Jude and the others decided to sell the four who had become slaves in the Empire, and they left the next morning.

Raunen kept his head down the entire time, but it seemed that the other three also understood that he was the cause of all this.

Pyul almost cried, shouting, "Why?! I don't want this!" and blamed Raunen, but the other three wore resigned expressions. It was a matter of shared responsibility — they couldn't leave just one person behind, and they understood that.

“The trouble’s gone, huh…”

Crow, who was standing beside me as we saw the four off, let out a tired sigh.

"Did you remember those people, Crow?"

"Do you think I would? They don't remember us either. Only Rust stood out. It was such a bizarre scene, after all."

It seems it would be impossible to hide the fact that Rust was the ringleader.
I’ll have to tell Lady Laz that we won't be accepting people from the Empire anymore.

"You didn’t stop them?"

"Among nearly a thousand otherworlders, they were just familiar faces, that’s all..."

Apparently, Crow had only looked into Rust after the rebellion broke out.
Still, for him to have escaped with Rust suggests that he thought fairly well of him.

Crow never tried to get involved with those four, only maintaining superficial relations, and showed them no sympathy.

"Rust recommended coming to the Kingdom, and after that, I ended up here... and you saved me."

I see. So that's why he came to the Kingdom after parting ways with Rust.
Rust had originally moved from the Kingdom to the Empire, after all.

“Well, it’s a pain, but time to get back to work.”

Crow waved his hand lazily and headed toward the construction site.
From the same direction, I saw Rust approaching us.

Maybe Crow noticed Rust and cut the conversation short.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Rust. I'll answer if I can."

"About Setico and the others... Aren’t you going to share what happened with everyone?"

He looked confused about why they had left.
It seemed he understood that he himself had been a factor in them being driven out.

"Ah, well... hmm, did you want to know?"

Officially, the story was that they left after the first phase of construction was finished, and the adventurers were returning to their main work — so they took the four along with them.
We hadn't explained that any trouble had happened.

Besides us, there were still carpenters and others here, so it was hard to explain publicly what had really gone on.

But from Rust’s perspective, they were just gone when he woke up, with no explanation — which might understandably leave him feeling unsettled.

"Shall we walk outside a bit?"

Naturally, I couldn’t talk about what happened in a place where other people, like the carpenters, might overhear.
We moved to a place where no one could listen in.

If it had been Tiga we were dealing with, I would have made sure there was a room or some walls between us... but since it was Rust, even if someone overheard, it wouldn't matter.

"Where should I start?"

"Hmm... I wonder. It's just... why doesn't anyone seem to care? Or are they sharing information somewhere I don't know about?"

Probably, Tiga knew what happened. I figured he’d overheard it.
This morning he gave me a troubled look, so he must have debated whether to say anything and decided to leave it up to me.

My brother, feeling a little awkward after getting drunk and passing out, hadn’t said anything either.
I saw him talking with Jude and Leonis this morning, so he probably knew.

Technically, my brother was in charge, but I had taken it upon myself to decide to sell them off.
I had been prepared to be scolded, but nothing happened.

As for Luna and the others, when I glanced over at her, she shook her head, signaling she didn’t want to know.
Luna had always seemed really uncomfortable around those four and had kept her distance.
Ryunnu nodded along with her, though it was unclear if he felt the same way or was just following Luna’s lead.

"We haven't formally shared the details. I think everyone either learned through their own means or chose not to get involved.
If you wanted to know, I’m sorry."

"Ah, no, sorry. It's not like I really wanted to know."

"Um... then what did you want?"

So he hadn’t asked because he wanted to know?
Honestly, this was complicated.
If I had to explain why we drove them out, I'd have to explain about Unique Skills too...
and we hadn't even shared those details among ourselves yet.

"Hmm... I'm just struggling with how I feel, I guess. I don't think I'm particularly individualistic, but I'm wondering why no one else seems to care."

"I see... Well, let me explain the situation first. Raunen approached me with a proposition, and when I refused, he tried to use violence."

"Uh... against you?"

Rust made a face that said "Are you serious?" — a look of disbelief and exasperation.
It was kind of interesting to see that even he could make that face.
At the same time, I wondered what he really thought of me.

I was stronger than those four, but they hadn’t realized it.
Rust, however, clearly understood.

"Well, I guess I looked weak enough for them to think they could push me around... Anyway, when a criminal slave raises a hand against their master, it’s a huge violation.
The usual response would be immediate execution."

Of course, "execution" could mean literal killing, but I decided it was better to sell them off into trusted hands than to take that final step.

"Did you ever think about getting rid of me?
You almost died because of me, didn’t you?"

"…Yeah, well. It’s true, but... it wasn’t something you did intentionally, right?"

"I see...
I still feel like I did something terrible."

"You make it sound so casual... but I understand.
I also heard you were worried about me."

Mainly from Reus, I heard various things explaining that Lust wasn't a bad person.

Just like Tiga wanted to protect Lust, Reus also defended him. Both of them insisted, "His attitude is a problem, but he is reflecting on his actions," so maybe he's just a little bit clueless.

"Honestly, I don't really understand Lust. But if he's going to be an enemy, it's less effort to keep him close and watch him. Plus, there are things I need his help with… If it comes down to choosing what's more important, the decision is obvious."

I don't need people with bad attitudes who only complain.

I'm sorry, but for the sake of negotiations with the dragons, Lust is necessary... probably.

"That's right. As for Setico and the others, once they started expressing dissatisfaction, there was no way we were going to keep them."

"Brother."

My brother, who had hidden his presence, had caught up with us. It seemed he had been listening from a bit of a distance because he understood the situation without needing it explained.

"Hey, why did you bring them here in the first place?"

"I understood how painful it was to be starving to death. I also wanted testimonies about the Empire. I thought that if they were going to die anyway, it would be better to bring them along... But afterward, if they started envying others without doing anything themselves and disrupted the harmony, I couldn't leave them here."

My brother's voice dropped slightly for a moment. It had a tone of determination.

"We've already gotten the testimony we needed. I told them if they worked desperately and earned our trust, they could stay—but they didn't follow through."

From the beginning, my brother had brought them along, expecting it might not work out.

And now... my brother had coldly cut them off.

Maybe he had felt awkward because it ended up being me who pulled the trigger.

"Hey, what about me?"

"If you refuse to help close the rift in space-time, we might kick you out... but you're willing, right? Besides, you're helping with the farming too... If you have any complaints, I'll listen."

"No, nothing really."

"If you lay a hand on my sister, I'll kick you out. Keep that in mind."

"Got it."

...What was that just now? For a moment, he sounded almost threatening, in a tone I'd never heard before.

But Lust brushed it off casually, so maybe I imagined it.

After that, another two weeks passed without incident.

The development of the settlement had progressed quite a bit. Everyone’s houses were finished, workshops were complete, fields were being cultivated, and rice paddies had been filled with water in preparation for planting.

Even the ranch, which had been part of the original plan, now had proper pens, and the rabbits were roaming freely. On top of that, we caught and started raising Shebels, goat-like monsters, and Yakokko, chickens that had gone wild. We were aiming for milk and eggs.

Sphino was taking care of them, but there were too many to properly tame.

Even so, they didn’t rebel against us, and there had been no problems.

The next step was to prevent wild monsters from attacking. When letting the animals out of the pens, either Crow or I would keep watch. I’d like to give them more freedom, but it’s difficult.

If Shimaou returned and claimed this place as his territory, no other monsters would approach.

The carpenters had started construction on a guesthouse and an inn outside the south gate. Though, it looked like it would take quite a bit of time.

If the buildings were poorly made, we’d be looked down on, leading to trouble. But if they were too complex, maintaining them would be a hassle.

So we decided it was better to take the time and build something sturdy and impressive. The adjacent inn was currently being used as lodging for the carpenters, but we would need another building soon for the adventurers.

However, managing that as well would stretch us thin, so we were still discussing what to do.

"Master. How’s the living situation?"

"Not bad. Free from the annoyances of town life, I can do what I like. No complaints."

"Please let us know if anything’s missing."

"Well… looks like we might be a little short on vegetables."

My brother mentioned that too.

Though, since it’s heavy physical work, the carpenters prefer meat. With a fair number of people, we need to stock up on food...

"Leonis buys only meat, doesn’t he?"

"Yeah, even though he’s old enough to know better. But at least he brings back what we ask for."

Even though Leonis had supposedly left with Jude and the others, for some reason he had started commuting daily from the settlement to Mare. He even got a dedicated horse for it.

It would normally take over five hours on foot, but with a horse, it was just over an hour. Even so, since he used different horses for the trip there and back, it must still have been quite a burden.

If it rained and the ground got muddy, it would take even longer… but it seemed he planned to eventually move here to be closer to the master he was worried about.

Originally, we had intended for Leonis to stay in the same house as us, but since the house prepared for the four who left had become vacant, he decided to live there instead.

"Klein and Lady Pamela’s requests get handled right away, but mine are always delayed."

"Um... Diana..."

"Hehe, don’t worry. I actually like it. It’s more fun being surrounded by lively people than staying alone."

Yeah, Diana had also moved here.

I wondered if she was really okay living in such a remote place, but she helped a lot with farming and animal care.

"Was this really okay for you?"

"Yes. Even though I announced my retirement, I kept getting job offers. So I thought it wouldn't be bad to retreat here with Lady Pamela and enjoy some peaceful countryside living."

Since Diana also had medical skills, her moving here was a huge help, especially with taking care of the master. Leonis’ commute might be tough, though.

As for us, we relied on Sphino for transportation and borrowed a rabbit for travel. After getting used to riding a rabbit, horses just didn't feel necessary. Plus, rabbits were so fluffy and pleasant to touch.

As for the ride itself… not the best, not the worst. Compared to horses or Shimaou, rabbits bounced up and down a lot, which might be uncomfortable for some people.

My brother often rode a lion-like monster named Chili. It was a Faacoleone he had caught in the Empire, and he had named it himself.

The group’s leader was Chili, and the others were Pepper, Chinpi, Ginger, Shiso, Poppy, and the two small ones, Black Sesame and White Sesame.

Apparently, the color of their flames reminded him of seven-spice chili pepper.

However, Momo seemed to think that Chili was stealing her brother’s attention, so she often growled at him.

Chili didn’t seem to mind, and my brother spoiled Momo anyway, so there hadn't been any problems. Still, maybe because she wanted to grow stronger faster, Momo had recently started sneaking out of the settlement to hunt alone.

She’s still weak, though. Eventually, it might be a good idea to take her to the Mushroom Forest to find her family. Naga-kun should be able to tame them by now.

As the settlement finally took shape, we received a letter from Naga-kun and the others, announcing their return.