Chapter 280: Small-time candy store
"Ah~, I'm tired. I did my best today"
Taran, a wolf beastwoman who finished the morning farming work stretches herself. If she looks around, she can see people who have finished farming and livestock such as cows and pigs returning to the village.
"Narmo, the guys you brought yesterday seem to have quarreled with Galgos´s group"
"Huuh"
The tiger man Narmo turns his shoulders and doesn't seem interested.
"Hmm. It looks like everyone but the beastmen are complaining. You should think about the balance of power......"
"Don't want to use the words you just learned"
"Why! Even Sensei said that he would forget to use the knowledge and words he had learned!"
Not only children but also adults who wished to study were taught by old people of the human race. For Taran, who had never studied before, everything learned from the knowledgeable old people was fresh and interesting.
"Don't be that serious. What happened to the power balance?"
"Oh, so let's get back to the power story. Do you know how much the population of the Nameless Kingdom is now?"
"I don't know the details, but the beastmen are about 7,000 and the deprived people are about 2,000 and the fallen demons are two or three thousand? There are not a thousand demons. Ah. The other day, the king brought a lot of slaves"
"Well, that's the way it is. The most common are the beastmen, but the strongest are the demons? You know because you're training with a skeleton knights"
Skeleton Knights are an undead army used by Yuu. From just skeleton knights to skeleton knights such as rust, copper, and steel, the inhabitants of the Nameless Kingdom decide the order of strength. If you can beat an ordinary skeleton knight one-on-one, you will be a full-fledged person, and if you beat a rust-colored skeleton knight, you will be seen by everyone.
"I can beat the Skeleton Knights"
Narmo touches his nose with his thumb and says he's not defeated by the demons.
"You can beat just a skeleton knight, but you can't beat a skeleton knight who is more than rust-colored? But many of the demons are the ones who beat rust-colored or copper skeleton knights. The chieftain, Machupi, had a good match against an black skeleton knight"
"So?"
"I'm saying that the demons are so powerful. Look, I don't know where I heard it a little while ago, but you put the other demons on the boat, didn't you? Protecting the country? I wonder if I had skipped half of the territory instead of moving in or messing around"
"Maybe Machupi beat him up. After that, he got permission from the King and talked to the demons over there"
"That's fine. The problem is after that. I don't know how Machupi talked, but the demons have moved to the country. What do I say? Do you know what that means? If you increase the number of demons, you can increase the number of beastmen"
Narmo sighs loudly.
"What are you saying like a human?"
"I think it's important."
"I could work for the king more than I would worry about that. And I've been told by the king that we don't have to bring too many beastmen"
"Haa!? Why?"
"Unlike you stupid, the King thinks more about the country than anyone else"
"Who is stupid!"
Narmo dispels Taran's hand as she tries to grab him. She walks silently for a while, but eventually Taran becomes unbearable and speaks.
"Is the king thinking about the country away from the fields?"
"Yes, that's also it. I asked Isaiah-san about this and he said even crops get sick. It's not uncommon for all the fields to go bad depending on the illness. So the king puts the fields in various places. I think they're made apart"
"Maybe chickens, cows and pigs?"
"The king would think about that much"
"I understand that the king is thinking a lot for the country, but what does it have to do with not increasing the number of beastmen?"
"Isn't the number of beastmen we have now enough? Like the beastmen, the demons give birth about half a year after they become pregnant, but even so, only one or at most two are born. It’s not as prolific as beastmen”
Taran, who is not good at thinking about difficult things, can't keep up with those thoughts and his head hurts.
"In the first place, I'm not serving the beastmen, let alone the other races. I'm serving the King. I don't know what the other guys say. How about this?"
"What is it?"
Knowingly but unpleasantly, Taran sees a large lizard straddling Narmo.
"This is it! Look at this fire-breathing lizard. The king took the trouble to catch it in the labyrinth as a reward for finding the vein. It's actually a ferocious monster that can't carry anyone. He took the trouble to find a gentle and smart one for me"
Narmo is fascinated while stroking the head of the fire-breathing lizard that spits fire instead of its tongue.
"Shit. If I had a good nose, I would have found it"
"Is it regrettable to lose? Next, find the labyrinth that the king is looking for and what will you get? Look? Someday, I will follow Ao like the king and become a dragon user"
"Huh"
Although strong, Taran snorts with regret.
"Anyway, the king is a glutton, isn't he?"
Perhaps because it's frustrating, Taran changes the topic.
"Do you know? He bought dozens of kinds of salt from merchants before. Do you think there is any difference in such salt?"
"Don't you know? The taste of meat changes depending on the salt"
"Y......you, no way!?"
"The king tasted it and I feasted on the meat"
"Unfair!! Only you!!"
"You envy me, don't you? But......the king doesn't drink alcohol"
"Speaking of alcohol, why is that scammer's old man the owner of the tavern?"
"Call him Sensei"
"What Sensei. That bastard, even though he buys high-quality alcohol from a merchant, he only allows people who understand the taste to drink it. How about clothes, hide it on the second floor of the tavern?"
"Wahahaa"
"It's not something to laugh at!"
The village comes into view while chatting.
"Narmo, let's go to Aunt Mori"
"Okay"
At first, the Nameless kingdom was bartered, but as a result of the gradual circulation of money, several shops are now lined up. Taran and his friends are heading to one of the shops.
"Aunt Mori, are you alive?"
"I'm healthier than you are"
An old dog woman replies to Taran in a clear language, contrary to her appearance. The store, which uses a huge tree hollow, is lined with sweets for children. There was even a place to sit and eat outside and in the back of the store.
"Ah, it's Taran"
"There is also Narmo"
Children cling to Taran.
"Taran-san I think. Hey make way"
"It's my turn"
"We're tired of working in the fields. Give it to the elders, hey, Narmo thinks so too?"
"No, Taran is bad. Isn't it embarrassing to push the children away?"
"Haa?"
Taran looks suspiciously at Narmo's unusual attitude.
"It's exactly what Narmo says. Even children keep their turn, but what do they do when they're old?"
"Okay. You should wait, wait――ouch"
"What is that way of speaking!"
Taran, who was hit by Aunt Mori, groaned with regret. Seeing such a figure, the children point their fingers and laugh.
"It's finally our turn. Alright! Aunt Mori, give me all the soybean sticks in the bottle"
"Not good"
Mori looks at Taran with mercy as she looks at a stupid child.
"Ah? Why, if it's money!"
"Unless you have a specific reason, you can only buy up to five at a time"
"You can't monopolize it"
"Taran is stupid"
"Everyone will be gone"
Following Aunt Mori, the children stir up at once.
"I think it's tyranny!"
"What's tyranny? This candy store is left to me by the king"
"Guu....... Oh, it's a shame to call the King's name"
"Like you. There's a guy who buys up with money, and the king has a good outlook
"Taran is bad"
"Since a while ago Narmo! You're strange today!"
"No, it's not strange. I'm always on the side of the kids"
"Damn, I understand. I'm bad. Aunt Mori, give me a lamb stick and lamb water."
With a big sigh, 「Haaaaaa......」, Aunt Mori gives Taran a soybean stick and ram water, shaking her head.
"Delicious! The combination of soybean sticks and ram water is the best"
Taran loves sweet and carbonated ram water.
"Ah. Drink this rum water fully"
"You're a stupid child. The ram water is made from carbonated water that springs from the Zovda tree. The Zovda tree grows wild in forest labyrinths and in special places. It's rare even for the royal family of the human race. Even though it's something you can't say, you'll be punished for saying such luxury!"
"It's all about luxury, mother gets angry"
"We thank the king"
"Grandma, I´m sorry"
Taran is fed up with the children who scream.
"Noisy. Both Aunt Mori and those damn kids are ganging up on me. I would have said that I could drink ram water more easily. If I make alcohol with this, I'm sure it will be delicious. I think the King should be more interested in alcohol. Hey, Narmo thinks so too, right?"
"No, Taran is bad"
"Haaaaaa!? You're strange after all!!"
Taran finally rushes into Narmo, who looks different than usual.
"I'm the same as usual. I'm grateful to the King"
"Tsk. Good child for the first time――"
At that time, Taran meets a person sitting in the back of the store.
"――Ki, King?"
"What, Taran. If you have any complaints, you should come directly to me"
"Wh......why are you in such a place?"
"I'll leave it to Mori, but this is my store. What's wrong with me? And you. As I heard earlier, what's the way you talk to both Mori and the kids"
"That's right! I thought so too! This guy really doesn't have a good way of speaking!!"
Narmo, who moved to Yuu's side before he knew it, blamed Taran.
"Narmo, you knew it!"
Taran, who had a cold and had a bad nose, didn't realize that Yuu was in the store. And Narmo probably noticed that Yuu was there even before he arrived at the store.
"King, Taran!"
"Waa! Don't say anything extra!!"
Taran hurriedly closes the mouth of a child trying to report to Yuu.
"She is a really stupid child"
Is the stupid child so cute? Aunt Mori bowed to Yuu with Taran.