Volume 3 - CH 4

I instructed the monsters on how to rebuild the village. There were some monsters among the new werewolves, and slimes who had construction technique, smithing technique, and cooking technique.

I rebuilt the houses along with those guys. As long as you have the materials, the rest of the rebuilding process can be left to the skills. Something about that caught my interest.

My own construction technique had gotten a lot more powerful than it was before. I could make bigger houses, and the quality of houses I made was better. I wonder what caused this?

My construction technique level hadn’t gone up yet. Another possibility could be that I gained new comrades? However, I didn’t notice any particular changes when I gained more comrades in the past.

In that case, perhaps it’s a result of the number of comrades with construction technique going up. That’s what’s most likely the cause. Thanks to that, I could now make two-story building.

Since I could now make apartment like communal buildings, it might be a good idea to prepare spaces for any new comrades I make later on to live in. Since that makes the amount of lumber I consume go up as well, I probably need to consider that while I use the skill.

“Lord Crest. Is it fine to make a field around here?”

“Yeah, please do.”

I don’t know how long we’ll live here, but we prepared fields for our second base as well. I directed the goblin with land clearing technique as I constructed several buildings.

Once I was pretty much out of materials to use, I took a break while waiting for everyone to finish gathering. Livia and the others came over from a large rock they were using as a seat.

Orphe’s expression wasn’t too great, likely due to his acting lessons. He’s an easy to understand guy.

“Lord Crest. Would it be alright to go over the current vampire situation?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“The first thing the vampire will want to hear is whether or not he’s taken over the southern territory. For now he’ll just answer that he’s taken it over, but what questions do you think they’ll ask?”

“I don’t think it was in Veld’s character to sit tight and listen, so maybe it would be good to ask them something from our side?”

“I, guess so. I guess the info we want to hear about right now would be that magic stone after all. Did Veld know about the risks involved in using them?” Livia asked one of the werewolves that came along. He was a werewolf who said he was close to Veld. The werewolf shook his head.

“No, he shouldn’t have heard anything about it. But, there is the chance that Veld used them while taking the risks into account.”

“In that case we should ask a little about that.” Said Livia, but I was a little concerned.

“Veld should have been told about their power to some degree as well. We could ask about them, but that will likely make them suspicious of us.”

“…I guess so. What should we do then?” We kept our mouths shut as Livia thought about it. We would know the kinds of questions we would ask without raising suspicion if we knew what sorts of things Veld had discussed with the vampire.

“How about we tell them that that we would like to know more about the magic stones, and try asking them how they are made?” I suggested.

“If it’s just a question out of curiosity I don’t see it being an issue. Shall we get back to acting practice then, Orphe?”

“Y, yeah…” Orphe cringed at Livia’s words before nodding his head. Everyone’s sight gathered on Orphe. Having everyone looking at him seemed cause him some stress. He gave a cough before opening his mouth.

“I want, to have some more about the magic stones. Also, I want to hear a little more about their power if possible? Several of my comrades died though… h, how’s that?” Orphe looked at me nervously. The first bits seemed like Veld, but there were little bits of Orphe’s kinder way of speaking mixed in.

“What do you think?” I glanced at the nearby werewolf who was helping out. He should be able to properly evaluate Orphe’s acting. He shook his head back and forth.

“Veld, was a far stricter man.”

“There you have it.”

“…Figures.” Orphe let out a big sigh before clearing his throat with a cough.

“Well, apart from your acting practice, let’s get back to the topic of the talk with the vampire.” I glanced over to Livia, and she nodded before speaking some more.

“Later in that case. Since the vampire is coming all the way here, they should have some sort of demand.”

“Right.” They probably wouldn’t have helped out if they didn’t have anything to ask in return. Maybe it’s to take over the area of the lower world that we live in?

“What should we do if they ask us to submit ourselves below the vampires?” I gave plenty of thought to the possibility Livia brought up. Between vampires and werewolves, vampires have more power. “Should be good to refuse and see how they respond.” In the first place we don’t know what sort of back and forth went on between Veld and the vampire. That’s exactly why taking on a defiant stance is important. That should also tell us why the vampires approached the werewolves in the first place.