The Other World's Girls' School in the Forest

The bandit subjugation was a success, and the money had been divided up.

They said it would take a little longer to pay out the money from the guild, since it was such a large sum.

Once everything was settled and I was about to head home, the women followed after me.

When I asked them about it, they said they wanted to save money while looking for somewhere to live and work, so they wanted to stay at my place.

Well, I couldn't just abandon women who had already suffered so much when they said they were in trouble...

"My house is in the middle of the forest, you know? Did you hear that?"

"Yes. It's a little scary, but you live there, don't you, Boss?"

"Yeah. It's fine for now."

"You have a field too, right? I'll help you with it!"

Alissa rolled up her sleeves, flexed her biceps, and showed them to me.

"It's only a small field, though, you know?"

For some reason, everyone seemed eager. I had no reason to refuse, and it would be a good deed besides.

Besides, having them freeload forever would be a problem, but they had promised to stay only until they found work. They probably weren't planning to remain for months on end.

I led the women in a group outside the city walls through the gate—and we arrived home along the road I'd built.

"Here we are. Are you really saying twelve people are going to stay in this little house?"

The women looked around in amazement at the dark-brown house standing in the forest.

"If it's all right with you, Boss, we don't mind being cramped at all..."

Well, the bandits had apparently crammed them into cramped quarters and made them sleep all piled together.

"I won't charge rent, but I will charge for food, all right? Feeding this many people will cost a fortune even just for the ingredients."

Everyone agreed to that as well.

If they started making unreasonable demands, I could still refuse them, but they were all women without anyone to rely on.

They probably had nowhere else to turn—so I supposed it couldn't be helped.

As we all approached the house, the women leaped into the air and screamed at the sight of a black animal lurking in the shadows.

"Aaaaaah!"

"What is it?!"

The creature that emerged from the shadows was the Forest Cat.

"Oh, it's just you."

She had a black-furred animal clenched in her mouth. But since I'd been gone for about three days, rigor mortis had already set in, and the prey had lost much of its freshness.

There was no way to turn this into meat... I wondered if the pelt was any good either.

I put it in my Item Box for the time being and decided to ask at the Adventurers' Guild later. If it was worthless, I'd feel bad for her, but it would have to go in the trash.

"There, there. Good girl. Thanks."

When I rubbed her throat, she purred in response.

"Whew, that startled me. Is that Forest Cat acquainted with you, Boss?"

"Yeah. She won't bite, so don't worry."

Anemone came over beside me and happily stroked the Forest Cat's back with me.

She rarely smiled, but she seemed to find the Forest Cat cute.

"I heard you were a Tamer, but I guess it was true after all."

"I told you to keep that sort of thing a secret."

Well, I wasn't actually a Tamer. When I opened the door, the Forest Cat slithered inside, wriggling her black body.

"What's that board over there?"

One of the women seemed to have noticed the solar panels.

"Oh, that's something related to magic, so don't ask about it."

"We should make the field bigger too!"

Alissa shouted when she saw the field, but—

"It's more than enough for me alone. Besides, by the time anything planted in a larger field grew, none of you would still be here, right?"

But everyone fell silent.

Why were they silent?

I felt a little uneasy about the future, but now that we'd come this far, I couldn't send them away. So we all began living together.

Was this really happening?

Still, if this many people were going to live here, we'd have to make some changes.

First was the issue of space, which we decided to solve by buying bunk beds.

There were ten women, so five bunk beds should be enough—which meant I searched Shangri-La and bought the cheapest pipe-frame bunk beds for 20,000 yen each.

Wooden beds were available for around 40,000 yen, but these bunk beds would probably only be used until the women left, so I prioritized keeping costs down.

I'd trade the beds in once the women were gone.

I had the strong Alissa help transport and assemble the beds.

However, with so many people noisily bustling around, the Forest Cat inside the house looked displeased and curled up in front of the sink.

"This way, two people can sleep on each bunk, so you won't have to sleep all piled together, right?"

"You didn't have to prepare such splendid beds for us, Boss. I'd heard you were kind, but you really are. I'm worried someone like you will be tricked by a wicked woman."

"You don't need to worry about me. I've been through my share of scrapes like that, so I won't be fooled."

"Huh? What sort of scrapes were those?"

"I want to hear too!"

"Me too~"

Ah, they were incredibly noisy. They say three women make a clamor—but there were ten of them.

I supposed this was what a girls' school teacher had to deal with.

"Never mind that. Help me set up the beds."

"Sure thing!"

This was completely like a girls' school.

I'd bought the bunk beds, but I needed to buy mattresses for them too.

Hmm, the cheapest mattresses were 3,000 yen each... I needed ten of those too.

And sheets. I decided to buy the standard hemp sheets used in this world.

"Click!"

Ten mattresses and ten sets of sheets dropped out, and I had the women put them on the beds. We already had the blankets I'd provided, so those would be enough.

The cramped room now held me, Anemone, and ten women. The women's scent filled the little room. What kind of situation was this?

They were quite a collection of beauties, so I couldn't exactly deny that it was a harem...

But then a problem arose.

Alissa's massive body wouldn't fit in the bed.

I could buy a large double bed, but...

"I can sleep on the floor."

"Are you sure? In that case, spread that soft mattress out on the floor."

Besides, if you put it directly on the floor, moisture from your body would dampen the floor. Tatami would be fine because it was breathable, but...

With flooring like this, the mattress could grow moldy. It would have to be dried every day.

"Then one spot on the bunk bed will be empty, so Anemone can sleep there."

But when Anemone heard that, she shook her head.

"Huh? You don't want to? Then what should we do?"

"I want to sleep with Kenichi..."

"Huh? With me?"

"..."

Anemone's face suddenly turned sad.

"Wait, wait. It's not that I don't like you, Anemone—I understand, I understand. You can sleep with me."

"...Okay."

Well, she'd been sold by her parents without warning. It must have been a terrible shock for a child—and perhaps she was starved for affection because of it.

"I'll teach you to read, write, and do arithmetic too, Anemone."

"What? That's not fair! Teach us too!"

"Huh? You want lessons too? I don't mind, but..."

"If we can read, write, and do arithmetic, we can get all sorts of jobs, can't we?"

"I see. You have a point."

The kinds of work available to women in this world were limited. It was a harsh world for women.

"Speaking of studying, should I give each of you another blouse and skirt? It would be inconvenient to do laundry if you don't have a change of clothes."

"That's all right, Boss. You don't have to go that far. We'll buy those ourselves. You really are too kind."

As far as I was concerned, they were the cheapest blouses and skirts on Shangri-La.

But in the city, they would easily cost twenty to fifty times as much, or even more. They were all handwoven, after all.

That was why people without money kept wearing their clothes even after they were in tatters, patching them up over and over.

Once the beds were set up, I showed them around outside.

"This is the water station. Water collects in this metal drum, so use that. You can wash dishes here too."

This was supposed to be the bathroom, but bathing with this many people was impossible. We would use it as a water container instead.

Washing themselves at a well was normal in this world, so they would have to make do with that.

"Boss, where's the well?"

"That little shrine-like structure over there is the well. I use magic to draw the water up."

"Ohhh~"

Next, I showed them the toilet.

"This is the toilet. You sit like this when you use it."

"Huh? That's weird."

Toilets in this world used the squatting style, after all. Naturally, there were no Western-style toilets. Ceramic toilet bowls were incredibly expensive, to begin with.

Only royalty and nobles could afford them.

"When you're done, wipe your ass with this paper."

"What? It's all right to use paper for that?"

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone in the city, all right?"

"Ohhhh..."

They seemed deeply impressed. Well, paper was a luxury item in this world, after all. No one used paper to wipe their ass.

Not even nobles.

As for how everyone did it, they washed themselves by splashing water from the reservoir beneath the toilet.

"When the container beneath the toilet is full, mix the dirt and dried grass over there into it to make fertilizer."

Still, with ten people, it would probably fill up quickly.

I could dig a hole with the heavy machinery and install a larger container—or we could empty it frequently.

Hmm, the women shouldn't be staying for all that long, so perhaps it would be fine as it was...

Emptying cesspits and making fertilizer were ordinary tasks in this world. Since people did it everywhere, the women didn't seem bothered by it at all.

Even in the remote countryside of my original world, I had been used to cesspits, so it didn't bother me either.

Still, someone who had used nothing but flush toilets since birth in my original world would probably suffer an awful lot of stress if they were transported to a world like this.

"Then can I just do it over there from the beginning?"

Alissa pointed toward the fertilizer pile.

"If you're fine with that, I don't mind..."

Cultural differences really could be insurmountable.

Still, twelve people's worth of waste would add up quickly. We would have to manage it properly.

Keeping yourself clean was the first step toward a civilized life, after all.

I also had to get them into the habit of washing their hands with medicated soap. I was worried about parasites and such.

And with twelve people, the amount of laundry would be enormous. I considered buying a large washing machine for that purpose, but—

Since everyone seemed willing to wash their clothes by hand, I decided to go along with that.

Large appliances would be useless once the women left, after all.

The room was completely filled with beds, so we had no choice but to set up tables outside and eat there.

Rain would be a problem. On those days, we would have to eat bread inside the house.

We could boil water with a portable gas burner, so I could at least serve cup soup.

So, with that decided, we were all preparing dinner when Myaree came from outside the forest.

"Looks like fun, nya! I'm staying too, nya!"

"Hey, hey, the house is completely packed already, you know?"

"One more person won't hurt, nya. I can sleep on a beam, nya."

"Are you serious?"

Beastfolk apparently lived in large, multigenerational households of around three generations. Polygamy was accepted too, so a noisy house was normal for them.

"But Myaree, with this many people, bathing is impossible, you know?"

"Well, it can't be helped, nya..."

We all ate together, and by the time we finished, it was completely dark.

I gave lamps to the women cleaning up and returned inside.

This world went to sleep when it grew dark and woke when it grew light, but it was still too early for bed.

That's right—I could prepare lessons for the women.

When I searched Shangri-La, I found A4-sized blackboards. They cost 1,500 yen and came with chalk and a small eraser.

This would do. I bought eleven of them. Then I needed extra chalk. This set contained seventy-two sticks for 500 yen, so that would work.

This world had blackboards and a chalk-like substance called white stone, so the women should be able to use these as they were.

I decided to give them to the women as parting gifts.

The problem was textbooks. For example, to teach reading and writing, I would need a gojuon chart for each person.

There was no way I could buy a PC and printer just for this. Now, what should I do?

"Printing—printing... That's it! What about a mimeograph?"

When I searched Shangri-La for mimeographs, I found oil paper, screens, ink, and rollers for sale.

There was a complete set, so I decided to buy it—it cost 7,000 yen.

Unusually, the set came crashing down in a cardboard box—with a heavy thud. When I peeked inside, it contained things that looked right, but...

The mimeograph I remembered used a stylus and a metal plate like a file. Those were missing.

But when I read the instructions, it seemed I could print with it. It was closer to screen printing than a mimeograph, though.

The principle might have been the same, but it still felt different... Well, there was no point wishing for something that wasn't there.

And when I thought of mimeographs, I thought of straw paper. A thousand sheets were available for 2,000 yen, so I bought them.

I decided to use these to make textbooks for everyone. It might even be fun to make books and sell them in the market. I could draw the illustrations myself, after all.

"What are you doing, nya?"

"Everyone said they wanted to learn to read and write, so I'm preparing for that. What about you, Myaree?"

"Nya? Beastfolk are completely hopeless at reading and writing, nya, so we don't need it."

Beastfolk didn't have poor memories. They remembered roads and people's faces perfectly well. Their memories weren't bad at all—if anything, they were quite good.

But apparently, they simply couldn't remember letters.

There was a disorder called dyslexia in my original world that made reading and writing difficult, so perhaps beastfolk were affected by something similar on a racial level.

And so began our cramped communal life: ten women, me, and one little girl.

Every morning, after eating breakfast, the women went into the city to look for work and somewhere to live.

I advised them to ask Amana or the old man at the tool shop about the reputation of any place that looked like it might hire them.

It would be a problem if they rushed into a job only to discover it was a truly terrible workplace.

Then, after dinner, we all studied reading, writing, and arithmetic until bedtime.

We had started studying, but even though it was only at an elementary-school level, education really was better done when you were a child.

Naturally, Anemone was the quickest learner among the women.

That continued for about a month—and then I received the bounty money from the guild, and we all gathered to drink and celebrate.

I heard rumors around the city that one of the noble houses had been stripped of its title and domain.

I also heard that the knight had been promoted in rank and made a baron in charge of a small territory, where he was enthusiastically recruiting new subjects.

We got rid of the lice in Anemone's hair.

I worried about the aftereffects of the drugs we'd used during the battle.

Myaree and Primula-san visited my house, and we continued our everyday lives. Then, one day—

Amana came to my place, which was unusual.

She wore a troubled expression.

She was usually so carefree, so I wondered what was wrong.

I decided to hear her out.

With several of the women gone and fewer bunk beds, there was now space to put a table.

I sat across from Amana and listened to her. The women were sitting on the bunk beds too, but—

"Is it all right not to send them away?"

"I don't mind. It's not a secret conversation."

"Still, this is the first time you've ever come here, Amana. Even people from the city won't come anywhere near this place."

"Of course it's creepy, but..."

Amana looked troubled as she began to speak.

"Could you let Anemone come live with me?"

"Even if you ask me to give her to you... She's not a puppy or a kitten. At twelve, Anemone is about old enough to start working, and she has the right to choose for herself. It depends on what she says."

"Anemone! If you come to my place, I'll teach you the business. We can live together and run it together."

Amana pleaded desperately, but Anemone answered immediately without showing the slightest sign of hesitation.

"...I'll stay with Kenichi."

Amana's face collapsed as if she had fallen into the depths of despair, and her shoulders slumped.

It must have been an enormous shock.

"Ha-ha-ha! Sister Amana, a twelve-year-old is practically an adult. She'd rather have a man than a mother."

The women, who had already been reduced to about half their original number, teased Amana.

"Quiet! Anemone, if things ever become too hard, you can come to me anytime, all right?"

Amana grasped Anemone's shoulders and whispered to her gently.

"...Okay."

Amana headed home looking worn out—but would she be all right? It must have been quite a shock...

Well, this was Anemone's choice, so there was nothing I could say.

I felt bad for Amana, but I wanted to let Anemone do what she wanted.

"Of course, Boss! A woman's happiness is being with the man she loves."

"That's right!"

The women said that, but Anemone had chosen to stay here, and I wanted to do whatever I could for her.

"Still, Boss..."

"What?"

"With this many women around, we were betting on which one you'd make a move on—but are you really not planning to make a move on any of us?"

The women sitting on the bunk beds began saying all sorts of things.

"What are you talking about? How could I do that to women who have already suffered terribly at the hands of men?"

"Honestly... With a Boss this kind, how can I go off to work? I'm worried sick."

"If it were you, Boss, I wouldn't mind whatever you did to me."

"That's right."

"You don't need to worry about that, so hurry up and go look for jobs!"

"Sure thing~"

"Hahahahaha!"

These women had suffered terribly, but their cheerful, forward-looking attitude was a relief.

I just hoped everyone would find work soon...