You can hear the pounding of nails.
　This is the site of Lasse's jack-of-all-trades and ranch, Monster's Delivery.
　The office has been abandoned, so a new one is being built.

　The construction costs are paid for when the master carpenter acted, so we at Lasse are grateful and apologetic.
　Because of this, the salary of Lamia, who regularly goes to help the carpenters, was also used to repay the building expenses.
　But Lamia's salary wasn't very high, and the dragon's income was still an important source of income to pay off the debt.

She had to earn it and pay off her debt. Our masters have their lives to live, so we can't afford to bother them.

　Realizing that it is putting some pressure on their lives, Lasse thinks about how to make more money than they already have.

But as for our carpenters, they are ......

"Lamia Mmm!　Can you carry me down for a minute?

"Yes!

　Lamia hugged the body of the carpenter who was waiting for him in the second floor of his unfinished office from behind, with his tail extended.

"Ooh.

　Then he descends to the ground, holding the carpenter tightly to prevent him from falling off.
　The carpenter's face was relaxed during this process, and he was sincerely enjoying touching a specific part of the lamia.
　In their minds, there was not an ounce of anguish over the deferred payment of construction costs.

It's time for you to take a break, ladies and gentlemen.

　A dryad brings water in a wooden cup with its own vine in a tray.

"Oh!　You guys!　Let's take a little break!

""Hey!"


We also have some fruit that Trent has been collecting in the woods.

　At the master's command, carpenters came out of the newly built office and handed me water and fruit from the dryad.

The dryad's water really tastes so good!

"It's just water.

　The dryads dodge the carpenters' flattery.

"No, it's actually better. It's not like boiling water from a well.

　The master is right, the water prepared by the dryad is not just any water.
　It's not just water. It's special water that has received the dryad's magic.
　The water is enriched with magical power and has a weak recovery effect, and when drunk by a wizard, it can be used as a magic restorative to restore the drained magical power.
　The special water, which would cost a silver coin if bought at a store that sells magical tools, is unconsciously enjoyed by the wizards.

"Master, how long do you expect the house to be finished?

　Lasse asks the resting master the expected completion date.

Well, it's a pretty big house. It's quite a big house, it should take more than half a year to complete, but with the help of your family's demons, it could be a few more months sooner.

　As the master said, the demons of Lasse had voluntarily offered their strength to build a new office.
　To use freshly cut trees as building materials, they need to be dried inside and out.

　That's why the bigger the mansion, the longer it takes to produce the wood used as building materials.
　Furthermore, it rains a lot in the eastern part of the kingdom of Tendo, where Dexi's town is located, during the rainy season.
　That's why it takes a lot of money and time to procure lumber.

　But with the help of the demons in Lasse, that time is greatly reduced.
　The demons cut down the wood for building materials in the Great Demon Forest, which is closed to people due to the presence of demons, and inside a simple hut, the salamanders built a fire and the harpies flapped their wings to send warm air to the wood, making it possible to dry the wood in a short period of time.

　Then demons with tentacles like Trent and bipedal demons like the Minotaur helped to carry the building materials and perform tasks that required several people.
　Smaller demons such as kobolds followed the carpenters' instructions and helped with simple tasks, allowing the professional carpenters to focus on the parts that needed more precision.

Give us some of these guys and we'll get some work done for you.

　The master, pleased with the work of the minotaurs, solicits them in a good mood.

Doesn't that mean less work for you?

"a**h*le, we're hiring you to help us!　You can't steal a craftsman's work that easily.

　That's true too, Lasse thought.
　Like me, professional work is largely based on intuition.
　Even if they teach you how to do it, it's still somehow different from the deftness of their skilled predecessors.
　In order to learn their kind of beautiful skills, you have to take time to find the most suitable procedure for yourself.
　There are as many optimal solutions as there are artisans in the artisan's world.

Then find some good ones. If you want to, you can train them.

"Oh, I was just testing some of the guys that looked good!

　Apparently, master was already interested in scouting and was checking out the candidates.

(If he does well, he can repair the office by himself if it breaks down. That way, the repair cost would be cheap.

　Lasse also had no objection to accepting the master's proposal since he felt it had merit.

"But it's only been a few months, I guess we'll have to let office number two do its job.

　Letting out a sigh, Lasse gazes at the new shack erected out of the corner of his eye.
　It's a shack Lasse had built from broken building materials after he had no place to live.
　Even though it's now just a wooden structure with a roof to keep out the rain, it was still an important home for Lasse.
　It has no concept of walls, so it was kindly designed to prevent the wind from slipping through and destroying the house when a storm comes.

So it's around here.

　Lasse, who has been staring at the shack, shifts at the sudden sound of a voice.
　You turn around to see a pair of hooded men walking towards you.

"There's a ranch around here where the demons live.

"That's what it should be: ......

　It seems that they are looking for the ranch where Lasse lives.
　But because the office has collapsed, the location is lost.

The fence is there, so there should be a house somewhere, but what is that thing with the ...... roof on it?

"Don't ask me!　Anyway, I'm pretty sure I live around here: ...... Ah!　There's someone in there!　Just in time to hear it!　Excuse me!



　A female presumably from the pair comes to Lasse.

"Excuse me, there's a person named Lasse-Tamer around here: ......

　And then the woman's words trailed off.

"Well, can I help you with something, sir?

　Lasse was sure that the conversation was about something for him, but he was puzzled by the woman's sudden silence.

I'd like to ask you, ......, who are you?

"Hey, wait a minute, ......, what?　Lise?

　A man who has caught up with the woman notices Lasse's face and calls out to her.

"Are you ...... Merck?

Yes, it's me, Lasse. It's been a while.

　When the man called Melk pulled down his hood, there was a good-looking man who could be described as second in line.

"You're here because ......

　Lasse's gaze turns to the woman in the hood.
　The woman winces for a moment, but quickly straightens up and pulls down the hood on her head.

"It's good to see you, Letty.

　There was a girl with a bullish look in her eyes, standing there with a bashful smile.