chapter 73

I teleported my family to the island . When we arrived, the four of them were mesmerized by the sea in front of us .

「Hoe~ . So this is the sea~… I’ve heard about it but it’s the first time I’ve seen it」

「It’s big!」「So pretty!」

「There’s something big floating in the middle」

That was their impression upon seeing the sea for the first time .

「Oh? Didn’t you say you were coming back tomorrow?」

The dog-eared old man happened to pa.s.s by and asked me that .

「Latte was able to take a day off so I thought it would be better to come earlier」

「Well, it’s a different environment compared to the village but I hope you enjoy your stay」

「That’s true . The kids immediately ran towards the sandy beach though」

It seemed like they were interested in the waves that just come and go .

「They’ll probably be fine since we’re inside the bay」

「That’s true . However, I’d like to be able to keep my eye on them as much as possible」

「They might look like adults but they’re still four years old so they’re pretty much still kids . Just leave them with the kids on the island . Well anyway, I’m going back to work」

After that, the dog-eared old man carried his hoe then went back to the fields . That hoe suits him quite well . 1

「Alright, I’m going to leave our luggage in the house I’m currently using . After that, I’ll show you around the island though there’s not much to see」

「What about Lily and Miel?」

「Palma-san and Fleur-san are here so I think it will be fine to leave it to them for a while but I’ll just remind them just in case . Oiー, you two . Don’t go too far okayー? I’ll leave the children to you」

「「’kay~」」「Alright」

「Kyaa!」「Woah!」

With that done, we went to our house to store our luggage .

「I’ll just leave this here for now」

「Hmmー, it’s pretty simple, isn’t it~?」

「It can’t be helped since this is just made to house the slaves of the previous Demon Lord」

「Seems different from the village . Something feels strange」[TL: idk why the author decided to make Suzuran talk like this again]

「I haven’t experienced it yet but the summers here are probably hotter than in the village and it’s not so cold here in the winter . That’s why I think these are made for the climate here . There are plenty of plants and fruits that you don’t see in the village as well so I think it’s pretty nice」

After saying that, I opened up the window and took in the outside breeze .

Meanwhile, the two of them put their bags down then took a look around the room that only had a bed and a Kamado .

「Ah, this is soap right? Did you buy it?」

「I made it」

「Huh?」

「I made it . It’s pretty easy you know? You just mix ash made by burning wood with water then leave it to set for a day . Then, you get a barrel with some clean sand and straw inside, cut out a drain hole, then cover the top with a cloth and pour in the water there . That way, the waste will get filtered out and a white liquid will remain . If you mix in the same amount of oil into that liquid, boil it until all of the excess water is gone, then form it into the shape you want and let it harden」

「I see, I see」

「If you want to make it fragrant, you grate the soap then take some fragrant herbs that have been dried and mixed with hot water . After that, you mix it all together then put it into a mold and let it set then you’re done . To be honest, essential oils would be the best but we don’t have those . I guess this is the only thing we can do for now」

「Muー… Caam-kun is really amazing in all sorts of ways~」

Latte started sniffing around after that . Meanwhile, Suzuran was stuffing her face with the dried meat I set aside .

「Deer?」

She muttered to herself . That’s right, Suzuran-san, it’s venison but…… Please don’t just go around eating what’s on the cupboard in the house that I’m using . At least ask first……

「Hey, Suzuran . We have some meat that has been smoked whole, interestedー?」

「*munch* *munch* Nn . *munch* I’ll *munch* take it」

She was munching away while looking at someplace else but she suddenly faced me then spoke while her cheeks were still stuffed with food .

「Swallow first before you speak . Also, calm down . You’re spilling it everywhere」

She swallowed and then nodded her head .

「Will have . Give me」

「Yeah yeah」

After saying that, I went to the house that’s being used as our smoker . The windows and doors were completely sealed so it was filled with smoke when I entered . While going through the rest of the fish and animal meat that we left here up until now, I found the lump of meat I was talking about and it was already dry and hard .

「I wonder if this was the first meat we got when we came to this island?」

I pierced the meat that was as hard as wood with my knife, took out a large chunk then went back .

「Here you go」

She immediately put it in her mouth and started chewing on it as I handed it to her .

「Ish ‘ard (It’s hard)」

「It needs to be that way after all to make it last longer . Back in the village, we just added plenty of salt to it to remove as much moisture as possible but smoking also has an effect of preventing food from spoiling . Well, this place was made to produce preserved food after all . That’s why this can no longer be used as a house, with all the tar in it」

「It was only dried with salt in the village after all~ . Woah, it really is hard」

Latte was beating the meat as she said that . [TL: I could have written this in so many other ways but I decided to go with this…]

「I wonder if ordinary meat would work~」

「Suzuran’s satisfied now that she was able to eat meat so let’s go to the next place」

「Yeah~ . Let’s」

After that, I showed them the fish that we have left alone till now, the 80% free range chickens, and the rabbits in the cramped box . I also showed them the fenced area for the pigs and sheep that we’ll be getting in the future .

「Hmmー, you really still have a long way to go, don’t you~? Well, it’s only been 60 days right? That’s already pretty good for someone who was suddenly thrown into it, isn’t it? On the fields…… those are potatoes right? You have wheat as well . And from what I can see, the humans don’t seem unhappy with their situation . The old men from the village also look like they’re doing well」

「That’s right . Well, since it hasn’t been long since we got our livestock, we can’t breed them yet . I’m just doing whatever I can with what I have . Even so, it will still take time before the results show」

「It’s not like you can just use money and *bang* it’s all set up . If you don’t acquire a ship, you won’t be able to invite craftsmen from other places for example」

「That’s right . You can only bring four people with transfer magic after all . To be honest, even though it was only for a moment, it was unpleasant being close with those stinky old men when I brought them here」

「What about women~?」

She grinned as she said that .

「It might be better than with old men but I already have Latte and Suzuran so there’s no way I’ll entertain those kinds of thoughts . In fact, I just omitted this when I was talking about the thing with the pirates yesterday because the kids were there but the women we rescued were being used as their playthings so they were actually all naked with shackles on their neck and hands . Even with them being in that state, no thoughts other than wanting to immediately come to their aid came to mind . That’s also the same for when I met the mermaid onee-san who didn’t bother covering her torso at all as well as the harpy onee-san who had something to cover her upper body but only left it to her feathers to cover her lower half, which didn’t really help」

As I said that, my cheeks were pinched .

「Hooー, I’ll praise you for not succ.u.mbing to your desires but it seems like your eyes were glued on to their bodies, weren’t they?」

「Haim shorreee」2

Latte let go of my cheeks after I said that .

「I’m not saying that I only want you to look at me but don’t you think it’s rude for you to ogle others?」

「I mean, it was out in the open so I couldn’t help but look . It felt awkward for me so I took a cloth and asked them to cover up though」

「Don’t make excuses」

「Okay……」

「Suzuran-chan, you should also say somethingー」

She was keeping her mouth topped up with dried meat but upon hearing that she was being included in the conversation, she reluctantly finished chewing then swallowed what was in her mouth .

「It’s fine . No matter what, he won’t actually put his hand on them . Absolutely won’t forgive if Caam gets seduced . But even when I was drunk, or when the mood was right . Didn’t put his hands on me at all . Caam gentleman」3

O-Ohh…… She wasn’t intimidating at all when she said that .

「Hmph . Even if Suzuran-chan is fine with it you should think twice about who you’re ogling」

「It’s not something that will go away if he doesn’t look . I just need to not lose」4

Oh c.r.a.pー, they’re already starting to ignore the landmines . Let’s stop with this self deprecating conversation okay? It pains my heart just listening to it .

「Hm? Hnnー?」

Look, even Latte doesn’t know how to react to that .

「Look, I’ll just be more careful so can we stop this stupid conversation already? Is that okay?」

It seems like our kids are getting along with the children on the island . They were playing by the beach after all . It’ll probably be alright .

「After walking just a bit further on this path, you’ll find our plaza where the former Demon Lord planned to build his castle . Right now, we’re constructing houses there under the guidance of Root-san from the village」

As I said that, we proceeded to walk along the said path .

「This path is currently narrow but I’ve already planned it out together with everyone and we decided to make it wide enough that a carriage can pa.s.s through it」

「Hmmー」

Latte responded but it seems like she’s more interested in the forest . It’s true that the forest is deep but we’ve cut down some of the trees on both sides of the path so that light can enter and wind can pa.s.s through so it shouldn’t feel oppressive at all .

「For the time being, this place is where we plan to make the village but we haven’t decided on the village chief just yet」

We reached our destination so I started giving them a tour .

「The places with thick stakes are markings for the planned road while the thinner ones are the tentative locations for the houses . We haven’t progressed with that though」

「What’s that large building over there?」

「It’s just our hurriedly constructed temporary warehouse . We recently went to a nearby port town to buy goods so we’re storing them there . Our livelihood is still close to the sea though so the wheat and potatoes are still there」

「Why are you moving your base to this area~? Isn’t that too extreme?」

「We’ll be in big trouble during storms and heavy rains when we’re close to the sea after all, since it’s possible that the sea water would reach us . Here, we’re surrounded by trees so we’re kinda shielded from the strong winds and it’s quite elevated so we’re safe from flooding . The most important thing though is that if we dig a hole for a well, the water won’t be salty . I’ve already tried the water made by the previous resident’s here and confirmed that it was not the case」

After that, we headed to where the chapel was being built and called Root-san, who was on top of the scaffolding, putting boards on the walls .

「Thanks for all your hard work . Have there been any problems so far?」

「Not reallyー . Oh, what’s this? I heard you were going to bring your family but what about the kids?」

「They’re playing with the other children by the beach」

「That’s good then . I’m sure the children on this island are happy having more playmates」

「They might be similar in age but they’re bigger than them you know? I’m sure it won’t be long until the height difference becomes even more significant」

As we were talking, I noticed that there was already a crowd gathering behind us .

「Huh? Maou-san! Are those the wives you’re always talking about?」

「h.e.l.lo」

「Nice to meet you . Thank you for putting up with our husband’s unreasonable requests」

「Oohー, They really do look beautiful and cute just like you said」

「So it was true, huh?」

Suzuran was uninterested as usual but Latte grinned upon getting complimented . Since we were here, I decided to let them take a short break .

After a while, two men started whispering .

「Oi, go ask her」「Do it yourself」

I just decided to observe them when one of them finally went forward and asked .

「I heard that you can crush a brick . Is that true?」

I unintentionally spat out the water I was drinking .

「Where did you hear that? I haven’t told you anything like that, did I? Well, I guess you probably heard that from one of the four people that came from our village」

「True」

As she said that, Suzuran stood up and picked up a piece of sc.r.a.p wood that can be easily gripped from our lumber stockpile then folded it in half like it was a piece of paper . After that, she crushed it, took one of the smaller fragments, then turned it into sawdust with just her fingers .

That strength of hers is amazing no matter how many times I see it . Look at what you did . Now all of the craftsmen were standing there dumbfounded with their mouths wide open . 5

「T-that was amazing . I’ve heard about it but it’s even more amazing seeing it with my own eyes . I wonder if you could help us carry some of the lumber later」

Root-san suddenly followed up with that .

「Sure」

「That would help a lot」

「Need plenty of meat for lunch」

「A-ah」

After Suzuran said that to Root-san, he immediately faced the forest and shouted .

「BRING BACK PLENTY OF MEAT PLEASE! I’M COUNTING ON YOUー!」

After a while, several voices replied back .

「There you go」

「Nn, I’ll help」

With that said, while everyone was resting, she walked towards our lumber storage, stacked several of them on her right shoulder and even more under her left arm then came back .

「T-thanks」

「Need more?」

「That should probably be enough to last us until lunch . Haha……haa」

「Then I’ll do two more runs」

As she said that, she went back to the same place to get more wood .

「Hmmー . Suzuran-chan is amazing as ever~ . As for me, I’d have a hard time even carrying one~」

「It would be impossible for me as well」

The humans couldn’t do anything but watch .

Antonio-san couldn’t believe what he was seeing while Adrea-san was feigning ignorance and just looking around . She probably couldn’t believe it as well but was still in denial .

After that, there was nothing else at the planned village construction site so we went back to the beach where I told Suzuran about the fish farm and poultry farm .

「These fish like it wider and deeper . Pond onee-san said so . Better to move them to the bigger pond like earlier . Ducks need a bit more s.p.a.ce . Also, water is flowing so it’s clean . Can’t eat the small insects in the water . Need to give a bit more food too . Chickens are good but the place’s still small . They might start fighting」

While I was quietly listening, Latte was burning with compet.i.tive pa.s.sion .

「If that’s the case, when it comes to livestock, you can come to me if you need advice!」

「Alright, I’ll ask you when we get them」

With that done, the hunting group came back carrying a deer and a wild boar . Seeing that, Suzuran happily volunteered to help dismantle it . She carefully took out the internal organs so as not to damage them, cleanly peeled off the skin, then skillfully cut it into different parts .

Everyone was amazed seeing her do all of that .

「With practice, anyone can do it」

After that, she pestered me to make a 【Water ball】 that she used to wash her hands and clean the meat .

「Think you heard in the forest but . Need lots of meat」

After saying that, she left the meat to the hunting group then began waiting for lunch .

Today’s lunch was wild .

Suzuran gobbled up so much of the fresh deer and wild boar meat that everyone was starting to wonder where it all goes to . She only ate the meat and didn’t even touch the bread .

「Is that the secret to her strength? Meat?」

「「No way」」

The men were discussing things like that while observing Suzuran eat .

□

It was already about four in the afternoon so we decided to go to the hot spring in the mountain earlier than planned .

「Well then, after we’re finished I’ll be taking them home immediately」

「Alright . It’s been a long time since you’ve been with your family so make sure to savor it」

As for the children,

「Let’s play again okay?」「Okay」

they were saying their goodbyes . It looks like they’ve become close in a short amount of time .

Once they were done, we teleported to the hot spring .

「Oohー . It’s such a pretty bath」

「It’s a hot spring you know?」

「Hot spring?」

「You know about spring water right? It’s just that but heated by this volcano」

「Then, does it just go back to being spring water when it cools down?」

「Hmー? I wonder? You can drink the water from so I wonder if it really just goes back to being regular spring water when it cools down? Hmmmー」

I really don’t know .

「Bath is just boiled water so it’s just warm spring water」

「Let’s just go with that and end this conversation so that we can get in」

After that, we removed our clothes and were about to enter the bathing area when the kids suddenly jumped in .

「So warm~」「It’s wider than the bath at home」

「Hey hey, you guys should wash your bodies first」

「Woohoo~」

*Spash!* *Splash!*

I heard the sound of two people violently entering the hot spring . Looking at the bath, Suzuran and Latte had already jumped in .

「Hey, my wives」

「Yes?」「What is it~?」

「Wash your bodies first before entering, You should at least do that when you’re in front of the kids」

「It would have been a waste with a bath this big . It should be fine for today Caam-kun~!」

「Yeah yeah」

After saying that, I washed my body while the other four were frolicking behind me . Once I was done, I dived into the water with my arms and legs stretched out which caused a large wave .

「This is revenge for earlier!」

I continued to splash water at them as I said that .

~Idle Talk~

The conversation after the break after Caam and the others left the plaza .

A:「I heard that she could crush bricks but that was way beyond what I was expecting」

B:「She could pulverize wood with just her fingers after all」

Root:「I heard that she was an onigami and it seems like that kind of strength is normal for them . There’s no other members of that race even in the village . I also haven’t seen any of them in the neighboring villages and the nearby town . By the way, Suzuran’s father’s arms are as thick as my thighs you know?」

A:「No way」

Root 「He’s also a former adventurer with a scar on his face . He looks terrifying as well」

B:「Ugh」

Root 「And it was the Demon Lord Caam who went and asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage」

A:「What happened? Did a part of the village get destroyed?」

Root 「Nothing really . It just seemed like he had a fight with his own father . That’s what I heard when we went out for a drink . It seems like both their fathers were in a party when they were still adventurers」

A: 「What happened?」

Root:「I was told that he was completely defeated by Caam . He said he wasn’t expecting him to be that strong . That was three or four season cycles before they became a couple I think . He also wasn’t a Demon Lord yet at that time」

B:「So he was already that capable back then」

Root:「He was already helping out using his magic to harvest the wheat and plow the fields when he was just around 5 years old after all . The children he brought with him today were only four years old . I wonder if those kids will also be like that after we celebrate the end of the year festival」

A:「Demons are scary」

Root: 「That’s not it . I mean, look at me . I’m nothing special . Caam’s the one who’s abnormal」

AB: 「I guess that’s true」

Root:「Suzuran-chan’s appet.i.te is also abnormal so look forward to it . It’s a pretty amazing sight」

□

「More」

*Munch* *Munch* *Munch* *Munch*

「More」

*Munch* *Munch*

「More」

*Munch* *Munch*

「More」

AB 「No way……」