The next day again I wake up with Érica sleeping hugging me, of course, I'm happy to wake up every day with a nice woman hugging me, but I shouldn't do anything with her after everything she's been through, I didn't free her from the Goblins to do to her what they did, that includes Diana as well.
Waking up every day like this is good enough for me, the problem is that I can't leave her arms without waking her up.
All I can do is keep my mind busy while I wait for her to wake up.
"(I have to think about the design of the cabin, hmmm...)" (me)
Ding!
<[ Her skill leveled up [ Improved sexual stamina: 1> 2 ] ]>
Damn, of all the skills they had to level up the only one I don't want to level up.
The biggest problem is that this ability is passive and I can't turn it on and off as I do with the active ones.
The worst thing is that she's already showing her effects, it's been a long time since I've had a morning hard-on, but did that have to happen now? Seriously?
"(I can't let Érica see this, it might be difficult for her after everything she's been through, I'll try to calm down by doing math calculations in my head.)" (me)
Ding!
<[ You have acquired the skill:
• [ Basic arithmetic: 1 ] ]>
After a few minutes of sum calculations and multiplication tables, I got a strange skill.
"(It reminds me that I still don't know anything about this world, at night I have to ask Érica and Diana to teach me how to read and write, the basics I must know before anything else.)" (me)
"Hmmm..." (Érica)
"Good morning Master." (Érica)
"Good morning... Érica, this is... becoming a... habit, isn't it?" (me)
"..." (Érica)
When I say this the drowsiness has disappeared from her eyes and her cheeks have turned a little redder, she raises her hand and does the same telepathy spell as usual.
Ding!
<[ Telepathic link format with a member of the Érica party ]>
"(I'm sorry master, I don't know what happens to me, at night I go to sleep and I feel very insecure and I have nightmares, but suddenly during sleep, I start to feel safe and I have such peaceful dreams.)" (Érica)
"(It must be at these times that I change beds because I always hear a strong heartbeat when this happens.)" (Érica)
"(You don't have to worry, I don't mind you sleeping together with me, just let me know first, alright?)" (me)
"(Yes master.)" (Érica)
I couldn't ask her to stop coming to my bed, I have to remind myself that she's traumatized and if sleeping in my bed helps her sleep better, I have to find a way not to lose control of my body.
It's very hard to be the only man here. It's decided, the next subordinate will be a man if it's not going to be difficult to control this skill.
With Érica awake I get up and go get meat in the cave, when I get to the food storage I realize that Diana gave a nice clean here, the rotten meat and bones are no longer here, and she separated the corpses by their races.
She has the Goblins we killed, she has about ten Kobolds, she has five Gray Wolves, and she has a big red bat, I go and sort the Goblin meat for everyone and come back to bake the food.
After lunch, we go to morning training before starting the day's chores.
After everyone finishes morning training I tell Érica to sort equipment and items in the warehouse for the chests we brought from the ruins, while she does that I'm going with Ibuki and Diana to start building the wooden hut.
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Ding!
<[ Her skill leveled up [ Line Production: 5 > 6 ] ]>
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<[ Your skill leveled up [ Sticky Line Production: 7 > 8 ] ]>
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<[ Your skill leveled up [ Line control: 6 > 7 ] ]>
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<[ Your skill leveled up [ Line control: 7 > 8 ] ]>
It was nighttime but I was happy with what we did, we managed to complete the first room, it is square with an inverted V-shaped ceiling and a height of three meters, it has a space of six square meters and I made four doors on four sides, I'm going to make two more rooms that will be a kitchen and a storeroom, one of the doors will be the entrance and the last one I'll make a corridor to make rooms along with it.
This is a good project but it will take time, I don't even know if I'll be here long enough to finish construction, but it's good to keep your mind busy and focused on something productive.
I used my lines to tie and glue all the branches and I also used wood and threads on the floor, this made the interior all white, I also put a window in front to be able to light the interior as there are no lights here and I can't go near the house with fire if it won't burn all over.
I just need to build a door and windows to put in place tomorrow, now we vamosre going to the Goblin cabin and Igoll brings in some branches to build a fire.
After placing some branches in a pile and using some stones around it I use a skill to light a fire, Diana with her superior strength brought some large rocks to sit on.
"Érica use Telepathy." (me)
"Yes Master." (Érica)
Érica waves her hands and the geometric shapes begin to form and combine to form the magic circle I already know and soon Telepathy is activated.
Ding!
<[ Telepathic link format with a member of the Érica party ]>
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<[ Telepathic link format with party member Diana ]>
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<[ Telepathic link format with party member Ibuki ]>
"(Thank you Érica.)" (me)
"(Now let's start with some things I have to say.)" (me)
"(Diana and Érica, I want you to teach me how to read and write from today.)" (me)
"(I'm sorry my lord, but I can't read and write either.)" (Diana)
"(But weren't you an adventurer? How did you choose your missions?)" (me)
"(It seems that my lord is confused by something, most adventurers cannot read and write.)" (Diana)
"(There are many types of adventurers but most come from agricultural villages or are people who have not got other jobs, there are also those who just want to be free and become adventurers to make fame and wealth quick to retire early if you survive until there.)" (Diana)
"(Those who learn to read and write are only the children of merchants and nobles.)" (Diana)
"(I am the daughter of adventurers, my mother knew how to read and write but I didn't want to learn, I preferred to use my time better and train my body and my techniques which are what kept me alive until today.)" (Diana)
"(Diana is right, master, the schools are only for noble families and merchant families.)" (Érica)
"(Even among the people those who can read and write do not always teach their children as they may never use it in their lives.)" (Érica)
"(Even so I still want to learn.)" (me)
"(If the master wants to learn, I'm happy to teach.)" (Érica)
"(I was a noblewoman, I am the daughter of a Duke of a minor kingdom, I didn't want to be used as a tool in a political marriage and I had my family expel me and I left the kingdom.)" (Érica)
"(As an ex-nobleman I had the best education so I can teach you many things, master.)" (Érica)
"(That would be great, but let's start with the basics of reading and writing, before bed every night we'll study.)" (me)
"(Yes master.)" (Érica)
With that matter resolved there is some information I should ask Ibuki.
"(Ibuki let me ask you a few things.)" (me)
"(I'll answer anything that master asks. )" (Ibuki)
"(You know where that red bat in the food store came from.)" (me)
"(Having cave near the mountains, having many there.)" (Ibuki)
"(That's enough for now, let's study Érica for a while and then you can turn off Telepathy.)" (me)
"(As the master orders.)" (Érica)
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I spent a few hours together with Érica while she taught me the alphabet of the common language, even though the pronunciation is similar to several languages in my ancient world, writing is completely unknown to me and it took me a while to learn the alphabet.
After I learned to write some simple words like my name and the girls' names, Érica taught me to use a small branch to write on the ground.
Ding!
<[ Her skill leveled up [ Common Language: 7 > 8 ] ]>
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<[ Telepathic link disabled with party members ]>
It seems that learning to write also helps to raise the skill level, but I'll save that for tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will build another room and put the doors and windows in place, there is a lot to do, it may take a few days to finish building the house.