Chapter 67: Riche

I’d been loitering around, whiling away my time, and finally, the subjugation team’s departure day came.

「 Mm….. 」
Ash chewed with relish.

「 Having warm food for breakfast is . Moreover, every single one of these dishes are so delicious. 」
Butler praised me with a french bread toast on one hand.

I coincidentally met Ash and Butler near the alleyway entrance on their way back from dining out. They told me that they already consumed all the perishable foods in their house, since they would be leaving it empty for a considerably long time after they left.

So, I invited them over for breakfast, and here we are now.

The breakfast menu around here was usually more on staple foods, like bread coupled with more bread. They also had dried fruits, and meat too if there’s a bit of a leeway. The vegetable soups were normally eaten while still cold. Folks would hurry to work as soon as the sun came out, so they didn’t light the fire most of the time. Well, they’re saving up their firewood, after all.

They brew tea in Ash’s house, but they didn’t cook breakfast that often. The one with cold foods as the main theme, what was it called again? Continental Breakfast?

Well, actually, they can just buy freshly baked foods and there are lots of varieties to choose from, so there’s no need to cook so early in the morning, I guess.

I prepared french toast and croissant, and a baguette with butter and marmalade placed in saucers.

There’s also smallish omelettes that were so soft they jiggled, plus ham, three kinds of sausages, grilled onions and turnips, and veggie soup, too. I wanted some orange juice, but endured it and opted for tea, instead.

Potatoes and tomatoes would have been nice as garnish, huh. Well, I got a feeling that I already served something like that to Ash before, though. Hmm, it’s all in the mind, I’m just imagining stuff.

Actually, they also have tomatoes and potatoes in this world. The catch is, those potatoes were small, just three inches, so they’re treating them as bulbs for flowers back in Nalluadhid. As for the tomatoes, they’re also smallish, plus they’re poisonous, so they’re just good for admiring.

The corn was also different somehow. Maybe it was because selective breeding hadn’t happened yet.

「 Here’s your lunch. Take care.」
「 Thanks, we’re going. 」
「 Thank you very much. 」

I sent them off after I handed their lunches, including Dean and the other guys’ portion. It was pretty bulky, but they just had to bear with it.

Alright, time for me to go get some building materials!

I bought a lot of things from all over the place with the excuse of renovating my house, and my shopping haul included plaster, stones, lumber, and some bricks for the fireplace. As for those that wouldn’t look good if they’re not matchy-matchy, I bought a little bit at a time from the different stores carrying them within the same city.

The entire day passed by while doing that, and now, I was enjoying some coffee that I brewed.
Oh right, I nearly forgot that making something similar to siphon had been on my to-do list.

My plan was to build a small, two-storey house, with each floor made up of one room. The first floor should be made so I could drink tea without having to remove my muddy shoes, and the second floor was for idling and relaxing whenever I felt my mana was exhausted. The sanctuary wasn’t that wide, so that would be the end result if I wanted to make the garden as spacious.

「 Riche, I’ll bring you with me once I’m done with our haven. 」
Riche wagged his tail at my feet when I called his name.

We could be together during my spirit naming sessions and throughout the day, too. I wanted to make Riche’s play area, where he could run all he wanted, to be as big as possible.

I 【 Teleport 】 to the forest sanctuary.

The spirits I named could freely enter and leave the sanctuary, but they looked like they got the fright of their lives when I appeared with Riche. They flew in all directions — imagine the doves taking flight all at the same time; that’s the scenery right now.

「 Riche, see that faint, glowing white line, it’s safe until there. You can play all you want. 」
Riche was such an obedient kiddo, he understood what I said, and he would properly obey that.

Alright, I needed to clear the space for the construction site. Earthquakes very rarely, almost never occur here, so people didn’t give much thought on making the buildings earthquake proof. Still, I wanted to make a solid foundation, being the Japanese guy that I was. Plus, the four columns at the corners would also continue on to the second floor, too.

Ahh, being strong is really cool, man. I already finished digging the holes and the first part of construction by lunchtime.

Riche’s meals were basically meat in the morning and evening, but I made sure he could drink water anytime he wanted. He already drank from the spring here, but I still poured some water from my house into his water dish.

Riche probably sensed me since he dashed towards me. After drinking some water, he rolled over on his back, held the branch that had fallen on the ground between his paws and started mouthing and playing with it while changing the angle every now and then.

I had a bagel sandwich with smoked salmon, cream cheese and coral lettuce for lunch, and black tea for drinks. I gazed at the white clouds in the sky, peeping through the gaps of the leaves in the tree top.

The days passed oh so peacefully.

…That’s what I thought.

「 ……tss. 」
The snow leopard was still holding its tail in its maw.

「 Why is Riche-sama here? 」
The deer was staring straight ahead past me.

「 ……tss 」
「 It’s been five years since you disappeared. 」

「 ….tss 」
「 The sparrows said that you failed the hero summoning, so you vanished. 」

Mr. Snow Leopard was thoroughly moved. Ah, his expression didn’t change, he seemed to be? I glanced at Riche — he was acting as if it had nothing to do with him; he just kept on gnawing the branch.

「 Hey, Riche, is this snow leopard your subordinate? 」
Riche just looked up at me and tilted his head.

Did you forget, or you just didn’t want to recall stuff right from the get go, so you forgot? Or is it troublesome so you’re just letting it slide? Which one is it?

「 …….! 」
Horsey galloped towards us, out of breath. He froze on his tracks when he saw Riche.

「 Riche, maybe this forest was your home before, huh. 」
Dog? Wolf? Well, no matter which one it was, the forest far more suited him than a place filled with humans.