novelraw Chapter 65
Chapter 65
Chapter 65
The day after Limond arrived, Leisha returned to the territory.
When Leisha arrived at the territory, I happened to be commanding the troops at the gate.
Suddenly, monsters came charging as if something terrifying was chasing them.
I tensed up, thinking maybe another big one had crawled down.
But the culprit was Leisha.
She swung her black Aura Blade in every direction, slicing apart all the monsters that blocked her path, and then proudly entered the gate.
“Bit late. Bear, are you alright?”
“Ah, well. More or less?”
“That’s a relief.”
I had wondered why Leisha, who said she would sneak back quietly, was making such a commotion upon returning.
It seemed she had been worried about the territory since her schedule had been delayed too much.
As soon as she heard there were no problems in the territory, her tail immediately started wagging.
“But what’s that on your back?”
“Rudelrof gave it to me. Even the reward is plentiful.”
“Ah, really?”
Not only Leisha but also all the Lion Tribe warriors who went with her were carrying huge backpacks.
They had received both the payment for selling the Horned Rabbit meat and the reward for helping with the monsters.
Seeing those large packs stuffed full of gold ingots, iron ingots, and even mana crystals, I thought they had collected quite a haul.
“You didn’t forcefully take it, did you?”
“Why would I do that? I just took what was reasonably given.”
“Mm, that was the right thing to do.”
Well, Rudelrof was a beastman who calculated things very precisely.
There was no way he would be greedy in such a transaction.
Indeed, exchanging with the Lion Tribe was a trade extremely beneficial to us.
“That thing, Bear, was it you who killed it?”
“Oh, well. Sir Irene and Sister Celine too.”
“That was a very strong one. A step above that lizard boss from before. You’ve improved quite a bit, Bear.”
“It was barely taken down, that’s all.”
As I entered the fortress while explaining about Rotsy, we came across the corpse of the Variant Crocodile.
But Leisha’s reaction was slightly different from Limond’s—her eyes widened round, showing something else.
How should I describe this?
The typical reaction mothers show when their son does something praiseworthy?
It felt a bit strange, but that seemed the most fitting expression.
“Bear, since you’ve guarded the territory so well, don’t you deserve a reward?”
“A reward? What kind of reward?”
“I heard anyone who accomplishes something honorable should receive a prize.”
“So you, Leisha, want to give me a prize?”
“That’s right. I’ll give you one.”
—Oh ho, what’s this now?
‘Wait, what?’
She suddenly wanted to give me a prize?
It’s only natural for a lord to defend his own territory, yet here she was, saying she would reward me.
I really didn’t know what to make of it.
But if she wanted to give something, there was no reason to refuse.
I was curious what she would give, anyway.
“Alright then. So, what do you plan on giving me?”
“Leisha’s Tail Token.”
“…What’s that supposed to be?”
“Collect three, and you can brush Leisha’s tail.”
“That’s the prize?”
Not only was it absurd that I, the lord who defended my own land, was receiving a prize from Leisha, but the fact that the prize was something called a mysterious Tail Token left me speechless.
It wasn’t even me getting brushed—it was me brushing her. What kind of prize was that supposed to be?
—Indeed, a tremendous reward.
‘…This is supposed to be tremendous?’
What, had the meaning of the word “reward” changed while I wasn’t looking?
‘Of course, a beastman’s tail is said to carry great meaning.’
Between lovers, it symbolized affection. Between friends, it represented camaraderie.
But there was no way affection existed between Leisha and me—at best, it was a matter of friendship exchange.
If it involved affection, she wouldn’t be so casually tossing around something like Tail Tokens.
She couldn’t possibly be so nonchalant if it were halfway to a proposal.
‘Well… maybe it’s not so bad?’
Thinking about it, it wasn’t such a bad reward after all.
Leisha’s tail was very lively in its movements, and the tuft of fur at the tip looked extremely fluffy.
At least that part alone was leagues above Bokshil, the pet I had cherished when I was young. Remembering the happiness I felt stroking Bokshil’s tail fur, this prize didn’t seem bad at all.
“Hm, so that means I just need to collect two more, right?”
“Just one, Bear. You’ve already provided plenty of meat to the Black Lions. One token has already been credited.”
“Ah, from that? That’s better than I thought.”
Apparently, I already had one Tail Token saved without even realizing it.
I didn’t know what the criteria were, but having one already wasn’t a bad feeling.
Should I prepare a special brush just for grooming Leisha’s tail for later?
For some reason, the thought left me a little excited.
—Heheheh.
The sly laugh of the rabbit who was pleased all by herself did feel a bit odd, though.
“Ugh, seriously. Why’s the snow pouring all of a sudden?”
“Ah, you’re here?”
The day after Leisha arrived, Rudick returned to the territory.
He looked quite ragged—snowstorms and even avalanches had apparently made him suffer a great deal.
Well, his beloved was in the territory while he himself had been away, so of course he must have been frustrated.
But for Rudick, a cozy winter date was not in the near future.
“Good, you’re here. Take charge of the fortress for a while.”
“…What, I just arrived and you’re sending me off again?”
“Come on, I’m a bit worn out too. You rode a mountain goat, but Leisha fought monsters the whole way back.”
“What about Crimson Comet then?”
“She should be the one resting at the castle.”
“Wow, really. Brother, you’re a thug, you know that?”
Since discovering the Variant Crocodile, Limond was clearly full of intentions to linger here. He would be staying at the fortress for the time being.
But leaving command to Limond was unreasonable.
Here, Rudick was clearly the best choice.
Of course, the most optimal would be Irene, but she hadn’t yet settled her level, nor had she fully recovered from her injuries.
It was better to assign Leisha to Irene, so she could assist her recovery and help her refine her level.
All things considered, Rudick was the right answer.
“Ha, fine then. But once this job is done, I’m holing up here too.”
“Ah, should I send Sir Celine off somewhere else then?”
“…Brother, do you want me to rip off your rank insignia?”
“Haha. I’m kidding, you fool. Don’t look at me like that.”
I tried making a joke, but he glared at me as if he would kill me.
I wondered if his mother knew he acted like this.
No, she might actually be pleased that her unruly son seemed to be settling down properly.
Even I thought Celine was, well, quite a bit too good for Rudick.
Thinking it was a good time, I was about to send Rudick off when he added another request.
It was about the training of the 2nd Knight Order.
“We need to make them more elite. So how about this winter, we conduct our defenses mainly with the 2nd Knight Order?”
“Is that so?”
“Especially push the Lion Tribe warriors back a little. These folks are way too aggressive.”
“Well, that’s true. They are a bit much.”
The Lion Tribe warriors were indeed brave fighters.
Even now, Limond was grumbling that while a Variant Crocodile had appeared, he was stuck dealing with Raptors.
During the early-winter joint training, I had seen it firsthand.
They held back far too little, enough to make me worried.
Of course, the knights of the territory were brave too, but the Lion Tribe seemed to lose their heads a bit.
Even in minor joint exercises, it was always the Lion Tribe warriors who suffered the most injuries.
That alone was reason to be cautious.
After all, we only had a few hundred Black Lions in the territory. If their numbers dwindled drastically, that would be a serious problem.
‘Meanwhile, our 2nd Knight Order is still at newbie level.’
They absolutely needed more real combat experience.
The expectations for knights and for soldiers were worlds apart.
The knights needed the real thing.
So, it seemed best to follow Rudick’s suggestion this winter: train the 2nd Knight Order as much as possible while holding the defenses.
‘And if you add Crimson Comet back after her rest, the formation will be solid enough. Not bad at all.’
Thus, the early-winter defense of the northern fortress was decided: the main forces would be Rudick and the 2nd Knight Order.
With Limond and Rudick joining at the Northern Gate Fortress, the situation improved greatly.
Thanks to that, I finally had the leisure to carefully examine how the territory was faring.
Of course, I had been receiving reports.
But hearing with one’s ears and seeing with one’s own eyes were worlds apart, and I had a duty to confirm such things personally.
The Golem School Builders, who had repaired all the residents’ homes, were now constructing various new buildings.
From massive warehouses to their own laboratories.
They were even setting up separate Alchemy Workshops, expanding their domain.
The alchemists were busy rubbing mana crystals because the Builders kept consuming them endlessly.
In truth, there wasn’t much use for mana crystals during winter.
Before the Builders joined, even the residents hardly used them at all.
—Their expressions were really funny.
‘Right? A mix of happy and bitter? Quite subtle.’
They were delighted at having their workshops improved.
But the price was losing a comfortable winter.
As long as the Builders kept working, the demand for mana crystals would continue to rise, and the alchemists would have to keep grinding them.
If they resented it, they simply needed to stockpile far more mana crystals than what the Builders consumed.
Of course, that would take quite a lot of time.
‘I’ll have to reward the alchemists later too. Both for the potion project and for the mana crystals.’
—True, it did feel like they were being exploited.
This was something I’d have to discuss again with Peter when things calmed down.
“Bones, you say?”
“Yes indeed, sir. Don’t they make fine material for golems?”
“Monster bones, huh.”
“The mana conductivity is decent, and depending on how they’re processed, they can become very durable. With the right specimens, they’d make excellent material.”
“I see, that makes sense.”
“If research into monster bones begins, please allow me to lend a hand.”
“Oh, really?”
“I do know a thing or two, sir.”
The head of the Builders, Elder Benetrang, seemed to be spending a lot of time with Dr. Nickel these days.
Or should I say, of course it was Dr. Nickel.
When had he gotten so close to Elder Benetrang? The two of them were exchanging ideas nonstop.
Truly, Nickel had a natural gift for making connections.
Judging from the atmosphere, the gullible(?) Elder Benetrang seemed already caught in Dr. Nickel’s snare.
At this rate, he would one day be dragged into the Monster Mountains, collecting monster specimens that Dr. Nickel wanted.
That was how the knights had all ended up, after all, voluntarily gathering monster specimens under his influence.
‘Or perhaps he needs them for other experiments? Something that requires the Builders’ strength specifically.’
Dr. Nickel’s goal was clearly his research in Otherworld Studies.
If he wanted to borrow the Builders’ power for experiments, it wasn’t strange.
If it was research requiring magical application, then working with the Builders was indeed the best option.
Whatever the case, it wasn’t harming the territory, so I quietly let it be.
‘Who knows? Maybe another bizarre thing will come out of it, like the Three-Horned Mountain Goat or the Suppository Potion.’
The Suppository Potion, which had earned the knights’ furious complaints yet turned out immensely useful, had in fact originated from this man’s idea.
That alone meant it was worth humoring him.
Though, of course, people still mistakenly believed I was the one who had proposed the Suppository Potion.