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Chapter 103 – Part 1

Mairahl, Aldeath and the others all returned home to their respective territories, and I went to dismantle the steel walls surrounding Bern Village.

The goblins’ raid had been a state of emergency, but since that threat was now gone, leaving the walls up would be overkill, and it would probably draw unwanted attention from the governor-general in Galois.

These steel walls were created by using alchemy to turn dirt, which was plentiful everywhere around the village, into steel.

It would be good if we could partition the steel into smaller, more suitable sizes and save them for later use, but if we hide them poorly and it gets found out by others, then that will be troublesome.

If we return the walls back into wood, then the village’s defensive power would decrease drastically, but Diadora’s parting gift, her black roses, still remained.

If these black roses are tightly woven through the walls, then it can sense when enemies approach, and it would use its own power to move and restrain the enemy. It had enough power to strangle most anything, even a demon or a giant.

Even if we dismantle the steel walls, I think this will be more than enough in terms of defensive power. In that case, it would be best to preserve only a small amount of the steel, and then return the rest of it to dirt.

If we ever need it again, I can always reconstruct it within a single night, and we likely won’t be raided again until spring.

In a way, it was lucky that the fight with the Guuma clan’s main army had caused the land to the northwest to be rugged and uneven. We can use the dirt from the steel walls to fill up that land and even it out again.

The adventurers that had remained in the village, including the ones sent by the Blaster Blast family, stayed for another two days, and then they all left the village.

On the other hand, the merchants and the customers of the hot spring, weren’t visiting the village as much as they did before the fight occurred.

In exchange, carriages carrying fur and wood craftsmen, and spirit and magic stone sellers, left the village more frequently, heading toward Galois to convey the news that Bern Village was safe now.

Of course, I didn’t have the authority to order them to do that. It was thanks to the village chief and Jenna-san suggesting it to them.

After I turned the walls back into dirt, the golems and the villagers worked together to transport it to the devastated land to the northwest. They distributed the dirt evenly, and then began to till the land.

The dismantling of the walls, and cultivation of new fields for farming, and in response to all the merchants who had fled the village, there was still the need to decide how to distribute the goblins’ equipment and the reward money we would soon receive from Galois — there was a mountain of things to do, but all of it was important work, so I didn’t feel troubled at all.

We had planned to spend our entire summer vacation working for Bern Village, but it wouldn’t do to not send off the people of Ente Forest who had come as reinforcements for us.

The siblings, Gio and Fio; the female Arachne, Wood Elves, and Beast People who all greatly admired Christina-san — they packed the grains, alcohol, and clothing that Bern Village had given to them as thanks into carts, and because there had been no casualties, they were able to leave the village with truly bright smiles on their faces.

Among them was the spirit of the Black Rose, Diadora, who was being provoked by Selina and Dramina, causing all three of them to boldly profess their love for me.

Besides myself, Selina, Dramina, and Christina-san, the leadership of the village, beginning with the chief, and the other villagers who had grown close with the people of Ente Forest, all showed up, and everyone was smiling.

It wouldn’t have been strange if Lenia hadn’t come, considering her personality, but since Diadora was declaring her affection for me, Lenia ended up showing her face as well.

However, the one common thing between both the people of Bern Village and the people of Ente Forest was that they were never aware of Dramina and Christina-san, who stood beside me.

Dramina and Christina-san.

They were incarnations of beauty, so beautiful that it was almost wrong for them to exist in this world. No matter how guarded someone was, their beauty would easily pierce through any mental barriers, and mesmerize anyone right down to their soul.

If someone becomes enraptured by their beauty, it would take a great amount of effort to return them to their senses.

Even if they appear as if they’ve returned to normal, sometimes the impact of the beauty would still be engraved in their souls, and it could randomly resurface on a whim, causing the person to see unforgettable dreams, regardless of day or night time.

If one wishes to remain sane, then they must never gaze upon Dramina and Christina-san’s beauty.

That is an ironclad rule of this world’s reason, or so the people have learned.

「When summer vacation ends, we probably won’t have many chances to meet up again for a while. It’s hard to say goodbye」

When I honestly expressed my true feelings, Diadora smiled satisfactorily.

No matter what emotion showed on her face, Diadora always had an air of bewitching beauty surrounding her. But in response to my words, her smile clearly revealed her shyness and happiness, with the purity of an innocent child.

「That’s true, it can’t be helped since I live in Ente Forest. But whenever you return to Bern Village, I can come visit you immediately.

But to hear you say that it is hard to part, I am honestly happy. I feel lonely not getting to meet with you for even one day.

I’ve never felt this way toward anyone before I met you. Will you take responsibility for this?」

Fumu, such a statement would easily cause Selina to puff up her cheeks again.

I snuck a peek toward Selina, and as I thought, her cheeks were puffed up—-

「Mumumu~」

「Mu, mumu?」

—- but it wasn’t just Selina, but Dramina also had her cheeks slightly puffed up too. Seeing that, without thinking, I nearly broke out into a grin.

Christina-san and others weren’t able to endure it, and smiled, even though they were trying desperately to hold it back. In response to Selina and Dramina’s easy to understand reactions, Diadora’s gaze turned warm.

Dramina had memories of seeing Selina’s puffed up, pouting cheeks many times, but Dramina still felt embarrassed about making such a childish expression herself, so she would glance sidelong at Selina, and attempt to copy her awkwardly.

Compared to Dramina, Selina’s puffed up cheeks looked like a squirrel right before hibernation, while Dramina was more moderate, looking like she only had a single walnut in her mouth.

「I do intend on taking responsibility in the way you wish, but as you can see, Selina and Dramina seem to have many objections and anxieties about that」

「That just shows how much those two love you. My feelings for you won’t lose to them, that is how much I love you. It is easy for me to put into words, but words are not enough」

As a clear declaration of love for me came out of Diadora’s mouth, the village chief, Gio and the others all couldn’t keep their eyes away from us. Then after seeing me, surprised expressions jumped to their faces, and they hurriedly averted their gazes after remembering the existences of Christina-san and Dramina.

There were several people who were too late in averting their eyes, and they ended up staring blankly with their mouths hanging open, then some of them began to lose control of their bodies and fall over onto the ground.

「Even so, it’s important to put things into words. No matter how many times you’ve said it already, no matter how cliched you might think it is, you must not neglect conveying your own feelings」

Looking back on my past life and my current life, this is the theory my foolish self has arrived at.

Well, it isn’t something so great that it should be called a theory, but there have been many times when I’ve witnessed people passing each other by, or causing tragic misunderstandings, simply due to a lack of communication. I feel that lying to your own heart, and not conveying your true feelings, is a truly foolish and tragic thing to do.