“Guauu vuuo kuaoruuu?” [What do you think needs to be fixed?]

“Rather than fixing it, I think it would be faster to build a new one instead, but this time, I’ll be the one in charge of making it.”

“We’ll also be staying in this village for a while, so it’s necessary to have one.”

The petite, pale-skinned Elf replied, snuggling up to her husband while sipping her herb tea. Although she says they are only staying for “a while”, for this long-lived race, this length of time is equivalent to a Kobold’s entire lifetime.

Given the distance from the settlement, it must be a hassle for them to make the 20-minute trek just to get water from the river.

Anyway, in Elfast, they had these three ridiculously huge scoop wheels that were maintained with taxpayers’ money, along with water and sewage systems, so they had access to clean water at all times.

I understand their desire to create a similar living environment, but nothing is more expensive than something that’s given for free.

“Guu guruu guruaaoo,garuu wafuoa.” [We’ll be supplying the tools you’ll need, but what about payment?]

“Let’s see, Selica is in charge of hunting food for our party, so we wouldn’t need you to supply that for us…”

“Yeah, I’ll… do my best.”

The Elf dispatch unit consisted of the hunter Selica and the chamberlain knight Lenaide who were in charge of procuring provisions, the blacksmith, Asta, who made various things necessary for living, the apothecary Mira who was familiar with vegetation and was in charge of gathering fruits, and the priestess Listy who was a healer.

(I guess their group is structured in a way that they could support each other, huh…)

While I made guesses about their roles in the group, Asta looked at me as if he had made up his mind.

“Archer, for payment, why don’t you guys help us make a house instead?”

“Yeah, we can’t just keep living in a tent forever, there’s no privacy at all~”

“Garuwaon… wauu.” [Sounds good… Ax.]

“Waon, wauo kuruaa~n.” (Okay, I’ll tell Smith and the others about it.)

Aside from the matter concerning our cooperation, it was difficult for me to tell the droopy-eared Kobolds who had been working on the waterwheel that Asta would take over their project. And so, I sent Ax, whom they adored and affectionately called “brother Ax”, to tell them since he was the one who looked after them when he brought them into the pack.

I finished the herb tea in my cup and stood up.

“… Shall we go hunting?”

“Gaoua…” (Sure…)

I had already said yes to the wheat-skinned Elf who was wearing a cloak before I noticed it, so I went back to my lair to prepare for hunting after I greeted Listy who had just woken up and came out of the tent last.

Yesterday, everyone in the pack proudly showed me the red potatoes they had harvested, but since those were meant to be our food for winter, we couldn’t touch those. Besides, I still had to get some meat for smoking anyway, so it was good that I came along.

(I’ll look forward to having roasted potatoes in winter, so for now, I’ll focus on hunting.)

Secretly motivated, I set out together with Selica to the forest with a mechanical bow in hand, but I once again lost to our little game of who would get to the prey first.

“Fufu, I… win.”

With a smug laugh, she puffed out her chest as she pointed to the slain Forest Boar while her bamboo leaf-like ears twitched to convey her good mood.

Originally, Elves hunted by picking up sounds with their long ears and spotting their prey with their excellent vision, but Selica’s Eagle Eyes, which allowed her to see several meters ahead, was beyond comparison.

“Garuvoa gurufau.” [Using those magic eyes is cheating.]

“… What, you can’t accept defeat?”

“Garuu, garuwoa kuruaoou?” [Hmph, should you be saying that?]

She had pierced the huge animal through its head and belly, but it looked too heavy for her small arms to handle even if we drained its blood right here and now.

Selica, who sensed what I was going to say from the way I was looking at her, gently approached me and hugged my arm while pressing her chest against it, but her attempt fell short due to the rugged breastplate she had on…

“… Wafioruu.” [… What are you doing?]

“I’m imitating Mira when she’s asking a favor from Asta…Can you help me carry this back?”

“Garuu, guafu guruo woruauuh.” [Of course I’m carrying this back, everyone’s eating it after all.]

“Ugh, you meanie…”

Selica let go of my arm, reached for the scabbard hanging by her belt and pulled out a dagger with a clear crystal blade that Blazer would have wanted, and expertly cut several arteries on the animal to drain its blood.

Having nothing to do, I also took out my hunting knife and joined her in preparing the meat by removing the unnecessary parts of the Forest Boar. We then placed the prepared animal carcass into the linen bag Selica carried with her and I carried it over my shoulder.

“Gau, varuaan.” [Shall we go back?]

“… Yes, we should head back soon.”

It was no longer breakfast time when we returned as we wandered a bit more through the forest in search of easy prey.

On our trek back to the village, I stopped by and said hello to the pack members we met along the way and came across the droopy-eared Kobolds that were huddled in a corner of the village square. My sister was together with them too, and she happily wagged her fluffy tail as she greeted me.

“U, kuon, kuaan~♪” (Ah, big brother, welcome back~♪)

“Gurua, kuaaoon!” (Welcome back, Boss!)

“Wafu.” [Thanks.]

As we exchanged greetings, I noticed that some of them were pumping air into the clay furnace using the leather bellows while Asta picked up some wrought iron with a clamp and placed it inside to melt.

“Gauu, wofuruuoruu!” (Alright, look closely!)

Smith, who was eagerly observing the process, watched as Asta placed the red hot wrought iron on the flat stone he was using as an anvil and used a mallet to stretch it into a plate.

After heating it once again, he let Smith take it out with the clamps and used a chisel and mallet to vigorously break the thin iron sheet to cut it into thin rods, but… 

“U~, guaaofuau?” (Uh~, it’s getting deformed, you know?)

“Garuwaoon.” (That’s fine.)

Asta proceeded to grab one of the thin iron rods with the clamp and moderately heated it onto the furnace, hammered it repeatedly to straighten it, sharpened the tip, and bent the other tip into an “L” shape. 

“Gauo, kuoruva…” (Amazing, you made an iron thorn…)

“… Wau, kuoruuo.” (… Yes, it’s an iron thorn.)

It’s actually called a “nail”, but… it’s not familiar to us because we only use hemp rope or ivy to bind wood structures. However, these “iron thorns” and the saw that was made earlier would prove to be useful tools.

When he completed the first stage of his work, I held up the food we caught for him to see and invited Asta to join us for a late breakfast.

This translation is brought to you by Nocturne Translations.