldier guy was lightly grazed as my fist plunged into the wall behind him accompanied by a terrifying noise.


    ¡°Huh?? Say it again? What were you saying about Yurina?¡±


    That soldier guy was trembling violently from fear. I didn¡¯t do a ¡°kabedon¡± at him but a ¡°kabeBAM¡± instead.


    How¡¯s that Soldier-san? Have you fallen in love with me?


    I made that soldier guy spill everything. Apparently, that haughty Nobleman-sama was a pretty naughty little boy. This¡­ It seemed a little bit of punishment was in order. I would never forgive anyone who dared to lay a hand on my precious girls. After that, what perfect timing it was. Margo, the owner of a weapon shop, came to ask me for a help with a desperate expression on his face.


    ¡°Mama, I want to ask for your cooperation to rescue Keigo and Yurina. First, we need to get Bavarian-sama out. He¡¯s currently being detained in his mansion. After we help him escape from his mansion, we need to hide him in our hideout. The plan is to¡­.¡±


    ¡°My poor little Yurina is suffering through an ordeal! Of course, I will cooperate with you. We¡¯re closing up our place for today!¡±


    After I said that, I kicked all of the remaining customers out.


    ¡°Everyone, Yurina is in a major crisis. I will explain the details of the plan later but for now, contact all the other girls you know. I will make sure the reward will be worth your while.¡±


    I scattered a large amount of gold coins onto the floor from a gold bag that Keigo had left for me before Yurina was taken away and the girls erupted in cheers.


    ¡°Mama, I owe you one. We will carry out our plan tomorrow night so, I¡¯ll be counting on you then. This is the location of our hideout. Please gather there at sunset.¡±


    Margo pointed toward a spot on the town¡¯s map as he said so and then, he quickly left the place.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Here¡¯s some pic of Josephine from the manga~

 CH 195.3

    Chapter 195.3 : (Sarasa¡¯s POV) Fruit¡¯s of a Wife¡¯s Labour?! She¡¯s Too Forward All Things Considered!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Sarasa. While I¡¯m Margo¡¯s wife, I also hold another side of me as a ¡®merchant¡¯.


    One day my husband, Margo, came to discuss something. He was distressed and his face looked very apologetic.


    ¡°I want to save Keigo and to do so, we need to rescue Bavarian-sama from Heinrich¡¯s imprisonment. This plan might put my life and the lives of other people involved in danger but I.. If I don¡¯t do it, I might regret it for the rest of my life so, please¡­ Sarasa¡­¡±


    I was actually happy with my husband¡¯s decision. I think it¡¯s very wonderful for a man to be willing to put his life in danger in order to save his friend.


    ¡°Of course. Keigo is my best friend too. Let¡¯s beat Heinrich to pulp! He needs to receive divine punishment for snatching Ash-chan away from me!¡±


    After that, I made full use of my connections as a merchant and brought the necessary provisions for battle into Elsa¡¯s inn such as food, potions, weapons and armor. The two-story inn was spacious enough and had a warehouse which made it an ideal place for our resistance¡¯s secret base. Margo said that after we rescued Bavarian-sama, we would need to hide him in this secret base first.


    I exposed Heinrich¡¯s evil deeds to the traveling merchants I trusted and asked for their help as well. After all, providing the necessary provisions alone was not enough. We also needed to give fair compensation to those who would be fighting for us. Although the adventurers might refuse the compensation because they were doing this out of a sense of obligation, since they would literally put their life on the line here, we couldn¡¯t just let them go unpaid like some sort of volunteer work. Also, I asked Kishuu-san, a doctor who served the townspeople, to make the drug Margo had requested.


    I wonder what he¡¯s going to use that drug for?


    Kishuu-san was staying at Elsa¡¯s inn since he would be in charge of treating the resistance members if they got hurt. The name of our resistance group was ¡®Blue Group¡¯. Margo was the one who came up with the name since blue was Keigo¡¯s favorite color.


    And so, the rescue mission would take place tomorrow night.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m sure God is watching over us. I don¡¯t like relying on God but I refuse to believe there¡¯s a God who would let an outrageous injustice like this go on without any punishment.¡±


    I muttered to myself as I closed my store, Mithril¡¯s Balance, at night.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Oooh so we will finally get to see the townspeople in action!

 CH 195.4

    Chapter 195.4 : (Juno¡¯s POV) Flickering Blue Flame, The Vice Leader¡¯s Determination


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Margo asked me for advice about helping Keigo out. Of course helping our comrade was such an obvious thing to do. Keigo was also determined to protect his girl to the very end. I think his way of living was very cool. Honestly, even if Keigo were to move to another town with her, I didn¡¯t have anything against it either since Keigo was the kind of person who likes to live his life freely.


    However, whether I was fine with the despicable things the noble in our town had done, or to be precise, whether I was fine with the despicable things that bastard Heinrich had done, it was an entirely different matter. To be honest, I was really angry if I think about how Keigo had to leave this town and how Bavarian-sama was kept captive in his mansion.


    Although I didn¡¯t have the necessary financial power, I had my sword and my skill. Both Margo and Sarasa were already firm with their decision. I needed to prepare myself too.


    I decided to talk with a bunch of adventurers I was acquainted with at Elsa¡¯s inn.


    We needed at least one person with decent combat skill. After talking with the adventurers, we came with an agreement that they would be able to stay at Elsa¡¯s inn for free for a while and that Sarasa would compensate them for their participation.


    To be honest, I think the adventurers didn¡¯t particularly care who their leader was. It didn¡¯t matter to them whether it was Bavarian-sama or that bastard Heinrich. But still, I decided to persuade my fellow adventurers. I told them about the evil deeds Heinrich had done and how Keigo, a fellow adventurer, had suffered because of him. It was a well-known fact amongst the adventurers that Bavarian-sama had turned over a new leaf so the adventurer mostly understood the gist of what was happening here.


    And so, in preparation for the upcoming decisive battle, I sharpened my fangs alone in the inn¡¯s garden. I had been sharpening my skills for situations like this, where I needed to protect something. I would slay all of my enemies without any exception.


    And the day finally came, the day where the resistance group, ¡®Blue Group¡¯, was formed. My position was to assist Margo, who was the leader of our group. Margo planned on appointing me as a vice captain so I could organize these groups of adventurers.


    I will save my friend from this outrageous injustice.


    Deep inside of my heart, a blue flame was silently flickering.

 CH 195.5

    Chapter 195.5 : (Elsa¡¯s POV) Actually a Young Lady?! The Poster Girl of ¡®Sunny Pavilion¡¯!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My name is Elsa. I¡¯m managing an inn, the Sunny Pavilion, in the town of Resta. I¡¯m close with Juno, who is my boyfriend. He¡¯s my childhood friend and as of now, he¡¯s working as an adventurer, a very dangerous job to have. I have common bestfriends with Juno, their names are Keigo and Yurina. For both me and Juno, Keigo and Yurina are one of the few friends that not only we can meet with each other almost everyday but someone who we can actually share our real feelings with.


    Keigo and Yurina live on the outskirts of Resta and they seem to spend their lives together happily everyday. However, a noble who has Resta under his control, Heinrich, is trying to capture Keigo and Yurina for his own selfish desire. My father is a member of this city¡¯s council and I took over this inn after both of my parents handed this inn to me. Through my father, I¡¯m able to collect information about Heinrich¡¯s movement.


    I, together with Margo and Sarasa, watched Keigo and Yurina leaving Resta. In his letter, Keigo was pretending to be strong, saying that he would return one day but I knew it was impossible. I knew Keigo was a kind man but sometimes his kindness was also his sin. Juno also said the same things as Keigo.


    Men are really stupid. Do they really think I would be happy if they said that?


    After that, Margo asked me to lend him my help because he wanted to save Keigo and Yurina. The answer was obvious. In fact, I had been waiting for him to say it even. I told him that of course Juno and I would help.


    I was taught that ¡°since they¡¯re a noble, we have to follow their order¡± but I just couldn¡¯t accept it.


    Father, I¡¯m really sorry. Even though you¡¯ve worked hard until you receive an honorary position as a member of the town¡¯s council and are planning on spending the rest of your life peacefully with your daughter but unfortunately, the situation right now is making it impossible. If we leave this tyranny running amok, even my father¡¯s position might be at risk.


    Furthermore, when I told my father about the injustice my best friend Yurina and Keigo had to suffer through, my father thought about it for a moment before he then agreed to help. I ended up hugging my father out of reflex when he agreed. There was no turning back now. If Juno were to wage war with physical force then I would wage war with something else but physical force.


    The chance for this plan to fail was high. Then at the very least, let¡¯s do everything we could so we wouldn¡¯t regret a thing. We would keep on pushing forward with our faith. I had decided to take some of the burden that my best friends were carrying on their back with me.


    Then I closed my eyes, imagining the sight of myself drinking in Keigo¡¯s house with everyone. We were toasting and having fun together¡­


    ¡°I won¡¯t hesitate anymore.¡±


    This was the beginning for the preparation of the venue to start the resistance.


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    T/N: I hope this means Heinrich will get real punishment? I mean he seems like a real bastard¡­

 CH 195.6

    Chapter 195.6 : Resistance 1


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    An inn in the town of Resta called ¡®Sunny Pavilion¡¯, was enveloped with a strange, feverish enthusiasm. In a place that used to be the inn¡¯s bar, the chairs and tables were all cleared up and many people were gathering there. On those people¡¯s arms, there was a bracelet with blue fur attached to it. Among those people, there were adventurers who were indebted to Keigo after Keigo provided medical assistance to them, practically saving their lives and the women from the town¡¯s entertainment district who had connection with Yurina in one way or another.


    Margo and Juno got up on a make-shift stage from a wooden table and overlooked everyone gathered there.


    ¡°I¡¯m Margo. I¡¯m honored to call myself the leader of the resistance group, Blue Brigade. To everyone who¡¯s gathering here, I truly appreciate it. Thank you.¡±


    As Margo said that, the two people on the stage deeply bowed their heads at the audience. The people in the room were listening closely to what Margo would say next.


    ¡°Today, on this very day, for the sake of overthrowing Heinrich and restoring Bavarian-sama¡¯s rights, I declared the formation of the resistance group, Blue Brigade!¡±


    The audience continued to listen attentively.


    ¡°Heinrich is imprisoning Bavarian-sama and is trying to capture some of our innocent comrades for his own selfish desires. I absolutely can¡¯t allow this to happen!¡±


    Margo waved his hand in anger.


    ¡°The names of our innocent comrades being targeted by Heinrich are Keigo and Yurina. I¡¯m sure many of you know who they are. I really want to help them by all means. Those who agree with me, please raise your right hand.¡±


    As he said that, Margo raised his fist, the one adorned by a blue bracelet, up to the sky. Following that, the audience in question also quietly raised their fist. Everyone had a ¡®well, of course¡¯ expression on their face.


    ¡°First, we need to save Bavarian-sama, who¡¯s being imprisoned by Heinrich. The rescue operation will take place tonight. Now then, Juno, who is our vice leader, will provide you guys with the details of ¡®Reverse Tsutsumotase¡¯ operation!!¡±


    Margo declared to the audience.


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    T/N: Changed the group name Én¤Î‡â to Blue Brigade because it sounds cooler.

 CH 195.7

    Chapter 195.7 : Resistance 2


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    The event took place in front of Bavarian¡¯s residence. The residence was heavily guarded by Heinrich¡¯s soldiers. There, the beautiful hostess appeared, wearing a coat while carrying liquor bottles and glasses. A mama from the entertainment district stopped her wagon right in front of the gate and greeted the soldiers. She was carrying wine barrels on her wagon.


    ¡°Soldier-san, thank you for working hard until late at night. These are¡­ Some presents from our place. It is important to take a break every once in a while, you know.¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re still in the middle of our shift so¡­¡±


    However, it didn¡¯t take long for the stalwart fortress of the soldier¡¯s tenacity to shatter into pieces after the hostess took their coat off.


    BON KYU BON!!


    The soldier¡¯s mouth was gaping open with desire.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Yeah. It¡¯s important to take a break once in a while. It should be alright to have a drink inside the mansion.¡±


    With their arms slung around the hostess¡¯s shoulder, the soldier invited them into Bavarian¡¯s residence.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Within the shadow of the bustling crowd in front of the residence, a bunch of men wearing blue bracelets were hiding silently. These adventurers were the execution team for a mission to rescue Bavarian led by Juno.


    Mama, who had finished putting the wine barrel into the mansion, came approaching Juno and the other adventurers, who were watching over them from within the shadow of a bustling crowd.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the operation codename Reverse Tsutsumotase?¡±


    Juno asked Josephine, the Mama from the entertainment district.


    ¡°It¡¯s going surprisingly well. The soldiers are starting to have a drinking party with the girls. They¡¯re so infatuated with the girls and they clearly don¡¯t notice that the wine is already infused with a special sleeping drug made by Kishuu.¡±


    The liquor bottles that the hostess were carrying and the wine barrel Mama was carrying were infused with a special ¡®sleeping drug¡¯ that Sarasa had acquired from Kishuu.


    A short while later, a woman came out of the gate of the residence and raised her right hand, which was adorned with a blue bracelet.


    It was a signal for ¡®go¡¯.


    The men from Blue Brigade who were hiding in the shadows, emerged into the street and silently invaded Bavarian¡¯s residence.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The whole plan is so old school. I don¡¯t hate it though. I like classic stuff.

 CH 195.8

    Chapter 195.8 : (Juno¡¯s POV) A Genius Strategist?! The Vice Leader of the Resistance Group Is a Capable Man!


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    The Blue Brigade invaded the residence and successfully rescued Bavarian-sama without any incident. When we entered the mansion, all of Heinrich¡¯s soldiers were already in the land of dream. We used rope to immobilize the enemy so we could strip their equipment off and cram all of them in one of the rooms. We locked them in that room until the operation was finished.


    I was relieved we didn¡¯t need to engage in any battle.


    Although the soldiers were our enemy, the fact that they were still the residents of Resta didn¡¯t change. I didn¡¯t want to take any unnecessary life and the whole brigade also shared the same sentiment as me.


    Furthermore, there was a risk that the remainder of Heinrich¡¯s soldiers who didn¡¯t get intoxicated by the sleeping drug would come to check on the situation. So, in order to create the perfect camouflage to deceive Heinrich, we made sure we had a double agent in Heinrich¡¯s side and then, we had some of our men to change into the uniform of Heinrich¡¯s soldier and strategically placed them to create the illusion that Bavarian-sama was still imprisoned.


    We returned to our hideout with Bavarian-sama and his beloved horse in tow.


    We successfully rescued Bavarian-sama which meant we had completed the first phase of our plan. As for Bavarian-sama, he gave us an order to move the money and valuable goods from the safe in his residence into the warehouse in our hideout. He said the money should be used in order to give a decent remuneration to the members of Blue Brigade, to cover the cost of the group¡¯s operating expenses and to pay off the fund we had to extort in order to pull influential individuals to our side.


    Now then, our victory or defeat will be decided from this point onward.


    Lightning speed.We immediately moved to the second phase of our plan. If we didn¡¯t make our move now, things might escalate into an armed conflict. We must avoid that at all costs.


    First, we had to bring the adventurers¡¯ guild master, Shrike, to our side. We received a letter written by Bavarian-sama and used it to invite Shrike to our hideout. After Bavarian-sama persuaded Shrike, we succeeded in bringing Shrike to join our cause. Shrike was originally someone who had pledged his loyalty to Bavarian-sama after all. He was well acquainted with Keigo too. Shrike was aware that Heinrich was the type of person who only moved based on his selfish greed alone. Also, the fact that a lot of adventurers were taking part in Blue Brigade and we all wished to bring Bavarian-sama back into power and to rescue Keigo also greatly helped Shrike into making his decision.


    And so, we succeeded in gaining the support of a big organization, the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    In addition, Bavarian-sama also went around to meet with the town council members in person to persuade them. He was accompanied by Elsa¡¯s father, Barrack, who was also a member of the town council. When the town council members knew that Heinrich was trying to fill his own pocket by taking advantage of his position, they all agreed to reinstate Bavarian-sama.


    Thus,concluded the third phase of our plan.


    Blue Brigade successfully persuaded the town council members without engaging in armed conflict with Heinrich¡¯s side.


    Proceeding at lightning speed, everything up to this point was all done in less than a day after we succeeded in rescuing Bavarian-sama.


    And now, we were about to reach the final phase of our operation. The day of the town council regular meeting finally arrived.


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    T/N: Ooooh! I see so they¡¯re trying to overthrow Heinrich not by force but by politics. That¡¯s why they need to persuade the town council member. Well, they need physical force to rescue Bavarian first though, so recruiting those skilled adventurers is also an important aspect of the whole mission.

 CH 195.9

    Chapter 195.9: Resistance 3


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    On the night following Bavarian liberation by Juno and the others, the town council members were holding a meeting in a tent located at the central plaza of Resta. Due to the diversionary tactic done by Juno and the others, Heinrich still remained oblivious of Bavarian¡¯s liberation.


    The town council members were already sitting in a row when Heinrich entered the tent. This nobleman was the last person to come in. Or so it should. Usually, it was customary for Heinrich to be the last to enter the room since his social pedigree as a nobleman stood above the other commoner but today, Heinrich wasn¡¯t the last one to enter the meeting.


    The adventurers¡¯ guild¡¯s master, Shrike, and Elsa¡¯s father weren¡¯t here yet.


    Maybe they¡¯re going to be absent from today¡¯s meeting?


    Heinrich thought to himself, his brows were furrowed together.


    Then, in the very next moment¡­


    ¡°Now then, I will also join you guys here.¡±


    While uttering those words, Bavarian, who was supposed to be still imprisoned by Heinrich, entered the meeting place. He was accompanied by Shrike and Elsa¡¯s father as well as Margo and Juno who came as his bodyguard.


    ¡°Wha-¡­. Father¡­.?¡±


    Heinrich was staring in disbelief.


    ¡°My son.What is expected from us, noble, is not shrewd intelligence, but a good moral ethic. Shame on you for trying to take advantage of our benefactor, Keigo, to fill your own pocket!¡±


    Bavarian said so while thrusting his finger at Heinrich.


    This place was the legislative assembly. A place where battle was fought not with force but with words. Be that as it may be, it wasn¡¯t like there was no possibility that the offended party wouldn¡¯t exert physical force to bring the other down but since both of them brought their bodyguard along with them, that kind of scenario unlikely would happen.


    ¡°What are you talking about? You don¡¯t even have any evidence to back your claim! Besides, you¡¯ve already retired from your place in the political ground. I wish you will refrain from meddling any further!!¡±


    Heinrich, who was quick to regain his stance, shamelessly stated.


    ¡°My son, there¡¯s no need to rush. Let the representatives of our beloved town decide who is more suitable to govern this town. But if despite everything they still deem you as someone worthy to govern then I will immediately take my leave from here.¡±


    Bavarian stated with great dignity.


    ¡°Fufu¡­.. So be it. You¡¯ve been defeated once. Just how many times do you want to repeat the same thing over and over again until you¡¯re satisfied?¡±


    Heinrich looked so relaxed and confident.


    ¡°Now then, everyone. Just now, the two nobles had given us an order to decide which one of them is more suitable to govern this town as a noble from Resta. Let¡¯s decide on our vote now. If you think Heinrich-sama is more suitable then please raise your left hand and if you think Bavarian-sama is more suitable then please raise your right hand.¡±


    After Elsa¡¯s father said so, almost everyone in the meeting raised their right hand.


    ¡°Incredulous!¡±


    Heinrich was at a loss for word.


    ¡°It seems we¡¯ve reached our conclusion. My son, you are sentenced to house arrest for the time being. We shall wrap the other things later.¡±


    Juno and Margo, who were standing guard behind them, went to capture Heinrich.


    ¡°What are you doing?! You guys! Protect me!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..¡±


    Heinrich frantically shouted at his guard behind him. He sounded as if he was about to go crazy. The two guards looked at the face of the new noble in power, Bavarian. Bavarian had regained his political position once again. Seeing this, the two guards then dropped their sword to the ground.


    Juno and Margo continued to apprehend Heinrich despite all of the shouting before they handed him over to the other member that had been waiting outside of the tent.


    After that, Heinrich was home by force.


    ¡°Margo, Juno, I can¡¯t thank you enough for your help. Thank you.¡±


    As he said that, Bavarian bowed his head to Margo and Juno, who were back to waiting for him behind him.


    ¡°No, Bavarian-sama. Please raise your head. We only wish to help Keigo out. We¡¯re the ones who want to thank you for agreeing to be reinstated.¡±


    Flustered, Margo said in a hurry.


    ¡°Everyone, these people are the ones who¡¯ve been helping me to be reinstated. They¡¯re from a group called Blue Brigade and this gentleman right here is their leader, Margo. While this gentleman is their vice leader, Juno. I¡¯m deeply moved by their love toward their friend. I would like to appoint the Blue Brigade as an official vigilante group in our town, even if I have to use my own personal fortune for it.¡±


    Bavarian paused for a moment before he continued.


    ¡°And also, I would like to give both Margo and Juno the position of becoming the town council member. I hope from now on they will continue to give their support for the development of Resta!¡±


    With this, the coup d¡¯etat attempt by Heinrich came to its end while Margo and Juno were left bewildered at the sudden turn of events.


    At the same time, in a place far away from Resta, near the northeast of the national¡¯s border, there were Keigo and the others. Just like usual, they still hadn¡¯t decided what to have for today¡¯s dinner. They were still living carefreely, without any inkling of what was happening in Resta at this point of time.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So Heinrich¡¯s punishment is still kinda undecided. He¡¯s being put on house arrest as of now.


    Here¡¯s a pic of the mohawk leader. From mohawk->afro->bald

 CH 196

    After repelling Heinrich¡¯s troops, we finally arrived at the border between Lancaster Kingdom and Keel Kingdom. On our way here, we parted ways with those thugs gang (apparently their leader was called Johnny and their gang was called ¡®Johnny and 7 Humans and Devils or something) since they didn¡¯t have the required social status to cross the border. As a thanks for helping us, I gave them 100 gold coins. They said they would return to Resta after the situation cooled down.


    The gatekeeper to Keel Kingdom was dressed in a uniform that looked like it was a mixture of either chinese or japanese style. While we were crossing the border, I asked the gatekeeper about a good town for sightseeing nearby. Since I couldn¡¯t even speak the Lancaster language well, of course I had to resort to speaking in gestures and writing.


    ¡°Phew¡­. We managed to get away¡­. Just as I thought, they won¡¯t be able to continue chasing us after we crossed the border.¡±


    After passing through the border, the exhaustion finally caught up to us. No matter how high Heinrich¡¯s position as a noble, he still couldn¡¯t use his personal army to chase us here. After all, having his personal troop entering another country¡¯s territory was basically a declaration of war. Considering the risk and the potential benefit he would get from me, of course the benefit wouldn¡¯t be worth the risk.


    In other words, we¡¯re already safe now.


    And then, after riding the wagon for half a day, we finally arrived at Howai, a hot spring town that the gatekeeper had proudly boasted to us about. This hot spring town was like the Kusatsu Onsen resort with a mixture of Chinese elements. By the time we arrived at the town, it was already dinner time.


    ¡°This town looks like a nice place to relax at. Heinrich won¡¯t be chasing after us anymore so let¡¯s take it easy for a while here.¡±


    I voiced my suggestion and both Yurina-san and Donny-san agreed to it. After securing two vacant rooms in an onsen hotel called Seagull Pavilion, we quickly went to the onsen.


    Of course the men and the women¡¯s bathrooms were properly separated. There was even an open air bath with 100% of its water flowing freely from a hot spring source. The hot spring water itself was sulfuric.


    ¡°Feels good¡­¡±


    This experience felt really soothing. The open air bath itself was open for both genders and pets so I was able to enjoy the hot spring water together with Yurina-san and Ash. Although we used towels to cover our body, of course I just couldn¡¯t let other men ogling on Yurina-san¡¯s sexy body so we steered away from other people while soaking there.


    After getting out of the bath, we decided to have dinner in our room. Donny-san went to our room for dinner since our room was slightly bigger than his. The room itself was a tatami based room with a mixture of Chinese ornaments incorporated in its design. The hotel was giving a pretty relaxing vibe. Also, since this town was close to the sea, the restaurant in this hot spring was apparently specializing in seafood based cuisine.


    In any case, I ordered the most expensive food course in order to celebrate our escape from Heinrich¡¯s grasp. Things like sashimi, soup, boiled stuff, grilled stuff, were served to us along with liquor that tasted like Chinese wine. The fish sauce that was served along with the sashimi had been properly balanced so the saltiness would match perfectly with the sashimi. The condiment that came along, which looked like a grated ginger root, also went well with the sashimi.


    To sum the whole experience in one sentence¡­ It was the best thing ever.


    ¡°Hm? Is that thing glowing?¡±


    As we were stuffing our mouths full with fish-based cuisine,I noticed that the magic device in the shape of a crystal ball that Donny-san brought with him glowed. This crystal ball was the thing that Donny-san had received from Juno.


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    T/N: Kusatsu is an onsen resort in Japan. The place looks like this¡­

 CH 197

    ¡°That¡¯s why I tell you Donny-san, that thing is kinda glowing.¡±


    When I pointed my finger at the glowing ball, Donny-san was like, ¡®Oooh!!¡¯. While Donny-san was taking the ball out of his chest pocket, I moved the food on top of the tatami table away. Donny-san then placed the glowing ball on top of the table. He waited for a few dozen seconds before the light died down. Donny-san then put his hand on the ball and said a few words while peering into the ball. After that, Donny-san suddenly bursted into tears, he then started dancing merrily while yelling something.


    What¡¯s wrong? Is it food poisoning?


    ¡°Donny-san! What¡¯s wrong?!¡±


    Then Yurina-san, who understood Lancaster language, which meant she understood what Donny-san was saying, pulled the sleeve of my yukata and gestured to me to look into the ball.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    When I looked into the ball, I could see some sort of letter floating on it. These worm-like letters must be Lancaster language without any doubt.


    ¡°Appraisal.¡±


    ¡¾In Resta, Bavarian-sama has defeated Heinrich and successfully retrieved his power back. Heinrich was captured. The banishment of the captain of the soldier, Donny, has been revoked and you can return to his original position. Captain Donny, please return to Resta as quickly as possible together with Keigo and Yurina. Sarasa ¡¿


    So it was written.


    What the? This is so amazing.


    ¡°Yurina-san, come take a look too.¡±


    I urged Yurina-san to look into the crystal ball too. After reading what was written on the crystal ball, Yurina-san then also started to dance merrily together with Ash in her arms. Although I had to say her dance wasn¡¯t as jovial as Donny-san¡¯s.


    ¡°I guess with this, we can finally go home.¡±


    Finally catching up with everyone¡¯s happiness, I too, suddenly felt very happy. The sight of me joining hands with Yurina-san with Ash in between us could be seen as we were basking in our happiness.


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    T/N: Nooo, don¡¯t go home too fast! Enjoy your honeymoon moreee! Also I thought you can speak with that crystal ball but turns out you can only send messages huh. How disappointing.

 CH 198

    Well, there¡¯s no point in rushing now at this point.


    According to Donny-san, that shining magic ball-like magic device came with a feature that allowed the other party to know if the recipient had read the message or not. Like ¡®they¡¯ve seen it!¡¯ kind of feeling. And Donny-san had already activated the said feature. Which meant Sarasa and the others who were on the other side of the ball must¡¯ve already known that we were all safe and sound.


    The three of us had already arrived in another country. Most probably, even if we all rushed back home in a wagon from here, it would still take us about a month to reach Resta. In that case, it was never too late to enjoy what this city, Howai, could offer.  In fact, it would be more beneficial for me to broaden my future cooking repertoire here first. Especially that fish-based cuisine that we had in the hot-spring hotel.


    And so, Yurina-san and I were currently sightseeing in Howai. Of course, Ash was coming with us too.


    The fish sauce and that ginger-like condiment we had at Seagull Pavilion was especially exquisite so I went looking for them in town and I managed to purchase a jar of fish sauce. I told them that I wanted to make a regular purchase once a month through Sarasa¡¯s store at Resta and gave them several gold coins as advance payment. As for the ginger, they were selling it with sprouts along with its soil attached so I decided to buy several of them to carry home with. I planned on growing ginger in my garden.


    There were also a great variety of other seafood stuff from dried fish to preserved fish in fish sauce, to some of which were frozen in ice with magic. However, if I bought too much, I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry them all with me. So, I made a list of what was currently available and bought just enough to put in the wagon for now.


    But nevertheless, dried scallop alone or stock made from dried scallop sure sounds delicious, huh¡­


    I had a taste of a shellfish with a similar texture to a whelk dipped in fish sauce and the flavor of it was simply excellent as a sake snack. Yurina-san and Ash also liked it. Since these two items had a relatively long shelf life, I wanted to find a way so I could enjoy them back at my home too. Maybe I could freeze them in ice or something?


    My dream just keeps getting bigger, huh¡­


    I also wanted to buy some of Howai¡¯s special products as a souvenir for Sarasa and the others. Instead of bear carvings, they were selling some sort of hot spring ape monster wooden carvings, which was said to be the speciality of Howai so I bought 10 of them.


    This ape monster certainly has a similar form to your typical local mascot character like Kumamon so I guess these wooden carvings would be great as a souvenir?


    Actually, there were a lot more people who had done their best for our sake but still, as expected, we couldn¡¯t possibly carry enough souvenirs for all of them in our wagon. At the very least, I wanted to give some souvenirs to those fours, who were exceptionally best friends to all of us.


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    T/N: Most (if not all) of Japan¡¯s tourist-sy cities have their own local character. Usually in the form of local specialty like apple or mochi or anything. Kumamon is a mascot character from Kumamoto. Also, I¡¯m sorry for the late update. I almost died from food poisoning.

 CH 199

    After departing from the hot spring city, Howai, for about a month, we finally arrived at Resta.


    ¡°Somehow, I¡¯m feeling very nostalgic.¡±


    What if the messages from that sphere ball were fake and it turns out Sarasa and the others are actually being beaten up by Heinrich¡­. Ah, what a baseless fear I have¡­


    Nothing seemed to have changed even after we were getting closer to the city. Things should be just fine.


    When we finally arrived at Resta, the old man who was working as a gatekeeper looked startled to see us before he waved his hands energetically at us. As we were passing through the gate just like that, the gatekeeper seemed to be in tears when he saw Donny-san with us.


    Which reminds me, since Donny-san was the captain of the soldier, that means he¡¯s the ex-boss of that gatekeeper. I guess Donny-san is pretty well-liked and popular among his peers.


    Donny-san said he wanted to go to Bavarian-sama¡¯s place while I was planning on heading straight to Margo¡¯s store so we parted ways at the gate. The familiar path of the city felt really nostalgic to me.


    After I parked the wagon next to Margo¡¯s store, I went on to open the door together with Yurina-san and Ash.


    The bell attached to the door jingled as we opened it.


    Oooh, everyone is here.


    I looked around the store to see the faces of my friends.


    ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m home.¡±


    Ash, you¡¯ve got it hard too, huh.


    It seemed one of the gatekeepers had told Margo and the others about our arrival while we were stuck at the gate.


    We did it!


    Aaaahhh!!


    Just by using our facial expressions and gestures, Margo, Juno and I were able to convey those things to each other. I also wanted to hear how they were able to defeat Heinrich but¡­.


    ¡°For now, I¡¯m feeling dead tired. Why don¡¯t we take our time talking while drinking ale?¡±


    I said so with a mix of gestures from my side and everyone nodded their head in agreement.


    And so on that day, we reserved the dining hall in Elsa¡¯s inn to hold a party. In addition to us, the member of Heinrich overthrown team (I was told that the team was called ¡®Blue Brigade¡¯) along with the Mama from the pub and the other girls who had protected and raised Yurina-san also joined the thank you party.


    Yurina-san then¡­.


    ¡°Yurina!¡±


    ¡°Mama!¡±


    Yurina then hugged Mama¡¯s huge body really tight, making Mama¡¯s usual stiff expression loosened right away as drops of glittering tears shimmered in her eyes. Yurina-san and Mama kept on talking for who knows how long. They were talking in Lancaster language so I couldn¡¯t understand what they were talking about but the atmosphere around the two of them definitely felt like a family vibe. And so, that was why, I, who had become Yurina-san¡¯s family, decided to join in their circle as well.


    After enjoying the long awaited happy celebration, I drank until I became drunk because of how pleasant I was feeling that I ended up making a dive onto the warm and fluffy bed in a room that Elsa had prepared for us. Then, just like that, my consciousness drifted off to sleep.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I wonder what they¡¯re talking about? Maybe about their honeymoon? Since I assume Yurina-san never left the town. Also, this is the pic of the giant sea urchin.


    The urchin really looks like a mid-tier monster¡­ I wouldn¡¯t even think of eating its genital if I were him¡­..

 CH 200

    I woke up in the morning, still laying on the bed with Ash curled up near my feet. After spending the night at Elsa¡¯s inn, Yurina-san and I decided to return to our home that we had dearly missed so much. Sarasa had been entrusting the herb chickens I raised in the care of Giovanni-san, a contract farmer.


    After showing my gratitude to Giovanni-san, I brought the herb chicken back with me in the wagon.


    ¡­¡­¡­.


    No one asked me to come live in town. Even Mama, who doted on Yurina-san a lot, didn¡¯t ask me to live in town.


    ¡­¡­..I¡¯m really grateful that they¡¯re not meddling with my life excessively. To be honest, I still don¡¯t feel comfortable living in a place with a lot of people around. Or to be precise, it still feels suffocating to me. I¡¯m more suited to a life in the countryside where I can spend my days either doing farm work or reading and just go to the market once a month to buy supplies.


    By the way, during our escape drama, I ended up visiting various towns but that didn¡¯t count since it was a state of emergency. In other words, I didn¡¯t have any plan on changing my stance either now or in the future.


    I asked Yurina-san whether she wanted to continue working in Mama¡¯s pub but she shook her head from side to side to show her refusal. I actually felt relieved to know that. I personally really hated it if Yurina-san was to be looked in lecherous eyes by those wild beasts but still, if she was to answer yes then I would need to really consider living in the town for her sake.


    ¡°We¡¯ve finally arrived!~¡±


    I exclaimed while breathing a sigh of relief. It was already late in the afternoon when our wagon finally arrived at our home, along with our herb chickens in tow. The house was so clean that we didn¡¯t even need to clean it again thanks to Sarasa and Elsa taking care of the house while we were away.


    I unloaded our luggage from the wagon and carried it to our house. Fish sauce, ginger, various seafood, shaoxing wine (something similar to sake)¡­.. In the end, my repertoire of food really did get expanded so I guess, I should thank Heinrich for that much.


    Come to think of it, I wonder how Heinrich is doing? All I¡¯ve heard is that he¡¯s being held in custody. But still, the law in this world is not as established as the law in Japan so I guess it won¡¯t be weird if he suddenly receives a death sentence just by a single word from Bavarian-sama.


    ¡°When I think about him getting a death sentence, I feel like I¡¯m going to have trouble sleeping at night for a bit.¡±


    If he did get sentenced to death, he was basically just reaping what he sowed. I was also a victim of his since I ended up getting so deeply involved in this incident against my own wishes.


    Evening came.


    Now then, let¡¯s boil the water to prepare a hot bath. It¡¯s been a long time since I last had a hot bath in my own house.


    Out of all three drums with water boards installed in it, I decided to heat the one with the most water in it. Since it was still winter, the sun set early so the outside was already shrouded in darkness.


    While I was boiling the water for the bath, I used my smoking kit to make smoked herb chicken eggs and smoked cheese that I had purchased at the town while sipping on a glass of liquor with ice in it.


    This kind of calm atmosphere feels really nice¡­


    It was really nice to have a home where I could feel at ease. After all, I was basically a shut in, or basically a shadow character.


    Going on an adventure every once in a while is good and all but pardon me for not having any plan on going on a long adventure like this in the near future.


    While I was thinking to myself, I saw a figure of a person drawing near to the gate of my house. It was the figure of a tall and thin person. While their facial features looked typical of a noble but¡­ Sorry for saying this but his appearance looked so shabby and tattered.


    Upon closer inspection, I finally recognized this haggard-looking man.


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    T/N: Definitely Heinrich. The author already gives us foreshadowing by making MC monologuing about Heinrich after all. I just hope MC won¡¯t forgive Heinrich so easily. I want Heinrich to suffer for a bit at least since his intention was malicious.

 CH 201

    His noble visage was nowhere to be seen anymore. He was clad in worn out rags, his cheeks hollowed because of how skinny he was and he was trembling all over, probably due the cold. And yet, despite everything, he was still staring and walking into my direction with resilience. It seemed he had been banished from the town. He was not dressed for the winter, especially not for the outside. Even though he probably never wanted to look at my face again, but it seemed he had no other choice but to come to the closest place he could think of, which was my house.


    ¡­¡­..In other words, this shabby looking man in front of me must be Heinrich without doubt. And if I were to ignore him here, he would definitely freeze to death.


    The blue wolves were gathering near the gate. They must be worried about me. I raised my hand to tell them that I was fine and Ash also wasn¡¯t on alert despite the incoming intruder. Even though Ash always responded with vigilance to the malicious intention coming from either human or monster, Ash was curling up peacefully next to the bonfire. He appeared to be sleeping soundly.


    ¡°Well, but still, I need to get a little revenge on you first. Otherwise I won¡¯t feel satisfied.¡±


    The mischievous side of me was welling up. And so, I turned my back on Heinrich, pretending to not see him.


    Ah¡­ The steamy hot soup and the smoked food taste so delicious¡­


    The gathering blue wolves already got Heinrich surrounded. They were howling but I just continued to ignore them. I could see how Heinrich, who had a carefree attitude at first, gradually became desperate to the point he started getting teary eyed. And then, eventually, he began to shake the gate and shout.


    ¡°Help me!¡±


    Or so he shouted. I assumed he must be shouting for help.


    Hmm~ The thrill of doing something mischievous is so amazing. But, just for a little bit, I¡¯m feeling a little sorry for him.


    ¡°Okay. It¡¯s already good enough I think.¡±


    After brushing the dust from the bonfire because I had been sitting there, I stood up and walked toward the gate. I decided that it was time for me to invite Heinrich in.


    Nevertheless, he really looks terrible.


    Yurina-san, who was watching over us, looked like she wanted to say something but in the end she opted to not say anything. I made Heinrich, who was weakened by the cold, to sit in front of the bonfire.


    Heinrich snorted, making a ¡®humph¡¯ sound and raised his cracked silver-framed glasses with the middle finger of his right hand.


    Even in a situation like this, he still pretends to be tough.


    I silently prepared a plate of smoked egg and smoked cheese and handed the plate to him. Then, almost immediately, the look in his eyes changed and he started to chew on the food while crying.


    After that, I gestured to him that he could take a bath after Yurina-san and I finished with the drum bath so he could warm his cold body with the hot water. While he was taking a bath, I lit up a small fire in the furnace in the blacksmith workshop and prepared a bed for him to sleep. Then, when I placed his towel and change of clothes on a table beside the drum bath for him, I saw him muttering a small ¡°Thank you¡± as he turned his face away.


    It seems Heinrich is the tsundere type.


    While entertaining such a foolish thought in my mind, I pointed at the blacksmith hut, gesturing for him to sleep there. He must be very exhausted since he immediately fell asleep as soon as he laid on the bed.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Haaah¡­ Japanese MC is either a vengeful and relentless devil or a very very very forgiving angel.

 CH 202

    After making Heinrich rest in the blacksmith hut, I laid down on the bed with Yurina-san. Then, I stared absentmindedly at the familiar and nostalgic ceiling. I watched the wood grain pattern with an empty mind.


    ¡­¡­..I believe in the chains of human¡¯s intention. I mean that if you do good things then good things will come to you and vice versa, if you do bad things then bad things will happen to you.


    I certainly have suffered because of Heinrich but what exactly would I get from taking my revenge on him? The people close to Heinrich might harbor resentment toward me if I do. Besides, it was thanks to Heinrich that I was able to go on a great adventure for my honeymoon with Yurina-san.


    Above everything else, I don¡¯t have any desire for revenge in the slightest. I can¡¯t possibly be heartless enough to ignore someone on the brink of death and leave him to death. I prefer to believe in the virtue of the people rather than their malice.


    That is why, I want to try to rehabilitate a man who had lost everything and ended up being abandoned by everyone around him. Especially since I¡¯ve lost everything myself too and had to live in seclusion all on my own. This place has helped me in realizing what is important to me as a human being.


    That¡¯s why, I can understand the pain he¡¯s going through right now. I just can¡¯t leave him alone. I know I¡¯m too much of a softie but that¡¯s just who I am. This is simply just a matter of whether I will compromise with the values that make me who I am now or not.


    ¡°Okay. I think I¡¯ve reached my decision.¡±


    I decided that I would help Heinrich. I knew about the Blue Brigade so I knew Margo and the others must be feeling complicated because of this decision of mine but since I, the biggest victim of this incident, had come to my decision then surely they would come to an understanding as well.


    ¡°Hoammmmm~¡±


    Once I¡¯d made up my mind, the sleepiness caught on to me. As I closed my eyes, I could hear the even breathing of Yurina-san and Ash in their sleep along with the crackling sound from the fireplace. The white noises felt pleasant to my ear and before I noticed it, I had embarked on a journey to the land of dream.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Well to be honest, as much as I want Heinrich to suffer, I also don¡¯t think I can let anyone die in front of me when I can prevent it with just simple stuff like offering shelter and some of my food. Ahhh, humans are really complicated. No one is truly evil and at the same time, no one is truly virtuous either. We¡¯re all just a bunch of shades of gray.

 CH 203

    Those who do not work, shall not eat.


    While I¡¯ve decided to help Heinrich, I didn¡¯t have any intention of giving him free food. Heinrich had to work in order to get his portion of food. Since he had been stripped off of his nobility status, he was bound to die in a ditch if he didn¡¯t learn how to fend for himself anyway.


    At first Heinrich was like¡­


    ¡°Huh? Why do I have to?¡±


    But then I responded with gestures¡­


    ¡°So? Do you want to leave then?¡±


    He turned his gaze to the blue wolves and turned pale before he consented.


    And so, I had him help me with some simple tasks like taking care of the chickens and the horses to chopping firewood and heating up the water for the bath. However, Heinrich couldn¡¯t do a single thing right. He couldn¡¯t even chop the firewood. It turned out a noble truly never lifted their finger to do menial tasks. The reality was even worse than I had expected.


    Just like that, a few days had passed after I had Heinrich help me around the house. Despite the limitations of his ability, Heinrich was truly doing his best. I started making him train with sword and bow on the second day and on the third day, I started making him experience actual combat with goblins and slimes.


    At first, even a mere goblin was able to almost kill Heinrich but after a week, he was somehow able to defeat a goblin all by himself. In addition, I also taught him how to make smoked food, fish and cook.


    Well, he doesn¡¯t seem like he agrees with my decision though.


    In the end, Margo returned to the city after he got his fire daggers. I guess after everything that had happened, he couldn¡¯t possibly enjoy drinking while looking at Heinrich¡¯s face. At the same time, Heinrich had a somewhat sorrowful expression on his face for a whole day.


    ¡°Heinrich. Let¡¯s drink a lot today to unwind from today¡¯s hard work.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like anything depressing so I called out to Heinrich and invited him for a drink with the sea urchins we had just captured in the river as the snack.


    After that, I continued spending some time with Heinrich. We spent the day with him helping me with the blacksmithing duty like smelting and going to the woods to hunt.


    Heinrich handed me a glass of warm milan fruit wine. He said that he was the one who made that wine so I took a sip out of curiosity and surprisingly, the wine was comparable to the red mulled wine I had on an alleyway in Europe during winter to help me fend off the cold. This incident was the turning point that led me to develop a thermal bottle with fire attribute together with Heinrich. We used the fire stone from a fire dagger and combined it with an iron kettle.


    This fire attribute thermal bottle would be extremely useful when working outside during winter. Being able to drink hot tea or mulled wine during the cold winter season must¡¯ve felt amazing. You could even put the snow into the thermal bottle to make hot water or you could also use it as a makeshift pocket heater by putting the thermal bottle inside your coat. This invention would be greatly appreciated by the people working outside.


    I was thinking of selling this invention in bulk if my friends in the city gave me a positive response for it but well, let¡¯s not be too hasty. It¡¯d be better to take it slow instead of rushing it into production.


    And so, just like this, after the incident with Margo, Heinrich started to work diligently and completely transformed himself beyond recognition.


    One fine morning, Heinrich told me that he had something to talk about with me. He had a piece of paper in his hand and he handed it to me. I took the paper and I decided to hear what he had to say.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Cue Mulan¡¯s song I¡¯ll Make a Man Out of You.

 CH 204

    Chapter 204


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    I sat down facing Heinrich at the living room table.


    ¡°Read. It.¡±


    Heinrich said so as he pointed at the paper.


    Well, given the fact that I can only speak in broken Lancaster language, of course it¡¯s only natural for him to write me a letter when he has something important to say.


    I scanned the content of Heinrich¡¯s letter. He went on and on about his regret and remorse in his letter. Then, he ended the letter with¡­


    I¡¯m glad I¡¯ve become friends with someone as kind as you, but I can¡¯t possibly inconvenience you any longer. After all, it is absolutely uncouth and insensitive of me to keep bothering a newlyweds such as the two of you.


    ¡°I see. So what are you going to do next?¡±


    ¡°Going. Tairant. Become. Adventurer.¡±


    Tairant was a town located about 2-3 days away from Resta.


    ¡°I see. Then, I will need to give you your salary for all the work you¡¯ve done here and of course, some parting gifts as well.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    Heinrich must¡¯ve failed to understand my words because he basically had a question mark hanging on top of his head.


    I took out 10 gold coins from the safebox and handed it over to Heinrich. With this much, he should be able to live decently for a while. Next, I also gave him things like food, clothes, firewood to provide warmth, a fire dagger and also a water dagger. I also gave him a thermal water bottle that we had developed together. Having a hot drink in hand must be very handy to have when traveling during the winter after all.


    Although it was not my responsibility to go this far for him, but if he were to die after I had taken care of him for a while, I would be the one feeling bad instead. Even though this guy had driven me to the corner, but I had a feeling he would become a successful adventurer and would repay me in the future sooner or later. Hence why, let¡¯s just consider this as a future investment.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After he said that, Heinrich took off the necklace he had been wearing and placed it on top of the table. He told me he didn¡¯t have any need for it anymore. For some reason, Heinrich¡¯s expression looked so bright and radiant as he said that. As if he was just released from something that had been haunting him.


    Lastly, I gave Heinrich a spare wheel cart to help him carry all the stuff I had given to him.


    ¡°Keigo. Indebted.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, take care of yourself, okay?¡±


    Heinrich then went out on his way just like that after he finished packing. I stood there in the cold for a while until I couldn¡¯t see his figure anymore.


    ¡°Auuun¡­¡±


    Ash, who was standing near my feet, made a cute noise. That was the moment I had been out in the cold for too long because my body felt pretty chilly. I rubbed my cheek with my fingers.


    ¡°Now then! What should we do today?¡±


    I exclaimed.


    I guess it was safe to say that Heinrich had been successfully rehabilitated. It was evident from his current attitude. I would like to believe that from now on, he would no longer hurt other people out of self-interest like he used to do before.


    On the other hand, what about me?


    Just like usual, I was still holed up in my little shack on the outskirts of town, disliking the idea of living in the town. Be that be Yurina-san or my best friends, neither of them forced me to do things I didn¡¯t want.


    They are really kind.


    But surely Yurina-san would like it better if she could meet her Mama and the other sisters at the pub more easily. I was sure without any doubt that Margo and the others would welcome me with open arms if I decided to live in the town.


    So, what¡¯s there to be afraid of at this point?


    While it is true that I was traumatized and worn out both physically and mentally due to living in a toxic environment, but¡­ Isn¡¯t it about time for me to move on with my life? Isn¡¯t it about time for me to start putting my trust in humans again? The people in Resta, they even went out of their way to start a fight against a noble for the sake of helping me, you know?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I should open up a shop at Resta. I wonder what I should name it?¡±


    Before I noticed it, I found myself looking forward to living in Resta.


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    T/N: Wow. I didn¡¯t expect character development from the MC too. I already knew Heinrich is going to be a better person but I didn¡¯t expect MC would overcome his trauma too. I love this development! I mean if MC were to have a child later, living in the town is the much safer option. We can¡¯t afford to have a wyvern flying around your house when you have a child after all.

 CH 205

    ¡°Now then, I guess it¡¯s time to go.¡±


    After making sure Yurina-san and Ash had got on the wagon, I locked the iron gate up. Today, we were going to the town for the first time in a while to talk to Margo about moving into the town. When I told Yurina-san about this idea, she was delighted since she would be able to meet Josephine-san and her other friends whenever she wanted.


    There¡¯s nothing better than seeing my wife feeling happy.


    That reason alone was enough to convince me that moving to the town was not a mistake.


    I greeted the old gatekeeper as usual as I passed through the gate. I handed the old man a cup of mulled wine (made from milan fruit wine) and a smile blossomed in his face.


    It¡¯s cold out here so really, thank you for your service.


    After that, I went straight to Margo¡¯s shop.


    When I entered his shop, it seemed he was in the middle of a business transaction with an adventurer he was familiar with so I waited. They seemed to be negotiating the price of the water dagger that I had sold to Margo.


    Margo raised his hand upon noticing me. He then told me to wait with gestures.


    It can¡¯t be helped then.


    Yurina-san and I sat on a stool nearby while we waited. Of course Ash was waiting patiently as well, Yurina-san was holding him in her arms.


    Selling something you¡¯ve made to other people required time, effort, location and other costs as well. However, it would be a different story if I were to live in Resta.


    ¡°If I¡¯m going to live here anyway, maybe I might as well open up a store too.¡±


    While thinking about that possibility, Margo had finished with his business transaction.


    ¡°Sorry about that. What¡¯s up?¡±


    After his buyer had left, Margo greeted us.


    ¡°Margo, I have something to discuss with you.¡±


    I decided to talk to Margo about my plan to move into the town.


    After I got the main idea conveyed to Margo, his mood suddenly brightened. He quickly flipped his store sign to ¡®closed¡¯ and brought out a bottle of liquor but I quickly intervened.


    The shop, is it going to be alright?


    I felt deja vu here.


    According to Margo, if I wanted to conduct business in Resta, I needed to get registered with the commercial guild. Sarasa¡¯s father was the guild master of the commercial guild so he could help us if we asked him and we could also ask him to introduce us to some good properties while we were at it.


    And so, together with Sarasa, I, Margo and Yurina-san (with Ash in her arms), passed through the door of the commercial guild (a building with the sign of a scale and a bag of gold coins).


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    T/N: Turns out Sarasa is not an ordinary merchant. Since her father is the guild master of a commercial guild, that means she must be one of the richest merchants in town too. Also what a busy man he is. Granted he already gave the shop to Sarasa but not only he¡¯s the guild master of a commercial guild but he¡¯s also in the town¡¯s council?

 CH 206

    At the commercial guild, a young male employee named Volga-san assisted me.


    Usually, anyone would feel cautious when someone they didn¡¯t know entered the building but since Sarasa, the daughter of the guild master was here with us, the employee treated us with utmost care from the beginning to the end. I was grateful that he kindly communicated with me through writings because I couldn¡¯t speak in their language.


    I was told that the commercial guild was an organization that extended their operation across countries and was established in order to protect the rights of wandering merchants who didn¡¯t have civil rights since wandering merchants didn¡¯t have the citizenship of the country they traded in. Just like how it was back in Japan, even in this other world too, an individual couldn¡¯t stand against a governmental authority so the people with the same profession gathered together and formed an organization to fight on equal standing against the government.


    Just like in the adventurers¡¯ guild, the merchant in the commercial guild was divided in a class system based on their commercial achievements. The ranks were similar too, like inferior iron class, bronze class, copper class, iron class, noble iron class and so on. By the way, since I didn¡¯t have an official business record, I had to start from the lowest class, which was the inferior iron class. Those in iron class had the freedom to cross countries and those in noble iron class could receive preferential treatment to trade with a noble through the guild channel.


    In short, there are some benefits in upgrading your class so from now on, I need to do my best to steadily raise my class.


    Also, apparently the commercial guild could keep our money for us so we could also make payments by using the cheque issued by the guild. If by any chance there was a fire or any sort of damage in the guild¡¯s vault that could make the gold unusable, the guild actually had some sort of insurance system in place and the maximum coverage limit was up to 1000 gold coins. So it was similar to a bank¡¯s deposit insurance.


    On this occasion, I was planning on buying a house so I had opened my vault beforehand and counted all of the gold coins I had saved. In total, I had more than 4000 gold coins and I had brought them all with me on a wagon. This vault of mine, I made it myself from iron and I stored it under my bed. The difference in security between the guild¡¯s vault and mine was absolutely uncanny.


    Anyway, I decided to leave 3500 gold coins to the guild since I wanted to use that money to buy a house. That left me about 500 gold coins (and some spare change) in hand.


    When I handed that hefty amount of money to Volga-san, he became flustered and immediately went to get the guild master.


    ¡°Pleasure to meet you! I¡¯m Alan!¡±


    ¡°Ple-Pleasure to meet you¡­.¡±


    This man, who exuded a charming and elegant aura, was the guild master of the commercial guild and also Sarasa¡¯s father. After he introduced himself as Alan, he patted my back cheerfully.


    Well, although he might be a little bit boisterous, he¡¯s still Sarasa¡¯s father. Since this organization is managed by someone like him, I believe I can trust them enough with my money. Whether it¡¯s for searching for a house or for a business transaction, there¡¯s no better partner than them.


    Alan-san was really happy that Sarasa was coming with us. He was practically all happy and giddy with his daughter around while Margo looked a bit stiff.


    Ah, Margo looks smaller now¡­.


    While I was watching this harmonious family reunion with a warm feeling in my heart, a cat beastman with a stick came to intervene. From the looks of it, it seemed the cat beastman was saying something along the line of¡­


    ¡°What are you dawdling for?!¡±


    And practically dragged Alan-san by the ear.


    According to Volga-san, that cat beastman was the vice master of this guild, Dean-san. It seemed Alan-san was the type who could demonstrate his excellent capability when it was truly needed but during normal times like this, Alan-san was completely useless. And so, that was when Dean-san, the vice master, came in to fill the gap.


    ¡°Hooo¡­ The management in this world is running pretty smoothly, huh¡­¡±


    Hearing what I just said, for some reason Sarasa and Margo were staring at me.


    ¡°Then Volga-san, can you please recommend some suitable properties to me?¡±


    I conveyed that to Volga-san with a mixture of gestures and words. Volga-san then laid out some documents on a table. The information about the location and the floor plan of the properties were neatly described on those documents.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: The manga raw hasn¡¯t reached this part yet so I can¡¯t find any picture of the commercial guild staff.

 CH 207

    After I deposited 3500 gold coins to Volga-san, he showed me three suitable properties based on my desire to open a store. The three properties ranged from 3500 gold coins, 2000 gold coins and 1500 gold coins. My heart immediately leaned toward the 2000 gold coins one. This must be due to my nature as a Japanese person who liked to take the middle ground.


    To sum up Volga-san¡¯s explanation, the 3500 gold coins one had good location and the building was still in prime condition while the 2000 gold coins one was located in a so-so area but the building was also in a prime condition and lastly, the 1500 gold coins one. This last building was located in a good location but the building was in poor condition.


    ¡°I guess we won¡¯t know for sure until we see the place with our own eyes.¡±


    And so, we decided to visit each property in person.


    First one, the 2000 gold coins one. The house was big and sturdy but the location of this house was a bit complicated. It was near the church¡¯s graveyard.


    Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never encountered any undead monsters up until now. Since monsters exist in this world, that means they must have something like zombies or skeleton undead in here.


    And speaking of graveyards, graveyards were often associated with undead monsters.


    ¡°Is there any undead?¡±


    I asked Sarasa with a mix of gestures and words while pointing at the graveyard.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Of course there is undead.¡±


    So she said.


    Since the graveyard was managed by the church, it was highly unlikely for the corpses in there to turn into zombies, but on a very rare occasion, some sort of negative influence might gather in there, causing the revival of undead.


    Okay. I will pass on this one since it¡¯s near the graveyard.


    Up next, the 3500 gold coins one. This one definitely looked expensive indeed. It was a big 2 storey house with gorgeous decorations and it was located on a hill near Bavarian-sama¡¯s residence so the view was great here. However, the house was a bit too gaudy for my taste and since I still wanted to do some smithing work, I didn¡¯t feel comfortable to live so close with a noble.


    Finally, the last one. The 1500 gold coins one¡­


    To be honest, I don¡¯t have much expectation since this house is priced less than half of the previous house.


    As we were walking down the shopping district with that thought in mind, I happened to see a shop with fancy brickwork decorated with flowers in pastel undertone. I immediately started to imagine the sight of Yurina-san and Ash standing in front of the entrance of that shop. Just imagining it was enough to make my heart feel warm and fluffy inside.


    After that, we kept on walking for a bit before Volga-san spread both of his arms wide in front of a tattered looking house.


    ¡°Here it is!¡±


    He seemed to say.


    It seemed like it would be nice to take a long nap on a hammock here when spring came. This house was located exactly in between the shopping district where Sarasa and Margo¡¯s store were and the entertainment district where Josephine¡¯s pub was located, making it had good accessibility in between the places I might frequent.


    This lot cost 1500 gold coins since they basically didn¡¯t count that tattered shack in consideration so 1500 gold coins was basically the price of the land only. The size of the lot itself was nothing but satisfactory. It seemed I could make a building the size of Margo¡¯s store while still leaving enough empty land for a garden. I could have them construct the building with the remaining gold coins I have deposited.


    I guess I¡¯ve made my decision.


    ¡°Yurina-san, I think this might be a good place to live. What do you think? Of course, we will need to have a new house constructed.¡±


    That¡¯s right. It¡¯d be nice to take inspiration from that brickstone shop we had seen earlier. We could make our house in a similar color scheme and brick design to it.


    ¡°Wonderful¡­. I think it¡¯s good!¡±


    ¡°Woof!!¡±


    Okay, my wife also likes it. Ash also seems to be happy with this place. Although I hadn¡¯t asked him anything.


    ¡°And so, Volga-san, I think this place is the one for me. In fact, I already have a design in mind for the new building¡­.¡±


    I laid out a piece of paper right here and there to explain the fancy brickwork design similar to the shop I had seen earlier.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: FINALLY AN ACTUAL HOUSE. From sleeping with the chickens to actually own a house in the middle of the town¡­ Our MC really has grown¡­.

 CH 208

    Volga-san said that there was an architect workshop on the outskirts of town where they made those fancy buildings. The workshop specializes in making bricks of various colors. I immediately went to visit the workshop that also served as the architect¡¯s warehouse as well. There, I saw stacks of bricks piled up high in a soft color that made you feel warm and gentle inside when you look at it like moss green or pastel orange. Looking further into the workshop, I found a person engrossed in studying a large blueprint laid out on an angled table. This lady must be the architect, Miss Taylor.


    Despite the language barrier, I tried to tell Taylor-san that I liked the building I happened to see in town earlier and she seemed happy to hear that. Since this was not her busy period yet, she readily agreed to build the shop for us.


    I told her that I wanted to have an adorable looking shop in pastel color that suits Yurina-san and Ash. I also planned on doing smithing and alchemy work so I told her I needed to have a blacksmith workshop along with a place that I could do some alchemy at, a warehouse and a garden.


    Upon hearing my requirements, she immediately drew a rough sketch on the spot and presented it to us. Both Yurina-san and I were immediately pleased with the design at first glance.


    Sarasa even murmured something that went like,¡±Maybe we need to build a new house too¡­.¡±


    Margo looked startled upon hearing that.


    Margo, you sure have it rough.


    However, since this house would be built by an artisan,the estimated cost reached up to 2000 gold coins, which was pretty expensive for a house. The price of the house combined with the land  was exactly the same as the gold I had deposited with the guild. However, since I also wanted to start becoming a merchant, I couldn¡¯t help but to feel a little bit anxious¡­


    When I told this to Volga-san, he then said..


    ¡°Then the guild will purchase the land and the house you¡¯re currently living in for 1000 gold coins.¡±


    Just who would want to live in a place like that?


    I thought to myself but it turned out, since the protective wall was pretty sturdy, there was more demand than I thought for it. Since I wouldn¡¯t need that house anymore after I moved to Resta, I agreed to sell both the land and the building to the guild for 1000 gold coins.


    That small house was a refuge for me who hated to be around other people. By living in the town, I would be challenging the misanthropist side of me. Selling that small house was a form of my personal commitment and I felt it was necessary for me to let that small house go.


    In any case, we immediately gave 500 gold coins to Taylor-san as a down payment using the cheque issued by the commercial guild and the remaining 1500 gold coins would be paid after the house was finished. I now had 2500 gold coins left in the guild.


    ¡°Now then, I think we¡¯re done with all of our errands for now? Yurina-san, Ash, let¡¯s go home.¡±


    I called out to Yurina-san, who had been trailing after Ash who was wandering around the workshop and returned to our small hut.


    Taylor-san told me that since this was not a busy season for the construction business, she could fully mobilize all of her construction workers. The house should be finished within 15 to 20 days. I was told that in this world, most construction workers would utilize the advantage of earth magic and body strengthening magic to get their job done. Which was why they could construct a building frighteningly quick.


    We would then finalize the overall layout and design of the house. As for the details, I decided to just leave it to the expert since there was no end to the details if we had to nitpick everything.


    And so, all that remained for us was to wait and to look forward for the completion of our future house.


    We left the town after thanking Taylor-san, Margo, Sarasa and Volga-san.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So they¡¯re opting for the country cottage vibe kinda thing?

 CH 209

    After we set up our mind on moving into the town, Yurina-san and I started to prepare for our move one step at a time until finally the only thing left to do was to transport our belongings to our new place.


    The seedlings in the field had already been transferred into the new land and the herb chickens were all ready to be moved. However, I couldn¡¯t bring the poisonous plants with me since the rule stated that no one was allowed to grow poisonous plants in the city. The rule was understandable though since childrens might snatch some vegetables in the field for them to eat without permission.


    The home was finished two weeks after I put my order purchase in. Volga-san, from the commercial guild, came to my place along with other members of the commercial guild in order to inform us about the completion of the house and to perform a detailed assessment of this little house I currently lived in since they were planning on purchasing it.


    During our negotiation a few days ago, Sarasa and Margo had already explained the house arrangement along with the facilities installed and we already agreed to price my little house at 1000 gold coins. But the people from the commercial guild said that they wanted to do a detailed assessment themselves and depending on the result, the price might either increase or decrease for about 200 gold coins. We gave Volga-san a tour of the house and much to our surprise, this little house was appraised at 1200 gold coins instead of 1000 gold coins.


    I had anticipated some difficult bargaining and nitpicking from their side so I was really caught off guard by the outcome.


    Well, maybe they don¡¯t make things difficult for me since they know I¡¯m a friend of the guild master¡¯s daughter? If I were them, I would also offer the price at a lower value at first and then increase the value later to build the foundation of a better future relationship.


    Volga-san seemed to be a pretty skillful merchant. He said that he had overlooked the bowguns on the stone wall along with the potential yield of the field and the blacksmith workshop so an increase of 200 gold coins was a reasonable and fair price. However, I suspect Volga-san already knew about all those facts beforehand and he already intended to raise their offer. Although you couldn¡¯t really call the merchant in this world a ¡®businessman¡¯ or a ¡®salesman¡¯ but they essentially were doing the same thing as their line of job.


    ¡°Such is the way of life of a businessman¡­.¡±


    I looked at him with a distant look in my eyes, remembering the time where I was drenched in sweat because I had to wear a suit in the damned scorching summer heat.


    In any case, we got a special bonus from our house selling, so let¡¯s splurge for a little bit with our celebratory party.


    ¡°Well then everyone, since we¡¯ve finished packing, I will leave the rest with you guys.¡±


    I said to the guild members of the commercial guild and they started working right away. I had asked Volga-san to find me some people to help me with the moving. By the way, even though I had to pay them 10 gold coins, I had received a big surplus from the sales so even after I put the moving fee into consideration, I still had a lot of money to splurge.


    And so, after making sure that they moved our belongings properly, Yurina-san (along with Ash who was nestled in her arms) and I moved into our new house (slash store) in the town of Resta.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Sorry for the late update! So many things are happening in real life (¡ä????§Õ????`???)?o¡¤?

 CH 210

    Our shop was finally completed.


    And so, Yurina-san (along with Ash in her arms), Volga-san, Taylor-san and I, stood in front of the completed shop after we had finished moving our belongings in. Everything was designed with Ash as the muse. The shop was seriously really cute. I felt like I could die from the sheer cuteness.


    The main building was a two story building with one basement floor. The building was made using moss green bricks and pastel orange bricks. The building wasn¡¯t clunky or boxy either, it had a slightly round shape, same like the doors and windows. Overall, the colors, the shape and all of the components of the main building really blended well together, making the house look really adorable.


    The first floor served as the store front. There was also the blacksmithing workshop, a space for me to do some alchemy, a kitchen and a bathroom. The basement served as a storage room and the second floor served as a living space for us. The field that also served as a space for the chicken to loiter around looked really neat. Even the firewood stove and the bed looked so fancy.


    In addition to an indoor bath, there was also an outdoor bath so we would still be able to enjoy having an open air bath despite living in the city. It was clear to see the designer really put extra emphasis on every little thing to make the house look so adorable. From the soap box to the towel rack, and other small accessories of the house, everything was designed to look cute.


    Even after I had completed replanting the seedlings and settled the chicken in their new coop, there was still plenty of space left. It seemed we would be able to hold a party here. And there, in front of our shop, there was the shop¡¯s sign, adorned with Ash¡¯s paw stamp. The sign of our general store read ¡®Wolf Cub¡¯s Apron¡¯ in a cute round-ish font.


    ¡°Cute¡­¡±


    Yurina-san seemed to be very elated with how adorable the shop looked.


    We decided on the shop¡¯s name together. Since we wanted to have a shop with an adorable vibe, we wanted the name to have some sort of association with Ash. At first we were thinking of putting ¡®bib¡¯ after the ¡®wolf cub¡¯ because we thought it¡¯d be cute but after further thinking¡­. The word ¡®bib¡¯ had an association with something dirty and so¡­ In the end we settled on the word ¡®apron¡¯ instead.


    ¡°Taylor-san, Volga-san, thank you very much. I didn¡¯t expect our house would look this adorable. Here, this is a cheque for 1500 gold coins, as we had promised before.¡±


    I gave Taylor-san the commercial guild¡¯s issued cheque worth of 1500 gold coins.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. We¡¯re going to have a party to celebrate the completion of our shop today. Would the two of you be interested in attending?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°It will be my pleasure.¡±


    ¡°Then, we will need to start preparing for the party. I¡¯ll see you two later.¡±


    After that, Yurina-san and I, along with Sarasa and the others who came to help us, started preparing for tonight¡¯s party.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: You know the author is old by the fact that this world is using cheque to trade.

 CH 211

    In order to celebrate the completion of our shop, Wolf Cub¡¯s Apron, I invited Margo and the others along with Josephine-san, the big sisters from Butterfly¡¯s Cradle pub, Volga-san, Taylor-san, Alan-san (Sarasa¡¯s father and also the guild master of commercial guild), Barrack-san (Elsa¡¯s father), Donny-san (the captain of the soldier working under Bavarian-sama) and also Bavarian-sama (I sent him an invite since there was no risk in trying but to my surprise, he actually came).


    I handed Yurina-san a paper containing the speech I had prepared to open today¡¯s celebration and after saying the typical opening sentence in Japanese, Yurina-san followed suit, practically translating my Japanese speech into Lancaster language.


    The party was a buffet style party held in the store front part of our house. On the display shelf on the wall, we had lined up 10 water bottle with water attribute that could produce water continuously (product name: Wakimizu-kun ¦Â) and 10 water bottle with fire attribute that could heat the water inside and keep it hot for prolonged time (product name: Pokapoka-kun ¦Á).


    By the way, the word ¡®¦Â¡¯ and ¡®¦Á¡¯ in the product name represented its prototype version number. The 3.0 version would be named ¡®¦Ã¡¯.


    When the house was still under construction, I had been thinking about the various things I would sell in our shop but I didn¡¯t want my goods to interlap with the things that Margo and Sarasa sold in their shop so from there on, an idea came to my mind. I remembered the fire attribute thermal bottle I had developed with Heinrich and the water dagger scabbard. I was thinking of making a water bottle by combining both ideas.


    And if I give it a cute design that matches the adorable concept of our shop, won¡¯t the water bottle become a pretty decent item?


    And so with that thought in mind, I asked for Yurina-san¡¯s help to make the prototype for our new water bottle. We tried adding a wolf cub¡¯s paw design on the bottle and the lid just like the one we designed for our shop¡¯s sign. Also, since the plain iron color looked dull, we tried making three color variations, pastel pink, pastel orange and moss green. Just like the color scheme of our shop.


    Yeah. The water bottle looks pretty fancy. Suitable enough as something to sell in our shop if I may say so myself.


    After that, we demonstrated the water bottle in front of everyone while they were eating and drinking. I warmed milan fruit wine and poured it into a mug for Bavarian-sama and Margo. Suddenly, the two of them yelled and weeped, ¡°UWOHHHHH!!!¡± while shaking my shoulder vigorously.


    These two people¡­ Are they alright (in the head)?


    Alan-san and Volga-san also looked flabbergasted to the point their mouths were gaping open. Both fire dagger and water dagger were already commercially sold in Sarasa and Margo¡¯s shop though so I didn¡¯t expect these water bottles would come as a surprise.


    After that, the price negotiation battle commenced between everyone. As if they were in an auction, Bavarian-sama and Alan-san were fighting over 20 water bottles, the only product available as of currently.


    ¡°No, umm¡­ Actually I was thinking of giving this to everyone as a gift for attending this party¡­..¡±


    When I told them that, Sarasa became absolutely furious. As of now, the temporary price of this water bottle has reached up to 60 gold coins.


    ¡°Giving something as expensive as that as a free gift is absolutely unthinkable!¡±


    So they said.


    In the end, after a thorough discussion between Bavarian-sama and Alan-san, they decided that the retail price of one water bottle to be 50 gold coins.


    ¡°However, please do note that the current price is just a temporary price. Depending on the amount of the demand and supply, the price might change at any time.¡±


    So it was written on a piece of paper.


    The two of them decided on their own without inviting me into their discussion.


    I mean, there¡¯s no need for me to abide by the rules decided by other people about how I run my business but oh well, since we are in the middle of a party, I don¡¯t want to become a wet blanket. So I will just flow along with them for now.


    And so, Alan-san and Bavarian-sama bought 10 water bottles each. Since they already decided on 50 gold coins as the price of one water bottle, that meant I got 1000 gold coins. Bavarian-sama gave a cheque to Volga-san and Volga-san did something with a plate the size of A4 paper and the amount of balance written in my commercial guild card changed. I had received 1200 gold coins before from selling my small house by the forest and now I had received 1000 gold coins from selling the water bottle. In total, I received 2200 gold coins today.


    ¡°Whoa¡­.¡±


    I shivered upon realizing I had easily earned half the money required to have my brand new shop.


    According to Sarasa, not only was this product something both adventurer and peddler desperately wanted to have, but the cute design of these bottles was also a pretty rare thing in the market so fashion conscious nobles would surely love it. With all of those aspects combined, the water bottle would definitely fetch a high price in the market.


    So this is why Bavarian-sama and Alan-san¡¯s eyes turn into dollar signs¡­.


    Averting my gaze toward Margo and Sarasa, they were grinding their teeth, looking very vexed at the situation.


    As I expected. An ordinary merchant like Sarasa and Margo are not on the same level with a noble and a commercial guild when fighting for a product to sell.


    ¡°Everyone, please calm down. I also don¡¯t like it when a shop doesn¡¯t have any product in stock but at the same time, I also don¡¯t want to keep on working like a horse so I will be the one who decides the price and the amount of product I will sell myself. Also, as I¡¯ve mentioned before. I still want to give a gift to everyone who¡¯s here for the party. I will make another water bottle for everyone later. The same water bottle I¡¯ve shown to you guys tonight.¡±


    I said, while Yurina-san translated my words into Lancaster language for everyone else. Bavarian-sama and Alan-sama vehemently objected to my decision but I was standing firm.


    ¡°This is something that I¡¯ve made myself so I¡¯m free to do whatever I want with them.¡±


    And so, I asked each one of the people in the party whether they wanted Wakimizu-kun ¦Â or Pokapoka-kun ¦Á to end the discussion about the water bottle. I still had some ideas of products to make by granting different attributes to them but I guess, I should refrain from telling the people from the commercial guild or Bavarian-sama about it even after I had completed making it.


    Afterwards, during the party, Alan-san looked like he was charmed by the big sisters from Butterfly¡¯s Cradle. Seeing that, Sarasa let out a cold wave emitting from her body. Furthermore, both Margo and Juno turned ghastly pale just by seeing the angry Sarasa.


    As the night grew late, the joyful night came to an end.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Alan-sannnn, you already have a daughterrrrr!

 CH 212

    The next day after the party to celebrate the completion of Wolf Pup¡¯s Apron building, we decided to make more products to display and rearrange the shop in order to prepare for the shop¡¯s grand opening. Before actually opening the store, we needed to work on the product and test it in the workshop to ensure the product could function properly. We¡¯d be losing our reputation if any defect was to appear in the future after selling it to our customer. And so, I had Margo to join me in supervising the testing of the product in our workshop.


    While I was silently lighting the fire in the furnace to make Wakimizu-kun ¦Â and Pokapoka-kun ¦Á, Yurina-san was rearranging the display shelf when she came to call me out. I was told that a tax collection officer had come to our house.


    ¡°Tax collection? But our shop is not even open yet¡­.¡±


    While I was questioning for what reason the tax collection officer came to our place, I went to the reception space where the tax officer was supposedly waiting for me. And then, I was surprised. Right in the reception area, there was a beautiful blonde woman who looked like an intricately made french doll.


    ¡°Huh? This lady is the tax officer?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­.¡±


    Yurina-san said curtly.


    Standing up straight, I was clasping my hand together in front of my chest while smiling at the beautiful lady.


    ¡°Good afternoon.¡±


    I greeted her in Lancaster language.


    The woman said her name was Charlotte. She introduced herself as a tax collection officer, a sister from the church and as an inquisitor. She extended her hand to me for a hand shake and I introduced myself as Keigo Okuda, the owner of this shop while shaking hands with her.


    I was captivated by Charlotte-san¡¯s sweet smile but I quickly returned to my senses when Yurina-san cleared her throat audibly. Glancing at Yurina-san sideways, I saw she had the same expression as Sarasa last night. She was smiling but it was evident to see her smile wasn¡¯t genuine. You could practically hear the menacing sound effect playing behind her back. This was the kind of expression Margo often suffered under Sarasa.


    I could feel myself sweating under her gaze¡­.


    Individual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Psychological Fear Resistance Level 1.


    I would much prefer it if I didn¡¯t get that skill in a situation like this¡­. Well, that just shows how much I fear losing Yurina-san. Troubles involving another woman is definitely a dangerous thing for a married couple. I need to be wary.


    And so, I asked Charlotte-san what was the purpose of her visit today while hiding this shameful heart of mine.


    ¡°And so, may I know the purpose of your visit today?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡Á¡Á©–©–¡ö¡Á¡±


    Charlotte-san was here for two things.


    I don¡¯t want to deal with unnecessary trouble in the future by refusing to join their church or donating but¡­ With all that said, giving a small donation is not a problem for me but if I agree to join their church here, I¡¯m sure they will ask me to do all sorts of things later¡­


    ¡°I see¡­ I will pay the tax for opening a shop as per required but about joining the church, I¡¯m sorry I will have to decline. Of course, it will be an honor for me to be able to donate for the church.¡±


    After saying that, I took out 11 gold coins from my pouch and placed it onto the table to pay the tax and the donation. Then, seemingly happy with the donation, Charlotte-san took out something resembling a rosario, grasped it in her hands and put her hand in front of her chest and made some sort of a sign like a cross sign as she started to pray for me.


    ¡°May God¡¯s blessing be upon you.¡±


    Or rather, the rosario thingy she had looked similar to the thing Heinrich had left behind. Which was surprising to know given how utilitarian that man was.


    I engaged in small talk with Charlotte-san. We talked about Heinrich and the charity works carried by the church. After talking for a little bit, she then took her leave.


    It¡¯s better to humor the people from the tax office. That¡¯s the golden rule in trade occupation.


    After sending her off, I thought to myself that it was weird for Margo to not come to show his face. It turned out that sister-sama was notorious in town. Be that be as a tax officer or as inquisitor, she was ¡®excellent¡¯ in every sense of the world. Everyone in the town feared her.


    Upon knowing that, I was glad I didn¡¯t act curtly when refusing her offer to join the church. I was also relieved I had given her enough donation to keep her happy.


    However, I completely failed to notice that Yurina-san¡¯s mood had taken a deep dive because I was enthralled by Charlotte-san¡¯s beauty for a moment there.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Thank you for the kofi! I really appreciate it! You know, just the thought of someone giving me kofi without expecting anything in return (because I literally can¡¯t give anything back. I can¡¯t build stockpile chapters like I used to), it¡¯s just so endearing! It makes me feel like¡­ Ah so this is unconditional love¡­ Haha! (,,>©n<,,)


    Also, tax officer both in isekai and irl are the same, huh¡­. They are all kinda seedy¡­

 CH 213

    The main concept of our general store, the Wolf Cub¡¯s Apron, was a fancy general store with a cute vibe and design. We paid extra attention to the details of our product, so it was only natural we didn¡¯t overlook the costume for our staff as well. The moss green apron designed by Yurina-san was especially popular because of its cuteness. Ash, the mascot of our shop, was very popular with the ladies. Yurina-san, who was wearing an elegant uniform resembling a traditional maid outfit, was on the receiving end of envious gaze from both men and women alike.


    As for me, I¡¯m half proud and half worried about my wife. Just a little bit though.


    I told Yurina-san that if some strange  guys were trying to attack her, she should attack them with a paralyzing bullet without any hesitation.


    A week since the opening of our shop, the sale was going on well, especially for products with attributes on them. In addition to water bottles with various attributes, leather shoes and bags with wind and earth attributes(to make them light and sturdy) were also surprisingly popular. Even though we set the price around 30-40 gold coins to test the water out, people were still willing to buy it.


    We bought the shoes and bags from Sarasa for less than 10 gold coins each. So even after deducting the material cost for granting attributes, we still made a decent profit. At our current rate, I would be able to sell leather armor that was both light and sturdy after granting attributes to them too. I could purchase the armor from Margo and then, it could be a win-win situation for my merchant friends.


    In addition to non-food items, we also sell ¡®recovery cookies¡¯. We made it by mixing dried irene herbs and delune fruits into the dough and flavored it with marble leaf. Recovery cookie was very popular between mothers since it served as a delicious and nutritious food to help the children¡¯s recovery.


    However¡­.


    ¡°We¡¯re a little short-handed¡­.¡±


    Yurina-san was the one who attended the shop while I went around buying materials, making merchandise, arranging them in the shop and went on delivering Bavarian-sama and the commercial guild¡¯s orders¡­ And just like that, a week passed in the twinkling of an eye.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never taken a day off yet since the opening¡­¡±


    We are working without a break as if we¡¯re in a black company that exploits its workers. We really need to address this situation promptly!


    While I was thinking about it, Yurina-san came knocking into the workshop.


    ¡°Delivery!~¡±


    She said as she pushed a wooden box containing some recovery cookies ordered by the adventurers¡¯ guild. Then, she hurriedly returned to the shop, looking very busy and flustered. Yurina-san was under a lot of pressure too, just like me.


    We really need to do something or else¡­


    ¡°After I¡¯m done delivering this, maybe I can stop by the commercial guild and ask them if they can help me with finding an employee.¡±


    At the very least, I need 1 free day where I can relax together with Yurina-san.


    I put on my winter clothes , went outside and loaded the box into the wagon before I finally headed out to the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: This is the other side of having your own business. You get no days off. Especially when you¡¯re still building your business.

 CH 214

    I showed myself in the adventurers¡¯ guild with a box of ¡®recovery cookies¡¯ they had ordered. At the reception counter, I saw that Dan was in the middle of attending to the adventurers while Han-sensei was examining a pile of monster materials brought by the adventurers.


    Upon noticing my arrival, Han-sensei, the one who had ordered recovery cookies, made a gesture with his finger for me to follow him. These recovery cookies not only could recover your HP but it could also recover your vitality and MP. So these cookies were very useful in teaching adventurers new skills or magic.


    I followed Han-sensei into his office. This room really exuded the vibe of a magician. The room was dimly lit, with only candles the only source of light and there were some sort of tools for magic scattered here and there. The room was also filled with a pungent smell that really stung my nose.


    Han-sensei pointed his finger at a vacant place, gesturing for me to put the box there and with that, the delivery was complete. But before I left, I had some quick chat about magic with Han-sensei first (although our chat was done through writing).


    Han-sensei told me that dark attribute was very convenient and he wanted to show me a magic spell called ¡®domination¡¯. He took a red rat out of its case, placed it on a table and then, there was some sort of black haze coming out from Han-sensei¡¯s hand, coming toward the rat. The red rat, which had been so aggressive and ready to pounce at us at any given moment, suddenly looked drowsy. Its body was swaying from side to side.


    Han-sensei moved his fingers like a conductor and the rat started to dance, just like a puppet with strings attached to its body. Then, once Han-sensei stopped his magic, the rat also stopped moving and then died, as if its string had been cut off.


    Han-sensei told me that if I didn¡¯t have enough guild points, I could pay him with money instead but still, while a magic that could allow you to manipulate someone would certainly come in handy, somehow¡­ I really didn¡¯t like the notion of it¡­. Maybe it was just my personal ethic as a Japanese person kicking in but that magic was basically a mind control spell, right?


    And so in the end I firmly declined his kind offer by giving him a safe excuse like ¡°I don¡¯t have money¡± because I didn¡¯t want to acquire such an unsettling magic.


    Han=sensei grimaced and looked a bit disappointed while saying,¡±If you change your mind, feel free to contact me any time you want.¡± with a combination of gestures and verbal communication to me.


    After saying goodbye to Han-sensei, I left the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC don¡¯t join the dark side!!! Don¡¯t!!!

 CH 215

    After leaving the adventurers¡¯ guild, I went to the commercial guild to inquire with them about hiring some employees for my shop. The commercial guild was diagonally across the adventurers¡¯ guild so I left my wagon at the stable in the adventurers¡¯ guild and just walked to the commercial guild. I had sent a letter to Volga-san beforehand so right now I just needed to talk about the details of the matter with him.


    When I entered the building, Volga-san, who was attending the reception desk, raised his hand to greet me. He then took me into a reception room further inside the building.


    I sipped some tea and after waiting for a while, Volga-san returned with two people in tow.


    ¡°Chatra,©–©–¡Á¡Á¡÷¡¢¡÷¡÷¡Á¡Á!¡±


    ¡°Maya,©–¡÷¡Á¡Á¡¢©–©–!!¡±


    I assumed these people were introducing themselves to me but all I could catch was their name. The tiger beastman that looked young and energetic was Chatra while the blue haired young woman with glasses was Maya.


    ¡°Volga-san, I¡¯m sorry but can we communicate in writing?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Volga-san nodded and then he started translating what they had said to me in writing. It turned out the two of them had just turned 16. Which meant they had only reached adulthood not too long ago. They were apprentices at the commercial guild, training to become a merchant and when they heard that I was looking for employees, they immediately applied for the job.


    I told them that I would be paying 2 gold coins a month on the 30th day and they would get one day off every week (7 days). They looked surprised upon hearing my offer and practically exclaimed.


    ¡°Not only do we get a day off, but we also get that much money in a month?!¡±


    The two of them could do basic math and understood the general knowledge of the commodity merchants often sold. Maya was good at writing and negotiation while Chatra was good at product processing like maintaining products or even creating certain products.


    It seemed the two of them had great potential. Training them would surely be worthwhile. And since the commercial guild would serve as the guarantor, I promptly decided to hire them right here and there.


    I gave them two gold coins in advance for their salary and asked them to come to the store with me.


    Finally, finally we can get some rest.


    After loading the stuff I had ordered from the commercial guild into my wagon, I headed back home.


    ¡ó¡ó¡ó


    ¡°Hm? What is that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a girl!¡±


    Chatra, who had keen eyes, shouted. It turned out, there was a girl laying on the ground in front of my shop. Confused, I immediately stopped the wagon and rushed toward the girl.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: This girl is not the sideFL btw. She¡¯s wayyy too young for our MC.


    That¡¯s Tanya.

 CH 216

    In front of my house, there was a blonde haired girl with blue eyes laying on the ground. She appeared to be very thin and weak. She also seemed to have a fever. I held the girl up in my arms and I was shocked at how light she was. I asked Maya to call Yurina-san for me and then me and Chatra carried the girl into the house.


    We laid her down on a bed on the second floor of the house and gave her some recovery cookies I had with me right now. I also gave her dual potion (medium) and paruna detoxifying potion. I remembered I somehow managed to recover from a cold with the help of potions.


    Then, Yurina-sam came into the room.


    ¡°I will take care of the girl. In the meantime, please take care of the shop.¡±


    True. Yurina-san would be the better choice since she could do things like changing her clothes and other stuff too.


    ¡°Then Yurina-san, we¡¯ll be staying downstairs. Please let us know if you need anything.¡±


    We needed to be careful not to make too much noise so the girl could sleep better.


    I left Yurina-san and Ash, who were watching the girl with worry in the bedroom and went down to the front-store with our two new employees.


    ¡°Lunch will be prepared by the person in charge of cooking on that day using the ingredients in the kitchen. The appropriate amount of ingredients will be provided according to the number of people present. As for the days off, you guys can coordinate your days off between the two of you. Just make sure your days off won¡¯t overlap with each other¡¯s and submit your work schedule to me in a 30 days interval.¡±


    After I had finished explaining it to them, today¡¯s business day had also finally come to an end. Chatra flipped the sign on the door, making the ¡®close¡¯ sign facing outside. They told me that right now they were still living in their parents¡¯ house but after they got a stable income, they planned on renting their own place.


    ¡°Great work today. I will see you guys tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°¡±Thank you!! I¡¯ll be in your care!! Good bye!!¡±¡±


    After we finished closing up the shop, the two of them said their greetings in Lancaster language and went home.


    Speaking of which, they were talking in Lancaster language so I couldn¡¯t really understand it well but it seemed the two of them were speaking in honorifics with me, right? Up until now, I never was in a situation where I would be spoken to with honorifics by someone else. However, I needed to properly instill the respectful mindset with them . Afterall, it wasn¡¯t common for an employee to use casual language with their boss.


    ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m starving¡­.¡±


    And then, I made dinner with chopped pasta and boiled it in soup stock until the pasta became soft. After I finished cooking, I carried the food upstairs along with mulled wine I had made by using a fire attribute thermal bottle.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Especially since MC is a ¡®foreigner¡¯. He needs to establish proper hierarchy so the employee won¡¯t try to trick him or treat him lightly. Also pasta soup reminds me of chicken pasta soup. I also like to eat it~ It¡¯s one of my comfort food~

 CH 217

    ¡°Yurina-san, I made some food. How is the girl doing?¡±


    ¡°¡­..Thank you. The girl. Much better.¡±


    I had placed 3 servings of fake porridge on a tray and carried it to Yurina-san, who was busy nursing the sick girl. I made this fake porridge using chopped pasta and soup stock made from the isekai version of kelp, zircoot plant. The girl seemed to be doing a lot better compared to when we first brought her here. She was sleeping peacefully on the bed and her fever had gone down too.


    When I changed the towel on the girl¡¯s forehead, she opened her eyes.


    ¡°He-Hello. I¡¯m Keigo. How are you feeling? Are you feeling alright?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­.Where am I¡­.?¡±


    The girl seemed to be in a state of confusion.


    Anyway,after that, Yurina-san talked with the girl. She asked the girl about a lot of things. It turned out the girl¡¯s name was Tanya. She was an orphan and she had been living in the slum. Yurina-san empathized with the girl upon knowing the girl grew up in similar circumstances as her.


    After hearing the girl¡¯s story, Yurina-san assured the girl.


    ¡°You can stay here until you recover.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s eat first before our food gets cold.¡±


    And so, the three of us started to eat the fake porridge. Ash stood up on his hind leg, looking up at us with his big eyes.


    ¡°Give me food!¡±


    Looking at how adorable Ash was, Tanya smiled at Ash.


    Ash, good job!


    If she was able to hold a conversation and eat on her own this well, then she wouldn¡¯t need someone on a stand by to nurse her but just to be safe, Yurina-san and I decided to take turns nursing her for today. By the way, the bed Tanya was sleeping on was the guest¡¯s bed. She was staying in the guest room, not in our bedroom.


    ¡°Yurina-san, go and take a break first. I will wake you up in 3 hours and then we will swap places.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡±


    After she said that, Yurina-san went into our bedroom to sleep together with Ash. Having her stomach full with that fake porridge and hot rumi fruit wine I had made, Tanya-san also fell asleep not long after that.


    Feeling bored and didn¡¯t have anything to do, I decided to take out a stack of paper and started jotting down some new product ideas from my head. And so, after writing for a while, I also started to feel sleepy and ended up flopping my head on the table.


    By the time I realized it, I had already fallen asleep on the table.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Our newlywed MC just got a new daughter!

 CH 218

    The next morning, I woke up with the feeling of a blanket wrapped around my shoulder.


    ¡°Good morning, dear.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Yurina-san. Good morning.¡±


    Apparently I had fallen asleep with my head flopped down on the table and Yurina-san had quietly took her turn nursing Tanya without waking me up. Tanya-san was also already awake. She was drinking a glass of water that Yurina-san had given to her.


    It seems she¡¯s already fine now.


    As soon as I woke up, Ash was quick to jump near my feet. He immediately began begging me for food, acting so noisy so early in the morning.


    It can¡¯t be helped. I guess it¡¯s time for me to start making our breakfast.


    Then, I prepared some lightly toasted bread, fried eggs and some salad. The three of us, including one animal (Ash), ate our breakfast together. Tanya¡¯s fever seemed to be down already but just to be safe, I gave her another potion to drink.


    In the meantime, Chatra and Maya, who had officially become our employees since yesterday, arrived for work.


    ¡°Well then, Yurina-san. I¡¯ll be heading to the shop so please take care of Tanya-san for me.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    Afterward, I entrusted the shop-front to Maya and went to the workshop with Chatra in order to teach him how to make the product we sold in our shop. Right now, our most popular products were recovery cookies and thermal bottles with elemental attributes on them.


    However, it turned out  that without any alchemy skill, it would be impossible to add any attribute to things. So first thing first, I needed to make Chatra gain an alchemy skill and in order to do so, I taught him how to make HP potion made from irene herbs. HP potion made from irene herbs was the first potion I had ever made that gave me the alchemy skill after all.


    ¡°Oh! Chatra! You¡¯ve acquired Alchemy level 1.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    After he finished making the potion, Alchemy level 1 skill was added into Chatra¡¯s list of skills.


    ¡°Alright. Just keep on making potions at the same rate you¡¯ve been doing. Don¡¯t forget to chew on some berzin herbs to restore your MP and vitality.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Master!¡±


    Chatra ended up calling me ¡®Master¡¯.


    Well,we could sell stuff like potions to Sarasa or just sell it ourselves at our shop so there wouldn¡¯t be any loss in having Chatra making more potions. Sarasa¡¯s shop was quite a distance away from our place so there shouldn¡¯t be any issue if I sold my potions at the same price as Sarasa¡¯s. Although we needed to discuss this with Sarasa first to make sure we could sell the potion at our own shop.


    Since Chatra had gotten the grasp of making potion, I went to the shop-front to help Maya with assisting the customers at our shop. I also taught her some tips and tricks in negotiating. Like the cost price of our product, how much discount we could offer based on the ~% of the cost price and the amount of discount we could give to our regular customer or customer who was planning to buy our product in bulk. Maya already knew the basic arithmetic operations and she used this some sort of abacus-like device to help her with calculations.


    She¡¯s a pretty good merchant. I¡¯m really thankful she¡¯s here.


    Also, Maya was wearing our shop uniform that Yurina-san personally made (it looked like the classic maid costume) and together with Ash in tow, she looked really great as the shopgirl of our place to the point that Yurina-san, who had came down to the shop-front to check on the shop, let out a strange exclamation that sounded like,¡±Hauuu!!¡±


    The cuteness of Maya in uniform together with Ash was too overwhelmingly amazing. It was clear to see that Yurina-san was going to create more costumes in the future. The sudden burst of creative energy in the air was simply palpable.


    And so, just like that, the second day for our new employee passed by in the blink of an eye.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I didn¡¯t expect our MC to like the soft, pastel type but I¡¯m here for it! Or maybe the country girl aesthetic is more accurate? Yeah, I think the house+shop is more like a country girl aesthetic type.

 CH 219

    On the third day since we hired our new employee (also the third day since we found Tanya laying on the ground), when Tanya¡¯s fever finally subsided and she was able to stand and move around. Thinking that going on a light walk would be good for Tanya, Yurina-san, being overprotective she was, went on to dress Tanya in thick winter clothing. Tanya looked like a thick lump of clothes because of it. The three of us then went on a light stroll in the garden together with Ash.


    After we finished eating breakfast, Chatra and Maya arrived for work. They looked really excited today. I had something I wanted to try for a bit today so I entrusted the shop-front to Chatra and Maya then I went to hole myself up in the workshop.


    The thing I wanted to try was to make the new product I had come up with when I was nursing Tanya. Now that the shop was going on the right track, it was time for me to start making a series of new products to sell. The new idea I had in mind was¡­ To create ¡®carbonated water¡¯ by dissolving carbon dioxide in water.


    Circulating magic power all throughout my body, I imagined an image of separating carbon dioxide from the air in my mind.


    As I recited the magic spell, I could feel the gas in the air was moving, albeit slightly. Then, I held my hand out toward the part of the air where I felt that moving sensation.


    ¡°Ice.¡±


    I focused my magic power into the air while visualizing the image of freezing nothing but the carbon dioxide gas. Then, instead of the usual ice cube that formed from freezing some water, a white, smoky block the size of a 100 yen coin tumbled down onto the table. This white object kept on letting out a faint and thin white smoke.


    Without any doubt, this must be ¡®dry ice¡¯, the solid form of carbon dioxide.


    I picked the dry ice with chopsticks and put it inside a bottle filled with cold water and quickly closed the lid shut tight to prevent the carbon dioxide from escaping. Then I patiently waited for the dry ice to dissolve into the water for a while before taking a sip of the water.


    A fizzy and refreshing sensation filled my mouth as the water smoothly slid down my throat.


    That was the nostalgic sensation of a soda water. Using the same method, I turned bargo fruit wine into ¡®sparkling wine¡¯ and rumi fruit juice into ¡®carbonated juice¡¯. When I took a sip of the sparkling wine, my mouth was filled with a fuzzy and refreshing sensation accompanied with the dry taste, peculiar to that of a fruit wine.


    ¡°This is seriously amazing¡­.¡±


    This was so unbelievably delicious that I couldn¡¯t help but to worry about what Bavarian-sama and the people from the commercial guild would do.


    Well, there¡¯s no use worrying about them though¡­..


    After that, I kept on making nothing but sparkling wine and carbonated juice for our own enjoyment.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I¡¯m 99,99% sure you can potentially die if you drink dry ice water. I don¡¯t know how to make carbonated water but I¡¯m sure dissolving dry ice in water is not it. Btw, I read the comment on kakuyomu and apparently a user said they¡¯ve tried drinking dry ice water and nothing happened? They only said it didn¡¯t taste good (well, duh).

 CH 220

    After successfully creating sparkling wine and carbonated juice in this world, I decided it was time for me to hold a welcome party for our new employees. Aside from the people working in our shop, I also wanted to invite Sarasa, Margo, Elsa and Juno. I also made sure to invite Bavarian-sama, who always told me time and time to call him whenever I made something new or cooked delicious things.


    People always said ¡®food grudge¡¯ was a horrifying thing after all. If Bavarian-sama found out I had been keeping such a groundbreakingly delicious thing like carbonated water a secret from him, I couldn¡¯t even dare to imagine what kind of thing he would say to me afterward.


    Tanya, the girl who had collapsed in front of the shop before, was now completely recovered. She was living together with us while helping out at the shop. When she stood alongside Ash, the two of them truly made an adorable and heartwarming sight.


    It was against my upright conscience to drive Tanya out when she had nowhere else to go. Yurina-san was also fond of Tanya so she wouldn¡¯t allow such a thing to happen in the first place. If we couldn¡¯t afford to have her living with us, of course we had to prioritize our own lives but fortunately, we made more than enough to keep the shop running while still having enough to sustain our daily life.


    If we have the means to help then, we should lend a hand.


    And so, Yurina-san and I agreed to take care of Tanya until she could become independent.


    Yurina-san was very passionate about teaching someone. She would take time between break from the shop to teach Tanya and Maya how to sew and fight (using slingshot).


    ¡°A woman needs to know how to defend herself!¡±


    She said about the slingshot training. As I watched the women of this house unleash paralyzing bombs at the scarecrow and explode it near its head one after another, I couldn¡¯t help but to feel sorry for any future thugs that dared to attack this shop.


    And what a coincidence. On the very day where I was thinking about those poor future thugs, a thug¡­ Or rather, a yakuza-ish guy with curly hairstyle typically belonging to a delinquent, came to cause trouble at our shop.


    ¡°Who gave you permission to open your business here?!¡±


    He seemed to say.


    ¡°Haaah¡­..¡±


    No but, we have the permission from the noble governing this town and the commercial guild as well though?


    I thought to myself while staring blankly at the yakuza-ish thug.


    ¡°Paralyzing bomb!!¡±


    ¡°¡°YES!!¡±¡±


    SWISH! DUARRR!! THUD!!


    The moment Yurina-san gave the order to attack, the women in this house shot a paralyzing bomb, spider thread bomb and iron projectile bomb in rapid succession. All of the bombs were critical hits to the face of the yakuza-ish thug.


    The yakuza-ish thug collapsed onto the ground with his limbs twitching painfully.


    So-So scary¡­.


    We tied the yakuza-ish thug and a short while later, Donny-san, the captain of the soldier of this town,(along with a letter from Bavarian-sama telling us that he would come to our party tonight) came to take him away .


    The women were rewarded with several silver coins for apprehending the criminal. Their excitement level practically soared to the sky.


    Oh my, oh my.


    Despite such an unexpected incident, we closed the shop early because we needed to start preparing the party for welcoming our new employees which also served as a debut party to introduce our new products, carbonated juice and sparkling wine.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Won¡¯t the thug die with the last bit? That iron projectile bomb is practically a modern day bullet right? Anyway, I can understand their excitement though. It must be exhilarating. Their adrenaline must be like SWOOOSHHH!~

 CH 221.1

    ¡°Now then, to Chatra and Maya, cheers!~¡±


    ¡°¡±¡°Cheers!~ New employee!~ Welcome!~¡±¡±¡±


    Since there was no concept of a ¡®company¡¯ here, I couldn¡¯t really use the term ¡®welcoming new employee to the company¡¯. But since they had small to large scale organizations like guilds and stores, I explained to everyone that this kind of party was a means to celebrate the starting of working in an organization like that.


    ¡°MUOOOOOO!!¡±


    ¡°NUGOOOOOOOOO!!!¡±


    ¡°IYAAAAAAAA!!¡±


    While I was thinking to myself, I heard the ever instrumental trio¡¯s voice (Bavarian-sama, Margo and Sarasa). Apparently they were reacting to drinking sparkling wine for the first time.


    Well, it¡¯s only natural for them to be surprised.


    Tanya and Ash also looked so happy as they drank the bubbly rumi soda juice. I was watching the adorable pair with a lukewarm heart when¡­.


    ¡°Keigo!!©–¡Á¡÷¡¢¡ó©–¡Á£¿¡Á¡Á©–©–!!¡±


    ¡°¡Á©–¡¢©–©–¡ó¡¢¡÷!!Accept mine!¡Á¡Á! 20 gold coins!!¡±


    ¡°¡Á¡ÁKeigo!! ¡Á©–¡÷¡ó !!¡Á¡ó©–, 30 gold coins!!!¡±


    Bavarian-sama, Margo and Sarasa approached me with a very menacing look on their faces.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Sorry. I don¡¯t know what you guys are talking about.¡±


    I said so while making gestures for not understanding. I had already predicted the price of sparkling wine would hyperinflate. It seemed they were about to start the bidding war for sparkling wine through written communication.


    Yeah but¡­ Today is a welcome party for Maya and Chatra so¡­


    Or so I thought but I saw Maya and Chatra¡¯s eyes were practically glowing at the new business opportunity so I guess¡­


    This is what it is¡­


    ¡°Maya, how about if you try negotiating the price for one bottle of sparkling wine and rumi soda juice?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, Master!¡±


    I decided to try to give Maya an on the job training by teaching her the art of business negotiation. I watched her negotiating with those instrumental trio from behind. She was putting her best effort in negotiating, she was doing pretty good. On this occasion, since we had Bavarian-sama (who was basically our sole connection with the noble) involved in the negotiations, the price negotiation was done by putting the price used by nobles in mind.


    In the end, it looked like Maya was about to get pushed down by Margo and Sarasa¡¯s negotiation skill. They were both professionals in their field after all. If I let this be, it seemed we would end up agreeing on selling it in mass to them so I had to intervene after all.


    ¡°Sorry but these things require magic power to make so I can¡¯t mass produce it yet. For now, I¡¯m going to feature these products as limited items exclusive to our shop.¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±!!!!!!!¡±¡±¡±


    When I said that, the hyperinflation of sparkling wine resumed.


    Yeah. As I thought, the value of a commodity in this world is also determined by the rule of supply and demand too, huh?


    The sparkling wine I had in stock suddenly looked like something from DRC (Domaine de la Roman¨¦e-Conti).


    After that, I left the rest of negotiation in Maya¡¯s hands and nonchalantly watched the four of them engaging in a fierce war of words. Their eyes even become bloodshot from the intensity of their war.


    ¡°Hmm¡­? I think I¡¯m forgetting something¡­.? ¡­¡­..Oh well. It should be fine I guess.¡±


    I thought I was forgetting something for a moment but since I couldn¡¯t remember what it was, I assumed it was just my imagination so I stopped trying to remember.


    The sparkling wine that had turned into DRC wine had hyperinflated up to 300 gold coins per bottle.


    Well, if we can produce more bottles of sparkling wine, the price will go down anyway.


    In this way, Maya and Chatra¡¯s welcome party was forgotten in exchange for the extremely passionate and chaotic wine auction. The excitement of the party increased considerably.


    By the way, the feeling of forgetting something wasn¡¯t just my imagination. It turned out later on, Alan-san and Volga-san came to protest vehemently with the commercial guild¡¯s dignity on the line. But, this is a story for another time.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: A mere sparkling wine from freezing carbon turned into vintage wine from DRC¡­ Well both wines have exclusivity as their main selling point after all.

 CH 221.2

    Chapter 221.2: (Margo¡¯s POV) TA?N?SA¡­¡­N?!


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Keigo, who had been on the run because Heinrich was chasing after him, finally returned to Resta. We heard that more than 50 people were chasing after Keigo and the others so we were very worried but it seemed they were somehow alright now.


    Seeing Keigo all safe and sound, I felt relieved from deep inside of my heart. And then, on that very day, all members of Blue Brigade had a grand party to celebrate Keigo¡¯s return.


    ¡ó


    Heinrich was captured and ended up getting exiled from Resta. However¡­ One day, I went to Keigo¡¯s house to pick up my order of fire daggers and to check up on him as well. To my surprise, I saw Heinrich¡¯s repulsive face at Keigo¡¯s place.


    ¡°Just what are you thinking?! You damn idiot!!¡±


    The moment I saw Heinrich, I completely lost my temper. However, Keigo made a gesture asking me to calm down. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself somehow.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re certainly his biggest victim but still¡­¡±


    If Keigo was fine with it then I guess it would be alright to leave this guy in his hand¡­.


    On that day, Keigo invited me for a drink but Heinrich would also be there. I still couldn¡¯t bring myself to drink together with Heinrich so in the end, I opted out from the drinking party and returned home.


    ¡ó


    I heard that Heinrich was leaving Keigo¡¯s house. It seemed Heinrich was planning on going to Tairant. Deep inside of me, I actually felt relieved he was finally leaving.


    Also, there was another surprising thing. That Keigo expressed his desire to open a shop in the city. Of course I fully supported his decision. In fact, since Keigo had gotten married to Yurina, I think it¡¯d be better for Keigo to live in the city rather than staying outside where they would be in danger of being ambushed by monsters. However, if I brought that up myself, I¡¯d be meddling myself too much into their life. Hence why I actually had been waiting for him to bring that up himself.


    Seeing Keigo together with Yurina, I kept on witnessing how great the power of having a spouse was like. I understood it well since the amount of influence I received after being married to Isabelle and Sarasa was simply immeasurable, you know?


    ¡ó


    And so, after this and that, the day where Keigo¡¯s general store was finished finally came. The name of his general store was ¡°Wolf Cub¡¯s Apron¡±.


    How do I say it¡­ The appearance of this shop really suits Keigo¡¯s taste. It¡¯s very Keigo-ish.


    I also found it wonderful that Yurina and Ash were both incorporated in the design of the store¡¯s adorable signboard. This shop would certainly become popular.


    ¡ó


    Keigo hired Maya and Chatra as apprentice merchants. We were gathering at Keigo¡¯s place for their welcome party.


    But that¡¯s not important. The problem is this thing in front of me. This bubbly and foamy product¡­


    The moment I took a sip of it, I was hit with the biggest shock in my life.


    BLUP BLUP BLUP¡­.. DUARRRR!!!


    A yellow-green lightning was roaring within my head. Being with Keigo, thunder in various colors like blue, red kept on roaring within my head. I could never get bored being with him.


    ¡°Keigo!! I have something to discuss! Would you be willing to sell one bottle of this to me for 20 gold each?!¡±


    ¡°Huuuuh? My dear, are you trying to hog all the profit for yourself? Keigo!! I will give you 30 gold coins per bottle!!!¡±


    ¡°Fufufu¡­.. Keigo Okuda. You see, we have connections with the aristocrats. I can confidently promise you I will be able to bring you a hefty amount of money that will blow such loose change into smithereen¡­.So let¡¯s start our discussion¡­.¡±


    It seemed I wasn¡¯t the only one who had yellow-green lightning roaring inside my head. I had countless rivals.


    However, I won¡¯t back down here! I can claim myself as a merchant if I give up now!!


    From there on, I was facing Sarasa and Bavarian-sama. My usual mild temperament was thrown to the wind and a desperate war of words unfolded between us all.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: It¡¯s nice to see Margo can stand on his ground even after marrying Sarasa!~ We all thought Sarasa will be very overbearing but it turns out their relationship is still pretty healthy. Margo can still go up against her without being afraid of the repercussions!~

 CH 221.3

    Chapter 221.3: (Yurina¡¯s POV) TA?N?SA¡­¡­N?! Part 2


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    My husband was secluding himself in the shop¡¯s workshop again. He seemed to be making something but I had no idea what he was making¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m the big sister so I will let Ash eat the meat first!¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    A few days ago, we rescued a girl from the slum who had collapsed in front of our shop. Her name was Tanya and recently, she started to look so much better than before. The cold medicine from Kishuu-sensei that I always had with me during the winter season seemed to be effective on Tanya. Her appetite had also improved so when my husband gave her some homemade dried deer meat, she started ¡®reverse competing¡¯ with Ash for the dried meat.


    With a plate of dried meat between them, the two of them were competing to give each other dried meat instead of taking it for themselves. Even though they both had drools dripping down from their mouths.


    ¡°So-¡­. So adorable¡­.!¡±


    Haup!


    I spontaneously hugged them both and rubbed our cheeks together.


    ¡°Yurina¡­. Too¡­ Tight¡­.¡±


    ¡°Kuuun¡­.¡±


    Afterward, I split the dried meat on the plate in half and fed it to Tanya and Ash.


    My husband and I decided to open up a shop together. I had always loved cute things and I already learned how to sew and do embroidery from Mama and from the other girls who were good with their hands. So I already knew how to make cute stuff like stuffed dolls. It had been my dream to open up a shop and sell cute things there. Now, my dream suddenly came true.


    Thanks to my husband¡¯s incredible business skill, the shop was doing well. We were even able to hire two employees. And it was during the welcome party for our new employees that my husband whipped out something incredulous for everyone to taste.


    Gulp¡­. FIZZY FIZZY¡­


    BOOM!!


    A yellow-green lightning roared behind me.


    When was it again? When was the last time I encountered this feeling? Maybe the last time was when he gave us uni sashimi to try? Or maybe since the grilled serpent? But who cares! When was the last time this happened to me is not important here!!


    Then, I savored the strangely delicious beverage to my heart¡¯s content. Or rather, I might had drunk a bit too much.


    I doubt I would be able to get my hand on this beverage if I was just a normal citizen because I saw how Bavarian-sama¡¯s eyes changed color the moment he tasted this ¡°sparkling wine¡± but as Keigo¡¯s wife, I held special privilege. Later on, I would secretly ask my husband to make some for Mama and everyone else in the pub to drink.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Props to this MC though. I have never seen a Japanese MC making carbonated water before. Usually it¡¯s just mayo, soy sauce, miso, and curry.

 CH 222

    The day after our new employee welcome party was our shop¡¯s fixed day off so I decided to see what the slum looked like, the part of town where Tanya and Yurina-san used to live. Of course before entering the slum area, there were certain things you needed to be wary of. For example you shouldn¡¯t wear any kind of clothing that looked expensive or bring anything that looked expensive with you.


    The public security was poor so we needed to make sure to be well armed for any kind of trouble. Just by looking armed and not inconspicuous alone would work well as a deterrent for trouble in the slum.


    Ash was very friendly and he would gladly follow anyone he met so in order to prevent Ash from getting kidnapped, Yurina-san would carry Ash in her arms. As for Tanya, I would hold Tanya¡¯s hand while we were there.


    Maybe I¡¯m being a bit too overprotective¡­?


    Now then. We finally reached the slum area by foot. The slum area was located on the opposite side of the main street, hidden like the place was shrouded in shadow.


    I had only started walking for a while but I already felt sick. The whole place reeked with the smell of sweat and filth mixed together. The feeling of discomfort in this place was nauseating because there was no sense of distance between the people and the building here. People were sitting in a makeshift hut on the side of the road while giving us an indescribable look. Abandoned buildings that had been neglected for many years were everywhere.


    Though there was no corpse lying around on the street, both Yurina-san and Tanya told me that a person¡¯s life was regarded as something extremely cheap here. Apparently, when there was a corpse, the guard would suddenly come out of nowhere to come and carry it to the crematorium. It probably served as a minimum preventive measure for infectious disease.


    This place was the vassal to contain the people¡¯s necessary evil. The kind of place where you put a cover on it to contain the foul smell from spreading around. At least, that was what it seemed to look like for me.


    I learned in history class that the ruler would deliberately discriminate people based on the class system in order to take advantage of human¡¯s tendency to feel relieved when seeing someone in a worse situation than them. This kind of mental manipulation was used as a way to control the people. But in regards to Bavarian-sama and the others in power, I doubt they were doing this deliberately. This whole thing seemed to happen naturally due to poverty.


    ¡°Thankn you, Yurina-san, Tanya. Now I understand.¡±


    ¡°¡±?¡±¡±


    ¡°Well, just you wait and see. Sometimes, this kind of thing can be solved when someone decides to take action toward it.¡±


    After touring the slum, I said so toward these two who were looking at me with a confused expression on their faces.


    Then, I finished my lunch in a hurry so I could work in the workshop. I spread out papers on the desk to work out a plan to solve the issues in the slum.

 CH 223

    Chapter 223


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    My plan went like this. First of all, of course we would need money. Initiating this kind of thing required someone to take the lead first and as the initiator, of course I would have to use my own money to kickstart this plan into motion. Recently, I had introduced sparkling wine to everyone. I planned on using a portion of the profit from the sparkling wine sale to fund this plan. The number of sparkling wines we could produce was still limited as of now, so the rich nobleman would certainly be willing to pay a hefty sum to get their hands on it. If we diverted some of the money laying in our coffers to help the children in the slum, no one would be negatively impacted from this plan.


    For now, I could give 1000 gold coins to this project. This money would serve as a kickstarter to recruit more people to help us. The form of help could be in monetary shape or volunteer work.  It was important to politely and firmly explain in detail that this project was a charity work that would certainly benefit the entire town.


    Based on my previous explanation, I would be fully utilizing all of the connections I had in this town. I would approach Bavarian-sama, the adventurers¡¯ guild, the commercial guild, the town¡¯s council (Margo and Juno were a part of this council), the people in the entertainment district and even Taylor-san, the architect. Everyone that I could think of, I would approach them all.


    Another crucial thing to note was what we were going to do with the money. My idea went like this.


    To give persuasive power to the plan, first, we would limit the target of our assistance to children under the age of 15. We would provide them with education to help them acquire the necessary life skills to survive in society. The money would be used to build a safe shelter for them. This plan was actually really simple and straightforward.


    Some of the children might had been involved in theft and stealing but their past would not affect whether we would include them under our protection or not. Because of the environment in the slum, it was only natural that the children would resort to crime. Therefore, it was important to emphasize that protecting children and providing them with a decent environment would improve public security. This point could serve as a persuasive point to gather more helpers. Hence why for now, we would target children under the age of 15 first.


    Those who were 16 and older managed to live that long in the slum anyway and I deemed they were not as vulnerable as young, weak children. So while it would be fine to not focus our attention on them for now, it still didn¡¯t mean we could just ignore them as it was. We still had to address their situation properly later. From what I observed in the slum, at least the town didn¡¯t just neglect the dead bodies there as it was but I guess that was it. That was the extent of help they would give to the slum.


    I summarized the details of the plan on paper and made 4 copies for Bavarian-sama, the adventurers¡¯ guild, the commercial guild and the town¡¯s council.


    ¡°Alright. Maya, I¡¯m going to take a walk for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Boss. Have a safe trip!~¡±


    By the way, I allowed Maya and the others to call me ¡®boss¡¯ because I was working as the director of the manufacturer side of our shop so it kind of fit my job description.


    Since Maya and Chatra had already learned the basics of the business, I left the store to them. I put the copies of the plan in my bag and rode a carriage to get to Bavarian-sama¡¯s residence.

 CH 224.1

    I was honestly surprised I still had a lot of motivation in my heart. The chairman of the trading company I worked at used to say that¡­


    ¡°Okuda, you¡¯re the type that has no greed, huh¡­¡±


    The chairman said that to me while looking me straight in the eyes. I was the type of person that could handle everything well but he still said that to me.


    ¡°There¡¯s this building that I had bought for 2 billion. Now I¡¯m planning on selling that building for 4 billion, you know? How is it? Does thinking about it make your blood boil? Hmmm? ¡­. Okuda, you need to have more life in your eyes. Business is basically like fighting in a war but without weapons in hands!!¡±


    The chairman said, trying to infuse me with more fighting spirit.


    Looking back, I believed the chairman was blessed with a talent to see people¡¯s true nature. I was aware that I lacked greed too. I was self aware that the lack of drive was so extreme. So much so that I ended up becoming nothing but a mere empty shell of a human.


    I quit the company I worked for abruptly, as if I was running away from them. I truly felt guilty about it that I didn¡¯t even dare meeting the president again.


    Lately, I started doing business-like things again in this different world and it made me think a lot about what I had been doing all this time. Up until now, I always believed I was the type that couldn¡¯t focus all of my being into one thing. I basically didn¡¯t have any strong motivation in me. I always took a step back from everything and looked at them with cold eyes.


    It was like, I would aim for 80 points but aiming for higher points or even 100 points would not be cost-effective. So it was better to aim for 80 points on all subjects. While I also thought that way of thinking was cunning and I was being narrow-minded¡­ But I also thought that since I was able to receive fairly good results in the end, it should be alright to keep on doing it like that, right?


    Hence why I never had a strong urge to devote myself to one thing in particular.


    But now¡­ I realized that way of thinking was wrong.


    If I truly wanted to excel in something, there was no way I would be able to win against someone who poured their all and did their very best to one thing if I kept holding onto that kind of half-asset mindset in me. Before I knew it, instead of becoming more passionate, I ended up losing the motivation to work and even started to feel reluctant to live as a decent human being. Continuing to live within the human society felt so troublesome to me.


    However, ever since I arrived in this different world, something inside of me changed.


    Since I came to this world, my life had fallen into a perpetual state of danger. I had to desperately find a way to survive in this world. If I continued to go on with my lives like I normally do, I would definitely die.


    While repeating that kind of motion, I began to view life in a more positive manner and I also started to become greedy in a good way. I realized by becoming more positive myself, I also brought joy to those around me.


    And now¡­ Now I had to face the problem that Yurina-san and Tanya had struggled with for a good chunk of their life.


    ¡°Maybe if I wholeheartedly put all of my being to tackle this problem, I will be able to bring joy to many people.¡±


    I became able to think like that.


    And once I started putting my thoughts into it, I was quick to put my plan into action.


    Today, it had been exactly one week since I brought the plan to Bavarian-sama. However, aside from Bavarian-sama, we also had been actively involving other parties like the guilds and the town council. Everyone worked together to find the solution for the slum problem.


    Fortunately, I was able to grab a hold of the key people in this town. Our discussion went swimmingly. Barrack-san (Elsa¡¯s father), gave us a plot of land located in the back side of Elsa¡¯s inn. He said that he was happy to help if it was for the purpose of helping people in the slum. Taylor-san (the architect) was also willing to help us with the construction of the building free of charge.


    The commercial guild and adventurers¡¯ guild cooperated by providing us with the necessary personnel. Each guild agreed to bear the personnel cost which was 50 silver coins everyday and send their members to help us with the project.


    Not only wealthy individuals and groups cooperated with me. The ¡®Blue Brigade¡¯, a group that Margo and the others formed when I was being chased by Heinrich, also agreed to give me their full support for this project. As per Bavarian-sama¡¯s wish, the Blue Brigade still existed as a vigilante group. Josephine-san and the others from the Butterfly¡¯s Cradle pub, along with the uncle and aunty from the grilled skewer stall I was familiar with also agreed to help.


    Ah, that¡¯s right.


    The mohawk gang that helped us when we were being ambushed by Heinrich¡¯s troop. Although we parted ways in the middle of our journey, apparently they had returned to Resta recently. I told them about the plan I had in mind and they were willing to cooperate with me. I felt grateful because we really needed all the help we could get. Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.


    Including the 1000 gold coins I had put up, I had received a lot of donations too. To sum it all up, I had gathered 1600 gold coins in order to start this non-profit organization .


    ¡°I should come up with the organization name¡­ Something related to wolf cubs¡­¡±


    I decided to name this startup company (although the concept of a ¡®company¡¯ didn¡¯t exist in this world) ¡°Wolf Cub¡¯s Village¡±.


    Company was theoretically categorized as non-profit and for-profit but there was this popular philosophy from the Omi merchants. Sampo Yoshi. Good for the buyer, good for the seller and good for the public. Basically it meant the more a company contributed to its society, the more the company would grow. Even among numerous companies that exist on Earth, those who only cared about making money and disregarding everything else in the name of profit would eventually lose the support of the people.


    And so I believed this project I initiated would eventually benefit the people, making a full positivity circle.


    ¡°Hence why, I need to devote my all to this project.¡±


    If I were just living all on my own, I would be more than happy to just spend the whole day lazing around on the sofa and playing games while snacking on potato chips. But, once you started to realize certain things in life, you just couldn¡¯t stop and go back to that kind of lifestyle. I believed when a person started to become aware of something, they needed to take action if they could, you know?


    Right now, at the back of Elsa¡¯s inn,  the construction for Wolf Cub¡¯s Village had begun under the leadership of Taylor-san. We were also in the middle of installing temporary tents in the shape of a teepee tent that Sarasa had provided for us.


    After this,we planned on inviting the children of the slum to come into these tents with the help of the people from the guild. We hoped we could help them create a way to live so they could survive in this world.


    Even now, the cold was still severe. There must be plenty of children like Tanya, who collapsed due to the cold and hunger. Hence why I was sure this thing we were doing would not be in vain.

 CH 224.2

    Chapter 224.2 : (Johnny¡¯s POV) Actually a Tsundere?!  Unraveling the Past of the Passionate Mohawk Boss!!


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    My name is Johnny. I¡¯m the leader of a gang in Resta. The name of our gang is Johnny and the Seven Devils.


    After making a mess out of Heinrich¡¯s troop, we separated ways from Keigo¡¯s group and seeked refuge in a nearby town. We went against the noble so of course we wouldn¡¯t be able to return to Resta for a while at least.


    However, not long after that, I heard a rumor saying that Heinrich had been overthrown and then exiled from Resta.


    Come to think of it, Keigo Okuda has a few friends in town. They must¡¯ve rallied the people in town and instigated the revolution.


    It seemed Donny had also returned to his original position as the leader of the town¡¯s soldiers. If Heinrich had been overthrown and Donny, who also fought against Heinrich¡¯s troops, was able to return to his original position, then the situation at town must¡¯ve already changed.


    I checked with Donny through the ¡®back door¡¯ whether it was already alright for us to return to Resta or not before we took the route back home.


    Then we returned to our hideout, which was located in the slum of Resta.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Shit. This place is still as depressing as ever.¡±


    Although one of our merits was our jovial characteristic, we actually had a pretty harsh childhood. We were orphans, living in the slums. Our mother worked in the entertainment district, gave birth to us and then abandoned us not long after. We didn¡¯t exactly know who our parents were.


    Pickpocketing and theft were our daily activities. Everyday, we gathered iron scraps from mountains of trash. But despite everything, we still loved this town.


    Even after we became an adult, we would go to the slum. Find some kids and offer them a job. The main task we liked to give them was ¡®fetching water¡¯. It was a very hard job to do. Our gang and the children of the slum had a give and take relationship. Everyday, I would casually give a pat on the back of the head of the little kids that had completed their job and gave them a copper coin for their effort.


    When we returned to Resta, the little kids came running to greet us.


    ¡°Here, take this and go buy some food for yourself.¡±


    I gave those brats the remains of the money I received from Heinrich.


    ¡°Thank you Johnny!¡±


    ¡°I got it already so hurry up and scram!! You lot reek of piss!!¡±


    After I said that, the brats scattered around in all directions.


    I¡¯m sure with that, they will be able to survive for another day.


    ¡ó


    Two kids died in the slum today. Even a simple cold could be fatal here. We wrapped the kids¡¯ bodies in cloth and carried them to the crematorium. If we left the rotting body as it was in the slum, it would become the source of an epidemic so the guards would pay us money for taking care of the body.


    It¡¯s shitty but money is money. If this money can be used to keep the other brats fed then it¡¯s good money. I have to accept it gratefully.


    ¡°How pathetic. I¡¯m so powerless¡­.¡±


    Sweats were dropping out from my eyes. After all, a gang member doesn¡¯t cry.


    It was at this moment when¡­


    ¡°Good afternoon, Johnny.¡Á¡Á©–©–¡¢©–¡÷¡ó¡Á¡Á£¿¡¡©–©–¡÷¡­.¡±


    On my way back from the cemetery near the church after I mourned for the kids, I met with Keigo Okuda.


    That guy asked me to do a certain job. As usual, I still couldn¡¯t communicate verbally with him so we had to communicate through writing.


    After hearing the details of the job from him, I decided to accept it. Or to be precise, there was no way I would refuse it.

 CH 224.3

    Chapter 224.3 : (Johnny¡¯s Underling POV) Actually a Tsundere?!  Unraveling the Past of the Passionate Mohawk Boss Part 2!!


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    My name is Pinsu. I¡¯m the boss¡¯s number one underling! Today, the boss¡¯s mohawk looks excellent as always!


    Today, two kids from the slum died¡­ If only we had returned to Resta a little earlier, we might be able to help them¡­.


    Surviving through the cold winter was pretty difficult for a powerless kid like them.


    We then carried their bodies to the crematorium located in the church¡¯s cemetery. After that, Sister Charlotte gave us ¡°Public Health Control Certificate¡± as usual. If we gave this certificate to the guard, we would get 1 silver coin for each corpse we brought. I think they should just be more straightforward about it and call it ¡°Corpse Transporter Certificate¡± instead. I also think rather than wasting their money on something like this, it would be better if they use this fund to support the livelihood of those people instead.


    But nothing good would come from going against the noble anyway.


    So we would just take the silver coins we got and use it to buy some bread and then give the bread to someone else. It was more practical and realistic, rather than opposing the noble. We had to help those children, even if that meant we had to resort to doing dirty jobs. The feeling of powerlessness was so overwhelming. And so the feeling that all of our effort was in vain.


    ¡°Hey you two¡­ I¡¯m sorry for being late¡­¡±


    Our big bro was crying with his hands placed on the cold ground at the church¡¯s cemetery. Seeing that, we also broke down in tears. Those two kids that died used to follow our big bro like duckling with their mother. Our big bro truly loved those kids.


    I thought I was already used to seeing kids of the slum dying but in the end¡­ No matter how much time had passed, I still couldn¡¯t get used to it after all.


    In the end, this was part of our ¡®work¡¯ as well..


    ¡°You guys! Don¡¯t you guys ever get used to this thing!!¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±Of course we won¡¯t!!!¡±¡±¡±


    After renewing our resolution in front of the cemetery, we were on our way back to our hideout when we happened to meet Keigo Okuda by chance.


    Keigo Okuda said so and then he explained about his ¡®project¡¯ to us in our hideout.


    Upon hearing about his so-called ¡®project¡¯ we were all moved to tears, so much so that we even started dancing in joy and hugged Keigo Okuda.


    Keigo Okuda, he was a bit¡­. Or well, he was very¡­ Anyway, he left us 3 gold coins as a remuneration for 30 days worth of work before he then went home. He originally planned on giving us 50 silver coins for each person for the job but after he knew we also took care of the children in the slum, he gave us additional 50 silver coins for each person.


    ¡°Use the extra money to buy food or something.¡±


    He said. In total, he gave us 100 silver coins for each person.


    ¡°Okay! You guys! You¡¯ve heard about what the Master had just said, right?! Split up and gather the name and age of all the people in the slum!!¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±Yes, Sir!!!¡±¡±¡±


    We were already tired because of all the bleak prospects around us but suddenly, we were filled with motivation once again.


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    T/N: Actually, I can see this problem in our world as well. We¡¯re more willing to pay more for the dead rather than the living¡­ It¡¯s truly stupid¡­..

 CH 225.1

    I was wondering if I would be able to keep running my general store while managing another completely different project on the side. However, although I was feeling a bit anxious, it turned out with the help of many others, surprisingly everything worked well for me. Whether it was setting up a tent, cooking, making products, serving the customer at the shop, there was no need for me to do everything by myself.


    By utilizing some of the revenue from the shop, I could hire people to do those jobs for me. The ¡°Wolf¡¯s Cub Village¡± project didn¡¯t have anything to sell so the project wouldn¡¯t be able to get any sales revenue. However, we could allocate the donation from Bavarian-sama and other people to cover the labor cost. In addition, we also had free manpower (volunteer) so it seemed we would be able to get by somehow by making use of all those resources.


    But eventually I hoped the Wolf Cub¡¯s Village would be able to somehow generate its own income to ensure the continuity of this project. In the business and investment world, there was a saying that went like instead of giving them fish, teach them how to fish. And that was what I wanted to do.


    Within Japan¡¯s compulsory education program, there was almost no education about money. Children naturally assumed their parents would always provide them with money and food. They took everything for granted, thinking that earning money on their own wouldn¡¯t be that hard. They grew up into adults with that kind of misconception in mind. (Maybe things had already changed by now but at least, things were like that when I was still in school.)


    How difficult is it to earn money?


    Because they grew up into adults with that kind of mindset, they ended up taking student loans without knowing the severity of that debt. They started their professional career with several million yen worth of debt. Generally, a fresh graduate earned around 200.000 yen after taxes. Just imagine how many years it would take them to pay that debt off.


    In other words, what the children under the protection of Wolf Cub¡¯s Village needed was not ¡®fish¡¯ but ¡®how to fish¡¯. Which means, they needed education about money. Like how to earn money and how to manage their money.


    After teaching them the basic arithmetic operations along with how to write and read, we could finally move on to the next course. Which was the basic foundation to earn money, buy low and sell high.


    This was what we would teach to the children.


    In addition to that, we would also teach them how to make a product and sell it, lending money to someone and earning money from the interest (investment). For example, they could learn how to gather medicinal herbs, make potions from it and then sell the potions.


    With that kind of approach in education, we could break them free from the negative cycle that they had learned from the bad adults around them, like taking other people¡¯s stuff (stealing) and snatching other people¡¯s money (pickpocketing).


    Currently, the people from the commercial guild would send people to us free of charge. They could take up the role of teachers for the children to learn the basic education.


    However, we couldn¡¯t immediately jump into our plan straight away.


    Most of the children under our protection were extremely malnourished due to the harsh cold winter and from hunger. First, we needed to provide them with sufficient rest and food. Depending on their condition, we also needed to treat them first. Only relying on purchasing potions for the sick children would strain our budget so I started making the potion myself too. As a result, my alchemy skill reached level 10.


    Speaking of the children¡¯s medical treatment, the town doctor, Kishuu-sensei, started coming to our place in between his break to conduct medical examinations and treatment on the sick children. There was a child with a pretty severe condition but thanks to Kishuu-sensei, the kid managed to survive. I also wanted to gain more knowledge so whenever Kishuu-sensei came to visit, I would make sure to observe and learn from his techniques.


    As we continued our project in this fashion, filled with trials and errors here and there¡­ The number of children we took care of in our village exceeded 20 by the time we realized it.


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    T/N: I guess in a medieval setting like this, just surviving must be very tough to do. They don¡¯t have the convenient technology we have now after all.

 CH 225.2

    Chapter 225.2 : (Kishuu¡¯s POV) Dealing With Lives and a Doctor¡¯s Anguish


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    My name is Kishuu. I¡¯m a doctor running a clinic in a town called Resta. Though I am referred to as ¡®sensei¡¯ by others, but I don¡¯t consider myself a decent living being.


    That¡¯s because I save people¡¯s lives for money. If someone doesn¡¯t have money, I won¡¯t help them. It¡¯s a very simple and easy to understand criterion for judgment. As a professional in my field, I might be doing the correct thing by acting solely based on money but I¡¯m not sure what that makes me as a human being.


    However, I try to convince myself that it is the right thing to do as a professional.  I earn enough money to live in comfort and I don¡¯t have any particular greed for wealth. Why am I being so obstinate and only will save someone¡¯s life if they have money for it? That¡¯s because I believe medical care should be fair and just.


    Indeed, volunteering to save lives without demanding money may seem admirable at first glance. However, the resources required to provide medical care is limited. It is impossible to be able to distribute medical care to everyone equally. As medical technology becomes more advanced, the more you understand achieving true equality is impossible.


    For example, let¡¯s say I treated a child with a rare disease for free. On the other hand, there¡¯s another child with the same rare disease dying somewhere without me knowing it. And thus, there¡¯s no fairness in my practice. Because I¡¯ve saved one child on a whim, I¡¯ve created an unfair situation.


    That¡¯s why I only save people who can pay for it. So that I will be able to ensure my practice is fair and just.


    I am fully aware that the children in the slums are dying almost everyday. It¡¯s common knowledge in this town. I¡¯m also aware that I can easily save plenty of those dying lives if I choose to do so.


    But how do I justify not being able to help the lives of those that I couldn¡¯t reach?


    I can no longer use the excuse ¡°I didn¡¯t help them because they don¡¯t have money¡±.


    Therefore, I have lived my life while thinking that money is the last stronghold to guarantee fairness for doctors. Then at the very least, as a form of atonement for my sins, I always make regular donations to Zelarion church, which distributes bread to the children in the slums for free. And to distract myself from the guilt of not saving those lives, I confess my sins to Father Goliath.


    However recently, something happened that shook my policy as a doctor. And it was caused by the existence of a mysterious man named Keigo Okuda.

 CH 225.3

    Chapter 225.3 : (Kishuu¡¯s POV) A Doctor¡¯s Resolution


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    The Blue Brigade was a vigilante group that Margo and the others originally formed to help Keigo Okuda. The members of this group often got injured and due to the nature of my profession, I often provided medical treatment to them.


    It was at that moment that I heard about what Keigo Okuda was planning to do.


    ¡°Saving the children of the slum.¡±


    Keigo Okuda said something along those line and I¡­ I couldn¡¯t contain myself.


    I couldn¡¯t help but to say that what he was trying to do was a reckless thing to do. Achieving such a grandiose goal was simply impossible. What he planned to do if there were sick children? He didn¡¯t even have any medical knowledge.


    I was greatly shaken from how preposterous his idea was.


    Keigo Okuda also asked me to help him but of course, I refused. I told him if he couldn¡¯t pay me then he wouldn¡¯t be able to receive my service. However, Keigo Okuda didn¡¯t press me any further. Instead, the gentle expression on his face kept on prickling my heart.


    After that, I couldn¡¯t help but be curious about Keigo Okuda¡¯s ¡®project¡¯ and what it was all about.


    I watched the situation from the shadows and I casually grabbed some members of his group to ask about their situations. Apparently, they had brought in a child who appeared to be on the verge of death into their tent.


    ¡°What are you guys doing?! Look! The airway isn¡¯t even secured yet, right?!¡±


    If someone were to see me, they would find my current predicament to be quite amusing. I was seething with anger while watching them from the shadow.


    ¡°He¡¯s just one of those people who complain but not doing anything to help. If it¡¯s just complaining then anyone can do that.¡±


    And I¡¯m one of that kind of people.


    People who may be lacking in skills but still strived to make a sincere effort to help others were undoubtedly a hundred million times more honorable than those who actually had the required skill to help but opted to do nothing but complain.


    I was on my way back home that evening when I kept on thinking how pathetic I was.


    Barrage of emotions swirled in my head. Actually, I had always wanted to help those children. Those children in the slum who kept on dying every day. However, I was afraid that some invisible entity would accuse me of being unfair.


    Hence why I had no other choice but to pretend to be a fair doctor who only treated patients if they could pay me. I kept on turning a blind eye to the horrors of children dying in the slums.


    But, I was aware that was just an excuse. If I could help them but I chose not to, then I might as well stop calling myself a doctor right at that moment.


    By the time I realized it, my feet were heading toward the opposite direction of my home¡­ To be more precise, toward the direction where Keigo Okuda had set up a bunch of tents that he called the ¡°Wolf¡¯s Cub Village¡±.


    As I grew nearer toward the Child Wolf Village, I could hear some commotion going on.


    I asked a volunteer from the Blue Brigade that I was familiar with. Apparently the critically ill girl that they had brought into their tent before, that girl¡¯s condition suddenly worsened.


    In my hands, I had a leather bag filled with medical equipment that I always carried with me. The next thing I knew, I was already running towards the tent where the said girl was located.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Keigo didn¡¯t even need to do anything. Kishuu¡¯s guilty conscience is more than enough to make him shake off his weird ¡®fair policy¡¯. They must be feeling ashamed of themselves. Imagine some weird outsider suddenly decided to solve your town¡¯s poverty problem.

 CH 226

    We had more than 30 kids under our care in Wolf Cub¡¯s Village. Taylor-san was working hard to make the building in our village but still, the construction was still far from finished. Since we were able to provide decent food and sleeping places here,it didn¡¯t take long for the children we rescued to regain their energy and health.


    Wolf Cub¡¯s Village had a large open space so the small children were enjoying themselves playing in the snow. As for the children who were already in the working age, they said they wanted to work so we entrusted them to Sarasa and Elsa. They were able to perform simple tasks like ¡®carrying things¡¯.


    Josephine, the Mama from Butterfly¡¯s Cradle Pub also offered to take some children to work in her place but I politely declined her offer.


    Her place is way too stimulating for young children.


    I had 3 drum bathtubs left so I decided to give 2 drum bathtubs for the people in the village to use. The bathroom in our store already had a special order magical device in the form of a bathtub that Taylor-san designed for us. We didn¡¯t need multiple drum bathtubs when we were going on a trip, one was enough so the other 2 drum bathtubs were unnecessary for us.


    The bottom of the drum bathtubs had metal plates with water and fire attributes in the ratio of 7:3. So it was like a traditional Japanese bathtub with an automatic water heater function.


    The children were not used to taking a bath so they were a bit nervous and hesitant at first but, once they learned how good taking a bath felt, they were basically hooked.


    Yes, yes. That¡¯s the way it should be.


    The bath in our house looked a bit more extravagant than the drum bathtub though. The hot water was supplied with a water heater (a magical device) and flowed out from the mouth of a wolf stone statue into our big bathtub that was covered in smooth tiles. It was like that Merlion statue back on Earth.


    The bathtub was installed on the roof terrace of our home, it was designed in a way to allow us to enjoy both indoor and outdoor baths. Since our home was located on the hillside, we were able to get a great view of the river and hear the soothing sound of the flowing water when taking a bath.


    Which reminded me, our employee, Chatra, had gained Alchemy Level 2 and Blacksmithing Level 1. Now that he could create basic level potions and grant fire and water attributes to things, we were able to have him handle the task of creating products that we sell to Margo and Sarasa such as ¡®Wakimizu-kun ¦Â¡¯ and ¡®Pokapoka-kun ¦Á¡¯.


    Our employee had signed NDA contracts to ensure confidentiality so I doubt our trade secret would get leaked out. (I heard if they did break our agreement, there would be severe penalties from the Commercial Guild.)


    However, if our productivity increased, then it was only natural that we raised their salaries accordingly too. Maya also had been steadily improving her negotiation skill with the nobility and our rival merchants. We had been entrusting her with more and more work.


    When I used appraisal on Maya before, I found out that she now had Conversation Skill Level 2 which wasn¡¯t there before. By the way, in my set of skills, I had Conversation Skill Level 3 written there.


    Our general shop, Wolf Cub¡¯s Apron, was experiencing growth in both sales and profits. Seeing the potential for even further business expansion, I decided to increase their salaries by 1.2 and I also added another bonus benefit. They could take a bath as long as they wanted during their breaks.


    I also planned on hiring some more employees from the Commercial Guild.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Since for a merchant ¡®trust¡¯ is their most important point, I don¡¯t think any of the employees will dare to break the NDA. Unless they¡¯re that desperate for money.

 CH 227

    I visited Volga-san the next day to discuss the idea of hiring more people with him.


    ¡°And so, I¡¯m thinking of hiring more people with a knack for product manufacturing and cooking¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    On this occasion, I would like to hire a new employee to help Chatra in strengthening our workshop, since Chatra had been handling it all by himself all this time. As for the cook, I simply wanted to have a delicious meal everyday and I was thinking of developing more food based products such as recovery cookies.


    ¡°Keigo-san,©–¡Á¡ö¡÷¡¢¡Á¡ö¡ó©–¡ò£¿£¿¡¡¥È¥Á¡¢©–¡÷¡ó¡¢¡Á¡Á¡ó¡÷¥­¥ó¥«£¶£¶£°¥Þ¥¤¡£¥Æ©`¥é©`©–¡÷¡ó¡¢£±£°£°£°¥Þ¥¤©–¡ó¡£¡­¡­©–¡ó¡¢¡Á¡ò¥­¥ó¥«£µ¥Þ¥¤¡¢©–¡ó¥­¥ó¥«£³¥Þ¥¤ ¡°


    Volga-san basically said,¡±If you¡¯re going to hire a cook, why not just open a restaurant while you¡¯re at it?¡±


    I could use the empty lot next side as the location for the restaurant. That lot was priced at 660 gold coins, combined with the construction for the restaurant by hiring Taylor-san, the total would be 1200 gold coins more or less.


    By the way the monthly salary for the cook would be 5 gold coins and as for the workshop apprentice, it would be 3 gold coins.


    Even though I¡¯m here to discuss a cheap business proposal with you, you end up trying to turn it into an expensive transaction instead. I do have to say, no one should dare to underestimate you¡­.


    ¡°But, it doesn¡¯t sound that bad indeed.¡±


    When you wanted to enter a contract with a lawyer or tax consultant, it was important to not solely base our judgment on how knowledgeable they were in law or taxation business. I believe it was more important to judge them based on how well they could provide business suggestions to you from a lawyer point of view. Choosing a business partner that you would try to form a close relationship with also worked in the same way. It was not only about whether they were a good businessman but also if they could provide unexpected suggestions that you couldn¡¯t think of.


    ¡°Sounds good. Let¡¯s go with your suggestion. I¡¯ll be in your care then.¡±


    With a mixture of gestures and verbal speech, I conveyed to him that I wanted to go through with his suggestion. I conveyed to Volga-san that I wanted the concept of the restaurant to be like a fancy cute cafe with a similar design to our general store.


    And then, we only needed to wait for Taylor-san¡¯s design.


    Using my Commercial Guild card, I immediately settled the purchase of the vacant lot next door where we would be building our restaurant at ,which was 1200 gold coins. I also included the prepayment of 8 gold coins for the newly hired employees¡¯ monthly salary.


    Of course I also couldn¡¯t forget to give a personal tip for Volga-san, which was 1 gold coin. After all, Volga-san was willing to spare some time between his very busy schedule to talk with me.


    By the way, the account balance shown in my Commercial Guild card had increased by 2500 gold coins compared to the account balance I had when we had just finished with Wolf Cub¡¯s Apron construction. In total, I had 4578 gold coins stored.


    I asked Bavarian-sama and the Commercial Guild about whether the fund for my project, Wolf Cub¡¯s Village, should be in a separate account, not mixed together with my personal account, considering that project was more like a public asset rather than my personal company asset. They agreed with my suggestion and gave me a special tax exemption status for Wolf Cub¡¯s Village project.


    And so, I had another Commercial Guild card under the name Wolf Cub¡¯s Village, where I could manage the funds deposited in that card. The balance under Wolf Cub¡¯s Village was 1600 gold coins initially but due to various expenses, now we only had 958 gold coins. So I decided to use the magical device in the Commercial Guild to transfer 200 gold coins from my personal account to Wolf Cub¡¯s Village account.


    Although I was more or less the appointed manager of Wolf Cub¡¯s Village, but this project also had the involvement of Bavarian-sama and Commercial Guild. Of course both Bavarian-sama and the Commercial Guild emphasized the importance of detailing the documentation of incoming and outgoing funds. There should be no unknown or ambiguous money flow.


    It meant that in exchange for receiving tax exemption, there would be strict accounting checks.


    I was advised that the deposit of funds for Wolf Cub¡¯s Village should be conducted under the supervision of a Commercial Guild member, and in this case, Volga-san. Also since transfers between Commercial Guild cards would automatically leave a record, there shouldn¡¯t be any issue in our current transaction.


    Along with a weird ¡®aooon~¡¯ mechanical sound, the balance written on the respective Commercial Guild card changed to 4378 gold coins and 1158 gold coins.It was basically like ATM.


    ¡°It was a good deal. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure is mine. Thank you very much.¡±


    I shook hands with Volga-san, who had learned a bit of Japanese greetings and then left the Commercial Guild.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: MC coming to hire more employees, leaving with a restaurant in tow. Is this¡­ Is this consumerism but for rich people? Like for us, it¡¯s a cup of starbucks but for rich people, it¡¯s a restaurant??

 CH 228

    Chapter 228


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    I told Yurina-san that we were going to build a cafe at the vacant lot next door and she was very thrilled about it. It seemed she had not only just been dreaming of having a general store but also having a cute restaurant.


    Yurina-san went to tell the onee-sama at the Butterfly¡¯s Cradle Pub and the onee-sama said something along the lines like¡­


    ¡°A cafe with an adorable concept like that general store? Hire me too~¡±


    Yurina-san had been greatly indebted with the onee-sama at the pub so I couldn¡¯t just flat out refuse them. In any case, I needed to hire more water in addition to a cook. And so, I asked the onee-sama to work part time in our restaurant for 1 silver coin per hour.


    The onee-sama who could captivate a man¡¯s heart and put them in a daze was very beautiful. Of course she was more than capable of serving as a sales promotion girl for our restaurant. Yurina-san was also thinking of making the waitress¡¯s uniform herself so I asked her to not make the uniform look too sexy.


    After all, we were aiming for a restaurant with a cute and wholesome concept that could attract both children and women alike.


    And then Yurina-san was like¡­


    ¡°Then what about Ash?¡±


    ¡°Ash is definitely the sexiest!¡±


    I answered with a fire burning in my eyes.


    ¡°You really have a soft spot for Ash.¡±


    Yurina-san said while laughing.


    I would definitely visit a restaurant with Ash as the waiter. Though technically speaking, Ash was a wolf. .


    Right, right. We had prepared Wakimizu-kun ¦Â and Pokapoka-kun ¦Á as a gift for the people at the pub for our general store¡¯s grand opening party. However, a certain someone had bought them and in the end, I couldn¡¯t give the people at the pub Wakimizu-kun ¦Â and Pokapoka-kun ¦Á.


    However, Chatra was finally able to make Wakimizu-kun ¦Â and Pokapoka-kun ¦Á. We finally could give the onee-sama at the pub our new products.


    It seemed the onee-sama were using it even during their working hours. We received a very positive response from them. They were also recommending our product to the patron of their pub so it seemed like our sales were going to increase even higher.


    I knew it. The decision to increase the employee working in the workshop is not wrong at all.


    Amidst all the hustle and bustle in our business venture, Volga-san arrived with 2 new potential employees for us along with Taylor-san in tow.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: So Keigo is capable of hiring people other than the one from the commercial guild. He should hire more onee-sama from the pub as waitress since their work at the pub only starts at night after all. Unless Keigo¡¯s restaurant is open until night¡­ Well, that¡¯s why Keigo hired them as part-timers, not full-timers.

 CH 229

    Chapter 229


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    Volga-san brought 2 new potential employees. The first one was Bokuzen, an apprentice cook with short black hair. He looked like he would look good in a kappougi, a traditional Japanese cooking apron.


    The next one was Bridget, a young craftsman apprentice with dazzling tanned skin. His silver hair was tied behind his back.


    ¡°¡±Hello. Nice to meet you.¡±¡±


    Both of them bowed their backs in 90 degrees.


    Since they were following the way I greeted other people, they must¡¯ve heard a lot of things about me from Volga-san .Like the fact that I couldn¡¯t understand Lancaster language well or that I spoke in Japanese to say the least.


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    I shook both of their hands in turn.


    ¡°Taylor-san too, welcome. Let¡¯s not stand around talking, come on in.¡±


    I led the four of them to the reception area to hear what they had to say. Maya then came to serve marble herbal tea and recovery cookies as refreshments for our guests.


    ¡°Okay, first thing first. You¡¯re both hired. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing your current skills, as well as your future growth. Welcome aboard.¡±


    ¡°¡±Yes!!¡±¡±


    Both of them were recommended by Volga-san so I already deemed them as capable. Even after having a brief conversation with them, I didn¡¯t have any negative impression of them either. Overall, they seemed decent enough.


    When I tried using appraisal on them, I found out that Bokuzen had ¡®Cooking Level 3¡¯ while Bridget already had ¡®Blacksmithing Level 1¡¯ and ¡®Alchemy Level 1¡¯. Although I hadn¡¯t truly seen them in action, but the result of the appraisal served as enough evidence for their competence.


    ¡°Keigo,¡Á©–©–¡¢¡ó¡÷¡Á¡Á?¡±


    Seeing Taylor-san was about to spread out the design for the restaurant on the table, I swiftly moved the tea to the edge of the table.


    ¡°Ooh! So cute! It looks good~¡±


    ¡°Haaaa~¡±


    Yurina-san let out an expression of joy upon seeing the colorful and cute design. She had heard from Maya that Taylor-san and the others were here. The design of our general store was really adorable but in terms of fanciness, rather than a restaurant, the level of fanciness in Taylor-san¡¯s design was more suitable for an aesthetic concept cafe. The design for our restaurant definitely didn¡¯t pale in comparison with our general store.


    It still imbued the cute wolf cub in its theme and it also had items necessary for a restaurant.The brickwork looked antique and yet still looking fashionable for the current trend fad. The design for the chairs and tables showcased Taylor-san¡¯s meticulous attention to detail. I instantly fell in love with the design at first glance.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with this!¡±


    I exclaimed enthusiastically and Taylor-san slapped her fist to her chest, making a gesture that said ,¡±Leave it to me!¡±


    Feeling ecstatic, I decided to only open for half a day today and held a party in the afternoon. This party would serve as a new employee welcome party and celebration for our future restaurant.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Imagine a cute restaurant with delicious food?? Sign me up!! I want to eat there too! Usually the cute place here is only good for the insta. The food is mid. I want a cute place with good food!!

 CH 230

    Chapter 230


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    With the arrival of our new employees, I could leave the majority of the shop¡¯s responsibilities to them. Hence why I thought this timing was perfect for me to focus on the children under Wolf Cub¡¯s Village. The children had recently started recovering their strength after being malnourished for so long so I wanted to do something that could bring smiles to their faces.


    Something that could make children happy during snowtime period like this, of course a Christmas party was the first thing in my mind. Everyone would be merrily decorating the place, enjoying delicious food while singing a song and then exchanging presents.


    Those kinds of things were common throughout Japan but of course, in a place like this where everyone was struggling to survive, having a Christmas party like that was a luxury that not anyone could have.


    I believed it was our responsibility as an adult to show the children that although there might be a lot of unpleasant things in this world, but this world wasn¡¯t exactly without any hope. There were still some good things in this world. I wanted to make the children see the good in this world, despite the shortcomings.


    Of course the people of this world didn¡¯t know about Jesus Christ. However, I had the full liberty of calling this event whatever I liked. Similar to Halloween, which became an annual tradition after a certain point in time. The modern people on Earth mostly didn¡¯t know about the true meaning behind Halloween either.


    Hence why I told everyone.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have a Christmas party. Let¡¯s start preparing for it.¡±


    At first the children were confused at the word ¡®Christmas¡¯, but once I explained the concept to them, their eyes practically sparkled.


    ¡°A party? Everyone will buy a present and exchange it with each other?! Yay!!!¡±


    They were so excited.


    With a silver coin held tightly in their hands, the children set off to the town.


    However, speaking of the venue, the building that we had requested from Taylor-san for the village hadn¡¯t finished yet. I was thinking of renting Elsa¡¯s inn as the venue of our Christmas party but I decided otherwise. Because, we would require several days to prepare for the party and those days would potentially affect Elsa¡¯s business negatively.


    Therefore, I decided to borrow a big tent meant for military encampment from Resta¡¯s soldier group. We would set the tent in an open space in the village. We would set a bonfire and then hold our Christmas party there. If we installed the wood stove designed for a covered wagon inside the tent, the inside should be warm enough for us.


    Apart from the children, the preparation for the party also involved the helper from the guild, Johnny &co., along with me and Yurina-san. Donny-san¡¯s subordinates helped us in setting up the giant tent. Our employees, along with Sarasa and the others also helped us in between their work.


    As the preparations progressed, the venue was lined with a lot of snowmen made by the children. Each snowman was adorned with a red knitted hat and scarf. The one who taught the children how to knit was Yurina-san. The children then went on to make the muffler and the hat themselves.


    It¡¯s starting to look like Christmas.


    And so, the long awaited Christmas party for the children had finally arrived.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: At this point Keigo has introduced so many ¡®parties¡¯. The dwellers of this world don¡¯t even bother with the name anymore. As long as it¡¯s a party, they¡¯re down with it.

 CH 231

    Chapter 231


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    The day of the Christmas party was here. On this special occasion, a roasted chicken was a must. So I decided to use the herb chicken we raised to make roasted chicken.


    We mixed irene herbs into our chicken feed, which turned our ordinary chicken into herb chicken. Our herb chicken was a top-grade free range local chicken that could provide HP restoration effect. Of course the meat was also of the premium quality.


    When we moved into town, we used this opportunity to expand the chicken coop to increase the production. Currently, Bokuzen-san, the newly hired cook, was the one in charge of managing the chicken coop.


    I decided to have Bokuzen-san to help me prepare roasted chicken for the Christmas party. The soy sauce and ginger that we used were regularly purchased from Howai, the hot spring town. It was the town that we visited when we were being chased by Heinrich. As for the rest of the ingredients, we used herb chicken thigh with the bone still intact, sake (we used the sake from Howai that tasted similar to shaoxing wine), honey, soy sauce, grated ginger and grated garlic.


    First, we needed to make holes in several spots on the chicken¡¯s skin side with a fork. Next, we put the chicken in a sanitary bag, mixed the aforementioned seasonings, rubbed the seasonings into the chicken so the flavor would permeate into the meat and then let it sit for 5 minutes.


    After that,bake the chicken for 15 minutes in a magic oven that we had already preheated before. Then, slather the chicken with the remaining marinade from the seasonings we had mixed before. Put the chicken back into the oven, turn the heat to 200¡ãC and let it cook for 10 minutes.


    I took a bite out of the roasted herb chicken for a taste test. Immediately, my mouth was thoroughly filled with the taste of the rich and juicy chicken.


    ¡°Yup, it¡¯s delicious.¡±


    I¡¯m sure everyone is going to be happy when they eat this. Bokuzen-san also seems to agree with me.


    ¡°Kuuung¡­.¡±


    Just when I was thinking about everyone¡¯s happy faces, I could hear the sound of a cute gangster cooing near my feet.


    ¡°Give me meat!¡±


    The adorable gangster seemed to say. I cut a small piece of the roasted chicken herb to appease the cute gangster.


    Aside from the roasted herb chicken, we also prepared other dishes and beverages. The Christmas decoration was still underway too. Everyone, regardless of age, participated in the preparation. Since Christmas was a special occasion, I wanted to serve sparkling juice, a beverage that I created in this world which resembled non-alcoholic champagne. So, I blended various types of fruits into juice and mixed solidified carbon to create the sparkling drink effect.


    Everyone worked hard in decorating the venue. Chatra and the others who worked in the workshop also helped by crafting numerous thin metal stars. We had found a suitable tree for the Christmas tree. So we decorated it using the stars Chatra and the others made and also added fluffy cotton to make it look like snow.


    When we were making the stars, the children and Ash reacted as if they had discovered a new toy. They really caused quite a commotion.


    And just like this, we were finally ready for the party.


    Now, it¡¯s time to get this Christmas party started.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I wonder how the children and Ash play with the metal star¡­ Do they play it like shuriken? Like the children throw it then Ash catches it like a shuriken frisbee? Maybe they¡¯re training to be a ninja??

 CH 232

    Chapter 232


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    ¡°Merry Christmas!¡±


    ¡°¡±Merry Christmas!!¡±¡±


    Although the others were saying ¡®Merry Christmas¡¯ in a funny intonation, we all raised our glasses (non alcoholic champagne for the children and regular champagne for the adults) and toasted to start the Christmas party.


    Although we had lit up the fire in the wood stove, just to be safe, we still made everyone bundled up in warm clothes so no one would catch a cold.


    Somehow this scenery reminded me of Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido. We didn¡¯t have giant snow sculptures though but we had snowmen lined up so I guess it was close enough?


    We had erected a flag on the Christmas tree with ¡®Happy Merry Christmas¡¯ written on it. The tree was decorated with green and red fabric and gold and silver decorations, along with pure white cotton to add the snow effect.


    Yeah, this kind of mood is really nice~It¡¯s making me feel so excited.


    Since this party had a large number of people attending, we arranged all the food on a big table, kind of like a standing buffet style.


    On the table, there was roasted herb chicken, salad, sauteed seafood and raw uni pasta. Every dish was prepared in large quantities to make sure everyone could have their fill.


    There were two people stationed on the table, to cut and serve the roasted chicken and to refill the drinks. Bokuzen-san, the cook, was currently in the kitchen, preparing more roasted herb chicken and other dishes.


    By the way, I was working as the host of this event (with Maya assisting me as an interpreter).


    Everyone in the party was really shocked with the roasted herb chicken and the carbonated drinks.


    We all took turns performing songs on a podium we had prepared beforehand. Everyone had a great time singing along and laughing. The children also sang ¡®Silent Night¡¯ in choir. I was the one who taught them that song by the way.


    In the middle of our party, we started the gift exchange, in which all participants brought presents to exchange. The excitement was rising considerably high during the gift exchange event.


    It seemed even among the children, there were the popular boys and girls. It was easy to tell how some of the children were hoping to get a present from the popular kids, given how fidgety and restless the children were acting. It was really adorable to see.


    At first, I thought this party would end up looking not like the typical Christmas party, but somehow¡­


    It¡¯s really starting to look like Christmas, you know?


    Toward the end of the party, I entrusted the host duty to Maya and then I dressed up in a Santa outfit (with Ash as the reindeer). I went into the venue with a large gift bag and distributed presents to everyone. The present I had for everyone was a limited Christmas edition recovery cookie. The children¡¯s eyes practically sparkled.


    I guess, children really love cute cookies no matter where they come from. Both this world and Earth are actually not that different.


    For the finale of our party, we were supposed to sing ¡®Silent Night¡¯ together, the same song that the children had sung earlier. However, everyone kept on asking for encores.


    ¡°One more time!¡±


    There seemed to be no end in sight. We just kept on singing ¡®Silent Night¡¯ again and again.


    It was midnight. I was celebrating Christmas in another world. When I went outside and looked up to the sky, I could see the blue moon and sea of stardust, along with my own white breath.


    The children¡¯s adorable voices as they sang reminded me of the falling snow. The snow that seemed to be sucked in by the night sky with deep, colorful color.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I can imagine MC making christmas cookie cutter before this

 CH 233

    Chapter 233


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    A little while later after the Christmas party, the sign of springs started to become more noticeable. And also, finally the building for the Wolf Cub¡¯s Village and our brand new restaurant was finally completed.


    The management of the village was going smoothly. Also, when I told Donny-san that the main building for Wolf Cub¡¯s Village was not finished yet, he allowed us to keep using the soldier¡¯s tent that we used for the Christmas party until the building was completed.


    Actually, when we were having that Christmas party, the wooden stove (the one especially designed for an indoor tent, we had a chimney connected to the vent to let the smoke flow outside) was enough for the tent. I felt that the inside of the tent was warm enough without us needing to bundle up that thick. Hence why since we already procured a tent warm enough for the children to stay for a long time, the staff from the Commercial Guild had started teaching the children various lessons.


    The building for the village was not made with the luxury of excess design in mind. However, although the design of the building was not as intricately detailed as the design for the restaurant and general shop, the design implemented in the building for the village was still amazing enough. No matter how modest it was, it was still Taylor-san¡¯s design after all.


    This building really fit the name Wolf Cub¡¯s Village. Taylor-san still implemented cute and playful elements in the design of the building. I had asked to have some sort of playground equipment like a swing or a slide for the children to play and Taylor-san really fulfilled my request perfectly.


    On the other hand, the design for the restaurant was incredibly detailed. Every detail was meticulously designed, since this was a place where we would be charging customers to eat at.Taylor-san still managed to incorporate the design of wolf cub to create an adorable restaurant.


    As for the food we would be serving at the restaurant, we would be developing our menu by using various exquisite ingredients in this world that I had encountered during my travels. Such as uni, eel, that thing that tasted like foie gras, seafood that I imported from neighboring country, soy sauce, ginger, etc).


    The restaurant had 3 floors. The first floor had an open terrace seating, the second floor specifically designed for a banquet hall and the third floor was designed for VIP rooms. The different types of utilization of each floor allowed us to cater to different kinds of customers based on their need and want.


    The VIP room was not only decorated with luxurious decoration (like waterfall flowing down from the walls) but we also provided our experienced waiter on standby there to make sure we could take care of our VIP customers attentively. Of course the prices for the VIP room was a digit more expensive compared to the other floors but considering the disparity of wealth between the rich (basically the noble) and the common people of this world, the price we asked was still pretty cheap for the rich.


    In fact, by having our VIP customers paid more, we would be able to keep the price for the common folk on the low side. As a business owner, I couldn¡¯t possibly remove the VIP section from our business.


    Not only did we have an excellent building and equipment in our arsenal but we also had the uniform designed by Yurina-san.


    Yurina-san designed a clean and sharp looking uniform for Bokuzen-san. The uniform he had reminded me of a kaiseki chef, it really suited his masculine build and short, clean cut hairstyle. As for the waiting staff, Yurina-san had designed a traditional maid uniform for them.


    When the beautiful onee-sama from Butterfly¡¯s Cradle pub wore that outfit, it was quite an enchanting sight. The onee-sama really exuded the image of a maid for a princess. According to Yurina-san, the onee-sama had deliberately changed their makeup style into something more refined and elegant, to match the vibe of the restaurant.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing how a different style of makeup could change one¡¯s impression to this extent¡­¡±


    To become a beautiful butterfly, a butterfly first needed to undergo an extraordinary metamorphosis called the pupa stage. The name Butterfly¡¯s Cradle really captured their essence.


    For the grand opening of our store, I sent letters to the people who had helped us, such as Bavarian-sama and the people from the guild. We then had the children from Wolf Cub¡¯s Village distribute pamphlets with a piece of recovery candy, which was our new product, attached to it. The children helped us by distributing the pamphlets all over the town.


    And just like this, the grand opening day for my new restaurant, Wolf Cub¡¯s Dining Table, had finally arrived.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Hmm¡­ I think the VIP section should be placed on the 2nd floor. Unless the banquet hall can also be used as an ordinary table area when there¡¯s no event in place? Because, it seems like a waste to have the middle floor empty.

 CH 234

    Chapter 234


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    Wolf Cub¡¯s Dining Table was bustling with success everyday. At first, I thought the people were coming out of curiosity and gradually, the enthusiasm would die down but it turned out, that wasn¡¯t the case at all. Not only the second floor which served as a banquet hall, but the VIP room on the third floor and the reserved seat on the first floor (which was  only 1/3 of the whole seating) were also fully booked up to a month in advance.


    Thanks to this, there was a long queue formed before lunch and dinner time. We often ran out of ingredients. However, since we planned the purchase of our ingredients carefully by considering the restaurant¡¯s income and outcome, it was hard for us to make short-term changes. We couldn¡¯t make immediate purchases based on the fluctuations of the number of our customers. (Well of course, since for example, we procured our uni by making a request through the adventurer¡¯s guild. We relied on the adventurer to hunt Giant Urchin for us.)


    However, if our business kept on blooming, it would be only a matter of time before the customers started raising complaints if they had to be driven away after waiting patiently in line.


    And thus, we came up with a ¡®ticket system¡¯. In a ticket system, we would be giving a numbered ticket to the customers who had waited in line for the ticket. We took their order and then told them the waiting time. If they weren¡¯t present when we called their name, they would lose their right to eat at our place. Ticketing system was a common practice in Japan.


    This system allowed the customers to know the estimated waiting time and gave them the option to go somewhere else while waiting (or gave up if the waiting time wasn¡¯t suitable for them). The restaurant could do their inventory control better like this and allowed the customer flow to move smoothly.


    After we implemented the ticketing system, our situation improved considerably compared to before.


    The other thing that made our restaurant stand out from the rest was the quality of our customer service. Our staff provided high quality service to ensure our customer¡¯s satisfaction.


    Since we were obviously lacking in servers, we had to make do by hiring the kids who were relatively tall to work as servers. The kids had been helping us by distributing flyers before but now, they were helping us at the restaurant.


    Since Tanya usually spent her time relaxing at home with Ash, I decided to have the two of them help out at the restaurant as well.


    I remembered there was a Japanese idiom that goes like this¡­ ¡®So busy that you would even welcome the help of a cat¡¯. I guess I¡¯m taking this idiom quite literally now.


    However, the customer really welcomed this idea with open arms.


    The children¡¯s maid outfit that Yurina-san designed was so incredibly cute. Ash was also wearing an apron with a basket filled with sweets or simple dishes. The sight of Ash in an apron with a basket in his mouth was just so adorable.


    We were able to provide a high quality customer service thanks to the guidance from the onee-sama from the Butterfly¡¯s Cradle pub. Their service was impeccable. The children were learning from the best in their field.


    With beautiful female servers, adorable children and a cute mascot animal (including our handsome-ish head chef), we were able to satisfy our customer¡¯s demand. We gained not only the support from our male customers but also from our female customers.


    And just like this, through various trial and error, our restaurant, Wolf Cub¡¯s Dining Table, gradually gained more repeat customers.


    ¡°©–¡Á¡¢¡Á¡Á¡÷©–©–£¿£¿¡¡¡ó¡÷©–¡Á¡¢©–©–£¿¡±


    Then one day, as I entered the restaurant and looked around just like usual, I was approached by an elderly regular customer of ours who always came at the same time and ordered the same dish.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: This elderly man is either a legendary ex-chef or super rich businessman. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s either of those two!

 CH 235.1

    The elderly man who approached me came here with a black-haired young girl. Both of them had ordered uni pasta and sparkling wine just like usual. They must be a pair of wealthy old man and his grandchild. This dish was not something the common  folks could afford to eat every day.


    ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡±


    I said with a mix of gestures to convey my question.


    ¡°Oops! My apologies. You¡¯re not from here, right?¡±


    Huh? What?


    I froze in place while holding a paper and a pen so I would be able to communicate through writings.


    ¡°My name is Glacies and this is Henrietta. Are you the owner of this restaurant?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. My name is Okuda..¡±


    ¡°My apologies for calling out to you out of the blue. I want to express my gratitude for the delicious food you¡¯ve served to us.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°Please, accept this as a token of my appreciation.¡±


    I was caught off guard, making me unable to respond properly when Glacies took out a beautiful, transparent looking fang from his pocket and handed it to me.


    I carefully held the fang, thinking that the fang would be fragile since it looked like glass but contrary to my expectation, the fang was very hard and yet, the fang wasn¡¯t heavy at all. I could sense a mysterious power emanating from it.


    I used appraisal on the fang.


    ¡¾Fang£ºCan¡¯t be appraised.¡¿


    So it said.


    Based on my experience so far, the items that couldn¡¯t be identified by appraisal skill must be the kind of items with a higher level than my appraisal skill. I needed to level up my appraisal skill first before I could get more information.In other words, this fang was much much more precious compared to any other items I had appraised before.


    Glacies-san must be so impressed by the meals he had here that he decided to share one of his prized collections with me. This must be one of his indulgence as a rich man.


    If that was the case then it somehow made sense that he could understand my words and vice versa. Most probably, he must have had some sort of magical device on him with translation magic applied to it.


    ¡°Glacies-san, thank you very much. However, I cannot accept something so expensive like this. The price that you¡¯ve paid for the food is all the gratitude we wish for from you¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t possibly receive an expensive gift when he always properly paid for the food he had eaten. It wouldn¡¯t be fair. So, I tried to return the fang¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that thing will be useful to you in the future. There¡¯s no need to think too much about it. Just take it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Thank you very much¡­¡±


    I was momentarily taken aback by Glacies-san¡¯s sharp glint of eyes that I missed the timing to return the item to him.


    ¡°Well then, at the very least we can consider that today¡¯s meal is already paid for¡­.¡±


    ¡°I said that this is a token of my gratitude for the food, didn¡¯t I? It would be counterproductive if I didn¡¯t pay the price of the meal properly. You can thank me later when I come to eat here again , okay?¡±


    And at that very moment¡­


    ¡°Would you, refill, drink?¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    Upon seeing this, Glacies-san¡¯s expression changed. He looked like he was staring at his young granddaughter. While Henrietta-san stopped eating her meal, her gaze was fixated on Ash. Then in the next second, she began to pat Ash¡¯s head in a short but fast interval.


    The somewhat tense mood in the air disappeared, replaced by a warm, wholesome mood in the air. I felt like I was staring at a field of flowers in springtime.


    And then, after playing around with Tanya and Ash for a while, the two of them paid the bill and left the restaurant.


    Once the flow of customers began to dissipate, I went to my study room and placed the fang I had received on the desk. I stared at the fang.


    I definitely sensed something, like we were connected by a string of destiny when I looked at the fang.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Oh¡­ Turns out they¡¯re something legendary or something¡­ Might be connected to that legend Yurina-san had told MC before but I already forgot.

 CH 235.2

    Chapter 235.2: (Heinrich¡¯s POV) Living by One¡¯s Own Skills


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    After leaving Keigo Okuda¡¯s house, I put the things he had given to me onto the handcart and headed toward Tairant.


    By stopping at nearby settlements to procure enough food, I somehow managed to reach Tairant.


    Goblins, kobold fighters, giant spiders¡­. Multiple kinds of monsters came attacking one after another. However, thanks to the swordsmanship and archery skills that Keigo had taught me, I managed to defeat them.


    Now, I found myself thinking that it was alright even if I couldn¡¯t return to being a noble anymore.


    I suppose, I was able to think like this thanks to that mysterious man too. Seeing how he was living without getting tied up by any ¡®obligations¡¯ made me reconsider my way of living. Fundamentally speaking, humans were beings who could become stronger through unity. Yet, humans were also the kind of being that constantly pulled each other down through said unity.


    When one became too immersed by the organization¡¯s ideology for far too long, they were bound to become trapped by the chains of obligations. Oftentimes, they wouldn¡¯t even realize that their way of thinking had been influenced by those chains, preventing them from having free will of their own.


    That guy, he changed my way. He freed me from my greed and pride.


    Even though I had lost everything and Keigo Okuda, he¡­


    ¡°First, you need to try to live by relying on your own skill. If after that, you still crave for power then go for it.¡±


    So he said.


    When he told me that, I was frustrated. However, I also knew that he was the one who so graciously provided me with lodging and food. Someone in my position talking back to him? How laughable.


    After that, despite how vexed I was at Keigo¡¯s words, I decided to learn the skill I needed so I could live on my own. Just like what he had advised.


    I persevered, I did my best and as a result, I obtained the ability to survive by relying on my own skill. Something that my past self wouldn¡¯t even think about. The me right now, I have the knowledge and skill on how to defeat monsters, how to acquire food and how to manage on my own.


    Once I gained the said power, my obsession with power and wealth started to change. Well of course. Up until now, I believed only death would await me the moment I lost my power and wealth. So it was only natural I was so deeply fixated on wealth and power.


    But now? Things were different now. I could live even without such things. In fact, living without having to worry about pleasing other people brought me so much joy. I felt liberated.


    Yes, I hadn¡¯t only gained physical freedom but I also gained my freedom of thought. My way of thinking wasn¡¯t constricted by anyone¡¯s chain anymore.


    With this newly acquired freedom, I decided to go to Tairant, to make a name for myself by becoming an adventurer. I would be living by relying only on my own abilities.


    For that, I needed to acquire weapons and armor to stand against monsters. Since these would be one of the most important tools required to protect my life, I decided to splurge my money on them.


    For that reason, I decided to get money from Rufus, a noble from Tairant that I was acquainted with. This Rufus, he was a noble who took supreme pleasure by indulging himself with gourmet food and women. He was rumored to have made multiple women cry. Recently, he had been worrying about his thinning hair. At first, he treated me with disrespect since I had lost my power but when I told him about the potion I had mentioned before, his demeanor suddenly changed. His eyes practically lit up.


    ¡°Heinrich! That potion! I will pay any amount you ask for that potion! You HAVE to get your hands on it! Here, this is an advance payment for you!¡±


    Stop talking while spitting out your dirty saliva everywhere¡­


    Well, it was good that I was able to get money without having to say anything. In that bag, there were 500 gold coins.


    With that money, I bought weapons and armor. I continued living by hunting monsters in the hunting grounds near Tairant. Then I delivered the monsters I had defeated back to the adventurers¡¯ guild.


    I also learned new sword and archery skills, along with some magic. I was able to raise my adventurer rank to Noble Iron rank.


    However, Rufus¡¯ obsession with that damaged body part recovery potion was getting intense. After all, he was the type of man who found the supreme bliss from being popular with women. His thinning hair was definitely a major problem for him. But still, the constant demand for it started to irritate me. It was like I was having an arrow shot at me one after another.


    ¡°Well, since I¡¯ve received the payment for it, I better fulfill his request. Keigo said he doesn¡¯t have any problem as long as I procure the necessary ingredients myself.¡±


    I believed the main ingredient for that potion was the testicles of a red grizzly bear. Red grizzly was a rare monster that only appeared in autumn. However, there had been reports of adventurers hunting them while the bear was hibernating in Resta Forest during winter.


    Hunting in Resta Forest as part of training sounded nice. I could imagine his surprised face when he looked at me now.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of looking forward to it.¡±


    I smiled from ear to ear as I maneuvered the carriage to the south.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: Okay it¡¯s not clear yet if Heinrich knows the recipe or not. But man¡­ Keigo is really not afraid that his secret recipe is going to get leaked¡­ At this point, Keigo should make his own recipe book and sell it. At least he can get revenue from book sales.

 CH 235.3

    Chapter 235.3: (Heinrich¡¯s POV) Urgent Report


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go hunt some monsters before I stop by Keigo¡¯s house.¡±


    Among those people that had been looking down on me, I was sure some of them still thought of me as merely a young and weak nobleman who still remained ignorant of the ways of the world. It was time for me to show them the ability of an adventurer that had reached Noble Iron Class. If I could defeat a hellhound of two in the forest, they wouldn¡¯t have any choice but to admit I was a pretty good adventurer.


    And so I decided to hunt in the forest, south from Resta while feeling all jovial and warm on the inside.


    Upon reaching the forest, I found the forest to be unusually quiet. I couldn¡¯t even hear the sound of small animals or birds.


    ¡°¡­..Let¡¯s try to go deeper into the forest.¡±


    For some reason, I was feeling strangely uneasy. So I decided to investigate further into the woods.


    As I ventured deeper into the heart of the forest, gradually, the ominous presence began to pervade in the air.


    I smeared my body with leaves and mud to eliminate my scent and silently traced the source of the ominous presence. There, the identity of that presence was finally revealed.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ A Kobold King!! Furthermore, what¡¯s with their numbers?!¡±


    I stifled my gasp, trying to conceal my shock at the discovery. A large number of monsters were gathered around the presence of Kobold King, the highest ranking of kobold species. Looking around, there must be at least 400 to 500 of them.


    The leader of the horde, the Kobold King, was mounted on a lizard-like monster, an Armored Lizard. With a gigantic battle axe in one hand, the Kobold King lorded over his army.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a Kobold King leading over other species as well.¡±


    Within the horde, I saw another high ranking species of Kobold Fighter, a Kobold Fighter Evilion, controlling over Cockatrices and Serpents. Low ranked goblins like ordinary goblins and Hobgoblins were also present within the horde. It seemed the Kobold King had gotten goblins under his command as well.


    ¡°This is bad. I need to inform the people in the town immediately.¡±


    An ambush from that large number of monsters would be too much for the soldiers at Resta. They wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    It all happened within a split second but my heart was thumping wildly, like a ringing alarm bell.


    I was too panicked to remember what happened after that. I fled from the scene and by the time I realized it, I was running toward the south gate of Resta.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: A kobold war?! Somehow kobolds don¡¯t sound as scary because they have dog heads. Usually it¡¯s Goblin King because goblins are more grotesque than dogs.

 CH 236

    Spring had gradually arrived in the town of Resta. Amidst the snow, yellowish plants that resembled horsetails could be seen peeking out here and there. Recently, Tanya and Ash had been attending study lessons along with the other children in Wolf Cub¡¯s Village. During their break time, the children would enthusiastically dig up the plants that were emerging from beneath the snow and played together.


    It seemed the children found digging up horsetail-ish plants more enjoyable than sitting on their desk to study.


    ¡°I wish I could have some of their energy¡­.¡±


    I had come to see how the village was doing. I was eating the lunch Yurina-san had prepared for me while absentmindedly gazing at the scene of the children playing in the field.


    After going through the hectic period of a business, which was normal given how I just started venturing into general store and restaurant business, now everything had finally started to settle down.


    CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG


    However, suddenly the loud sound of a bell reverberated around the town. The boisterous sound was ringing through my eardrums, breaking the heartwarming mood I had been immersing myself in.


    ¡°Is that the sound of an alarm from the gate?¡±


    I remembered there was a large bell at the tower on the south gate.


    ¡°Keigo-san!!! ©–¡Á¡Á¡÷¡¢¡ó¡÷©–©–!!!¡°


    Then, one of the volunteer staff from the Commercial Guild rushed over to me, looking very panicked. Apparently, monsters were about to attack the town from the south gate. (It turned out you could tell what was the message they were trying to convey based on the pattern of the bell.)


    ¡°I will go to the south gate. Larte-san, please take the children and hide with them in the building. Make sure to lock the door up.¡±


    After saying goodbye to Tanya and Ash, I prepared myself for battle by loading the weapons and armor onto the carriage. The fang that Glacies-san had given to me was still inside the pocket of my ashwolf coat but I didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to take it out now so I just put on the coat without taking the gift out first.


    I jumped on Rocinante (my horse) and headed toward the south gate.


    When I arrived at the south gate, the barracks were already packed with so much hustle and bustle, as if someone had poked a beehive. Within that crowd of people, I spotted Heinrich, who was covered in mud.


    ¡°Hey, what happened?¡±


    I approached them but Heinrich was still in shock, he wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind to speak so Donny-san, the captain of the soldiers, spoke in Heinrich stead.


    ¡°A horde of monsters, about 400 to 500 of them are heading to Resta.¡±


    Seriously? Is it even possible for hundreds of monsters to flock together? If there¡¯s just several of them then even I can manage somehow but if there are hundreds of them? That¡¯s like hardcore difficulty level in a game that¡¯s impossible to complete.


    Meanwhile, members of the Blue Brigade and other individuals had been arriving and gathered in front of the gate one after another.


    ¡°Keigo!!¡±


    ¡°Huh?! Yurina-san?! You can¡¯t be here!!¡±


    ¡°I will fight too!!¡±


    Yurina-san was wearing the armor and holding the weapon I had personally made for her. I had made it to ensure her safety during our journey. Even though her slingshot skill could become a good additional fighting potential, I couldn¡¯t possibly allow my wife to fight a dangerous battle such as this one.


    ¡°No! Absolutely not. You need to stay at home and hide for your own safety!¡±


    ¡°I will fight too!¡±


    Yurina-san insisted, she showed no sign of backing down.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: This time, they¡¯re going to fight hundreds of monsters. The tide of battle is not in their favor at all. When they were being chased by Heinrich, there were only like, a dozen people they had to fight but this time, they¡¯re going to fight hundreds of strong monsters. Of course Keigo won¡¯t let Yurina join the battle.

 CH 237.1

    The town dispatched scouts in order to verify the information brought by Heinrich. Indeed, a large horde of monsters were advancing toward this town. Soldiers and adventurers were getting ready, preparing for a large-scale battle at the south gate. Adventurers from throughout the town were steadily gathering here.


    In between this, Yurina-san and I were in the middle of a marital fight.


    It¡¯s because Yurina-san insisted that she¡¯s going to join the fray as well¡­


    ¡°Well, well¡­ Calm down¡­.¡±


    There, Donny-san, who happened to be passing by, tried to mediate between us. Then Donny-san said something that basically meant there shouldn¡¯t be any problem if I also became involved in their strategy meeting.


    Donny-san¡­. Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re relying on Yurina-san¡¯s paralyzing bomb and spider thread bomb because you¡¯ve seen the effectiveness of her attack with your own eyes¡­.?


    Remaining oblivious to my suspicious gaze, Donny-san shot his hopeful eyes towards Yurina-san and I.


    ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s a good idea to be involved in the strategy meeting if I can ensure her safety¡­¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t entirely convinced yet but in the end, I still got myself involved with their strategy meeting.


    After that, Yurina-san and I went to their command center together with Donny-san. When we were walking there, a white haired man who was dressed in a butler outfit bowed at us. It seemed like he had something he wanted to say to us.


    Ah, this guy must be Heinrich¡¯s butler. If I remember correctly, he should be in prison¡­.


    ¡°Could it be¡­ You¡¯re Jill-san? It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve already decided to let bygones be bygones.¡±


    I conveyed to him that I had already forgiven him through mixtures of gestures and verbal communication.


    When I entered the command center, I saw Heinrich, who looked tattered and that gatekeeper uncle. They seemed to be in a deep discussion, trying to come out with the best strategy.


    Jill-san greeted Heinrich and the others. They also welcomed us with a mix of gestures and offered chairs for us to sit on.


    At first, I didn¡¯t have any intention to get involved with things like the military or wars but because Donny-san tried to mediate between our marital fight and asked me to lend him my wisdom, I had to participate in this meeting despite my reluctance.


    Well, if it¡¯s related to my wife¡¯s safety, of course I will have to rack my brain to come up with the best plan.


    According to Heinrich, it seemed most of the monsters consisted of high ranking Kobold, along with some Serpents, Cockatrices and Hellhounds. It seemed there was one particular monster more dangerous than the others. A Kobold King riding a big Armored Lizard (?).


    Cockatrice should be much stronger than Kobold though?


    But since I hadn¡¯t seen the horde firsthand, I guess I should just go along with it for now.


    The vanguard unit, the unit focusing on melee combat, would consist of Shrike-san (the Guild Master of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild), Kai-sensei and the skilled adventurer party that helped me with the Serpent some time ago. For the long distance unit, we had Han-sensei and Yurina-san. For the healing unit, Kishuu-sensei would be in charge of that unit.


    Shrike-san would be placed in the center of the vanguard unit. While Kai-sensei on the right wing of the vanguard and the skilled adventurer party on the left wing of the vanguard. The advancing units were lined up at the south gate.


    In addition to central, right and left wing sections of the vanguard, there was also a special strike unit that would be moving dynamically in accordance to the tide of the battle. This unit would be tasked with executing pincer attacks either on the back or the sides of the enemy unit. Given the importance of mobility for the strike unit, the members of the strike unit were divided into those who could ride horses and those who couldn¡¯t. The ones capable of riding a horse were positioned on the left wing as the cavalry strike unit and those who couldn¡¯t were positioned on the right wing as the infantry strike unit.


    This formation was created by referencing the knowledge from the Sengoku Period and the Three Kingdoms. I proposed this idea to them during the strategy meeting.


    As for the battle strategy, first, the vanguard would be positioning themselves close to the wall of the south gate and luring the enemy to the very edge. (We also set up ankle snares traps and pitfalls on locations where the enemy might pass by.) Then the long distance unit would unleash a barrage of arrows and magics onto the enemy from the top of the wall.


    While the enemy was in disarray, the vanguard unit would begin attacking and at the same time, the strike unit would flank the enemy on both sides. We would be circling the advancing enemy and unleashed simultaneous attacks on multiple sides.


    Any wounded soldiers would be immediately evacuated to the tents that we had set up along the walls, where they would be receiving treatment from the healing unit. At least, this was the hypothesis we had regarding what would happen during the battle. There was no telling what would happen during the actual war.


    While we were racking our brains to come up with the best solutions within our limited time, Margo and Juno arrived at the command center, accompanied by the members of the Blue Brigade.


    ¡°Keigo, how is it going?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Margo. Good timing. I have a little favor I want to ask from you¡­¡±


    I had proposed an emergency strategy for emergency scenarios as well. If by any chance the south gate was breached by the monsters, we had to evacuate all of the townsfolk through the north gate and assign new adventurers of level 5 or below with the task of escorting the citizens.


    They agreed with my suggestion. One experienced soldier along with 5 new adventurers would be assigned to stay in town. They would be responsible for escorting and guiding the citizens away from the town.


    The problem was, deciding the personnel for this role. We decided it would be best to have the 5 new adventurers to come from the Blue Brigade.


    Then, a short while later¡­.


    ¡°¡±Boss! Madam!!¡±¡±


    Hearing someone calling for me and Yurina-san, we both turned our heads to see our employees, Chatra and Maya, come running to us. We told them about the situation we were both in and told them to pack the store¡¯s stuff and prepare to escape to Tairant together with everyone in the case of an emergency.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving Tanya and Ash in your care.¡±


    ¡°¡±Boss¡­!¡±¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t cry. When push comes to shove, you guys need to be the one protecting everyone in our stead.¡±


    Their eyes were wet from crying. Nonetheless, both Chatra and Maya had been practicing swords and slingshots between their break so I believed they would at least be able to defeat some goblins. After I told them that I would be entrusting the store and the other employees in their care, they wished us the best of luck before returning to the store.


    However, we were still far from finished with our battle preparations.  In order to execute the strategy we had devised, we needed to gather and assign the adventurers into different units. We still hadn¡¯t finished doing that yet.


    Whether they had good agility or good at magic or maybe good at bows. We didn¡¯t have the time to assess the abilities of the people gathered here. However, solely relying on their self-evaluation to determine their position made me feel a little bit anxious.


    Hence why, I decided it would be best to use appraisal to find out their status and skills. I used appraisal on each individual gathered here and used the result to determine which unit to assign them to.


    ¡¾Individual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Appraisal Level 5.¡¿


    I¡¯m already completely exhausted even before the battle started¡­


    I had been appraising an adventurer, wrote down their status and skills on paper and whenever my MP depleted, I would drink MP potion. I repeated that same motion numerous times to the point my appraisal skill was raised by a level.


    CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG


    When we had finished preparing for the battle and had assigned everyone in the appropriate unit, I heard the sound of alarm coming from the watchtower. Since I was more of the speed type, I was assigned to the left wing cavalry strike unit.


    I got on Rocinante (my horse) and quickly moved to my position, where I saw Juno, Heinrich and Jill-san. All of them were also the speed type. Margo wasn¡¯t here though. He was the power type after all so he was assigned in the center vanguard unit.


    Peering over the plains, I saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance.


    ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`


    T/N: I¡¯m honestly curious how this battle is going to unfold. After all, MC is not OP to the point he can easily annihilate dozens of monsters in second.