Chapter 113. Recruiting Village Residents #1
A familiar situation played out again.
After killing the Dollmaker, a bunch of teddy bears poured out.
The teddy bears returned to their original forms, and among them, only one monster was alive.
That monster was none other than Lionheart, whom I had rescued just yesterday.
［I am truly grateful…!］
【Mysticism】─😭 Overwhelming gratitude!
Lionheart expressed his thanks by bowing his head to the ground.
It was exactly the same scene I had seen yesterday.
【Yumi】─Ah, I remember now! It’s the lion monster that Mr. Geon saved yesterday!
【Bubble Bubble】─Why was he captured again? You’d think he’d learn not to get caught twice. Does he have no learning ability?
【Pururu】─Seems like he’s not too bright.
【Rizenova】─Hmm. Maybe he actually enjoys becoming a teddy bear.
Lionheart continued bowing his head to the ground repeatedly.
Feeling uncomfortable with his actions, I grabbed his shoulder and helped him stand up.
Even after standing, Lionheart kept bowing his head to express his gratitude.
［I am sincerely thankful! As I mentioned earlier, I will definitely repay this kindness twice over!］
【Pururu】─Repay it tenfold.
“Lionheart, about repaying the favor… No matter how much I think about it, I doubt you’ll figure out how to become the ruler of this labyrinth─”
［That is not true! Just trust me once! By any means necessary, I will find a way and live up to your expectations!］
Lionheart interrupted me, shouting passionately.
He begged me to trust him.
I sighed deeply and spoke again.
“I never expected anything, so there’s nothing to live up to… And I’m not finished talking, so don’t interrupt.”
［I-I’m sorry…!］
“Anyway, about the favor I originally asked you… Even if you could figure it out, it would take too long. So, I’m changing what you can do to repay me. There’s something that would help me more right now.”
［Something more helpful… What is it?］
“It’s not difficult. Just become a resident of the desert village we’re planning to build.”
［You want me to become a resident of the village… Is that truly all you desire? You could ask for something more, even something excessive, and I wouldn’t mind.］
“It’s fine. If you just become a resident of the village, that’s more than enough for me.”
［…You really are someone with no greed.］
I didn’t want anything else.
No, I couldn’t want anything more.
Lionheart wasn’t a capable enough monster to fulfill any greater requests I might have had.
So, I was just asking within the limits of what was possible.
［Alright! As you wish, I will become a resident of the village!］
“Thank you. Oh, and Lionheart, you know I’m an explorer, right?”
［I suspected it. You seemed weaker than before.］
I explained my ability to him.
I told him about my trait as The Assisted One and my taming skill, and I asked Lionheart if I could tame him.
［You want to tame me? Very well, I’ll allow it!］
Lionheart gladly gave his consent.
There was no need to use the Puppet Master’s mind control.
Right now, Lionheart was already quite friendly towards me.
With that, I placed my hand on the back of his head.
* * *
The woodcutting was handled by SS-class monsters.
S-class monsters could chop down the apple trees as well, but as Omega said, the trees were incredibly sturdy, so it was quite a struggle for them.
［Kiaaak!］
［Frrrrr…!］
［Graaah!!!］
Kinogine Arachne swung her thin threads, slicing through the trees, causing the Poison Apples hanging from them to scream and fall in heaps.
【Rizenova】─This is a massacre.
【Mysticism】─😟 Poor Poison Apples.
【Pururu】─I don’t feel sorry for those ugly things.
【Yumi】─It’s inevitable in a world of survival of the fittest.
【Bubble Bubble】─They were food anyway, so what.
For reference, we weren’t planning to cut down all the trees.
This was a precious apple orchard, after all.
So, we planned to only cut down about half of them.
Well, as for the Poison Apples dying in the process, that couldn’t be helped.
It was unfortunate, but we couldn’t transplant them to other trees.
According to the Poison Apple I tamed, if too many Poison Apples grew on one tree, the tree would rot quickly.
【Pururu】─Geon, but even if they fall off the tree, won’t they survive for a few days?
“If they can’t exert their original strength due to certain conditions, they usually die within a few days.”
【Bubble Bubble】─So, it’s confirmed they’ll die within a few days. I guess Poison Apples are the weakest among S-class.
【Pururu】─Then we might as well kill them off cleanly now.
【Pururu】─Might as well make their last moments less painful.
“I was planning to do that anyway. Some of them might struggle desperately and attack us.”
As I was about to massacre the Poison Apples that had fallen from the trees, Mummy Skeleton suddenly rushed forward and sucked all the Poison Apples into his body.
［Tasty…］
【Mysticism】─🤢
【Pururu】─Eats well.
Ah, come to think of it, Mummy Skeleton liked eating Poison Apples raw, didn’t he?
Seems like I won’t need to bother with cleanup.
I could just give all the fallen Poison Apples to Mummy Skeleton as food.
After carefully selecting the best-quality trees for cutting for a while…
［Boing boing. It’s a hassle to carry everything, so I should set up a warp device here as well.］
Omega picked a suitable spot and installed a warp device.
“Omega, are you sure it’s okay to set up a warp device in a place like this? What if other monsters use it?”
［That won’t be a problem. I’ll configure it so only registered users can use it. Boing boing.］
“Really? Then that’s a relief.”
【Mysticism】─😀 You had it all planned out!
【Yumi】─Omega wouldn’t act without thinking, would he?
【Pururu】─Acting like you know Omega so well.
Following Omega’s lead, my monsters and I registered ourselves as users of the warp device.
Of course, I didn’t register the Poison Apples.
They wouldn’t have any use for it anyway.
* * *
After Omega went back to the desert shelter.
I briefly returned to the hideout to gather the monsters.
“Did you call for me, baa?”
“Merino, you don’t have to come.”
“Baa-baa!”
Looking at the monsters gathered in front of me, I slowly began to speak.
Once the desert village was completed…
I planned to select the monsters that would move there in advance.
Those selected would help Omega with the construction of the desert village.
［Beep…］
［Jafaaan…］
At first, the atmosphere was one of reluctance.
None of the monsters wanted to be separated from me.
“Everyone, even if you move to the desert village, we can meet anytime through the warp device.”
It wasn’t like we’d be apart forever.
It would be more like moving to the house next door.
I added that I’d visit the village often when I had time.
After hearing that, the atmosphere improved significantly.
The once anxious faces of the monsters brightened.
“Now, I’ll announce the three who will be moving to the desert village.”
I took another look at all the monsters.
As I said before, only three monsters would move.
If I sent too many, there wouldn’t be enough monsters left to explore the labyrinth, so I was purposely sending a small number.
I could always tame new residents later.
After scanning the monsters one last time, I announced the chosen ones.
“Anubis Dragon.”
［…I see. While it’s unfortunate that I’ll be separated from Gauntlet, that desert is where I originally lived. Pharaoh Devil lives there as well, so I won’t be lonely.］
“Mummy Skeleton.”
［I like the sand. I accept.］
“And finally, Snake Head.”
［Oro oro?］
Those three.
I picked monsters that I figured would have the least resistance to moving.
Especially since Anubis and Mummy Skeleton were originally from the desert, they probably wouldn’t have any major objections.
As for Snake Head… Well…
I figured it was just because he wasn’t pulling his weight lately, so I sent him down.
【Pururu】─Snake Head is so confused. LOL
【Rizenova】─He looks like he’s been exiled.
【Mysticism】─🤣
【Yumi】─Seems like he didn’t expect to be chosen.
【Bubble Bubble】─He hasn’t been doing much lately anyway, so it’s for the best. After all the lazing around, he can finally work hard in the desert.
Snake Head hung his head low in defeat.
I patted him on the shoulder to console him.
Then, I immediately activated the warp device.
“The three who were selected will head to the desert starting today and help Omega every day.”
【Pururu】─So, it’s like commuting until the village is completed.
“And I’ll be heading to the desert now as well…”
I turned and looked at the monsters once again.
“Kinogine and Niara, you two come with me. We need to go recruit village residents.”
［Yes, Father!］
［Ah, my son just loves staying close to his mommy, doesn’t he? What an adorable boy who can’t be apart from his mother… So cute, hehe.］
“…Niara, you stay here, and Princess, you come with me instead.”
［Okay!］
［Mommy is sorry, my son…］
Leaving Niara at the hideout.
We crossed through the warp device and arrived in the desert.
Today’s task was to recruit village residents.
I planned to roam around the desert, taming every monster I came across and making them villagers.
Normally, I wouldn’t take such risks myself, but this was the desert.
And in the desert, I had the reliable Solorb to back me up.