In the Land of Leadale Vol. 4 Read online

  He had no way of knowing the disastrous conclusion that awaited him the moment he got his hands on that treasure.

  “Phew, that was indeed terrifying.”

  “I’m not convinced. Didn’t I say it’s just a spell that temporarily changes your appearance?”

  Skargo, who had returned to his usual handsome self after a night as a hideous Zhu Bajie pig, was enjoying breakfast at Cayna’s house upon her invitation.

  Cayna, of course, had been the one to insist that he eat at her place. She’d realized she couldn’t allow Skargo to fall in love with Marelle’s amazing food, and so she’d rushed to invite him over for breakfast.

  Cayna’s only objective was to prevent the quality of the food from giving Skargo reason to relocate to the village, church and all. Because if he did that, Cayna’s burgeoning anxiety would never cease so long as she lived here. After all, there was no question Skargo and his entourage would flock to her like moths to a flame.

  The only other person eating with Cayna and Skargo was Luka. Roxine and Roxilius normally joined in under the family rule that everyone should eat together, but because they had a guest over, the two werecats were more than happy to serve the food instead. The menu was the same as usual—bread, salad, soup, fruit—which begged the question of whether having someone serve the food was even necessary.

  Roxine glared at Skargo before retreating into the kitchen; Roxilius stood at attention nearby, occasionally refilling drinks or correcting Luka’s table manners.

  Luka was still too shy to engage Skargo in conversation, but she had started calling him “Big Brother”—a bit of welcome progress as far as Cayna was concerned.

  Flattered by this moniker, Skargo cast Oscar—Roses Scatter with Beauty out of habit, effectively snuffing out any warm fuzzies Cayna felt. She stopped him with a glare every time he started up again. Old habits die hard.

  Skargo succumbed to his mother’s stares with a dry laugh. Unless he treaded lightly, Cayna would smite him with her Cursed Outfit Technique just as she had the night before. And his upcoming conference would likely end in failure if he showed up as a Zhu Bajie pig, leaving his role as emissary—not to mention his reputation as High Priest—in shambles.

  “Mother Dear, I very much hope you won’t turn me into that again…”

  “Then quit using your Effect Skills for every little thing and just have a normal conversation. It makes no difference to me how you use them for work, but are you totally incapable of talking to your own mother without busting out these effects all willy-nilly?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Although I guess I don’t have much room to talk, having left you to your own devices for two hundred years. Your future wife’s got her work cut out for her.”

  Cayna put her hand to her cheek. The next instant, Skargo opened his arms wide, and a flower backdrop appeared behind him—which he quickly dispelled after a single steely glare from Cayna.

  “…Pardon me,” he apologized with a light cough.

  Cayna felt a huge headache coming on. Twenty percent of her worries had to do with Felskeilo’s future should a force like Skargo marry into the royal family; the other 80 percent was over how much Myleene would suffer if she ended up having to handle him. Wedding bells weren’t exactly ringing just yet, but from what Cayna could tell, Myleene was hit with a severe case of first love. Considering Cayna had essentially encouraged this situation, she had no right to complain. But if the princess insisted on marrying for love, Skargo’s proclivities were going to be a huge hurdle.

  “Mother Dear.”

  “Uh-huh?”

  Having finished his meal, Skargo dabbed at his mouth, his face quite serious. That gesture alone would render any unassuming woman lovestruck and squealing, but as Skargo’s creator in every sense of the word, his pretty-boy looks had zero effect on Cayna.

  “You mentioned something about a future wife just now. Might you have someone in mind?” he asked.

  “…Now I’m not so sure.”

  “Whatever in the worrrld are you unsure about?! Whoever you introduce me to, Mother Dear, I, Skargo, vow to love and protect them with all my heart and soul!”

  Skargo stood up and clutched his chest against a backdrop of white roses, his determined gaze focused somewhere off in the distance…

  …only for Roxine to smack him in the face with a tray, sending him flying into the wall with a wham.

  “Master Skargo,” said Roxine, “you are frightening the young Lady Luka. I ask that you refrain from your comedy routine.”

  “…?!”

  “Cie, aren’t you the one who just startled Luka?” Cayna pointed out.

  Roxine was spinning a face-dented tray on her finger. Luka was staring speechless between where her stepbrother had just been standing and where he currently remained stuck in the wall. Roxilius remained standing at attention, nodding wordlessly.

  Scared by how accustomed she’d grown to ruckus first thing in the morning, Cayna put a hand to her cheek and sighed.

  “Well then, I bid you farewell, Mother Dear.”

  “Yep. You’ll probably be fine, but be careful on the road back.”

  “Yes, yes, certainly. Although I must say it is a pity that I cannot show you the fine man I have become.”

  “In what universe would an envoy bring his mother with him to a conference…?”

  The knights accompanying Skargo thumped their breastplates in assertion that they would ensure his safe passage. They didn’t seem to be part of Shining Saber’s forces; Cayna was relieved that none of them referred to her as “the captain’s fiancée.”

  After refreshing himself with magic following breakfast, Skargo had announced he would be departing for the national border within the day. Four carriages were waiting for him, the lead carriage so gaudy that it was impossible to miss. The entire delegation consisted of Skargo, ten knights, four civil officials, and several attendants. Such missions were typically flanked by a superfluous number of personnel, but since they were traveling with the High Priest, they kept the pomp to a bare minimum. In other words, little flavor and more substance.

  Personally, Cayna thought Skargo was much too eager to share the delegation’s sensitive information, but she could sense his trust in her and decided to hold back rebuke. Instead, she watched the rare spectacle of Skargo panicking terribly as Roxilius dug into him about leaking secrets.

  “By the way,” Skargo began, “Mai-Mai would be thrilled to meet Luka. If she had not been directly summoned by His Majesty, that sister of mine would have surely taken the initiative and paid a visit.”

  “Huh. Thanks, Skargo. You’re right, I should definitely introduce her to Mai-Mai, too.”

  “Think nothing of it. Well then, Mother Dear. Let us meet again when the opportunity arises. Do take care, Luka.”

  With these parting words, Skargo waved lightly before stepping into the carriage. Cayna fondly watched the delegation depart. After they disappeared from sight, she crossed her arms and murmured, “Maybe Mai-Mai feels kinda left out?”

  Mai-Mai’s job required her constant presence at the Academy, so opportunities for her to meet Luka in the remote village were few and far between. If Mai-Mai couldn’t come to them, they would have to come to her. Cayna had settled into her new home just days ago, but she didn’t think an occasional bit of travel would be a problem. She considered bringing Luka with her the next time she went shopping.

  Cayna had started calling Luka “Lu” after the incident with the White Dragon, but only because Roxine suggested, “Why don’t you call her something a bit more familial? You are her family now, after all.”

  It took Cayna a while to actually put this into practice, though. She spent half the day deliberating over whether to give Luka a nickname until Roxilius finally had enough. The only reason she made any progress at all was because he dragged her over to Luka.

  “Um,” Cayna began.

  “…Uh-huh?”

  “So, L-Luka…”

  “…Uh-huh.”

  “Can I call you Lu?”

  “…Uh-huh!”

  Cayna’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she pulled Luka into a tight embrace. Behind them, dead-eyed Roxine and Roxilius collapsed to the ground in exhaustion; they’d been worried to death that this exchange would end up taking hours.

  Cayna had gotten used to daily life in the countryside; she gradually renovated her environs just like she used to do with her base in Leadale’s Offline Mode. Of course, she always checked with the village elder or the other villagers before starting anything.

  First, she improved the fence that kept the village safe from invaders. This fence was enchanted with a special charm that kept some of the monsters out.

  Cayna began clearing the brush from the outside of the fence but was soon assaulted by the vegetation’s wails, so she had Roxilius take over.

  He mowed down trees and plants with such ease that the villagers thought he looked like a demon on a cleaning frenzy.

  Next, an Earth Spirit leveled the uneven ground. The five-meter-tall chess pawn uprooted trees and smoothed over the soil with the fluidity of a real pawn moving across a chessboard. Cayna turned the pile of felled trees into lumber with her Craft Skills and evenly distributed them to each household.

  She decided to hold off on any expansion, however. According to the village elder, the extra land would only go to waste since the village’s population was in decline. Moreover, the area was managed by nobles, and apparently they didn’t allow the village to expand their arable land.

  “Wow,” said Cayna. “So this land belongs to nobles…”

  “Yes. They aren’t too fussy about rules however, so we do ask for their input,” the elder replied.

  “Hmm. What’s
the name of these nobles?”

  “They’re the family of Baron Harvey.”

  “…Huh?”

  The name immediately sounded familiar, and then Cayna’s jaw dropped in sudden recognition.

  Unless she misheard, the Baron had the same last name of Mai-Mai’s husband, Lopus Harvey. Paying the Harveys a visit would be easy enough given her daughter’s connections, but a mere adventurer like Cayna couldn’t just go barging into aristocratic affairs. She slightly regretted even asking who oversaw the land, and Cayna thought it would be best to let the elder negotiate with the Baron’s family.

  Meanwhile, she felt the fence’s enchantment wouldn’t hold out against ogres like the ones from a few days prior, so she set up an extra layer of protection. Cayna placed stone stakes several meters apart outside the fence, set gargoyles atop each one, and modified their appearance.

  Standard gargoyles resembled goblins with bat wings, but in Leadale, you could adjust them to look however you wanted. Cayna decided to turn these particular gargoyles into snow bunnies. With a few finishing touches—bodies made of snow mounds, bamboo leaves for ears, and small, red berries for eyes—the gargoyles were complete.

  Since they were equipped with magic rhymestones, they’d automatically accumulate the MP needed to awaken whenever they were inactive. This way, Cayna could cut down on the time needed to refill them with the MP that kept them operational.

  Humans and animals wouldn’t find the gargoyles threatening; if anything, they looked more like a bunch of slapdash ornaments. But when activated, these bunnies were strong enough to make quick work of any local ogres.

  A strained smile appeared on her assistant Roxilius’s face. This amount of protection could keep even a fortress safe. “Lady Cayna, might this be a bit excessive?” he asked.

  “Not at all. Life comes at you fast in this world. You can never be too careful.” Cayna put her hands on her hips in a show of pride; Li’l Fairy assumed the same self-satisfied pose atop her master’s head. She seemed in full agreement with Cayna’s assertion. Pity that no one else could see her, though.

  “Besides, Rox, this gives you one less job to do,” Cayna added.

  “What use am I if I’m without any work…?”

  One of Roxilius’s jobs had been to patrol the village’s outskirts and eliminate any dangerous monsters. He and Roxine had divided any duties Cayna wasn’t involved in amongst themselves: The latter handled the household affairs, while the former took care of the property.

  “The kids are still cleaning the bathhouse as punishment. You’re helping with that, too, right?” Cayna said.

  “Well…yes.”

  Just then, Roxine showed up. She and Roxilius exchanged momentary glares before she turned to Cayna. “Lady Cayna, I have a favor to ask.”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “…Should you really be so quick to dole out favors to your attendants?” Roxine’s tone quickly turned to exasperation.

  Cayna smiled uncomfortably. “I mean, I’ve just been leaving you two to handle all the usual chores. I’m happy to help with anything if it makes life better for either of you.”

  Roxilius and Roxine looked at one another and shrugged. There were mutual mumblings of “She’s a hopeless case” and “Even ideal masters have their limits.”

  “Well, I can’t say how much better my life would be for it, but I’d like you to temporarily halt any restocking,” said Roxine. “I need to calculate how long our current food stores will last.”

  “Oh, okay. Yeah, go ahead. I guess we better stop using Cooking Skills, too, right?”

  “Yes, I would appreciate it.” Roxine bowed her head and returned to the house.

  “What were we talking about again?” Cayna asked Roxilius.

  “We were discussing my work, although I have no objection to following your every order.”

  “A job for you, huh…?”

  Cayna sank deep into thought. Eventually, she decided to suggest that Roxilius build an all-purpose storage room. The villagers were initially supposed to build it, but it was better to give the job to someone with nothing else going on. She could use rhymestones to control the humidity and temperature if need be, so there was no need to build individual cellars.

  “Hey, the goats will need a stable for nighttime and when it’s raining, right? And the barrels of beer will be fine in my Item Box, but we should also have somewhere to store the whiskey since it tastes better with age.”

  These proposals all came from Kee, but Cayna figured she should give Roxilius work to do as a “master worth serving.”

  The chickens would roam the village. Marelle had told Cayna that she was free to look in the bushes and take whatever she found whenever she needed eggs. The villagers weren’t too concerned about the freshness of their eggs, so some would occasionally get an upset stomach. Kee suggested they come up with a method for sorting the eggs quickly.

  “Understood. I’ll get started straight away,” Roxilius replied with a smile, satisfied to be entrusted with this new duty. He bowed respectfully and set to work on building a shed that very day.

  Since most of his skills were combat-oriented, he excelled in manual labor.

  Without a Craft Skill like Building: House, Roxilius couldn’t construct buildings in the blink of an eye like Cayna could. She had tried giving him a scroll so that he’d learn, but it didn’t help. Instead, he started from scratch using large carpentry machines and processed wood to construct the storage space from the ground up.

  Cayna didn’t expect Roxilius to do all the work on his own, so she created golems to move heavy loads and construct in high places. If they’d started building in the center of town, it would have drawn attention whether they wanted it or not. Since villagers with free time on their hands dropped by to help on occasion, it was completed much sooner than anticipated.

  The final product was a two-story shed. The second floor was quite cramped, and half of the first floor was taken up by a stable that would fit perhaps two goats. Wooden rails extending from the second floor to the other half of the first floor allowed you to roll barrels sideways and then down between the two stories.

  “What do you think, Lady Cayna?”

  “It kinda looks like this one game where a gorilla throws stuff at you…”

  “Huh?”

  Roxilius appeared satisfied with the results, but Cayna’s uncomfortable smile said she felt otherwise. Also, this setup was oddly familiar. Nevertheless, she treated the villagers who helped them to whiskey as thanks for finishing the job. The drunken men dragged in Roxilius, and it wasn’t long before they had a raucous drinking party on their hands. Siblings, wives, and children came to collect the men who had sunk into a drunken stupor in the middle of the afternoon. It disturbed Cayna a bit that Roxilius returned to his butler duties the very next day without the slightest hangover at all.

  Meanwhile, Roxine was polishing her housework skills.

  Per Cayna’s orders, she had stopped using Cooking Skills since they wasted too many ingredients. She then asked the village wives for help and learned basic cooking techniques. Cayna and Roxilius were shocked by this turn of events given how well they knew Roxine’s personality.

  “Don’t be foolish,” Roxine told them. “We can’t afford to maintain a lavish lifestyle if we plan to settle in this village. In order to raise Lady Luka properly, we must learn to adjust our standards accordingly.”

  “You have a totally decent opinion?!”

  “Why are you so shocked, Lady Cayna? You said so yourself, did you not?”

  It was true Cayna had told Roxine to let Luka be herself, but she never expected Roxine to put so much thought into it. That motivated her even further to raise Luka.

  She also had something else on her mind.

  “So what do you think?” Cayna elbowed Roxilius.

  “Unlikely as it may be, I simply can’t shake this feeling,” the werecat acquiesced, his gaze downcast.

  Roxine was the real concern. She didn’t look any different, but something about her felt off.

  Cayna took the werecats’ summoning bells out of her Item Box and rang Roxine’s lightly.

  “Maybe the real one will come out if I ring it again?” she said.