Published: September 2, 2025
Satou here. It’s been a while since I became a working adult, but back in university, I used to build electrical circuits from raw boards and components.
To think I’d end up making them even in a fantasy other world...
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I’m not sure if the false hero actually exists, but I regularly checked the baron’s castle on the map and narrowed down suspicious candidates.
The false hero’s name is Hout—just one character off from Hero Hayato Masaki—and he’s a young man at level 7 wielding a one-handed sword and shield skill.
There were also what seemed like companions: a level 10 swordsman, a level 8 fire magic user, and a level 9 priest. They’re a well-balanced party, so they should be earning their keep in the labyrinth.
It seems the demon race is involved too. They often linger near the false hero Hout.
However, this demon race tends to sneak out of the castle at night to visit a nearby forest where a bandit group hides.
“Master, charging is complete.”
Damn it, I was lost in unnecessary thoughts during the blissful morning time.
Nana, who just finished replenishing her magic power, was fixing her clothes.
Satou, you have your next break coming up.
...I told myself that.
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Today, I’m working on making wooden swords atop the swaying carriage.
Since the bandits are low-level, I feel like Pochi and Tama have gotten sloppy in their fighting styles, so I prepared these for practice. I don’t want them to get hurt from letting their guard down.
For safety, I wrapped the wooden swords with multiple layers of leather to avoid injuries.
“Is this okay~?”
“Please make one for Pochi too!”
Pochi and Tama brought Nana’s rapier. The guard and handle have cute designs—apparently, they want the same rose engraving on the guard to be included. Surprisingly, both of them like cute things.
You want me to make this?
Their eyes are filled with hopeful expectation.
“Maybe a simpler design would be better?”
“Is this no good~?”
“No good?”
Ugh, now with puppy eyes.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
“Yay~”
“You can do it, Master.”
Arisa’s irresponsible encouragement followed my easy acceptance. That girl’s enjoying this, isn’t she?
Since adding the design onto the already finished wooden sword guard would weaken it structurally, I decided to carve new swords from fresh wood.
After carving nine swords, I finally managed to carve satisfactory engravings on two of them. Since I only carved from the guard to the handle, the blade parts are still just sticks. If it’s just two, I should be able to finish carving the blades by lunch break.
] “Obtained carving skill.”
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“No prey here.”
“I got some nuts~”
Since entering this territory, Pochi and the others haven’t had much hunting success. Along the highway, there are few birds or beasts to hunt. Tama still manages to gather chinquapin nuts and acorns. I remember in some survival manga they stir-fried acorns and bugs, but since food shortages aren’t an issue for now, Tama’s harvest just sits unused.
Well, it’s almost time to prepare lunch. Lulu’s outfit next to me looks different than usual. The blue braided cord she uses to tie her hair is the same as yesterday, but the frills on her apron boost her cuteness by fifty percent.
“Prep work is done.”
“Good, then put the fat in the frying pan and heat it up.”
“Yes!”
Today I’m teaching Lulu the secrets of cooking steak. Maybe because she’s nervous, her body is tense, and her face is flushed.
“The garlic amount is fine like that. Transfer it to this plate.”
She obediently used the wooden spatula awkwardly to move the garlic. I made the wooden spatula myself because the usual ones were inconvenient for steak cooking.
“Listen carefully to the sound. Don’t close your eyes.”
Lulu followed my instructions, but it seems she gets nervous when her face is too close. Since she’s not used to men, I gave instructions over her shoulder.
“When this sizzling sound starts, the preheat is enough, so put the meat in.”