Chapter 143 - Monster Problem

As I was about to get on the carriage to return to the village, Shadow appeared.

Shadow: “It’s been a while-gojaru.”

Naofumi: “Even though you say that, you’ve been constantly watching me, haven’t you?”

Shadow: “Well, you’re not wrong-gojaru.”

As expected of Shadow.

Shadow: “You should go to the Queen to report on your attempt to capture the Spear-gojaru.”

Naofumi: “I know, but in truth, I have no idea how to stop him from escaping. Can we put a collar on him, like we did with Trash?”

If the collar can prevent him from speaking, we can cut off his incantations.

Shadow: “That collar definitely prevents one from speaking, but its effect is not long in duration-Gojaru”

Ah, so it had a weakness like that. Also, unless we use an invisible seal like the slave seal, he will probably be able to break it and run off.

I think Trash didn’t break his collar, because he didn’t want to anger the Queen…

Shadow: “Well then, excuse me-gojaru”

And shadow disappeared. This is quite an urgent issue.

In the Net games that I know, there are areas and skills that prevent messaging and warping, but how about this world?

It’s not certain that he even has to chant the spell, so stopping it will be a pain in the ass.

And it’ll be troublesome if he escapes to another country.

It seems that we will have to put off his capture until the Queen comes up with something.

When I get back to the village, I see that the new slaves are slowly adjusting to their new lives. They have begun to look happier as they do their work.

Female Knight: “Ah, so you’re back.”

Female Knight comes over to greet us.

Female Knight: “I heard that you failed.”

Naofumi: “News spreads fast… He ran away with a teleportation skill.”

Female Knight: “Heroes sure have convenient skills. Can Iwatani-dono use it?”

Naofumi: “If I get the corresponding shield, I should be able to… but I don’t know any way of preventing it.”

This will be a really annoying job.

If I were being chased, I would spam that skill without remorse.

Naofumi: “What is Rishia doing?”

If she spreads the Itsuki religion, I’ll have to have her fired.

Female Knight: “She’s trying her best to train the new slaves.”

Naofumi: “I see…”

Female Knight: “By the way, will Iwatani-dono be doing restorations on the town where this area’s feudal lord used to live?”

Naofumi: “Ah, that town…”

Due to the influence of the first wave, all of the towns in the entire area have turned into ghost-towns.

The place Female Knight is talking about is the adjacent village.

Its damages exceed that of this one. The stone buildings and walls have all collapsed, and the Feudal Lord’s mansion seems to have been burned down. It’s quite severe.

Female Knight: “The Queen asked whether or not you would be rebuilding that area.”

Naofumi: “I still need an area for people other than slaves to live. If you’re free, I won’t mind it if you start reparations on that area by yourself.”

Female Knight: “I thought you would say that, so I have already sent a request for anyone wanting to immigrate here.”

Naofumi: “Immigrate?”

Female Knight: “Due to Iwatani-dono’s contributions, there are some who want to live on your land.”

Naofumi: “hmm…”

Female Knight: “I’ve put together a list.”

Female Knight hands over a list of all of the applicants who want to live on my land.

… There are quite a few people from Ryut village. There are also people from villages destroyed by the Spirit Turtle. There’s quite a variety.

Naofumi: “Well, isn’t it fine?”

Female Knight: “I think you should at least go talk to them at some point in time.”

Naofumi: “Fumu…”

I idly pat the neck of the Filo Rial who was resting near me.

Filo Rial: “Kueee…”

I’m pretty sure that adult Filo Rials are supposed to cry, “Guaaa”.

How the hell is Firo raising it? Is it because it is a vassal of a Filo Rial Queen?

Or is it just part of its personality?

As I pet the Filo Rial, I notice Firo glaring at me with jealous eyes.

Firo: “Master, why are you patting that child?”

Naofumi: “? I have no ulterior motives.”

Firo: “Then pet Firo as well.”

Firo approaches me menacingly.

This will be a pain to deal with…

I sigh, and begin to rub under Firo’s beak.

Her plumage is thicker than a normal Filo Rial’s.

Naofumi: “Oh, right.”

Firo: “Hm?”

Naofumi: “Why does this Filo Rial say ‘Kue’? Isn’t it supposed to be Gua?”

Firo: “He was under Firo’s care, so I messed around with him for a bit.”

Messed around? Can she modify objects like me?

Naofumi: “… Specifically what did you do?”

Firo: “Firo fed him until his stomach was full.”

I don’t care about that.

Firo: “Firo also… taught him how to swim… He is a little stronger than the other kids, and can pull the cart very well. But he gets hungry easily.”

So is this Filo Rial a new species?

Firo: “If Master wants me to, I can mess with him some more.”

Naofumi: “… I’ll consider it.”

So his fuel efficiency is lower than the other Filo Rials… That’ll be a problem. I wonder if Firo gets a pop up screen during modifications like I get when modifying the Bioplants.

Filo Rial: “KUEEEEEEeEE”

The other Filo Rial rubs against me with his head. Firo copies him.

What was his name again?

I think the Slaves randomly picked one…

Firo: “And so you don’t confuse him with other Filo Rials, Firo made him say Kue. Now Master can tell recognize him even if he can’t hear him talk.”

Is it a sort of signal inaudible to the human ear?

I believe my world had animals that could do that as well.

Though I’m not too knowledgeable.

Naofumi: “Then what is Gua supposed to mean?”

Firo: “Fitoria’s underlings use that.”

I see…

Naofumi: “Since I’m here, I’ll ask, but if something happens to you, will he take over as King or Queen?”

Firo: “Firo will be fine!”

Firo starts pouting.

Was it that unexpected? Well, it’s concerning her death, so I guess there’s no helping it.

Naofumi: “Yeah, but we’re talking about the worst case scenario here.”

Firo: “Mu….”

Firo’s puffs up her cheeks.

Firo: “Um, you know. If Master asks him to… I think he will take over.”

Naofumi: “I see.”

So he will take over Firo’s followers if anything happens to her.

But what I was trying to find out was something else.

I wanted to know if he would be able to change his species to Filo Rial Queen.

Filo Rial: “KUE!? KUEEEEEEEE!?”

The Filo Rial’s feathers suddenly stand on end.

Firo: “Master, what do you think you’re doing!?”

It seems his reaction speed is quite fast. I guess I should stop.

His feathers go down quickly.

Firo: “Mu…”

Firo idly kicks the ground.

Firo: “Master, recently haven’t you been being quite cruel to Firo?”

Naofumi: “I’m not being cruel. I just think that the ‘Kue’s are more cute than the you that just talks non-stop. If you started to speak in ‘Kue’s, then I might pamper you more.”

Firo: “No!”

I don’t get why she wants to talk so badly.

Anyways, it seems that only Firo’s followers say Kue.

Female Knight: “Hey… Did I just hear some amazing information?”

Female Knight starts speaking with a dumbfound expression.

Naofumi: “Really?”

Female Knight: “Filo Rial are mysterious lifeforms, you know.”

Naofumi: “They’re Holy Birds, right?”

Female Knight: “People may say that, but… I don’t think that’s true.”

‘I may need to rethink these facts’, Female Knight mutters to herself.

I’ve gotten used to Firo being like this, but normal Filo Rials are usually used in the same way as horses.

Naofumi: “Oh, right. Returning to topic. Will you be restoring the neighboring town?”

Female Knight: “Yes, I believe it will be an important asset. You’re the count here, so oversee the work.”

Naofumi: “That sounds like a pain, but I guess I have to do it.”

I’ll need to oversee the restorations here as well.

… Oh right. There has been something bothering me for a while.

Naofumi: “Hey, Firo.”

Firo: “What is it~?”

Naofumi: “Do the Caterpillands have any sort of social organization like the Filo Rials?”

Firo: “Who knows?”

The Caterpillands have also begun to grow in strange directions….

They are much bigger than other Caterpillands of the same level.

They’re just large bugs, but the slaves use the Three Caterpillands to manage the growth of the Bioplants.

…Wait.

One. Two. Three…

There’s one too many!

Naofumi: “Who is it? Who got another Caterpilland without my permission!?”

The slaves frantically try to hide one of the Caterpillands behind their backs. The one they hide is the biggest one of the group.

Naofumi: “It’s way too late to hide it!”

When did this thing appear?

Kiel: “Damn, he found out!”

Naofumi: “How did you think I wouldn’t find out!”

I can confirm it’s status. This means that it is a monster under my control.

A girl from the new slaves spreads her body out and tries to hide the monster, but it’s still clearly visible. Behind her is the Bioplant field.

I think I’ve seen this scene before.

Girl Slave: “There’s nothing here! There’s nothing wrong here.”

Naofumi: “It’s huge! Do you think you’re hiding anything!?”

I can see everything. What valley did this girl crawl out of?

The Caterpilland behind her back is bigger than any I’ve ever seen.

Naofumi: “Now then, explain yourselves.”

The slaves hang their heads.

Naofumi: “Please tell me in detail exactly what happened.”

Kiel: “Well, it’s not like we were trying to make Shield Nii-chan angry…”

Kiel steps in front of the Female Slave.

Et tu brute?

Naofumi: “How did you manage to register it as mine?”

Kiel: “Well, it was kind of mixed it in with the new slaves that arrived.”

Naofumi: “So you…”

Kiel: “By the guy who sold them.”

Naofumi: “The Slave Dealer!?”

When did he have the chance to do it? I never noticed him perform the registration on it.

Was his hunger act a way to sneak this one through?

Naofumi: “Why would the slave dealer…”

Kiel: “This is the first egg we all found together!”

Naofumi: “Wha?”

It seems it went something like this.

When everyone had gone to level-grind, they had come across a monster nest. They then took back the egg that was there with them as a trophy.

When they brought it back, no one knew how they were going to raise it.

Naofumi: “Rafatalia, did you know?”

Rafatalia: “I had no idea.”

Kiel: “If we told Rafatalia-chan, we thought she would report it to you.”

Having a monster egg without a registered master is dangerous, so everyone was worrying about what to do. It was then that the Slave Dealer appeared.

So everyone gathered together the money they had saved through peddling with me, and begged him to register it.

And so the Slave Dealer distracted me while some of his men secretly went and registered the egg. Everyone worked together to raise it healthily, and… this was the result.

I see. I had been looking over the other Caterpillands level to make it so they didn’t grow too big to handle. That’s why this one, who grew freely, is so big.

It’s 5 times bigger than a normal one. Its level is also quite high.

Slave Girl: “Please don’t kill it!”

Naofumi: “Hey, valley girl. You’re being loud. Please be quiet for a second.”

Kiel: “What do you mean by Valley, Nii-chan!?”

Well. These people have been doing quite a bit without my permission.

I haven’t lost anything, but it will be bad if they learn to act this way in the future. The slaves around the Valley Girl-ish slave rise and protect the Caterpilland.

Naofumi: “You know, if you act on your own like that, I’ll be troubled. If you really want to raise it, make sure you tell me first.”

I’ve already asked the Slave Dealer for more monsters anyways. I won’t have to put in too much extra effort.

Naofumi: “And make sure you raise it properly. If I see it lose to another monster, I’ll sell it on the spot.”

Female Slave: “Y-yes!”

Well… Problems are popping out one after the other.

Kiel: “See, I told you. Shield Nii-chan will let us keep it.”

Female Slave: “But Kiel-chan, you said that Shield Nii-chan would definitely sell it. You said he was greedy with money, so he would sell it on the spot. That’s why we worked so hard to hide it…”

Kiel: “don’t add a –chan to my name!”

Naofumi: “…”

These people…

Wait, I didn’t notice it before, but he said ‘The First egg’…

Naofumi: “This is the only egg, right?”

Kiel: “Um… well…”

Naofumi: “Well?”

The slaves hang their heads.

My head hurts…

I don’t know if these kids are just skilled at finding monster nests, but when I look under the floor of the house the slaves are staying in, I see rows upon rows of eggs.

Kiel: “When we saved up more money, we planned to take them to the Slave selling guy…”

Naofumi: “There’s a lot… If they hatch unregistered, what did you plan on doing!?”

That would be a calamity in itself.

Well, dealing with freshly hatched monsters wouldn’t be that much of a problem…

Kiel: “Yeah, but…”

Naofumi: “*Sigh*… well for now, let me see what sort of eggs they are.”

And wait, there are wild monster eggs as well? Of course that’s the case.

I guess I can make egg-based dishes as well now. But if I say that, I think the slaves will get mad at me.

Naofumi: “Are they all Caterpilland eggs?”

Kiel: “Probably not. We got them from all sorts of places.”

Naofumi: “I see.”

These people plan to trouble me in many ways. I hope these monsters don’t cost me too much money to care for. I guess I can cancel my monster order to the Slave Dealer.

(Note: Valley Girl is read as Taniko)

(Another Translator Note: This Scene is a Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Reference