Chapter 13

Two people got burned, but the work proceeded smoothly.

Just as it was about to be lunchtime, the prototype of the Ogarite was completed.

It was a semicircular cylinder, like a doughnut cut in half. The dark brown material was different from the Ogarite Sora had seen in his previous life.

"Lord Sora, I brought some fish."

"I didn't ask you to do that, did I?"

Sora smiled wryly at Raset, who had brought over a dozen fish. He must have considered the children who were barely getting enough to eat. Moreover, considering that the fish were still alive, it seemed he intended to cook them with the Ogarite. The children were looking at the fish Raset had brought with longing eyes.

"Everyone, we're going to cook the fish. Girls and the younger ones will help Raset, and the boys will prepare the fire."

The children, who hadn't expected to be fed, raised a cheer a moment after Sora spoke.

"Don't celebrate yet. If the Ogarite doesn't light, there'll be no fish."

"Lord Sora, you're so mean."

A nearby boy said with a laugh, knowing it was a joke.

Everyone held their breath as the oldest youth tried to light the Ogarite. After a brief silence, it began to burn with a crackling sound. Sora inspected the burning Ogarite while the children cheered. Compared to regular firewood, it produced less smoke. It was easy to light but didn't last as long. The part that was burning tended to crumble, which was a problem.

—But it was sufficiently complete to serve as a substitute for firewood.

"Lord Sora, it's dangerous near the fire, so let's move away."

Shalina, a young girl, pulled Sora's hand to move him away from the fire. She seemed to want to act like an older sister, as she had done while he was making the Ogarite.

Sora, being led by the hand by the cheerful girl, who seemed to have a new little brother, watched the Ogarite bonfire from a distance. The scene of skewered fish sprinkled with salt being lined up near the bonfire reminded him of a camping trip he had taken with friends when he was a college student.

"...I remember having to walk two kilometers to a supermarket to buy fish because we couldn't catch any."

He remembered losing a game of rock-paper-scissors and having to go as a penalty.

"Are you bad at fishing?"

Sora's mumbled words were heard halfway, and Shalina bent down to look at the short Sora.

He tried to cover it up with an ambiguous smile, but it didn't work on the meddlesome Shalina.

"Are you bad at it?"

"I'm not very good."

"Then I'll teach you next time. I tried to teach Sania, but she just catches them with her hands."

Sania was a beast girl. Despite being the youngest, she could sense danger with her keen senses and catch fish and birds with her agile movements. She was respected by the others.

However, she was too timid to be a leader. Shalina, who had a big sister personality, was in charge of the younger ones.

"By the way, where did Sania go?"

"She's hiding because Lord Sora wants to touch her."

Looking around, Sora noticed a child with a cloth over her head, head bowed. He guessed it was Sania and quietly approached her. Just as he slowly extended his hands, he was grabbed by the collar by Raset and failed to achieve his goal.

"Lord Sora, we agreed to wait until this matter is resolved before touching Sania's ears, didn't we?"

"Beast ears! They're right there, BEAST EARS!"

Sania, hearing the desire-filled voice from behind, turned around in a panic. As soon as she saw Sora, she jumped back and fled into the group of older children.

"You were rejected."

"Don't worry, I'm persistent and don't give up easily."

"That's the worst combination for women."

As they chatted, the youth called out that the fish was ready. The children gathered and the fish were distributed, and lunch began.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, the cook was running around because the master hadn't shown up, but Sora, unaware of this, was enjoying the picnic atmosphere.

After lunch, Sora started mass-producing Ogarite. The servants who came to check on the situation, trying to avoid being noticed, were all discovered by the beast girl Sania and sent away by Sora.

At night, the completed Ogarite was transported to a hunter's cabin outside the city. According to Raset, the homeless children, who knew the back alleys of the city well, didn't even encounter anyone on the way out.

"You did well to bring them here..."

Not only did he discover the homeless children, who would be difficult to meet, but he also negotiated and brought them to the notorious Kleinzelt family's mansion in just a day.

"They started acting to get warm clothes after being attacked and losing their firewood."

Most of their actions involved theft and robbery.

In times of crisis, human nature is revealed.

In the group, those who were gentle were pushed out and left the group.

Such people gathered at the back of the church. It was the only safe place in the back alleys and was less likely to be treated rudely compared to the back of the guilds.

Raset, after observing, approached the group he had targeted, pretending to be a churchgoer, and managed to negotiate.

"The negotiation itself was difficult, but the decisive factor was that the lord was away in the capital."

"So, that group is a mix of people?"

Despite this, they seemed to get along well, which made Sora question it.

"Yes. The reason there are small children who tend to be a hindrance is also because of that. It seems that Sania, whom Lord Sora is infatuated with, and Shalina, whom he takes care of, were originally from the same group."

"Infatuated? That sounds a bit perverted. Well, I get it."

The reason they seemed to get along well was probably because they had nowhere to go if they were kicked out of the group. Everyone was trying to fit in.

The group also had many gentle people who stood out for protecting their companions.

—There might be some who were just acting...

Sora smiled wryly at his own distrust.