129. Even If You Want To Be Popular, Being A Carnivore Type Can Make You Hesitant, Isn’t It?

We arrived at the newly named Leafan Town, previously known as Zaid Frontier Village.

When Zaid governed it, there was only a wooden fence, but now the town is protected by solid alchemically hardened rock walls.

Although not as tall as Golden Dawn, it is a wall strong enough to repel a typical Hydra.

The reason for naming it Leafan Town is not a tear-jerker story of how it was named but rather that Zaid’s name couldn’t be kept, so a new village name had to be decided on in a hurry.

The bad luck of Leafan came from having that rascal Van, who is now the King, attending the naming conference.

Originally, it was said that if a village named after the Leafan, who was the bloodline of the gnomes that developed the land, was established, it would show that the kingdom does not discriminate against demi-humans.

What they said wasn’t wrong, but the entertainment value outweighed it. I’d bet on it.

I agreed to the name of Leafan because of the contributions of the Leafan, so I didn’t particularly oppose it.

The town, which was once just a stopover with many inns, is now very lively with the commercial guilds arriving.

The reason is that a splendid highway was built between Leafan Town and Golden Dawn, making most of Golden Dawn’s goods available in Leafan Town.

The distance between Leafan Town and Golden Dawn is quite far.

From the perspective of kingdom merchants, even Leafan Town is not an ordinary distance away.

Moreover, reaching Golden Dawn requires traveling an even more desperate distance.

However, with products that previously had to be obtained from Golden Dawn now available in Leafan Town, many merchants started procuring goods in this village.

Thanks to that, the village has already grown to a scale that should be called a town, showing development comparable to a small Golden Dawn.

“Wow! There are even more buildings now! I just came here the other day!”

Jitaro looks out over the town from his pony.

“A facility for the stable production of alchemically hardened rock has been completed in Leafan Town.”

With alchemical potions, Leafan Town can now efficiently produce alchemically hardened rock. Since it is conveniently located to obtain volcanic ash and other materials from the kingdom, it can probably make alchemically hardened rock at the lowest cost in the kingdom.

Thanks to this, sturdy buildings can be made cheaply, leading to a proliferation of hardened rock buildings.

Looking out over the town, many carriages pass by, and lively voices of business transactions and solicitations echo around.

It’s hard to believe this is a town in a dangerous frontier.

…Well, Golden Dawn is located even deeper in uncharted territory.

“Shall we get a room?”

“Roger!”

It was naïve to think we could find a room easily with so many inns around.

Every inn was fully booked.

We checked several places but were faced with full rooms everywhere, leading to a rush.

Fortunately, after consulting the production guild, we were able to secure rooms that were reserved for emergencies.

However, only two rooms.

As soon as I heard this, a dangerous glint appeared in Shururu’s eyes.

That look. The eyes of a predator targeting its prey.

“Craft-sama… Hehe… Hehehehe…”

“W-wait a minute.”

The intimidation of Shururu closing in was like a reptile targeting a small frog.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make you regret it!”

You will!

Oh no! There’s no escape!

The sensation of being pushed into the hotel room kept increasing.

If caught, it’s over!

However, as the distance closed slowly, I was gradually pushed into the room.

Thud.

Finally, the door of the room pressed against my back.

Shururu’s feral grin was evident.

“Well, just do whatever you like.”

Jitaro, apparently bored, yawned and entered the next room.

That’s when I realized.

“Alright, Shururu. Go in first.”

“! Yes!”

I opened the door behind me and guided Shururu inside with my hand. She entered with a beaming smile.

As soon as Shururu’s body was completely inside the room, I slammed the door shut and deployed the magic circle I had secretly woven.

“[Ice Block]!”

I used ice magic to instantly freeze the room’s door.

“Wha!? Craft-sama!?”

“This ice won’t melt until morning! If you try to force it open, the door will break! If you damage any hotel property, I’m leaving!”

“No! Melt it! This ice is in the way!”

“Absolutely do not damage the property or door!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaat!?”

I sternly warned Shururu and slipped through the door to the next room.

“Huh? Why are you coming this way?”

“Why is it not obvious that separating men and women is the natural conclusion…”

With two twin rooms, it should be obvious to separate by gender!

Under Shururu’s pressure, I hadn’t even considered such things for a while.

I’m scared of lizardmen’s courtship. Yes.

For a while, I thought I heard my name being called from somewhere, but it must have been my imagination. Yes.

I put in earplugs and slept soundly.

◆

“Glaring…”

In the morning, after confirming the ice had melted, I opened the door of the room, and Shururu gave me a disgruntled look.

“Don’t say it with your mouth.”

“Glaring… Glaring!”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you should wait until you find someone special!”

“Different culture!”

“It’s a delicate issue!”

Can I accept lizardmen culture?

No, since there’s no one as human-like as Shururu, it probably won’t be a big problem… maybe?

“Craft-sama, I can imagine what you’re thinking, so I’ll say this in advance: it won’t happen unless it’s a very strong male, you know?”

Shururu gives me a blunt warning as if she read my mind.

I was about to counter with Raidock, but swallowed my words, not wanting to burden her further.

Though I have no intention of accepting Shururu’s feelings right now, if she were to pair with another man, that would still make me feel uneasy.

I’m too busy with my own issues to think about such things!

I shook my head vigorously to dispel the unwanted thoughts.

“Stop it! More importantly, let’s head to the marshlands!”

“Huh? Can’t we stay another night…”

“Building the lizardman village takes priority!”

“Why not leave it to the new village chief?”

The new village chief, Jurara, is Shururu’s brother.

Are you planning to offload all the trouble onto him!?

“We requested support because an insurmountable problem arose!”

“It’s fine to let him struggle a bit.”

Shururu turns her face away insincerely.

She seems to want her strict brother to struggle, but this isn’t the time to bring personal feelings into it.

“Well then, shall Shururu return to Golden Dawn alone? I have work to do.”

“What!? I’m coming with you!”

“Then come along obediently!”

“Okay.”

Shururu gives a daft response, knowing she’ll get scolded by Jurara.

Jitaro cheerfully comes over.

“This is a type of troublemaker we haven’t seen before!”

“You’re not exactly perfect yourself.”

Thus, the three of us finally moved our horses towards the marshlands, to the lizardman village.

…Yeah. I’m already tired before we even arrive.