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Chapter 298: Soleil’s Plea

「He’s wei…quirky, huh. 」
Maybe the spirit’s influence is strong?

「They probably have their own reasons, or perhaps they need to be eccentric or else they might end up discarding their body out of boredom. 」
Auro smoothly commented while arranging the files.

I’m starting to have this misgiving that folks considered oddballs even among the Changelings have gathered here on the island. Ah, but maybe they are only considered oddballs if compared to humans?

「I will bind these documents into a book. 」
「Please. 」
The contracts would become useless once the deities appeared, but we don’t have to worry about the spirits playing mischief if we bind them properly into books.

「Alright, maybe Soleil’s calmed down by now? 」
We left her while she’s on the verge of tears, after all.

The Changelings were all lined up in a full array when we returned to the conference room.

Oy, wait a sec. Soleil and the baker’s wife are the only humans among the pillars of this island’s society! Soleil is on top of the pyramid, of course, but still, this ratio is terrible!

「The two priests that had been dispatched from the temple went back like their pants were on fire. They’re probably gonna report to the higher-ups about the possibility that a country got its hands on ‘a’ new King’s Bough. They might return here to probe which kingdom we got it from, but we can brush it off by saying the kingdom where the King’s Bough originated from. 」

They must’ve already interrogated Soleil, judging from her tone. No wonder, it’s only natural that folks would question King’s Boughs that suddenly turn up after all.

I bet they must’ve tried to poke their nose and pry. Thanks a lot for your hard work, Soleil.

Rumors say that some countries kept mum about the fact that they possess a King’s Bough. That’s understandable, because revealing its existence to the public without possessing real power to protect it would only be tantamount for other more powerful nations to pressure them in handing it over.

Still, having a King’s Bough gives a country the ultimate status. Shrum governs several countries so technically it’s an empire, but they refer to their own country as a kingdom. Ah, but it’s more like the countries publicly known to have a King’s Bough name themselves as kingdoms, and in return, it’s rare for countries to identify themselves as kingdoms if they didn’t have King’s Boughs, regardless of being governed by an actual king. I only knew about this recently.

「They should be aware that it wouldn’t be possible for the temple to invite us if the lineage of the spirits that the Bough will summon differ from the ones they worship — I need to know what sort of spirits will be summoned since it will have an impact on the development of the island from here on, so tell me about it please. 」
Soleil seemed to be focused on work.

She’s probably asking again and we’re having this conversation for the benefit of the others so that they’ll have a general idea. Still, I couldn’t help but feel that the question about which country the Spirit Bough came from was being glossed over. It’d be great if they just accept it without a question since it’s too troublesome explaining about it.

「The Boughs will accept anything that will come here; even black spirits and monsters aren’t restricted. In turn, the terms we need to observe aren’t strict either. Well, black spirits will have a hard time coming here when the spirits abound, so if we make the environment favorable for the spirits, the black spirits will be crowded out, I guess. 」

Nalluahdid, a kingdom with its own Bough, is nearby, so there’s already a lot of spirits around to start with. Even if powerful monsters are to come, they’ll probably devour the spirits that are located outside the influence of the Bough first. Ah, but huge ones rarely venture here since the extremely territorial dragons tend to knock down the flying monsters.

「At any rate, you did require that the residents observe proper hygiene and cleanliness as a requirement for immigration, right? 」
They should have.

「MiLord, it’s about the public bathhouse, isn’t it. Cain, the blueprint. 」
Auro called out to Cain, who then spread the blueprint on the table with the help of Abel.

「Theof, how much will the maintenance cost be if we install fire magic stones here for boiling water? 」
Auro asked.

「It will be cheaper to use firewood for keeping the water hot for half a day — it will be a different story if we have a magic circle, of course. 」
Theof, the spectacled magic stone specialist, wears his straight gray hair in a ponytail.

「Most fire magic stones usually burn well, but they tend to instantaneously emit high temperatures before dying down right after. He probably mentioned the magic circle because he knew how I made the water in the tower overflow.

「I’ll draw the magic circle. 」
The newcomers were in a buzz when I said that. They became even more excited when Faramia and Marlou served cookies and coffee.

「Oh, it’s true… I can really taste it…」
「So this is a cookie…! If it’s now, I bet I can mold the ultimate cookie with my goldsmithing skills…!! 」
What the heck are you gonna do with an inedible cookie, huh?

「Mine is different, thanks for the consideration. 」
I made sure to give salty cheese cookies to the fierce-looking flower fairy, of course.

「So this is what butter tastes like!!! 」
「Darling! I’m so happy for you…!! 」
Please refrain from flirting, you baker couple.

And Kiel, stop giving off that blood lust, nobody’s gonna take that from you — oh, so you’re competing with Marlou, huh. You guys could’ve finished yours first before doing that, you know. Why are you targeting each other’s stuff, huh?

「… I have a request. 」
Soleil seemed fatigued.

「What’s up? 」
「Please employ someone NORMAL, for goodness sake!! 」
Ahh, I know how you feel, I do.

「I wasn’t the one who gathered these folks here, you know. Besides, don’t you hire them too? 」
「It’s hard finding people who can fit in here. I also want Faramir to live at ease without minding what other people think. 」
Well, it’s true that there are far more people who take their work seriously in an ordinary fashion. The northern blacksmith folks also quietly create different things, after all. By the way, Kiel, you’re losing against Faramir in the race for Soleil’s favor!

「The town also needs a leader who is sincere and innocent without any schemes at all. 」
Oohh, so Soleil is also aware about Auro’s work behind the scenes with the Changelings.

「Plus I want a sensible person who’ll join me in venting out when things are getting weird!! 」

So that’s your main point, huh!