Chapter 44

I calmed down the fighting Entia and Kuro-chan, and we descended the mountain, returning to the ranch and farm area.

"Ah, darn it."

On the way, Kuro-chan suddenly muttered.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

I, who was riding on Entia's back, turned around at his whisper.

"They were secretly leading part of the pack back to that ranch while being pursued by Mako and the others."

"What!?"

It seemed that while they pretended to retreat, they had also launched an attack on the remaining ranch with a portion of their forces.

I hadn't noticed at all.

Impressive, despite his strange behavior, he is the leader of the pack—commanding skill.

...No, not right now.

"That might be a bit problematic..."

There are Lam and the others at the ranch, and even with the "animal fence" and "barbed wire" traps I left, if there was a battle, it would be bad.

We've settled things here, but they probably don't know the situation there yet—

"Let's hurry back!"

We raced down the slope at full speed.

I hope everyone is safe—

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"Hey, Mako, you're back!"

"…Huh?"

However, when we returned, my worries turned out to be unfounded.

"Hey, you guys! Stop the attack! We no longer have a reason to fight!"

When Kuro-chan shouted, the wolves growling outside the animal fence calmed down.

Indeed, there was no damage to the ranch.

The fence was not knocked down, and not a single wolf had entered the premises.

Lam, Bagoz, and Uga were standing with their hawks in hand.

From inside the fence, they spoke with exhausted voices to us who had returned.

"Phew, it was tough, running around from one end to the other to knock them off as they came up."

"But we managed to prevent any damage."

"Did you talk things over with the boss wolf? Well, since they're behaving, it must have worked out. Impressive, Mako."

The three of them laughed.

Behind them, the ranch owner, who had been hiding, showed his face.

"Wow! You're back! You were really reliable!"

"Wow."

The three of them worked hard.

They were really cool.

"Thank you, Lam, Bagoz, Uga."

"Did you fall in love with us all over again?"

"Yeah, quite a bit."

"Yay!"

The three of them did a high-five happily.

There, I noticed a black wolf lying nearby with a bandage on its leg.

It had been caught in the "barbed wire" trap.

Sure enough... it was obediently following orders.

Perhaps, seeing their companion being treated, the other wolves were hesitant about attacking Lam and the others.

"So, Lord Mako. This is..."

"Yeah, to put it simply, they won't attack the ranches and farms in this area anymore."

The old man, who was looking at the black wolf pack lined up outside the fence with a cautious expression, sighed in relief at my words.

"Amazing! ...So your magic not only creates such convenient items but also has the power to make animals obey!"

"Not exactly obedience... more like a trade-off..."

"Mako"

There, Kuro-chan, who had been sitting at the head of the lined-up wolf pack, spoke.

"As I said earlier, we recognize Mako as our master. We will follow Mako."

"We will follow too!"

The wolves spoke in unison.

Hmm, that's a problem.

If we go to the capital with this many, it will cause a commotion.

"Hmm..."

"But that's an impressive number. If our territory had such a powerful pack of wolves to protect it, we wouldn't have to worry about attacks from other wild animals or bandits. I'm quite envious."

"Right... Ah, that's it!"

"Huh?"

There, I whispered something to the ranch owner.

He said, "Huh!? Well, it's appreciated, but..." and, though a bit confused, agreed.

"Everyone! I have a favor to ask of you all."

"What is it?"

"I want you all to guard the ranches and farms in this area."

In other words, instead of attacking, they would prevent other wild animals from getting close and chase away or apprehend any bandits.

In short, they would be hunting dogs.

"Also, to chase the livestock that get too fat and make them exercise... there are various jobs. We will provide the food for that."

"Do you want us to become human pets?"

Kuro-chan said.

Well, I don't expect them to agree easily... but I can't take care of all of them.

"If you behave well, I'll come back to check on you."

"Grr... I want to be Mako's knight."

I appreciate the sentiment, but the timing is bad right now.

Sorry, Kuro-chan.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

So, the "black wolf pack attacking the ranches and farms on the outskirts of the capital" incident was, in a sense, resolved.

"Where were you, Mako!"

"I was worried!"

As soon as I returned, Mau and Meala hugged me.

They had woken up in the middle of the night and noticed that I and Entia were missing, which made them anxious.

Gurai had been comforting them the whole time.

"Sorry, sorry."

I petted the heads of the two who clung to me.

Then, I looked at Gurai standing in front of me.

"Thanks, Gurai."

"…It seems the problem is resolved."

"Yeah."

I later found out that Gurai had been informed of the situation by Lam and the others.

And, at the urging of Lam and the others (who wanted to show me their good side), he had been well-behaved this time.

"I was a bit worried, but I'm glad you're safe."

"Thanks to Entia, and because Lam and the others were reliable."

"Mako... why did you get involved in a problem that wasn't yours?"

Meala said.

Huh? Is she a bit angry?

"Right now, we're busy with the shop, and if something happened to you..."

"Thanks, Meala. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"…I wasn't that worried."

Meala turned away.

"Yeah, to be honest, I had a bit of a hidden motive."

"Hidden motive?"

Mau tilted her head.

"Maybe you'll understand tomorrow. Anyway, I'll make sure to tell everyone before I act next time. I'll reflect on it."

I won't do something like this again.

The hidden motive I mentioned earlier.

Yesterday, I said a lot to Entia, but in the end, the reason I helped people this time was...

—I wanted the people of the capital to look at us, the beastmen, with a more favorable eye.

"Anyway, let's go to bed! We have a busy day tomorrow!"

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

To put it simply, my hidden motive seemed to have worked.

"...Hey, are those the people who solved the wolf problem?"

The next day.

It seemed like there were more onlookers coming to our store construction site.

They were talking about last night's incident while looking at us.

"Yeah, the request to the Adventurer's Guild was withdrawn. A friend who works there told me."

"They say they tamed the wolf pack and now they work as hunting dogs on the ranches and farms."

"Wow, is that the power of a beastman?"

"No, apparently the human woman beat the wolves into submission."

"They used magic, apparently."

"Really? So she must be from a high-ranking family?"

"That big white wolf is her familiar, apparently."

...I didn't beat them up, but it seems the ranch owner told the story correctly.

"But, according to the rumors, the beastmen also fought hard to protect the ranch."

"Really? Beastmen for humans?"

"Can't be a tall tale, right?"

"No, the ranch owner said it himself."

They still had some doubts, but I could feel that the people of the capital were looking at us more kindly.

I was happy that the hard work of Lam and the others last night was reflected.

"And then."

"Wow."

"Finally."

"Finally?"

"…Yeah."

A few days after arriving in the capital.

Looking up at the magnificent wooden building in front of me, I said to everyone.

"Anyway, the exterior is complete."

"Yay!"

Mau, Meala, and everyone from the Beowulf group were clapping and cheering.

Orkidea and Fressa were also clapping.

The store was beautifully completed.

"Good job, everyone. But there's still a lot to do."

"Right! Next is the interior!"

The building itself was beautifully completed.

Next, we needed to set up the interior.

We needed to install shelves and other items to create a space for customers.

"Also, strictly speaking, there's still the exterior to work on. Let's use the paint and finish the details."

Using the paint I created, we would paint the exterior of the store according to the design we had discussed.

Then, it happened.

"Huh?"

A carriage stopped in front of our store, which was under construction.

It was a high-class, black-painted carriage pulled by four horses.

"Wow! Look, Father, Mother! A very nice store is being built!"

The carriage door opened, and a girl came out.

She said this with a cute, bell-like voice, looking very excited.

The store's exterior was finished in a colorful design to appeal to women and children.

That might have caught her eye.

She was wearing a high-class dress.

Her flowing golden hair and gem-like eyes.

Her face was so beautiful, it seemed almost otherworldly.

(…Is she a noble? …)

She was so beautiful, I thought.

(…Hmm? …)

There was one thing that caught my attention.

Her "ears"… they were pointed, a special shape different from human ears.

That must be—.

"!"

Then, I noticed that Gurai, who was working nearby, looked surprised at the sight of the girl.

His presence clearly changed.

And he seemed to hide as if to escape from the girl's line of sight.

"…Gurai?"

"Ha, Maple. If you're that excited, you'll fall."

From the carriage, a man and a woman, presumably her parents, appeared.

They were dressed in high-class clothing, looking like people of high status.

...However, their ears were those of ordinary humans.

"What kind of store is this?"

The man, who had appeared, asked me.

Well, he's probably a noble, so I need to be careful with my words...

"Yes, thank you for asking. This store will handle specialty products produced in the distant Abatos village."

"Abatos village? ...I've never heard of it."

"We mainly sell vegetables, fruits, fresh flowers, and wooden crafts."

Then, I remembered and took out a wooden pig figurine from my pocket.

It was something Gurai had made before.

"For example, something like this."

"Cute!"

The girl smiled at the wooden pig figurine.

How cute.

"Oh, what a well-made wooden figurine."

"Indeed."

The lady and the gentleman praised it.

"Maple, it's as well-made as your favorite, isn't it?"

Then, the gentleman said to his daughter, Maple.

Maple whispered, "Yes," and took out a necklace hidden inside her dress.

The charm hanging from it was not a gem or precious metal, but a wooden owl figurine, similar to the one I had just taken out.

(…What…)

Seeing the highly detailed wooden figurine, I couldn't help but glance at Gurai, who was hiding.

"We'll come to your store when it's completed."

"Ah, thank you."

With that, they returned to the carriage.

"Miss, here!"

Maple handed me back the wooden pig figurine she had been holding.

"……"

After the carriage left, I went to Gurai.

He was looking at something far away with a distant gaze.

"…The noble girl's ears were pointed."

"…Yeah."

"Her parents looked like ordinary humans."

"…They are of the elf race."

"Wow."

The conversation was a bit vague.

But I somehow understood what Gurai was thinking from his expression.

"She looked happy."

"…Yeah."

Gurai had a somewhat happy look on his face.

His work after that was amazing (well, he's always amazing).

He quickly assembled display shelves and various items, painted them, and arranged them in the store.

The interior completion was going to be much earlier than planned.

"Alright."

The store itself was almost complete.

Now, there was no choice but to move on to the next stage.

"Let's move on to the product delivery phase."