Chapter 75: Where Life Begins

Yesterday we had to proceed with our discussion since Mia did not return, even for dinner.

Though I knew she was at the very least still alive thanks to not receiving any notifications, I got pretty worried about her since it was so unusual. Eventually, I decided to go to the forest to look for her, but the Merchant got in my way saying that I shouldn't interrupt her while she was having fun playing in the forest and asked for me to wait.

Frankly, this seemed sketchy as hell.

Even though the Merchant spoke in a serious tone, I'm aware that I should always second guess his intentions no matter what he says or how he acts.

Normally that would be the end of it and I'd just give up trying to understand him, but since Mia's actions this time also weren't aligned with what I expected of her, I couldn't help but end up confused with this whole ordeal.

I don't think there's anything in the kingdom aside from the Merchant that is capable of putting up a fight against Mia, and since I had my eyes on him pretty much the entire day, I knew he hadn't done anything.

Still, he was the one who made her go to the forest and is now preventing me from looking after her with the worst excuse I've ever heard, so I knew there was definitely something going on.

But with no way around the Merchant, I decided to at least trust Mia since no matter what she gets herself into, I know she'll be smart and capable enough to find her way out.

As such, the day went by as normal, and after I even had my own fun "playing" with Licia and Claire during the night.

I didn't get much rest though, as some time later, a bunch of notifications came rushing in my mind.

All of them were requests to leave the kingdom made by Mia, but she'd always cancel them just to send another one, basically spamming to death.

Since she was always canceling them, I figured she didn't actually want to leave the kingdom, and instead wanted to get my attention.

I shrugged off the tiredness from waking up so suddenly and not really resting that much to join her back in the kingdom.

The first place I went to check for her was her house, one of the three that currently exists in the kingdom.

I wasn't actually expecting to find her there and was readying myself to go to the forest, but it was a nice surprise.

She had a pretty annoyed look on her face up until she noticed me.

I approached her and sat down in a chair across from her at a table, ready to listen to what she had to say.

Of course, now that I knew she was alright, I couldn't help but take this rare opportunity since the two of us were alone.

Miwen: "I gotta say, I wasn't expecting you to be so roundabout... even Ellie managed to be more straightforward you know?"

Mia: "...What? What are you talking about?"

Miwen: "You know, crafting this whole scenario just for us to be alone and consummate our love without anyone knowing, I wasn't-"

I couldn't even finish half the joke before she crawled on the table toward me, letting out a menacing aura paired with a sadistic smile.

Mia: "Do go on."

Miwen: "Well, every time I'm alone with a girl this ends up happening, so one could hardly blame me for coming to expect it, right?

Merchant: "You told me this place was empty aside from the [Citizens], but... when I first got here, the ones to greet me were these little guys. I couldn't figure out why you'd lie about something like this but.... I guess you actually didn't... which means the rules that govern this place have changed, or perhaps, it was always meant to be this way?"

By now his guess is as good as mine.

I mean, it was a fact that creatures didn't spawn in the kingdom, neither monsters nor normal beasts, of that much I'm sure of.

If anything has changed... I did buy 2 new plots of land, the ones containing the forest in which these monsters appeared.

There's also the rolls on the [Beasts Banner] but a horned rabbit would stick out like a sore thumb amid the creatures that were summoned back then.

There's also the fact that Mia saw some spawning...

Miwen: "What were their levels?"

Mia: "Pretty low, almost all of them were level one or two. This one was level 3, but I guess it must've killed others to grow."

That's good... if it's just this they don't represent any threat for now...

The problem is...

Miwen: "I think it's the result of expanding the kingdom's lands... creatures still aren't spawning in the first patch of land so... I guess from now on, every new land will bring monsters alongside it... By the way, did you see a level two spawn?"

Mia: "Yes...?"

Great... I should've known that expanding the kingdom would come with its own challenges...

Two patches of land allow monsters of up to level two to be spawned... it's not enough information to know the rate but suffice to say, I'll be holding back on increasing the kingdom's territory for now.

If new creatures spawn, with the amount of people we have, we could easily be overwhelmed by numbers if monsters decided to attack all at once. Especially different monsters with higher levels.

Merchant: "More importantly... what will you do?"

Miwen: "There's not much I can do... for now, I'll have you keep their population low if that's alright Mia."

Mia: "Sure... "

Merchant "That's nice and all, but I'm talking about your other friends. I had this done in secrecy, but do you want to keep it like this?"

Oh, so that's why.

That's pretty thoughtful of them... it's to be expected from my fiancée, but for even the Merchant to act like this...

While it's good that they took such considerations, it's a shame that I'll have to walk over it.

Miwen: "There's no point in doing that. It would only put them at risk. Also, it's just a matter of time before one manages to get out of the forest... Having everyone aware is beneficial... they can also help Mia in dealing with them."

While I know it'll be a shock, I protect them way more by being honest. It's not like they are weak in either body or mind too, I'm sure they can handle it just fine.

It's sad to say goodbye to the peaceful kingdom that had no threats whatsoever, but as long as nothing major happens, a bunch of rabbits will be no problem to deal with.