Chapter 46

Rerele Grossam.

Standing at the entrance of the store, the young lady announced her name, proudly declaring to us,

...To call herself a young lady...

"You don't know who I am, do you? You must be from the countryside. Remember my face well from now on. Remembering your customers' faces is also part of a good job."

She sounds so grand, but she's actually saying something reasonable.

"Um, Miss Rerele. I apologize greatly. I will remember both your face and your name well."

I bowed my head and looked at her again.

"So, what do you mean by a declaration of war?"

"Hmph, there's a fruit and vegetable store run by my family nearby."

Rerele pointed in the direction where the store was likely located.

"I recently turned 18, and I'm about to take over the family business and start managing the store."

"Ah..."

"Upon hearing that the new store of the Weeblue family, our hated business rivals, was opening, I decided to take charge of the store nearby and put them out of business."

But... my plans were thrown off.

She sighed.

"Yes... because of you all!"

"...Ah."

I see, that's what it is.

Her actions are flashy, but I understand what she's trying to say.

"To take us down instead of the Weeblue family's new store."

"That Weeblue family, they even pushed for this store to open instead of their own. Well, they're not lacking in any way."

The declaration of war is simply about the stores.

"This is a prime location, a fiercely contested area. With a half-hearted attitude, you'll end up crying and going home with no customers."

She said with a pretentious smile.

"Also, I should let you know that you're not just competing against me. Other stores that sell similar items are also burning with a competitive spirit against you."

I glanced over and saw that, while they hadn't entered the premises, people from other stores were reconnoitering from a distance.

"Well, do your best. A store selling goods from some rural area with no brand name has no chance of becoming popular in this capital."

Rerele turned her back and said this.

It seems she's finished saying what she wanted to say.

"Thank you for your concern. I will do my best to ensure that doesn't happen."

I said to her back.

Rerele snorted and left.

"What's with her?"

"It's fine, it just makes us more fired up."

To Uga's puzzled expression, I said,

"Yeah, you're right. We'll show them just how much those rural specialties can sell."

"We won't lose to you guys!"

The Beowulfs shouted in unison, "Yeah!"

Everyone was united in spirit.

"Alright."

I clapped my hands.

The interior preparations are going smoothly.

Everything is proceeding according to plan.

So, I think it's time for me to move on to the next stage.

"I'll go back to Abatos Village to pick up the goods."

* * * * *

"Then, let's go! Lady!"

"Sure, let's go full speed! Entia!"

We started down the road out of the capital.

To be precise, it's Entia who's running.

We're riding in the cart he's pulling, heading to Abatos Village.

"Whoa! That's fast, man!"

Uga, who was riding with us, shouted excitedly.

"At this rate, we'll arrive at the village earlier than expected..."

Gurai muttered calmly beside him.

The team heading to the village consists of me, Gurai, and Uga.

We decided to go to the village with Uga, who's in charge of the agricultural products, and Gurai, who's in charge of the crafts, to finalize the items to be shipped.

"Wow, this is refreshing."

It really feels like we're in a car.

At this speed, the two-day journey to the village should take only about half a day.

We'll have the rest of the team in the capital continue their work and wait for our arrival with the goods transport team (we'll also get help from the boars).

"...Huh?"

After traveling for a while from the capital, I realized we were approaching the area with the ranches and farms.

I saw several black shadows running towards the road from that direction.

"Entia, can you stop for a moment?"

"Hm?"

Entia applied the brakes.

The black shadows gradually approached us, and their identities became clear.

"Mako!"

"Master!"

It was the Black Wolves.

Leading them was Kuro.

"Everyone, it's been a while. Have you been working diligently?"

"Yeah! Absolutely!"

The wolves jumped around energetically.

Their expressions seemed more peaceful than when we first met.

"This place is heaven!"

"The food is great, and we can work while relaxing! It's the best!"

"In the wild, we were always on edge, but being raised by humans isn't bad at all!"

They all seemed to have become domesticated.

However, Kuro looked somewhat dissatisfied.

"What's wrong, Kuro? Do you prefer the wild?"

"No, that's not it. I'm upset because, Mako, you never come to see me."

Kuro looked at me with a pouting expression.

"I'm serious, Mako. I want to walk with you as your knight. I'm a much better match for you than that white, furry thing. And I clearly won the fluff battle the other day."

"I have no memory of losing to you, Black Mold!"

"Alright, calm down."

Hmm, Kuro really wants to come with me.

What should I do...

"Let's go, Lady! Talking to this guy will make us late!"

"By the way, where are you headed?"

"We're going back to our village to pick up the goods for the store."

When I said this, Kuro's eyes widened.

"The village! Mako's village?!"

"Uh, yeah, that's right."

"Then, I'm coming with you! This is the village where Mako and I will eventually live together! I need to greet the neighbors!"

"What, this guy! He's so annoying!"

Entia growled.

Kuro grabbed one of the ropes attached to the cart and put it in his mouth.

"Move aside! I'll pull from here on out!"

"Are you kidding? Move aside, you! You're in the way!"

"Hey, both of you—"

Instantly, Entia and Kuro started running.

They were trying to push each other away, but the cart, pulled by the two of them, was moving at an incredible speed.

"Boss!"

The wolves, of course, and the surrounding scenery were changing rapidly.

"Whoa!"

I managed to hold onto the cart, and Gurai was holding me to prevent me from falling out.

"Damn! What kind of speed is this?!"

Uga was also desperately holding onto the edge, screaming.

"You're in the way, I said!"

"Shut up! I won't give up this position!"

...Maybe these two actually get along well...

* * * * *

In the end, the cart, pulled by the two of them, arrived at our destination in just three hours, not even half a day.

"Amazing..."

"Phew... Black Mold..."

"Ha... White Mold..."

The two of them collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

They had clearly used up all their energy.

However, most importantly—

"Thank you, Entia, Kuro. We made it safely."

We had returned to Abatos Village after a few days.

"Hey! Mako!"

"You're back! We've been waiting for you!"

"You're much earlier than expected!"

The Beowulfs who stayed in the village welcomed us.

"Welcome back, everyone. How are the crops?"

"We've been growing and harvesting them with all our might!"

"I've been taking good care of the fields, right?"

Uga said.

Behind his house, there was a field where he was experimentally growing a variety of vegetables and fruits.

"Yeah, sure. Look, don't hit your head in surprise! They're as good as before."

"Shut up!"

We headed to the back of Uga's house.

"Wow!"

Amazing!

Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, bell peppers, zucchini...

Healthy summer vegetables were growing abundantly!

"Not just vegetables!"

The seedlings of fruits that we received from the Weeblue family and learned how to grow were also thriving.

Those are watermelons, melons, and cherries...

"To be honest, thanks to Mako's liquid fertilizer, they grow so vigorously on their own that all we had to do was watch over them."

"No, no, without all of you, we wouldn't have such great vegetables and fruits."

When I said this, everyone laughed sheepishly.

No, really, you all did a great job.

"Alright... let's start harvesting!"

It was around late afternoon.

We wanted to leave early tomorrow morning, so we started selecting the goods quickly.

Uga took the lead, checking the quality and selecting the fruits and vegetables to be shipped.

"Lady!"

Something was poking my feet.

I looked down to see the boars gathered there.

"Welcome back, Lady!"

"So, you're going to transport goods to the capital again, Lady?"

"Yeah, are you all doing well?"

"Leave it to us, Lady!"

The boars were also full of energy.

"Lady! I have some people I want to introduce to you, Lady!"

One of the boars shouted.

"Introduce?"

"They're the little ones that were born recently, Lady! They want to greet you, Lady!"

I saw that at the boar's feet, even smaller piglets, about the size of puppies, appeared.

Wow! They're so cute!

"Lady!"

The piglets wobbled over to my feet.

As I touched each one, I could hear their voices.

"Nice to meet you, Lady!"

"We want to help you, Lady!"

"Play with us, play with us, Lady!"

"Sure, sure!"

They were pushing their noses against my legs, saying, "Pui, pui."

I can't... they're too cute...

"How about playing with them?"

Gurai, standing beside me, suggested.

"We can select the goods. Mako, take a break."

"Eh?"

Gurai smiled.

Ugh... I feel bad, but...

"Lady! Lady!"

"Sure, sure!"

I can't resist! I can't stand this cuteness!

Sorry!

So, I ended up playing with the little ones until late at night.

At night, I slept in bed, hugging the little ones.

...It was a dreamlike time.

Thank you always for your reviews, corrections, and support!

I'm very grateful for your kind words (o^_^o)

I apologize, but the next update will be on the 9th m(__)m

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