Village Resident Recruitment #1
A familiar situation replayed itself. After killing the Dollmaker, teddy bears came pouring out. Among them, only one monster had regained its original form—and that was Lionheart, the one I'd rescued just yesterday.
"Truly... thank you!"
Lionheart slammed his head into the ground in thanks, just like yesterday.
Lionheart kept banging his head on the ground nonstop. Feeling burdened by it, I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. Even after standing, he kept bowing at the waist, expressing his gratitude.
"I am truly grateful! As I said before, I will repay this favor twofold!"
"Lionheart. About repaying that favor... No matter how I think about it, you won't figure out how to become the ruler of this labyrinth—"
"That's not true! Just trust me once! I'll find a way, no matter the means, and live up to your expectations!"
Lionheart cut me off, shouting desperately for me to believe in him. I let out a deep sigh and continued.
"I never expected anything from you in the first place, so what expectations? And don't interrupt—I wasn't done talking."
"S-sorry...!"
"Anyway. About the original request I made... Even if you could figure it out, it'd take way too long. So I'm changing how you repay the favor. Something more useful to me right now just came to mind."
"Something more useful...? What is it?"
"It's not hard. Just become a resident of the desert village we're planning to build."
"Become a village resident...? That's really all you want? You could be greedier and make bigger demands."
"Nah. If you become a village resident, I'll be plenty satisfied."
"...You're a truly desireless one."
I didn't want anything else. I couldn't want anything else. Lionheart just wasn't a monster capable enough to fulfill greater demands. So I was keeping my request within realistic bounds.
"Understood! As you wish, I'll become a village resident!"
"Thanks. Oh, and Lionheart—you know I'm an explorer, right?"
"I suspected as much. Your power is weakened, after all."
I explained my trait: the Helper Trait and my taming ability. Then I asked if I could tame him.
"You want to tame this humble one? Of course, I permit it!"
Lionheart agreed readily. No need for the Puppeteer's mind control. He was already quite friendly toward me. With that, I placed my hand on the back of his head.
The SS-grade monsters handled the logging. S-grade ones could chop apple trees too, but as Omega said, the wood was so tough they struggled.
"Kieeeek!"
"Prurrr...!"
"Kwaaak!!!"
As Kinogine Arachne swung her thin threads to fell a tree, the Poison Apples clinging to it screamed and rained down.
Of course, we weren't cutting down every tree. This was a precious apple farm. We planned to log only about half. Any Poison Apples that died in the process? Unavoidable. We couldn't transplant them to other trees.
My tamed Poison Apple said that if too many clung to one tree, it rotted quickly.
"If they can't meet conditions to unleash their full power, they usually die after a few days."
"That's the plan. Some might lash out in a final frenzy anyway."
The fallen Poison Apples. As I prepared to slaughter them, Mummy Skeleton suddenly burst out and sucked them all into its body.
"I am... delicious..."
Oh right—Mummy Skeleton loved eating Poison Apples raw. No need for cleanup now. Feed all the fallen ones to it.
After selectively logging the best-quality trees for a good while...
"Poof poof. Too much hassle to transport, so I'll install a warp device here too."
Omega scouted a spot and set up the device.
"Omega, is it okay to install a warp device here? What if other monsters use it?"
"No issue. I can set it to registered users only. Poof poof."
"Cool, good to know."
Following Omega's guidance, I and my monsters registered as users. Poison Apples? Skipped—they had no use for it.
After Omega headed to the Oasis Shelter, I stopped by the hideout to gather the monsters.
"You called, yang?"
"Merino, you don't need to come."
"Yang yang!"
I scanned the assembled monsters and slowly spoke. Once the desert village was complete, I'd pre-select monsters to migrate there. The chosen ones would help Omega build it.
"Pii..."
"Zapan..."
At first, the mood was reluctant. Not a single monster wanted to part from me.
"Guys. Even after moving to the desert village, we can meet anytime via warp devices."
It wasn't forever. More like moving next door. I'd visit often too. Adding that eased the tension; their anxious faces brightened.
"Now, announcing the three heading to the desert village."
I took in all the monsters once more. Just three migrants—sending too many would leave us short for labyrinth exploration. We could tame more residents later.
Scanning them, I named the list.
"Anubis Dragon."
"...Got it. Parting from you and Gauntlet sucks, but that desert's my old home. Pharaoh Devil's there too, so I won't be lonely."
"Mummy Skeleton."
"I like sand. Accepted."
"Finally, Snake Head."
"Orooo?"
These three—ones least likely to object. Anubis and Mummy Skeleton especially; desert was their homeland. Snake Head... well, it wasn't pulling its weight lately, so demotion.
Snake Head hung its head in defeat after slacking off. I patted its shoulder consolingly and activated the warp device right away.
"You three start heading to the desert daily from today to help Omega."
"And I'm heading to the desert now too..."
I turned back to the monsters.
"Kinogine, Niara—you two come with me. Gotta recruit village residents."
"Yes, Father!"
"As expected, my son wants to always stick with this mom? Such a clingy baby... so cute, hehe."
"...Niara, you stay here. Princess, you come instead."
"Ung!"
"Mommy's sorry, son..."
Leaving Niara at the hideout, we warped to the desert. Today's agenda: recruit village residents. Tame every monster we encounter while roaming and make them residents.
Normally I'd avoid direct action for safety, but the desert was fine. Sturdy Solorb was there.