The Cullen's Fang
The more the knights and mercenaries swung their weapons, the fewer Cullens swirled overhead.
The creatures that had charged at the scent of humans according to their instincts fled just as quickly.
They had realized that their sharp fangs and leather alone could never defeat humans armed from head to toe. That quick judgment was also why Cullens, considered among the weakest of monsters, had managed to survive in the Black Forest until now.
“Are they gone? Did they really leave?”
“I-I think so.”
Once the last one had vanished, sighs of relief escaped from the people’s lips. Quite a few collapsed right where they stood, their legs giving out beneath them.
“Aigoo, we’re alive.”
“Thank you!”
The workers, who had been thoroughly protected, offered endless words of gratitude to the knights and mercenaries.
Although the attacks had come randomly from above, the knights and mercenaries had fought with everything they had to shield the workers, so the logging team suffered no serious injuries.
A few mercenaries had been scratched by Cullen claws or had their skin torn, but none of the wounds were life-threatening.
Urun checked the injured, the damaged weapons, and the condition of the carpenters in order.
Considering they had been caught off guard by a sudden attack, their defense had been quite solid.
After confirming there were no major casualties, Urun breathed a huge sigh of relief and quickly decided on their next course of action.
Monsters instinctively avoided different races regardless of strength, so multiple species rarely lived together in one place. In other words, the chances of any monster other than Cullens living here were extremely low.
Urun called out to the subordinates who were still scanning the surroundings.
“Collect the Cullen fangs and gather them in one spot! Anyone who takes a fang without permission will be severely punished!”
Cullen fangs were sturdy and commonly used as materials for spears or daggers. However, they were so expensive that ordinary soldiers and even most knights who weren’t nobles could only dream of them.
Disappointment flashed clearly in the mercenaries’ eyes when they heard Urun’s order. They were too busy trying to survive day to day to make weapons from them, but even selling a single fang would easily feed their families for a month.
“Hup!”
“Why won’t this come out!”
Grunts of effort echoed here and there as they worked to yank fangs from the Cullens’ mouths. The carpenters huddled together in the middle, unable to approach the corpses, while the knights and mercenaries were completely absorbed in the exciting task of pulling fangs.
In the end, they collected over one hundred and twenty fangs. Since each Cullen had four fangs, that meant they had taken down at least thirty of them.
“What should we do with the corpses?”
Not only the fangs, but a Cullen’s wings were also highly valued leather.
Urun pondered the subordinate’s question for a moment before placing the sack full of fangs onto the cart. Even though they were fangs, each one was as long as an adult man’s forearm, so the sack was quite heavy. Urun shouted loudly.
“Focus on the Como trees for now! We’ll collect the Cullen corpses on our way back after we finish logging!”
“But other monsters might damage the corpses in the meantime!”
One mercenary who clearly hated to waste the Cullen leather raised his hand and called out.
Urun wasn’t unconcerned about the leather either. But completing the lord’s orders took priority right now.
“We focus on the Como trees.”
At Urun’s firm reply, sighs rose from all around.
Swallowing their regret, the logging team began moving deeper into the Black Forest.
Julia and Monel were far more skilled tailors than expected.
Less than half a day after being ordered to make culottes, the two knocked on the office door with the finished product in hand.
“You already finished them?”
Donghee asked again, staring at the two women standing there with garments draped over their arms.
At the lord’s incredulous question, Julia smiled shyly.
“The design is quite simple, and Julia works very quickly, so we were able to finish faster than expected.”
Even while answering as the representative, Monel made sure to give Julia proper credit.
“That’s amazing!”
Donghee exclaimed sincerely as she lifted the culottes the two had brought.
The pant legs were so wide that unless you looked closely, you wouldn’t realize they were pants at all. They were exactly as she had requested.
“I have to try them on right now!”
When Donghee stood up holding the culottes, Anna rose as well to attend to her.
Donghee, who had been about to say she would try them on alone, quickly changed her mind.
No matter how simple the dress she was currently wearing, she still wasn’t used to taking it off by herself.
The quick-witted Monel immediately led the expectant-looking Julia outside. Julia, who had been hesitantly dragged along without understanding why, finally realized Monel’s intention and hurriedly closed the door.
With Anna’s help, Donghee removed her dress and quickly slipped on the culottes.
“Whoa! These are incredibly comfortable!”
Donghee marveled as she turned this way and that in front of the mirror. The only downside was that the waist drawstring had been placed at the back to better accentuate the silhouette.
She could probably tie it herself, but having it in front would definitely be more convenient.
Donghee wasn’t the only one staring at the culottes with fascination. Anna widened her eyes at the unfamiliar garment and studied it carefully. With the wide legs and pleats at the waist, it looked exactly like a dress unless you examined it closely. It did seem much more subdued compared to the full, umbrella-like skirts of other dresses, though.
After admiring herself from every angle in the mirror, Donghee called Julia and Monel back inside.
The two entered with tense expressions but broke into relieved smiles the moment they saw the lord’s bright face while wearing the culottes.
Donghee spun around toward the two tailors and said,
“Move this drawstring from the back to the front so I can tie it myself.”
“To the front? But then it would be visible…”
Monel said with a flustered look.
“No, it’s fine. Make the strings really pretty so they look like lovely decorations. If you vary the color and shape of the ribbons, just changing the strings would make it look like a completely different design, right?”
“Yes! Understood!”
Julia and Monel answered enthusiastically, thrilled by the lord’s bold instructions.
“Also, please make some tops to go with the culottes. Nothing too tight-fitting, and no excessive frills or lace. Especially don’t add any to the sleeves. It makes movement uncomfortable.”
“Yes!”
The more Donghee spoke, the more the color drained from Anna’s face as she stood nearby.
After all, dressing the lord beautifully was one of her most important duties.
“Oh, and if you have time, make a few formal dresses for going out as well. Feel free to buy whatever materials you need. As I said before, no lace.”
She would also need proper attire for any unexpected official events or when guests arrived.
“B-but for such important garments to be made by us…”
“It’s fine. Just make them suit me. Show me everything you two are truly capable of.”
Honestly, she had no idea where to even go to get dresses made and had no time to go out, so she had spoken casually. But Julia and Monel looked genuinely moved.
“May we really purchase fabric however we like?”
“Yes. While you’re at it, make whatever you want to your heart’s content. Ah! But only after you’ve finished all the children’s clothes first. Understood?”
“Yes! We understand!”
The two women’s energetic replies filled the office.
It was then that a blue window flickered into view, sparkling with thick white letters.
Favorability with the territory residents has reached -50,000p.
The user who cleverly raised favorability using a pair of well-worn work gloves! And they weren't even new. (Slightly stingy.)
For successfully raising favorability by over 20,000 points at an impressive speed, 2,000 Hidden Points will be awarded. Would you like to open the Hidden Shop?
Hidden Shop!
Donghee started to nod in delight but then remembered she wasn’t alone in the room.
“You may leave now. I’ll be looking forward to the results.”
At the lord’s words, the two tailors smiled brightly, bowed, and left the office.
She also told Anna that she wanted to rest for a while before entering her room alone.
Once she was by herself, Donghee called up the status window again. As if it had been waiting, the window immediately displayed the message asking if she wanted to open the Hidden Shop.
She had turned off the status window alarm, so she hadn’t noticed, but it seemed her favorability had risen quite a lot.
With her heart pounding in excitement, Donghee opened the Hidden Shop.
“Yes, open it!”
It was a whopping two thousand points. The largest amount she had received before was one thousand points, so she was incredibly curious what she could get with two thousand.
These are the items and stat options available for purchase with the user’s remaining points. Would you like to check them now?
Donghee nodded quickly.
Here is the list of products available for 2,115 points. Please select a sorting method.
▶ Products from lowest price
▶ Products from highest price
▶ Newest products first
▶ Best-selling products first
▶ Products with the best reviews first
Reviews?
That was a new option.
Did that mean someone besides her had used the Hidden Shop before?
Donghee stared intently at the last option before answering.
“Products with the best reviews first.”
Since she had plenty of points, she didn’t start with the cheapest ones like last time.
Once a sorting method is selected, it cannot be changed easily. If you wish to change it later, you must pay 50p for a sorting fee. Would you like to proceed?
Donghee was speechless at the system’s shameless sales tactics, even trying to charge a sorting fee.
Although irritation surged through her, she had just received two thousand points, so she was feeling quite generous. She leisurely shouted,
“No need to change it. Best reviews, let’s go.”
She was incredibly curious about what kind of people had gone through this process before her.
Had they also woken up and found themselves in this world? Could they go back and forth through the front door to bring items over? The system had said there were no other living beings left in that space—had it been the same for them?
Questions surged up chaotically, tangling her mind into a complete mess.
She was so excited that her heart felt like it might burst right out of her chest.