Chapter 96 – The Children

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I carefully used my appraisal skill on the wood, learning its characteristics. And then I activated the crafting skill all at once.
And like that, I created a wooden box that was 0.8 meters high.

“Next is the lid.”

First, I crafted the lid part.
Ije was not very strong.
And so I made sure that it was not too heavy.

Then I used metal to make hinges to connect the lid and box.
It was a good thing that I had collected metal previously.
Metal had been very rare, so it was nice to be able to use it casually now.

“Good. It’s complete then. Ije, try opening and closing it.”
“Yes! …It very easy to open and close.”
“That’s good to hear.”

I tried it myself.
There didn’t seem to be any problems.

“I guess it’s fine then.”

And so I set the magic bag inside of the box.

And then I asked Ije if it was convenient to use.

“Yes! Very easy to take out! Thank yoU!”
“Good. But if you notice anything later, please tell me.”
“Okay!”
“Hmm! Hm!”

Fio also seemed to be interested, and she opened and closed the lid repeatedly.

“Fio. This is where the condiments will be stored.”
“Food!”
“That’s right.”

And then I started to put the condiment barrels into the magic bag.

“I should put the mountain vegetables we gathered, as well as the meat and fish Hippolius caught inside as well.”

And so I moved the food out of my own bag and into the box.

“Kyuo?”
Hippolius watched with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t worry. Your food and snacks are stored properly inside.”
‘Hippolius doesn’t need any snacks!’
“I see.”

I petted Hippolius, who was still being carried by Kelly.
And then Hippolius’s tail wagged happily.

After that, Ije went with Victor and Kelly in order to find a good place to turn into farmland.
Ije was from a farming village, after all.
And she also knew a lot about these lands.
Besides, we had also brought the farming tools.

Ije had already greatly improved the food situation on this new continent, and it seemed like she would now help create a foundation for farming.

“I cannot fall behind.”
‘Like hunting boars?’

Hippolius, who had been running around with the wolf cubs and Shiro, asked me.

“That is fine too. But since we acquired metal, I want to do something with that.”
‘Okay!’
“We have to do things in order. As some of it must be done during the summer and before winter. Or it will be a big problem later.”
‘Should Hippolius help?’
‘Kuro too! Kuro too!’
“Au!”
‘Help.”

Once Kuro started saying he would help, Roro and Ruru joined and sat in front of me expectantly.
Though, it was clear that Kuro did not know the difference between playing and helping.

“Hmmm. I’m fine for now. But thank you.”
“Kyuo!”
“Wou!”
“Pi.”
“Kuun.”
“Ah, that’s right. Hippolius, you watch the wolf cubs with Shiro.”
‘Okay!’
“Wou.”

Shiro was saying to leave it to them. That was reassuring.

“Make sure that they don’t go outside of the base.”
‘Okay!’
“Wuff.”

I petted them on the head and then started my work.
As for Pii, it was currently jiggling on my shoulder.
Pii was probably asleep.
But the perfect weight and vibrations felt like a massage, and so I left it there.

“First… The water pipes.”
“Water!”

Fio must have been curious, as she stuck with me.
As Fio was still a child, she was generally not given any work to do.
She could just work if she wanted to.

“Fio. You can go and play, you know?”
“Watching Theo is fun!”
“If you think so…”

Behind us, Hippolius and Shiro were playing with the wolf cubs.
It was best for children to play.

As Shiro was a white demon wolf, she became anxious without something to do, and so she was given work sometimes.
And since Hippolius wanted to help, I had asked them to watch the wolf cubs.
That being said, Hippolius really was just playing, so that was a relief.

“Ije, you can also play if you want.”
“Ije likes to cook!”
“I see. Hmm.”

If she wanted to do it, then that was fine.
I had started carrying baggage for Adventurers when I was around ten years old.
It was the only way to survive, after my parents had both died.

“…We just need to make sure the work environment is not harsh.”

It was very harsh for me.
Carrying luggage that weighed more than I did. And having to keep up with grown ups.
They would sometimes use me as bait, and I rarely got to eat until I was full.
And I would often have to keep the night watch without sleeping.

“Children should be able to relax, eat a lot and play.”
“I see.”
“Fio, Shiro, Kuro, Roro, Ruru and Ije have already experienced too much hardship.”
“But Fio is having fun now!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“And food is good!”

Fio said as she wagged her tail.

“I am very glad then.”
“Yes!”

As we talked like this, Shiro and Hippolius played happily with the wolf cubs behind us.

Next Chapter

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