Chapter 341 – Breakfast and Clothing Selection
“No, it was hard work, you know? After having not only their lives saved but also their injuries and wounds that would affect them in the future healed… it was hard to stop them from going to your room with a completely determined look on their faces, you know?”
The next morning, when I was washing my face at the watering hole, Shumel said something like that to me.
“Well done. Good job.”
“Well, not without the permission of Her Majesty, the Prime Minister, and the Court Mage, right?”
“If there had been permission, would you have let them through?”
“Of course, I would have.”
“Would that be the case…?”
I don’t know how many of the eight of them tried to take such action, but I really wish they would take care of their own minds and bodies instead of doing that kind of thing.
“But you know what? It’s your fault, too, you know?”
“What?”
“You just give and don’t ask for anything in return. It is a benevolent act, but how is it for the recipient? If you are the kind of person to say, “I don’t care about that, it was given to you on my own,” but if not, they will try to return the favor somehow, won’t they?”
“Yeah, well, that’s true.”
“Right. The only thing they have to offer is their own bodies. Luckily, you’re a guy, right?”
“Mm…”
I hadn’t really thought about that.
“But it was yesterday… What do you think I should do?”
“That’s right; since they are trying to return the favor, why don’t you make them a proposal that will help them return the favor? You know, maybe offer them a job working for you.”
“Working for me, huh?”
It’s a very difficult thing to do. I’ve never had to have direct subordinates because of the nature of my business. The harpies are a bit special.
“Hmm, I see. Subordinates, I see.”
When I think about it, I have to go to the castle town for the Merchant’s Guild and the Adventurer’s Guild. But after the assassination attempt the other day, it will be more and more difficult for me to go out. In that case, wouldn’t it be helpful to have someone who could act as my assistant and tell the Merchant’s Guild and Adventurer’s Guild what I need to do? But at the very least, they should be able to read, write, and do simple calculations. And then there’s the issue of status and so on?
“It doesn’t feel like a quick fix, but I think I’ve got a guideline.”
“Is that so?”
Shumel’s mouth smiled as she said this.
☆★☆
“Yes, good morning.”
“””Good morning.”””
After getting ready, we all gathered for breakfast. This is because we had agreed yesterday that we would all have breakfast together today.
“First, we will have breakfast. After you eat, I want you to examine the clothes I have prepared for you. I have cloth and sewing tools, so if there is something you would like to arrange or make, you are welcome to do so. If there is anything else you want, I will prepare it for you, so don’t hesitate to tell me. I can prepare most things.”
Hearing my words, the girls looked at each other. Even though I said I could prepare most of the things, I didn’t look like I had a lot of luggage.
“Danna is the one who made this place for us to stay. He’s like a mage who can get anything out of anything.”
“Not everything. Only what is available.”
“Almost everything.”
The women are looking at me like they don’t understand what’s going on, but I’ll explain later… Is that okay?
“Let’s have breakfast for now. Itadakimasu.”
And so breakfast was served. Today’s menu consisted of barley porridge, a hearty sausage, and shredded cabbage with pickles. If the barley porridge had been made with steamed potatoes, it would have been a very German-flavored meal. I may be biased.
“There’s plenty enough here, so don’t be afraid to eat it.”
“Y-yes…”
The thick, magnificent sausages seemed to be a rather expensive dish in their eyes, and they were reluctant to touch it, but once I served it on their plates, they started to eat it. Yes, there’s plenty to go around, so eat as much as you like.
“Sorry to interrupt your meal, but we need to have a little talk about the future.”
When I said this, tension ran through the girls. Yes, you don’t need to worry so much.
“I think I’ve told you that I’m going to arrange a place for you to live in Merinesburg, but if you want, there is an option for you to work for me as my subordinate. I’ll have to consult with Her Majesty the Queen, but at the moment, I don’t have any direct subordinates. I’m on a business trip right now to provide explanations about the pioneer village, but when I return to Merinesburg, I’ll have many opportunities to communicate with the Merchant’s Guild, the Adventurer’s Guild, and other organizations in the castle. However, with all that’s been going on lately, I don’t think I’ll be able to visit the castle town as casually as I’d like. It would be great to have someone to connect me with those organizations.”
All eight women stopped eating and focused their eyes on me. Hmm, it’s kind of hard to do when they’re looking at me that much.
“If Her Majesty gives me permission, I may be able to have you serve as my subordinates to fulfill such a role. Well, to put it nicely, you are my secretaries. Practically, you’re like errand boys, but if it’s okay with you, please consider it. Also, didn’t the harpies say you had a hard time taking care of the kids?”
“Yes, that’s right. Someone has to watch over them.”
“If it’s too difficult to be my secretary, I think it would be good to have you act as a sort of nanny over there, don’t you?”
“I think it would be good. It would be a big help just to take care of them during the day.”
“So that’s what I’m saying. I’m sure you’d be very anxious if you didn’t know exactly what kind of work you’ll be doing, even if I say I’ll provide you with a place to live. That’s what I’m thinking about for the time being. Of course, I can introduce you to many other jobs as well. After all, I’m the prince’s consort.”
After saying that, I shrugged my shoulders. Long live royalty, long live feudalism. Having power in this world means that you can do almost anything you want, not just a little. Fortunately, I have not only power but also money and things, so I can handle most things.
“This concludes our discussion of the future. After dinner, it’s time to choose clothes. And, by the way, you can take a bath anytime you want, so I think it’s a good idea to take another long soak in the tub and rest your body after choosing your clothes.”
After saying this, I took a bite of the thick sausage. Yes, it’s delicious.
☆★☆
“””Wow…!”””
“The selection may be a little limited, but you can look at it all you want.”
On a large table in the dining room, where the food has been cleared away, there are piles of clothes, fabric, and sewing supplies. Some of them are underwear, but I’d rather not mention them because I’m walking around with all this stuff in my inventory just in case I have to do something like this. I am not a pervert who takes pleasure in carrying around women’s underwear.
“They are basically for humans, so they don’t have tail holes or anything like that. You have to use your sewing tools to adjust them to your liking.”
Aside from jackets, skirts, pants, and shorts need to be adjusted for the beastmen to wear them. I’m sure the girls are familiar with that area and can be trusted to handle it.
“Yes! Thank you very much.”
“It’s all right.”
I wave to Byaku, the fox-eared girl who has been talking to me since the beginning. After breakfast, the girls introduced themselves to me. I hadn’t even heard their names until now.
First of all, the number of women we helped this time was eight. All of them are beastmen, and the only animal elements are their ears and tails, which makes them look very human. In addition, they are all young. Well, the bandits must have chosen such women and kidnapped them. That must be the reason why many of them are human-like in appearance.
First, there is Byaku, a fox-eared beastman. She is a beautiful woman with reddish-brown hair, the color of a fox. Her pinned-up fox ears and fluffy tail are a perfect match for her.
In addition, there are a pair of dog-type beastman sisters. They all have dark brown hair, and their droopy dog ears are hidden in their hair. If they did not have tails, one might mistake them for humans. They look very much alike, and when I asked them about it, they told me that they are twins. According to their story, it is quite common for dogs and wolves-type beastmen to be born as twins or triplets. Their names are Luna and Lana. They are quiet and have always walked together since we rescued them.
The fourth is Mito, a mouse-type beastman. She is a petite woman with pure white hair and ears and is always hiding behind someone, perhaps because she is timider than others. So far, I have only been able to converse with her enough to ask her name, but she seems to have no intention of avoiding me thoroughly as she stares at me while hiding behind others. Once she is convinced that it is safe, I am sure we will be able to communicate.
The fifth person is Shen, a horse-type beastman. She is a tall woman with chestnut hair. She seemed to have put up quite a fight and was the most severely beaten out of the eight. Her face had been beaten, and she was the only one whose tendons had been cut on both legs. She has now healed from her physical wounds, and both of her legs are healed. She seems like a gentle person when you talk to her, but she may be surprisingly stubborn and precise.
The sixth person is Meme, a rabbit-type beastman. She is a grayish-haired woman with ears that stand up like a rabbit’s. Most of the rabbit-type beastmen I know are slender and petite, but she is quite large. I don’t think it is rude to say this about a woman. She seemed to be quite strong, and when they escaped, she picked up Shen, who had been severely injured, by herself and carried her to the air board without the help of Shumel and the others. Seeing that she was able to act quickly in escaping while being tortured by the bandits, she may have actually been looking for an opportunity to escape. Perhaps she has quite a strong personality.
The seventh one is Fey, who has small, round, brown animal ears. I could not tell what kind of animal she was by looking at her tail, but according to her, she was a weasel-type beastman. She was from the same hometown as Shen and was extremely grateful to me for healing Shen’s injuries. It seems that Shen was severely injured as a result of protecting her, and she was very worried about it. It seems that she is now sticking by Shen and taking care of her in various ways.
The last one is Olivia, a goat-type beastman with two warped horns on her head. She has two horns now, but one of them was broken before she was treated yesterday. She was in an extremely lethargic state until I healed her, but when I healed her horns with a regenerative medicine made from Grande blood, she thanked me with tears in her eyes. I heard that for a beastman with horns, losing them is a great humiliation. I am glad I was able to fix it. By the way, she was the most grateful to me out of the eight of them, and she was the first one to suggest going to my room last night. I’m going to give Shumel, who stopped me, a gold coin later.
“I’ll make some things in the other room, so call me if you need anything. I’ll leave this to you.”
“Aiyo.”
“Roger that.”
“Okay.”
Leaving this place in the hands of the oni girls, who answered in turn, I went back to my room to make some accessories for the ladies. Tomorrow, I have to go to the town of Comoran, where Viscount Beryl is staying. Ms. Zamir should have contacted him, but I’m not sure what will happen. I don’t want to bother with explanations and such.
