“Alright, I think this is a good spot.”
Rock, leading the way, made the call after surveying the landscape.
“We should be able to successfully divert the mountain deer herd from here.”
Making a galloping herd pull a sharp, ninety-degree turn was impossible. Instead, they had to guide them into a gentle curve to change their trajectory. The terrain before them was perfect for that purpose.
It was a drop-off of about two meters. It wasn't steep enough to be a cliff, but it wasn't exactly a slope either.
If they could steer the herd here and force them to head west, the animals would likely just keep running in that direction.
“Listen up! The four of us need to stay in a single line, keeping a steady distance so we can guide them properly. Put your backs into it!”
“You got it!”
Jin and the others spurred their Golem horses toward the clouds of dust rising in the distance. The gap between them vanished in heartbeats.
“Alright, turn! Now, slow down and let them catch up to us. Once they’re close, match their speed. Then we’ll gradually shift them toward the west.”
Rock’s instructions were precise, a testament to his past aspiration to become a ritter.
The herd of mountain deer soon caught up. The four men skillfully handled their Golem horses, synchronizing their pace with the stampede.
“Good! That’s it! Keep it up!”
Such coordination was only possible thanks to the Golem horses, which allowed for instantaneous speed adjustments with a single twist of the accelerator. Had they been using real horses, achieving this level of teamwork would have required years of training.
Rock really is impressive, Jin thought with genuine admiration as he operated Koma at the rear. While he didn't intend to lose to anyone when it came to craftsmanship, he knew he wasn't cut out for this kind of tactical maneuvering.
“Push a little more to the right!”
At Rock’s command, the Golem horses shifted their course. In response, the herd of mountain deer veered right along with them.
“Keep going until we reach the drop-off!”
The group charged toward the two-meter ledge at a forty-five-degree angle. As expected, the lead deer balked at the drop and veered even further to the right.
“It’s working! Keep guiding them for a bit!”
They continued to lead the herd along the edge of the drop, drawing them further and further away from the village. Once they had put enough distance between the animals and the settlement, Rock called out again.
“Alright, that should do it. Let’s head back!”
Taking a wide arc so as not to startle the deer again, the four men turned back toward Kaina Village. The threat of the herd trampling the village had been neutralized.
“That was incredible, Rock,” Jin said, pulling up alongside him.
“As expected of the boss! I didn't think it would go this smoothly!”
“Exactly.”
The other men joined in, praising Rock in unison.
“Stop it, you’re making me blush. Besides, we don't know for sure that other beasts won't try to get into the village. Let’s get back!”
Clearly embarrassed despite his boisterous nature, Rock twisted the accelerator of his Golem horse and sped off toward the village. Jin and the others followed a moment later.
No further incidents occurred that day. After setting up a watch rotation, the village settled in for the night.
Exhausted from the afternoon’s work, Jin fell into a deep sleep immediately. However, around midnight, a massive tremor shook the earth, jolting him awake.
“W-What was that?!”
Concerned, he stepped outside and saw the mountains to the north glowing with a faint red light. As he watched, the glow faded and eventually vanished. Jin had a frighteningly good idea of what had happened, and he felt a cold sweat break out across his back.
“What was that just now?”
“What on earth was that light?”
“Did the mountain collapse?”
The other villagers, also woken by the tremor, muttered anxiously as they stared at the fading red glow.
“A magic… explosion…”
Those without magical aptitude couldn't feel it, but to Jin, it was unmistakable. Something—or someone—possessing immense magical energy had been defeated. Specifically, their magic core had been destroyed.
A magic core was the central source of power for creatures like magical beasts. Because it controlled all of a creature's mana, if it was destroyed by magic, the energy could run rampant and trigger a violent explosion.
“But for an explosion that size… just how powerful was that magical beast?”
By Jin’s estimation, the mana involved belonged to a creature that, while perhaps not quite a dragon, was damn close to one in terms of raw power. And someone had defeated it. An opponent capable of that was likely beyond Jin’s current ability to fight.
“Could I really handle that with just Water Jet…?”
Even if his Water Jet magic was effective, he was the only one who could use it. If they were faced with multiple enemies of that caliber, he didn't think he could protect the entire village on his own.
“This is… bad.”
However, running away wasn't an option. He refused to abandon this village, which was fast becoming his second home.
“A shelter… that’s it.”
Jin decided that he needed to build a shelter where every villager could take refuge in an emergency.
“I have to start right now.”
Not wanting to cause a panic, Jin began work on the shelter without telling anyone. He chose a rocky area on the outskirts of the village as the site. He summoned the Golems Gon and Gen and gave them their orders.
“Gon, Gen, dig a large hole here. Large enough to hold every person in the village.”
“Understood.”
The two units began to dig immediately. Jin’s decision to reinforce their hands with adamantite paid off; they tore through the hard bedrock with ease.
“Good. Dig deeper.”
He wanted it to be at least ten meters underground.
He used Compression Hardening on the excavated rock to reinforce the interior walls. This allowed them to dig efficiently without leaving piles of loose earth and stone scattered around the entrance.
Because they were digging an angled tunnel, it was a slow process, but it would be far more accessible for the villagers.
“Alright, that’s deep enough. Start excavating the living space. Give it a ceiling height of… let's say three meters.”
Jin stayed by their side, providing constant instructions while reinforcing the walls. The grueling pace began to wear on the Golems, but Jin repaired them on the spot to ensure the work never stopped.
By the time dawn broke, Jin decided to head back to Martha’s house for a moment, leaving Gon and Gen to continue their task.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Onii-cha—?”
Hanna’s eyes went wide the moment she saw him.
“What’s wrong, Onii-chan? You look terrible!”
Startled, Jin looked at his reflection in a basin of water. His eyes were bloodshot and heavy bags had formed under them. It was no wonder Hanna was worried.
“Ah, yeah… I just didn't get much sleep last night.”
Martha stepped into the room and, like Hanna, gasped at Jin’s appearance.
“Jin! What in the world is the matter with you?! If something happens to you, what’s going to become of this village?”
“Huh…?”
Stunned by her sudden outburst, Jin could only stare at her.
“Don't you realize it yet? The scouting, the fences, stopping that stampede yesterday—none of it would have happened without you. Everyone feels safe because you’re here!”
“Because of… me?”
“That’s right. You’re a full-fledged member of this village now. You seem to be trying to shoulder everything on your own, but don't be so distant. In this village, we share the hardships and the joys together.”
Hearing her say that, Jin felt a lump form in his throat.
“Thank you. I…”
Martha placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“You’re clearly sleep-deprived. Go on, get some rest. You’ll feel better once you’ve had a few hours of shut-eye.”
“Thank you,” Jin said again, before stumbling to his bed and collapsing.
“Onii-chan…”
As Hanna watched him with a worried expression, Martha whispered, “Shh, let him sleep for now. We’ll have some warm porridge ready for him when he wakes up.”
Martha then led Hanna out of the house.
After five hours of deep, dreamless sleep, Jin ate a combined breakfast and lunch before rushing back to the excavation site. Part of the rush was to hide his lingering embarrassment.
“They’ve made a lot of progress…”
Without Jin there to guide them, Gon and Gen’s movements had become somewhat less efficient. He performed a quick round of maintenance on them and inspected the progress. It looked like the shelter was about eighty percent complete.
“Alright, we should make it in time.”
However, the moment when Jin’s hard work would be put to the test arrived sooner than expected.
“Jin! There you are! We’ve got a situation!”
Rock came sprinting toward him, gasping for air.
“Rock? What’s happened?”
“It’s… from the northern mountains…”
“The northern mountains?”
“…Something unbelievable is heading this way…”
“What? Is it a monster? A giant magical beast?”
“Just… come and see for yourself.”
Putting the shelter work on hold, Jin took Gon and Gen and followed Rock to the protective fence at the north end of the village.
“Hey, Jin. What do you make of that?”
The lookout, Tom, pointed toward the horizon.
“…Eh?”
A young girl was approaching. She wore a light blue dress with a white apron, and her silky black hair fluttered in the breeze.
“Is that…?”
The girl spotted Jin from a distance. For a split second, her form seemed to blur, and then—
“Father!”
In the blink of an eye, she was clinging to Jin.
There was a long, stunned silence before—
“Father?!”
The collective shout of the villagers echoed through the clear mountain air.