Chapter 44

Three days after the tentacle nest was successfully built.

The tentacles, now fully settled in, were diligently flying around to fulfill their assigned role.

They weren’t constantly patrolling the sky, but even when resting, they perched on tall trees to keep a watchful eye on the surroundings as much as possible.

With our living area expanding and becoming more vulnerable to external threats, their presence was a great source of reassurance.

Indeed, they had already driven away a bird-like monster that had come from the sky.

There was an overwhelming sense of security.

“Hmm? New clothes are ready?”

While thinking this, I was working in the fields when the Itotsumugiaris brought me new clothes.

Upon inspection, the clothes were vastly different from the previous ones with uneven dyeing; they were now perfectly and beautifully dyed.

Even when I washed them with water, there was no sign of the color fading.

“Wow! They’re beautifully dyed! This should work just fine!”

“What? The Itotsumugiaris did a good job with the dyeing!?”

As I happily spread out the T-shirt, Reidia came over, having heard the news.

She then looked at the perfectly dyed clothes and let out a joyful exclamation.

Reidia had been the one who had the highest expectations for the clothes. It seemed that, as a woman, wearing the same clothes or only white all the time had been quite a burden.

But now, with the dyeing done, they were free from the monochromatic prisoner’s uniform. They could wear colorful, human-like clothes.

Even for me, the monochromatic white had made dirt stand out, and there were many things to worry about, so I was also happy.

“Now we can finally make all sorts of clothes! Hey, can I place an order right away?”

After checking the clothes, Reidia started discussing the designs with one of the Itotsumugiaris.

With the ability to freely apply colors, she intended to request clothes dyed to her liking.

I also wanted to place various orders, but since there were enough samples, I decided to let the women go first.

The first thing I needed to do was to thank the Itotsumugiaris in front of me.

“Thank you for making clothes that you’ve never made before and for dyeing them. If there’s anything we can do to show our gratitude, please let us know.”

Upon hearing this, the Itotsumugiaris looked at each other and started discussing something.

They were probably discussing what kind of reward they would like.

After waiting for a while, it seemed they had reached a consensus. The Itotsumugiaris looked up at me and moved their jaws. However, I had no idea what they were saying.

Tilting my head, the Itotsumugiaris brought a stick and started drawing on the ground.

I didn’t know ants could do such things. They were very dexterous.

What was drawn on the ground was a Mochimochi fruit being burned by fire and what looked like a magic stone.

“They want to eat burned Mochimochi fruit and also want magic stones… Is that correct?”

When I read out what I understood, the Itotsumugiaris nodded in agreement.

“Got it. I’ll do that much. I’ll burn the Mochimochi fruit, so come out of the nest.”

It would be difficult to handle fire inside the nest, which looked like a cabbage. Considering the Itotsumugiaris’ hard work, it wasn’t a big deal for us to burn the Mochimochi fruit. I would discuss with Reidia and the others and then give them the magic stones.

The Itotsumugiaris went back to call their companions, and a large number of them came down from the nest.

I think there were more than a hundred. There were so many more than I had imagined. Had they increased in number?

I hurried to the Mochimochi field to check the crops.

There were plenty of ripe crops. I think we could manage with enough for a hundred.

The second and third batches we planted were also ripening, so even if we used them all, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“Carmilla, Claire, Rento and the others. Can you help me harvest the Mochimochi fruit?”

Since I couldn’t prepare everything alone, I sincerely asked for help.

“Of course, but what do you plan to do with so many?”

“I want to thank the Itotsumugiaris who completed the dyed clothes.”

“Oh, I see! It’s only natural for a lord to reward those who have accomplished something!”

“So that’s why so many came out of the nest. Understood. I’ll help.”

After explaining, Carmilla and Claire seemed to understand and immediately started working.

Rento and Renshiro also joined the harvest, and I asked Rensaburo and Renshiro to gather firewood.

We couldn’t cook inside the house with that many Itotsumugiaris, so it was better to burn the Mochimochi fruit outside all at once.

“I’ll light the firewood.”

Reidia, who had finished taking orders for the clothes, used magic to light the firewood that Rensaburo and Renshiro had gathered.

Renshiro brought a large frying pan from the house and placed it over the fire.

All we had to do was burn the Mochimochi fruit we had harvested.

We set up multiple frying pans, but they weren’t large enough for mass cooking, so we could only burn about ten at a time.

Considering the Itotsumugiaris and the possibility of more monsters in the future, it might be a good idea to have a larger cooking pan or pot.

While thinking about this, I started putting the Mochimochi fruit into the frying pans.

As the Mochimochi fruit burned, a fragrant aroma began to waft through the air.

The Itotsumugiaris, smelling the aroma, leaned forward eagerly. The smell of their favorite food being cooked was irresistible.

However, getting too close would result in burns, and Reidia looked uncomfortable, so I told them to back off.

While making the Itotsumugiaris back off, I made a large wooden platter for them to eat from. It would be better than eating directly from the ground.

“Place the burned ones on the platter and eat them as they come.”

Reidia placed the Mochimochi fruit, which had been burned and slightly charred, on the platter.

The Itotsumugiaris immediately swarmed around the platter.

They usually seemed gentle and humble, so it was surprising to see them rush in so eagerly.

Perhaps in the wild, they were this aggressive.

I and Reidia moved around to avoid bumping into the Itotsumugiaris and placed the burned Mochimochi fruit on the platter.

Despite their small size, they had a voracious appetite, and the Mochimochi fruit on the platter quickly diminished.

“Sorry, I’ll burn more, so please wait.”

I hurried to burn the next batch, but only about ten could be burned at a time.

It was impossible to serve all the Itotsumugiaris, who numbered over a hundred, at once.

Those who hadn’t been served yet were making pitiful sounds.

“Hmm, the key is to burn them all at once, right? Claire!”

“Hai!”

Unable to bear the situation, Carmilla used magic to levitate the Mochimochi fruit, and Claire used fire magic to burn them.

About thirty Mochimochi fruits floating in the air were burned all at once.

“Wow, there’s such a way!”

Magic was indeed very convenient.

“Why isn’t Reidia doing it?”

“I’m not very good with fire magic. I can create a simple flame, but it’s hard to adjust and cook like Claire.”

It seemed she wasn’t doing it because she couldn’t, not because she didn’t want to.

I had assumed she could use fire magic since she could easily create a flame, but it seemed she didn’t have a good affinity with fire, like me.

“Why isn’t Carmilla, who is good at fire magic, doing it?”

“I’m not good at that kind of fine adjustment! If I do it, it will turn to black charcoal!”

Mochimochi fruit tastes better when cooked slowly over a medium flame.

Since she wasn’t good at fine adjustments, she left it to Claire. Yes, it’s the right division of labor.

“Miss, the fire is through.”

“Yes! Eat your fill!”

Carmilla used magic to quickly move the burned Mochimochi fruit onto the platter.

The Itotsumugiaris were overjoyed with the large amount of burned Mochimochi fruit.

With so much available, there were no individuals left without food.

Feeling relieved, I continued to burn the Mochimochi fruit.

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