That morning, I headed out to the outskirts of Village Five with Rusty.
Our purpose was a Magic Beast Subjugation—or perhaps I should say I was there to observe one, since I wasn't part of the main combat force.
The primary force was a subjugation team assembled in Village Five. They were joined by a group of highly motivated elves from the surrounding area who had been suffering from the beasts' predations. Galf was in command of the unit. He was quite popular in Village Five, so despite my being the one to appoint him, not a single person complained.
On the other hand, there were quite a few people who didn't understand why I was the one doing the appointing in the first place. I am the Village Head, after all... but between my lack of formal attire and my general lack of name recognition, I suppose it couldn't be helped. I really need to work on my public image a bit more.
The hunt itself ended without much fanfare. The herd of magic beasts we were targeting entered the team's encirclement, but for some reason, they suddenly turned and fled in the opposite direction at full tilt.
Since magic beasts typically have a habit of charging at the weakest individual they can find, Galf and the others were caught off guard by the idea of them retreating. We all wondered why they had run away. Given what I'd heard of their habits, I was certain they would come charging straight at me.
Was it because Rusty was by my side? I suppose it makes sense that they wouldn't have the courage to charge toward a Dragon...
But I was wrong. The actual cause was my scent. Or, to be precise, it wasn't my own scent, but the scent of Kuro and his pack that had rubbed off on me. Before I left, they had acted spoiled and pleaded with me to take them along, and the magic beasts were apparently terrified of the scent I'd picked up then.
It was a fresh discovery for me, as I’d never seen monsters or magic beasts flee because of a scent before. Then again, maybe they had been fleeing all along and I just hadn't noticed.
I wondered if the reason Lu and Ann occasionally hit me with Purification Magic was to strip away that intimidating scent. I'll have to find the right time to ask them. It's a delicate issue, though, so I'll need to prepare myself mentally first.
I also decided to ignore the possibility that the magic beasts were terrified of the scent of a Dragon rather than the wolves.
At any rate, while the targeted herd fled, a flock of wyverns nearby finished them off, bringing the mission to a close. All I had really done was have a picnic with Rusty. Still, she seemed happy, so I didn't mind. It was a nice change of pace for me as well.
Hm? Rusty mentioned that if the magic beasts had tried harder, our time together would have lasted longer. That might be true, but for the sake of the local residents, we had to deal with them quickly.
Ah, so that’s why she’d been glaring at the wyverns. They’d been so spooked that they fled back to their nests immediately. I’ll have to make sure to convey my apologies and thanks to them later.
"Hey, Rusty. Why don't we take the long way home?"
That night, upon returning to the village, I found that a problem had arisen.
The root of the issue was the lunch I’d packed for Rusty and me—a Handmade Bento. I had anticipated that the other wives might feel left out, so I had prepared a large quantity of the same food and left it behind for everyone's lunch.
However, it hadn't been enough. Why? Because the entire village population had decided to dig in. Apparently, even Kuro's pack and Zabuton’s group had wanted a taste.
"Fine, I get it," I told them. "I can't do anything more tonight, but tomorrow we'll have a village-wide picnic. I'll make bentos for everyone."
The next morning, I was up at dawn. Along with the High Ogre Maids, we prepared a massive amount of food and headed to the village Ranch Area. I’d agonized over the location, but this was the only spot large enough to accommodate everyone. It didn't feel much different from our usual lunches, but I thought the casual atmosphere was very much like us.
I gave a quick greeting to the horses and cows to apologize for borrowing their space. We spread out mats on the flat ground and laid white sheets over them to create a comfortable place to relax.
"You know, you can spread out a bit more," I suggested. "Feel free to lay the sheets wherever you like."
Since we were in the spacious Ranch Area, there was no need to huddle together. I thought it might be better if the families gathered in their own groups, especially since I had prepared enough bentos for every single person—and, of course, portions for Kuro's pack and Zabuton’s group too.
In the end, no one moved to a distant spot. Oh well.
I began distributing the food. The staple of the bento was the Burger. We had Ham Burgers, Bacon Burgers, Egg Burgers, Tomato Burgers, Chicken Burgers, Fish Burgers, Meat Burgers, Katsu Burgers, Fruit Burgers, and many more. Sometimes I accidentally referred to them as sandwiches, but I’d decided that anything consisting of bread with a slit stuffed with ingredients would be called a burger. Therefore, these were burgers.
"By the way," I added, "if you’re eating the beef burgers, try to keep them out of sight of the cows. I hadn't decided on the location when I was packing these. Sorry."
For drinks, we had canteens filled with water or tea. No sake—it was a picnic, after all. Though I told Donovan that if he'd brought his own personal stash, he was free to drink it.
Since I was worried the prepared bentos might not be enough, I also brought along gear to cook on-site. It was simple, but we set up a barbecue. Given the setting, I decided to focus on seafood, offering things like shrimp, scallops, and turban shells for everyone to enjoy. Of course, we grilled plenty of vegetables as well.
"Draim, keep an eye on the heat. Giral, you’re on the grill. Guronde and Gral, your job is to praise Giral’s hard work."
I turned my attention to the younger ones. "To the children who have finished eating: don't wander off alone. Also, the outhouses are just a short walk away. The goats might try to block the path, so don't wait until the last possible second to go. If they're being persistent, ask the horses or cows for help... though I suppose Zabuton's Children are there, so it should be fine."
I’d brought along plenty of things to play with as well. "Do you want to play with the balls? That's fine, just make sure you don't bother the people who are still eating. Let Kuro's children join in too."
Once I’d finished giving out the general instructions, I decided it was finally time for me to eat. It seemed my wives had been waiting for me this whole time. Even Kuro, Yuki, and Zabuton had held off on eating until I was ready.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's enjoy our meal."
As we settled in, the Wives began organizing themselves. "I'll sit here, you sit there, and the children can be around this area..."
"Please stop trying to define social hierarchies and power dynamics by how close you sit to me," I sighed. "This isn't a Lion's Harem."
Draim looked over at us and chuckled. "Isn't it basically the same thing?"