Chapter 48

"Now, I've managed to guide everyone to their homes."

"No, not yet. Where am I supposed to stay tonight?"

As I was taking a breather after guiding the new settlers, the demon king suddenly appeared from behind.

Oh, I had completely forgotten that the demon king was staying here tonight.

"Elves have plenty of spare rooms, so why don't you stay there?"

"I can't intrude into a house full of women, even if they are of a different race. If my wife found out, I'd be killed."

That's true. The demon king is a man, and being thrown into a house full of women would be tough.

And he's married. Seeing his fear, he seems to be quite a henpecked husband.

Even so, my house is already full... but wait, didn't I make a spacious room for women to use comfortably the other day?

"Then, why don't you stay at our house?"

"Ah, Hashira's house! That's fine. I've actually been curious about it!"

It seems staying at my house is fine.

I lead the delighted demon king to my house.

"Shoes are strictly forbidden inside, so please take them off here."

"Taking off shoes, huh? Quite refreshing, not bad at all."

As I was about to guide him to the bedroom, the demon king started wandering around and entered a small room on his own.

"That's Carmilla's bedroom."

"Hmm, does opening this door lead to a similar room?"

He's quite fearless, peeking into women's bedrooms.

"If you enter the girls' room without permission, they'll dislike you."

"Ouch! Sorry, I couldn't help but get curious."

When I warned him, he shuddered and hurriedly closed the door.

As a father, it's still okay, but the next room is Claire and Leidia's bedroom. It wouldn't be good to show it to a guest, even if he is the demon king.

After leaving the bedroom, the demon king checked out the living room and kitchen.

"Hmm, it's much sturdier than it looks."

I wish you wouldn't underestimate the technology of Japanese houses. They may look simple, but they are very functional.

While showing him around the house, I finally led him to the bedroom.

"This is the demon king's bedroom."

"It's much larger than the other rooms."

"It's a newly added room. Women often use it as a multipurpose room."

"I was wondering, where is Hashira's bedroom?"

Why is he so interested in my bedroom?

"...It's behind Carmilla's bedroom."

"What?"

As a parent, I can't ignore a man sleeping next to young girls.

"Then, won't I be lonely? It looks like you're having all the fun!"

No, he seems more focused on his own loneliness than worrying about the girls.

"There are no spare bedrooms, you know?"

"Then, I'll sleep next to you. The room looks spacious enough."

Is he that eager to stay in that bedroom? I can't help but look at him with a bemused expression, but his eyes are sparkling.

His determination to sleep in that room with everyone is clear on his face.

"Wait, I'll add a room right next to it, so please don't do that."

"Hmm? Well, if it's connected, that's fine."

I have no interest in sharing a room with a man, and it would be uncomfortable.

If I have to go through that, it's better to add a room.

I returned to the bedroom and activated my ability.

I grew more wood to add two more rooms. Adding just one room would make the layout look odd.

"Wow, this is great! It's quite a change from my usual bedroom!"

The demon king immediately claimed the room next to mine and sprawled out. Of course, the door was open, connecting it to my room.

Well, we're not sharing the same room, and I don't mind this kind of camp-like atmosphere.

◆

After guiding the new settlers to their homes and letting them rest, we decided to hold a welcome feast.

Even though they were transferred, they came from a distant place. We should welcome them properly.

I called Leidia, Carmilla, and Claire, and we started preparing dinner.

We can't accommodate everyone in the house, so we'll eat outside, just like when we served the Itsumugiaris.

"Hmm, preparing dinner. It smells good."

The smell of dinner lured the demon king, who had been lounging around the house.

He was surprised when he saw Carmilla.

"W-What! Carmilla is cooking!?"

Carmilla was cutting vegetables with a knife.

"Hehe, I can cook too! How about that! Impressive, right?"

She's proud of being praised, but all she can do is cut simple ingredients.

She doesn't know much about how to cook with specific ingredients or how to prepare them.

Compared to when she couldn't do anything, it's a big improvement, but it's still at a low level.

"You're impressive. I've never cooked and can't do it."

"If you really want to, I can teach you, Father."

"Ah, Carmilla. Teach me!"

The demon king sincerely asks his daughter to teach him how to cut ingredients.

I wonder if it's appropriate for the demon king to do this, but it's nice to see them getting along as a family.

"Hey, let us help too."

Arte and the other elves came over, probably hearing our commotion.

It's not right to make the new settlers help with the feast, but seeing Arte and the others looking nervous, it might be better to give them something to do.

"Alright. Follow Leidia's instructions."

"Yes!"

When I said that, the elves seemed relieved and headed to Leidia.

Following Leidia's instructions, the elves started preparing the vegetables and roasting the squishy fruits.

Their movements were very skilled, and their high level of expertise was evident.

"Arte and the others are good at cooking."

"To survive in nature, we must be able to do most things."

I see. Living in the mountains and forests, the elves naturally have these skills. Come to think of it, Leidia can do most things around the house too.

"Still, I didn't think there would be a place where people could live in the Forest of Death."

"Yes, there are solid houses and fields. It's much better than most villages."

While cooking, the dwarves had come over and were sitting on tree stumps, chatting.

They don't seem to be good at cooking and only help with simple tasks like carrying dishes.

They look like domineering husbands, but they just don't do things they can't do. That's actually helpful.

On the other hand, the problem is the young lady of the demon race who tries to cook despite not being able to.

"Stop it, Cecilia. I'm not expecting anything from your cooking."

"Can you not talk to me right now? I'm almost done cutting the carrots."

Cecilia is cutting carrots with very dangerous movements.

Claire and her servant are worried, and the work efficiency is significantly reduced.

However, through the common task of cooking, everyone is naturally interacting with each other.

Seeing this, it might not have been a bad decision to let the new settlers help with the cooking.

When the food was ready, the feast began.

I grew more wood to create a large, long table to fit all the dishes, and simple tree stump chairs for everyone to sit on.

"Hashira's ability is convenient. You can create useful things anytime, anywhere."

"It's limited to wooden items, though."

The demon king, who is already familiar with it, isn't surprised, but the new settlers, who are seeing it for the first time, look amazed.

In this world, the ability to grow wood must be rare. Since I don't know much about the outside world, I have no idea.