Chapter 196: Workforce Has Arrived!

* * *

"......We could use some extra hands."

"We could use some extra hands~!"

On a relatively comfortable late summer afternoon when it was starting to get cooler, during our usual meeting after lunch break, the old man and the perverted old geezer sighed like that.

Labor shortage.

This is one of the issues with this base that has been frequently discussed among us recently.

"I can't manage the fields alone any more than this......"

Since the old man has low combat ability, he usually tills the fields inside the defensive wall.

What he's growing are edible plants that the perverted old geezer and I found in the forest.

Various plants are cultivated in the old man's fields, such as aburi-na, sugarvine, soboro beans, and more.

These are all fantasy plants from the demon realm and have extremely vigorous reproductive power.

In the sunny base, they increase explosively.

Thanks to that, our food situation has improved considerably, but they're increasing too much for us to keep up with harvesting and processing.

For example, if aburi-na is properly dried, it seems to become a preserved food that can be eaten throughout the winter, so we want to secure a large amount while we can.

Soboro beans also seem to be able to be stored without sprouting if kept in a dark place, so we want to harvest as much as possible and save them for winter.

However, these beans are small, one by one.

They're about the size of adzuki beans.

Taking them out of the pods and drying them...... takes a lot of time.

Recently, it's become impossible to keep up if we shell them one by one, so we've been pulling up the plants that are about as tall as an adult, drying them whole in a dark place, and then thwacking them with sticks.

That makes the beans spill out. We collect those.

......This has improved our work efficiency to some extent, but we still can't keep up with the workload.

No matter how strong I am, this is a problem that can't be helped.

By the way, the cultivation methods, harvesting methods, processing methods, and cooking methods for these demon realm plants that aren't even known by name yet were all devised and improved from scratch by the old man.

The old man's achievements are very low-key, but he's seriously amazing.

He's modest about it, but I seriously think he's a genius.

I heard he used to be a noble, but rather than a noble, he seems to have had the aptitude to be the leader of groups like farmers or processors.

"If it comes to this, I'd like to finish making the road before fall, you know~."

The perverted old geezer and I continue to work on maintaining the area around the base.

Starting with the defensive wall, we connected a waterway from the water source to create a moat around the base, planted demon-repelling herbs around it...... oh, and we also dug a well inside the base.

My ability to work tirelessly with plenty of horsepower and the perverted old geezer's ability to skillfully use earth magic are well-matched, and the base development is progressing at a considerable speed.

And what we're mainly working on now...... what we plan to continue working on in the afternoon today is creating a road connecting the log bridge at the entrance of the Zamago Forest to this base.

The perverted old geezer, who wants to establish an Adventurer's Guild branch here, wants to improve transportation so that adventurers and merchants can easily come this far.

But this road construction is more trouble than we thought.

Roughly cutting down trees in the direction instructed by the perverted old geezer...... this wasn't a problem.

It's the same thing we did at the very beginning of building the base.

The problem is what comes after.

The perverted old geezer uses earth magic to turn the cleared land where I did the logging into a road, but in order to properly level the ground so that horse-drawn carriages can pass through, careful preparation such as mowing the remaining undergrowth, removing stumps and rocks, and so on is necessary.

Careful preparation...... yeah, that's my weak point.

In the end, no matter how much horsepower I have, the amount of work involved doesn't decrease, and it takes time.

In other words, both of us reach the conclusion that we don't have enough manpower.

However, while my work fundamentally doesn't mesh well with the old man's work because it might destroy the crops, that's not the case with the perverted old geezer's work.

"......I can work a little more, you know?"

I still have plenty of energy left, so the more I work, the more progress we'll make.

That's why I propose that to the old man and the perverted old geezer, but both of them shake their heads.

According to them, I'm working too much.

I don't have a problem with it since I'm not tired at all, but as adults, they seem to feel guilty about having a little girl continue to do work that exceeds the capacity of ordinary people.

"We've secured a safe base, you know! Emi-chan should take it easy for a bit now!"

"......You're not a slave, you know......"

They say things like that.

I don't mind, though.

But when the old man says those lines with a really tearful face, I have no choice but to nod and take a break.

The old man is sensitive, so he gets depressed easily over various things.

Geez, what a troublesome old man!

Well, thanks to that, I'm given a decent amount of free time every day, so I spend that time either training, taking a nap, or snacking in the forest.

Recently, it seems that new monsters have started to flow in from the direction of Mount Nanga, so I'm happy that my snacks are increasing.

Like Noshteruketch.

"......Now then, let's end the lunch break here. In the afternoon, let's all work diligently and devote ourselves to labor."

"Okay."

"Foooh~~~!"

Now, sensing that the meeting was starting to get a bit sloppy, the old man wrapped up the discussion.

Alright, let's work energetically then!

<Emi!!>

!?

At that moment!

Suddenly, Extra-sama raised a voice of alert!

<The [Mana Sensing Threads] have been cut. Someone is approaching the base.>

These [Mana Sensing Threads] are a stationary scouting magic power manipulation technique that I developed in the Kaise Forest.

By stringing easily breakable threads of magic power around, I can grasp the location of targets that approach without noticing and cut the threads.

Now that the defensive wall is complete, setting up [Mana Sensing Threads] is no longer necessary, but I've made it a habit to string these threads when I'm inside the base for training and just in case.

Those [Mana Sensing Threads] have been cut.

The location is...... on the road leading from the gate outside the moat.

Moreover, I set these threads at a relatively high position.

If I set them too low, small creatures would just scurry around and cut them, making them meaningless!

Specifically, they're set at about shoulder height for an adult.

As far as I know, the only monster in this forest tall enough to cut these threads is the Mountain Topopolock.

And those guys have either been hunted to extinction or returned to the mountains, so I haven't seen them recently.

Which means.

<These...... are probably humans approaching, right?>

I strain my ears to listen.

I can't make out the details due to the sounds of the forest, but certainly.

Certainly, I hear human voices!

"......What's wrong, Emi?"

The old man calls out to me, puzzled by my sudden stop and turn towards the gate.

"People, coming."

"What?"

"Foh!?"

"Workforce, maybe! Bringing them!"

I started running towards the gate!

<W-Wait a minute, Emi! Bringing them...... what if they're a group with malicious intent...... like bandits, for example? What do you plan to do?>

Huh?

Obviously, I'll just beat them up and make them listen to what I say!

I used [Grasshopper] to leap in one bound and jump over the gate!

* * *

Now then, thud.

I land in front of the group approaching the base.

I release a somewhat strong [Intimidation] from the start so they don't look down on me.

......Judging from their appearance, it seems they're adventurer-like.

<Perhaps they came to the demon realm to hunt?>

There are four of them.

A dirty man.

A priest-looking woman who reeks of alcohol.

A muscular big man.

And...... a decently handsome blond man.

Yeah, their equipment looks a bit worn but well-used.

And with [Magic Perception], I can clearly see that they have considerably more magic power than ordinary people.

This is it.

All four of them are decently strong.

Strong enough to operate in this forest.

If they fought the perverted old geezer, the group of four would probably lose.

<Of course. That perverted old geezer may be a pervert, but he's a former special-class adventurer. He's quite strong for a human.>

Yeah.

But well, this is good.

These four are pretty good.

Especially the decently handsome blond man, he properly followed me with his eyes when I suddenly descended from above.

He seems the strongest, so is he the leader?

Well, anyway!

"......I've been waiting. For people like you."

Old man! Perverted old geezer!

We're really lucky!

The people who might become the workforce we wanted just came along!

Concealing my excited inner thoughts with an expressionless face, I guided the group of four into the base.

The group of four silently followed me with pale faces.

Yeah, I really like how they obediently listen to what I say!

I'm happy that I might be able to get along with all four of them!