Kujonin Chapter 71

Seth is sleeping, so we leave off going to Seth’s house until tomorrow and visit houses in the village that are lit by magic stone lights .
The first one we visited seems to be the village’s sole inn, so we rented a large room .
When they asked what we were up to, I responded with a company vacation and preliminary investigation all rolled into one .
“There isn’t anyone else staying tonight, so take your ease . ”
The cat-eared old man said as he rubbed his face with the back of his hand .
Is he sleepy?
The fee is 2 silver coins for 5 people .
Breakfast and dinner are also included, he said .
Can they get by like this? I’m worried .
As for the room, it’s plenty clean enough even without using Cleanup, and the sheets are also spotless .
“Just like we’d heard . ”
Velsa said .
“You asked about this inn?”
“Aa, it’s cheapness is famous among adventurers . It’s mostly an inn for fishing, they said . ”
“Is the reason there’s no customers other than us because it’s not the season for it?”
“Do the seasons matter on a lake?”
“It should . The water temperature changes, after all . ”
“That’s true . ”
We laid Seth and Merumo down, and we also climbed into our beds .
Was she tired from the journey? In just a few seconds, Ayl was snoring .
While listening to that snoring, I also fell asleep .

The next morning there were sounds of someone small coming closer, so I opened my eyes .
When I looked with Search Skill, I could clearly see that it was a short person .
Ayl, sleeping in the bed next to me, seems to realize it as well as she pulls her sword towards her .
But no matter how I think about it, the sounds of running up the stairs have to be a child .

Bang!

The room’s door opened, and the child ran over to Seth’s bed and jumped on it .
“Nii-chan!”
“N? Aa, Nikke…e!? Nikke? What are you doing!?”
Seth called the child Nikke and lifted her up .
Everyone got up and stretched .
“A, I’m so sorry! We woke everyone . This is my little sister . Nikke, say hi . ”
“Good morning! I’m Nikke!”
Nikke got off the bed and gave her greeting
“’Morning-“
“Good morning . ”
“Uw! She’s so cute!”

“Yo-!”
Each of us responded to Nikke .
Seth looked around at his surroundings, looked out the window, and he seems to have realized that he’s been returned to his hometown .
“When did we get here?”
“Midnight, I guess . ”
I yawned as I answered Seth’s question .
“Nikke, how did you know your Nii-chan had arrived?”
“E? Smell?”
“Black catmen have a good nose, na . I’m going to go wash my face . ”
So saying, I took a towel to use as a towel and went to go outside, and
“The well is this way . ”
Nikke went out ahead of me, showing me the way .
“Nikke! Try not to be rude! This person is an important person!”
Seth came chasing after us all fl.u.s.tered .
Behind him all the girls also came along .

Washing our faces at the well, we ate breakfast at the inn .
When Nikke had shown me to the well, she said, “I’m going to tell Mom that Nii-chan’s back!” and rushed off .
She’s got quick legs, like her brother .

Breakfast was a small grilled fish, salad, and the usual hard bread .
Seth made an awkward face, but it was delicious enough for the rest of us .
After the meal I handed the bonus to Seth and Merumo, and we went to visit Seth’s house .
Even while Merumo said things like, “Is this really okay?” she placed it securely deep into her bag . It seems she’ll send it to her home when we return to Floura .
Ayl and Velsa said that in times of need, I should pull out my wallet .
With the now muscular Seth walking at the front, the villagers had to look twice and were surprised .
“Did you bring a hostess gift?”
Even though I was the President, I didn’t bring anything, so I asked Velsa about it quietly .
“It seems like Ayl bought something…”
“Rice dumplings? Sweet buns?”
I asked Ayl .
“Hm? No, it’s bread that was fried with honey on it . It’s good, right?”
Honey rusk, huh? It’s more proper than I thought .
“I can’t match up to your refinement!”
And, when I praised her, Ayl puffed out her chest . Right now she’s in bikini armor, not the coverall, so I’m a bit troubled with where to put my eyes .
As the male villagers’ looks all gathered at Ayl’s chest, we arrived at Seth’s house .
It’s a house with earth walls and a round roof .
“I’m home-!”
Seth opened the door and called in .
“Oh my, welcome home! In just the little while I haven’t seen you, you’ve gotten so st.u.r.dy, my my my, welcome, please come in . ”
A black cat beastman came out while wiping her hands on her ap.r.o.n .

A black cat beastman came out while wiping her hands on her ap.r.o.n .
“These are the people at the company . Everyone, this my mom . ”
“Nice to meet you, thank you for caring for Seth!”
“”””Nice to meet you, he’s been in our care . ””””
And, when we had all given our greetings, Nikke, from earlier, and a small boy that looks like a little Seth appeared .
The boy only peeked out from behind his mother’s leg, and gave a “Hi,” as his greeting .
“Here, this is something tasty . ”
Ayl handed Seth’s mother some sweets .
Seth, being Seth, seems to have bought some dumpling-like things, and gave them to his sister .
“For now, how about coming inside for some tea?”
We spread out to the living room and sat around the table on top of the carpet .

Seth seems to have given his mother his bonus while she was making tea, because we heard a shriek from the kitchen .
“President-sama! Sincerely, thank you so much for hiring my son at this time! I hope to have your favor for many more years!”
The mother flew out of the kitchen and leapt into a dogeza .
“Oh no, I am looking forward to having him from now on as well . ”
“I thought he would return right away after I sent him out, and so I’d have to chase him away, but … and so, what does my son do?”
It might be worrying when her son returns with a lot of money shortly after being chased out .
“We’re an extermination company, and we exterminate things like harmful pests inside the house, as well as large outbreaks of bugs within the desert . I intend to have your son captain our ship . ”
“E,extermination? You say it’s that kind of thing, but can you really make such a profit?”
“ … let’s see; when we earn, we earn quite a bit . ”
“There aren’t any rival companies, after all . ”
Velsa explained .
“And you can also earn some money as an adventurer . ”
Ayl said .
“Your son is already a D Rank adventurer . ”
“Ee-!?”
His mother’s eyes went wide and she looked at her son, was scratching his head, and patted his back and arms, sounding out his muscles .
“Ayl-san was training me . ”
Seth explained to his mother, while being embarra.s.sed .
“Truly, truly thank you so much!”
His mother bowed her head again and again, giving her thanks .

As we had tea, Ayl began to fawn over Nikke and Seth’s little brother .
Velsa and Merumo also joined in with her, and they taught them hand games .
The mother was telling stories about how foolish Seth was back in the day .
Seth said, “Stooop,” while his face turned red .
“He really was so foolish . Even so, I thought it was fine as long as he could make a living as a fisherman . ”
“Did something happen?”
“The water in the lake has decreased, and the fish have also decreased . It’s become a bit of a serious matter, so I chased him out, telling him to see more of the world . It would be better if he found a job out on the ocean, I thought . Compared to our tiny boat, it’s obvious which one would earn more . ”
Seth is making a face like, is that how it is!?

Seth is making a face like, is that how it is!?
“Did the water decrease that much?”
“Yes, shall I show you?”
So saying, Seth and Seth’s mother guided me outside .

Certainly, there are traces on the beach and on the pillars of the wharf that show the waterline has moved further below .
The ladies and children also came outside, giggling and shrieking as they played in the lake .
“Uwaa, this water is sticky . Naoki, use Cleanup~ . ”
Velsa came over, out of the lake .
Before I used Cleanup, I touched the water on Velsa’s body to confirm it .
“It’s originally a salt water lake, but the salt content has been increasing . There are more and more fish that no longer appear from the ones that were here before . ”
Salt poisoning, huh? Is it a water shortage?
On the other side of the mountain, there was a lot of rain that fell in the desert, but I wonder if there wasn’t much rain here .
“Even so, this time Hero-sama is going to build a ca.n.a.l . They’ll be aquafarming the fish from the ocean, the Fishers Guild said . ”
The mother, watching her children playing, said .
The lake’s fishermen have all sorts of things going on, na .
“The Hero has been appearing recently?”
Even though this is a company vacation, since we’re also doing the Earth Hero’s investigation, I asked just in case .
“Ee . A little while ago, he came to take care of some monsters . I didn’t know about it, but he said he was leaving in the wastelands east of here . 5 or 6 years ago, he finally got his plantation going, he said . Even though I live on the banks of the same lake, I didn’t know anything at all about the other side . ”
The mother, look towards the opposite bank that was out of sight, gave her impressions .
“Is it far to the wastelands?”
“It should be 1 or 2 days from the opposite bank . Is there something you’re interested in about it?”
“Aa, no . ”
I can’t say, “I’m thinking about going to exterminate him . ”
If I run, I’ll probably be able to make it back by dinner .
“Ayl, are you guys going to be playing around?”
“N? Are you going somewhere?”
“I was thinking I’d go meet the Hero for a bit . ”
“Aa, that’s right, there was also that kind of thing . ”
Looks like she was thinking about nothing but the company vacation .
“It’s fine if I’m the only one who goes . ”
Since it looks like it’ll be over even if we don’t exterminate him .
“I see . We’re going to look around the village . If something happens, give us a call . ”
“Roger . Seth, sorry, but can you pilot the boat? It’s fine if it’s just to the other side, but send me off, okay?”
“Aa, yeah, I understand . ”

I borrowed Seth’s house’s boat, and headed off for the opposite side together with Seth .
It’s a sailboat, but without spreading the sail, we move with a water magic circle I had drawn on the hull .
I left the rudder to Seth .
The villagers can’t figure out how the boat is moving, so they gathered on the beach, watching us .

“Do people not normally go to the other side?”
I asked Seth .

“Do people not normally go to the other side?”
I asked Seth .
“They pretty much don’t . There’s a village of the newt tribe of the lizard beastmen, and they’re very territorial . There have also been attacks when we’ve gone . ”
“Is it okay for us to go right now?”
“If it’s the President, it’s fine . Please scatter them away with a kick . ”
I’d like to avoid pointless conflict, though .
“Let me know when we get close . I don’t want pointless battles, and you don’t want the boat damaged, right?”
“That’s true . ”
I wonder if it’s Ayl’s influence; I’ll be troubled if he becomes reckless and aggressive .
Let’s change the subject .
“Was the reduction of the lake’s water recent?”
“Uum, we started feeling like it was decreasing 5 years ago . ”
Hm? Isn’t that when the Hero’s Plantation started kicking into gear?
No, well, it’s dangerous to randomly think of one as the cause of the other .
That said, I have a really bad feeling .
I think I’ve heard about some similar precedents from my previous world .
If the plantation happens to be raising vegetation like … no, I shouldn’t continue such bad thoughts .
I spontaneously raised the boat’s speed .
“P,president?”

When we reached the opposite sh.o.r.e where n.o.body was, I instructed Seth to look if there are any rivers that have suddenly reduced in size among the rivers that flow into the lake .
“Is this really important?”
“That’s right . It’s really, really important . But don’t push yourself . If it looks like it will get dangerous, call for Ayl and Velsa . ”
“Okay, I got it . ”
It seems like Seth, who saw me get strangely serious along the way while on the boat, was able to sense it .

I ran through the wasteland, where nothing but low-growing vegetation grows .
I go at it seriously .
Pa.s.sing by bird monsters and lizard monsters, I make it through .
It’s full of pebbles, a complete wasteland .
When I had run for a while, I saw a forest in front of me .
I ran while dodging all the trees in the forest .
I was soon out of the forest .

Before my eyes, the Hero’s plantation was spread out .

It seems to continue on until the hills .
“So it’s cotton…”
The fields are all cotton .
My bad feeling seems to have been right on .
I poured magic into the communication bag .
“Sorry everyone, the vacation is over . We’re exterminating the Hero . ”

Seth is sleeping, so we leave off going to Seth’s house until tomorrow and visit houses in the village that are lit by magic stone lights The first one we visited seems to be the village’s sole inn, so we rented a large room When they asked what we were up to, I responded with a company vacation and preliminary investigation all rolled into one “There isn’t anyone else staying tonight, so take your ease . ”. The cat-eared old man said as he rubbed his face with the back of his hand Is he sleepy?. The fee is 2 silver coins for 5 people Breakfast and dinner are also included, he said Can they get by like this? I’m worried As for the room, it’s plenty clean enough even without using Cleanup, and the sheets are also spotless “Just like we’d heard . ”. Velsa said “You asked about this inn?”. “Aa, it’s cheapness is famous among adventurers . It’s mostly an inn for fishing, they said . ”. “Is the reason there’s no customers other than us because it’s not the season for it?”. “Do the seasons matter on a lake?”. “It should . The water temperature changes, after all . ”. “That’s true . ”. We laid Seth and Merumo down, and we also climbed into our beds Was she tired from the journey? In just a few seconds, Ayl was snoring While listening to that snoring, I also fell asleep

The next morning there were sounds of someone small coming closer, so I opened my eyes When I looked with Search Skill, I could clearly see that it was a short person Ayl, sleeping in the bed next to me, seems to realize it as well as she pulls her sword towards her But no matter how I think about it, the sounds of running up the stairs have to be a child

Bang!.

The room’s door opened, and the child ran over to Seth’s bed and jumped on it “Nii-chan!”. “N? Aa, Nikke…e!? Nikke? What are you doing!?”. Seth called the child Nikke and lifted her up Everyone got up and stretched “A, I’m so sorry! We woke everyone . This is my little sister . Nikke, say hi . ”. “Good morning! I’m Nikke!”. Nikke got off the bed and gave her greeting. “’Morning-“. “Good morning . ”. “Uw! She’s so cute!”. “Yo-!”. Each of us responded to Nikke Seth looked around at his surroundings, looked out the window, and he seems to have realized that he’s been returned to his hometown “When did we get here?”. “Midnight, I guess . ”. I yawned as I answered Seth’s question “Nikke, how did you know your Nii-chan had arrived?”. “E? Smell?”. “Black catmen have a good nose, na . I’m going to go wash my face . ”. So saying, I took a towel to use as a towel and went to go outside, and. “The well is this way . ”. Nikke went out ahead of me, showing me the way “Nikke! Try not to be rude! This person is an important person!”. Seth came chasing after us all fl.u.s.tered Behind him all the girls also came along

Washing our faces at the well, we ate breakfast at the inn When Nikke had shown me to the well, she said, “I’m going to tell Mom that Nii-chan’s back!” and rushed off She’s got quick legs, like her brother

Breakfast was a small grilled fish, salad, and the usual hard bread Seth made an awkward face, but it was delicious enough for the rest of us After the meal I handed the bonus to Seth and Merumo, and we went to visit Seth’s house Even while Merumo said things like, “Is this really okay?” she placed it securely deep into her bag . It seems she’ll send it to her home when we return to Floura Ayl and Velsa said that in times of need, I should pull out my wallet With the now muscular Seth walking at the front, the villagers had to look twice and were surprised “Did you bring a hostess gift?”. Even though I was the President, I didn’t bring anything, so I asked Velsa about it quietly “It seems like Ayl bought something…”. “Rice dumplings? Sweet buns?”. I asked Ayl “Hm? No, it’s bread that was fried with honey on it . It’s good, right?”. Honey rusk, huh? It’s more proper than I thought “I can’t match up to your refinement!”. And, when I praised her, Ayl puffed out her chest . Right now she’s in bikini armor, not the coverall, so I’m a bit troubled with where to put my eyes As the male villagers’ looks all gathered at Ayl’s chest, we arrived at Seth’s house It’s a house with earth walls and a round roof “I’m home-!”. Seth opened the door and called in “Oh my, welcome home! In just the little while I haven’t seen you, you’ve gotten so st.u.r.dy, my my my, welcome, please come in . ”. A black cat beastman came out while wiping her hands on her ap.r.o.n “These are the people at the company . Everyone, this my mom . ”. “Nice to meet you, thank you for caring for Seth!”. “”””Nice to meet you, he’s been in our care . ””””. And, when we had all given our greetings, Nikke, from earlier, and a small boy that looks like a little Seth appeared The boy only peeked out from behind his mother’s leg, and gave a “Hi,” as his greeting “Here, this is something tasty . ”. Ayl handed Seth’s mother some sweets Seth, being Seth, seems to have bought some dumpling-like things, and gave them to his sister “For now, how about coming inside for some tea?”. We spread out to the living room and sat around the table on top of the carpet

Seth seems to have given his mother his bonus while she was making tea, because we heard a shriek from the kitchen “President-sama! Sincerely, thank you so much for hiring my son at this time! I hope to have your favor for many more years!”. The mother flew out of the kitchen and leapt into a dogeza “Oh no, I am looking forward to having him from now on as well . ”. “I thought he would return right away after I sent him out, and so I’d have to chase him away, but … and so, what does my son do?”. It might be worrying when her son returns with a lot of money shortly after being chased out “We’re an extermination company, and we exterminate things like harmful pests inside the house, as well as large outbreaks of bugs within the desert . I intend to have your son captain our ship . ”. “E,extermination? You say it’s that kind of thing, but can you really make such a profit?”. “ … let’s see; when we earn, we earn quite a bit . ”. “There aren’t any rival companies, after all . ”. Velsa explained “And you can also earn some money as an adventurer . ”. Ayl said “Your son is already a D Rank adventurer . ”. “Ee-!?”. His mother’s eyes went wide and she looked at her son, was scratching his head, and patted his back and arms, sounding out his muscles “Ayl-san was training me . ”. Seth explained to his mother, while being embarra.s.sed “Truly, truly thank you so much!”. His mother bowed her head again and again, giving her thanks

As we had tea, Ayl began to fawn over Nikke and Seth’s little brother Velsa and Merumo also joined in with her, and they taught them hand games The mother was telling stories about how foolish Seth was back in the day Seth said, “Stooop,” while his face turned red “He really was so foolish . Even so, I thought it was fine as long as he could make a living as a fisherman . ”. “Did something happen?”. “The water in the lake has decreased, and the fish have also decreased . It’s become a bit of a serious matter, so I chased him out, telling him to see more of the world . It would be better if he found a job out on the ocean, I thought . Compared to our tiny boat, it’s obvious which one would earn more . ”. Seth is making a face like, is that how it is!?. “Did the water decrease that much?”. “Yes, shall I show you?”. So saying, Seth and Seth’s mother guided me outside

Certainly, there are traces on the beach and on the pillars of the wharf that show the waterline has moved further below The ladies and children also came outside, giggling and shrieking as they played in the lake “Uwaa, this water is sticky . Naoki, use Cleanup~ . ”. Velsa came over, out of the lake Before I used Cleanup, I touched the water on Velsa’s body to confirm it “It’s originally a salt water lake, but the salt content has been increasing . There are more and more fish that no longer appear from the ones that were here before . ”. Salt poisoning, huh? Is it a water shortage?. On the other side of the mountain, there was a lot of rain that fell in the desert, but I wonder if there wasn’t much rain here “Even so, this time Hero-sama is going to build a ca.n.a.l . They’ll be aquafarming the fish from the ocean, the Fishers Guild said . ”. The mother, watching her children playing, said The lake’s fishermen have all sorts of things going on, na “The Hero has been appearing recently?”. Even though this is a company vacation, since we’re also doing the Earth Hero’s investigation, I asked just in case “Ee . A little while ago, he came to take care of some monsters . I didn’t know about it, but he said he was leaving in the wastelands east of here . 5 or 6 years ago, he finally got his plantation going, he said . Even though I live on the banks of the same lake, I didn’t know anything at all about the other side . ”. The mother, look towards the opposite bank that was out of sight, gave her impressions “Is it far to the wastelands?”. “It should be 1 or 2 days from the opposite bank . Is there something you’re interested in about it?”. “Aa, no . ”. I can’t say, “I’m thinking about going to exterminate him . ”. If I run, I’ll probably be able to make it back by dinner “Ayl, are you guys going to be playing around?”. “N? Are you going somewhere?”. “I was thinking I’d go meet the Hero for a bit . ”. “Aa, that’s right, there was also that kind of thing . ”. Looks like she was thinking about nothing but the company vacation “It’s fine if I’m the only one who goes . ”. Since it looks like it’ll be over even if we don’t exterminate him “I see . We’re going to look around the village . If something happens, give us a call . ”. “Roger . Seth, sorry, but can you pilot the boat? It’s fine if it’s just to the other side, but send me off, okay?”. “Aa, yeah, I understand . ”.

I borrowed Seth’s house’s boat, and headed off for the opposite side together with Seth It’s a sailboat, but without spreading the sail, we move with a water magic circle I had drawn on the hull I left the rudder to Seth The villagers can’t figure out how the boat is moving, so they gathered on the beach, watching us

“Do people not normally go to the other side?”. I asked Seth “They pretty much don’t . There’s a village of the newt tribe of the lizard beastmen, and they’re very territorial . There have also been attacks when we’ve gone . ”. “Is it okay for us to go right now?”. “If it’s the President, it’s fine . Please scatter them away with a kick . ”. I’d like to avoid pointless conflict, though “Let me know when we get close . I don’t want pointless battles, and you don’t want the boat damaged, right?”. “That’s true . ”. I wonder if it’s Ayl’s influence; I’ll be troubled if he becomes reckless and aggressive Let’s change the subject “Was the reduction of the lake’s water recent?”. “Uum, we started feeling like it was decreasing 5 years ago . ”. Hm? Isn’t that when the Hero’s Plantation started kicking into gear?. No, well, it’s dangerous to randomly think of one as the cause of the other That said, I have a really bad feeling I think I’ve heard about some similar precedents from my previous world If the plantation happens to be raising vegetation like … no, I shouldn’t continue such bad thoughts I spontaneously raised the boat’s speed “P,president?”.

When we reached the opposite sh.o.r.e where n.o.body was, I instructed Seth to look if there are any rivers that have suddenly reduced in size among the rivers that flow into the lake “Is this really important?”. “That’s right . It’s really, really important . But don’t push yourself . If it looks like it will get dangerous, call for Ayl and Velsa . ”. “Okay, I got it . ”. It seems like Seth, who saw me get strangely serious along the way while on the boat, was able to sense it

I ran through the wasteland, where nothing but low-growing vegetation grows I go at it seriously Pa.s.sing by bird monsters and lizard monsters, I make it through It’s full of pebbles, a complete wasteland When I had run for a while, I saw a forest in front of me I ran while dodging all the trees in the forest I was soon out of the forest

Before my eyes, the Hero’s plantation was spread out

It seems to continue on until the hills “So it’s cotton…”. The fields are all cotton My bad feeling seems to have been right on I poured magic into the communication bag “Sorry everyone, the vacation is over . We’re exterminating the Hero . ”.