Chapter 5 (2/2)
The hard bread simply got torn apart like a piece of marshmallow and disappear in my mouth.
That apple-ish fruit was also gone with just two bites, and I practically drank the jerky.
Even though that wasn't exactly a small amount of food, but it didn't even take 1 minute for them to all go to my stomach.
”Haaaaa… I'm aliveeeee… Thank you for the food!”
I slapped my hands together in a bow and gazed upon the shreds of cloth that used to be the wrapping.
And I realized something.
Umm, might it be, perhaps, this was the boy's meal?
”Uhhh… Sorry… I was too hungry… This was your meal, right? Sorry, I ate all of it…”
”Please don't worry. You saved my life, after all… And this much wouldn't be enough to repay my debt at all! I may not have much to give you, but please come and visit my house!”
”E-Eh? Can I?”
”Yes, if you're fine with rye bread, I still have a lot left! Please come and have a rest!”
And so it came to be that the boy named Zell dragged me to a small, nameless village that lies inside the forest's outer area.
※
The village truly is a small one. Its population doesn't even reach a hundred..
Their livelihoods are mainly gathering in the forest and planting wheat. Because they live near the abundant Forest of Glamour blessed by the spirits, their harvests are always bountiful, and n.o.body ever needs to worry about their meal for the next day. Considering the region, such a village is quite uncommon.
However, at the same time, I heard that the damage they receive from magical beasts' attacks are worse than the other villages' due to their proximity to the forest.
And not only that, the village was targeted by that gang of bandits.
These last few years, they had been making sporadic attacks towards the village, leeching from the people while making sure to never go overboard.
”…Well, there's that, too… We tried to stop Zell, but he didn't listen and rushed off to pick the expensive herbs that grow deep inside the forest.”
Zerron, the village chief and also Zell's father, summarized and explained the situation for me.
He's a good looking middle-aged man with deep blond hair.
”But dad… We can get quite a bit selling the herbs at the town… and if the bandits come, there'll be injured people…”
”But if you died because of that, there's no meaning, is it? Just how sad would your mother in heaven be?”
”Y-Yes… I'm sorry…”
Zell gloomily hanged his head.
”Sorry, we shouldn't be talking about this in front of our benefactor. Please, feel free to eat as much as you want.”
”T-Thank you very much…”
Seemed like Zell told Zerron that I was quite starved.
The amount of food currently served in front of me is obviously not what a young girl can eat in one sitting.
Of course, this family seemed to lack a woman's touch, so more than half of those food were what you would call 'a guy's cooking'… In order to prepare this feast, they probably had to use up a lot of their reserve. Considering how frequently bandits show up these days, it's not an amount they can afford to waste.
… Really, just what did Zell say about me?
”Still, a magician at such a young age. Your training must have been quite severe.”
Zerron's eyes s.h.i.+ned with respect.
The bandits were tied up in a long chain using my threads and brought with me when I visited his house. Since it seemed like his jaw was about to vacate his face when he saw them, I made up a barely-believable excuse: ”I had been training to become a magician ever since I was young, so…”
”And then, and then, listen, dad, it's amazing! After that, Miss s.h.i.+ori here went *BOOM* and flew out! And when the dust settled, all of the bandits were already defeated!”
”Hohohh, that is amazing… If someone like Miss s.h.i.+ori can come and live at our village, no bandits would dare to meddle with us again.”
”Let's do that! Miss s.h.i.+ori, I'm going to do my best and work to get a lot of money… And when I'm rich, I'll support you, so please marry me!”
”M-Marry?!”
”Hahah, Zell, you like s.h.i.+ori?”
”Yes, I love her! ♪”
”Hahah, then you'll need to quickly grow up and become a respectable adult first!”
”Yes!”
Wahahahah, including my last life, this was the first time I've ever been proposed to.
But even if I marry Zell in the future and have children with him… the kids will probably be Arachne monsters.
Once that happens, there's absolutely no way I can continue to live in a human village.
”Sorry, Zell, I'm running a tailor in the town of Rihak. I can't come here and be your wife, alright?”
And that's the only answer I can give. Yeah, no other choice.
”Awww, really?”
”Hahah, don't be unreasonable, Zell. But if you absolutely cannot give up on Miss s.h.i.+ori, then you should strive to become someone who can get her to fall for you first, and then propose again!”
”…Y-Yes, I'll do my best! In helping with the farmwork and in studying, too!”
”That's right, that's the spirit!”
My, how positive.
Anyway, we finished up our peaceful dinner while making such idle talk. Zerron lent me the bed that his wife once used when she was alive, and I retired for the night.
※
”Hmm, so the main problem is that n.o.body knows where the bandits are coming from…”
I flopped down on the straw mat bed while thinking about the bandits.
As long as I know where their base is, exterminating the bandits won't be a problem… However, I don't.
And at the same time, I can't afford to leave the shop alone and stay at this village forever.
”So the village pretty much just need some bodyguards… They don't need to be as strong as I am, but enough to drive away any bandits… Hmmm.”
If so, then I can probably do something about it.
I jumped off the bed, took off the pajamas borrowed from Zerron, and got naked.
And then, I deactivated the [Human Transformation] skill.
My lower half quickly enlarged, grew new legs, and turned into the body of a snow-white spider.
Next, 6 eyes, bright red like rubies, popped up on my forehead
I can still use my mouth or my fingertips to create the kind of thread that I normally use in combat, but this type of thread degrades faster and isn't suitable for making durable, long-lasting fabric.
As I thought, the thread that comes from my b.u.t.t is still the best material to use when making cloth products.
”So first off is…”
I took out the 3 small Spirit Stones that I got from the forest this time. They won't be necessary in making the commissioned robe.
And then, I pointed my b.u.t.t towards the stones and wrapped them in threadsArachne Silk.
Once the wrapping is thick enough – around the size of a watermelon for each stone – I stopped creating threads…
”And now, the most important thing in today's project… [Doll Creation]Pygmalion.”
This is the new skill that I gained from eating the Marionette Devil.
The skill can 'create dolls capable of fighting' under the user's control.
After I activated the skill, the three watermelon-sized b.a.l.l.s of threads began to morph… until finally, they became three knitted dolls, their shapes stabilizing into something that look like super-deformed girls.
”And finally, copying a part of my consciousness into the Spirit Stones to turn them into sentient magical toolsIntelligent Items…”
And that marked the completion of the village's guardians, the three knitted Arachne sisters!
Hey, come out, whoever that just said ”Isn't that Stone ●●ee?”. I need to talk to you.
They are knitted dolls.
I may have gotten a bit overexcited… and granted them resistance to slas.h.i.+ng damage and resistance to all elements and bonuses to attack damage and abilities to create magical s.h.i.+elds and stealth abilities and backstab skills and Paralyze Breath and that sort of stuff!
BUT. THEY. ARE. JUST. KNITTED. DOLLS.
They're knitted dolls, so there's no problems in giving them to the village to show my thanks for the feast, right?
※
The next day.
Zerron and Zell was sending me off at the village entrance.
I asked them the way home, so really, there's nothing else keeping me here.
However, finding a way to say goodbye to the boy Zell, who was grabbing onto my skirt with tears in his eyes, was probably my biggest challenge of the day.
”Big sis… Do you really have to go…?”
”Yes, sorry… I have a job at the town… But I'll give you these instead. Treasure them, okay?”
”Yes! I'll think of them as you and treasure these dolls! I already thought about their names, too!”
”Oh? What names are you giving them?”
”The red one is Flare, the blue one is Frozen, the yellow one is Gaia!”
My, my, not bad. The names even fit their different elemental attacks.
To be precise, the attack skills that I granted them were shooting a beam of fire, breathing ice, and dropping boulders, respectively.
”Yeah, those are good names! Well then, Flare, Frozen, Gaia. Protect this kid and this village, alright?”
”Yes, Master s.h.i.+ori. We will protect Master Zell and this village.”
I'm the only one who could hear their replies, but I designated Zell as their secondary master, so they should listen to his orders.
Even in the rare case that the bandits show up again, the village should be fine.
And then, I left the village behind me, even as I look back to see the two of them still hesitating to let me go.
Several years later.
That village became famous as the village guarded by 'the miraculous invincible dolls'. In the end, many golem masters and doll makers gathered there, helping it grow into a village of doll makers… but that is a story for another time.
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