Chapter 57.2

Chapter 57 Part 2: That time when I went back to the village for a bit

TL: kizen

ED: Gecko/Filip

In the afternoon, I went to visit the onee-san managing the pond and fish farm area and told her that Im going to buy 10 sets of fish and aquatic plants . I told her that Id pick them up morning the next day and also asked for some tips on how to raise fish . I asked if the poultrys bathing area should be downstream or if I could just place the fish breeding area right next to it . If its freshwater fish then we could probably successfully raise them there . I guess their numbers will probably increase as time passes .

Im thinking of not buying livestock for now . I might be able to manage to bring it along if its just some pigs or sheep . It would be impossible for cows though unless its just a calf . Do I not have a choice other than using a ship to transport them?

As I was thinking about that while walking, the dog-eared old man from the unpopular old man group approached me . Ive known them for quite a while now but still dont know any of their names .

Huh? Old mans just fine right? Were all pretty close after all! He laughed as he said that while striking my shoulders when I asked .

Yo, Caam, hows it been?

There are still a heap of things we have to do that I feel like my heads about to explode from it all . We still havent secured a stable supply of food and most of the ships that pass there every three days still dont stop for us . There was one that visited us the other day though

I see . By the way, can I ask you something? Wont you take us along to the island with you?

Eh? Theres nothing there you know? And besides, were still in rough times

Thats exactly why . We still havent been able to repay you after all . We just returned the potion . If we go there, you wont have to worry on your own and youll have someone you can rely on

He tapped my shoulder as he said that .

The humans there arent prejudiced so its fine as long as you dont get into a fight with them . Youve fought against humans before right? Are you guys going to be alright with that?

Ha? Dont worry about it . Its fine as long as they dont point their fangs towards us

Hmm . I understand . Ill come by here tomorrow morning to pick up some fish so lets just meet up at our house

Got it . So, what should we bring?

Some supplies and your weapons I guess . Youd probably want to bring weapon maintenance tools as well since theres nobody there to maintain them for you

Okay, Ill let the other two know about it

See you guys tomorrow

After saying that, he left .

I was thinking of transporting all of the goods in one go tomorrow, but there was a change of plans . Should I just transport the fish and poultry first? Hmm, Im not really sure how well that would work . Well, Ill guess well just have to manage somehow .

Itll probably be fine if have one of the old men stand behind me while the other two are on the side . In front will be the barrel with the fish and on top of that will be the cages for the poultry while Ill purchase a sling bag to hold the seeds . At least, thats how I imagine it will work . The old men arent that tall as well so itll probably be fine . Theyre still slightly taller than me though .

Before going back home, I decided to inspect the charcoal-making huts . There, I listened to the stories of the workers and learned how they acquired the skills to operate the charcoal kilns .

Then, all you need to do is to trust in your intuition and experience . Youll get the hang of it after two or three times

After that, I passed by my parents house in order to give them a brief report on my situation . I told them that although were still having a rough time, its still more or less going according to plan .

Ill try to come home as much as I can but please continue looking after my wives and children

Before leaving I bowed as I said that, then I went home to have dinner .

Hey, papa . Can I sleep together with you today?

Ah! Me too

Thats alright, however, father still has to meet his friends first before he goes to sleep . Are you okay with that?

YesUn!

Alright, good children

As I patted the childrens heads, Latte came over and started rubbing her head against my upper arm . Seeing that, Suzuran also approached me asked for head pats so I also patted her head .

Otou-san and Okaa-san get along really well~Ah, Mamas jealous!

Its kinda embarrassing to be flirting in front of the children but I guess thats better than them seeing us not getting along .

Sorry but I should go to the bar soon . Its alright, I wont be drinking

After saying that, I gently pulled the two of them off my arms and left for the bar .

Yo, Maou-sama!

Oi oi, stop that

I took a seat as I said that and asked for some fruit juice . After I did that, Speck started sniffing me and started scowling while saying .

A beasts smell

I hope hes not actually jealous .

Ah, a wolf that became close to me over there is currently at our house

Hee . Wolf, huh? You dont see much of them over here, do you?

Thats right . They certainly are rare

Hmm, so its a wolf . I dont really like those guys since theyre really prideful

Although Speck doesnt seem to be his usual self, we still drank like usual . I think his dislike of them probably stems from the fact that theyre polar opposites, since he doesnt have a speck(heh) of pride at all, kinda like a Labrador or a Golden Retriever . Or rather, he perfectly fits the mold of an idiot character .

So, how was it? Whats that island like?

Were currently staying at the slave residences near the shore a short distance away from the planned site of the previous Demon Lords castle . For now, were concentrating our efforts on reclaiming part of the forest area to use as fields . There are ships that pass by the island once every three days but only one came ashore so far . Riding on that ship was a merchant and we exchanged our meat and sugar for their wheat, potatoes and some of their beddings . There are other finer details but thats pretty much what happened recently

What about the humans?

They were slaves but I released them . After that, I let them clean themselves, gave them proper meals, and treated them nicely, so I dont think they have any complaints yet . I made them take a break from work today after all

Hmm, I see . Nothing good comes from abusing slaves after all

The previous Demon Lord completely abused his slaves . Because of that, just as he was starting to build his castle, he got subjugated by the hero . This is just what Ive heard from the humans but apparently, the slaves were overworked and were hardly given meals . Even the slaves that were handed to me looked like they had already given up on life so I think all of them probably experience repression from someone powerful . I was able to put back the life in their eyes after giving them a warm meal though

Is that so? There sure are a lot of cruel guys out there in the world, not just from the humans, but from the demonkin as well

Thats right . Its not just pleasant things that happen out there after all

Un Even were not exempt from that so we should be careful

Well, thats why I try my best not to say things that would scare the humans there and act in a way that would make them feel like Im one of their companions . Thanks to that, I was able to narrowly escape death

Oi oi, youre just going to make us curious about what happened if you say that . Come on, spill out the beans

I told them what happened when I was on that merchants ship while leaving out the finer details . I told them about how the mercenaries gave a knife to the humans while I was tied to a chair and gave them the option to either save or kill me .

Hmm, well, thats the kind of thing that you would expect to happen to Caam though

It a kind of situation that makes you say, Its Caam after all

Thats right!

Well, at that point I realized that it was a good thing I treated them kindly

Well, its Caam after all!

What a splendid harmonization .

After that, we started talking about our children .

Oh, shes really lively you know?

Mir frequently tells me that our child is exactly like me

Mine also looks like me but it feels like she has a different way of thinking from me

Well, it cant be helped that they look like us . Whats important is that were able to raise them happy and healthy

Who would have thought that I would build such an inseparable relationship with these guys?

After that, I started feeling like I wanted to have a drink so, in order to avoid that, I told them that Im going home early . Its too bad, but I guess it cant be helped .

I have a few words to say to that wolf

Before we split up, Speck approached me and said that in a serious tone and followed me home .

Im back~Good evening

Welcome back . Speck? Whats the matter?

Im here for the wolf

Is that so? Dont fight okay?

Okay~

Uncle, good eveningGood evening~

Hey~, good evening . Thanks for always playing with Reika you guys~

After that, he went to where Wulf was, squatted down, and stared at his eyes .

Alright, let me know your feelings

After he said that, Wulf started barking like he was talking to him .

Awoo AwooWau Wau

I got it . Thanks for telling me

Waon!

Caam, as thanks for helping him, this fellow says he will follow you forever . Also, he says thanks for healing him even though you were being threatened since he would have died if you didnt

Its kinda amazing how they can understand each other .

I see . Thanks for letting me know Wulfs feelings

No no, I just did it since I was curious . Well then, good luck! Thanks for having me~

I prepared some tea for Speck-kun though

Ah, Ill take a sip of it then

After finishing his tea, he left so I decided to take a bath together with the children . While we were there, they pestered me to tell a story so I told them a few stories from my childhood .

Once we were in bed after our bath, they asked me for another story so I told them about how I made my base in the forest . They were really interested in the practice I did they and pestered me to tell them about it so I gave in and told him about it but left out the thing about me drinking poison .

Next time, teach me how to throw a knife okay?(Lily)

As for me, I think I like magic more(Miel)

Yes, yes . Youll go to school once you turn 5 so lets just do that then, okay? Now lets go to sleep so that we can get up tomorrow

After saying that, just like the river character(), I slept while I was in between my two children . The center part was the long one though .

In the middle of the night, a half-asleep Lily hugged my arm and started rubbing her face against it . Although they were small, her horns kept on poking me while she did that so I woke up due to the pain .

These horns are an incredibly dangerous weapon, arent they!? Whats more, theyre at a lower angle than Suzurans so its incredibly painful . Ill probably get stabbed if she headbutts me . Well, I guess have no choice but to pray she doesnt do that again .

Morning~

Morning

After exchanging greetings, Latte noticed something weird with my arm .

What happened to your arm? Its really red

It got hit by Lilys horns when she rubbed her face against it while hugging me last night

Ah

You experienced the same thing as well?

I have you know~? It must hurt a lot

Yeah I wonder if we should put some kind of cushion on her horns when we sleep together

Its really sharp so I wonder if that would work~ . It might be useless you know~?

Thought so Well, we just have to bear with it

Then, Ill go wake Miel and Lily while you wake Suzuran-chan up . Youll probably have wake up Lily though

Got it

When Lily was two years old, we found out that she was also bad at waking up . Its kinda funny how shes similar to Suzuran in that aspect as well .

I probably wont be back for another 10 days

While we were having breakfast, I said that as I apologized to the kids .

You became a Demon Lord so it cant be helped, right~?

Youre working right~? I will be fine you know~?

Hearing their replies made me thankful for my wives properly educating them .

After that, I started the preparations by putting the fish I received in a barrel, the chickens inside their cages, and preparing the container for the seeds . Then, all that was left was to wait for the old men group .

Since I had time, I started to drink some barley tea but it wasnt long before I heard a knock on the door . Because of that, I hurriedly finished my tea, went outside, and explained to the old men how the transfer magic will work before leaving .

Ohh! Is this that thing called a sea?

Its like a really wide lake isnt it?

Ive heard about it but you wont understand something like this just from describing it alone . This looks amazing!

I wonder if this is how I felt the first time I saw the sea . [TL: Pun intended . Heh] The humans are starting to get noisy so I guess I should introduce them .

Im back . As you may have figured, these are my companions

Not just that, I owe this guy my life

Well, I guess I did help out the cat-eared old man .

I guess you could say Im their benefactor . Theyre going to be helping us out from now on so please get along with them okay?

Nice to meet you

P-please treat us well

It was weak, but a few humans replied to them .

Anyway, Ive brought back chickens and ducks . I didnt buy them for their meat though, instead, well let them lay eggs in order to increase their numbers . Im thinking that once we have a number of them, well be able to get a stable supply of eggs, and eventually some meat, so if theres anybody who can look after them, please report to me afterwards . As for this barrel, it contains fish . Well be raising them at the lake that Ill make nearby . Once we have plenty of them, Im thinking of putting some of them in the waters by the wetlands . That way, if the water has any dangerous substances, well immediately know about it since these fish will float if they die . Theyll also serve as a warning sign that tells us if there are changes in the waters quality . Please dont eat them until we have a lot of them . Well, the main reason is to avoid getting poisoned though .

I also brought with me some corn and bean seeds . I think theyll make it in time for the harvest if we plant them right now . Fortunately, its pretty warm on this island so I think the corn will grow well . Beans thrive even in barren soil so after we harvest the potatoes and wheat, well plant this next and go with that kind of crop rotation . Well, well also plant these right now so that well get more of them though

We can also use the chickens excrement as fertilizer . The ducks will also get their own pond . If we create an outflow to the sea then they could probably even get additional nutrients from the shellfish there . Even if they dont lay eggs, we could use their feathers for arrow fletching, jackets, or even more beddings .

As for the corn were going to harvest, we could boil them, turn them into flour to make bread, or even use them as fodder . We could make some liquor with the corn but it seems like its difficult to regulate its alcohol levels, so I wonder if its the kind that has to be made in a distillation facility .

It seems like nitrogen-fixing bacteria lives on the roots of legumes, so they will help in revitalizing the soil . Ive read that in manga and a certain famous novel after all . They were talking about clovers in that novel though . 1

Anyway, it seems like theyre also really resistant to diseases . Because of that, we only have to worry about damage caused by birds and poultry . They have a high nutritional value and even grow in arid regions as well . To be honest, these beans are so strong that sprouts would probably still appear even if we just have a bean-throwing festival with children in the forest . Well, I pretty much thought about doing that when I bought them though .

With that out of the way, lets first construct a fence so that the ducks wont run away . While you do that, Ill start making another pond thats shallower but wider than the first one which will be used by the birds to drink and bathe

Once I decided on a suitable area downstream of the water channel thats at a distance away from the residences, I dug a concave-shaped hole and let the water flow in . While I was doing that, the others started gathering slightly thick branches and stabbed them in the ground in order to make a simple fence .

After that, they tried to release the ducks to see if they could still escape . Just like that time when I made the pond at Suzurans house, they all began swimming and dipping their faces in the water . 2 All thats left is to negotiate with the wolves Wulf brought along last time so that they wont attack them .

Lets just put the chickens together with the ducks for now . Lets also make sure that the area around the pond will be livable for them

Raising them free range might be a good idea but there are a lot of components Im a bit anxious about . I guess I should just make sure to decrease the number of those components then . It would be nice if were eventually able to see chickens freely grazing in the wild . Ive heard that theyre even seen eating small snakes after all .

Next, I created another pond specifically for breeding fish . This time though, I placed the pond upstream . I also had to make a canal to let the water exit towards the sea with leaves weaved in the middle to prevent the fish from swimming away . Once their numbers increase then well release some of them by the wetlands so I hope theyll also propagate in the wild .

Okay, like I said earlier, the water that flows to this pond comes upstream from where were residing . Thats why, if you see any of the fish floating here then inform someone immediately . Then, make sure that the information reaches me as soon as possible . Hmm, I didnt notice it, but its already close to lunchtime, isnt it? Its a bit early but lets start preparing to make our meals

While we were eating lunch, I noticed that the old men had already inserted themselves in the middle of the human mens group so it seems like they got along pretty quickly .

I wonder if it would be better if I start mingling with them that way?

~Idle Talk~

The old men and human men

Thats right . Im only here today because he saved me . Even if I dedicate my whole life, I dont think Ill be able to repay the kindness that he has showed me

Huh? So you mean to say that Maou-sama can even heal wounds?

I was watching everything from the sidelines you know? He slowly bent a needle, poured some strong liquor over it and the wound to clean them, then started sewing it close without hesitation . Once it was closed, he sprinkled a potion over a cloth then pressed it over the wound in order to stop the bleeding

Im getting goosebumps just from listening

Even the doctors were shocked seeing the wound you know? I mean, it was really terrible

You can really feel the sense of camaraderie they had just from the story, cant you?

I think Caams really kind . Even though he only spent a few days with us prisoners, he didnt give up and tried his hardest in order to save me . Im sure hell do the same thing if it happened to a human, right guys?

Yeah, thats for certain . I mean, when we first met, not only did he give us a warm meal, he also let us drink the liquor he brought with him . That just goes to show how kind he is

Whats this? He did that to you too? When the guards werent looking, he went to a bar and bought some soup and liquor for us to share you know? It was the first time in a while that I became speechless and started crying

Since we were slaves, we were really worried what the new Demon Lord would do to us but we were surprised when he suddenly treated us kindly . I even think hes way too kind at times you know? He even let us rest yesterday after all

Hmm . That kindness might turn into his weakness so I hope it wont be used against him3

Thats the reason why were here right? That guy is pretty naive after all

Thats true . In order to get their trust, it looks like he didnt resist when they tied him to a chair on that ship you know? Well, it seems like he was still able to fight back though

Its Caam after all

Ive heard that he made some kind black knives without chanting and surrounded himself with them all of a sudden to defend himself on the ship

Hou, so he can even use that kind of magic huh? I only know of him making those balls of water or stacking up dirt

Ah, I also heard rumors that the human knights he defeated during the war were torn to shreds you know? That was done with magic right?

What!? How!?

Probably some kind of magic I guess . A shovel wont be able to deal that kind of damage after all

Oh, how scary . Lets make sure we dont make him angry

That would be the best . Its not a good idea to make kind people angry after all4

So far, it doesnt seem like they have any problems getting along with the humans .