Chapter 30

Chapter 30: That time when I went back home to the village

During our lunch break, I decided to speak with the boss while everyone else was eating their meal.

Boss, Id like to take a three-day leave starting tomorrow

Ou, is it about the rumored girlfriend of yours? It sure is nice being young!

He said that in a loud enough that everyone else heard it. Their smirking faces were ticking me off but Ill just ignore them.

Ive been working at the same place for almost thirty days now so Ive become pretty close with the guys there. After that discussion, we left the diner and went back to our work. At that time,

Since youre leaving, take us to the red-light district already

Kitsune-san kept hitting my back while saying that. A lot of things happened so we didnt have any opportunity to go to Sweet Memory. Even though they know that theres a certain extent of danger in going there, it seems like they still want to go. Theyre already starting to become restless.

Well, although you say together, Im not going to avail their services so all that Ill be doing is accompanying you

Itll be fi~ne. She wont find out

Nonono. Tsuno-san, you can only say that since you dont know her

Th-theyre right. You should just do it so that you can experience the taste of other women

The taste of other women, you say Thats pretty rude you know, Macho-san

After saying that, we went back to work. We encountered no particular problems so we were able to finish in no time at all.

Ill be going back tomorrow so I should go and buy a souvenir. Because of that, I decided to take a different path going back to my apartment. For my parents, Ill just get them a spice set. I remember Suzuran asking if it looked good on her that time when I gave her a hair ornament so I decided to get her a pair of silver earrings.

Im not sure if she just thinks that its not necessary to dress up or shes not interested in that kind of thing but Ive only seen her wear accessories a few times. She wasnt even wearing the hair ornament I gave every day. She just wears it during festival days or something like that.

If its this, then I think it would suit her black hair so I dont have any particular problems in choosing it. I should ask Mirs advice on what to get for Suzuran next time I come back. Shes always wearing some kind of accessory so Im sure shed have some kind of idea what to get her. I mean, I dont even know the size of Suzurans finger in the first place so I wouldnt be able to buy her a ring.

Getting back to my room, all thats left is to complete my preparations for tomorrow. When I informed the landlady that I would be away for about three days, she said.

Ill just sell all of your belongings if you dont come back so you dont have to worry about rent

I was only able to let out a strained laugh to that while convincing myself that it was just a joke. Its really hard to get this person to open up. Its like shes putting up a thick wall or something.

The sun has risen and I was making my breakfast and lunch while waiting for the gates to open. I didnt get to take that many breaks on my way to this town but this time, Im going to take my time going back.

Oh, dont you have work today?

Yeah. Ill be going back to my village for a bit. I was told by my girlfriend that we have to meet once every thirty days so I have to go back

I see. Im sorry to say this but youll still have to pay the toll fee once you come back. Make sure you dont leave your money at home, okay? Also, make sure you properly flirt with your girlfriend while youre there. Its much better than spending all your money at the red-light district

We continued with that trivial exchange for a while. Id like to think that Ive already gotten pretty close with the gatekeeper-san since we are already able to do something like this.

I reached the halfway point towards the village and, although its a bit early, I decided to take a break and have my lunch. While I was resting, I noticed goblin monster was lying in wait in the thicket. After confirming that no one else was around, I created a Stone Bullet and shot it at the goblin.

*Pew!* 1

You could hear the sound of the bullet tearing through the wind.

*Thud*

Without even letting out a scream, it fell forward and only its upper body was sticking out from the thicket. Everything above the mouth was blown to bits so I wont be able to sell it. However, if I just think of it as some kind of experimentation fee then its pretty cheap since I havent used this magic against monsters before.

Ill need to destroy the evidence after this. If I just leave it as is, wild animals and other monsters around here would deal with it but because it fell over at a place that is visible from the gazebo, I have to do that. Dragging it away by its feet would have been a pain so I just used the magic Fireball to reduce it to cinders.

Its just a normal fireball this time, not an extra-large one2

Nobody else is here so I tried saying that. I guess I should experiment with fire and water compound magic later.

Aside from that goblin, I didnt encounter any other monsters as I approached the village. I wonder if I should consider my peaceful journey home a good thing.

As I got closer to the village, I heard somebody call my name.

Oooiii! Caam

Even though I can only see the tip, Im sure that it came from the watchtower. I cant see that far but I think that was Schinken so Ill wave my hand for now.

As I continued walking, Schinken approached me.

Its been a while. Did your arms get thicker? What kind of work are you doing?

We can just talk later. I mean, youre still in the middle of work, right?

Its fine if its just this much. Standing watch at the watchtower gets pretty dull at times so its inevitable for me to have free time

Even if it gets dull, you still need to be vigilant

After having that light exchange, I decided to head straight home.

Im back

Nobodys here. Thats pretty sad Well, the suns still high up so I guess thats natural. Ill just leave the souvenir I bought on the table and went out to meet Suzuran. She was taking care of the birds like usual so I called out to her.

Im back

Then, she ran up to me and said,

Welcome back

Why does it feel like somethings out of place.

You came back earlier than I expected expected. I thought it would still take 5 more days for you to return

Huh? Why is this girl suddenly talking like this?

Ah. The place Im working at right now hires by the day so I take a day off after working for a few days. It just so happens that today is one of those days so thats why I was able to come back earlier. Heres your souvenir

Thanks

She doesnt usually smile like this before. I wonder what happened.

Youve started talking a lot more, huh. I wouldnt have thought youd change this much in just 30 days

Un. Thats because I had to take care of the chickens. Once they lay their eggs, a lot of people want to buy them. I had to speak more than usual because of that. I also realized that I havent been talking to Caam that much so you would not be able to understand the things I want to say if I stayed like that

Woah. Ive never heard her speak that many sentences before.

The onee-san talking in charge of the ponds told me. I should speak more since I have a beautiful voice

Oohh we also have her to thank for this, dont we?

Ah, about this souvenir, I just bought this since Suzuran doesnt dress up all that much. That doesnt mean Ill get you something like this every time I come back. This is just to commemorate the first time I earned money in town.

It was slightly embarrassing to say that but I had to make sure I get my feelings across.

Thanks. Is it okay for me to open it?

I nodded. Even though her actions werent anything special, I still thought it was really cute. I think she would be even cuter if she was a bit shorter than me and with upturned eyes but that might be asking for too much.

While I was thinking about that, she opened the paper bag and put an earring on one ear.

How does it look?

She combed her hair back so that she could show it to me. That gesture made my heart skip a beat.

Yeah, it suits you

That was all that I could say while pretending to be calm.

I thought she would just wear both of it right now but she took it off, put it back in the bag and said,

Ill put this in my room so you can just wait in the living room

After saying that, I just entered Suzurans house which is Im already accustomed to by now. Well, she doesnt usually wear accessories like that so it cant be helped.

After waiting a while, she came back carrying tea. It the tea that Ive gotten used to drinking whenever I come here. Its nice since Ive only been drinking chamomile tea in town.

While drinking tea, I told her what happened during my close to 30-day stay in town.

So you won a fight against 4 people. Caam doesnt usually like to fight so thats quite rare coming from you

Thats because the person living in the room above mine and the one next door told me, Its fine as long as you dont kill them. Just settle it already. Before I actually fought them, I already ran away twice. Its just that they were really persistent so thats how it ended up

Before I noticed it, its already evening and Ricoris-san has already returned.

Ara, its been a while

Ah, sorry for the intrusion

After that, we continued talking even more.

You know, while Caam-kun was away, our daughter has become a lot more talkative. That makes me so relieved. I mean, without Caam-kun here, I thought she would go back to her usual taciturn self

Yeah, Ive already heard it as well as the reason why. Anyway, has there been any changes with the village?

Lets see. I guess the village chief has been pretty annoying ever since you went to town

That old man has already been relying on me too much. Still, its true that with my magic, I was able to reclaim unused lands, create a water reservoir, make a new type of sake and various other things though

Oh did you just come back rightnow?

Ah, pardon the intrusion

Oi, you just came back and youre already flirting? Huh?

What a terrible misunderstanding.

You, the reason you went to town was for the daily employment, right? What rank are you right now? Im sure you registered with the guild to make it easier to get those kinds of jobs, right? Have you been taking subjugation requests?

Well, er, Im still rank 2. The job I took was to repair the towns outer wall so all Ive been doing is mixing ingredients to make bricks everyday

Oi oi, if youre a man then you should do subjugation request, right? If youre not strong, then how are you supposed to protect Suzuran!

I think your daughter is already pretty strong though. She has already become the embodiment of strength after all. Of course, I didnt say that out loud.

Im a coward. I dont like painful or dangerous things so I decided to earn money in a safe environment. If the time comes where I have to protect her, Ill just do something about it at that time

Still, youre Hails son, you know! You shouldnt embarrass him!

Father. Caam got into a fight while he was in town. He said he won against 4 people

Ah, damn it, thank goodness she didnt add any unnecessary information on her follow up.

Oh What rank were they? Were they armed?

Um, all of them were rank 5. The four of them were always together so I think theyre probably in a party. As for their weapons, they werent armed since we were within the town

Then, are you saying that you beat four rank 5 guys in hand to hand combat?

Wellpretty much. I didnt kill them though

After saying that, I decided to tell them how it started.

Wasnt that a cowardly move?

Nn, his methods may have been a bit cowardly

Suzuran was just drinking her tea without saying anything.

Honesty and fairness no longer matter once youre in a fight. Furthermore, even though they were the ones who picked a fight, they didnt come at me and just continued rambling on. In order to win, I just gave them a surprise attack

But still, you know?

Hm, I cant really say

Its fine as long as Caams safe

Still, what do you think about him throwing sand in their eyes

I think thats fine as long as hes alright. He was up against 4 people after all

Hmm

Since Ichii-sans here, that must mean that my parents are already home as well. I guess I should go home now.

Uhm, Ill be heading home since I think that my parents are already home by now

Sure. Youll be here for a while, right?

Ill be going back to town at noon the day after tomorrow

Take care of Suzuran for a bit while youre here

Yes

After that, Suzuran started hitting Ichii-san. I wonder if shes embarrassed. I was able to receive that on my stomach so Ichii-san is really tough being able to receive that on his shoulder. Oh well, lets just go home.

*

Im back

Ara, welcome back. Since when have you been back? I didnt realize

Just a bit after noon, I guess

How was it, living over there?

Im getting used to it. The place Im living at has some pretty interesting people

Interestingyou say? Well, for now, how about you try telling us about them

Theres a unicorn who looks like a centaur since hes half human, a succubus who works at the red-light district, a dark elf onee-san who seems cold at first but is actually prone to worrying, and a strong-willed member of the fairy race whos looks like a little girl but is actually older than me. Even the landlady is someone whos really blunt. Those are all that Ive met for now. When I went to the guards room to report where I was staying at, the person called it a hangout of weirdos

I-I see. Theres something pretty worrying about the fact that he can say that just by knowing the name of the place youre residing

While telling them about my situation in town, they told me that I dont need to bother buying them souvenirs. This feels just like that time in my previous life when I thought about sending money to my family. They just sent me the money back.

While drinking tea and engaging in trivial conversation, we heard a knocking sound coming from the door. When I opened it, I found Wurst standing there.

Good evening. Well be borrowing Caam for a bit, okay?

After he gave a quick greeting to my parents, I was forcibly taken away.

So? Whats up?

Of course, the place he brought me to was the bar. Schinken and Speck were also there. Their partners are not with them so this is probably an all-male drinking party.

Ive repeated the same thing a number of times today so explaining it was easy. However, once I finished

Well, Caam is pretty strange as well

Speck I wasnt expecting to be hurt by those words.

Sowhat do you think about me throwing sand at their eyes? Was it an underhanded move? I can understand why they would say that was a cowardly move if it was a match but that was a fight. There are no cowardly moves in a fight, at least, thats my opinion

Hmm, rather than say it was cowardly, you just reacted according to the situation. You were up against 4 people so it couldnt be helped I think

*chomp chomp*

You didnt kill them so I think its fine

*crunch crunch*

You had 4 opponents, right? Thats tricky but if I had to say, it was a bit cowardly I guess

*munch munch*

As expected, they each had their own opinion about it.

Well, I think its better for them to receive the beating than me so thats why I didnt hesitate to do it. Ichii-san told me No matter many youre up against, you should still do it fair and square. Im not strong like him though

*gulp gulp*

We continued chatting while eating and drinking. I remember doing something like this in a family restaurant during my college days. Once they got drunk enough, the topic shifted into their nightly activities.

Ah, un. Its okay, I guess. She likes to be spoiled so I was surprised at first (Schinken)

I got used to it butI get troubled since she suddenly has these really violent moments sometimes (Speck)

Its normal but I just wasnt expecting for her to be the one to proactively ask for it. While I was taking care of the kids in this area, I heard her say I want one too so I was just surprised (Wurst)

Because its been a while since you came back, youre going to do it, right? Our conversation suddenly headed in that direction. It seems like theres an unspoken agreement between the villagers about the vacant houses at the outskirts becoming a place for those kinds of activities.

Well, its Suzuran were talking about so Im sure she already has plans arranged for that. I just hope she doesnt come right now while were still drinking

*gulp gulp* I finish off the remaining fruit wine in my cup.

Which reminds me, hows the distillery coming up?

Its going completely according to the headmasters instructions. The school has already become his secondary priority right now

It would be nice if someone could help the headmaster change, right

Right

Their voices overlapped as they said that. It seems like his fixation for liquor has already gone overboard. I guess Ill go take a look tomorrow.

After that, we all went our separate ways. Since I earned a lot in town, it became my treat. Why does it always have to be the treat of someone whos working away from home whenever he comes back?

Incidentally, I wasnt assaulted by Suzuran today. Would it happen tomorrow, I wonder.

I dont know if it was because it has been a while since I slept in my own bed, or because I was tired of my walk home, or because there was nobody singing next door but I feel like I was able to get a good nights sleep.

As for my plans today, Ill check out the brewery first then spend the rest of the day with Suzuran. Its nice that I dont have to make breakfast myself this time. Since I have to go to the brewery, I was trying to finish my meal quickly when suddenly, a loud knocking sound came from the door.

I heard that Caam-kun has come back! I want to meet him!

My parents were still taken aback because somebody started shouting all of a sudden so Ill just open the door myself.

Ooh, Caam-kun! I wanted to hear your opinion about a little something

Its still morning but my mood has already taken a turn for the worse

Yes, what is it?

What should we do with the village from now on?

Rather than talk about it here, lets head to the assembly hall

*

So? Do you actually have something planned for the village?

Thats right. Ive come up with some ideas and I want you to see which ones are good

Fumu fumu

Was what the village chief murmured while frantically taking down notes.

Those are just rough ideas I thought up until now so please ask the other villagers for their opinions as well. I still want to travel and learn many things so hopefully, the village chief will be able to lead the development of the village without me being here

No, well, its just that I didnt think that things would grow to such a large scale

Your family has led this village for generations so please prove to us that youre worthy of your lineage. If that doesnt work, please employ capable people and ask their opinion about various things. If all else fails, why dont you just retire and let your son try and take over?

That boys still not good enough yet.

Then the chief has no other choice but to it by himself

Muu. Fine, Ill try to do it! Ill arrange a discussion with the headmaster and the people from the dragon race so that we can deepen our relations with them

Un un, I was able to get him to do it by himself somehow. I didnt really want to have anything to do with village or town administration, politics, and laws. Even if somebody gives me a territory somewhere, I really dont know how to manage it.

We continued talking a bit more after that and he has already decided on the villages policies to some extent. It gives me some sense of relief that he has started moving on his own. Ill be saved if with this he no longer needs to come to me every time I come home to ask about my ideas.

Oh these guys sure are fired up

The energy levels in the distillery couldnt be compared to when they first started.

Ou! Its really interesting. The villagers are quite passionate about it so theyre saying that we should get another still. Were always running out of firewood so theyre thinking about using coal instead. Regarding that matter, it seems like theyre selling those at the headmasters hometown so he left while saying Leave it to me! Ill get it for as cheap as possible

Ah, un. No matter how much of a discount he gets, he still needs to transport it back, right? Whats he going to do about that Its a three-day hike up that mountain, right?

I said that while pointing at the direction of the headmasters hometown.

he probably hasnt thought about that

Thought so

Its a really funny story, right?

A creepy voice started talking. While I was still a bit surprised, I turned around.

So its the headmaster as I had expected. You frequently appear in these situations after all

So, about that story. Want to hear more about it?

His eyes suddenly turned into that of a reptile so it was pretty scary.

Even if I say that its just my hometown, its a bit unreasonable to say that Ill transport it myself. With that distance, transporting coal would obviously take time and cost money but I could probably reduce the time by getting zealous youngsters who were willing to help. There were no problems with money as well but if you can only load so much into a cart since I believe that its wheel and axle would get damaged

So he tried doing something like that.

Then why didnt you just turn into a dragon and fly back?

Ah, so he can turn into a dragon. I thought their horns are the only dragon-ish part of them.

How many round trips do you think would that take? My stress would start to pile up and Ill eventually lose all my scales you know?3 Muu. Its true that you cant carry heavy things when flying

Then, cant you just come up with else?

Youre smart so you must some other ideas, right?

This damn shotajiji. So hes starting to be dependent on me as well, huh!

Wouldnt charcoal work as well?

Charcoal? You mean those things left over after burning firewood? You can use those?

Well, its true that I havent seen them using it in town as well but what else do they have in this world? There really is a severe lack of books in this world. Ah, geez. Whatever, Ill just say I heard it from someone else.

I got to know a well-informed old man back in town so I asked him. He says it burns even longer compared to firewood

Even though hes small, he still placed his hand on my shoulder.

Can you teach that to us?

He said that with a smile, his eyes werent smiling at all. Rather, his eyes once again turned into that of a reptile. Its really scary so please stop it.

It cant be helped so I brought over a small pot and a few branches and started explaining.

When you burn wood, it turns into ashes, right?

While saying that I burned the wood chips I had in my hand.

However, if it doesnt get exposed to air while its burning, it turns into charcoal

I placed a few twigs inside of the pot and lightly cover it with the lid. Then, I produced fire from my finger to heat it and show it to them like some sort of science experiment. As the twigs start to carbonize, a liquid-like substance started dripping at the bottom of the pot. Its wood vinegar.

Ooh

Theyre like children who are excited seeing the results of the experiment.

Then, after the twigs have completely been carbonized, I take them out and set it on fire. 4

Did it not work?

No, its already burning. You just cant see the fire

While saying that, I hold the side thats not burning bring it closer to their hands

Hou, it certainly feels hot

Wurst got curious so he came closer and also held his hands out.

How can we make this in large quantities?

I drew a simple illustration on the ground.

You use a kiln to make it. However, it wont work if you just use the kiln normally. You have to seal it up and create small vents on the bottom and an outlet on top

Un un

You pack the wood tightly inside and set it on fire. You need to do that so that air wont be able to circulate inside. After a while, white smoke will start to come out.

I continued explaining while pointing at the drawing I made on the ground.

Un un

After that, the white smoke you saw before would become clear so when that happens, you plug the vents like covering a pot with its lid to top the air from flowing in

I see, I see

Then, after letting it cool naturally for a few days, you take the charcoal out and its done

Ooohh!!!

You can also let the smoke condense because that liquid has its uses

Uwoahh!!!

I didnt realize but the number of people listening has already increased. I was surprised.

By the way, charcoal also has a deodorizing effect. You can put it in your bath as well.

Ooh!?

It can get rid of the bad smells that soap cant

I guess theyre probably thinking of something like a potion. I dont know anything about alchemy so I have no idea how to make it though. I dont even know what materials could be used. I should have accepted a few quests for gathering medicinal herbs as well.

Then, lets immediately!

Making the kiln would take time. Stacking the wood and burning it until the smoke becomes transparent would also take time. Even cooling it down would take time. It doesnt actually take that much time, but Ill be leaving tomorrow so it would be impossible for me

You could visibly see the headmasters enthusiasm die down.

After that, we went to the assembly hall and I gave them even more details about the blueprint I drew on the ground earlier and made it easier to understand. I also taught them how to extract the wood vinegar and described how to use it. I also asked them to add a simple roof over the kiln like those on the rent houses.

With this, the matter with fuel has been resolved

You guys might overdo it so please dont clear out the trees in the forest. That would cause a lot of problems later on

I feel like that would cause pollution, natural disasters or even the decrease in wildlife among other things. I hear that you will no longer be able to catch fish in the sea if you cut trees in the mountain as well5. Well, were at the plains so I havent seen the sea yet though.

While I was doing this and that, it has already gotten dark. Im worried that I wont be able to take care of Suzuran today. While I was doing that, Mir came and scolded me.

Even though its been a while since you came back, what the hell are you doing! Suzuran is waiting for you at one of the vacant houses near the outskirts of the village so head on over to her quickly!

She was already pretty angry but when I asked her the exact location, she got mad even more. I dont know which house youre talking about so it cant be helped.

I headed to the location I was told. When I arrived, I was greeted by Suzuran.

Welcome back

Im not sure whats going on but she was laying out what appears to be dinner preparations on the table. It was a splendid karaage festival. Un, could you please stop thinking that everyone would like the things you like? I also love karaage but theres got to be a limit. Even though I like it, Id lose my appetite with that amount.

Ah, Im back

Un, this is probably a setting where a couple started living in their new home for the first time.

You can take a bath first

So she was heating up the bath until now. Im really grateful for that.

While I was relaxing in the bath, Suzuran came in and said,

Can I take a bath with you?

I didnt hear any rustling sounds when she undressed so she probably took off her clothes someplace else. This girl is quite a schemer. She called out first so I was able to prepare myself but because it was so sudden, I was still surprised.

Let me wash your back

I got slightly embarrassed when she said that but Ill just keep that a secret.

Wash me this time

This is also a secret but when she said that, I once again got embarrassed.

The karaage had already gotten cold so we also made chicken soup while reheating it. We talked while eating then I did my laundry first before we slept together. There was already that thing in the bath earlier but Suzuran let herself get spoiled while we were under the covers.

We had a conversation while in bed.

I didnt have any siblings so I think that having a lot is nice.

I couldnt really just brush her off like that so I just said,

Well, once the first one gets grows up a bit, well think about it then

I knew it. The task of making breakfast fell onto me as expected.

To improve the karaage we had yesterday, I added some vegetables to it and put it in-between bread. I was able to make a lot of these simple karaage sandwich. I should also prepare a bento for lunch.

Then, a nude Suzuran started to get up. Shes still not fully awake yet so I was looking forward to her reaction since its been a while since we did it but once she finally woke up, she hit me at full strength. Why!?

When I complained, she said.

Its okay when its dim but its embarrassing if you can clearly see me. Id like it if you would leave the room once you get up or so she says. Ah, I started seeing stars for a while there. Did I not faint just because of my resistance? Thank goodness I didnt lose any teeth.

After eating breakfast, we thoroughly cleaned everything that we used except for the sheets which we brought back with us. It seems like those are the rules. I escorted Suzuran home and when we got there, Ichii-san greeted us with a terrifying smile and started hitting my shoulders. He was making a face that was saying, Although I said Ill let it pass this time, did I say you can stay out until morning?.

I was really afraid, to be honest. Ricoris-san also greeted us with a gentle smile but its not offsetting how scary he is. Even if you dont hit me, I can tell what you want to say just by looking at your face. Well, shes your one and only daughter after all.

While I was experiencing an unpleasant morning that I havent felt for a while, I went home. My parents had a broad grin so I just decided to go back to town.

My mother kept saying, I wonder if well get to see the face of our grandchild soon. I pretended not to hear that as I went out. I really wanted to say She wont get pregnant today as well, you know. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, mother.

I bid farewell to the three idiots as I was about to leave but, they all tapped my shoulder and said Congratulations on staying there until morning. Is there a rule that says when you should come home when you use those vacant houses? HUH? While complaining, I headed back to town.

Footnotes: