The agreement to conduct slime farming experiments in the Succubus village was quickly finalized through Peach.
When expanding farmland in the new base, it’s necessary to extend the barrier as well, considering the surrounding monsters.
It’s not a significant chore for Kousuke at the moment, but it’s true that several materials are needed to create the necessary tools for it.
Rather than that, he’d prefer to get it done elsewhere if possible, which was his true feeling.
On the other hand, Kousuke’s proposal was a welcome opportunity for the Succubi as well, and their intentions perfectly aligned.
The land prepared by the Succubi for the experiment is, naturally, right next to the village protected by the barrier.
However, since it’s outside the barrier, damage from monsters must be properly considered.
“Daytime is fine, but what do you plan to do with the slimes at night?” Kousuke asked Peach, looking at the prepared land.
“Well, we plan to have them stay over there,” Peach replied, pointing towards the village. A small house stood in that direction. It was, of course, a building constructed properly within the village barrier.
Kousuke looked surprised at the house, which seemed too grand for slimes to live in. “In there? Isn’t that quite magnificent?”
“It was originally built so people could live in it. More than that, they were thinking of expanding the fields around here and having them manage it as residents,” Peach explained.
“Ah, I see.” The Succubi originally planned to expand their fields, so preparing a house was part of that plan. It just happened to be useful this time.
Although it seemed too magnificent for slimes, there was no need to rebuild it just to lower its grade. If the Succubi who prepared it were fine with it, Kousuke had no intention of refusing.
“Well then, shall we call them into this house for now?”
“Yes!” Seeing Peach nod, Kousuke immediately summoned the slimes he intended. He wasn’t summoning them from scratch this time, but rather some of the slimes that had been working in the new base’s fields. If he summoned completely new slimes, he would have to teach them all over again through Sura. Moreover, he wanted to see if the slimes would perform the same duties without Kousuke’s instructions when presented with new land.
Kousuke summoned a total of two slimes from the new base for this experiment. Since the field itself wasn’t very large, he considered that number to be sufficient.
After explaining that the summoning location was their new residence, he took them to the fields they would manage from now on. The prepared house and the new fields were not far apart, so even with the slimes’ feet, the travel time wasn’t significant.
While confirming that the slimes were moving on their own (?), Kousuke and the others headed to the fields. Once they reached the fields and he explained the area, the slimes immediately began to move around busily. The Succubi had already done the tilling, so Kousuke didn’t have to do it. He had also instructed the Succubi to handle the seed sowing for now, as he hadn’t seen the slimes do it. Whether the slimes would undertake tasks up to that point would be something to consider in the future.
As Kousuke watched the slimes moving around in the dirt, a Succubus approached him. “Hou hou. They’re quite intelligent, aren’t they?” This Succubus would be the one overseeing the fields from now on. However, she had been told not to interfere too much, so her role was mainly to protect the fields outside the barrier from external enemies (including monsters).
“Indeed. I’ve told them to return before nightfall, so I think they’ll finish this much by today?” the Succubus said.
“Ho? That’s faster than expected. Should I prepare the seeds?” Kousuke nodded at the Succubus who asked with wide eyes.
“Yes. It would be best to do so.”
“I see. Then I’ll go get them right away. Please keep an eye out around here.” The Succubus made the request to Kousuke casually and left without waiting for a reply. This ease of interaction was one of the reasons Kousuke felt comfortable in this village.
As Kousuke smiled, seeing off the Succubus, Peach’s expression turned sour. “Huh? Peach, what’s wrong?”
“Regardless of knowing it’s Mr. Kousuke, that attitude… restraint is necessary,” Peach said, her voice hardening.
“Eh!? Whoa, wait a minute?” Kousuke panicked at Peach’s rare, dark smile. Similar attitudes had been shown by other Succubi before, but Peach had never made such a face. He didn’t understand what had touched Peach’s nerves.
Kousuke tremblingly asked, still wearing a smile, “Uh, they don’t seem very different from other Succubi?”
“Is that so? You thought so, Mr. Kousuke~. But it’s different for us.”
“Ah, I see.” If a Succubus said it was different, Kousuke couldn’t argue further. More importantly, he didn’t want to provoke Peach in her current state.
While filled with apprehension at Peach’s dark side, which he hadn’t seen in a while, Kousuke observed the slimes. Then, when the Succubus returned with the seeds in hand, smiling, he clearly saw her smile freeze. It went without saying what had caused the Succubus to react that way. The Succubus then, with slumped shoulders and head, was led by Peach towards the center of the village. Seeing the series of events unfold, Kousuke exchanged glances with Mitsuki, who had come with him, and then immediately pretended not to have seen anything and returned to observing the slimes.
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Returning to the Management Layer from the Succubus village, Silvia spoke to Kousuke. “Oh. Mr. Kousuke, did something happen? You look a bit tired.”
“Ah, yeah… I saw dark Peach after a long time.” Kousuke was slightly affected by dark Peach, whom he had barely seen since Miku was created.
Upon hearing Kousuke’s words, Silvia also looked surprised. “That’s unusual. Mr. Kousuke, what did you do?”
“No, wait a minute! You’re blaming me right away!?”
“Oh. You didn’t?” Silvia asked, her eyes widening in surprise. Kousuke slumped his shoulders.
“I think I just realized how Silvia saw me.” Silvia, trying to cover up, looked away dismissively at Kousuke’s belatedly profound self-assessment. Of course, it didn’t work, and unable to withstand Kousuke’s gaze, Silvia deliberately changed the subject. “So, why did Peach become like that?”
“Ah,” Kousuke thought she was changing the subject, but decided it would be mean to push further and explained what had just happened to Silvia. Silvia nodded, looking convinced. “So that’s what happened. In that case, she should be in a better mood by the time she returns here.”
“Yeah. I think so too.” That’s precisely why Kousuke had quickly made his retreat from the Succubus village.
Peach returned not long after, and as Kousuke and Silvia had predicted, the darkness had completely vanished. It was dark Peach. But her target wasn’t Kousuke. Although Silvia said what she did, dark Peach generally appears not because of Kousuke himself, but when someone does something to Kousuke, like in this instance. Is it similar to Kouhi and Mitsuki? lol.
