Saving Labor Turns Everything To Shit

“Was it Mr. Wijel?”

“Please lower your form of address.”

No matter how I looked at it, this was something I had to address.

“You called me a divine messenger, but… are royals below that?”

“I know you are no ordinary person. The goddess’s radiance flows from your body… it dazzles the eyes so much I can hardly look straight at you.”

So that kind of visual effect was stuck on me?

I glanced down at myself—nothing unusual. Beni met my eyes and shook her head.

So I looked to Debik; he nodded. The conclusion: I had a neon sign only beastkin could see.

“Come on, Lady Goddess, isn’t this a bit much?”

I voiced a little complaint, but of course no answer came.

“Phew… so that’s how you instantly recognized me as that divine messenger or whatever?”

“Indeed. The will of the god is deep and vast. Please… lead the beastkin onto the right path!”

Wijel of the Sain Tribe—his bulk rivaled Debik’s, but he looked far nimbler. And not just Wijel; all the Sain who came with him were only a bit smaller, but just as formidable.

I took a count—easily more than two hundred.

“How many did you bring?”

“Our entire tribe will move here.”

“…So, how many is that…?”

“A little under two thousand.”

A curse rose to the tip of my tongue. I was already busy preparing the mana suppressants—actually, no, maybe not?

Come to think of it, the slaves were preparing the ingredients. All I had to do was infuse mana and manufacture. Still—two thousand was a lot. It meant making twenty thousand more pills.

And if they moved, others might move as well.

“It won’t be only the Sain Tribe coming, will it?”

“Correct. Various tribes who live alongside us plan to migrate with us.”

“…And how do you intend to endure the Demon God’s Moon?”

“I heard from my friend Debik. That you possess the power to suppress mana.”

I had no such power. I was just smashing it down with medicine. When I told him that, Wijel roared with laughter, saying even that was a blessing.

He insisted on seeing everything positively—under the banner of “divine messenger.” Awkward.

There were issues of living space and the outer curtain wall to build. And if many beastkin crowded in, nearby flora and fauna would surely be devastated.

So there was a lot to consider.

“How have you been living up to now?”

“We hunt monsters and eat them. Eating them raw causes us no trouble.”

Thinking of how that monster meat tasted before made my stomach turn, but I kept a straight face and said:

“Monsters aren’t infinite. What then?”

“We dig up tree roots. We mostly boil them long with meat and eat them together… Why do you ask?”

“Are the trees all right after that?”

“…They’re fine. Trees in the Forest of the Demon Dragon regrow quickly.”

“This isn’t the Forest of the Demon Dragon, though…?”

“…”

“…”

We stared at each other in silence for a while. Just then Vincent came running out from the manor at a frantic pace, froze at the sight of the Sain, and Beni went to him at my signal to hear the situation. I turned to Wijel and said:

“Could you prevent movement out of the Forest of the Demon Dragon?”

“…We should. But surely it’s fine if all my kin cross over, no? It is our role to protect the divine messenger.”

I told him I’d never asked for such a role, but he wouldn’t budge. He declared his intent to come protect me no matter what, so with a deep sigh I made a request.

“Then please ensure that the other tribes don’t come. Let’s settle on that.”

“Very well.”

Wijel wore the victor’s smile. My lack of power was bitter. I assigned the area behind the castle I was building as space for the Sain to live—this only after barely persuading Wijel, who wanted to pitch camp in the manor courtyard to be close to me.

I thought it was reassuring—if they stayed in the woods, people wouldn’t easily see them—but that soon became another worry.

Beni returned with a report.

“S-she says the regular procession set for ten days from now… will be moved up. Her Highness the Princess will arrive in three days…”

“Why… why…? What’s the reason?”

“…They’re out of medicinal ingredients. This time they’re coming with several mercenary companies, and they sent word in advance…”

Beni smiled awkwardly; the sky looked yellow to me.

When it rains, it pours.

Still, with three days’ grace, I resolved to prepare thoroughly.

“D—dismissed!!”

The demonic camp had lately been seething with discontent over poor results.

“Hesna, why can’t you kill the Hero?”

“He comes back like a zombie!”

At the words of Dias, a demon duke with five horns, Hesna—also a five-horned demon duke—snapped back.

Perhaps it wasn’t the answer he wanted.

With a fierce aura rising, the demon duke pressed Hesna again:

“If we keep dawdling like this, the Demon King will be enraged. How will you withstand that wrath?”

“We’re too short on demons. What is the rear thinking, that they won’t send forces forward?”

“Do not presume to divine the Demon King’s will! You need only be faithful to your role!”

With that thunderous shout, the sculptures all around cracked. Unfazed, Hesna dragged a chair over, sat, and said:

“If you’re going to posture with high-handed threats, then I could just stop—and we can both ride this into ruin together, how about that?”

Dias, the snarling demon duke, looked at Hesna and spoke in a calmer tone.

“It’s only on your front that the Hero is flourishing. On my side, I took two Heroes’ heads. If you have no results… you’ll be deemed incompetent and punished as well.”

Startled, Hesna asked:

“You killed two? When? How?”

“I told them—behead them so they can’t come back like zombies, as you put it. Thanks to that, two Heroes were disposed of. There were losses, but who cares about low-rank demons?”

“So basically you just pressed on with numbers and took their heads, right?”

At Hesna’s jeer, Dias curled a rotten smile.

“Do likewise. We must seize the Middle Realm as soon as possible—before He grows angry…”

“I don’t know what the Demon God is thinking…”

“Don’t blaspheme. Show results, Hesna.”

“Fine. This time… I’ll bring back two heads, too.”

So signs of a shift on the battlefield began to appear.

Meanwhile, at the same time—

“Welcome, Your Highness…”

Seeing the man who greeted her—the Viscount of Ingrad—with cheeks so hollow he could have collapsed at any moment, Princess Riana began to worry.

“He must have known I would make unreasonable demands… what should I do…?”

The viscount looked like someone it was only natural to fret over. As the empire’s apothecaries ran smoothly, she had passed happy days, cultivating longing beneath her smiles—but now, seeing the Viscount of Ingrad so thin as to be unrecognizable, she could only feel resentful at herself.

Yet the man before her mustered a smile and received her, and alongside gratitude she felt an emotion she couldn’t name—then the Viscount of Ingrad spoke.

“You haven’t had any health issues, I trust?”

“My health is being well maintained. It’s just that lately there were things that needed pushing.”

“I brought him bad news and made things hard for him…”

Princess Riana thought the Viscount had felt burdened by her aggressive business operations. Moreover, since she had told him in advance the size of the party she had brought this time—and planned to ferry ingredients several times even by pushing—she now thought to change the plan after seeing him.

“I’m relieved that you look well, at least.”

“Please care for your own body first… you kind man.”

Her tender thought continued, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the Viscount’s efforts to appear hale before her.

Meanwhile—

“Why is she looking at me like that? Is she displeased because I thinned out after a few hard days?”

I felt a needless worry, but work came first.

“I’ve prepared your room and bathwater, and cleaned the clothes you left last time—please make yourself comfortable.”

“In your condition… I’m grateful for the consideration.”

What was wrong with my condition?

Baffled by Princess Riana’s reaction, I could only give an awkward smile; then I had to watch even Agnes look at me with pity and escort the princess away.

After confirming she vanished around the corner, I quietly asked Beni and Allena, who were assigned to me today:

“Do I look strange somehow?”

Beni gave an awkward smile; Allena covered her mouth and whispered:

“At night… perhaps you’ve been too enthusiastic—you’ve lost some weight.”

“Ahem, I see…?”

I’d been eating diligently enough, but clearly “castle” life drained stamina. On top of that, finishing the inner keep and building out the outer works had me downing a lot of mana-recovery potions—maybe I’d triggered something like side effects.

Mirrors counted as expensive items in this world, so I’d put them all away. With no choice, I asked Beni and headed to the valuables room; the “me” reflected there was someone-not-me, and I understood why the princess had looked at me like that.

“Hrm, being lean looks good on me…”

I tried to console my scrawny self, but I was certainly unimpressive. I’d never been that handsome to begin with, and being skinny made it worse. I seriously considered exercise, a balanced diet, and lowering the frequency of my sex life—then one thought came.

“Life… isn’t it fine as long as it’s fun?”

In the end, I showed indomitable will—no compromise on the sex-life front. After checking my appearance, I waited outside the door with Agnes, chatting until the princess finished dressing. How long has it been?

With hair still damp, the princess strode out and asked me urgently:

“What on earth is that castle I can see outside?!”

She had seen the castle I was building on the hill. I grinned and said:

“If you’re ready for a tour, shall we go?”

At my words, the princess nodded vigorously.