Chapter 121: The Rumored Second Home Garden

(Editor’s note: Io, the beastkin, has been confirmed to be male, not female)

Vania-san had told me I didn’t need to worry about getting back, so I decided to leave the rest in her capable hands.

Just as we finished reporting to the guild, I returned to Arcel together with Shifa-san and the others.

“Vania-san said she’ll take care of everything.”

“Vania-san?”

“Ah, come to think of it, Shifa-san, you’ve never met her before, right? She’s a maid who works at Bradia-san’s mansion. I’ll introduce you next time.”

Anii gave me a suspicious look, her eyes narrowing sharply as she questioned me.

“…More importantly, what’s with that mansion? And what’s happening with your ‘other’ home garden now?”

“Um… it’s gotten kind of… lively?”

“You’re seriously doing something behind our backs again, aren’t you…?”

For some reason Anii clutched her head and groaned.

Well… I can’t deny that the number of unexpected residents has been steadily increasing…

By the way, Shifa-san and Anii at least knew that Miranda-san had moved to the second home garden.

Anii had kept grumbling things like, “Just kick that woman out already,” more times than I could count.

And so, the next day.

Respecting Anii’s wishes, we decided not to go to Randall today and instead take everyone to the second home garden.

“So this is the famous second home garden…”

“Now that you mention it, Sarassa, this is your first visit, isn’t it?”

Sarassa-san stiffened for some reason, as if bracing herself for a monster to leap out.

It’s really not a scary place, you know…?

“I shall accompany you as well—if you don’t mind.”

Lilcarlia-san was also with us.

She had come by this morning to pick up her usual share of harvested goods, so I told her we were heading to the second home garden. She immediately begged to come along, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Naturally, I agreed right away.

I’d already taken her there several times before, after all.

“So, um, this here is Io-san and the others’ house.”

Before us stood several small houses, neatly lined up in rows.

I had built them using my skill for the beastkin who had followed Io-san all the way here.

They, too, had ended up living in this garden.

I didn’t know all the details, but just like Io-san, they apparently couldn’t return to their homeland anymore. When I told them they were welcome to live here, they were so overjoyed they nearly cried.

“Io-san? Who’s that?”

Anii, who knew nothing about any of this, asked in a strangely irritated tone.

Right then, as if sensing my presence, Io-san stepped out of one of the houses.

“Whoa, amazing! She’s got animal-like ears and a tail!”

“Let me introduce him. This is Io-san, he’s a beastkin.”

“Wait—he’s a man!? And he’s ridiculously handsome!”

The moment Anii saw Io-san, her entire attitude flipped.

As expected, she was hopelessly weak to good-looking men—her eyes practically sparkled like a maiden’s.

“Geo-kun! Who are these girls!? Don’t tell me—they’re your fiancées!?”

In contrast to Anii’s reaction, Io-san asked me this in a sharp, accusatory tone, his ears twitching indignantly.

“N-No! They aren’t!”

Well… I would be happy if Shifa-san someday became someone like that to me… but, sadly, we weren’t anywhere near that kind of relationship yet.

“Is that really true?”

“Y-Yes! One is my younger sister, and the others are childhood friends.”

“…Can I trust you on that?”

“Y-Yes, absolutely!”

Why was he pressing me so hard on this…?

“…I see. That’s good then.”

Io-san exhaled a deep sigh of relief.

…Is it really such a problem if I had a girlfriend?

As I puzzled over that, Sarassa-san suddenly shouted.

“T-T-THIS KIND OF THING IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!”

“““!?”””

“A-Ah, my apologies… please ignore that… huff, huff…”

“You’re breathing really heavily, though…”

“D-Don’t mind it… huff, huff…”

Is she… okay?

Sarassa-san is usually calm and earnest, but sometimes she acts… a little strange.

Even now, she was still breathing through her nose in short, excited bursts.

Ah—maybe it’s because Io-san is incredibly handsome…?

Do all girls like handsome guys that much…?

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought Shifa-san here…

Feeling a sudden unease, I glanced at Shifa-san’s face—only to find her expression the same as always.

I quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Geo? Is something on my face?”

“N-No! Nothing at all!”

“…?”

Caught staring, I panicked.

Shifa-san tilted her head in confusion—so cute it made my heart squeeze.

“Ghh… my Geo-kun…!”

“Huff… huff…”

After that, I introduced everyone to Io-san one by one.

(So her name is Shifa…? So that is my rival…)

…For some reason, Io-san was glaring at Shifa-san with open hostility.

Did he just… not get along with her type?

While we were talking with Io-san, the other beastkin gathered around as well.

“Thanks to Geo-sama, we are living here without a single inconvenience.”

“We were even able to reunite safely with Io-sama. No amount of gratitude would ever be enough.”

“I’m just glad I could help.”

When they had first arrived, they had been so dirty I hadn’t noticed—but now that they were clean, I could clearly see that their hair shimmered the same silver-white as Io-san’s.

Their facial features resembled his as well—it was likely they were the same subspecies among the beastkin.

At first I thought they were cat beastkin, but their sharp, dignified faces felt more like tigers.

“White-haired… tiger beastkin… don’t tell me…”

“Lilcarlia-san? What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing, nothing at all—really!”