"What is that you gave them?" Rurushi asked with obvious interest.
"Golden fruit." Zaydas thought for a moment, forming a magic circle. He picked one up and tossed it in her direction. "Here, try it yourself. I grew it."
Taking the golden fruit, she took a bite.
"Mhm... Mm." She said with pleasant surprise. "It's really crunchy and... It tastes wonderful! I've never tasted such a delicious fruit~"
She paused. "This... Wow, how can it... But..."
"Noticed?" He smiled. "Besides tasting really good, it also helps improve the body of whoever eats it and replenishes magical power."
"This is simply amazing! It's so juicy!" she exclaimed, adding with a sigh, "It almost feels like a waste to eat it..."
Letting her finish eating, Zaydas said, "Rurushi, right?"
'Mm, that's right." She nodded.
"Rurushi, may I know why you came here?" Zaydas asked.
"Haha, I knew you'd ask. After all, this forest is quite dangerous..." She laughed dryly, sweating nervously. "And, I barely escaped with my life."
"Dangerous? Well, I guess you could see it that way," Zaydas said. "By the way, I'm Zaydas."
"Zaydas?" She answered his previous question. "Actually, I had a little fight with some nobles who wanted to steal my research... I went a bit overboard and, well, had to flee. After I ran away, they sent a real pain in the neck to chase me. I decided it'd be better to hide somewhere until things cooled down. That's when I heard about this forest."
"And you ended up getting attacked by the Infernal Wolves when you trespassed into our territory," he concluded.
"That's right." She laughed awkwardly.
"If you have nowhere to go and you're running from someone, you can come stay with me," Zaydas said. "By my side, I believe no one will dare lay a finger on you. By the way, what you said before is true, right?"
"Yes, I'm telling the truth! I really fought back aggressively because those nobles tried to steal my research, believe me!"
She seemed a little desperate. Smiling, Zaydas said, "Alright, I believe you."
"By the way, about your offer... Are you really okay with someone like me? I mean, I'm a vampire, and I'm being hunted by someone dangerous." She fiddled with her index fingers.
"Answer me first." Zaydas asked, "The one chasing you—can they defeat the Infernal Wolves?"
"No way!" She shook her head firmly.
"Then it's fine." Zaydas said with a smile. "Believe it or not, I'm a little stronger than the Infernal Wolves."
Blushing, she said, "Then... I'll be in your care, Zaydas."
"Mm." Zaydas nodded. He added, "Come on, let's go to the village. And just a heads-up—besides the Infernal Wolves, there's also a Demon Spider, High Elves, a human, and two Devils living in the village."
She murmured all the names he listed in succession, stunned.
"By the way, I'm one of the Devils." He made a pair of black mercury-like wings appear and then dismissed them again.
...
Rurushi didn't know what to think after hearing so many things in such a short period of time.
She was still processing the fact that... she had gotten such a handsome husband.
Blushing just from glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she inevitably started fantasizing about various things.
And the fact that he was a Devil didn't bother her much. After all, she herself was a Vampire.
'But... am I really that attractive? No man has ever dared to make such a proposal to me before...' She thought, blushing. 'H-He said it so gallantly and directly, looking into my eyes: You can come and stay with me; by my side, I believe no one will dare lay a finger on you!'
Looking at him as they walked together, she thought, 'By the way, even his side profile is so beautiful... Did I just hit the jackpot?'
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
...
Unaware of what was going through Rurushi's mind, Zaydas began explaining some things about the village.
When they entered, he noticed she still seemed to be daydreaming.
"Hey, are you listening to me?" He caught her attention by snapping his fingers in front of her eyes.
Rurushi snapped back to reality, looking at him and responding, "Ah, yes, sorry, I didn't hear you. What was it again?"
"Mm, as I was saying before, we were having lunch before you showed up," Zaydas said. "I'll take you to meet everyone, and you can join us for lunch. By the way, is there anything you can't eat?"
"No, I'm not a picky eater," she replied.
"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled.
Blushing and looking away, she seemed to fan her face with her hand, saying, "Wow, it's really hot today..."
...
"As I said, this is Rurushi." Zaydas introduced her to everyone. "Some things happened to her, and, well, now she'll be living with us. Please get along with her."
"My name is Rurushi Ru, a Vampire," she said with a refreshing smile. "I hope we can all get along."
"Welcome, Rurushi," Ria said. "I'm Ria, this is Rize, and..."
After Ria finished introducing the elves, Asia said, "Hello, I'm Asia Argento. I hope we get along."
"Likewise," Rurushi replied.
"Hiraku Machio," he said. "By the way, can vampires eat?"
"Huh?" She looked at him strangely but still answered, "Yes, we can."
"I see..." He seemed thoughtful.
"Vampires eat meat too, Hiraku," Rafa said with a smug look.
"Haha." Laughing awkwardly, Hiraku scratched his head.
Seeing the confused looks from most of them, Rafa explained, "Actually, he thought that we elves..."
"Ahh, Rafa. Do you want a piece of meat?" Blushing, Hikaru placed a generous, juicy piece of meat on Rafa's plate.
Laughing, Rafa seemed to give up on sharing the gossip.
Meanwhile, Zaydas sat back in his place, and Ria made space for Rurushi to sit on the other side of Zaydas.
After starting to eat, Rurushi murmured, "Wow, everything is so delicious..."
"Ehehe. Zaydas made all of this~" Asia said with a cute smile.
"Zaydas made this?" Rurushi looked at him.
"Huh?" He smiled. "Is there something on my face?"
Rurushi averted her gaze again, blushing, and murmured very softly, "That smile of his is unfair..."
"I understand you~" Ria, beside her, laughed cheerfully.
"Rurushi, Rurushi, you have to try the wine! It will make your tongue melt, I bet!" Rize said with a grin.
"Wine?" She asked. "Can I try it?"
"But of course." Zaydas filled a glass for her.
"Ohh, what a peculiar cup and... this golden liquid." She murmured, "I've never seen a wine of this color before."
"This wine was made from golden fruit." That simple remark from Zaydas made her swallow dryly.
"I see... Then it must be really delicious." She brought it to her lips, and after taking the first sip...
"Ahhh~~"
"Hahaha, I knew it~"
Several elves laughed at Rurushi's reaction, which was almost erotic.
"Huh? What happened?" Hiraku, who had his eyes covered, was confused.
Meanwhile, Zaydas felt a tug on his shirt and saw that Asia looked a little upset, her cheeks slightly flushed from the wine.
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"So this is the golden fruit orchard." Rurushi was in awe. "There are so many~"
"Yes, they'll be used to make our precious wine~" Ria sang happily.
"That wine... It's out of this world, really..." She spoke with lingering longing.
"Yes, Zaydas has already made several barrels, but they're resting in the dark room," Ria said. "In his words, once he starts mass-producing glass bottles, he'll increase the production of golden wine."
"I can hardly wait for that~" Rurushi smiled.
"Okay, let's chat while we work!" Ria said, rolling up her sleeves.
"Mm, I'll help." For the precious wine, she was willing to work until she sweated.
"By the way, did you see what Zaydas did to the land next to this?" Risu asked.
"You mean the vegetable gardens?"
"Yes, that."
"I saw," Rikoto replied. "He barely made it, and it's already starting to grow—it's even more magical than Hiraku."
"Yes, although their abilities seem similar, Zaydas's must be superior," Ria speculated.
"Ability?" Rurushi was confused.
Asia had heard about this before from the elves.
"It's like this..." They explained how Zaydas could plant anything, with these golden trees being one of his creations.
"Impressive..." Rurushi murmured as she made some effort to pull a golden fruit. "Then... it must be made with some kind of very rare and powerful magical ferment."
"Magical ferment... Mm, I guess that must be it." Ria neither disagreed nor confirmed.
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In the pastures of the sheep and rams, Zaydas used a hoe to create more nutritious grass. He tried using his imagination to create almost golden grass, attempting to replicate the attributes of the golden fruit, even if just a little. The same was done in the pasture of the bulls and cows.
And even if it's not as special as the golden fruits, at the very least, he hopes it will be superior to normal grass.
With all this done, he spoke in his mind: 'Great Sage, mark the coordinates for TSSDK.'
[Done!]
Using Dimensional Jump after inverting the flow of time, Zaydas appeared not too far from Rimuru.
He was on top of a house while Rimuru was walking through the village.
Flying down, he approached him. It didn't take long for his presence to be noticed.
Rimuru's golden eyes shone as he looked at him. "Zaydas-kun, you're the one I was looking for!"
Stopping in front of Rimuru in his humanoid form, Zaydas asked, "Did something happen?"
"You could say that." Rimuru said. "But, putting that aside for now, Zaydas-kun, weren't you going to bring me solar panels? I completely forgot about it the last time you were here!"
"Ah, right." Zaydas touched his forehead. Soon, a magic circle appeared on the ground, and then, a single solar panel materialized. But that wasn't all—a pile of books, forming a small mountain, also appeared.
"What's this?"
"Books with advanced knowledge from my world," Zaydas said. "What do you think? Aren't you excited? With these, you can use the Great Sage to analyze the books and replicate various things like solar panels, etc."
"Of course, I'll still give you more solar panels if you want, but wouldn't it be better for you to create them yourself?" Zaydas explained his point of view. "If you're able to create them, wouldn't you always be able to expand your territory and have electricity?"
"You're right." Rimuru, deep in thought, agreed. He pointed at the pile of books. "So, it's okay if I keep all of this, right?"
"Yes, it's all yours." Zaydas confirmed.
"Alright." Rimuru transformed into a Blue Slime.
Then, he began absorbing all the books.
After returning to his normal form, Rimuru started jumping excitedly while seemingly analyzing the data from the books. "Wow, it even has knowledge on how to make various types of household appliances... Is this about cell phones? And also video games!"
"So, what do you think? Do you like it?" Zaydas asked.
"Do I like it?" Rimuru returned to his human form, and in the process of his transformation, clothes were created from his magicules. Rimuru said, "I love it!"
"Really? That's good." Zaydas smiled.
"Oh right, Zaydas-san." Rimuru warned, "It seems there's been some strange activity in the forest. If you're heading out, be careful."
"I will." Zaydas said. "I'm leaving now. I'll drop by another time so we can have some wine together."
"Yes!" Rimuru responded. He also didn't seem to be in the mood for drinking right now.
Well, he was probably eager to put into practice many of the things he had learned from the books Zaydas brought.
...
Flying through the sky, Zaydas continued wandering, searching for something.
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