Chapter 149: Animals Inside The Kingdom

After I had taken care of everything for the day, it was time to go home and check how everyone was doing.

I also had a few things to talk with Agatha about since I was going to need her help in the near future.

Unexpectedly, she also raised a topic I was unaware of.

She noticed that someone was picking the random flowers of the Kingdom.

Although she doesn't know who's responsible for that, she's sure that it is done with intent, as other plants were left untouched.

I thought it could've been the work of the horned rabbits, but she hadn't gone to the forest, and they don't often go to the unforested area since the girls train nearby.

The number of suspects was very limited. Among them, there are plenty of oddballs that would do it for God knows what reason, but since this wasn't such a big deal to me, I decided to ignore it for now.

As for Agatha, this place has a lot of different plants for her to pick and examine, so a little competition shouldn't be such a hindrance.

Things such as plants and flowers can easily be summoned even through the [Mana Banners] too, so I can provide an inexhaustible amount of samples for her to study.

Aside from that, I also went to check with Lily how the farm animals were doing since I just kind of dumped everything on her out of nowhere.

I at least fenced them in, but she still got angry with me.

Lily: "And they are going to need food and shelter, and..."

She was quite cute being all mad like that, and I could tell that she would do a good job caring for them.

I had already prepared food for them, but the work on a barn and a coop took me a while.

That was primarily because Lily wanted a [Special Role] to design them herself.

Which I allowed since she was going to be responsible for all of that anyway, and also to make up for not giving her a heads-up before bringing the animals.

Aside from the [Special Role] I had assigned my sister, I had one free that normally stays with Licia or Elizabeth to facilitate communication inside and outside the Kingdom.

This role already had all the rights unlocked, so I just transferred it from Licia to Lily. I had forgotten that the role was called [Queen] though, so this ended up embarrassing her a little.

I took it as a bonus, obviously.

In the end, the buildings she made were completely different from what I had in mind. While we had different philosophies, I couldn't deny that they served their purpose.

I could tell that she tried not to be too wasteful with Kingdom Points, which was a diverting point that would obviously result in a different product altogether.

This was also an interesting experience, as it showcased that this aspect was convenient.

Not only did Lily manage to do a good job with the area for the farm animals, but she also made a few changes to the field as well.

She seemed to be having a lot of fun while still being mindful of the points available, so I was happy seeing her playing around with it.

Aside from her, the other girls were also having fun playing with the animals.

Except for one.

Miwen: "Don't you wanna play too?"

Lana: "I'm a beastwoman. Animals tend to get scared and anxious when we approach them."

This seemed reasonable in theory, but...

Miwen: "They don't seem to mind Mia."

As soon as I mentioned her name, she turned her eyes to us.

While we weren't incredibly far, just on the other side of the fence, we also weren't speaking loudly, so her sharp senses still impressed me.

Lana: "...The wolf has good control over her beast side. Either she relied on it throughout her life, or she trained a lot. Given her strength, probably the latter."

As a victim of her training regiments, I can confirm that she really does train a lot.

Miwen: "Doesn't explain Lily though."

That girl is the sweetest fluffy ball ever. I doubt she knows how to fight, has ever done so, or even trained for it. She probably has no control over her beautification. Hell, she might not even know how to tap into it to begin with.

Since she can't control that side of hers, she should scare the animals too, but that wasn't the case at all.

If anything, they all flocked in her direction like she was the weak one.

And well, seeing how much trouble she had getting away from them, they were pretty much correct.

Lana: "The dog is on the other side of the scale. If she were to try beastification, she would only lightly tap into it before losing control. And even after losing control, she would hardly benefit from it, or be counted as a beast. Simply put, that side of hers is so underdeveloped that she can't even scare them."

Although she died young, and I've yet to know what led to her death, judging by what Lana said, and what I know of Mia, Lily seems to have lived most of her life in peace, to the point where she didn't even need to use such things.

However, this also means that Lana is somewhere in the middle of the scale.

She tapped into this power enough to have a good understanding of it, but not enough to have as much control as Mia.

It might've been a question of potential, or opportunity.

In either case...

Miwen: "Give me your hand."

Lana: "Huh? What do you want?"

Miwen: "I haven't forgiven you for kicking my son yet. This will be your punishment."

I took her close to the animals and called Mia and Lily, who had already won their trust.

With Mia and me be her side, they should feel more secure. Lily incentivized them to approach for behind too and...

Miwen: "They'll be as anxious as you are, so calm yourself... now extend your hand slowly... See? It wasn't that hard."

Maybe there was merit to what she said, but this ended up not being half as troublesome as I thought it would.

In reality, getting her to try it was the hardest part.

Licia: "Did you really need to go there?"

My aim remains spotless. Two shots, and two hits.

Ellie: "They aren't my focus, but my Gift also works with daggers... I wanted to get a little better with them, and... Licia has a tricky and improvisational battle style... I think she would be the best for me to learn with."

Miwen: "Hm... having more options is always good. Just be careful not to neglect what you're already good at."

Developing other skills is good and since I've heard she struggled quite a lot with her opponent, I can't blame her for seeking different methods of improving herself.

But we already have plenty of front liners, and considering the team as a whole, it would be better for Ellie to keep her focus on archery, as long-range attacks can be essential, and we don't have as many options when it comes to it.

Ellie: "Ah! Before I forget, there is one thing I want."

Miwen: "It's not a church, right?"

Ellie: "Hm? No? It's a dojo, like the one we were before. I just don't like rolling in the ground..."

That's a complaint the girls never made before. There's a benefit to training in the natural ground of the Kingdom since its irregularity and hardness are similar to that of the dungeon, or any other place that is not indoors where we might face an opponent, but in case of rain, it becomes hard to use for a while.

So an indoor space could be useful.

There's a special building called [Enhancement Facility] whose descriptions look awfully close to that of a training center, but it's quite pricey.

Even more so considering that I can make a pretty good all-in-one facility, with both indoor and outdoor training spaces, as well as a shooting range for Ellie.

Since like the [Quest Center], the [Enhancement Facility] is a special building, I'm pretty sure it has a unique characteristic of its own, but depending on what it does, I might have to change the Kingdom again to better accommodate it, and that's something I don't want to do until at least the first harvest.

Testing our food production is a priority as it is the most important factor when it comes to increasing the number of citizens.

So for now, I decided to grant Ellie's wish using the second option. It was cheaper and less demanding of attention. It might not be the best option long term, but it should fit everyone's needs for now.

Miwen: "I wasn't expecting you of all people to ask for that as your prize though."

Ellie: "No... Bea wanted something different... this one was my personal request..."

Something strongly triggered her shyness, and she excused herself, heading toward the house she shared with Anna and Bea.

It was a little suspicious since Bea asked me to head there too in about an hour or so.

Miwen: "Hm... I made all of this, so I wanted at least to see it tested."

Licia: "Let's go for a match then."

I know Licia's smiles pretty well. But this one, filled with ominous energy was new to me.

Miwen: "...You haven't forgiven me for my comment, have you?"

Licia: "Let's go for a few matches."

And so, the hour I had left before meeting Bea went by rather quickly, as Licia showed me she was plenty capable of placing higher in that tournament.

If anything, she had so many lessons to teach me, that I ended up late.

Once I finally got into her room, a nice surprise was waiting for me.

Miwen: "That's a problem... it seems like one... or rather... two bunnies have escaped from the forest."

Bea and Ellie in bunny suits... the differences between them became even more evident than normal, almost like night and day.

Miwen: "I thought you were going to ask me to allow you to use arcanum."

Bea: "If I was so direct, you'd only reject it. I'll probably have to get the girlfriend or even wife position before you allow me, right?"

I don't remember setting up any such hierarchy but it seems like she never fully gave up on her tactics of solidifying and empowering her position.

Not only that, she employed Ellie to help increase her destructive power.

So high maintenance...

Miwen: "Actually, how did you even get Ellie to participate in that?"

Bea: "Hm? When I told her what I had in mind, she wanted to try it too."

Ellie: "Hnnh..."

Bea could tell that I wasn't buying it, so she continued in place of Ellie who was too ashamed to say anything.

Bea: "Apparently she saw women wearing these in taverns, and so..."

She wanted to try it out of curiosity.

I see.

Whatever the case, I sure as hell wasn't going to complain.

Miwen: "Hm... give me a 'kyunn kyuun~' then."

Both obeyed, doing a small hop while gesturing with their hands.

That... almost gave me a heart attack. It was by far the strongest attack I've received ever since I got my Gift.

Miwen: "Turn around and do it again."

As much as I promised myself that I wasn't going to let Beatrice win, this time, there was no hope for me.

So, while they still had their backs turned to me, I approached them and softly whispered into their ears.

Miwen: "I'll tell Licia to bring food for us later. You two are not leaving the room today. Understood?"

Bea and Ellie: "...!"

Miwen: "As for you Bea... before you take control, you need to learn to take responsibility."

Since I had already lost, I decided to make the most of it.