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Forest of Giants 

Satou here. In my twenty-nine years of life, I’ve never once thought that I want to become the kind of person who saves people. I’ve led a life totally free of aspirations toward being some hero or savior, but apparently, I can’t get away with that in a parallel world. 

It was our fourth day since leaving the fort and our fourteenth day in the Muno Barony. 

A lot had happened in the past four days. 

Starving villagers attacked us three times. We handled these encounters in the usual way, so there was nothing much of note about this. 

Real professional bandits came after us, too. They must’ve robbed some knights or something, because the two leaders were decked out in impressive full-body armor, armed to the teeth, and mounted on warhorses. 

This was good luck for us, since we needed more horses to enter the large forest. We acquired both their horses after we’d taken care of them. 

In addition, though the river along the highway was dry downstream, it provided us with plenty of water once we got farther upstream. 

While we were camping out by the river, fish monsters like flying eaters and kelpies attacked us. 

The danger didn’t stop there, either: While she was drawing water in the river, Pochi got bitten on the butt by a piranha-like fish. 

It wasn’t poisonous or anything, but since it wasn’t a monster, I was slow to deal with it. 

A magic potion fixed her up right away, but Pochi still stayed away from the water for a while after that. 

I continued monitoring the demon in Muno City; he had increased the number of doppelgängers from one to eight, and they were all ambling through the towns and cities. 

Occasionally, the demon himself would wander into the blank area under the castle, but he would soon return to the map with his HP and magic depleted. 

The City Core was probably located somewhere in there, so my guess was that he was trying and failing to seize control of it. 

During my observations, I noticed something troubling: The demon was able to trade places with his doppelgängers instantaneously. Luckily, the switch cost a lot of magic, so he probably wouldn’t be able to pull that off too frequently. If I had to defeat him, I would need to dispose of the doppelgängers first. 

Another item of note was the group of demi-goblins I’d learned about before. 

There had been only a few settlements the first time I checked, but their number had increased. Two days ago, the total population had swelled to more than ten times what it had been before. 

However, most of them were level 1, so the population was soon halved as many of them were eaten by nearby monsters and beasts. At this rate, there wouldn’t be enough of them left to pose a threat to the count’s army before too long. 

At the moment, we were taking a lunch break on the dry riverbed near the intersection between the main road and the side road into the forest. 

Liza and Nana were preparing the kitchen area, Mia and Arisa were setting up the quilt and kotatsu, and Lulu was washing the vegetables in water I’d collected. 

Tama, Pochi, and I were taking care of our horses, old and new. 

It was getting cold, so I thought hot pot would be a good lunch for today. The ingredients were meat from a two-headed bird that had attacked us along the way, a generous helping of mushrooms, and cabbage. 

The village we’d visited that morning had been growing a lot of cabbage, so I’d traded a quantity of our food to get some. 

It was a bit smaller and yellower than the cabbage I’d eaten in Japan, but the AR display said it was cabbage, so there was no argument there. 

Pochi and Tama had finished caring for the horses, so I put them in charge of plucking the feathers from the wings of the double-headed bird after it had been bled out. 

They put the carcass in a large bag so that the feathers wouldn’t fly everywhere and set about plucking with great focus. The creature was considerably larger than both of them, so de-feathering it was difficult work. 

Once the kotatsu was set up, Mia went to help prepare the vegetables, and Arisa supplied magic to warm up the space under the table before coming to consult with me over how best to season the hot pot. 

“I think miso should be good for the seasoning, but the problem is how to make the broth.” 

“True enough. We don’t have kelp or dried bonito flakes, either…” 

We’d gotten miso and soy sauce at a high-class food store in Seiryuu City, so those were no trouble. 

If anything, I regretted not buying any rice at the time. Usually it wasn’t a big deal, but I didn’t want to have hot pot without rice. 

Well, there was supposedly plenty of rice in the Ougoch Duchy, so I’d just have to remember to stock up there. 

Liza tilted her head as she watched the two of us. 

“Master, couldn’t we simply boil the bones of the double-headed bird to create the stock?” 

Oh right. I guess that’s how Liza makes the stock for her stews. 

Since we were making hot pot, I’d gotten all hung up on having a Japanese-style stock. 

“Yeah, let’s go with that for now.” I nodded sagely at Liza, as if I’d known it all along. 

Arisa looked like she wanted to say something, but I pointedly ignored her. 

“Dooone!” 

“Master, the wings are all plucked, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi gleefully held up the featherless bird for my approval. 

“Wow, it’s totally plucked clean. Great job!” 

“Aye!” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Pochi giggled and wagged her tail with gusto as I patted her head. 

When I petted Tama, her tail stood upright, and she pushed her head against my hand. 

As I doted on the two of them, Liza set about separating the meat, bones, and guts of the bird. 

This bird’s internal organs were actually ingredients for a stamina recovery potion, so instead of eating them, I stowed those away. 

I put the pot on the fire with some water inside, then added the bones that Liza had extracted to boil up the stock. It started smelling a bit strange, so I added some herbs to improve the fragrance. 

Nana was in charge of scooping out the meat and scum that came off the bones, since she was particularly good at repetitive tasks. Her face was too expressionless to read, but she appeared to be enjoying herself. 

Because the stock would keep indefinitely in Storage, we ended up mass-producing it in two large cauldrons. 

“Chicken dumplings! I want chicken dumplings, too!” 

Arisa waved her hand in the air insistently. 

I guess that is a hot-pot staple. 

“Good idea. Do you know how to make them, by the way?” 

“Huh? Don’t you just mix minced chicken with other stuff and roll it into balls?” 

…Yeah, that “other stuff” is the part I’m asking about. It’s fine to make requests and all, but I wish she’d remember how to make the things she’s asking for once in a while. 

Given what I’d learned on my journey, flour and eggs would be a good bet for holding the filling together. 

As Mia intently sliced mushrooms into thin pieces, I worked nearby to mix the minced chicken with flour and the orange chicken eggs we’d gotten in the fortress. 

Thanks to the help of my “Cooking” skill, I was able to make a respectable filling for dumplings. The skill system was so handy. 

I put Arisa in charge of mass-producing the dumplings. It was her request, so I figured that was the least she could do. Technically, we could’ve just dropped the filling directly into the soup in spoonfuls, but shaping it into dumplings ahead of time was how my family always did it. 

Lulu and Liza separated the bird meat into the portion we’d have tonight and the portion we’d save for later. It was too much to eat all at once. 

The absence of an earthenware pot took away from the traditional hot-pot image a little bit, but we just poured stock into our usual stew pot and then added the other ingredients, from slowest- to fastest-cooking. 

Finally, we added the duck-like meat of the double-headed bird and put the lid over the pot. 

All that was left now was to wait for everything to cook through, but just then, a dot appeared on my radar that indicated a normal person. 

The map informed me that it was a nineteen-year-old, level-2 woman with no skills. Her condition read Hungry, one step below the Starvation status. 

At first I thought she was out foraging for wild plants, but one look at her name told me that something else was afoot. 

The girl’s name was Karina Muno. The daughter of the current Baron Muno. 

What was she doing all alone in a forest full of beasts and monsters? 

Maybe she was running away from her engagement to the fake hero. 

The whole thing smelled like trouble. I was tempted to just leave it alone, but I wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt if I let this girl wander aimlessly in the woods by herself. 

So what should I do now…? 

“Bubbliiing?” 

“Smells good, sir.” 

Unaware of my dilemma, Pochi and Tama sat near the pot, their excitement rising at the scent of the simmering ingredients in the air. 

It’d still be a while before it was ready, though. 

Checking my radar again, I saw that the young woman had stopped moving, and her status condition now read Unconscious. 

She didn’t seem to be injured, but her magic and stamina were running low. She didn’t even have any magic-based skills, so what could’ve depleted her MP? 

Now I certainly couldn’t abandon her. I guess I’ll have to go to the rescue. 

“Something else just came up, so I’ll be right back. Sorry, but can you come, too, Pochi and Tama?” 

“Aye-aye, siiir!” 

“Roger, sir.” 

The two kids wiped away their drool and threw up a salute. According to them, this was called the “yessir!” pose. 

“Master, if you are planning to exterminate a monster, please allow me to come along as well.” 

“Master, permission to depart?” 

Liza and Nana reached for their weapons, but that wouldn’t be necessary. 

“No, no, I’m not going to fight anything. I think someone’s in trouble nearby, so I’m going to go help her.” 

With that, I headed into the forest with Pochi and Tama in tow. 

Unlike the wooded area we’d walked through so far, this area was full of thick undergrowth that made it difficult to walk. Visibility was poor, too, thanks to the dense trees. 

We must’ve been downwind of the camp, because the scent of the simmering hot pot was tickling my nostrils. 

As a result, there came a chorus of grumbles like an animal’s growl from the two beastfolk girls’ tummies. 

“Hungryyy?” 

“Stomach Man isn’t very patient, sir.” 

“Well, the hot pot should be ready by the time we get back, so let’s just look forward to it, shall we?” 

“Aye-aye!” 

“I’m excited, sir!” 

As we conversed, we reached the area where the girl was supposed to be. 

“Something’s heeere?” 

“It’s shining, sir!” 

Just as Pochi had said, the girl was inside a cocoon-like barrier that glowed a pale white. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but the barrier appeared to be made up of shiny oval scales. 

She didn’t have any skills that would do this, so the barrier was probably coming from the object on her wrist that was gleaming blue. 

The woman was wearing a thin cloak and high-laced leather boots suited for horseback riding. I couldn’t see it well under the cloak, but her dress looked fit for a noblewoman. 

Her dark-blond hair spilled out from her hood, and behind it I could see a glimpse of a face that wouldn’t be out of place in a French film. 

She was no match for Lulu, but her features were on par with Arisa and Mia for good looks. To be perfectly honest, she was a beauty. 

“Don’t touch it, all right? It could be dangerous.” 

“Rogerrr.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Pochi and Tama reluctantly dropped the twigs they’d been using to prod at the cocoon. 

Well, I could hardly rescue her if she was protected by magic. Now what? 

I touched the barrier experimentally, and the area gave a little jingle like a clear bell. The scalelike segment fell away. 

“Is it just for appearances, then?” 

“Haaard?” 

“It’s solid, sir.” 

Pochi and Tama disagreed with my comment. I’d told them not to touch it, so they’d settled for whacking it rhythmically with their sheathed short swords. 

I put a stop to that and took apart enough of the barrier to retrieve the woman inside. 

“Who are you?” 

The solemn, masculine voice seemed to come from the direction of the girl’s mouth. 

For a second, I wondered if I’d rescued a drag queen, but the beauty’s lips hadn’t actually moved a bit. 

The voice had come from somewhere lower. 

I slipped my arms underneath her and laid her down faceup. 

Magic. 

Something unbelievable appeared before my eyes. 

“You are surely no ordinary man, if you broke my barrier so easily.” 

The same voice as before reached my ears. 

Magic. 

Even though I knew this was reality, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 

“I shall ask once again. Who are you?” 

Yes, it was the sort of sight one only expects to find in two dimensions. 

Magic. 

Magic breasts. Before my very eyes was a pair of breasts that surpassed all imagination. A phrase like huge knockers wouldn’t even begin to do them justice; they were like a pair of rockets. 

“Answer me, boy!” 

The man’s voice, now a little annoyed, repeated sharply in my ear. 

Whoops, I guess I got a little distracted. I thought this only existed in fiction. 

A silver pendant with a blue gem inlay flashed at her chest. 

This must be where the voice is coming from. According to my AR display, it was some kind of magic tool. If it had appeared in a game, it would probably have been called an “Intelligent Item.” 

But instead of speculating further, I addressed the pendant directly. 

“Oh, pardon me. I’ve never seen a talking object before, so I was startled.” 

“Very well. My name is Raka, and you need not speak formally to me. O mighty one, I must beseech you to protect my mistress.” 

This “Raka” thing had five functions: Perceive Demon, Perceive Malice, Perceive Mightiness, Bestow Strength Enhancement, and Bestow Pain Resistance. It was classified as a legendary artifact. 

Given the color of the glow when it spoke, I wondered if it was made with the same blue used to create Holy Swords. 

“Should you really be entrusting this to some random person in the forest?” 

“I possess a feature called ‘Perceive Malice.’ I do not detect any malicious intent from you. I must now sleep for a time to store up magic power. Please take care of Lady Karina.” 

“All right, leave it to me.” 

I nodded reassuringly, and the blue light disappeared from the pendant with an air of relief. 

“All right, let’s go back.” 

“’kay!” 

“The hot pot is waiting, sir!” 

I beckoned to Pochi and Tama, who were poking at Miss Karina’s chest with strange expressions, and slipped my arms under her back and knees to lift her up. (The so-called “princess carry.”) 

She was surprisingly heavy, considering that she was only a bit taller than me. Or maybe it just felt that way because of the extra weight from her breasts. 

When I adjusted my grip to improve the balance, those rockets shifted against my chest. 

I walked back to the camp at an easy pace. This was only out of concern for the fainted young lady’s comfort, of course. There was no ulterior motive at all. 

“Welcome back, master!” 

“Thanks.” 

Arisa greeted me as I pushed my way through the thickets back to the camp. 

The other kids stopped setting up the tableware on the kotatsu and ran over to me, too. 

“So that’s the lost person—it’s another woman?!” 

“Mrrr…” 

Arisa and Mia pouted, probably noticing Miss Karina’s good looks or impressive chest. 

With a pang of reluctance as her chest parted from mine, I laid Miss Karina down on the furs that Liza and Nana had spread out on the ground for her. 

“Boy, what a rack. Think they’re fake?” 

“They are the genuine article, I report.” 

“Hey, Nana. Even if you’re both girls, that’s still rude.” 

I whacked Nana on the top of the head before she could brashly squeeze the unconscious woman’s chest. 

Meanwhile, Lulu removed Miss Karina’s hood to pluck the leaves out of her bangs and wipe the dirt from her face. 

“Curlyyy?” 

“It’s all wavy, sir.” 

This time, Tama and Pochi were prodding at the blond strands that had escaped from her hood. 

“So not only does she have huge boobs, but she’s a blonde, too? That’s too many distinctive character traits by far! If she’s one of those cute hot–cold types on top of all that, my seat as the rightful first wife might be in danger!” 

“Mrrr, danger.” 

Mia nodded seriously in agreement with Arisa’s absurd remark. 

…Who are you calling a “first wife”? I don’t want to hear about this again for at least another ten years. 

“I doubt she’s going to wake up for a while, so we might as well eat for now,” I suggested, and everyone’s stomachs growled in unison. 

Trying to encourage them all through their embarrassment, I put some magic into the simple stove heater inside the kotatsu and placed the two pots on top. We’d elected to use two so that everyone would be able to reach easily. 

As soon as I lifted the lid from the pot, the aroma of stewed duck spread through the air. 

Mmm, that smells great. 

I didn’t have much time to savor the smell, though, or the drool from Pochi’s and Tama’s mouths would drown us all. 

For some reason, I ended up in charge of doling out everyone’s food, so I made sure to scoop a good variety of veggies, chicken meatballs, and meat into each bowl. Mia’s helping only included vegetables, of course. 

With Arisa’s “thanks for the food!” as our usual signal, we began to eat. 

“You all can help yourself to seconds from the pot, all right?” 

“Hottt!” 

“The meatballs are fighting back, sir.” 

Tama and Pochi stuffed their cheeks with meatballs, then widened their eyes and puffed rapidly as the piping-hot broth burned their mouths. 

“It’s quite delicious.” 

Liza nodded in satisfaction as she chewed on a bone-in chunk of the double-headed bird. 

“Every ingredient is equally delicious, master, I commend.” 

“The cabbage really soaks up the flavor of the broth… It’s delicious! Your cooking really is amazing, master.” 

Each time they sampled another ingredient, Nana and Lulu piled on the praise. 

But really, it’s my “Cooking” skill that’s amazing, not me. 

“Gourd.” 

Mia used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of the gourd, which resembled tofu, and chewed on it blissfully. 

This was a recent favorite of hers. 

The gourd had a totally different flavor from the winter melon I’d eaten back in my world. 

The cabbage here tasted wilder than I was used to, as well, so it was probably best not to assume that any vegetables were the same in this place. I figured the best approach was to cook with lots of different ingredients and learn about them as I went. 

“Yum.” 

Noticing Mia’s pleasure, the other kids, who’d been reluctant to try the strange-looking vegetable, started to taste it as well. 

“No more than ten meatballs per person, you two!” Arisa decreed to the beastfolk girls as our self-proclaimed hot-pot magistrate. 

Tama and Pochi, who’d both been reaching to take meatballs from the pot, stopped at once. They must have been going for their eleventh ones. 

Furtively, I slipped the two meatballs I’d saved for myself into their bowls. 

“Yaaay!” 

“Thank you, sir!” 

“Goodness, you’re going to spoil them.” 

I smiled in response to Arisa’s motherly scolding and popped a ripe mushroom into my mouth instead. 

“Something smells good…” 

A half-delirious mutter came from Lady Karina’s direction. 

Putting my dish down on the table, I approached her. 

“You’re awake?” 

“A-a man?!” 

The half-asleep young woman leaped to her feet and aimed a roundhouse kick in my direction. 

Really, I think shrinking away or at most a slap in the face would be more appropriate to this situation… 

I didn’t even bother trying to dodge. Considering that she’d fainted from hunger not long ago, it was obvious where this was going. 

“O-oh, I’m dizzy…” 

Miss Karina looked about to faint again, so I caught her and gently led her toward the dinner table. 

The young woman flailed around in my hands, but it was easy to keep her in check in her weakened state. 

“…U-unhand me.” 

As if she were a totally different person from the forceful individual of a few moments ago, Miss Karina flushed bright red and trembled in my arms. 

Maybe she’s androphobic? 

“Please calm down. Raka asked me to protect you.” 

“…Mr. Raka did?” 

At the name, she stopped resisting. 

You use “Mr.” to refer to your own equipment? 

“That’s right. I am Satou, a merchant.” 

“M-my name is Karina. Karina Muno, the second daughter of Baron Muno.” 

Apparently either shy or nervous, Miss Karina stammered a bit through her self-introduction. 

Still, it seemed awfully risky to openly reveal that she was the daughter of the baron, given the current situation in the territory. Maybe she had some purpose for doing so? 

“So you’re a noble, then, Lady Karina?” 

I guided Miss Karina toward the kotatsu, offering her a seat between Nana and Lulu. She started to sit, but stopped when she saw Tama and Pochi. 

I thought at first that she was reluctant to sit near beastfolk, but there was something strange about her behavior. 

“Animal-eared folk… Could it be that you are a hero, perchance?” 

Miss Karina whirled to look at me again, her voice rising like an excited child’s. 

“As I said before, I’m just a humble peddler,” I replied as my mind searched for an explanation for her surprise. 

Presumably, “animal-eared folk” referred to dog-eared folk like Pochi and cat-eared folk like Tama, perhaps among others. 

Come to think of it, Nadi from the general store in Seiryuu City had mentioned that the first hero had animal-eared folk in his party. 

Most likely, Miss Karina knew this and had jumped to the conclusion that I might be a hero. 

The young lady’s stomach was growling, so I put some food into a bowl and held it out to her. I assumed that she couldn’t use chopsticks, so I handed her a fork and spoon instead. 

“I don’t know if this will suit the tastes of a noble such as yourself, but you ought to eat something first.” 

“It smells lovely. I’ve never seen cuisine like this before.” 

At my suggestion, Miss Karina cut her meat into bite-size pieces and lifted a morsel to her mouth. 

Unsurprisingly, the baron’s daughter’s table manners were very refined. 

Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she began chewing vigorously. She must have liked it. 

After gulping it down, she finally opened her mouth to speak. 

“I-it’s incredibly delicious!” 

“I’m glad it suits your tastes. There’s plenty more, so please help yourself.” 

Miss Karina nodded with a slight pink blush to her cheeks, then happily returned to her meal. 

Watching her elegant etiquette, Arisa and Lulu immediately began eating more politely as well. I feel like it’s a little late for that now, but do whatever you want. 

Ideally, noodles and rice gruel went best with hot pot, but since we had neither of those on hand, we’d made wheat porridge with broth from the pot instead. 

“Hooraaay.” 

“So full, sir.” 

Having eaten their fill, Pochi and Tama flopped onto their backs and sighed contentedly. 

But Liza wasted no time in assigning their next task. 

“Now then, we must begin cleaning up.” 

“Rogerrr.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

The pair bounced to their feet and, along with the other kids, carried the dishes. 

While they were busy with that, I decided to ask about Karina’s situation. 

Lulu brewed some tea, so I offered Miss Karina a cup. 

“Please, have some tea.” 

“Oh my, this is blue-green tea, isn’t it?” Miss Karina accepted the cup happily. 

Perhaps because we’d shared a meal, she’d relaxed toward me enough to have a normal conversation. 

“Why, it’s been two years since I last had blue-green tea.” 

Two years? 

That seemed strange; it wasn’t as if they couldn’t import anything here. 

“How delightful… Between this and that truly delicious meal, you must be rather wealthy.” 

“Really?” 

I was wealthy all right, but the ingredients for the food were mostly things we’d bought locally, so they didn’t cost any more than the average person’s meal. 

“But of course. That was a more luxurious meal than what they serve in the castle.” 

“Are you sure? We didn’t use any particularly valuable ingredients.” 

As far as I remembered, the meal we ate as guests at Count Seiryuu’s castle was much more extravagant. 

“Our territory is in the midst of a famine. If the baron was to indulge in luxury at a time like this, he could hardly face the common people. Thus, our meals at the castle have consisted mostly of bean soup and sweet potatoes.” 

I was impressed that she could cultivate such a large chest on that kind of diet, but she seemed to be telling the truth. 

If the lord of the land was really that honorable, then the only explanation for the corruption of the top bureaucrats and soldiers must have been that the hell demon was plotting something behind the scenes. 

“Incidentally, what were you doing out in the forest?” 

Miss Karina looked a little embarrassed as she opened her mouth to speak. 

“I had hoped to speak to the giants that live deep within the forest to borrow their aid, but I’m afraid I lost my way. I thought it best to leap to the top of a tree, but…” 

She must’ve used Raka’s Bestow Strength Enhancement function, then. 

Charging into unfamiliar territory without a map struck me as a reckless strategy, though. 

“What did you want to speak to the giants about?” 

“I had hoped to request their help in defeating a hell demon,” Miss Karina replied in a clear voice. “The demon has disguised himself as a magistrate and a fake hero, and my father and elder sister are completely fooled. And so, Mr. Raka and I set out into the forest in the hopes of meeting a giant that could defeat the demon.” 

She seriously thought the giants would take on a demon just because some random stranger asked them to? 

Not only was she overly honest; this young lady was extremely sheltered. 

“Lady Karina, you’ve said too much.” 

Raka woke up to offer some blunt advice. 

“So you’re awake, Mr. Raka.” 

Miss Karina’s pendant blinked blue as it spoke. “Forgive me, but I must request that you keep what you’ve just been told a secret.” 

“Sure, I won’t tell anyone.” 

Raka’s request was easy enough to accept. 

“You have my gratitude, mighty one.” 

Raka had called me “mighty one” when I first found them, too. He probably knew I was strong because of that Perceive Mightiness function, although I wondered how much specific information it gave him. 

“Mighty one?” 

“Indeed, you are mighty. I do not know what level you might be, but you are strong enough that my lady Karina could not defeat you even with my Strength Enhancement.” 

“In that case, perhaps this gentleman could defeat the—” 

“Do not ask the impossible of him, Lady Karina. He may be strong, but he is still a human being. The only humans who possess the power to defeat a demon are those chosen as heroes or a select few who do not conform to the common understanding.” 

My “Poker Face” skill let me respond with a simple smile, but inwardly I was puzzled. 

The demon in this territory was only a level-40 lesser hell demon, wasn’t it? 

The giant I’d seen on my map was above level 30, so I couldn’t help thinking that he was exaggerating a bit… 

Maybe his “Perceive Demon” skill just enabled him to detect a demon’s presence, not determine what class it was. 

After all, it seemed able to judge “mightiness” only in relation to Lady Karina’s strength. 

“Sir Satou, if you are a traveling merchant, do you perhaps know where the village of giants might be?” 

“I’ve never been, but I have a rough idea of how to get there.” 

“I-in that case, is there any chance you might be able to guide me?” 

Lady Karina clasped her hands together pleadingly in front of her incredible chest, which was terribly persuasive. 

I was about to nod involuntarily, but then Arisa cut in. 

“A thank-you would be nice.” 

“Yes, of course, I will certainly reward you with payment.” 

Lady Karina misunderstood her statement, and Arisa raised her eyebrows. 

“No, no. You still haven’t even thanked my master for saving you when you were collapsed in the forest, have you?” 

“Ah…” Lady Karina was speechless. 

As I’d suspected, she must have simply forgotten. 

“I-I’m terribly sorry. I sincerely thank you for your aid, Sa— Um, sir.” 

Quickly changing her attitude, Lady Karina held the ends of her skirt in a very noble curtsy. 

Behind her, Tama and Pochi immediately imitated her gesture by pinching the ends of their wide pants. 

Her arms still folded, Arisa nodded self-importantly. She’d be a good mother when she grew up. 

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” 

I stood and bowed. I’d seen a young nobleman do this in a movie once. 

> Skill Acquired: “Etiquette” 

“As for your request, we happen to be heading to the village of giants anyway. Would you like to join us?” 

“Are you sure it’s quite all right?” 

“Yeah, one more person is no big deal.” 

I sort of made a unilateral decision, but none of the kids raised any objections. 

There were a select few who seemed a bit threatened by Lady Karina’s bust measurements, but at least they were willing to accept the traveler herself joining our party. 

 

“Kyaaaaah!” 

Miss Karina leaped into the air with a scream and then tumbled along the ground until she crashed into a tree. 

It was the kind of pratfall that would be the envy of any young comic actor, but thanks to Raka’s scalelike barrier, she was completely unharmed. 

When the advance guard team had begun their training after the meal as usual, Miss Karina had announced that she wanted to participate, too. However, she couldn’t control herself very well under the influence of Raka’s Strength Enhancement, and instead she kept crashing and burning. 

Since she hadn’t changed out of her dress to participate, the skirt kept flipping up to reveal what was underneath in an extremely unladylike fashion. 

However, since she was wearing long drawers, the standard undergarment in this world, there wasn’t much to get excited about. 

“Karinaaa?” 

“Are you all right, ma’am?” 

Tama and Pochi hurried over to Miss Karina where she lay tangled upside down in the roots of the tree and peered at her face with concern. 

The two weren’t very good at remembering titles, so Miss Karina had given them permission to simply call her by her first name. 

I called out to Lulu, who was watching the training with Arisa and Mia. 

“Lulu, could you lend Lady Karina some of Nana’s spare clothes?” 

“Yes, of course.” 

I would’ve suggested Liza’s or mine, but I thought the chest might be too tight on Miss Karina’s figure. 

Accepting the clothes, Miss Karina said a few words to Lulu and turned her back to her. Apparently, she couldn’t undress without help. 

Lulu immediately started assisting her, so I quickly spun around. 

I wished they’d be a bit more modest about doing this with a guy around. 

“What’s this? You’re not going to enjoy the show?” 

“Arisa…” 

Mia, always sensitive to this sort of remark, shot Arisa an accusatory glare. 

When they were done with the process, I turned back around. 

The shirt was about to burst open at the chest. There wasn’t enough fabric to cover everything, so the bottom edge of the shirt was hiked up, exposing her navel. 

Embarrassed, Miss Karina vigorously yanked the hem lower, which only dragged her breasts down in an uncomfortable-looking manner. 

“Satou.” 

“If you like boobs so much, get a load of this!” 

Arisa and Mia had noticed my eyes wandering, drawn like magnets, and the two girls latched on to obscure my vision. 

Arisa’s bony chest pressed against me rather painfully. 

In the end, while my view was being blocked, Miss Karina changed into Nana’s loose pajama shirt. 

I made sure to mentally file away the spectacular sight from earlier, though. 

Really, it’s a pity that my menu doesn’t have a screenshot function. 

“Sa— Um, you aren’t going to participate in the training?” 

Miss Karina walked over to me, still catching her breath. 

The combination of her sweaty brow and breathless voice was pretty sexy. I would be tempted to make a pass at her if she weren’t the daughter of a baron. 

She kept starting to call me by name, then getting embarrassed and sticking with “you” instead. 

“Liza said the strongest member of the group is you, Sa— Um. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to have a bout with me?” 

“Sure, I can do that.” 

I stood up and headed over to the dry riverbed where the girls were training. 

Along the way, I picked up a pebble and gave it a toss. 

Not at Miss Karina, of course. 

The pebble made direct contact with a half-horse, half-fish kelpie that was starting to emerge from the water in the mostly dry riverbed, and the creature disappeared with a small geyser. 

Pochi and Tama, who’d noticed the kelpie, lowered their wooden practice swords with an air of relief. 

“Now, shall we get started?” 

I smiled brightly at Miss Karina, who was still stunned by the sudden sequence of events. 

“V-very well… Here I go, then!” 

Although her movements were clearly amateurish, she came at me with an immediate high jump kick. 

The move was something out of a fighting game, but since I’d seen her use it in her training with the other girls, I was able to avoid it easily enough. 

Still, she was fast. Her speed was on par with Pochi’s. 

“Hmph! You may have dodged that one, but I’m just getting started!” 

Miss Karina left tracks in the riverbed as she skidded to an abrupt halt, then kicked up a cloud of dust as she attacked me a second time. 

This time it was a flying roundhouse kick, but I crouched to avoid it. 

Looking up, I saw that the momentum was carrying her magic breasts around in a dynamic dance as if they were separate creatures entirely. 

“Goodness, your movements are simply too smooth!” she complained. 

I was frankly concerned that she might tear the ligaments in her chest, but she didn’t appear to be in pain, so maybe Raka’s Pain Resistance or Strength Enhancement functions were coming into play here. In the back of my mind, I sang the praises of whatever pioneer had created Raka. What a wonderful piece of equipment. 

Miss Karina punctuated her frustrated shout with a dropkick, so I dodged to one side. 

Since all her attacks were so dramatic, it was easy to avoid her as long as I didn’t become distracted. 

Still, we wouldn’t get anywhere if I continually dodged them, so I decided to take one of her assaults head-on. 

This time, Miss Karina was charging at me with an elbow strike, so I caught the blow with one movement and killed her momentum as if I’d caught her in cotton. 

It was a rather heavy strike, on par with Liza’s spear. I wouldn’t have expected this much strength from a level-2 opponent. 

Apparently, Raka’s Strength Enhancement added about five levels. I guess an artifact like that was bound to give some pretty amazing buffs. 

I was impressed, but now that her momentum was gone, it was easy to toss her aside. 

Miss Karina rolled away on the riverbed with a cute little squeak. 

With the protection of Raka’s white defensive barrier, landing on the rocky surface of the riverbed wouldn’t harm her at all. 

Still, she seemed too dazed to stand, so I walked over to her and offered my hand. 

“Are you all right, Lady Karina?” 

“I-I’m perfectly fine!” 

Avoiding my hand, Miss Karina scuttled to her feet suspiciously. 

I was a bit hurt, but with her flustered state and trembling voice, it wasn’t so much that she disliked me specifically as that she was overly conscious of men in general. She had doubtless led a sheltered life; maybe she was just afraid of germs. 

She made no effort to change her tactics after this, and instead continued to throw herself at me with straightforward attacks and special moves, which I dodged or parried. 

At some point, it became less like a training match and more like a drill. 

“Lady Karina, you won’t be able to beat an opponent who’s good at dodging if you just keep using such bold techniques.” 

“Master’s right, ma’am! You have to break down their defense with smaller moves, then finish them off with a big move, ma’am!” Pochi complemented my advice. 

I think Liza taught her something along those lines before. 

“Small moves?” 

Miss Karina was clumsier than Pochi; she tried to use feints and foot sweeps, but these were so obvious that her defense was even more full of holes than before. 

Clearly, someone like me who always relied on skills had no talent for training others. 

“Sorry, Liza, but would you mind taking over to teach her for me?” 

“Please leave it to me, master.” 

I handed my role as instructor off to Liza and went back to observing. 

“Lady Karina, Pochi and I will give a demonstration fight. We will start out without using any small moves and then incorporate them later. Please examine Pochi’s movements closely. Pochi, please fight with slower movements than usual, so that Lady Karina can follow them.” 

“Yeeesss, sssiiirrr!” 

You don’t actually have to talk more slowly, too, Pochi. 

The pair’s dance-like training performance imparted to Miss Karina the importance of small moves. 

They continued training for about an hour with more practice battles, ending only when nobody could stand any longer. 

They might catch colds if they stayed all sweaty, so I used the kettle-style magic tool to prepare hot water and had them wipe themselves clean. Of course, this took place inside an igloo-shaped Shelter wall to ward off the wind. 

“Is that a magic tool that boils hot water?” 

“It is. They don’t use these in the castle?” 

“A maid told me that hot water is restricted to mornings only because of the high cost of firewood, so I suppose they mustn’t have used such a thing.” 

Sounds like a rough life. 

Still, if the maid considered even firewood to be expensive, the demon or some bureaucrats must be embezzling most of the tax revenue. 

I charged up the floor heater in the carriage, and as I worked, I could hear the others’ happy voices as they washed up with the hot water. 

I realized with a bit of regret that I should’ve made an open-air bath at the river’s edge. I’d have to make sure to do so when we came back from the giants’ village. 

Once everyone was refreshed, I made a bed for myself out of the kotatsu and put everyone to sleep. From inside the carriage, I heard a cry of “goodness me, the floorboards are warm!” from Miss Karina. 

I didn’t like being left out, but I figured I couldn’t share a bed with a baron’s daughter. 

Since I’d taken an interest in strengthening equipment, that evening I sat next to the kids on night watch and read through Trazayuya’s documents. 

Apparently, making this kind of equipment required just as much complicated setup as Holy Swords, but I did notice something while reviewing the materials. 

All these processes seemed to involve a good deal of trouble in preventing the magic circuit from collapsing during forging or casting. 

Since it seemed like I had the means to make the magic circuit that was the first step for all this, I used the Holy Sword Excalibur to cut a wooden practice sword in half and tried carving the circuit into that. 

I didn’t get any skills or titles, but I was able to make an imitation Magic Sword easily enough. 

It was much easier to infuse the magic wooden sword with energy than it was an ordinary wooden sword. 

Complicated circuits would be impossible, but it was easy enough to incorporate simple circuits like these for strength or durability improvements. 

I completed two swords that evening: the wooden Magic Sword and a wooden Holy Sword. When they were charged up, the former emitted a red light while the latter emitted a blue one. 

I went out and found a ghost-type monster on which to test the wooden swords and discovered that both of them exhibited the same level of power as the mithril sword I’d found in the fortress. 

On my way back, I tried them on an ordinary monster, but they both broke apart. They’d be useful only on monsters without a corporeal form, which wouldn’t be affected by ordinary weapons. 

They were good conductors of my “Spellblade” skill, however. 

This wasn’t particularly useful to me, since I could use “Spellblade” even with sticks or my fingertips, but it might come in handy for training the advance guard. 

By dawn, I was able to complete three new wooden Magic Swords for the girls to use for skill practice. 

 

It was the morning of our fifteenth day in the Muno Barony. 

After warming ourselves up with some soup, we set off into the large forest, which was shrouded in a chilly morning mist. 

Incidentally, I stowed our carriage away in Storage from a slight distance so that nobody would notice. At the very least, I was confident that Raka and Miss Karina hadn’t noticed during her exuberant departure. 

We were riding down the side road on six horses. 

Nana and Liza each rode solo on the warhorses we’d confiscated from the thieves; Miss Karina rode on one of the horses I’d bought in Sedum City, since she was an experienced rider, while Arisa and I rode the other. 

Finally, the two horses we’d first bought with the carriage in Seiryuu City carried Mia and Lulu on one and Tama and Pochi on the other. 

Tama didn’t have much riding experience, but Effie and Rye, the carriage horses, were strangely intelligent. They followed her orders carefully, crossing fallen trees and avoiding ruts as if their riders were veteran jockeys. 

“There are rather more obstacles and inclines than I expected.” 

“Normal.” 

Mia responded to Arisa’s complaints indifferently. 

Most likely, she was trying to say this was normal for a forest path. 

“Master! Look, sir! It’s prey, sir!” 

Pochi had spotted a mountain bird through the trees. 

That would work for lunch, I supposed. Taking a short bow out of the bow holder beside the saddlebag, I took aim and shot the bird down. 

“Hooray! Sir!” 

Pochi hopped off the horse that Tama was steering and zipped over to the fallen bird like a hunting dog. 

“A fine shot. It appears that it’s not only your martial arts skills that are first-class, hmm?” 

“Only because I had a good teacher.” 

I patted Mia’s head as I replied to Miss Karina’s admiring words. 

To hide her embarrassment, Mia started playing a reed pipe as her cheeks turned pink. 

Our first day ended without any monster encounters, and we camped on the bank of a small river. 

We took out the necessary tools from the Lesser Garage Bag I’d found in the fortress and started setting up camp. 

Since we would have to use it in front of Miss Karina and Raka pretty often, I’d decided to start using the one that I’d be less reluctant to part with in case the noble demanded that I hand it over. 

However, this was an unnecessary precaution. 

“Oh? I see you have a magic bag. There used to be several of those in our home, too.” 

When we took out the quilts and kotatsu from the Garage Bag, her response was nonchalant. 

The family of Baron Muno had sold their Garage Bags to raise money, but they were apparently not an uncommon magic tool amid large merchants and wealthy aristocrats. 

“Oh, gracious! This desk is warm on the inside!” 

Instead, it was the kotatsu that caught her by surprise. 

“Karina, c’meeere.” 

“This is the warm part, ma’am!” 

Miss Karina stuck her head inside the kotatsu along with Tama and Pochi, gazing at the red light of the magic circuit inside. 

“Mind your manners,” I chided them, though I also had to note that Miss Karina’s waistline was just as sexy as her chest. 

The ever-mischievous Arisa chose that moment to pat Miss Karina’s bottom, so the young noblewoman banged her head on the underside of the table and let out a shriek. 

Fortunately, Arisa apologized as soon as Miss Karina emerged red-faced and teary-eyed, so I wasn’t subjected to any false accusations of being a pervert. 

“Karinaaa?” 

“Karina, you can help, too, ma’am!” 

The sheltered Miss Karina was sitting in the kotatsu as the rest of us set up camp, but Tama and Pochi grabbed her arms and pulled her out. 

“Y-you would dare imply that I should do the work of servants?” 

“Yeees!” 

“No work means no food, ma’am!” 

The concept of going without food elicited a dramatic expression of shock from Miss Karina, and she hastily participated in setting up the campsite with helpful direction from Pochi and Tama. 

We’d had sandwiches that we’d prepared that morning for lunch, so I had Lulu assist me in preparing baked mountain fowl as the main dish for dinner. 

“Master, I’ve prepared the meat. Is this about right?” 

“Yeah, that’s perfect. I can always count on you to do a thorough job.” 

I accepted the prepared bird from Lulu, stuffing the cavity with herbs and boiled eggs where the organs had been removed. 

After applying a soy-based sauce to the outside, I put the bird in a magic steam oven that I’d made in Sedum City. The bird was quite large, so it just barely fit. 

“Since we can’t see inside, we’ll have to rely on the outside temperature of the oven and the sound of the meat to figure out how long to cook it.” 

“…It’s started to get warmer.” 

Lulu held her hand over the square oven with a serious expression. 

“There’s no sound yet.” 

This time she pressed an ear to the oven as she gave her report. 

“Please don’t put your face against the oven, Lulu, or you might get burned.” 

“R-right. I-I’m sorry!” 

Even if she did burn herself, it could probably be cured with a magic potion, but to allow Lulu’s lovely features to be marred even for a moment would be a massive loss for the world at large. 

After a while, steam began to rise from the oven, along with a pleasant fragrance. 

Pochi and Tama stared excitedly at the steam, along with Miss Karina. 

As I watched the three of them, even I started getting impatient for the food to be finished. 

By the time Mia and Arisa returned from collecting herbs, dinner was ready. 

We were lucky that it was finished before Pochi’s and Tama’s drool flooded the campsite. 

Pretending not to see the small trickle that threatened to escape from Miss Karina’s half-open mouth, I placed the steamed bird on a large platter on the table. 

Liza was in charge of carving it and serving the meat and vegetables onto everyone’s plates. 

“Thanks for the food!” 

On Arisa’s cue, everyone else chorused, “Thanks for the food!” and dinner began. 

“‘Thanks for the food’?” 

“You see, where I come from, we…” Arisa started in with a lengthy explanation in response to Miss Karina’s question, but I was more interested in the steamed meat, so I paid her no mind. 

The flavor was light and not very fatty, on par with high-quality baked teriyaki chicken. A bit underwhelmed, I took a bite of the thinly cut vegetables instead. 

That’s delicious. 

The fat from the mountain bird and the flavor of the vegetables mingled beautifully with the subtle taste of the sauce. 

Combining the vegetables with the chicken made for even better flavor. I added a bit of pepper, since it was a little light on seasoning, and was rewarded with a downright heavenly piquancy. 

From now on, any mountain birds would take top hunting priority. 

I shared my discoveries and pepper with the rest of the group, and together we went to gourmet paradise. 

After dinner, Miss Karina attempted to take on the task of washing dishes; however, after she’d broken her fifth plate, Liza demoted her to safer work like wiping down the table with Arisa. 

Arisa, incidentally, had previously dropped and broken plates due to her weak grip, while Miss Karina had broken them by grasping them too strongly. 

The next day’s journey was also peaceful but by no means boring. 

“Wow, what a view!” 

“How wonderful.” 

Next to Arisa, Lulu breathed a graceful sigh. 

On the second day of our journey, the path took us to a sheer cliff, where the stream we’d camped by yesterday turned into a waterfall, creating a rainbow. 

Inside the forest, we saw a mysterious pyramid-like building, some stone ramps that reached toward the sky like a galactic railroad, and other strange structures. 

The pyramid looked like it was the ruins of an ancient temple. It was fairly distant, but it contained facilities for astronomical observation, so it might be worth a visit on our way back from the forest giants’ village. 

Stronger monsters had started to appear on my radar in this area, so at night, I sneaked out to dispose of the giant serpent and the frightening basilisk with a gaze that could turn us to stone. 

Of course, I left any solitary monsters that might be good for battle training. 

“Humans, humans, and sometimes elves! Humans, humans, and sometimes something else!” 

On the afternoon of our third day in the forest, we encountered a singing tree with flowers shaped like trumpets. 

The lyrics were a bit strange, but apparently, certain dilettantes in the royal capital would pay big money for a tree like this. I had no desire to transport it, so I left it alone. 

As we advanced deeper into the forest, we found plenty of rare plants, particularly those that could be used for potions or magic tools. 

Among others, we found mana-infused element stones, including earth stones from the cliff and water stones that we found at the bottom of a clear spring. 

The water stones were used to make magic tools like the Well Bag that produced fresh water. 

We met a few monsters along the way, but they were only small-fry, so I used these opportunities to have the girls practice cooperating in battle. Plus, Miss Karina could experience actual combat. 

“Karinaaa! Look uuup!” 

“Hmm?” 

A level-3 monster called “crawling ivy” that came down from the trees entangled Miss Karina. 

It did possess weak paralysis poison, but unless it jumped you while you were alone, it wasn’t a particularly scary monster. 

And since Miss Karina had Raka’s protection, it wouldn’t be much of a threat. 

“How impudent!” 

Miss Karina used the power from Raka’s Strength Enhancement to tear the crawling ivy to shreds and toss it to the ground. 

Liza delivered the finishing blow with her magic spear. There were more crawling ivies lurking about in the trees like snakes, but they were quick to flee when one of their number was destroyed. 

“Are you injured?” 

“I-I’m quite all right.” 

I approached on my horse, and Miss Karina hurriedly backed hers away. 

Aside from battle and meals, Miss Karina’s aversion to men still hadn’t changed. She reminded me of a particularly guarded cat, so I didn’t really mind. 

After that, the third day of our journey ended fairly uneventfully. 

I didn’t see any strong monsters that night, so I headed to some unexplored areas and collected more element stones, like earth, water, and wind stones. 

These were essential components of certain special magic tools and potions, but they were hard to find even at alchemy and magic-tool shops. I collected about three hemp bags’ worth. 

I would’ve liked to find lightning stones and fire stones, too, but I wasn’t able to get any of those this time. 

As I hunted for these materials, I saw several dots on my map in the mountain range at the western edge of the Muno Barony. They belonged to people I’d met before—Nana’s sisters, who we’d parted with in front of Seiryuu City. 

The tomb of Zen’s wife that they were headed for was deep in the mountains there. 

It would’ve been nice to see them again, but they were too far away, so we wouldn’t be able to meet this time. 

We’d probably see them again sooner or later anyway, in Labyrinth City at the least. 

“Beeear?” 

“It might be a boar man, sir.” 

Just before noon on the fourth day, we spotted a brown animal on a cliff along our path with its back turned to us. 

Abruptly, the creature fell over sideways. 

“Nap tiiime?” 

“I don’t think so, sir! There was a monster behind it, sir!” 

Sure enough, there was something that looked like a metal armadillo. 

My AR display indicated that it was a level-20 monster called an armored rat, with the skills “Charge” and “Shock Absorption.” It was about the size of a small pickup truck. 

“All hands, dismount and assume combat positions. Arisa and Lulu, please take care of the horses.” 

At Liza’s shout, everyone got down from their horses and prepared for battle. 

It must have heard her voice, because the monster rolled up like a pill bug and rolled down at us from the top of the cliff. 

Mia and I fired at it with our short bows, but the cheap arrows simply bounced off the armored rat’s hide. 

…But this was enough to throw off the armored rat’s rotation, and it crashed into a big tree nearby and teetered over. 

Arisa, who had muttered the Balance Jamming spell, flashed a peace sign in my direction. I showed my appreciation with a thumbs-up. 

“Now’s our chance! I’m going in, Mr. Raka.” 

Without waiting for Liza’s signal, Miss Karina shot over like an arrow. 

“Lady Karina, stop!” 

“Please stay back, Lady Karina!” 

Raka and Liza both cried out to stop her, but with the speed granted by Raka’s Strength Enhancement, Miss Karina was practically on top of the armored rat already. 

In a flash, the creature unrolled itself and knocked Miss Karina away. She soared up into the air, crashing through a few bushes along the way. 

It was a clean hit that would normally be enough to cause serious injury, but thanks to Raka’s powerful defense, Miss Karina didn’t take a single point of damage. 

I’d have loved to equip all my kids with an exceptional item like that. I wonder if they’re sold anywhere. I’d even take one for ten thousand gold coins. 

While I was distracted, the group steadily dealt damage to the armored rat. Tama and Pochi distracted it, Nana defended against it, Karina got blown away repeatedly, and Liza struck with her Magic Cricket Spear. 

…I’m not sure Miss Karina’s role was much help, but since she was still only level 4, there wasn’t much else she could do. 

“Everybody, fall back! Mia’s going to use a spell!” 

On Arisa’s signal, everyone backed away. 

“… ? Balloon Kyuubouchou!” 

Mia’s spell rapidly vaporized the green blood that had accumulated at the monster’s feet, knocking it over. 

Miss Karina was too slow to escape, though, and Mia’s magic launched her away along with the monster, straight onto a branch of a large nearby tree. 

“Mrrr?” 

Mia looked bewildered by the unexpected result. 

“Now! Go on the offensive!” 

The armored rat scrambled to get back up, but Arisa hit it with a Psychic Magic spell, Mind Blow, to knock it unconscious for just a moment. 

Once it stopped moving, the vanguard team was on it in an instant with their swords and spears to finish it off. 

Miss Karina gained a level as a result of this battle and acquired the skill “3-D Maneuverability.” I detected a hint of irony, but at least it was a useful skill. There’d be no sense in complaining. 

The girls had taken a liking to Miss Karina’s corkscrew locks, so I made a magic curling iron to style their hair. 

“Twirlyyyy?” 

“So curly, sir!” 

The kids had great fun rolling the ends of their hair. 

I’d started making it on the first day Miss Karina had arrived, but it was difficult to maintain a temperature that wouldn’t burn the hair, so it’d taken several tries until I finally completed it on the fourth day. 

I’d kept my effort secret from everyone, though. 

It was my job as their “master” to work only in the shadows, after all. 

That night, I defeated a chicken-shaped monster called a cockatrice that used a petrifying breath and collected the plants and small animals that it had turned into stone. 

The cockatrice meat that we sampled the next morning was delicious. 

Then came the fifth day. Soon after we set out, we arrived at what I’d noted on my map as the most difficult terrain in the forest. 

“Now that’s quite a gorge,” Arisa commented. 

“The river at the bottom of the ravine appears to be flowing at a very high speed, I report,” added Nana. 

“If one were to fall, the chances of survival certainly seem unlikely,” said Liza. 

Behind the three, the other kids tried to peer at the bottom, too, but I stopped them, since it seemed dangerous. 

“Perhaps we should take a detour?” 

“It’s all right. There’s a bridge up ahead.” 

I knew this because I’d built it after hunting the cockatrice last night. 

We rode the horses a little way, and a log bridge came into view. 

“Th-this thing is the bridge?” 

“That’s right.” I nodded at Arisa. 

“So…you’re saying you want us to cross this?” 

Sitting in front of me on our horse, Arisa paled. 

It was nothing but a plank held up by two logs, so crossing it would require some courage. 

“No, no, no. Aaabsolutely not. Let’s just take a detour with a few days’ extra travel. All right?” Arisa’s eyes filled with tears. 

In order to prove that it was safe, I took the lead and moved toward the bridge. 

“See? It’s fine.” 

“Nooo—!” 

Since Arisa’s scream was bound to frighten the horse, I cut it off by covering her mouth. 

Arisa had apparently lost the will to complain and instead pressed her forehead limply into the horse’s mane. 

“Tama, please don’t be so bold, sir…” 

“Don’t worry—be happyyy!” 

Tama was the only one to follow me, but since Pochi was on the same horse and therefore shared her fate, she was protesting desperately. 

“Tama, take the reins.” 

“’kaaay.” 

I left Tama in charge of the horses and went back across the bridge. 

It would probably be fastest for me to ride the rest across myself. 

“M-master…” 

“It’s okay to close your eyes if you’re scared.” 

“V-very well.” 

Liza hung on to my back as I brought her horse across. Surprisingly, she was afraid of heights. 

Next, I took Lulu across. 

“M-master, even if I close my eyes, it’s still too scary…” 

“You can sit sideways and hide your face in my chest, then, all right? Just focus on the sound of my heartbeat.” 

“R-right!” 

I can’t say I minded having a trembling girl clinging to me desperately in this situation. It certainly stimulated my protective instincts. 

As I rode across the bridge with Lulu, Arisa chewed on her fingers. 

“Jealshhh…” 

Was she trying to say she was jealous? 

“Want to take another round trip, then, Arisa?” 

“I-I’ll pass, thanks.” 

I was only joking, but Arisa shook her head rapidly with a deadly serious expression. 

“This is very dangerous, Satou. People can’t fly, you know? They don’t have wings, after all. So elves can’t fly, either, you know. It’s true.” 

Next, Mia expressed her fear with an unusually verbose explanation as I carried her across the log bridge on my back. Finally, I rode the last horse with Miss Karina, and our journey over the ravine was complete. 

It was hard to ignore the charms of Miss Karina’s magic breasts, but I somehow made it through. 

Then, at last, we arrived at the blank area on the map. 

“Waaall?” 

Tama turned her horse away to the side, reaching out and patting an invisible wall as if in pantomime. 

Arisa, who was riding with Lulu, extended her arms to mimic Tama’s movements. 

“Oh my, you’re right.” 

“It’s strange, sir. I don’t see anything, but something’s there, sir.” 

The other kids also explored the invisible barrier. Even Miss Karina joined in. 

The sight of them patting the wall and tilting their heads in puzzlement was adorable. 

I turned my horse to the side and reached out, too, but I didn’t feel anything. 

When I stared for a moment at the spot everyone was hitting, an AR display reading Mountain-Tree barrier wall appeared. 

It was probably the same sort of barrier I’d found at the border of the Forest of Illusions. 

What was “Mountain-Tree,” though? 

Had we come to the wrong place…? 

When I moved my horse forward, I felt a slight sense of discomfort, but I was able to advance without resistance. 

A lukewarm wind tickled my cheek, but I barely noticed that compared to the unusually enormous tree that had suddenly appeared in the distance. 

Wondering if I’d been teleported, I looked over my shoulder to see the others all gesturing wildly and flapping their mouths open and closed. They looked desperate, so they were most likely seriously worried about me, not just playing around. 

The barrier must have been blocking their voices. 

I hadn’t been able to see that giant tree from the other side, either, so maybe it could block images, too. 

For the time being, I selected Search Entire Map from the magic menu to acquire information about the area beyond the barrier, then headed back to the other side. 

“Don’t go disappearing like that! You gave us a fright!” 

Arisa took the lead and castigated me for worrying them. 

I was appreciative that they’d been concerned about me, but it was more important to determine whether the area on the other side of the barrier was safe. 

As the girls ranted at me, I started investigating the information I’d gained. 

Firstly, I learned through my menu information that the large tree beyond the barrier wall was called Mountain-Tree. It seemed to be the same size as the Cradle where Mia had been kidnapped. 

And the village of the forest giants, where I was supposed to deliver the letter, was at the foot of that tree. 

The population of the area was concentrated in the forest giants’ village. There were only ten of them altogether, the strongest of which was level 39. The average level was 31. 

There were other giants besides the forest giants, too. 

There was another race called little giants, which averaged around level 20. The name seemed a little self-contradictory, but I assumed they were just small by giant standards. There were about a hundred and twenty of them. 

There were also nearly a thousand demi-humans of diverse races living here. About 40 percent were birdfolk, 50 percent were various beastfolk, and the remaining 10 percent were fairyfolk. 

The fairyfolk were mostly brownies, gnomes, and spriggans, but there were three kobolds, too. I hadn’t gotten to see the ones in Kuhanou County, so I’d have loved to meet one this time. 

There were a lot of mythical creatures inside the barrier, too. 

There were several herds of unicorns, plus some creatures called gjallarhorns. The Holy Sword of the same name was probably modeled after these creatures, or made from them. 

There were more creatures living in the top of the large tree, including several elder sparrows like the one the witch had ridden. 

At any rate, there didn’t seem to be any dangerous creatures with a high-enough level to pose a deadly threat to the kids, so that was a relief. 

Once I’d confirmed that it was safe, we all moved to the opposite side of the wall. 

For some reason, the others were able to pass through normally if I led them by the hand. 

I was worried that Mia would be upset when she saw the Mountain-Tree, but she must not have seen the Cradle from the outside for the most part. She didn’t react. 

“Who are you really, Sa… You?” 

Miss Karina observed me seriously. As usual, she was too embarrassed to say my name. 

“The barrier might have let me through because I have a letter for one of the giants of the village.” 

I avoided her question with an arbitrary answer, but I wasn’t really sure why I was able to pass through the barrier, either. 

Instead of worrying about something I didn’t understand, I was better off figuring out what path we should take. 

The village was about twelve miles away as the crow flies, so it should take only a day or two on horseback. 

Suddenly, a green human figure emerged from one of the old trees in front of us. 

“Oh? Well, if it isn’t that human.” 

“Hey. Thanks for your help before.” 

The figure that had appeared was the dryad who’d helped me get around in the Cradle. 

She was beckoning to me, so I approached. As before, she was naked, but I didn’t care, since I’m not interested in little girls. 

“Mrrr, go away.” Mia stepped between the little girl and me, spreading her hands as if to protect me. “Drain.” She gave a monosyllabic warning. 

Most likely, she was trying to say that the dryad would suck up a lot of my magic. 

“Oh my. Don’t be rude, child.” 

Child was probably referring to Mia. She did have the title Child of Bolenan, after all. 

I rested a hand on Mia’s head, then spoke to the dryad. 

“So, did you need something?” 

“Yeah, the chief of the forest giants asked me to find out who trespassed on the barrier. If it’s you, though, I’m sure I can just take you to the village. The youngling there can come, too.” 

I didn’t mind going alone, but if I left the other kids here, they’d probably get lost. They wouldn’t be able to reach the forest giant village. 

I didn’t know what the forest giants were like, but since they were friends of the kindly old witch, it was probably pretty safe to trust them. 

“Wait a minute. Would you mind taking all of us there?” 

“Sure, sure. But I don’t have quite enough magic power for that, so you’ll have to give me some of yours.” 

Without waiting for my response, the dryad placed her hands on my cheeks, smacked her lips onto mine, and started absorbing my magic. 

Since there were children watching this time, I intentionally helped the magic along. 

This had the desired effect, as the dryad released my mouth after just a few seconds. 

“You’ve gotten better at this, human.” 

Her remark sounded like praise for a worthy opponent, but in reality, we were just transferring magic. 

So I’d appreciate it if you would take your fist out of your mouth and stop staring up at me, thank you. Don’t whack my stomach or give me jealous glares, either! 

“All right, here goes!” 

With that, mushrooms popped up from the ground to surround us, giving off spores that glowed a pale green. 

“A fairy ring.” 

Just as Mia mumbled somewhat nostalgically, we were teleported away. 

“Dryad! Who have you brought here?!” 

The dryad faced a shrill interrogation as soon as we arrived. 

There’s no way a forest giant would sound like that, I thought as I looked up. Above, I saw a group of forest giants as tall as buildings, but on a stand next to their chairs was a tiny old man hopping up and down. According to my AR display, the little man was a brownie. 

My map informed me that we were now in a hall located in a hollow near the base of the Mountain-Tree. 

The hall was about seventy feet high, and its radius was about one hundred and fifty feet. The walls were the bare wood from the tree, and a lamp near the ceiling shone with a gentle white light. 

The giants, as tall as small mountains, were sitting in enormous chairs installed directly into the wood walls. 

Perhaps because they were so high up from where we were standing, their faces were shadowed, making their expressions hard to read. They were sitting so still that it would be easy to mistake them for statues. 

“Answer me, dryad!” 

“They’re humans.” 

“That’s not what I mean. I’m asking you who they are!” 

“Oh, I dunno. Besides, I’m not gonna listen to anyone except that kid Stonehammer. He’s the master of this mana source.” 

“BOH-YAH, MEEROH.” 

One of the giants muttered something to the dryad, and my body trembled with the vibrations. His voice was incredibly deep. 

I had no idea what he said, though. All I could tell was that the giant’s words sounded somewhat Elvish. 

Maybe their language was related. 

> Skill Acquired: “Giant Language” 

Oh, so he was speaking the common language of giants, not a forest giant–specific language. 

I went ahead and raised the skill level to five so I’d be able to understand their words. 

The giant looked down and opened his mouth, and the bass rumbled in my stomach as his low voice filled the hall. He was facing this way now, so it reverberated even more strongly than before. 

“WHO ARE YOU? WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN THIS VILLAGE?” 

When the giant was done speaking, the brownie nearby translated into Shigan. 

“I AM SATOU, A TRAVELING MERCHANT. THE WITCH OF THE FOREST OF ILLUSIONS ASKED ME TO DELIVER A LETTER TO YOU, WHICH IS WHY I HAVE COME HERE.” 

With the help of my “Amplification” skill, I replied to him in giant language. I took care to speak slowly to match their speed. 

“W-was that…giant language?” 

“Yes, Sir Satou seems to be quite knowledgeable.” 

“Goodness, is there anything he can’t do?” 

I heard Miss Karina and Raka talking behind me. 

The other kids were surprised, too, but their reactions weren’t as dramatic as Miss Karina’s. 

“OH-HO, SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND US? HOW SPLENDID. LET US SEE THIS LETTER FROM THE WITCH.” 

Just as I’d thought, no matter what world you’re in, speaking a new acquaintance’s language always gives a good impression. 

The giant lowered his enormous hand at a ponderous speed, like a heavy machine, and I put the letter onto his palm. 

The characters were probably too small for him to read, so he placed the brownie on his shoulder and had the letter read aloud to him. Since it was a personal letter, I switched off my “Keen Hearing” skill so as not to eavesdrop. 

Before long, the letter was finished, and the forest giant looked back down in my direction. 

“IT SEEMS YOU HAVE COME QUITE FAR. THANK YOU, LITTLE CHILD, FRIEND OF MY OLD FRIEND. MY NAME IS…” 

His name sounded more like a song. Listening to the easy rhythm, I started to get sleepy. 

Giants’ names were made up of the names of generations of their ancestors, so it went on for more than twenty minutes. Tama, Pochi, and Nana started to nod off, and I could hardly blame them. 

His name was written in the AR display, so I didn’t really need to memorize it, but even in human language it would still take upward of five minutes to say. The legendary Jugemu would be impressed. 

“…BUT THAT MAY BE TOO LONG FOR YOU TO SAY EASILY. YOU MAY CALL ME ‘STONEHAMMER.’” 

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WELCOME. SINCE I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN MY NAME, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MY COMPANIONS.” 

“…Mia.” 

I brought Mia forward, and she mumbled her name shortly, covering her ears with a cross look on her face. 

Apparently, the loud bass of Stonehammer’s voice had hurt her ears. 

“OH-HO, AN ELF OF BOLENAN FOREST, ARE YOU? NOT SINCE SIR YUSARATOYA VISITED ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO HAVE I SEEN YOUR KIND. ALLOW ME TO WELCOME YOU ON BEHALF OF OUR ENTIRE VILLAGE.” 

The giant was referring to the elfin manager of the general store in Seiryuu City. 

So he’s been here, too, huh? 

I continued to introduce the rest of the group. We had a bit of trouble with the last one, Miss Karina. 

“M-my name is Karina Muno. I am the second daughter of Baron Muno—” 

“Muno, you say! So a relative of that rotten marquis has strayed into our village to lose her head?!” 

The brownie beside the giants turned bright red with rage and interrupted Miss Karina’s introduction. This guy blew up at everything. 

Miss Karina hid behind me, unaccustomed to being the target of such malice. 

As she pressed up against my back, I could have fainted with joy. 

As thanks for this blessing, I figured I should probably defend her. I’d have to use my “Making Excuses” skill or my rarely used “Mediation” skill here. 

“JUST A MOMENT, PLEASE!” 

I spread my arms to defend Miss Karina as she hid behind me. 

“Satou…,” I heard her whisper. I was pretty sure that was the first time she’d called me by name. 

Thus encouraged, I continued to speak in a loud, tense voice. 

“MARQUIS MUNO’S FAMILY HAS BEEN DESTROYED. HER FATHER HAS ONLY INHERITED THE NAME AND IS IN NO WAY RELATED TO THE FORMER MARQUIS’S HOUSE.” 

I tried to defend her, but the indignant brownie clearly refused to listen. 

Perhaps under the effect of my skills, Stonehammer stopped the brownie for me. 

“THAT IS ENOUGH.” 

“B-BUT—” 

“ENOUGH, I SAID.” 

At his lord’s orders, the brownie sank into a sulky silence. 

“LITTLE CHILD, SATOU. I WILL NOT ASK YOU WHY YOU HAVE BROUGHT A YOUNG WOMAN BEARING THE NAME OF MUNO TO THIS LAND.” 

This time, Stonehammer faced me as he spoke. 

Shoot. At this rate, there was no way that Miss Karina would be able to achieve her goal here. 

However, the giant wasn’t finished speaking. 

“THE WITCH’S LETTER STATED THAT YOUR PURPOSE IS TO SEE UNKNOWN LANDS. ALLOW ME TO PREPARE YOU A ROOM IN THE MANSION OF ONE OF OUR VILLAGE’S LITTLE GIANTS. IT IS MY THANKS TO YOU FOR DELIVERING THE LETTER. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REST IN OUR VILLAGE FOR AS LONG AS YOU DESIRE.” 

Nice one, Miss Witch! 

I recalled the image of the mild old witch in profile as I praised her appreciatively in my mind. 

Uh-oh, it’ll be bad if he says Miss Karina has to leave alone. I’d better make sure. 

“LORD STONEHAMMER, I AM TERRIBLY SORRY TO MAKE SUCH A BRAZEN REQUEST, BUT MIGHT I PLEASE ASK YOUR PERMISSION FOR MY FRIEND—THE DAUGHTER OF BARON MUNO—TO STAY AS WELL?” 

“…VERY WELL. THE YOUNG MUNO WOMAN MAY REMAIN WITH YOU.” 

After a short pause, Stonehammer did give his permission. 

Hopefully now Miss Karina would be able to negotiate with Stonehammer and the other giants during our visit. 

Even though it had been only a few days, she was a member of our traveling party now. I figured I could at least try to come up with a plan to help her in between sightseeing. 

“WE TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR KIND GENEROSITY.” 

I thanked Stonehammer deeply, then exited the hall. 

We were escorted to a room next to the hall, where we waited obediently for someone from the forest giant village to welcome us. 

Liza positioned herself next to the door as a gatekeeper. 

“Sir Satou, we are grateful for your assistance.” Raka thanked me on behalf of Miss Karina. 

Miss Karina seemed shaken by what must have been her first experience as a target of ill will; her face was pale as she mumbled her thanks. 

Pochi and Tama sat on either side of her, looking up at her anxiously. 

“I don’t think it’ll be easy, but I wish you luck.” 

“Yes, I had no idea…” 

Arisa patted Miss Karina’s shoulder encouragingly. 

“There is no benefit to being disheartened, I advise. If you have time to feel downcast, you must use it to move forward instead, I recite.” 

“That’s right, Lady Karina! There’s hardly anything that can’t be solved by a proper meal and a good night’s sleep.” 

Nana and Lulu did their best to cheer up Miss Karina, too. Come to think of it, Arisa had mentioned that Lulu had been treated very poorly in her hometown. 

Before long, a group of ten-foot-tall little giants came to greet us with a palanquin to carry us to the village. 

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, daho. It took some time to prepare the palanquin, daho.” 

The apparent leader spoke with an unusual verbal quirk as the little giants brought us out of the Mountain-Tree. 

Outside the tree was a trench-like road to the village, which was almost a mile away. The village was about twice as far from the trunk as the edge of the Mountain-Tree’s canopy was. 

The lowest branches grew about three hundred feet up, but the tips hung down almost to the ground. A few earthen towers were stationed there. 

In the distance, I could see little giants doing some kind of work at the top of the tower. 

Apparently, they were collecting fruit from the branches of the Mountain-Tree. 

The fruits were large enough that the little giants were picking them in pairs, so they must have been six or seven feet around in diameter. 

Outside the trench, I could see an earthen wall about ten feet high. 

According to the map, there were several of these walls forming concentric circles around the Mountain-Tree, at intervals of about six hundred and fifty feet. They were too low to be defensive barriers, and there were periodic gaps in them. 

When we had nearly arrived at the village, we heard the sound of alarm bells. 

“What could that be?” 

“A fruit must have fallen from the Mountain-Tree, daho,” explained the leader of the little giants. 

Indeed, if a fruit fell from a higher branch in the nearly mile-high Mountain-Tree, it certainly could cause a disaster. 

So the earth walls weren’t to keep out enemies but to defend against falling fruit. 

Overhead, I saw something shaking the leaves and branches of the tree as it descended. It was about seven hundred feet away from here. 

“The defense lid will cover us soon enough, so please do not worry, daho.” 

Placing our palanquin on the ground, the leader addressed us in a calm voice. 

Even as he spoke, an arched, transparent barrier appeared over the walls of the passage. It was probably a Shelter wall made with Foundation Magic. 

Then a vermilion fruit appeared from the branches. 

Because of its unusual size, it seemed to be falling slowly, but in truth it was probably descending at a considerable speed. 

As if to prove this, the earth rumbled and trembled as the fruit hit the ground. 

Arisa and Mia (who were sitting on my knees), Tama and Pochi (to my left and right), and even Lulu and Miss Karina (behind me) all latched on to my arms. 

I felt a wonderful softness of various sizes press into my back. 

However, Miss Karina must have unconsciously invoked her Strength Enhancement or something. Her grip on my arm kinda hurt. 

Liza and Nana didn’t miss a beat, keenly watching where the fruit had fallen. 

A few more tremors followed shortly after. 

“Uh-oh, daho. Must be a bouncer, daho.” 

Since we couldn’t see what was going on very well from the trench, he had probably drawn his conclusion from the repeated quakes. 

The fruit crashed into the soil wall in front of the village and reached a halt. 

But, the next moment, we saw the wall crack apart, and the fruit rolled on into the village. 

“Oh dear. That’s the spriggan general’s house, daho. We’ll all have to help with repairs tomorrow, daho.” 

It sounded less like a major disaster and more like a frequently occurring inconvenience. 

The magic defense ceiling above us was canceled out, and our palanquin was lifted up again, giving us a view of the aftermath. 

Three had fallen altogether, two of them stopping in the trough they’d dug in the earth. 

I could see plenty of other places where holes had been filled in, too. 

“Does fruit fall like that very often?” 

“Oh, no. Aside from during harvest season, there’s usually no more than one a month, daho.” 

Then I guess a bunch of them must’ve fallen at once at one point… 

“Normally, the elder sparrows eat the fruit at the top of the tree, daho. But in the last month or so, there haven’t been as many, so lots of the ripe fruit has been falling, daho.” 

…or not. 

Elder sparrows were giant, round birds like the one the witch of the Forest of Illusions had ridden. 

What could’ve caused their numbers to decrease? 

“I seem to recall those birds being quite large. Is there a dangerous predator around or something?” 

“Not anymore, so don’t worry, daho. But during the most recent new moon, a flock of hydra came through the barrier, daho. Many of the sparrows were eaten, daho,” the little giants’ leader answered sorrowfully. 

Hydra again, huh? Powerful and mobile. Those pests must be hard to manage. 

“The great forest giants drove them away by throwing hard-shelled fruit at them, but several were hit by the hydras’ poison breath, daho.” 

“That sounds terrible.” 

I would be fine as long as I killed the thing instantly from a distance so it couldn’t counterattack, but if I did end up on the receiving end of that poison breath, I bet washing my clothes would be a huge pain afterward. It might even damage the fibers and make them unwearable. 

“It was, daho. That was the first time in the three hundred years I’ve been alive that we were attacked by monsters, so I really panicked, daho.” 

Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I wondered if the hell demon had provoked the hydra flock to attack the village. 

“The adult forest giants were healed by a gnomish antidote, at least, but there are still three forest giant children who’re bedridden from the poison, daho.” 

The poison was still in their systems a month later? 

I tried searching for forest giants on the map. 

Sure enough, three forest giant children had the status condition Poison/Hydra [Chronic]. Their HP gauges were down to a third or fourth of their original number, and their magic and stamina gauges were on the verge of depletion, too. 

“Does the antidote not work on children?” 

“Well… I heard that they only had enough materials for snake venom antidote, so it wasn’t very effective, daho. So now one forest giant, Lord Braidbeard, is off hunting the hydra so we can make the real antidote, daho.” 

Ah! That must be the one forest giant I found when I searched the map of the barony before. 

At the moment, he was near the barrier. 

A search of his possessions revealed that he had a severed hydra head, so he must have been able to safely secure the antidote materials. 

I had a hydra corpse in my Storage, too, but it would be uncouth to render his efforts moot just before his triumphant return, so I decided to keep that to myself. 

The palanquin carrying our group stopped in front of the biggest house in the village. 

“Welcome home, dear. So these are the great forest giants’ guests?” 

“Yes, daho. There is an elf among them as well, so please treat them with courtesy, daho.” 

“Oh my. I think it’s been near a hundred years since we last welcomed an elf into our home.” 

The two were husband and wife, both over three hundred years old. 

“I am Whitefinger, wife of the village chief, Lank. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

So the leader of our little giant entourage was the village chief. 

The names she gave were apparently shortened versions of their lengthy names, like the forest giants’. They were most likely direct translations from giant language into Shigan. 

Since Mia was hiding behind me and making no attempt to introduce herself, I greeted them instead. 

“I beg your pardon—Mia is quite shy. I am a humanfolk peddler by the name of Satou.” 

“I see. So her name is Lady Mia? Worry not—we are well aware that elves are often silent. The only words Lord Yusaratoya ever spoke to us in his visit were Yuya, thanks, and farewell.” 

She said this jokingly, so I doubted she was trying to be sarcastic. 

After everyone else had been introduced and we’d been shown to our rooms, Mia finally mumbled her name to Whitefinger. 

“Mia.” 

“My, elves have such wonderful voices! I’ll make you a meal with the fruit of the Mountain-Tree tonight. Are there any foods that you don’t like?” 

The pitch of Whitefinger’s voice rose when Mia spoke, and she leaned in toward the elf. 

“Meat,” Mia replied, forming an X over her mouth with her fingers and pulling back slightly. 

“I’ll be sure not to make any dishes with meat, then,” Whitefinger answered with zeal. 

Despair appeared on the beastfolk girls’ faces, so I discreetly requested that she include meat in everyone’s dishes but Mia’s. 

On our way to the chief’s house, I’d seen a cowherd with a herd of animals that looked like longhaired cattle, so meat wasn’t too scarce here. 

Shortly thereafter, Lank stated that he was going to get some of the fruit from the Mountain-Tree, so I asked him to take Liza and me along. 

I was a little worried about Miss Karina. She’d immediately shut herself away in her room, claiming she was tired, so I went to see how she was doing while the village chief got prepared. 

Armed with baked goods and freshly brewed blue-green tea from Storage, I visited Miss Karina’s room. 

“Please eat a little something. Lulu says an empty stomach only worsens a bad mood.” 

“I have no appetite at all…” 

As if in protest, her stomach immediately let out a growl. 

I offered again, and after reluctantly accepting it, she started eating right away. 

The way she held the pastry in both hands as she munched on it reminded me of a cute little squirrel. 

“Why…?” Miss Karina murmured quietly. “Why must I be hated so by people I’ve never even met?” The fear and anger in her trembling voice clearly expressed the complexity of her heart. 

“Perhaps since Marquis Muno did such terrible things—” 

“But why?! I have no ties or blood relation to such a person!” 

Miss Karina passionately stood, grabbing my collar and putting her face close to mine. Her eyes were full of anger and sadness at this unreasonable world. 

“To them, all they see is that you’re a human with the name of ‘Muno,’ I imagine.” 

Even in a parallel world, one thing can be all it takes to hate someone. 

At my words, Miss Karina simply repeated, “Why…?” and pressed her forehead into my chest. 

Faintly, I could hear her starting to weep. 

I couldn’t take my eyes off her quivering eyelashes and glossy lips. 

How can a woman in a moment of weakness be so lovely…? 

I hugged her lightly to comfort her, and she leaned into me like a child. 

With her soft chest against me, I desperately fought the terrible urge to fall back onto the bed with her. 

At that moment, Liza opened the door. 

“Master, Lord Lank says he is just about ready to— Oh, pardon me. I shall come back later.” 

“Wait! That won’t be necessary.” 

Liza took in the situation and made to leave tactfully, but I quickly stopped her. 

Thanks to her arrival, the battle between the angel and demon in my soul ended in a narrow victory for the side of good. 

That was close. If I were to lay a hand on a noble’s daughter, I’d either end up on the wanted list or the fast track to marriage. 

I relaxed my arm around Miss Karina and instead patted her lightly on the back to soothe her. 

Then I made another attempt to cheer her up after asking Liza to wait a moment. 

“Lady Karina, it’s too soon to give up. It’s just as a famous leader of my kingdom once said: When you give up, it’s all over.” 

I paused for a moment, waiting for her reaction. 

She didn’t seem thrilled, but at least she was listening to me. 

“Lady Karina, even if they don’t show you a smidgen of kindness, you can’t retreat yet. You’ll just have to take action to win their favor.” 

“…Favor?” Miss Karina looked up at me hopefully, so I nodded. 

If I said this to one of my non-nerd friends, they’d probably make fun of me for treating everything like a game. 

Miss Karina didn’t seem to understand completely, so I tried to explain. 

“That’s right. There aren’t many people who will do something nice for someone they hate. So you just have to start by befriending them.” 

“Befriending them…? However would I go about such a thing?” 

“We’ll just have to try to find a way. At least we have permission to stay, for starters.” 

The life was returning to Miss Karina’s eyes, but she still seemed anxious. 

“Don’t worry. It’ll work out somehow.” 

I took her hand reassuringly, smiling as lightly as possible. 

“Thank you…Satou.” 

My “Keen Hearing” skill ensured Miss Karina’s mumbled thanks reached me. 

My rash promise seemed to have worked, as the shadows were finally disappearing from her expression. Her cheeks were turning pink, too. Her eyes were still faintly clouded from crying—she looked just like a maiden in love. 

She’d be all right now. 

“Liza and I are going with Lord Lank to gather information, all right?” 

“Let me co—” 

“Wait, Lady Karina. If we accompany them, we will only hinder their attempts to collect information. We must be prudent.” 

“Mr. Raka…” 

Miss Karina wanted to come along, but Raka stopped her. 

Oh yeah, Raka’s here, too, huh? 

“Leave the investigating to us. I’ll get some good tidbits and come back.” 

I smiled again to put her worries at ease, then left the room. 

Before we set out, I visited Arisa and asked her to go talk with Miss Karina. 

Liza and I marched along with Lank on the main street of Mountain-Tree Village. 

The little community consisted of about a hundred and eighty houses, but unlike a human village, the buildings here came in vastly different sizes. Not only that, but apparently, each race had its own style of architecture, so it was fascinating to see the variety of roofs, windows, and so on. 

“This is a nice village.” 

“That’s kind of you to say, daho. We’re all very proud of our village, daho.” 

Lank considerately matched his pace with ours, and we took in the sights of the street as we proceeded toward the fruit-processing plant. 

Along the way, we saw some children racing down the street; the young fairies were smaller than Pochi and Tama, but the little giants were taller than me. 

Now, you’d never find a fantastical scene like this on Earth. I wouldn’t forget the sight of a spriggan boy riding proudly on a little giant child’s back anytime soon. 

I decided to explore the village with everyone tomorrow. Arisa in particular would probably be overjoyed. 

Soon enough, we arrived at the fruit-processing plant, which looked like a workshop with no outer walls. 

Enormous colorful fruits waited in rows for the little giants to cut them open with large axes and saws. 

I rapped experimentally on a dark-gray fruit lying nearby, and it felt almost like steel. Next to it was a yellow fruit about as firm as a coconut. Clearly, there were large differences among each of the varieties. 

“This one’s too hard. Lank, take over for me.” 

“Duty calls, daho. I’ll be right back, daho.” 

One of the little giants pleaded with Lank for help after failing to cleave the fruit with an ax. 

The sturdy rind also gave Lank trouble, as his ax bounced off it harmlessly. 

“Could I maybe give it a try, too?” 

I generally don’t like to draw attention, but I really wanted to experience this for myself. 

With abilities like Body Strengthening in this world, it shouldn’t be too strange for a human to be able to wield a giant ax. 

Besides, this village didn’t seem to have a lot of contact with the outside world, so they probably wouldn’t spread any strange rumors. If anything, the authority of Mia and the Silent Bell of Bolenan should protect me here. 

“Are you sure you can hold it, daho?” 

“I’ll be all right. I have a Body Strengthening magic tool.” 

As usual, my “Fabrication” skill was working to great effect here. 

I borrowed the giant ax and tested out its weight. Since my own body was so light, I couldn’t do much about the inertia of the ax. 

Near the wall, there was a large, thin-bladed sword that looked a little lighter, so I borrowed that instead and gave it a swing. 

“Ooh, amazing, daho. I’ve never seen anyone cut one of those on their first swing, daho.” 

“What an arm! Do you think he might even be able to break an ironshell?” 

“It’s worth a try, daho. If it works, we’ll be able to drink ironshell wine at tonight’s banquet, daho.” 

This “ironshell” was probably the dark-gray fruit I’d seen near the entrance. It was as hard as steel, so only the forest giants’ shell-breaking tools could crack it. 

Ironshell wine, they explained, tasted sweet and strong, and it had a high alcohol content. 

Perhaps this was the key ingredient of the Giant’s Tears wine I’d drank in Sedum City back in Kuhanou County? 

With an intense glare at the fruit towering over me, I made a swing at it with the sword. 

The thin blade broke with a resounding crack. 

“I’m sorry…” 

“Well, an ironshell was probably too much to hope for.” 

“Yeah, it’s only to be expected…” 

I apologized, and the plant workers responded with disappointment. 

“…H-hey, look there!” 

One of the workers shouted and pointed at the ironshell. 

A fissure had appeared high on the fruit, and as if encouraged by the cry of surprise, the crack was growing. 

“H-he cut it!” 

“Whoa!!” 

“A-amazing, daho. Satou, you are a master swordsman, daho.” 

A chorus of surprise and adulation rose from the crowd of workers. 

Picking up the remains of the blade from the floor, I finished my apology. 

“…I broke the sword.” 

“It’s no problem, daho. Axes and swords break all the time while we’re splitting fruit, daho. If we bring some wine to the blacksmith later, he’ll be happy to fix it, daho. Just leave that to the guys at the plant, daho.” 

Lank’s casual reply encouraged me. 

Just in case, I apologized to the other workers, but far from being angry, they insisted that I could break as many as I liked as long as I cut open more ironshells for them. 

As I split three more, the number of onlookers steadily increased. 

> Title Acquired: Street Performer 

Just as I acquired the title, a woman with the head of a dog appeared in the workshop. 

“I heard there was a master swordsman here. Is it really true that he can split the ironshell fruit?” 

“Just look around, Miss Kobold! Can’t you see the pile of halves right here?” 

“…S-so it is true.” 

Wow, so that’s a kobold? 

So their race had rather pale skin and a dog head—no, wait. The “head” was actually a helmet. 

“Show me with this sword, then. It’s a blue-steel sword forged by kobolds.” 

The girl came up to me and shoved a large curved blade into my hands. 

I could see a tooth protruding from her lips that was like a little fang. The headgear covered most of her face, but her mouth was that of a dazzling woman. 

I unsheathed the sword she handed me. It was a beautiful weapon. The handle had a guard to protect the wielder’s hand, and the single-edge blade was slightly curved. It was a bit too long for me to hold with one hand, but it was definitely a saber of some kind. 

In addition, true to the metal’s name, the steel blade had a blue sheen to it. 

According to my AR, the material was called kobold alloy blue steel. But the kobold alloy kitchen knife I had was the same color as ordinary metal… 

Well, there was no point in nitpicking about the materials of a parallel world. 

I gave a light practice swing to test the balance. It weighed about the same as an ordinary steel sword. 

Then, taking a breath, I readied the blue-steel sword in front of an ironshell fruit. 

If I used Spellblade, I could ensure that the sword wouldn’t break, but the stats in the AR display indicated that it should be fine either way, so I simply took a swing. 

“Splendid.” 

I somehow lopped the fruit open without breaking the sword. The kobold girl seemed impressed. 

“This is a good weapon.” 

I shook off the traces of sap from the sword, returned it to its scabbard, and handed it back to the young woman. 

“Having seen your skill, I have a favor to ask of you, sir. If you would, I request that you take me to Bolehart, where the dwarves live, or Bolenan Forest, the home of the elves. As a reward, I will give you this blue-steel sword, Bluefang.” 

Speaking quickly and resolutely, the girl held it out toward me with one hand. 

Considering how heavy that thing was, she had to be strong. 

“Do you mind if I ask your reason?” 

From her tone, I didn’t think she was planning to bring trouble to the elf village or anything, but if it was an urgent errand, she probably wouldn’t want to accompany us on our easygoing sightseeing journey. 

If that was the case, she’d be better off borrowing an elder sparrow from the forest giants and flying there alone. 

After warning me she couldn’t speak about it here, the girl brought Liza and me to the back of the factory to explain. 

“The reason I asked to travel with you is that it would be too difficult for us to get to Bolenan Forest alone.” 

Right, there were only three kobolds here. The girl was a low level, too, so she needed a bodyguard. 

“Why do you want to see the elves of Bolenan Forest?” 

“Because the very existence of the kobolds is at stake.” 

“Existence?” 

“When a kobold child is born, a gemstone called a blue crystal is needed, but our mines have all run dry.” 

The mines dried up…? 

Hmm? Could it be…? 

“Is that why the silver mines in Kuhanou County were attacked?” 

“That’s right. Baron Muno’s magistrate told us that there were blue crystals hidden deep in those silver mines.” 

The magistrate… Isn’t that the hell demon? 

I wonder if I can search that on the map? 

It would be rough to investigate the mountains at random, so even if I could find sources of ore nearby, that would make the search easier. 

“So are blue crystals always found near silver veins?” 

“No, there’s no guarantee of that. However, the elves or dwarves should surely have access to them in their bluesilver mines.” 

Blue steel, bluesilver, blue crystals… These guys really like blue. 

If it were green like my mithril sword, would it be called greensilver? 

“The crystals have a beautiful color, like the leaves of the Mountain-Tree,” she said, indicating the deep-evergreen foliage. 

Maybe their perception of color was different? 

I reached into the back of my robe, pulled out the mithril dagger from Storage, and showed it to her. 

“Is this made of bluesilver, then?” 

“Ooh, what a beautiful dagger. Yes, surely that’s the source of its lovely blue color.” 

In other words, then, they had to find a mithril vein. 

Figuring I might as well, I searched the mountains of the Muno Barony for mithril veins. 

First, I tried the nearest mountain to the village as the target, but I didn’t find anything there. 

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but… Oh right! If I remembered correctly, there had been papers about proposed mine sites in the Lesser Garage Bag I found in the haunted fortress. 

In the documents, I discovered a description of a possible vein within the large forest. 

It was a wide area for a search, so I checked the mountains in the forest one by one until I discovered a mithril vein in the third one. 

And in a cave at the bottom of the mithril vein, I found the blue crystals in question. 

Now, how would I explain this to her…? 

Time for my “Fabrication” skill to go to work. 

“I don’t know whether there are blue crystals there, but I do happen to know of a mithril vein.” 

“R-really?!” 

“Yeah, a mysterious man calling himself ‘the masked hermit’ told me about it.” 

I drew a map in the dirt to the mountain where the vein was located. 

“The hermit lives in this mountain. He explained that he was searching for a mithril mine to obtain a powerful sword.” 

“Then if I give him this one…” 

The kobold girl leaped up joyfully, but then she paused. 

“No, that won’t work. I’ve already promised to give it to you. And all I have other than that are some tools…” 

What a conscientious girl. 

“The only thing I did was give you information. If you feel you must pay me, perhaps you could spare a tool made of blue steel?” 

“Are you sure that’s enough?” 

“Yeah, definitely.” 

The girl left to make preparations to travel to the mountain, so I began to brainstorm how to make my little tale a reality. 

I should probably go to the mountain tonight and create a tunnel to the blue crystals there. It would be an easy matter if I used my Pitfall spell. 

Then I could make a log cabin at the entrance of the tunnel and leave a carved wooden mask inside with a paper handing over the vein to the next person to find it. Since she might not be able to read Shigan letters, I’d have to place some mithril ore and blue crystals with it, too. 

Tonight’s going to be a busy night. 

As it turned out, things were busy even before night fell. 

After we’d drawn out the liquor from the ironshells and carved out samples of the fruit with small knives, the plant workers and I heard a thud and felt the ground shake. 

Braidbeard, the giant who’d been on an expedition outside the barrier, had returned. 

“I HAVE BROUGHT THE HEAD OF A HYDRA, GNOME. USE IT TO MAKE MEDICINE.” 

The thirty-foot-tall giant loomed outside the workshop. As his name suggested, he had an impressively woven beard. 

A little gnome came tumbling out of the alchemy store next to the workshop. 

Then, as he examined the hydra head the giant had placed on the ground, he shook his own head sorrowfully. 

“Lord Braidbeard, I cannot use this head. Since the poison glands have been destroyed, the venom I need to create the material has drained away…” 

“WHAT?!” 

The gnome quivered before the irrational anger of the giant. The other people of the village, too, shuddered at the giant’s incensed roar. 

Even Liza looked ready to faint, so I supported her with an arm. 

Quickly, I checked the hydra corpse I had in Storage. 

It was no good. Since the heads had been smashed to bits, there were no venom glands remaining. 

…No, it was too soon to give up. The poison itself was the key here. 

“Sir Gnome, would you happen to have any Black Warped Stone?” 

“Why would I have such an impractical ingredient? I don’t know who you are, but I’m busy right now.” 

Just as I thought… 

“Sir Swordsman, I do.” 

A spriggan man came forward and said he would go and get it from his house. An onlooker told me that he was a prospector who searched for ore and gemstones. 

“Sir Gnome. I am Satou, a peddler currently imposing upon the home of Sir Lank. I have in my possession Dragon Stone and Serpent’s Blood Stone. If that spriggan gentleman is kind enough to bring back some Black Warped Stone, you should be able to create a universal antidote, correct?” 

I grinned broadly as I spoke, but the gnome’s face was still pale. 

“I’m sorry. I have not the skills to make such an advanced medicine. My master would likely be able to, but…” 

This was unexpected. It hadn’t occurred to me that he wouldn’t be able to make it. 

I had no choice, then. I couldn’t bear to make the suffering children wait until someone could get another hydra head. 

“…Let me make it, then. I may not look the part, but I have studied under the witch of the Forest of Illusions. I have no doubt that I can succeed.” 

After that, I received a large bag full of Black Warped Stone from the spriggan man, and I gave him three intermediate health potions as compensation. Despite his being a prospector, he didn’t seem to be a very greedy man. 

Borrowing the alchemy shop’s equipment, I was able to make three small casks’ worth of antidote: universal. The reason I made it by the cask was to account for the forest giants’ large build. 

Liza and I rode on Braidbeard’s shoulder to the Mountain-Tree. 

Even though he was walking slowly, the size of his strides meant that he was moving as fast as a car. 

Since Liza was afraid of heights, she clung onto me during the entire trip. It was adorable. I would never have expected it from her. 

On our way to the Mountain-Tree, a fruit came falling from above, but the giant Braidbeard simply caught it deftly in his hand. 

Returning to the living quarters of the forest giants, Braidbeard told Stonehammer and the others that he had the antidote, and we went to the children’s room. 

Stonehammer and the other forest giants followed behind us. 

The tremors on the ground were something else. The brownies working in the forest giants’ neighborhood were rolling and tumbling all around below us. 

“MEDICINE. FOR THE CHILDREN.” 

“WHO IS THE HUMANFOLK BOY?” 

“HE MADE THE MEDICINE.” 

“HUMANFOLK MEDICINE? I’M NOT SURE…” 

It was only natural that a mother would be reluctant to give her child medicine made by a random stranger. 

“SIR SATOU IS AN ATTENDANT OF THE ELF LADY MIA. YOU CAN TRUST HIM.” 

Although Stonehammer vouched for me, the mothers still seemed unconvinced. 

“THEN I WILL TASTE IT FIRST.” 

I spoke up in the giants’ language, scooped out a dose of the medicine with a vial, and drank it down. 

This convinced them at last, and the giant mothers gave the medicine to their children. The children were upward of sixteen feet tall, so it was a remarkable sight. 

Having drunk the medicine, the children lay down limply on their beds. 

This should have healed them, but their Poisoned status didn’t go away. 

A dejected silence fell on the forest giants as they watched over the children. 

…That’s strange. I’m sure I made the medicine properly. Didn’t I? 

As if in answer to my question, the children’s breathing stabilized, and their faces cleared. 

Perhaps because the children were so large and the poison so severe, the antidote took some time to go into effect. 

At last, their status in the AR display changed from Poison/Hydra [Chronic] to Asleep. 

Having been poisoned for so long, their bodies were probably weakened and exhausted. 

Shortly afterward, the gnome who seemed to be the attending physician confirmed with his “Analyze Person” skill that the children were no longer poisoned. 

I received hugs and kisses of thanks from each of the mothers in turn, which only reminded me how much bigger they were than me. 

My body got all sticky, and their busts were many sizes larger than Miss Karina’s and threatened to suffocate me. The only thing I felt was that I could really use a nap. 

> Title Acquired: Friend of the Giants 

When the forest giants calmed down, their chief, Stonehammer, gave me his thanks. 

“WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HELP. IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU WISH FOR, YOU NEED ONLY ASK. IF IT IS WITHIN OUR POWER, WE WILL GLADLY GRANT IT.” 

For a moment, Miss Karina’s face came to mind, but I didn’t mention her request. 

It seemed inexcusable to ask the forest giants to go to a humanfolk city and drive out a hell demon when there were only ten of them. If it came down to it, it’d be easier if I put on my silver mask and took care of it myself. 

“YOU SEE, A HELL DEMON IS RUNNING RAMPANT IN MY FRIEND’S HOMETOWN—” 

“VERY WELL. FOR YOUR SAKE, WE SHALL GLADLY SET OUT AND FIGHT THIS DEMON.” 

Braidbeard cut into the middle of my sentence to volunteer. His bearded face looked truly impressive. 

“NO, THAT WOULD BE FAR TOO MUCH TO ASK, I BELIEVE. I WISH ONLY TO INQUIRE IF YOU MIGHT LEND ME SOME WEAPON OR TOOL THAT MIGHT WEAKEN A HELL DEMON, IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE SUCH A THING?” 

“IN THAT CASE, WE DO INDEED HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE OF USE. IT IS KNOWN AS THE DEMON-SEALING BELL, CRAFTED LONG AGO IN THE FLUE KINGDOM. IT IS SAID A SINGLE SWING WILL REVEAL THE DEMON’S IDENTITY AND TEMPORARILY LESSEN ITS POWER.” 

That sounded like a good deal to me. It might be the perfect item for Miss Karina. 

I felt like I’d heard the name “Flue Kingdom” before, so I checked in Storage and found the currency of that area in my spoils from the Valley of Dragons. It wasn’t the Orc Empire the old folks’ leader had mentioned before. 

A group of gnomes came forward with two wagons full of handbells and magic weapons. 

The weapons included swords, spears, axes, and bows. My AR display informed me that they were all well made. 

Along with the handbell, there was a large sword, a battle-ax, and a longbow that were leagues above my weapons in performance, except for my Holy Swords. 

“CHOOSE ANY WEAPON YOU LIKE. WHILE WE CANNOT GIVE ALL OF THEM TO YOU, ANY ONE SHOULD SERVE YOU WELL.” 

Hmm… The sword wasn’t as strong as my Holy Swords, and I wasn’t really into battle-axes. But you couldn’t go wrong with a long-distance physical attack, so I decided to go with the bow. 

“THEN, IF I MAY, THIS SCARLET LONGBOW—” 

“SO THAT IS YOUR CHOICE…,” Stonehammer murmured in a voice steeped with emotion. “THE MAGIC SWORDSMAN WHO PRESENTED US WITH THAT MAGIC BOW WAS A SPRIGGAN WHO ACQUIRED IT AS PROOF HE HAD DEFEATED A POWERFUL MONSTER CALLED A FLOORMASTER.” 

As he spoke of the Magic Bow’s history, the giant took it from the wagon and skillfully drew its string with the tip of his fingernail. 

So it was a drop from a mini-boss in a labyrinth? No wonder it seemed so powerful, then. 

“THIS BOW CAN PIERCE ROCK FROM A GREAT DISTANCE AWAY, EVEN HARM A DRAGON’S SCALES…” 

Stonehammer released the string, and the vibration created a mysterious sound. 

“AND THUS, IT CHOOSES ITS OWN MASTER.” 

Staring down at me with expectation in his eyes, Stonehammer handed me the bow. 

“LITTLE CHILD, SATOU. LET US SEE YOU DRAW ITS BOWSTRING.” 

I accepted the highly decorated Magic Bow. It was made of an enchanted red metal called scarletite, with an orichalcum string that glowed gold. 

When I tried giving it a light tug, the resistance surprised me. 

This time, I took correct posture and drew it in earnest. I was worried that the string might break, but that turned out to be a needless concern. 

When I fully drew the string and let it loose toward the sky, a buzz arose among the giants and attendants. 

> Title Acquired: Powerful Bowman 

> Title Acquired: Magic Archer 

> Title Acquired: Magic-Bow Master 

“ADMIRABLY DONE! THIS MAGIC BOW NOW BELONGS TO YOU.” 

“I WILL BE SURE TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT.” 

Stonehammer nodded with satisfaction and pointed at the bow. 

“IT APPEARS THAT THE BOW HAS ACCEPTED YOU AS ITS NEW MASTER, AS WELL.” 

I didn’t necessarily believe the giant’s dramatic claim, but for whatever reason, I did notice a slight glow from the patterns on the weapon. 

“IT SEEMS YOU ARE QUITE SKILLED, SATOU. I IMAGINE YOU MAY HAVE USED SOME FORM OF STRENGTH-ENHANCING SKILL, BUT NEVERTHELESS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS THAT ANYONE BUT A GIANT HAS BEEN ABLE TO DRAW THAT BOWSTRING.” 

“I NEVER IMAGINED THAT ANYONE BUT US WOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT.” 

The other giants praised me, too, grinning heartily. 

Around then, the little giants came in with casks of wine to celebrate the children’s recovery, and the conversation turned toward holding a banquet. 

“WE SHALL HAVE A GREAT FEAST THIS NIGHT. LET US INVITE EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE FOR A GRAND CELEBRATION!” 

“YES!” 

The giants seemed uncharacteristically excited, probably due to the children’s recovery. 

Though the banquet was decided suddenly, there was no shortage of participants or food from the village. 

Miss Karina didn’t participate, but Whitefinger brought my kids along. 

We sat as guests of honor at the head table next to the giants. Amusingly, given the enormous meat, fruit, and other dishes surrounding us, we felt as if we’d been shrunk. 

Tama and Pochi grinned widely as they made an impressive attack on a piece of meat that was bigger than both of them. 

Apparently envious, the other kids started taking bites out of it, and soon they were smiling, too. 

Of course, I joined in on the fun, laughing as we tore off big bites of the enormous hunk. It was good to cut loose once in a while. 

There were a few minor accidents, too. Once, Arisa and Mia clambered around on a giant fruit, scooping out pieces, and plunged into the center. They nearly drowned in the juice. 

When I mentioned between joking with the forest giants that I’d like a piece of the Mountain-Tree fruit as a souvenir, they were happy to oblige. 

They were getting pretty drunk, so they cheerfully informed me that I could take half of the fruits from the top of the tree where the elder sparrows lived. 

I think they were mostly joking, but they might’ve been serious, too. 

With a small cask of high-quality liquor from Sedum City under one arm, I mingled with all kinds of people. 

I learned the birdfolk language and pantherfolk language, and they told me all about their home on the eastern continent. 

A small weaselfolk hunter even offered us a spare boat, so we’d be able to enjoy a trip across the lake and downriver on our way back. 

In exchange for the boat, we agreed to take care of a sixty-foot-long monster called a lake snake that lived outside the barrier. My map told me it was only around level 20, which meant defeating it wouldn’t reveal my power. I had no problem accepting his request. 

It would take them about three days to outfit the boat, so it was decided that we’d continue sightseeing throughout the village in the meantime. 

After the banquet ended, I got the dryad to transport me to the top of the Mountain-Tree, where I harvested about half the fruits, mostly the ones liable to break off and fall. 

When I’d traveled about two-thirds of the way around the top of the giant tree, I remembered the kobold’s mining expedition. 

“Are you there, dryad?” 

I knocked on the trunk of the Mountain-Tree, and the nude, green little girl appeared on top. 

“What’s up?” 

“Sorry, but can you transport me to that nearby mountain over there?” 

“Sure! As long as I can get some seconds, of course.” 

I pointed at the mountain where the mithril vein was, and the dryad cheerfully agreed. 

Of course, she had to leech my magic supply with her lips again, but I was drunk enough that I didn’t really pay it any mind. 

Excavating a mining tunnel with magic alone, as I’d planned, proved unexpectedly difficult. 

As I worked, I came across stones and bedrock that prevented me from using the Pitfall spell to create holes. 

I put the stones away in Storage and hewed my way through the bedrock with the help of Magic Arrows and Holy Swords. 

> Skill Acquired: “Mining” 

> Title Acquired: Prospector 

> Title Acquired: Miner 

> Title Acquired: Mining Engineer 

With the support of my new skills, I was able to come up with optimal methods using the tools and magic I had on hand. 

In order to prevent cave-ins, I dug the tunnel in a spiral and carefully avoided accidentally digging into the wall of the tunnel. I used a warhammer to create footholds along the sides. 

Then I just had to keep repeating the process. 

Along the way, I found mithril, silver, and even cobalt ore. The cobalt ore was toxic, so it would be dangerous for anyone who didn’t have poison resistance like me. 

After an hour or so, I’d reached the cavern with the blue crystals. 

And when I emerged into that hollow… 

“So these are blue crystals? …They’re beautiful.” 

…I saw a sight so fantastic that I couldn’t help murmuring to myself. 

I had seen crystalline caverns in TV specials before, but rather than reflecting the light around them, these blue minerals were glowing from within. 

…No, wait. It wasn’t the crystals that were glowing. 

I took one clump of the blue crystals and collected the glowing white light stones underneath. If I crushed these, I could create light powder, an LED-like material used in creating illumination-type magic tools. 

It was a mystery why there would be light stones so deep underground. 

According to my documents, they were found only in places deep in the mountains with a strong light source… 

Well, I’d leave that kind of investigation to scholars. 

I’d found my goal and gained an extra prize while I was at it, so I left the cavern and covered the entrance with a clearly marked rock. I’d just realized that exposing the blue crystals to air could degrade their quality. 

Once I got back to the surface, I decided to build a small log cabin at the entrance to the tunnel. 

With the help of my high strength stat, my “Logging” skill, and the outlandishly sharp Holy Sword Excalibur, gathering the lumber took only about five minutes. Of course, that was because Storage was excellent for transporting it. 

Then, with the additional help of my “Woodworking” skill and new “Construction” skill, I completed the log cabin in no time at all. Honestly, there should be a limit to how much cheating I can do. 

I furnished it with a desk I’d bought in Sedum City and left a paper on it with the same mark I’d drawn on the entrance to the cave. I weighted it with a blue crystal and a chunk of mithril ore. 

Nobody seemed to live around this mountain, so in order to make it easier for the kobolds to find the place, I cut down a few trees and set them aflame. I took care to ensure that it wouldn’t start a forest fire, of course. 

 

“Good morning. You look unusually tired, master.” 

“Good morning, Lulu. I ended up working through most of the night, that’s all.” 

It was our twentieth morning in the Muno Barony. When I returned to the Mountain-Tree banquet hall, wearing an innocent expression, Lulu’s cheerful smile greeted me. She must have enjoyed herself at the banquet yesterday; that grin was enough to overcome my exhaustion from the all-nighter. 

We were at the site of yesterday’s feast with the people of the village. The goal was to have the leftovers as breakfast. 

“You must’ve worked hard, master. Would you like some yellow peach juice?” 

“Thank you, Lulu.” 

I sipped the drink Lulu handed to me, made from one of the Mountain-Tree’s fruits. It was delicious and refreshing. 

Just then, the younger kids returned with their plates full of food. 

“Burning the midnight oil…? Don’t tell me you were cavorting with giant ladies all night!” 

“Mrrr, lewd.” 

I told them the same thing I’d told Lulu, yet somehow they managed to misunderstand. 

“I didn’t do anything shady; it was just normal manual labor.” 

I parried their baseless accusations. 

That’s what I get for working my ass off to protect the town from falling fruit and save the kobold race from possible extinction. 

“S-Satou…” 

I turned toward the voice that had called my name and saw Miss Karina. Her color was much better than yesterday. Whitefinger must have brought her here. 

She stood with her hands folded in front of her, speaking quietly. A good night’s sleep must have calmed her. 

“After our talk, I consulted with Mr. Raka for a while, but we still have no idea what they might want us to do. Which is why…” 

Then she met my gaze directly and firmly for the first time. 

“I think I shall speak to Sir Stonehammer myself. If the forest giants wish for anything from the outside world, perhaps I can ask them to help me get rid of the hell demon in return. Surely there must be something they desire.” 

Miss Karina’s bearing was determined. 

“It is just as you say, Lady Karina. As long as you do not give up, a path will surely open for you.” 

Raka warmly encouraged her decision. 

…Right, I guess she must not have heard about the poisoned children, since she wasn’t here yesterday. 

The other kids, who already knew, shifted uncomfortably in their seats. 

I made eye contact with Arisa to silently ask, You haven’t talked to her yet? and just as I’d expected, she shook her head. 

“So I would like you to help me collect information as well, if you might.” 

Ah, she’s back to calling me “you.” What was up with the first-name treatment earlier? 

“As a peddler, you are undoubtedly skilled at entering social circles, Sir Satou.” 

I hated to discourage Miss Karina when she was trying to be proactive, but I had to tell her, especially if I wanted to eat a tasty breakfast anytime soon. 

“About that, actually… Yesterday—” 

At that moment, the forest giant children came tottering over to me. 

“SATOU!” 

“SATOU THE HUMAN.” 

“THANK YOU.” 

Having recovered in just one night, the children showered me with thanks, picking me up gently and rubbing against me with their cheeks. 

Anyone else would probably have some broken ribs after this treatment, but for me it meant only mild discomfort, so I let them do as they liked. 

This continued until the forest giant mothers hurried over and instructed their children to release me. 

“…W-well, it seems you’ve already become quite friendly.” 

Miss Karina raised her eyebrows at the display of affection. 

At this point, I explained the events of the previous day. Once I was finished, Miss Karina pressed her hands to her cheeks and shrieked like that one Munch painting. 

Now that I had revealed everything, my conscience was no longer burdened, and we all enjoyed breakfast. We paid little attention to Miss Karina’s confusing mixture of joy and complaining. 

Then, after breakfast, she struck up another conversation. 

“Say, you, why are you able to do everything so easily?” 

“I just got lucky. I happened to have the medicine they needed, and they asked what I would want in exchange, so I asked for an item that might help you achieve your goal.” 

I held the demon-sealing bell out to Miss Karina as I explained. 

With tears welling up in her eyes, she clasped my hands, magic bell and all. 

“What can the Muno Barony possibly do to thank you? Knighthood? Or perhaps…” 

Miss Karina’s face was approaching. 

“Arisa uses Impenetrable Barrier!” 

“Mm, barrier.” 

At that moment, Arisa and Mia dove in between us, pulling the two of us apart. 

“Master, you mustn’t get so close.” 

“Master, what is our next mission? I inquire.” 

Lulu and Nana tugged on my arms. 

Nana was expressionless as usual, but Lulu was puffing up her cheeks in a rare bout of adorable jealousy. It was enough to make me want to whip my cell phone out of Storage and take a picture, but obviously I restrained myself. 

The others were oddly quiet, so I turned to see Liza on standby with Pochi and Tama held under each arm. 

Now I had to respond to Miss Karina, but I wasn’t sure how… 

Knighthood and aristocracy seemed like a hassle, so perhaps requesting permission to buy Magic Scrolls, like I’d done in Kuhanou County, would be best. 

If I were still the same age as I’d been in my own world, maybe I’d choose the more stable route of wedding a magic-breasted beauty like Miss Karina and becoming a noble. 

But, since I’d regained my youth, I would rather choose to explore and see the sights of this parallel world. 

“As far as my reward, I think I’ll have to ask the baron directly.” 

“Directly…,” Miss Karina repeated, then cleared her throat with a gulp and continued in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s whine. “V-very well. I shall prepare myself, then.” 

She seemed to have misunderstood, but I could probably just resolve that once I met with the baron. 

Looking back at everyone else, I decided it was time to focus on our main goal again. 

“Now, shall we head out to tour the sights of the village?” 

Miss Karina wanted to bring the bell home and defeat the demon right away, but I explained that we would have a boat. It would be faster to wait for the vessel and take it down the river, which would justify our current sightseeing trip. 

If we left now, all our efforts in getting here would be in vain. 

We set off triumphantly, totally forgetting that there would be nobody in the village. 

Thus, we reluctantly changed our destination and took the horses near a herd of unicorns. We even spotted gjallarhorns from a distance. 

According to legends, unicorns would allow only virgins to approach them, but they didn’t seem to mind when I touched them for some reason. 

However, they were just as moody as the legends said, so Mia and I were the only ones who managed to ride on one. 

The gjallarhorns were pure white, mountain goat–looking creatures with horns that bore a strong resemblance to the Holy Sword derived from them. 

They were much more vigilant than the unicorns, and they would flee even when we were so far away that only the sharp-eyed Tama and Pochi could catch a glimpse of them. 

They had the race-specific inherent skills of “Short-Range Teleportation” and “Flight,” so it was unlikely that we’d be able to get anywhere near them. 

After that, we devoted the next two days until the boat was ready to touring the village. 

We stopped by a workshop that processed fruit skins and tried our hands at textile manufacturing. There, we acquired some elastic thread made from the skin of the rubbery bouncer fruit, which Arisa and I used to make socks and underwear that were more like the modern styles we were used to. 

I also tried out armor crafted from the rind of the ironshell fruit and hydra leather. Both made for light armor with excellent resistance to shock and blades, so I made some for everybody, not just the vanguard group. 

For the rearguard, I designed an inner bodysuit for emergencies, which should be more than enough protection in combination with their leather armor. 

As for the advance guard, their armor now had better defense than full-plate mail. 

During our two days of tourism, the situation around Muno City began to change a little. 

On our twenty-second day in the Muno Barony, as I did my usual morning check, I noticed an army of fifteen hundred had deployed from Muno City. 

That might not sound like much, but given the low population of the territory, the number was suspiciously high. 

One of the possessed knights led the group. The doppelgänger responsible for this could use Psychic Magic, which might explain why all the soldiers were under the Frenzied status. 

Judging by the direction of their march, their goal was most likely to subdue a large band of almost seven hundred bandits who had set up a base in the large forest. 

However, since the soldiers all had more bounties than the bandits they were going after, it was hard to tell who the real villains were. 

The next morning was our twenty-third day in the Muno Barony. 

After our daily spell-chanting practice, I took another look at what the demon was up to and noticed something strange. 

There was a hell-demon doppelgänger in the goblin settlement inside the large forest, but what was really strange was the number of goblins. 

Ten days ago, there had been about seven hundred and fifty of them, but now there were over twenty times more. That seemed impossible, but—maybe it was the gabo fruit? There had been a town that was mass-producing them. 

And if I remembered correctly, the gabo fruit was discovered during investigations into an exploding goblin population. 

If the demon had been working behind the scenes to breed them, then this number might make sense. 

These goblins were starting to move toward Muno City, separating into three large armies as they did so. 

And the army that would normally be protecting the city was currently in the forest, doing battle with the bandits. 

The kid bandits and the old folks should be far enough out of the way to be safe, but the villages closer to Muno City could be in serious danger. 

And since the demon was probably responsible for this proliferation, there was no telling whether Muno City itself would be safe behind its walls. 

There were just under a hundred soldiers left in the city. Miss Karina’s family was there, too, so it would probably be best to go to alert the citizens of the danger right away. 





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