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Chapter 179: Breaking Out

It’s been three days since I saw Ash off without any incident.

My days passed by making recovery potions in the Canum house then loafing afterward and processing magic stones then fluffing and petting Daifuku.

Daifuku should rank above Dinosso’s dragon if we base it on size. They’re about the same size if Daifuku curled up. Ah, but I don’t have any idea if he’s powerful or not since he’s not the combat type.

I’ll be happy if he makes a contract with one of my friends, but…I wonder if he’ll do it. He’s appearing frequently, and he also sits with his butt pointed to Retze — a sign of trust, apparently — but I don’t think he’s wholeheartedly willing.

Anyway, Retze told me Butler’s done with the prep work, so there’s no need to worry about Ash. Butler apparently nonchalantly spilled the beans about something scary like the royal family not being able to go against the House of the Duke. He deliberately kept this info from Ash and me, it seemed. Argh, you!!

Even so, I can’t help but feel down. It kinda stirs my trauma that resulted from someone becoming closer to me only to leave because of circumstances caused by others. Sis wasn’t involved this time, but back then, my friend had been thoroughly, completely ignored by everybody else except me, so it’s no wonder his parents chose to move — sorry, it must’ve been far more traumatic to him.

No, this won’t do, let’s go outside and do some work. Don’t wanna end up being a shut-in.

With that, I returned to my home temporarily, then took Riche with me to the forest house. The outer walls are mostly finished. Plan is to do stonework up to waist level, then above that will be a combination of dark brown pillars and white plastered walls. Plastering the ceiling will come last.

The roof will be made from slate tiles. IThe stone breaks easily when tapped from a certain direction, and those pieces will be used in lieu of tiles. It’s a material frequently used in many regions.

It’s just that water can seep into natural stone, so it can only be used in places with less rainfall. I made the angle really steep so that rainwater will just flow down as soon as it falls onto the roof.

It’s a common sight to see the roof tiles beyond the wooden beams when you climb into the attic. They usually don’t put anything that can be an obstruction so that even if water seeps in it’ll dry fast. But then, snow also falls here, so I’m planning to do some work on the attic area.
Roof tiles are generally shingled with copper sheets since it’s the easiest way to go, but goodness, the appearance!! I deliberately chose warped timber instead of perfectly straight ones and of course, one size thicker in consideration of the load and durability.

I was once a resident of an earthquake prone country who cramps their stones in various places. I imitated the buildings there and dug until I hit the bedrock then built the walls from there, but it’s still nerve-wracking! I also prepared a wide foundation just in case I didn’t hit the bedrock so I used both methods together!

Thoughts about the house filled my head while working on the house, effectively raising my mood. Yeah, I now have the power to fly to their aid immediately if needed, and I can even take them all with me and flee in case of emergency. Plus, if I think I can even crush the entire kingdom if I work hard enough.

Alright, alright, think positive, positive.

「Let’s have lunch, Riche. 」
Riche was munching X-Stick after getting tired of running around chasing a butterfly within the barrier

Riche had water and meat for lunch, while mine was a baguette sandwich and coffee. I prefer making fluffy egg sandwiches, loaves of bread and butter rolls, but for now, I enjoyed roasted beef, camembert cheese, and tomato, arugula and onion for veggies.

Roast beef makes me feel luxurious. The arugula’s slightly tangy bitter taste pairs well with the mouthfeel of onion. Shrimp and avocado baguette sandwiches are also nice, and mackerel sandwiches as well. I baked a lot of baguettes, so let’s make different varieties.

After lunch, I went deeper into the woods and did some fighting. The animals I knew were few and far in between. Creatures that attack in ways other than physical also exists

Like beasts breathing out blue flames, and beasts that spit poisonous mists while roaring existed.

Step, slash, evade, and ask for help from the spirits if needed — I’ve become quite used to hunting now. Maybe it’s okay now to take Riche with me? Ah, but it depends on whether he wants to, of course.

I thought it’d be a great learning experience for me to defeat monsters, but they’ve warned me that they might suck me into their minds, making me go crazy, if I defeat too many of them. They’re probably referring to monsters that had captured one too many black spirits.

I have my【Mental Resistance】, and I don’t think Riche doesn’t have that, but I’m not so sure.

Alright, I think it’s high time for me to seriously think about how to fight against monsters that aren’t affected by physical attacks. The reason why I’m having qualms pushing forward with that idea is because there are a lot of humanoid enemies both in the west and north. I have 【Mental Resistance 】, but will I really be alright against human-like figures?

Even if I did have resistance, there’s no way I’ll come out unscathed. Spirits and magic can’t erode my mind and I won’t break, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. Well, I guess maybe I’m quickly breaking out of the memories from my past.

5, 6 monsters in and I stopped and calmed myself down. I didn’t sense any other monster trying to attack me from the surroundings.

「X-Stick! 」
I whipped him out of 【Storage】.

「Aye aye!! 」
I didn’t mean anything when I called his name, but X-Stick went along and energetically shouted in response.

「Let’s search around here. 」
「Ou! 」

I poked and rustled the grass under the trees and measured the hollows with X-Stick. Areas with out of whack climate and strange environment increased the deeper we went into the forest. The place I’m in right now is a summer forest with blueberries bearing fruit; the season’s one to two months earlier than before.

Picking wild blueberries is quite hard work as they only grow to about ankle-high to knee-low high. I searched for bushes with the most fruit with X-Stick, then bent down to pick them.

Ugh, my waist is gonna get frozen at this rate… I wonder why this is way harder than defeating the monsters. Add to the fact that X-Stick is snickering.

I was about to take a break in a spot with good sunlight when I spotted more fruit — raspberries this time. They grow in forest clearings where the trees had fallen. I’m gonna pick them, but after I catch my breath first.

I poke one of the fallen trees to check whether it’ll collapse before sitting on it. First, take out a tray, then put the tea and florentine on it. Florentine is a type of cookie that has nuts coated in caramel added to the dough before baking. I tried mixing almonds with pumpkin seeds this time.

Exercise, check, work, check. Afternoon tea in the sunlit forest — ahh, sweet happiness.