Chapter 40: After the Rain, the Ground Hardens

My Master’s strategy of winning hearts worked almost frighteningly well.

What started with simple offerings like lanterns and fire starters had now expanded to magic stoves beloved by housewives, water pumps, a full plumbing system, and even paved roads. The old pit latrines had been replaced by flushing toilets, and thanks to the renovations, every house even had its own bath. The villagers’ opinions of him had skyrocketed.

Seeing my Master sweating and working tirelessly for the village, even the menfolk were completely taken in. Now they drank with him, learning about construction techniques and cooking while sharing drinks.

Lately, some of them had even taken an interest in running food stalls as a new line of work, so it might not be long before we step away from the stall ourselves.

To think he actually pulled off a full-blown NA I SE I (domestic policy). What an unstoppable cheat of a man.

“Hey, have any of you seen Chris?”

As we were packing up our stall after today’s performance, sending off tipsy customers heading home with their friends, a familiar wolf-headed man approached us, looking quite flustered.

Among beastfolk, there seem to be two kinds—those covered in fur who walk on two legs, and ones like Lulu, who mostly look human except for their ears and tails.

The man who called out to us lived next door to Chris, if I remembered right. She lived alone, having no parents, and relied on the help of her neighbors.

“Come to think of it… I haven’t seen her today.”

Thinking back, we hadn’t seen her since before setting up the stall in the late afternoon. Normally, she’d show up just before sunset, chatting with Lulu while enjoying some meat.

“I haven’t seen her either. Did something happen?” Lulu, who was the closest to her among us, asked worriedly. Kasai-san looked even more concerned, stopping what he was doing to listen in.

“She went out around noon to gather wild herbs and hasn’t come back. I figured she’d be here, but…”

“What…?”

Our village and the surrounding area had strong barrier wards against monsters and concealment spells, set up by Master and Riara-san working together. But that didn’t make it completely safe.

It was true that dangerous monsters stayed away, but weaker ones could still slip through. And dangers in the forest weren’t limited to monsters and animals. Still, Chris grew up in these woods; it’s hard to imagine she wouldn’t know how to handle herself.

“I’ll go look for her!!”

“Wait, Kasai-san!”

Ignoring the attempt to stop him, Kasai-san dashed off. What if we ended up with a second person missing…

“Sora, you go tell Riara-san and wait at the chief’s house. Grail-san, gather the men who can move.”

“R-Right!”

Following behind Grail-san, who rushed back to the village, we headed to Riara-san’s place too.

After seeing off the search party led—somehow—by our Master, who’d naturally taken the lead role, the women gathered at Riara-san’s house to prepare a hot meal. On the menu was a hearty pork stew packed with vegetables and meat.

Spending so much time indoors with modern amenities makes it easy to forget, but the climate in this forest was approaching autumn, and the nights could get chilly. Something warm would surely be appreciated.

“That foolish girl…”

In the newly renovated, much more comfortable meeting room of the village chief’s house, Riara-san tapped her foot anxiously. She seemed deeply worried—then again, the two of them were quite close, so it wasn’t surprising.

“I just hope she comes back soon…”

As I peeled vegetables alongside the young girls Chris took care of—little ones with dog ears and cat ears, around ten years old—I gazed quietly out into the darkening sky, offering a silent prayer.

“Chris onee-chan…”

“Is she going to be okay?”

Still, perhaps the faint unease of the adults was spreading—some of the children lowered their heads anxiously. In this little village, everyone was like family, bound together through shared life and cooperation.

And now, the cat girl adored by her younger siblings had gone missing and left them worried sick… what a troublesome feline she is.

“…Chris is probably hungry too, so let’s do our best to make a delicious soup for her. I’m sure she’ll be happy when she gets back.”

I gently stroked her back as I said that, and the cat-eared girl lifted her head to look at me. Doing something with your hands is better than sitting around being sad, right? Let’s keep moving.

“Sora, you’re just the new girl and acting all high and mighty.”

“You’re supposed to show respect to older people! It’s not okay to just call onee-chan by her name!”

…Tch, what cheeky little brats.

“I’m sixteen! That makes me older than Chris, you know!”

““Ehh!?””

““No way!?””

Hold on a second, you over there—the cat ears and the tanuki ears—what’s with the shocked looks? We’ve already established that among elf-type races, appearance and actual age don’t always match. Just look at that disappointing high elf for proof!

“Who are you calling disappointing!?”

Oops, did I say that out loud? Oh well, what’s done is done.

“Anyway, I’m older than Chris. And more importantly—was this team assignment intentional? Did you seriously group me with these tiny gremlins because you thought we were the same age!?”

“Um, well…”

The fox-eared woman in charge of the team assignments averted her eyes, visibly flustered. Bullseye, huh…? Flat-chested as she is, she sure pulls bold moves.

“I’m not tiny! My boobs are bigger than yours, Sora!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

You little pipsqueaks need to learn your place. Don’t butt into adult conversations! But when I turned to scold the two of them puffing out their chests with pride, I noticed something shocking—they were actually more, well, developed than I expected. I hesitantly compared them to mine.

“N-No way…”

I… I lost!? On those tiny bodies, they were packing armor even greater than not just Riala-san, but also the fox lady—and even me! What a cruel disparity. Is this the dark side of capitalism?

“Senpai, instead of comparing chest sizes, can you please keep peeling those?”

“Shut up, you damn cat!”

Don’t get cocky just because you’re on the winning team! As our squabble went on, the room burst into laughter. It’s frustrating… but maybe it helped lighten the mood a little.

Still. I’ll never forgive those little brats.

A few hours later, or at least that’s how it felt—just as the moon reached its highest point in the sky—our masters returned.

Following closely behind the group, all accounted for, was Kasai-san, covered in mud and carrying Chris in a princess carry. Apparently, she had slipped and fallen off a cliff and had been unable to move.

With the incident resolved and no casualties, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After a light meal, we decided to stay at the village chief’s house rather than travel back at this late hour. A quick enchanted letter was sent to Yuria and Fere at home, letting them know.

Thanks to our efforts helping with the search, our masters earned some respect—and now, it seems, we’re being accepted as part of the village.

After some time, Chris made a full recovery, and we started seeing her taking walks with Kasai-san under the guise of rehab.

There were plenty of surprises along the way, but it looks like everything turned out for the better.

……Good grief.

◇◆ADVENTURE RESULT◆◇
【EXP】
NO BATTLE
◆【Sora Lv.81】
◆【Lulu Lv.33】
◆【Yuria Lv.31】
◇―
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.82 [825]
Lulu Lv.33 [331]
Yuria Lv.31 [312]

【RECORD】
[MAX COMBO] >> 34
[MAX BATTLE] >> 34

【PARTY-1 (Main)】
[Shuya] [Lv85] HP1520/1520 MP2760/2760 [Normal]
[Sora] [Lv82] HP60/60 MP733/733 [Fatigued]
[Lulu] [Lv33] HP735/735 MP36/36 [Normal]
[Yuria] [Lv31] HP1540/1540 MP88/88 [Normal]

【PARTY-2 (Sub)】
[Fere] [Lv25] HP252/252 MP830/830 [Normal]

【PARTY-3 (Sub)】
[Makoto] [Lv48] HP1750/1750 MP132/132 [Normal]

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
“It’s all settled now.”
“I’m glad things worked out, Kasai-san.”