Farewell to the Croton Family

To rescue a man named Croton from Santanka from the clutches of the villains—

We launched a surprise attack on the hideout of the ruffians infesting Astrantia's bad quarter and wiped them out.

Now we had to escape the city, while Croton's family had to move away from the village.

Since we'd annihilated the ruffians' main members, we probably wouldn't be pursued.

But the city gates wouldn't open until morning, so we decided to take temporary shelter in an abandoned house near the gate.

Several wagons were parked near the gate, with people camping in them. They were sleeping in their wagons to save money, since staying at an inn cost money.

――We arrived at the abandoned house Croton had mentioned.

After tying up the horse, the beastfolk began washing themselves with water from the well to remove the bloodstains.

"Myaree, here's some soap."

"Nya."

I decided to give the horse some water from the well. It seemed to have been eating roadside grass while we were rampaging around, so it had probably eaten enough... Probably.

There wasn't any grass around here, though. It was unfortunate, but we'd have to make it wait until the gate opened.

I bought four blankets from Shangri-La for Croton's family and Nyanyas.

Anemone and I had blankets stored in my Item Box, so we'd use those.

"Here. It gets cold at night, so use this blanket."

"Thank you. But isn't this something you sell?"

"Well, yes. But I brought the payment from the villains' hideout, so don't worry about it. You can keep it."

"Thank you very much."

Croton's wife bowed her head.

"More importantly, are you all right?"

"Yeah, somehow..."

"Should we look for someone who can use healing magic tomorrow?"

"No, you've already done more than enough for us..."

"It'd be a problem if you had a poor prognosis after all the trouble I went to saving you."

If there was someone who seemed capable of using magic, it would be the old woman from the tool shop. Since she knew the old man in Dalia too, she must have been a mage.

She certainly knew a lot about magic.

"Still, you're an Item Box user. And that incredible magic... No wonder you're fleeing from royalty and nobles."

"You understand now?"

"Mom, I'm hungry..."

Marie complained of hunger. Perhaps the relief of her father being safe had finally allowed her hunger to catch up with her.

We had been rushing around since about three o'clock without eating anything, after all.

"We can't have a child going hungry. Let's eat before bed. What do you want?"

"Curry!" "Nyaa!"

Anemone and Myaree shouted.

Curry again? Well, if that's what they wanted, I supposed it was fine. It contained vegetables, meat, and carbohydrates, so nutritionally there was no problem.

We couldn't exactly serve instant food with this group.

I took out cooking utensils and two cassette stoves from my Item Box, then put a pressure cooker filled with water on one of them.

There were five adults and two children, so... Four liters should be enough. If there was any left over, I could put it in my Item Box.

I began preparing the meal by the cold, bluish light of an LED lantern.

I had plenty of vegetables and meat stored in my Item Box too. Since Croton's wife was there, I asked her to help peel the vegetables.

All the vegetables had been bought at the market in Astrantia. Since many of them were strongly bitter, I had to remove their bitterness.

I boiled water on the cassette stove, added baking soda, and cooked the vegetables. Then I soaked them for about twenty minutes, changing the water several times.

It was a lot of work, but proper cooking took time.

Even hungry Marie waited patiently for the food to be ready—a good girl.

I fried the meat, and once the water in the pressure cooker boiled, I put the meat and the de-bittered vegetables in together.

Finally, I added the curry powder from the red S○B can and adjusted the seasoning. It was done.

Well, it was more like my usual curry soup than curry.

I took plates, spoons, and the like out of my Item Box. I'd bought them in bulk for the adventurers during the operation against Shaga.

I'd given various things to the women I'd brought away from Shaga's hideout as parting gifts, but I still had plenty left.

The bread was a set of bagged loaves sold as imperfect goods at Shangri-La, where I always bought it.

"Delicious!"

Marie exclaimed after taking a mouthful of curry.

"It's delicious, isn't it? Kenichi's cooking is always incredibly good."

"Nyaa!"

"This is a spice soup, isn't it? You hardly ever get to eat something like this."

Nyanyas ate the curry too, his tail standing straight up.

Dalia had a spice syndicate called Bacopa, but apparently this city had a similar organization.

That must have meant spices were extremely profitable. Croton had apparently failed when he tried to skim some of them.

"This bread is soft, sweet, and delicious too!"

"Um... Marie hates vegetables, which is a real problem. How do you make vegetables taste this good?"

Croton's wife seemed to have noticed how good the vegetables tasted after eating the curry.

"Vegetables contain bitter compounds and other ingredients that give them strange flavors. You have to remove those first."

"Was that white powder you used when boiling the vegetables what did it?"

Croton had apparently been watching closely.

"I use a specialized chemical, but you can do the same thing with hearth ash. Boil them with ash, then soak them in water overnight. Just don't boil them too long."

"Hearth ash?"

Croton's wife looked as if she could hardly believe it, but—

"You should try it. It works on wild mountain vegetables too."

"Are you single, boss?"

Nyanyas asked me a strange question while eating his curry.

"Yeah. Why?"

"If a woman cooked food like this, she'd have no place as a wife. No wonder women stay away from you. Hahaha."

"None of your business."

Everyone always said things like that to me. Amana had said something similar too.

After we finished eating, I cleaned up. I took some wood ash from my Item Box and used it in place of detergent.

Ash could also be used as fertilizer and had all sorts of applications, so I tried to collect and store as much of it as possible.

Croton's wife helped me, but Marie and Anemone had eaten their fill and were already asleep.

It was well past their usual bedtime, after all.

Croton, his wife, and Marie were going to sleep side by side beneath blankets in the bed of the wagon.

I took the shed I'd built during my biodiesel fuel experiments out of my Item Box.

"We'll sleep in here."

"Can I stay too?"

Nyanyas asked hesitantly.

"It's cramped, but I think we can manage to sleep in it..."

It was about two and a half meters long, so even a large beastman should be fine.

For the moment, we went inside and covered ourselves with blankets. We could lie down somehow. It was better than sleeping on the ground.

Since we were near the gate, we probably wouldn't be attacked by thugs.

While taking a break outside with a cola I'd taken from my Item Box, Croton came over to me. I hurriedly hid the cola.

"I'm truly grateful for saving us."

"Haha. Leaving behind such a cute daughter and beautiful wife to fall in love with your friend's wife... You've got some nerve."

He looked surprised for a moment, but he seemed to understand immediately.

"I'm ashamed..."

He had been a government official, so he should have been fairly educated and couldn't have been stupid. But even educated people could do foolish things.

"As I said earlier, I only did it because Anemone and Marie asked me to. I still want to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but you're already beaten black and blue. I'll forgive you for Marie's sake—and for your wife's."

"I'm sorry..."

For now, we decided to sleep until dawn.

------◇◇◇------

――The next morning.

I woke up inside the shed. Since it had no windows, I couldn't really tell what time it was.

When I opened the door, the sky was beginning to lighten, but it was still a little chilly.

Smoke was rising from the hearths of the surrounding houses, so some of the residents were already awake.

I burned some firewood for warmth, then took out a cassette stove from my Item Box, drew well water into a pot, and began heating it.

Making breakfast was a hassle, so I decided on instant soup. With instant soup, all you had to do was boil water and you could eat.

If we were going back to Santanka and doing the hard work of preparing for the move, breakfast would be essential.

As I added the instant soup mix to the hot water and stirred it, everyone began waking up.

"Good morning." "Morning." "Nyaa~." "Hey, yawn..."

Nyanyas was the one who had let out the huge yawn.

Perhaps fatigue had caught up with them, because Marie and Croton were still asleep.

Since everyone who had slept with me had woken up, I stored the shed we'd used for lodging in my Item Box.

This shed was pretty convenient. It could be used for simple lodging, and it was safer than a tent.

It might be fun to modify it by adding small windows or shelves for storing luggage.

"I'm sorry that we've done nothing but impose on you."

Croton's wife bowed her head to me as I cooked.

"Don't worry about it. Even sharing shade beneath a tree or water from the same river is a bond from a previous life."

Since she was concerned about her hair and appearance, I took a comb out of my Item Box and gave it to her.

She combed her hair, and the nape of her neck showing between the strands was strangely alluring. That was the appeal of a mature woman.

This was what a woman should be like. That mature allure was something else—no, no, stop it.

"Breakfast is ready. Wake Croton up."

"Understood."

After we all ate breakfast, the gate opened. Before heading to Santanka, we went to visit the old woman from the tool shop.

As expected, she said she could use healing magic, so I paid one gold coin (200,000 yen) to have her treat Croton.

It would be a problem if his internal organs had been damaged and his condition suddenly worsened during the journey.

While he was being treated, I had Myaree gather rumors around the city.

According to the rumors circulating through the city, a monster accompanied by dogfolk had appeared in the bad quarter.

The story had become that it had swept away buildings with a gigantic arm, leaving many of the ruffians dead.

"We won't be pursued now."

"Nya."

"Still, was it really all right to pin the crime on the dogfolk...?"

"Of course it was, nya."

"That's right."

"Is it really okay...?"

The wagon set out for the village, but the children being jostled in the back still looked sleepy.

I decided to ask Croton about his plans for the future.

"Do you have anywhere to go after leaving Santanka?"

"The thing is... I don't. It all happened so suddenly. But you've even arranged this wagon for us, and we have nothing to give you in return..."

"Your wife bought the wagon from the village chief."

"Then we still haven't given you anything in return..."

"Don't worry. I brought the payment from the villains last night."

"But..."

Croton faltered, his head hanging slightly. He was taking his family to an unknown land, so he must have been filled with anxiety.

"If you have nowhere to go, then go to Dalia, and from there to Baron Northpole's territory. It was established recently, but they're recruiting residents."

"That would be a great help."

"The baron is an acquaintance of mine, so I'll write you a letter of introduction. He's a nobleman, but he's a reasonable person. I'm sure he'll treat you well."

The newly established barony would probably be short on people. This man had been a government official, so he should be useful.

"Thank you for everything."

His wife bowed her head.

"You should thank Marie. She became friends with Anemone."

"Kenichi, make a picture book for Marie..."

Anemone grabbed my arm.

"Oh, right. I was in the middle of making that picture book. All that's left is to print and bind it, so it should be finished soon. I'll give it to her as a parting gift."

"Okay."

Since their parting was already decided, Anemone looked sad too. They had finally made friends with someone their own age.

We arrived at the village of Santanka.

Some residents were happy that we had returned alive, but many others were hostile, saying that we had brought trouble to the village.

It seemed they really had no choice but to move.

Croton and his family began preparing to move by loading their belongings onto the wagon.

――That said, it was a small wagon. They couldn't take that much with them.

A small dresser and desk, along with a few wooden boxes containing small items. I wondered if they could fit a bed—the small bed for Marie probably would, but there was no way their double bed would fit.

They would simply have to leave various things behind.

Nyanyas and Myaree were there to handle the heavy lifting, so there shouldn't be any problem. Nyanyas apparently intended to travel with them.

I took a shed out of my Item Box on the outskirts of the village and holed up inside to make the book for Marie.

I put a table inside the shed, then took out mimeograph supplies, a paper cutter, and a bookbinding machine, along with the mobile battery connected to it.

Since I only had to print one sheet at a time with the mimeograph, it was easy. Besides, I'd made one before, so I knew the procedure.

I gathered the printed sheets, applied glue to the spine of the book, put it into the bookbinding machine connected to the battery, and switched it on!

Then I waited a little while—once the buzzer sounded, it was finished.

I carried the book, trimmed on three sides, over to Croton. He was tying the towering pile of luggage to the wagon with rope.

Anemone was with Marie, so I handed her the finished book.

"Croton, sorry I couldn't help with the move. Anemone, you give the picture book to Marie."

"Okay!"

Anemone took the picture book from me and handed it to Marie.

"Take care!"

"Yeah..."

When large tears began rolling down Marie's cheeks, Anemone silently hugged her.

"Nyanyas, take this."

I took a cutlass out of my Item Box and handed it to him.

"Can I really have such a fine sword? After all that fighting, it didn't even chip. This can't be an ordinary sword."

"Protect Marie for me."

I gave Croton five gold coins (1,000,000 yen).

"This is a parting gift. If you leave penniless, you'll have trouble getting anywhere."

"But after everything you've done for us, I have nothing to give you..."

"Don't worry. I took the money from the villains' hideout."

I also told him where Marlowe Trading Company and the old man from the tool shop were located. The old man's shop would be a good place to get whatever they needed.

"Oh—and no matter who asks, keep quiet about where I am."

"Understood..."

"And here's a letter of introduction. I've written that you were a former government official and are capable of working. I'm sure you'll find a good job."

"Thank you."

Croton's wife came over to thank me, but I gave her a word of warning.

"Madam, if this guy screws up again, you should really abandon him."

"No, I won't! I'll reform and work hard."

Croton and his wife looked at each other and nodded, then offered me something—two gold rings resting in his palm.

"I'm sorry, but this is about all we have left of value."

"Hey, aren't these wedding rings?"

"They weren't custom-made. I bought them at an antique shop long ago. I don't think they're worth even one gold coin, but please accept them."

"No, but..."

"Please..."

"All right. Then I'll take these as collateral. The five gold coins will be a loan. When you have money someday, I'll trade these rings back to you."

Croton took the reins, and the wagon set out.

Nyanyas, who was accompanying them, said he would run alongside the wagon.

Well, at ten kilometers per hour, that was practically walking for a beastman.

"Marie! Take care!"

"You too, Anemone!"

The two girls waved at each other through their tears, but their figures soon disappeared around a bend in the road.

Anemone continued staring toward where they had vanished for a while, but—

"Phew... I'm exhausted. Let's go home too."

"Okay..."

We said goodbye to the residents of Santanka as well, but they didn't seem interested in us.

We were outsiders, after all.

Perhaps Nyanyas and Croton's wife had asked us for help because they felt isolated from the village.

The Northpole barony they were heading to had many new residents. It would probably be a good place for immigrants.

I carried Anemone across the river, the water reaching my thighs. Where it flowed into the lake, the current wasn't very strong.

After crossing the river, I took the off-road motorcycle out of my Item Box somewhere hidden from the village and rode tandem with Anemone.

A motorcycle really was fast! We reached home in no time.

"Nyaaaan!"

Bell came out to greet us, her black fur gleaming.

But her expression seemed to say, "Where did you two go off to play while leaving me behind?"

"Sorry, sorry."

When I stroked beneath her chin, she purred happily.

After everything we'd done, I was relieved that things had finally settled down.

I really wasn't the sort of person who went around helping people, though...

But when cute girls asked me, I couldn't very well refuse.

Somehow, it was already noon.

"It was an early morning, so I'm hungry. Want something to eat?"

"Curry!"

"Nyaa!"

"Again?!"

Well, fine—the curry I'd made last night was still left over.

But while reheating it, I decided to add one more step.

What I'd made the night before was more like curry soup, but I decided to thicken it a little.

I took out a cassette stove and started cooking in front of the house.

I took out a frying pan, added oil, and fried flour until it turned golden brown. Adding this to the curry would give it the perfect thickness and a nice fragrance.

"It's ready~"

"Something smells delicious, nya!"

Myaree brought her nose close to her plate of curry and sniffed loudly.

"As expected, Myaree has a good nose."

"Anemone, I thickened it a little, so it would be better with rice."

"Okay!"

Myaree put curry on her bread and was eating it with obvious enjoyment.

"Nyaa, curry comes in all sorts of flavors, nya!"

"It goes with all sorts of things too."

"Curry is the best!"

Anemone was also happily stuffing her face with curry, but I thought eating something delicious was the best thing to do when something sad happened.

Maybe I only thought drinking wouldn't solve anything because I wasn't much of a drinker.

Naturally, I welcomed dissenting opinions.

"Myaree, I'll give you your share."

When I tried to take gold coins out of my Item Box, she stopped me.

"I don't need it, nya. I still have plenty of money in the guild, nya."

"Is that okay?"

"I don't need it because you always make delicious food for me, Kenichi."

"If you say so, that's fine."

I had the impression that beastfolk were careless with money because they weren't good at counting it.

"That's what the men are like, nya. They'll probably spend all their money around the pleasure district in no time and end up penniless, nya."

"That sounds about right."

"Then they'll come crawling to the women for money, nya."

I see. That might have been part of the reason Myaree had separated herself from the males...

After the meal, I counted the gold coins we'd taken again. There were about thirty of them.

Six million yen... That was a pretty good haul.

I'd also picked up swords and other equipment. Selling those would bring in a little more money. The golden pile on the table made my eyes swim.

I couldn't stop laughing.

"Hahaha! Making money is easy. Maybe I should make this my actual profession!"

"Nya! Then should we raid two or three more places in the bad quarter, nya?"

Myaree was completely fired up.

"Hahahaha... haha... huh?"

"Kenichi, what's wrong, nya?"

"......"

My thoughts froze, and I became completely rigid.

Wait, wait, wait—how did this happen? Even if our opponents were villains, why had killing people and looting them become the default?

I replayed my memories. "I did it out of frustration, and now I'm ruminating." No, this wasn't the time for that joke.

After much deliberation, I reached one conclusion. It was that leaf I'd chewed when we attacked Shaga.

I'd been relieved to hear that it had no side effects or aftereffects, but...

"Myaree!"

"Yes, nya?"

"That leaf we chewed on the way to Shaga's place, remember? It doesn't have side effects like making you lose your reluctance to kill or giving you urges to slaughter people, does it?"

"Nya? I don't know what you mean by side effects, but... since that's what the leaf is like, of course it makes killing feel easy, nya."

Wait a minute! It absolutely had side effects!

This was bad... I had to rein myself in. When I thought back over what I'd done, a cold sweat ran down my back.

"Where should we raid next, nya? Should we attack another group of villains while they're drunk, nya?"

Calm down—don't listen to the devil whispering in your ear...

"No—this time it only happened because of the circumstances. Anemone is here too, so... let's stop doing dangerous things."

"Stop, nya? All right, nya. I'll follow you, Kenichi."

"You don't have to follow me, you know?"

"Of course a beastman follows someone strong, nya."

I had to keep my head and, above all, exercise restraint.

I had to steer myself back after straying so far from my slow life.