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TL: ALT
Chapter 173 – Day 4 of Management Life
We run from the foot of the mountain toward the dungeon of the military base. Sylvia follows without complaint. She doesn’t complain, but she keeps making a “mm” sound. Maybe she’s worried about something.
“Is something wrong?”
“Hmm, mm. Is Makyo planning to use those skeletons as crew members for the trading ships?”
“Yeah. They’re pirates, so I figured they could at least sail a ship.”
“P-pirates are pirates. They’re better at stealing than transporting cargo.”
“Are you saying I should let them do what they’re good at?”
“T-that’s not what I mean. We need to consider what will happen to the cargo in rough seas and how long it will take to pass through dangerous waters. Otherwise, the cargo will rot.”
“You’re right. Having a route is not enough. What matters is what’s in the cargo…”
“W-what do you really think about it, Makyo?”
There’s no point in hiding it from Sylvia.
“Hm? Actually, I don’t care about the trade route. I’d rather find out what happened to the giant turtle in the sea and tell the others in the demonic land. It’s sad that it’s still traveling through time without a head.”
“Ah, I see…”
“If possible, I want to find its weakness before the next giant magical beast appears and stop it. The Keeper of Time asked me to stop the giant magical beast. I want to fulfill his wish. Is that weird?”
“N-no, that’s just like you, Makyo. I understand. I won’t tell Jennifer.”
After that, Sylvia followed me without saying a word.
Around noon, when we arrived at the dungeon of the military base, Chel was waiting for us, grilling a large piece of bird meat.
“You took so long that I was about to come look for you.”
“I found traces of a port town and some pirate skeletons, so I went to take care of things.”
“Did you overcome the ghosts?”
“Fu-fufufu, not at all. He almost destroyed the town’s ruins.”
Sylvia stopped me just in time.
“Haa…”
Chel looked at me in exasperation.
Ka-Ryu came over, so I held her in my arms and infused her with my magic. The hardness of her chest reminded me that she was a woman.
“Thank you.”
“Are you still blind?”
“Don’t say that. Neither Saketsu nor I have been slacking off.”
Saketsu came up from behind.
“Makyo-san! It looks like it will take a little longer to master the technique.”
“Yeah, take your time. Just make sure you eat properly. Saketsu isn’t a golem; you need to get your energy from food.”
“Yes, Chel-san brought enough food for a week.”
I turned around to praise her for working so hard, but she was standing there with her chest puffed out.
“As expected of Chel, there are drool marks on your robe. Wash it once in a while.”
“Huh? Where? Oh! It’s so dirty. Well, it’s okay. The demonic land is dirty, after all.”
“Chel, clothes are important.”
Sylvia, who rarely scolded Chel, lectured her. Seeing the bones must have made her realize the importance of clothing. Sylvia had also worn slave clothes in the past, so perhaps the story of the bones had touched her deeply.
Hearing this, Chel used her water magic to create a water ball and jumped into it. She must have confused washing clothes with taking a bath. What a strange girl.
“We’ve decided to stay at the military base for a while.
“Don’t cause too much trouble for Gussenbach and the others.”
“Understood.”
Ka-Ryu and Sakketsu nodded.
“Oh, right. Could you ask the golems if they know any techniques for luring giant magical beasts?”
“Giant magical beasts?”
“Apparently, there are tons of turtles that live for a thousand years in the western seas of the demonic land. They’ve grown so big that they’re like islands.”
“Got it. I’ll ask around.”
After that, while we were laughing at Chel drying herself with wind magic and saying, “Looks like I can fly now,” Gussenbach came over to greet us.
“My lord, you seem very busy.”
“The operation of the demonic land is about to begin. We’ve found many dungeons, so there’s no time to rest. I’ll be counting on your cooperation.”
“I’ll do what I can…”
He asked me to share some of my magic, so I replenished it in the magic absorption room.
“Are you staying, Chel?”
“I’m going home. Saketsu! Burn the surface, scrape off the meat, and put it on bread. Here’s the sauce.”
She explained how to prepare the grilled poultry. She was particular about food.
“Thank you very much!”
Ka-Ryu and Saketsu saw us off, and we ran across the desert heading north.
As the sun began to set and the color of the sky changed, we arrived at our cave.
“Ah, you’re finally back.”
Hel was cooking something purple in a pot.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back. I need to talk to you later, but would you like to take a bath first?”
“Sure. Where is everyone else?”
“Jennifer is in the back warehouse sorting wild herbs. Lipa and the dwarves are at the swamp practicing hunting.”
I put my things in my room, then stopped by the warehouse to say hello to Jennifer.
“Good work.”
“Huh? Oh, welcome back. Makyo-san, those two are geniuses.”
“Who are the two? Katan and Kahiman?”
“Yes, they’re very talented. They do more than we ask. Take a look.”
A large quantity of wild herbs hung from the warehouse ceiling to dry. Are they for preserving food?
“It must have been hard to gather all of those.”
“No, most of it was Katan-chan’s work.” Kahiman-kun has good balance. He can carry twice as much as we can on his back. He seems to have gotten used to the nearby forest, so he’s expanding his gathering range. But that means he’s venturing into dangerous areas, too.”
“I see. Make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”
“Yes.”
Jennifer seems happy to have such talented new recruits.
“Make sure to take breaks.”
“Makyo-san, too.”
I left the warehouse, put a towel over my shoulder, and headed for the swamp.
I filled the open-air bath at the edge of the swamp with water and warmed it with fire magic.
Splash.
The tension left my body, and I began to relax. My voice escaped with my fatigue. As I watched the setting sun reflected in the swamp, my mind went blank.
When my mind went blank, I could see everything around me clearly. I could see the swamp, the location of the monsters, and even the dead leaves falling from the branches. I could also see Lipa approaching with the two dwarves.
“Makyo-san, you’re back. I’m glad.”
Lipa ran over.
“Hey, I’m back. Was there a problem?”
“Not really a problem…”
Lipa turned around and looked at the dwarves.
Katan and Kahiman approached with heavy footsteps. Medicinal herbs were plastered from their fingers to their elbows. They looked exhausted.
“Ah, Makyo-san. Welcome back.”
“Thanks for the hard work.”
“Want to take a bath? It feels good.”
“Yes, please.”
“Yes.”
Katan and Kahiman entered the bath fully clothed. They must have been very tired. I got out of the bathtub naked and let them in.
“Lipa, give them some healing potions.”
“Ugh…”
The two dwarves seemed to relax, letting out a sigh.
“I understand what you want to do, but it seems like you don’t have the stamina for it yet.”
Lipa poured healing potions into the bath as she explained the situation to them. Indeed, both of them looked more toned.
“Your bodies are becoming suited to the demonic land. If you push yourselves too hard, you’ll get injured.”
“We did.”
Kahiman showed his right arm. It was broken, but Hel had healed it with a potion.
Katan said her fingernails were peeling off, too, and she couldn’t use her fingertips properly.
“Aren’t you wearing gloves?”
“The sap from the plants is poisonous and makes me lose all feeling.”
“You should pick them with your bare hands and wash them with water…”
Both of them sighed deeply.
“How about rubbing palm tree sap on your hands when you pick the plants? It hardens quickly, so the poison won’t stick to your hands.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea! I’ll try it!”
“You have to try everything…”
“Well, I’ll try it next time.”
“I want to be useful in the demonic land, but I’m just running around in circles.”
The two of them had been ostracized in the dwarf village.
“Even if you can’t be useful right away, we won’t ostracize or kick you out, so take your time adjusting to the demonic land.” Are you eating properly? If you’re not eating enough, you can eat the dried meat in the back.”
“I’m getting enough to eat…”
“I just don’t know how to move like Makyo-san.”
It seems like they both want to work like me.
“Ah, that’s impossible. No one can be like Makyo-san. There’s no point in trying. It’s better to do what you’re good at and what you can do.”
Lipa said this as if it were nothing. He was right.
“You two can take tomorrow off. Jennifer hasn’t caught up on her sorting. Rest your bodies, eat plenty, and get lots of sleep.”
“Okay.”
“Okay… Oh!”
The water in the bathtub turned purple around Katan.
“Oh no! I’m sorry!”
It seemed she had put a potato in her pocket. Katan had a habit of picking up things that fell on the floor, so there was nothing she could do about it.
“Oh, is this what Hel was boiling in the pot?”
When Katan handed me the potato, purple juice oozed out of it.
“If you don’t boil it well, it’s bitter and makes your tongue numb. However, it contains more magic than it looks like, and monsters love to eat it,” said Katan.
“I see. Both of you, come up for a moment. I’ll change the water right away.”
“I’m sorry…”
Katan was quite dejected.
“I’m not angry. You just have to learn to live with your quirks.”
I poured the purple water into the swamp and boiled more water using water and fire magic. Then, I filled the bathtub again.
“You might as well do your laundry while you’re at it.”
I told the two dwarves this and started climbing the hill while changing clothes.
“Did you tell Jennifer-san to leave?”
Lipa, who had followed me, suddenly asked.
“Yeah. When Jennifer first came to the demonic land, she wouldn’t listen to me. She had a strong desire to die. She was a nuisance, so I told her to go die somewhere else.”
“I see. Is that so?”
“Is something wrong?”
“Jennifer-san said, ‘If you don’t work, you’ll be kicked out.'”
“Everyone is different, so what they say is different. Other people are like mirrors. It depends on whether the person does things that would make others say that to them.” Would I tell the dwarves, who are working so hard, to ‘work harder’? No, I wouldn’t. I might suggest they change their approach, though.”
“Is it because the focus of their efforts is different?”
“That’s right. This is a demonic land, so the times and circumstances in which you have to work hard are different from those in the outside world. Sometimes you have to use your head, and sometimes you can’t move forward without using your magical powers. There are limits to what you can achieve with brute force. It’s not a place where you can get by with just your feelings. Right?”
“Ah, that’s why the palm tree sap is used.”
It’s all about how you use things. The demonic land is a place where you never know what’s going on, so it’s better to do what you want to do.
Dinner was ready at the bonfire in front of the cave. Long, thin bread was also baking. The freshly baked bread smelled delicious.
“By the way, Hel, you said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yeah, I want to build a waterway to the genetics research institute dungeon. Also, the Arachne are going to make some sturdy clothes. The fabric is ready. It seems that the monsters in the north are up to something, so I’d like you to investigate. That’s about it. Oh, one more thing: The strange noises from the northwest are getting louder.
“I see. Good luck!
“Makyo, I’m counting on you. You’re the lord, aren’t you?”
“Listen. I only have one body.”
“Really? I think you can split yourself in two by now!”
The women laughed as they dipped bread into purple soup and ate.
It seems like they’re trying to kill me by overworking me.
“Lipa, I take back what I said. Reduce my workload before you do what you want!”
My scream faded into the starry sky.
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