CH 76

The Duke’s family has others who are not fully healed and I’m headed for treatment.

“Lara, would you mind keeping this child for a little while?”

I take out Hati, whose face is sticking out of my chest and let Lara hold her.

“Wow, he’s so fluffy ♡  Luke onii- chan, is it okay if I take care of him?”

“It’s fine with me? Hati seems to like you a lot and it would be a pity for him to be in my clothes all the time when he’s awake.”

“Is that the divine beast, Luke-san?”

It seems that Sasha has already heard about the summoning of the beast.

“Yes, he’s the divine beast, but he’s still a baby, so he’s just a cute little puppy right now.”

”Would you mind if I pet it too?”

I told her she could do whatever she wanted as I was leaving him there, but Anna was the first to go and touch him…..

* * * * * *

I was supposed to be the only one who got up from my seat, but Emilia seemed to be following me.

“Mother, I’ll see you again at dinner. I, too, would like to see those girls once to thank them for caring for you.”

“Yes, they are very good girls. While I was ill, one of them even got bed ridden. I would be happy if you could visit her for me.”

As I recall from Luke’s memory, a duchess would not thank a slave for their services.

They pay a price, buy them in the slave trade and give them work. The idea that the work deserves to be done and is not something to be thanked for…… is the general treatment of slaves.

When I went out into the corridor, the butler who had guided me was gone, but a lady-in-waiting was waiting in his place.

Oh, yes, if I’m going for treatment, I’d better call Iris or she’ll sulk later.

I’m not calling her out because I feel awkward being alone with Emilia!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“How are you feeling?”

“Yes, there’s nothing particularly wrong with me.”

Touching her forehead, she feels a little feverish.

“You have a little fever. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you very much. Doctor, are you sure you can cure me?”

I’m not a doctor, but it’s too much trouble to deny it, so I’ll just go along with it.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be cured in no time. I think it will heal in two more days.”

After the relieved look on her face, she looked anxious again.

“Worried?”

“Ah, I’m not worried about my illness, I’m worried about the mistress’s healing.”

“You have no right to talk to his highness Luke about that, please refrain from speaking.”

The lady-in-waiting who had been leading me immediately interrupted her.

“What do you mean?”

“………….”

The waiting lady’s glare was so effective that no further remarks were made.

“Navi, something doesn’t feel right as it is, so please explain.”

“♪ They are ‘lifetime slaves’ bought only for the treatment of the mistress. However, the dukes, who are the higher nobility, do not use slaves. Even the lowest-ranking people in the house are called “servants” or “underlings” hired from among the commoners for general employment.”

The reason why slaves who are not originally employed were taken in…… even “Lifetime slaves” who even surrender the right of life and death to the purchaser. It’s okay to use “debt slaves” and “contract slaves” in dangerous alpine areas, but caring for tuberculosis patients with high mortality is the problem. And now that she’s getting healed, they can’t release her at her end of service and clothing, shelter, and life must be guaranteed.

“Ah, she’s worried about what will happen to them after Sasha is healed.”

“♪ It seems that the servant who brought these girls their meal the other day made a lot of derogatory remarks.

“I don’t like it…but I guess there’s such a thing in every world.”

“♪ That’s right. These girls were bought on the premise that they would be infected and eventually die. As if to atone for their sins, Guile had instructed them to be served better food than the servants. The servants didn’t like that. They were told, “When they don’t want you anymore, you’ll go to the whorehouse,” or “You’ll be sold off to the slavers again.”

They’re disgusting. …… I’m going to tell old man Guile about it later.

“Are you worried about where you’re going? Then you don’t need to worry. I’m not going to let them disrespect you girls who risked your lives to help treat the duchess, so I’ll say something to them.”

“My mother told me that you were very attentive to her and took very good care of her. I will discuss your situation with my father and see what we can do.”

“”Thank you, Emilia-sama!””

“♪ Your consideration just now was to increase the liking of Emilia and Iris, wasn’t it?”

”I didn’t say that to increase their likability, but Navi’s information is helpful after all.”

But still, it’s noisy outside.

The frogs’ croaking was terrific in this remote cabin, even though I didn’t hear it at all in the duke’s mansion.

Yes, that’s the one that Lara was imitating when she took a bath with me.

“By the way, is it the frog that’s making that awful loud ‘gro gro gro’ noise?”

“Yes, it is. They seem to be all over the irrigation canal that runs behind this building. They are not usually this noisy, but …… maybe it will rain tonight or tomorrow.”

“Rain? Come to think of it, it’s a little overcast.”

“It’s a pity I can’t leave my room. …… They’re delicious.”

I’m curious about the last thing one of the nurse girls blurted out!

The range of activities of these girls, who could spread disease, is severely restricted. It seems that they are not allowed out of this hut except when Sasha is being nursed by them.

“Is it good?”

“Ah! It’s not something a prince would eat!”

“No, I too have heard that frogs’ thighs taste like chicken. So, what’s it really like, in your opinion?”

“I think it’s delicious. …… If you cook it with salt, I think I like it better than rabbit meat.”

“I knew it was delicious. …… How do you catch them?”

“They’re not poisonous and they’re not aggressive, so I just go after them and catch them with my bare hands.”

If I were to eat it, it would be wild, but I’m curious.

But I don’t think I can chase and catch it with this body.

Let’s catch it!

‘Navi, at any rate, the bamboo isn’t dry yet, is it?’

“♪ Yes, it is in the drying room where we’ve advanced the passage of time in the workshop, but it will take about three more days to dry it to a state suitable for a fishing rod. The spider line has already been completed in several different sizes. However, if you are going to hunt for frogs, it would be better if the rod is just a stick. It’s about three times bigger than the frog the master is imagining right now. It may be bigger than a Hati or a spinel.”

Seriously, …….

I saw some bamboo by the riverbank where I went to collect clay today, so I cut down about 20 of them. I thought I might be able to use them for river sports one day, but it looks like they will be useful soon.

At any rate, I went out of the remote hut and lit up the surroundings with the magic of [Light]. Before I knew it, the sun had set and it was completely dark outside. In the backyard, I cut a piece of bamboo about 3 meters long. I chose a rod with a large tip because it looks like a big frog.

I asked Navi to make a 4-strand line from spider silk, but it looked like a PE line. This line is also quite thick. Then, I tied a needle without a barb and finished.

“Luke, what are you going to do with ‘it’?”

Iris, who had been watching silently, finally opened her mouth…… and I was nervous about whether she was going to stop me, but I want those cold eyes to stop.

“Frog fishing….”

“I heard it tastes good, right? But it’s not something a prince would do, is it?”

I know, right?

This Iris girl dared to call me  ‘prince.

“Yes, but it’s also an excellent diet food.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Because it has less fat than beef, pork, or chicken.”

I searched for frogs with [Search Around] in the neighborhood, and found them swarming along the canal.

“Navi, these canals aren’t sewers, are they?”

“♪ Yes. It’s not for drinking water, but it’s a waterway for farming and washing clothes. The duke’s house has a channel for watering the gardens and lawns.”

“Everyone stay here, so they don’t get alarmed and run away.”

“I won’t do it even if you ask me to!”

That’s what Iris’s chilly eyes were about earlier. …… Frogs are creepy.

It’s convenient for me, using  [covert] and [ninja foot], to get close, keeping an eye on the MAP, and getting rid of any signs. I used a 3-meter-long rod and a 3-meter-long line, giving me a range of 6 meters.

I put an ork fillet on the bait and drop it right in front of the frog.

In an instant, the frog was “BAKU BAKU”!

“Wow, it’s heavy!”

I caught one from the channel!

“It’s huge!”

It was not only three times the size of a bullfrog, but four to five times the size.

It was 80 cm long and weighed about 4 kg.

And while it will run away if you get too close, it won’t run away at all if you get only as close as 3 meters away. It seems that I don’t need to be so careful.

“Navi, where’s the weak point? 』\

“♪ The head between the eyes.”

I stomp on the frog with my foot, hold it down, and insert my dagger into the vital spot.

“♪ Ah! That frog had more experience than I expected! I see. There seems to be some pretty intense competition for survival, including cannibalism, in that irrigation canal.”

“So the ones we have now are the survivors of that intense competition.”

They are harmless frogs, but they have as much experience as orcs in the field.

Since we knew that, this could be our chance.

I called up Mifa, who was only level 8, and Lara, who had never been on a hunt before.

The three of us formed a party and started earning experience.

“Mifa just needs to be there. Lara, you’ll be going frog fishing with me. you look cute in your pants.”

I had told Lara to come in clothes she wouldn’t mind getting dirty, but it seems she has put on her riding pants.

“ Luke onii-chan, are you going to fish for moo moo frogs?”

Moo moo frogs?……. I’m not certain.

“They’re harmless, so don’t be afraid of them. But if frogs gross you out, just watch.”

When Luke was a child, he used to have a tree frog, much smaller than this one, in his hand and make Miss Lulutier cry by chasing her around. I’m sure many girls don’t like the creepy looking frogs, like Iris and Lulutier, so …… I won’t force her to do it.

Oh, I have the urge to take a frog and chase Iris around with it. …… I can’t, I seem to be under the influence of Luke’s memories again.

“I’d like to try it.”

“If you don’t feel comfortable with frogs, you don’t have to do it.”

After I had shown her twice how to catch a frog by example, I approached the pole and handed it to Lara at a distance of 6 meters.

Lara-chan tried several times to swing the rod, but she couldn’t throw it well and the bait did not fall in front of the frog.

She kept throwing the bait into the frog without giving up, and the bait landed in a good spot.

Snap!

It bites fast again. …… It’s hungry, isn’t it?

“Brother Luke! It’s pulling me!”

“Don’t lose, pull up!”

Lara struggles against the frog, which tries to swim away from her in the channel.

Well, it is still a frog weighing only about 4 kg. she managed to catch it by herself.

I was holding the frog Lara had caught by stepping on it with my foot, but I wasn’t sure what to do after that.

We’re killing a living creature, even if it’s a frog and I don’t think a six year old should be allowed to do it.

“Lara, can you stab it?”

“I’ll try.”

I handed her the dagger and she inserted it between his eyes with an “Ei!”, just like I did.

“Ah! Onii-chan! Lara’s level has been raised!”

Apparently, Lara seems to be okay with killing. Perhaps she was more happy that her level had been raised than depressed that she had killed a living creature.

“Congratulations, Lara! Let’s go frog fishing to raise your level a little more.”

“Luke, I’ve raised my level too! ♪”

“Congratulations, Mifa. Let’s go up one more level and tomorrow we will go to the temple and get our first job.”

“Get a job?…… I’m so happy! ♪”

Mifa was also very happy because it was just the right time for her to raise her level.

They both look so happy and their smiles are adorable!

“I’d like to try frog fishing too, Luke-sama!”

“I’d like to try a little frog fishing too, if that’s the case.”

Erica, who had naturally been following Mifa, seemed to be interested in frog fishing. But Emilia too?

Iris, as expected, seems to dislike frogs and does not want to participate.

The party broke up when Mifa reached level 10 and we shifted our focus to efficiency, with me, Erica, and Emilia fishing and Lara just stopping them and letting them monopolize the experience solo.