「Mister!」
Just as I was about to get on the Pioneer, the tax collector kid showed up.
「You again? Don’t you have something better to do?」
Seriously, Church, teach this kid some survival skills already! You have money to buy magic stones, don’t you?!
「I’m still eight, so all I can do is beg. There are kidnappers around.」
There are kidnappers?! Well… Bisha and Mebi were caught by slave traders before, weren’t they? This really is a dangerous place.
「Can’t you do sewing or something?」
At eight, you should at least be able to sew a rag.
…Says the guy who has never sewn even a rag in thirty years of his life.
「I’m clumsy, so I do my best at begging.」
Well, she isn’t shy and she looks friendly. Begging probably suits her.
「I see. Here. I’m busy, so get going.」
I took out one silver coin and dropped it into her box.
「Thank you!」
As always, once she got what she wanted, the tax collector made a swift retreat. I bet she would earn well if she became an adventurer.
「Takato, do you like little girls?」
Not this again, the lolicon suspicion! I just donated, so why do I get accused like this?!
「I like grown women! I’m just mocking an incompetent god by donating!」
「Is that so?」
For some reason, Mishinie asked Ladarion.
「Takato is naturally dense.」
「Yeah, he is kind of naturally dense.」
Huh?! I’ve never been called dense in my life! I can read the room just fine! People even said I was sharp!
…But arguing would probably make things worse, so I kept quiet.
「Enough. Get on. We’re in a hurry.」
I urged them on, drove the Pioneer, and headed back to Lasagna Village.
Mishinie’s gaze was annoying along the way, but I didn’t have time to deal with it. I was already at my limit just thinking about what needed to be prepared.
When we arrived home, there were human craftsmen mixed in with the giants, working away. Maybe they were handling the interior.
「Kainzel-san, sorry, but the Guild Master and the acting lord are coming tonight. Please take care of the goblins. Miriel, gather everything needed for the rooms. They’ll probably bring some attendants, so prepare extra.」
I have no idea how to properly welcome an acting lord, but if I make sure all the necessities are in place, the attendants should be able to handle the rest.
「Mishinie, Bisha, Mebi. Secure the surrounding area. If you spot anyone suspicious, capture them alive. You can injure them a bit if needed.」
If anything happened to the acting lord, it would become a matter of responsibility. It was better to check the area thoroughly.
「Ladarion, fill the tank with water and bring it to the manor. Bring bottled water too.」
After giving out instructions one after another, I headed for the manor. To be honest, I didn’t even know what the inside looked like yet.
After greeting the old men outside, I entered through the main entrance. Inside, human craftsmen were making tables, chairs, and finishing smaller details.
「Thank you for your hard work. Is the master craftsman here?」
「That would be me.」
A middle-aged man who looked like he had decades of experience answered.
「I’m Takato, the one who commissioned the manor. I’d like to consult with you about something. Do you have a moment?」
「That’s fine. What is it?」
I explained that the Guild Master and the acting lord would be visiting tonight and asked him to urgently finish a large room.
「Understood. We’ll hurry and finish it.」
In a society bound by status, even a master craftsman with decades of experience could not defy a noble. All work was temporarily halted, and they focused on preparing the room where the acting lord would stay and the dining hall.
「I’ll make sure the reward reflects the effort, so please take care of it.」
「Leave it to us. If anything goes wrong, we’d be the ones blamed too. We won’t mess around.」
Not wanting to get in the way, I left the manor.
From the dining room at the house, I entered Home and joined Miriel, who was shopping on the tablet. I restocked alcohol and the refrigerator.
Once everything was brought outside, I loaded it onto a handcart and carried it to the manor.
「Takato! People from the castle are here!」
While I was busy carrying things, Romy brought over the so-called castle people.
「Ah, from before……」
There was an elderly man who looked like a butler or a retainer, accompanied by four women who could have been maids.
「My name is Mishido. I have come on the orders of Cyrus-sama.」
「That’s a huge help. I was at a loss over how to receive you properly. The craftsmen are prioritizing the guest rooms, so could you advise them? I don’t know these things myself. Miriel, please assist Mishido-san.」
I felt bad for dumping everything on Miriel, but there were other things that needed doing. I couldn’t afford to focus only on the manor.
When I headed to the goblin cage, Kainzel-san was standing there, staring at the goblin as it screeched and struggled.
「Kainzel-san, is something wrong?」
「No, it’s just that I’ve never had the chance to observe a goblin this closely before. I couldn’t help but get absorbed. So this is the kind of creature that torments the Goddess.」
From my point of view, all I could say was that it was her own fault. Still, as the one being forced to clean up the mess, all I felt was anger.
「Could you give them some processed meat? We can’t have them dying yet.」
If they resorted to cannibalism, bringing them here would have been pointless. Stay alive until the acting lord kills you.
「Yeah, we’ll need a pit to dispose of the goblin bodies too, won’t we?」
I hadn’t even thought that far ahead.
「I’ll ask the giants to handle it.」
「Sorry. Thank you.」
Next, I headed over to Mishinie and the others, where they had already captured a man dressed all in black. He was really here?! And more importantly, does that mean people outside the territory know about me?!
「Did he say anything?」
「No, not a word. Still, he’s probably a spy sent from the royal capital. You see them now and then.」
You can tell just by looking? Have you seen the dark side of the world or something?
「So what should we do with him?」
Don’t tell me to kill him and dump him in a hole.
「Just hand him over to the Guild Master. They’ll take care of it on their end.」
「I see. I’ll leave it to you. Just stash him somewhere for now.」
Leaving things there to Mishinie, I headed back to the house. With the Guild Master and the others arriving soon, I decided to return to Home and get a bit of rest first.
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