The owner of the footsteps that came towards me, without regard to the undergrowth, finally appeared in front of me.
　A beastly woman covered in tiger-like fur.
That's Saamya!
　I sheathed the sword I had been holding. The tension dissipated at once, and I felt a rush of exhaustion from it. As Samija approached me, she began to punch me in the chest. I'm sure she didn't mean it, but it hurt a lot.
It hurts. What are you doing?
"She's sulking ...... and doesn't know what to do.
　Suddenly, I heard a voice from another direction. It's Deanna. I catch her fist in the palm of my hand as she continues to punch me silently.

You were in the middle of a hunt?
"Yes. Samija would say, 'I smell an elephant,' and then suddenly she'd start running."
　Deanna looked completely dumbfounded. She wasn't breathing too fast for someone who had been following Samija through the forest. Are you getting stronger and stronger? ....... No, that's not the point.
"What should I do?
"I haven't been back for quite a while. I'm glad it's been so long, but you don't know how to spoil me.

　The words made Samija stop moving for a moment, and then she punched me in the palm of my hand with a crisp blow.
That hurt!
"Hmm. Come back sooner this time, okay?
　That's all Samija said, then she turned on her heel and walked as if she could hear the sound of shuffling. That's the direction to the house.

Are you sure?
　I asked Deanna, since it seemed that Samija was planning to call off the hunt for the day.
We killed the big one the other day, and there's plenty of time for tomorrow.
That's fine.
　If Samija had come home for the first time in a long time, I would have left my work to go and get her. Well, I'll take your word for it and come home with you.
"Hey, don't walk so fast!
　I called out to Samija, and the four of us walked home together.

　As we approached the house, we could see the smoke through the trees. I guessed that Rike was working as a blacksmith. Looking at it this way, once we get close enough, we should be able to make it to our house. Even without those conditions, there's no guarantee that bad people won't come, so we'll have to take some kind of countermeasures.
　As I was walking and talking to Samija and Deanna, I said
"I don't think that's necessary.
　"I don't think it's necessary," muttered Liddy.
"Is that so?
"Really?" "Yes. To put it simply, the house is warded. Only those who belong to the house, including the invited guests, or those who are strong enough to avoid the people, or those who can recognize and avoid the people, will be able to recognize the house.
　Liddy affirmed in a strong tone of voice. I didn't know that house had that ability. ....... Maybe that's why I didn't recognize the house when I came to this world.
　Come to think of it, I've never had a stray or a beastman living in the Kuro Forest visit my house, let alone a beast. The smoke is conspicuous, so if they could see it, curious beastmen might come to our house, but there was a reason why they didn't come.

　The four of us walked through the forest. In the familiar forest, every time we found a familiar tree, we felt that we had come home. It seems that Samija is not the only one who is sentimental about coming home after a long absence.

　I arrived home and opened the front door. The slightly muffled sound of a squeak echoed. There was a flapping sound and Rike came out of the door leading to the workshop.
"Sir ......, master! Welcome back!
　Apparently thinking that Samija and the others had returned unexpectedly early, Rike looked surprised, but immediately ran to him. He didn't hit her or hug her.
"Oh. I'm home.
　As I replied, I was chewing on the fact that I was home. This time I was able to come home almost unscathed, albeit a little injured, but there was no guarantee that I would be able to do so the next time or the time after that. This is my second life, and I should take good care of it.

"Well, let's start again.
　As soon as I unpacked my bags, I looked around at everyone gathered at the living room table and said.
Liddy will be joining our family. I'll tell you the details later, but please know that.
　I don't think so, but what if she doesn't like it? With that in mind, I looked at the expressions on the faces of Samija, Rike, and Diana, and saw that they were all grinning in disgust.
I knew this would happen.
"You're the master, aren't you?
"Right. You're the master.
　I was relieved to see that he was not rejecting me, although his way of convincing me was a bit tricky.

So, Liddy, no .......
　Now that we're family, no honorifics. It is said that there is etiquette even on friendly terms, but let's leave this out of the scope of etiquette. That's the way we do things at Eizo Kobo.


　The voices of four people other than Liddy overlap.

「「「「 Welcome to Eizo Workshop, Liddy 」」」」