Chapter 104 – Compost and Hippolius’s Droppings
After the plow was finished, I returned to my job of watching over Hippolius.
“Kyu!”
“Good work!”
Hippolius was doing the work of dozens of people.
And so it was important to maintain Hippolius’s motivation.
That being said, I was not just watching.
While Hippolius was knocking down the trees, I and the other Adventurers removed the weeds.
“Gather the grass over here.”
“Understood. Are you going to make fertilizer?”
“Yes. Will dig hole over here and put grass inside.”
Ije said as she used a shovel to dig a hole a short distance away from the field.
Victor was going to help, but the Adventurers stopped him, as he had only just recovered.
“Victor. You should rest for some time.”
“…Yes. I suppose you are right.”
Victor sounded a little disappointed.
I suppose he wanted to work and to be active.
As for turning grass into fertilizer, we had done that on the old continent as well.
We would mix chicken or cow droppings in and let them ferment.
“While we have no cows or chickens…it can be done with just grass.”
“I see.”
And then Kelly, who had been helping with digging the hole, said,
“Why don’t you use Hippolius’s?”
“Kyuo?”
Hippolius, was still uprooting trees, looked at us in alarm.
“No, no. Hippolius eats meat and fish. Surely that is quite different from cows, who only eat grass?”
“Well, surely it will be fine? After all, fermenting it with dragon droppings results in good fertilizer.”
“…Is that so?”
“Kyuo!”
Aside from the times we were on walks, Hippolius used the toilet like the rest of us.
It had been that way ever since Hippolius shrunk down enough to fit into the toilet.
“Besides, Hippolius’s also has the effect of keeping away monsters and animals.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
In the natural world, dragons were the uncontested kings. The top of the food chain.
So monsters and animals generally avoided places that smelled like them.
“If it was just animals, Shiro’s would be effective as well.”
“Wuff?”
Shiro looked towards us and tilted her head.
She was currently participating in the digging, while Fio watched over the sleeping wolf cubs.
I suppose she wanted to help Ije.
Though, she was clearly enjoying digging as well.
“Shiro. You don’t have to worry about our conversation.”
“Wuff!”
And then Shiro cheerfully returned to digging the hole.
As she was having fun, she was going at quite a fast pace.
I was glad that she was enjoying it.
We could think about the fertilizer later. Right now, we all focused on the grass.
Even though it was planned to be a large field, the trees and grass were removed in no time.
Everyone had worked hard, but Hippolius’s help was the biggest reason.
Without Hippolius, it would have likely taken several days.
One of the Adventurers said,
“Let’s carry the wood to the base later. We’ll be counting on you, Hippolius.”
“Kyuo! Kyuo! ‘Leave it to me!’”
“Thank you, Hippolius.”
Hippolius looked happy to be praised and petted by everyone.
We had also cut quite a lot of grass.
There was a small hill of it.
And while Ije and the others had worked hard to dig the pit, it was still not deep enough to fit all of it inside.
I picked up a shovel in order to help them, but…
“We should rest first. And then we can use the plow to work the soil.”
Said Victor, and so we rested.
The Adventurers sat down and drank water from their bottles.
“That’s right. Shiro.”
“Wuff?”
“Do you want to go on a walk?”
“Wou!”
“It can be later, if you are tired.”
“Wou-wou!”
Apparently, she wanted to go now.
Even though she had been digging so quickly. I suppose walks were special.
“Very well. Let’s go then.”
“Wou!”
“Kyuo!”
“Do you want to go too, Hippolius? You worked so hard. Are you not tired?”
‘Not tired!’
“I see. But don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Kyuo!”
I looked at the wolf cubs, and saw that they were awake and playing with Fio.
“Fio, Kelly. Please take care of the cubs.”
“Okay!”
“Leave it to us.”
I told Victor and the other Adventurers, just in case.
“I’m taking Shiro on a walk.”
“Ah, I see. She’s a wolf, after all. So walks are important.”
“Be careful.”
“Wuff.”
Shiro wagged her tail as the Adventurers patted her on the head.
“Be careful, Mr. Theo.”
“Aye, I will.”
And then I started running with Shiro and Hippolius.
Of course, Pii was still riding on my shoulder.
“Shiro, you can run at your own pace. And you too, Hippolius.”
“Wuff!”
“Kyuo!”
Shiro ran more slowly than usual.
Sometimes, she would stop and mark her territory.
Thanks to that, monsters stayed away from this area.
On the other hand, Hippolius ran around as usual.
Hippolius would run very fast in one direction, and then come back.
In spite of uprooting so many trees, it showed no signs of being tired.
And so we ran like this for half an hour, and then returned to the field.
Thanks for the treat. 👍