Receiving Hospitality Once Again From The Twins
***
"Oi, Meara!"
"Mauru! Why is a human in your house?"
The beastfolk are surprised upon seeing me.
Taking a closer look, I notice that in this village, there are beastfolk of various ages, from robust adults to the elderly.
They all have canine-like ears on their heads... They're probably a race of beastfolk with wolves as their base or something along those lines.
"Wait! Mako isn't a bad human!" With that, Mauru rushed out of the house and stood between me and the others, shouting.
"Mako is a good human! She's a mage, and she strengthened our house so it could withstand the storm!"
"What? A mage!?"
Maul's words caused the villagers to raise their voices even more.
A mage... is that what I am here? Probably. I'm technically just a 'Home Center Employee' though.
"Just look at this."
What Maul held up for everyone to see was one of the angle brackets I had created through "Alchemy" the day before — an unused leftover.
Last night, Mauru came to me and asked "Can I have this?". Since we were done reinforcing the house we really didn't need to use those and simply gave it to him.
He looked somewhat happy, holding it tightly and sleeping with it like it was precious to him.
"Mako made this with magic and strengthened the house."
"What is this..."
"Never seen anything like it, is it iron?"
"But I've never seen iron this smooth and well-shaped before."
Whispers and conversations among the beastfolk filled the air.
Then, one of the beastfolk who had peeked inside the twins' house shouted. "Hey, take a look at this!"
This prompted the others to look inside as well.
In their eyes, the modest-looking hut was filled with numerous "angle brackets" hammered into place — on the beams, wall panels, roof, and various other locations.
"Is this magic protection? Is that what made this house stronger?"
Hmm... there seems to be a misunderstanding.
It's true that it might look like some kind of protective charms have been plastered all over, like those talismans you stick everywhere. Or at least, that could be the impression it's giving off. Maybe that's an appropriate analogy, though I'm not entirely sure.
I responded, "No, it's not magic. I just used these brackets to reinforce the wood."
As I tried to explain, the beastfolk had already begun discussing amongst themselves.
"Can we really trust her?"
"But she's a human... Could she be trying to deceive us again?"
"That's right, mages are rare beings with royal or noble blood. Even if she's really a mage, it's hard to believe she'd use magic for the sake of the beastfolk."
"Is she a fraud?" The murmurs of doubt and skepticism spread through the crowd.
Hmm... This is starting to look a bit dangerous. Sensing the atmosphere turning slightly hostile, I quickly make a decision. I glance back at Mauru and Meara, locking eyes with them.
"Hey, Mauru, Meara, thanks for last night. I really appreciate it. Well, I'll be going now."
Given the negative impression many beastfolk have of humans, it's better not to make myself stand out and potentially worsen the situation.
Perhaps Mauru and Meara might also be affected. I quickly thought of bidding farewell to the two and trying to escape from this place. However...
Seemingly reading my thoughts, Mauru shouted, "That won't work!"
"Mako is an important guest, so we need to treat them properly from now on!" he declared.
What a good kid... Mauru. No, that's not it.
"I'm sorry, Maul. But if I stay here like this ..."
"Guys! Don't you dare to doubt Mako! Mako is not a bad person! He is not like other people who cheat us or say bad things about us!
Maul shouted desperately, trying to prove my innocence.
Honestly, it's a bit worrying how this child is defending me so vigorously, a human they only met yesterday, makes me a bit worried about their pure-heartedness.
I think Meara, who's staying cautious and not raising her voice this much, is probably the wiser one.
However, it seems that Mauru's actions have slightly improved the impression the beastmen have of me in the end.
"...Hey, you." A male beastman approached me.
"Can you really help strengthen houses? The walls of my house are full of holes from yesterday's storm."
"Yeah, a flying piece of wood got stuck in my roof, and the leaking is pretty bad."
"Same here." Gradually, once one of the beastmen brought up the subject, other members of the group started to warily ask for my assistance. It's possible that Maul and I got along well, which altered the environment of early skepticism.
However... Hmm... What should I do? My MP hasn't fully recovered yet.
The status window appeared in front of me.
The displayed value of my MP had recovered somewhat since last night, but it was still only around 2/100.
I know I should respond to their requests to leave a good impression, but...
"Um, it's really difficult for me to say, but..."
"Not possible. Mako is tired!"
At that moment, Maul stood before me again and raised his voice.
"Mako exhausted up her magic to protect our home yesterday! She's going to rest now, so everyone need to go back!"
Mauru... you'll surely become a good son-in-law someday. Touched by the kindness of this young boy who's not even of age, I felt a little teary-eyed.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
"Mako, wait here. I'll make breakfast right away."
After sending the village beastmen away for the moment, we returned inside the house. I was seated on a chair, while Maul started preparing food in the simple kitchen.
"..."
"Hm?" At that moment, I noticed that Meara, who was standing beside me, was staring at me intently.
"Did you really protect our homes out of genuine goodwill?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure? You don't plan on demanding payment later?"
Hey, humans from this world. Being doubted to this extent is quite something. It's one thing if it's just the adult beastmen, but to be doubted even by these kids...
"I wouldn't do such a thing. Why do you think that?"
"...I can't imagine humans helping us without some ulterior motive," Meara muttered with a slightly downcast expression.
I let out a sigh.
"You know, last night, if this house had been blown away, it would have put me in danger too, right? So, it's obvious that I would help."
I explained calmly. My actual reason is beyond that though.
"Do you really find it so hard to trust humans?"
"Humans look down on beastmen. They think we're no better than animals." Meara clenched his teeth tightly.
"That's why when our mom and dad were involved in a carriage accident, they prioritized treating the humans... and mom and dad died."
"..."
So heavy! To think there was such a heavy backstory...
I was careless. I feel ashamed for letting a young child like him speak of such a past.
I stand up and approach Mauru, who is tending to the stove and putting ingredients into a pot. As I peer into the pot, I see vegetables floating in a pale-colored liquid.
"Oh, soup?"
"Yeah, it's made with mushrooms we gathered from the forest. And there's some dried meat specially included for Mako."
"I'll help too."
"Huh?! No way! Mako is a guest!"
"It's alright, it's alright. Is this the dishware?"
After the dish was cooked, we gathered around the meal Mauru had prepared, and we had our breakfast. Until yesterday, I had only thought about sleeping as much as possible in the morning and hadn't developed a habit of having a proper breakfast. So, it tasted very refreshing to me.
"Hmm?" the status window appeared and saw that my MP had recovered to 20. Great, that's good.
"It's been a while since we ate a meal with someone other than just the two of us," Mauru said happily, speaking to Meara.
"..."
Meara, on the other hand, still had a complicated expression on his face.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※
After finishing breakfast, tidying up, and taking a short break, I left the house.
Resting had allowed my MP to recover somewhat, and I could use the "Alchemy" skill again. At least, I could give a hand for now. I created angle brackets in my hand and held extra nails that I hadn't used yesterday, bringing the wooden mallet in hand. Then, I approached the beastmen who were gathered in the square.
"Well then, which house should we start with?"
***
17/08/23