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Volume 12, Side Story 3
Volume 12, Side Story 3
Kankanwa 12-12 Marc-kun, Hang in There 4
The sub-title “12-12” means that this quiet story is about the end of Chapter 12, Episode 12.
Please be careful.
“Come on, Marc, this is our home from now on!”
“Wow, that’s great, Dad! It’s even better than when we lived in the village!”
A house was built in a pioneer village.
The one who opened the door was Marcel, Eugene’s slave and a member of the dog people. He was holding the hand of his son, Marc. Both of them had big bright smiles on their faces that resembled that of a Golden Retriever who just received a new toy.
They walked in, unable to control the wagging of their tails. Nina, Marcel’s wife and a member of the cat people, was following right behind them. It was obvious that she was also in a good mood.
Eugene had promised that the first house built in the settlement would be for Marcel. The beastman family finally moved out of the tent and into their new home, accepting the proposal of Blaise, a former third level adventurer who is now the deputy village chief in the settlement without Eugene.
“It smells like wood, Dad!”
“Yes, it does, Marc.”
“Wood feels much better than dirt, Mom!”
“Yes, it’s nice, isn’t it?
Nina still seems to turn “nya” into “meow.”
Marc is now 13 years old. He will be 14 in six months, in the fall. He’s in the middle of puberty, but he doesn’t seem to be in a rebellious phase. Or perhaps it’s just because he’s excited about the new house.
Thomas, a woodworker, and his two assistants have built a cozy, one-story cabin house.
One room is an earthen floor with a kamado. There seems to be an underground cellar in one corner. There is also a dining room and kitchen with a spacious lower ground storage area.
The other room has a wooden floor. This is the living room and bedroom.
The house is a newly built wooden 1DK with no bath and shared toilet.
In modern Japan, this housing would note be sufficient for a family of three, but the beastfolk happily spread out the carpet and put down their belongings.
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Nina, who was in charge of cooking, seemed to like the storage space under the floor with a wooden lid dug into the dirt floor.
Incidentally, in addition to the cooking stove in the mud room, there is a common cooking area in the village. The kamado is used for keeping food warm, simple cooking, and for heating. It had a very similar function as a hearth in old Japan.
“So this is our home from now on!”
“That’s right. Even Nina seems to like it, since it is in a forested area.”
Nina nodded her head in agreement to Marcel’s words. She is a quiet woman. No, she seemed to be curious about the arrangement of the cooking utensils and dishes. She is a fickle woman. Just like a cat.
“Yeah, Dad, I think that’s a good idea too!”
“With Blaise and the others here, we won’t have to worry about any monsters. Besides…”
“Besides what?”
“I don’t know about Liese, but I’ve got three… young girls here, you know?”
Marcel smirks as he looks at Marc’s face and tells him. It’s not as if Marcel, a married man, is interested in young girls, of course.
Marc’s shoulders bounced with excitement.
“So, who’s the one you got eyes for, hmm? Why don’t you tell your father, I won’t tell anyone,” my father and mother began to pursue.
Although it depends on the race, in this world, once you turn 15, you are considered an adult. In other words, Marc would be an adult in a year and a half.
In the rural areas of this world, it would not be surprising if his parents, the people around him, or even he himself had decided to marry.
This is probably why Marcel and Nina are listening to their son’s thoughts. They are not amused by Marc’s first love, or by the peculiar symptoms of adolescence that make him nervous about the presence of an older woman around him. Maybe.
“I-I think I’d better get to training now!”
Marc ran out of the house. His face was red. No, I can’t tell because of his fur.
“It must be nice to be so youthful.”
“Youth, nya.”
Marc was seen off by his parents with warm eyes.
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“Yes, Marc, don’t wait for me to make a move! Step forward and deflect!”
The deputy village chief Blaise’s voice echoed through the training ground.
The morning training, led by Blaise, a former 3rd level adventurer, was crowded with the addition of five men. The single men of the Second Frontier Group were particularly enthusiastic about their training.
In a remote area surrounded by large forests, strength is directly related to popularity. This is especially true in rural areas and settlements. If you are not strong, you may die. It is only natural for a woman to choose a man who can protect her.
“Damn, you’re pretty good, Marc!”
Having been trained by former 3rd level adventurers, Marc was able to fight reasonably well.
“Alright, that’s enough! Marc, you’re starting to look pretty good, aren’t you?”
Blaise stroked Marc’s head as he let out a ragged breath.
Before he can reply, Marc collapses and crawls on all fours in exhaustion. He is now a dog with clothes on.
“It’s all about physical strength. If you can do about this much, then you can definitely make it as an adventurer.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’d say you’re at the ninth level.”
Blaise said to Marc and glanced at the other former adventurers.
“Yes, you can register at the ninth level, or at least the tenth level. You are very polite, so if you steadily complete your requests, you should be able to move up to 7th level without any problems. If you continue to train like this, I think you’ll be able to get to the 5th level early on, but from there on, you’ll have to go to…”
The person who answered Blaise was a former 5th level adventurer party leader. They quit being adventurers in their late twenties and became pioneers because they hit a wall when they were promoted to 4th level.
10th to 8th level adventurers are newcomers. They are novices who can do a fair amount of fighting, but their tasks are more focused on chores and manual labor.
Not everyone can be promoted to 7th level, as the rate of completion of requests and the response to the client are taken into consideration. This is one of the barriers, but the people training with him assured him that Marc would be fine.
Adventurers of the seventh through fifth levels were the most numerous, and as such are the most common. Each of them had developed their own ways to fight and were proficient enough in that field.
To move up to the fourth level, in addition to trust, strength was also an indicator. This was the biggest obstacle for the adventurers aiming for promotion.
A party of former 5th level adventurers, the Red Lotus Flame Hell.
They were in their late twenties when they were finally promoted to 5th level, but there was no way to move up to 4th level. They were able to fulfill their requests and earn the trust of their employers, but their combat power was never able to reach the threshold for the 4th level.
It is often said that getting promoted to the 4th level is the difference between ordinary people and those born with real talent. There are some barriers that cannot be overcome by effort alone.
They stopped trying to get stronger and looked for a new job, taking advantage of the high level of trust from the guild. And that’s how they found this pioneering group.
“In the end, it’s all up to him. Marc, next time you see a monster, do you want to try fighting it?”
“Yes!”
Marc answered cheerfully, wagging his tail as if he had regained all his lost tenacity.
When the settlement was attacked by a group of goblins and orcs, Marc had to fend them off with a crossbow However, he had no experience in close combat with monsters. He had not been allowed to do so by Blaise, his mentor. Well, it was because of the excessive strength of the settlement.
Marc smiles happily as if he’s been accepted as a full-fledged member of the team.
Some people were watching him from behind a tree.
They were Marc’s parents, Marcel and Nina, who were watching the results of their training with narrowed eyes.
Then there were three in the shadow of another tree.
The needlewoman’s apprentices were taken aback by Marc’s appearance.
One of them was drooling as she looked at Marc’s proud smile.
□ □ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □
“Hey, hey, are you okay?”
“I didn’t know he was going to be like that…”
“I can’t believe he’s that cute! …I’m going to eat you, Marc.”
“What? What do you mean, “cute”? You don’t mean like a pet? Sexually?”
“Oh, that? It’s rare for a man and a beast to be married, but it’s not unheard of, and they’re only… four and a half years apart, so it’s not that strange.”
“Really…?”
“Fluffy fur! Pure eyes! Honest tail! If I attacked him, he would shake and shake, but he would not fight back with force because he’s too gentle, and he would look at me with eyes that say, “Please don’t do this…”And when that happens, I’ll say, “Don’t be afraid. I’m sure you’re not the only one.” Oh!”
“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.”
“Hey, hey, why don’t you ask her out on a date instead of forcing her? Don’t rush into anything, just get to know each other, okay?”
“Mmm-hmm. Well, you have to ask her out on a private date first.”
“What’s with the creepy smile? We’re on a date. Don’t push me down just because no one’s around.”
“What should I do… and should I talk to someone about it…?”
□ □ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □
“Okay, training is over! The next step is to go fetch water, and then maybe do some farming today. It’s not my turn to explore. It’s not my turn to explore, so maybe I’ll just help Thomas and the others with their construction. I’ll do my best!”
Marc wagged his tail and headed to the watering hole in a good mood.
‘Is it the farm work that Marcel is leading, or is it the construction site of the family dwelling? I’m carefree about today’s work.’
He is oblivious to the looming danger.
Marc is thirteen and a half years old.
It will be a while before Marc understands the word “established fact.”
An untainted boy looking for a future path is about to change from boy to adult at puberty.
Eugene is absent, but the settlement is at peace today.
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