Chapter 52 (1/2)

Chapter 52

Chapter 52: That Time When I Rescued A Dog

TL: kizen

ED: Filip

I decided to hold a morning meeting after we had breakfast . The reason for that was because I needed to a.s.sign roles to the 50 people who were gathered in front of me .

There were twenty-five men, twenty women, and five children .

「Uhmー, if there’s anyone among you who has experience hunting or any other similar occupation please raise your hand」

After I said that, three men raised their hands . I don’t know whether or not that’s a lot but it’s nice there are some .

「Well then, I’ll have you guys form a hunting party . Each one of you will be a party leader with two subordinates . You can conduct a test to select people who are good with the bow after this . Next will be fishermen . Does anybody here know how to fish or knows how to catch them by diving into the sea?」

This time, two people raised their hands .

「Both of you get one subordinate each so please select them after this as well . There are still some small boats by the sides of the houses left so please feel free to use them . Now, is there anyone here who can differentiate medicinal plants from wild herbs as well as edible plants and mushrooms?」

I didn’t think there would be any but contrary to my expectations, one woman raised her hand .

「You’ll also get subordinates as well . Please select two other women to help you and a strong man to act as your escort . As for the rest, you’ll be in charge of cultivating the land by the forest close to your houses as well as collecting firewood and other miscellaneous tasks . Now then, as for the children…」

They looked a bit surprised and their bodies were shaking . You guys remember that I gave you candy yesterday, right?

「Can I know which one is the biggest onii-san or onee-san among all of you?」

One girl timidly raised her hand .

「I see . So you’re the oldest Onee-san . Because of that, you will be in charge of looking after the other kids and making sure they don’t do anything dangerous okay? This is a really important role you know? You can play but don’t go into the forest okay? You can also swim on the beach but only in the shallow part . You can do that, right?」

I squatted so that I would meet eyes with the girl as I said that and she bobbed her head up and down in agreement .

「Alright, good girl」

She’s probably around 6 to 7 years old if I had to guess . I should give her some basic lessons later .

「Now then, please group yourselves according to the roles we set earlier . I will now be handing you your tools」

Hmmー, I wonder if six bows will be enough . Well, I guess I’ll just give bows to the two of the most skilled in each group while giving the necessary materials for the remaining one to make his own . Is it possible to use a bear’s stiff tendon as a bowstring I wonder? Is it bad if it’s too stiff or would it be better if it’s more rigid? I’m not really sure so I’ll just leave it to the experts .

「I only have 6 bows so the leaders will get one and the other two will just have to share the other one until you manage to make another . You can use animal tendons and sinew for the bowstring right? If so then you can use just that」

I nonchalantly tried to lead them into making it themselves . 1

「Uhm, does that mean you’re giving these weapons to us?」

「If you guys don’t catch any prey, these 50 people will starve and die you know? I can’t just use my funds every time to buy you guys wheat flour right? Also, if you manage to catch a lot and make it into dried meat, if possible, I want you guys to trade or use it for bartering」

「……understood」

They look unsatisfied for some reason . Isn’t that a good thing? I’m even giving you guys your necessary weapons .

「Also, if you manage to find animals that can be domesticated, please report it to me . Discuss it with everyone if it’s possible to capture it alive」

After saying that, I handed the bows and arrows to them .

「Next will be the fis.h.i.+ng group . Here are your lances and fish hooks . I made it from the antlers of the deer that I caught yesterday . You guys will have to wait for a bit for the string since I’m trying to get my hands on some as quickly as possible . However, if you guys can also use the sinews and tendons of the bear and deer that I caught yesterday then feel free to use them」

「Yes」

「Now for the herb collecting group . Would a knife and shovel be enough? Or would a Nata be preferable?」

「We don’t need a Nata you know?」

「I understand . Also, please feel free to use the basket that’s in your houses」

「Yes」

「Because of my relations.h.i.+p with the owner of the general store in my village, I was able to buy 10 axes, 10 natas, and 10 saws . I will give these to the rest of you who will be in charge of reclaiming the land near the forest 」

「「「Yes」」」

「First of all, you guys should take care not to get injured . You are no longer slaves so don’t skimp out on your meals to the point where it’s hindering your capacity to work . Don’t force yourself, take a break if you’re not feeling well . As for the hunting group, prioritize you and your party’s safety . It would be better if you just escape when you encounter a bear . For the fis.h.i.+ng group, don’t go too far . If possible, I just want you guys to fish within the bay . The herb gathering group should not go too deep into the forest . It should be obvious since I was able to encounter the bear that I hunted yesterday but you might get attacked by wild animals there . The rest of you should stay vigilant to what’s happening around you . The remaining men will also be acting as the guards . If something happens, I want you guys to make sure you protect the women and children . Now then, here are the short swords and bucklers you’ll need to do that」

「Roger」

「Ahー, that’s right . You might be alone with three women inside the forest but don’t make the mistake of laying your hands on them okay? If you do, I might just personally turn you into a woman as well……remember that」

「U-understood!」

I was politely speaking with them until now but I gave him a piece of ominous advice so he held his nether regions as he replied .

「Ahー, I also still haven’t ascertained that the water around here is safe to drink so make sure you don’t drink any yet . It might be troublesome but just drink the water that I provided for the meantime . I’ll be heading to the forest after this to search for anything useful as well as food and water source . You need to make sure you guys take proper breaks . Make sure you take afternoon breaks as well . I think I’ll be back by evening but please just go ahead and eat dinner without me if I’m late . That’s all」

After saying that, all of them moved to do their respective duties .

「Ahー, I almost forgot . The women of the reclamation group, please take turns in making everybody’s meals every day . We currently only have wheat flour and meat from yesterday but if we’re lucky, we might get fish and edible plants this afternoon . Also, you won’t have a supervisor here so feel free to take it easy」

Laughter resounded due to my last remark but that’s better than having a tense mood in the air .

「Catch a lot okay?」

One guy said that to another as he hit his back . They seem to be close . Well, it’s all good as long as they don’t go back to being scared like yesterday .

First thing I did was visit the well that’s located at the construction site of the Demon Lord’s castle .

I tied a cup to a string and dropped it inside of the well to scoop out water to examine the water quality . Un, it’s dirty . I wasn’t really sure if it would clear up as I keep flus.h.i.+ng it or I should go in and clean it up so I guess I’ll just do both . I’ll also build a small shed around it so that trash won’t go inside .

I should check for poison now I guess . I don’t really want to to be honest .

I took off my s.h.i.+rt, folded it several times, then placed it on top of another cup as a makes.h.i.+ft filter .

『Hmmー, the water is still muddy but I guess it can’t be helped . 』

While I was thinking that, I took a little sip and held it in my mouth . I didn’t experience any abnormalities in my mouth so I guess that’s good . While hoping that it isn’t just a slow acting poison, I formed the water inside the well into a water ball to forcibly empty it out . After that, I decided to move forward towards the direction of the mountain at the center of the island .

After walking for about thirty minutes, I was able to confirm the existence of wetlands and watering holes on this island . I’m not really sure if water has welled up or flowed into such places but this one is pretty shallow so it has turned pretty much into a marsh due to the mud and fallen leaves .

We can turn it into a pretty small artificial lake if we clean it up a bit and I guess we’ll be able to make it go through the housing area if we connect it to the sea . I’ll try searching the perimeter a bit more for a stream or something but if I don’t find any, I should come up with a plan to clean this place up .

I started walking around the marshes and I managed to find a streamlet where water was flowing out bit by bit .

Hmmー, it’s not that much, is it? Will it dry up if we don’t get rain for a while? I guess it would be better if we made it so that a fixed amount of water would get stored and would just flow out once it exceeds that . We need to have a clear plan .

Well, I shouldn’t really be getting ahead of myself . I should just keep that in mind . For the time being, I should create a small, shallow pond that’s close to the houses for agricultural use .

Also, I haven’t seen any fish swimming in these waters at all . It would be great if we manage to get our hands on some freshwater fish since we could trade them but it can’t be helped if there aren’t any . It would be fine if I just buy some every time I go home I guess .

But still, I wonder if you could even find any freshwater fish in a port city . If there are then it’s probably not that popular .

I wonder how much further to the center of the island . It takes around five days to do get across the other side of the island so if I walk for 10 hours a day at 3 kph, I could cover 150 kilometers . Dividing that number with by pi, the island’s diameter should be approximately 48 kilometers . If that’s the case then it’s 24 kilometers to the center . I’m not really sure how high the elevation is there but if I had to guess, it’s probably 1000 meters above sea level at least .

I wonder how wide the foot of that mountain is . It sure is problematic that I can only estimate these kinds of stuff . It’s going to be tough walking on unpaved forest paths for 20 kilometers . Well, I still haven’t managed to settle down yet so I should stop thinking about reaching the center of the island for now . I don’t want to get lost after all .

Since the Demon Lord’s castle was going to be built in this area, there might a quarry here . I’ll try looking for it for a bit . If there isn’t one nearby, I will laugh at my predecessor for being such a huge idiot . I decided to look around the open area for the time being .

After walking through an animal trail I found for a while, I found an area where the soil was protruding which led to a 5-meter cliff with the stone exposed . Un, it’s still untouched, isn’t it? I can’t even… No wait, this area is just 10 minutes away from the supposed site so the quarry might be located at another place that’s closer . I’ll try searching for it a bit more .

Even though there are plenty of edible fruits growing wildly on this island, there’s not a single one of them in this area .

While I was thinking that, I looked up and noticed that it’s almost noon . I guess I’ll pa.s.s by a different area to look around for a bit before going back .

I found another wetland on my way back and discovered a small red nut-like fruit that’s as big as a thumbnail . I tried eating it and it tasted bittersweet .

Is this a cranberry? I wonder if these were actually found in wetlands back in my previous life? Well, I shouldn’t really mind the minor details . I guess should bring some back with me and tell the herb gathering group of this location .

Also, I still need to confirm if there actually is a quarry closer to the planned site for the Demon Lord’s castle . It’s probably inconvenient to have it located 10 minutes away after all .

Once I got back, I decided to do a thorough search of the construction site . I found a hidden narrow pathway so I tried to see where it leads to . This time, I discovered a 50 meter stone cliff which was taller than the one earlier . There were even rusted tools left here . I was right to hold back my judgmental laugh earlier . In order to make use of this area, I’ll make a few more houses and have the others live here . That plan will have to wait for a bit though .

While I was thinking that, I heard a sound .

「*pant* *pant* *pant* *pant*」

「Awooooooo, awooooooooooo」

「*whimper* *whimper*」

Is that a dog?

I tried getting a closer look and saw two dogs surrounding one that had large amounts of blood flowing from the side of its ribs . I wonder if it was done in by a wild boar .

Dogs have been human kind’s companions since ancient times so I can’t just ignore it now that I’ve seen it . There’s also the fact that I’m a dog person .

When I tried getting closer, the other two started wrinkling their snout and showing their teeth to threaten me . Do they not want me to approach their friend?

They all look like Siberian Huskies with grey hair on their entire bodies . Do Siberian Huskies even exist in the wild?

「I’m not scary you know~」

I don’t think they’ll understand my words but I try to talk to them anyway . As I got closer, the scarier they made their faces look . I wonder what I should do . I’m worried about the injured one but I can’t do anything when they’re like this . Moreover, maybe it’s because it’s starting to weaken but the bloodstained dog doesn’t seem like it can actually see me .

It’ll be bad if I don’t hurry, won’t it?

For the meantime, I just sat there and started weighing my options . How should I deal with this I wonder? Do I just force it or should I wait for their wariness to fade? There’s no point in hesitating now . It’ll probably die if I continue dawdling around like this .

I decided to cover my entire body with mana and intimidate them . They didn’t run away but they tucked their tails and showed me their bellies while avoiding my gaze . Ahー, sorry . That’s the pose of submission right? Well, I hope you guys forgive me because I’m doing this to save your friend .

I approached the injured dog and put away the raw meat that I think its comrades put by its mouth . I’m not really sure what the reason is for that behavior but its comrades probably thought it would feel better after eating meat . Thinking about how his comrades felt makes me tear up a bit .

Now that they’re letting me help them, I made sure that there was no one around then used my recover magic to make the bleeding stop . It looks like the pain has started to decrease so I began was.h.i.+ng off the blood with warm water .

After finis.h.i.+ng the treatment, it struggled to get up at first then it started running around and snuggling against me .

「Good boy, good boy」

I squatted down and rubbed its head while saying that .

「Your hair is kinda p.r.i.c.kly, isn’t itー? How cute」

Seeing their friend active again cause the other two to approach us while wagging their tails . It looked like they also wanted their head rubbed so I readily complied . These guys sure are cute . After playing with them for a bit, they would follow me whenever I tried to leave .

「It looks like they got attached to me」

Well, I guess I should start heading back . It would probably for them to wait until dinner to eat but I guess it’s fine if I let them eat a little something to fill their stomach until then right?

「Do you guys want to come as well? Alright, let’s go」

After saying that, I went back together with the dogs to our temporary base .

As I got closer, I heard the sound of axes. .h.i.tting trees and the earth trembling from them falling . Oh, how capable . Will they be able to start digging out the roots tomorrow?

「Good work . Are you tired? You feeling alright?」

「Ohー, Maou-sama . I’m fine but two men collapsed and are now resting inside of their respective houses」

「I see . They probably pushed themselves hard all of a sudden」

「The two of them were weak from the start so there’s no helping it」

「Please tell everyone not to force themselves during their work」

「Got it . By the way, aren’t those wolves behind you?」

「Where? Aren’t these dogs?」

「W-wolves!」

Someone else shouted that while running away .