As Emily was eager to wander around Sian's house, he took her on a brief tour over the place. To be more precise, the word house would not be enough to define it, since it was a huge three-story mansion with dozens of rooms.
Thanks to Lin's hobby, the mansion was decorated with her various paintings. After seeing that Ophi, Fran, Illianna and the girls got impressed by the works of art, Milka took them to her spoils room. It was there that she kept various things from the tough battles she had. When the girls asked, she proudly showed the huge scales of the hydra.
Seeing how impressed the girls were, Sian decided to keep to himself that the place was just a warehouse where they left their monster materials. They only go there when they need something or are going to store something.
Continuing the tour, they went to explore the outside, where there were smaller houses around.
Emily wanted to explore them as well, but since Sian's presence would put the girls there in a panic, they refrained.
Although the houses were not as finely crafted as the mansion, they were not simple by any means. They were all made entirely of stone and wood, and the well-crafted and exquisite shape of the houses made the place look like a small village of nobles.
Right in the middle between the houses had a small lake, and around it, a garden with some trees. Following one of the stone-paved paths, they went to the forge where Sian worked, then to the laboratory and finally to the workshop.
Not far beyond the houses was an orchard, orange trees and guava trees, and various other fruit plantations. On the opposite side of the village there had crops, grains like corn, wheat, rye, and a few others.
Although this would be impossible under normal conditions, with the help of a plant-loving elf like Lin, and some resources impossible to get on regular ways, it became feasible.
Continuing their exploration, they went to see the animal farm. But since this would take a while, Danna returned to prepare lunch, and although Fran and Ophi wanted to return to help, they were turned away and told to enjoy their stay.
***
"Won't those cows spoil the crop?"
Illianna pointed to a herd of stout cows that were near to the wheat field.
"Nope," Sian replied. "They are well-trained."
"Is it just me, or are their eyes red?" Fran looked cautious as she held Tina's hand.
"I think we should get out of here."
Just like Fran, Ophi was also acting cautiously.
Their reaction was understandable considering that about fifty cows much larger than normal were staring at them as eyes that seemed thirsty for blood. Despite this, Sian was calm, as he knew they would not attack. This was just part of their inherent behavior.
"Don't worry mommy." Sitting on Sian's shoulders, Emily swung her little legs happily. "Daddy is a hero. He will save us."
"Are those infernal cows?"
"Yep," Sian replied to Illianna.
Although he said it calmly, the girls immediately became more tense.
"They are under our control, so they will not attack."
Lin tried to calm them down, but it didn't seem to have much effect, which was understandable considering the dangerousness of the infernal cows.
Even if they don't have sharp claws like griffins, the horns of infernal cows are as strong and sharp as the point of an iron spear. In terms of physical strength, they are far superior to normal cattle and are not intimidated by stronger opponents.
They usually stay in the jungle, but sometimes, when they are migrating, they end up in human plantations. When this happens, they eat everything like a plague. Because they are omnivorous, even animals cannot escape from being devoured.
Even if humans want to fight back, the cows have an extremely tough hide that is difficult to penetrate. Because of their tenacity, when they invade somewhere, humans will hardly fight back and just hide while waiting for them to leave.
But when they decide to extend their stay, an army is sent to subdue them. Unfortunately, even with an army, the casualties are still considerable.
Trying to convince the girls of the harmlessness of the cows, Sian told how he captured them. This happened about 2 years ago when the cows appeared in Hosnein, and the king informed Sian.
Because he had already tasted their flesh since Ayze had already killed some in the past, Sian was happy to be the one to dispose of them.
While they were hunting the cows, Milka slaughtered successfully the matriarch who commanded the others. Normally, when the matriarch is killed, all the cows pursue the killer fiercely. With that said, the cows were determined to catch Milka.
But in the end, after she used her bestial transformation, the cows eventually recognized her as their equal, and made her their new matriarch.
Faced with the scene, Sian had the idea of domesticating them and having their permanent stock of meat. With this in mind, he brought them to the demonic continent and Becca used dark magic to corrupt their minds and change their behavior.
"I must say that besides the meat, their milk is excellent," Sian boasted.
"I think I've heard about that, but the story was a little different." Illianna pondered for a moment before continuing. "I heard that the army was prepared for a fight to death against the infernal cows that invaded the region. But at that moment you appeared, and in a heroic act, you ordered all the soldiers to retreat to preserve their lives, and you single-handedly faced all the cows."
"Oh, right," Remembering the time, Sian said, "It had an army there too."
"Did you really act only because you wanted to eat the cows' meat?" Illianna looked incredulous.
"Y- No!" remembering Emily over his shoulder, Sian changed his words and said dignifiedly, "Of course not! As a hero, it was my duty to preserve people's lives."
Wordlessly, Illianna just rolled her eyes and continued following the tour. On the way, they came across some large chickens, which Illianna believed to be a subspecies of cockatrice. But they were just big, fat chickens.
Besides those already seen, there were several other animals controlled by Becca's magic that were kept in fences.
***
"Well, as you can see, the production space can be expanded. What do you think?" Sian asked Illianna.
"While it's not much compared to the scale of the hotel, that's enough to reduce product costs significantly." Illianna looked excited as she made notes on a notepad. "Since infernal cow is a delicacy, we can sell it at exorbitant prices. As for expansion, considering the terrain, if Kaylin helps with her magic, I believe we can easily quintuple the production. Although there are many things th-,"
"I expected just a yes or no." Knowing she would be talking for quite a while, Sian put his hand over her mouth. "You still have more to see, so wait a bit until you give your final thoughts."
With these words, Sian led them to the back of the mansion, where there were two large silos and a medium-sized warehouse.
To the surprise of first-time visitors, when they entered the warehouse, the area seemed to have multiplied in size.
This was Sian's doing, he used space magic to extend the internal space. Although it is a similar concept to the magic bags, it is completely different. In this space, living things could enter, but in return, such a space was incomparably more difficult to make.
Looking from one side to the other, Illianna was speechless. Where she looked, there were fruits and vegetables separated by type in hundreds of boxes placed on wooden shelves.
"With this exorbitant amount of fruits and vegetables, why didn't you say anything before?"
"To tell you the truth, I knew it had a lot here, but since I don't come often, I had no idea it had so much." Sian replied. "Usually, I ask for something and Beth provides it for me."
"Are you saying that no one ever told you that there was this exorbitant amount of food here?"
"I've said it a bunch of times," Milka crossed her arms, emphasizing her huge breasts. "There's no need for us to keep this much food, but when I talk, master always responds distractedly."
Looking at the vast valley in her large hills, Illianna said, "I believe I know why he never pays attention..."
Guided by Milka, they went through the various fruit sections inside the warehouse. She showed them several unique products that were exclusive to the Demonic Continent.
Satisfying Illianna's curiosity, she also informed her that the harvested grain was stored in silos. Although smaller in scale compared to the warehouse, they have a larger interior space inside.
Generally, the girls sell only what is necessary and the rest is kept.
Wanting to show how good the fruit the girls grew was, Milka used magic to freeze a watermelon and sliced it.
"It's sweet and delicious!" Emily, the first one to eat, expressed her excitement.
Following her, the others also tasted and approved the watermelon.
"That was better than expected," bringing her hand to her chin, Illianna continued, "With what you have here, if we sell it moderately, it could last a few months. This gives us enough time to increase production. I think you should consider opening a brand of products. Considering the cost of them on the central continent, we can make quite a profit- Wait!"
Looking confused, Illianna looked at Sian. "Now that I think of it, despite the exorbitant amount, why are all the fruits fresh?"
"It's to the master's credit," Milka puffed out her chest, "He has good contacts and thanks to that, the demon lord personally came to prepare a magic to preserve food."
As Milka said, the demon lord had applied a spell over the warehouse and silos. With that, the things stored there wouldn't rot no matter how much time passed. Of course, for the spell to be maintained, it needed a source of magic, but that was easily solved.
The lord did not help Sian only with this. All the buildings in the place were made by people sent by him.
"Speaking of demon lord, we got a call," Milka said. "He wanted to talk to you. It seems he has a present."
Hearing this, Sian couldn't help but raise expectations. "His gifts are always good."
Since the tour was already over and it was still quite some time before noon, he decided to pay the demon lord a visit. Although he asked if Ophi and Fran wanted to go with him, they refrained, stating that they would rather cook with Danna while they learned.
In the end, just Sian, Illianna, Milka, Emily and Tina, whom Sian had to insist a lot until Fran granted her permission to go.
With that said, they prepared to pay a visit to the Demon lord's castle.