Chapter 95: The Beastman Have Arrived
“Our…”
“Our house…?”
The two of them repeated my words as if their ears had betrayed them, disbelief etched across their faces.
“Of course, I’ve prepared separate little cottages for each of you,” I explained calmly.
“Th-that’s not the point!”
“Are you seriously telling me to live in a place like this, as if it were some kind of doghouse…?”
Their lips trembled, their bodies shaking with barely contained rage. Honestly, they’d been freeloading in my house all this time, and yet here they were, fuming. The sheer audacity almost made my own blood boil—but I restrained myself, seeking a way to convince them without outright confrontation.
“I’ll be planting plenty of alcohol and tomatoes near the cottages,” I offered, “so feel free to drink or eat as much as you like.”
“If there’s alcohol, I suppose that’s acceptable,” one muttered.
“Hmm, as long as there are tomatoes to eat, I suppose that’s fine too,” the other added.
Wait—they’re agreeing this quickly?!
“However, try to stay away from me as much as possible.”
“I, too, refuse to live anywhere near that creature.”
They responded, glaring.
“Um… weren’t you two lounging together in the same living room just a while ago…?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Well, it didn’t matter too much. These cottages could be constructed or dismantled in an instant.
So, I decided to place Miranda’s cottage at the northeast corner of the garden and Bladia’s at the southeast corner. True to my word, a generous supply of alcohol surrounded Miranda’s cottage, while Bladia’s had rows upon rows of ripe, luscious tomatoes.
The western side of the garden was closest to the magical wasteland, so I deliberately placed them on the opposite side. I doubted the two of them would have any trouble fending off monsters from that area anyway.
“All right, that takes care of the freeloaders.”
A refreshing sense of relief washed over me.
Riding that wave of satisfaction, I moved to the west side of the garden. Thanks to the golems’ hard work, the ground was littered with the corpses of fallen monsters.
Absorbing the magic stones from the remains, I cleaned up the area neatly. My level ticked up to 51.
…Still, even with this much absorption, only two levels gained?
The monsters from the magical wasteland were strong, and each magic stone contained significant power. But more than that, the garden itself had become harder to level up.
Still, it was simple work—lighting incense while leaving the rest to the golems. Slowly, steadily, I continued to raise the level.
Time passed. I absorbed magic stones from every monster the golems defeated, and before I realized it, I had reached level 55.
〈Level up!〉
〈 Derived from Cottage Creation: House Creation skill acquired.〉
〈 Skill: Automatic Cultivation acquired.v
〈 New crops can now be cultivated.〉
“House creation?”
Curious, I tried it out—and suddenly, a two-story, fully equipped house appeared before me.
“…It’s about the same size as my own home,” I murmured, surprised.
Unlike the cottages, this house had multiple rooms: a kitchen, a toilet, and even a proper bath. Basic furniture was already in place.
“How is it possible to create a full house from a garden?” I wondered aloud. Traditionally, a garden exists beside a house—not the other way around. This completely flipped the usual order of things.
Still, this meant I could now generate houses endlessly… but
“…I think I’ll leave those two in their cottages,” I decided, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction at withholding such a grand reward.
“Automatic cultivation seems really convenient,” I noted, testing the function. By pre-setting crops, they would automatically be harvested when fully grown, and, depending on the settings, even stored. On top of that, the system could replant the same crops immediately after harvest—a truly miraculous cycle.
…Though, admittedly, this made my own involvement in the garden almost redundant.
For now, I decided to use it on crops that needed daily harvesting—of course, including the alcohol and tomatoes. That way, no one would complain about running out: “We’re out of alcohol!” or “There are no tomatoes left!”
By the time I reached level 56, progress slowed dramatically.
“The number of invading monsters has decreased…” I muttered.
Even in a magical wasteland, monsters couldn’t be infinite. Surely I hadn’t hunted them all to extinction, but the flow had diminished.
Eventually, even the stockpile of incense for attracting monsters ran out, so I paused the leveling. I’d return to it later, once the supplies replenished.
Just as I moved to close part of the protective barrier I had left open, something unexpected happened.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
A young woman, strikingly beautiful but clearly exhausted, stumbled into the garden. Why was there a human here—of all places?!
Her face was pale, her clothes tattered, and her steps faltering. She wavered unsteadily toward me, as if the weight of her injuries threatened to pull her down entirely.
“—”
“Wait!” I shouted, halting the golems. They had been about to react, ready to eliminate any intruder. My command left them no room for discretion; all intruders were to be removed without exception.
With a heavy thud, she collapsed to the ground.
“Are… are you all right?!” I hurried to his side.
That’s when I noticed something peculiar.
Beast ears…?
Her ears were not human. But that was secondary—right now, what mattered most was her condition.
“I’ll heal you immediately!”
No visible wounds were apparent, but her weakened state suggested serious injuries beneath the surface. I always carried high-potency potions, crafted by Merlin himself, for emergencies like this. One dose should stabilize her—
Guuuuuuhhhhhh~~
A strange sound emanated from her stomach.
“My… my stomach… it’s… hungry…”