Chapter 15

It's still unclear whether we will actually go to the dragon's habitat. For now, I've told Reifan to forget about it and focus on building the village. For the time being, we've put that topic to rest.

First, to enhance the village's defenses, I've asked Reifan to prioritize building the fence. We will increase the defensive measures more than initially planned. The reason is that if there is a large-scale movement of the mysterious Hydra, we want to ensure that the villagers can at least handle the worst-case scenario.

This settlement, to begin with, is in an area with a high rate of monster appearances. It's better to be overly cautious.

That said, there are things to be done.

"Ms. Seira, can I have a moment?"

I called out to Seira, a widow who was working up a sweat in a small experimental farm within the village. She had lost her husband early and was at a loss when this settlement opportunity came along.

"Yes, what is it, Mr. Craft?"

Sweat clung to her skin, and a few strands of her tied-up hair stuck to her neck. She had a mysterious allure about her.

"Um, I believe you wanted to run a store, right?"

"Yes, I heard that in this settlement, the master shares and guild contributions are exempted."

"Right. The documents I received from the commercial guild mention that."

Normally, someone from the commercial guild should come, but they've dumped everything on the production guild. If they ever show up, I'll sell them the rights at a sky-high price.

"Do you have any preferences for what kind of store you want to run?"

"No, I'm still studying, so I don't think I can run a specialized store."

"Then how about a general store?"

"A general store?"

"For now, it will sell daily necessities and consumable weapons."

"Wait, aren't those distributed?"

"Yes, but that will end in a few years."

"But there's no one to sell to if we start now..."

"That will happen soon. For now, the settlers are paid a uniform wage for their labor. I'd like you to start as practice."

"Understood. I would be grateful for your help."

Thus, the alluring widow Seira's store, Seira's Shop, was set to open. For now, it will be a simple setup with a mat and a tent in front of the temporary housing, but we plan to build a proper store soon.

The items will be consumables like arrows, which are already distributed, so they won't sell. But everyone understands that this is just practice for now.

Jitaro is enthusiastically bringing in berries from the forest, and it seems that dried berries are selling well as a snack. Seira has two children who are helping around the village and playing energetically.

◆

"Sarin, can I have a moment?"

"Sure."

I called Sarin, whose work on the village fence was finished, and he was free.

"You wanted to run an inn, right?"

"Yes. My father ran an inn, and I was supposed to take it over, but both my parents died from an epidemic..."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's not just that. Various things happened, and I lost my master shares."

"Those who take advantage of others' weaknesses never seem to go away."

He was probably targeted by unscrupulous merchants amidst the chaos. I hate injustice.

"That's why I wanted to rebuild the inn. Despite the dangers, I volunteered for this settlement where master shares are issued."

"I see. Alright, let's make that dream come true!"

Considering the future, I had a fairly large inn built. The first floor is a tavern, and I've asked a resident who wanted to run a tavern to manage it.

Thanks to the Stamina Potion, the working hours have increased significantly, and the work efficiency has improved. Most importantly, the residents' motivation is different. The village's development is progressing at a pace beyond imagination.

◆

"Has it really been only half a year since we started this settlement?"

"Yes, we welcome you all!"

The village was having a small festival. That day, the branch of the Adventurer's Guild was established, and new settlers were welcomed. The settlers arrived with the Adventurer's Guild staff, and the adventurer parties also came to provide protection.

Kail, the representative, was greeting the Adventurer's Guild staff and the settlers. When the adventurer parties saw my face, they ran over.

"Hey! Craft!"

It turned out that the party that arrived was the one I had formed when I first became an adventurer and that had served as the settlement's guard: Raidock's party.

"Raidock! Are you here for guard duty again?"

"Not just that. We've decided to make this village our base for a while."

"What?!"

Raidock's adventurer rank is C, and most of his party members are C or D. Such a strong party is going to settle in this settlement?

"What's the plan?"

"Well, there's no shortage of hunting requests around here. We couldn't come this far before because there was no base, but now we have a well-established village. We won't have any trouble with supplies."

"That... might be true, but..."

Fortunately, the general reward for monster hunting is paid by the local lord. In this case, it would be Kail's father, the Baron of Bairo Road. The Adventurer's Guild handles the procedures, so we don't need to worry about it.

"Frankly, it just seemed interesting."

"Interesting?"

"It's a very adventurer-like answer, don't you think... Is it weird?"

"No, it's just like you."

Raidock paused for a moment and then said, looking up at the sky:

"Just a little. I regret asking you to leave the party."

We formed the party when I first became an adventurer. At that time, we were all beginners, and no one complained about my magic.

However, as we rapidly rose from F rank to E rank and were about to aim for D rank, my limitations became clear. Ranks are given to individuals, not parties. But without the party's achievements, individual contributions are not recognized. The success of the party is the success of the adventurer.

We had to make a decision. To move forward, we had to decide whether to cut me from the party.

In the end, I left the party.

After that, I joined various beginner parties and had similar experiences. Some people mocked me as a "mouth-only mage."

"What? I don't hold a grudge. A mismatched party is dangerous."

"That's true, but do you know what they said about you in the guild?"

"A mouth-only mage, right?"

One-finger mage, mouth-only mage... I don't have many good memories.

"Only some of them. But they're loud, you know."

Did they call me something else?

I've been an adventurer for four years, but this is the first I've heard of it.

"Veteran adventurer trainer. The newbies who benefited the most from you are too embarrassed and grateful to say it out loud."

"I've never heard that story."

"Of course not. They had to kick you out of the party to move forward, so they couldn't say it in front of you."

"..."

"Sure, many people did mock you, but that's the fate of an adventurer."

"I know, but..."

I remember that when I quit being an adventurer, there were fewer new parties, and I often joined veteran parties from other cities.

...Indeed, the ones who mocked me were often veteran parties led by someone like Marboro, who had just come to the city.

"Well, that's not the only reason. If we do well, we can contribute to this settlement, right? Maybe that can make up for it a little."

I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat, but I gritted my teeth and held back the tears.

"Sure, I'll count on you."

"Leave it to me."

The handshake I exchanged with Raidock was very firm.