thunk pssshh thunk pssshh thunk pssshh

With the wooden stakes we made, I dug into the soil at the riverbank and eventually reached a clay layer in a shallow section.

“Gauh, gaoruuoann!” (Alright, we have the clay!)

However, the clay soil was a little hard, so I sprinkled some water from the river and softened it. When I looked around, I saw the group of 1-year-old Kobolds single-mindedly digging the ground with the wooden stakes as well… 

“Waou, waou, waan waouh♪ “ (Dig, dig, let’s dig, dig, dig♪)

“Kuuwaou, wanwan♪” (Let’s dig here, woof woof*♪)

Yes, we Kobolds love to dig holes.

“… Guruoa, gaorukua?” (… Guys, did you get the clay?)

“Wau!?” (HUH!?)

… It’s hopeless, these guys enjoyed digging so much that they forgot their main objective. 

“Kyuu, kyuuun…” (Big brother, I’m sorry…)

“Guruuoh!” (You too!?)

Despite all of that, we spent a fair amount of time digging in the riverbank and procured quite a lot of clay. The Werecat Blacksmith Barrack was currently checking the quality of the clay we dug.

“Nice, this is good quality clay! We could make a furnace with this type. As for the fire resistance… we won’t know how good it is until we make one…Well, the quality of the soil and the iron sand isn’t bad either, so this should be manageable.”

“Barrack, let’s try to make some sun-dried bricks first and see what we can do with the rest. I’m sure we’ll find plenty of uses for those.”

Grimer held a bunch of dried leaves as he spoke.

Hmmm…

I took out my slate pencil and wrote on the ground.

“Are you going to mix those with the clay?”

“Yes, but we need to grind it up first and remove the unnecessary parts and make it fibrous. Mixing it in the clay makes it harder for the bricks to crack.”

The Werecat Grimer placed the leaves and stems on top of a semi-flat rock and used the Stone Axe to expose the plant fibers. Imitating him, we also reached for some leaves and helped out. 

By the way, it seemed that the floppy-eared Kobolds are more skillful than us… Looks like we made the right decision taking them in. 

After carrying the clay mixed with plant fiber back to the village square, Grimer immediately set to work and began building their sleeping quarters.

Apparently, that was his priority, and Joseph, the Werecat Farmer who had returned ahead of us and Barrack, the Werecat Blacksmith assisted him.

“Alright, let’s start with making holes for the pillars!”

thunk thunk thunk

As Joseph held the wooden stake in place, Barrack and Grimer each took a large rock with a flat face and used it to take turns driving the stake into the ground.

They finished by burying the wooden stake into the ground up to the line they had carved on it beforehand.

They repeated the process, and three holes were made in a straight line, and three more directly opposite it were finished.

“Next is the foundations for the pillars. First, we have to place the highest pillars into the middle hole. Then we need to remove the branches and cut a pair of posts into the same height.”

“Got it, I’ll take care of it.”

Barrack fashioned two logs to the same height and shaved off their branches with a machete. He then passed the crossbeams between the two completed pillars and tied them tightly together with ivy to create a sort of “torii”, which is a type of gate that is said to be found in an island country in the East.

This was then inserted into the middle holes. The left and right holes were filled in the same manner, and smaller “torii” were erected on either side of the central pillars.

(I see, so the reason why the middle one is high and the left and right ones are low is to make the sloping roof…)

Meanwhile, the Kobold Smith (temporary) who watched them with sparkling eyes joined in on the work. Following his example, we also joined in to help out.

“… I appreciate you wanting to help out, but it seems to be slowing the work down.”

Barrack said.

“In the meantime, I’m going to make a rafter so could you make 10 wooden beams the size of this one?”

I handed Smith (temporary) the thin piece of wood that I received from Grimer and only bent the thumb on my left hand. By the way, each of the fingers on the left hand represents the number 10, which means I meant 10 if I only bent my thumb.

“Wan, guruan!” (Okay, I’m on it!)

He enthusiastically cut off the branches with the Stone Axe he made and measured the length of the wood against the sample before cutting it. In no time at all, he had produced 10 pieces of wood with uniform length and thickness.

“Thank you, Mr. Droopy ears. You’re really great at this.”

Grimer tied two ends of the wood together with ivy and pulled them apart to form a triangle-shaped* rafter. After making five pairs, they set them up in the tallest row of the three pseudo torii.

Now it’s starting to look like a house!

I was also getting excited for some reason.

“How is this, Mr. Grimer?”

“That’s perfect, Joseph, thanks.”

I was impressed, and beside me, Joseph handed Grimer the roofing made of huge, dried leaves that he had been working on. Grimer used ivy to attach the roofing onto the roof’s framework.

We also made similar ones that were attached to the roof one by one. Finally, the bark, which Barrack peeled using a knife, was placed over the roof and secured.

“Guu, kuoa…” (Oooh, it’s the roof…)

“Now, let’s go at this steadily.”

The sky has gotten a little dark, but it posed no problem to the Werecats who continued with their work as they could see well in the dark.

“Guu, guruouooh, gurua.” (What’s this? You’re still going at it, Chief?)

“Garuuo, guruao.” (Oh, you’re back, Buster.)

“Gaou, guuoaan?” (How did it go? Did you catch anything good?)

“Guoa, guruoah!!” (Yeah, we had a good catch today!!)

thump

Buster lowered the stag deer he hunted in front of Ax. After him, the other members of the hunting group gradually returned to the settlement with their successful kills.  

“Guruu kuaouun, gurua.” (I’ll take care of cooking this, Boss.)

“Garua, guruuh!” (Then I’ll help out too!)

“Garuuuoah.” (I’ll carry this for you then.)

Knuckle, who was unskilled with his hands, carried the dead deer and slipped away with Lancer and my sister…

I’m going to leave the dinner preparations to my sister and the others, so what will come after the roof?

As I returned my gaze to the Werecat Craftsmen, I saw that they had made a framework for the wall by cutting the flexible wood into appropriate lengths, and, making some appropriate incisions at the top they split those lengthwise and tying them together with ivy. The mud made from soil, water, and the clay we harvested was generously spread onto the outer and inner side of the framework to make the dirt walls.

Right after the dirt wall was completed, Grimer went into a fit.

“Ga, garuoh!?” (Wha, what’s going on!?)

“Kuu!? Guruuh!!” (Eh!? What’s wrong!!)

While Smith (temporary) and I looked at each other stunned, he smashed a section of the stone wall with a Stone Axe. We both looked at Grimer.

“Hmm? Oh, this? I’m building a fireplace because it gets cold in the forest at night. We’re not as warm and fluffy as you guys after all…”

I see so that’s what it was. With an expression that showed he did not understand, Smith (temporary) tilted his head to one side, and I explained the situation to him. And while I was at it, I also told him about the dangers of using fire.

“I’ll take care of making the chimney, so please do the interior, Mr. Grimer.”

“Roger that~”

Barrack skillfully heaped the clay mixture onto the wall to make a chimney on the outside, while Grimer created a fireplace using clay as the main material. Nearby, Joseph was making a simple bed out of bundles of wood and leaves.

“So is it complete?”

“Not yet, Barrack. We need to build a fire in the house and let it dry while we smoke it and let the wood and dirt walls dry…”

Once inside the house, Grimmer dug a hole in the center, threw in some crushed and dried leaves and hemp fibers, and took out the flint.

It seemed like dinner was finally ready, and my sister who went to call us stuck out her hands.

“Kyuuh, kuruaaan.” (Big brother, leave it to me.)

A small flame appeared at the tips of her fingers.

【Activated：Fox Fire】

【Effect：Lets the user create and control fireballs. ※Can be thrown】

“Woaoon…” (When did you…)

“Oh, the fox girl can use fire magic? Then, if you please.”

My sister lights a fire with a smug look on her face and burns Ax’s homemade firewood.

Looks like my chance to use the flint has decreased again…

After the Werecats had dinner with us, they spent another night in my den since the building still needed more time to dry.

The following day, the finished building was covered with dry hay and the bed was also set up, creating the first house in the settlement.

However, the house could only shelter two people, so, going by seniority, it was decided that Grimer and Joseph would occupy it. Later, Barrack, who complained almost immediately, set out to make another house.

=================================================================================================================================

Translator’s Notes:

*Triangle-shaped – the original says “への字型” or he no jikata, which translates to “shaped like the hiragana letter へ (he). “へ ” is pronounced like the “he” in “Hedwig”.