Chapter 80

### A Forest Morning

Bright sunlight fell around the mansion.

After completing the strategy for the toxic, closed dungeon, I stepped out into the mansion's garden. Beside me was Mileine, the mother Pegasus.

"Well, since more holy beasts will likely join us, I want to create a comfortable environment for Mileine, who is a holy beast, and get her input on it."

By the way, since we were in the forest, I had chosen a forest-type field dungeon for Kou's dungeon expansion.

The white horse Mileine turned her long neck to look around the mansion and the surrounding forest before speaking.

"Yes... it would be nice to have a spring."

"Got it. Anything else? Would you prefer a house over a stable?"

"We are more comfortable in a stable. If there are caves, some holy beasts might prefer them. Also, since we don't know what kind of holy beasts will gather, it would be good to have a variety of foods, like fruit trees and nuts."

"I see. I also had an idea. I wanted a field."

"Yes, that would be fine."

I took out my communicator and made a call.

"Kou, it would be good to have a stable and a water trough next to the mansion, and a bathing area like a hot spring. Also, a spring, a rock shelter, and a field with fruit trees in the garden. Can you do that?"

"Sure thing. I'll set them up first, and you can give me instructions for any adjustments."

"Thanks."

Then the garden glowed.

Next to the house, a beautiful stable with white walls and a triangular roof appeared. Inside, it was divided by boards and straw was spread on the floor.

Right in front of the stable, a covered water trough was built, with different heights to accommodate large to small holy beasts.

A deep bathing area where a Pegasus could immerse up to its shoulders was also created, with a thin waterfall flowing down from above.

The walls and moat around the house expanded, and the water trough in front of the entrance disappeared.

Instead, a paved path stretched from the entrance to the gate.

On both sides of the path, fields and fruit trees spread out.

A spring with a fountain was built a little forward from the stable.

In the corner of the field, a small house made of large rocks was constructed.

I asked Mileine, who was standing next to me,

"How does it look? Is this okay?"

"Yes, it's good. It would also be nice to have a few larger trees where birds can perch."

"Trees with branches extending out... hmm, maybe later. Tall trees would stand out too much compared to the forest trees."

"I see. It's not too late to expand after others arrive. To be able to set up the environment so quickly, you truly are amazing, Alex-sama."

"Thanks to my companions. From now on, I'll be counting on you, Mileine."

Then, from the forest, a white foal, Shier, galloped over.

She spread her wings and gently flew over the wall, landing in the field.

"Wow! Mama, there are apple trees! Can I eat them?"

The fruit trees already had red apples. I don't know how it works, but in a dungeon, it's probably easy.

Mileine looked up at me with her large eyes.

"Is it okay to eat them?"

"Sure, go ahead. But don't eat them all. Leave about half of the field and the fruit trees."

"Understood—half, Shier."

"Okay, Mama, Alex!"

The apple tree was as tall as a person, but Shier hovered by flapping her wings and started eating the apples directly from the tree. She was quite skilled.

"Delicious. They're so juicy and refreshing, and they have a sacred feel to them. They're really good!"

"That's great, Shier. Be grateful to Alex."

"Okay, thank you, Alex!"

Shier said thanks with a smile while eating the apple.

I nodded in response and spoke into my communicator.

"The garden and stable seem to be fine. Thanks, Kou."

"No problem. I'm happy to be in charge of the field dungeon too."

"Also, about the crops in the field—"

"Sure! Watering, fertilizing, planting, and harvesting—all of it, leave it to me. I can even create seeds from the ingredients."

"That's impressive. —Then, I want you to grow medicinal herbs."

"Medicinal herbs?"

"Ririshia and Teti have been searching the forest every day, but if we can harvest them in the garden, it would make the mission requests easier. The rainy season is coming, so it will be challenging."

"Indeed, Master, your thinking is bold."

Mileine, standing next to me, also widened her eyes.

"To grow medicinal herbs that can only grow in the forest, in the forest's field. That's a great idea."

"Thanks, Kou and Mileine. Let's do it."

"Okay."

I ended the call.

"Take care, Mileine. Is everything set up to your liking? Is the pond safe for the children?"

"Yes, thank you. It's wonderful to have such a beautiful home."

Mileine spread her white wings and bowed deeply and gracefully. I could feel her sincere gratitude.

I told her not to worry and returned to the mansion.

◇ ◇ ◇

After making the mansion's garden habitable for holy beasts, I decided to do my daily routine.

I went to the adventurer's guild with Ririshia.

The adventurer's guild had a few more people.

It seemed that the number of emergency high-paying requests had increased due to the damage caused by animals.

Incidentally, the Edgar team was doing a great job.

Ririshia went to the reception to take a request, and I looked at the board to check the current requests.

"The number of wolf extermination requests is increasing... bears haven't appeared yet. There's even a request to explore a wolf den. It might be in the forest."

If it's not in the forest, it would be troublesome, so I'll check and take it tomorrow.

While I was thinking about this, a sound came from behind me.

I turned around to see the guild master, Rubel, standing there.

Her red twin-tails were tousled, and she was crossing her arms, looking displeased as she glared at me.

"What's up, Rubel? Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, I have something to ask you, Alex."

"What is it? I haven't done anything special."

In response to my words, Rubel snorted.

"Recently, someone has been clearing undead-type dungeons one after another. Was it you, Alex?"

"Who knows? I don't know anything about it."

I had a bad feeling, so I tried to dodge the question.

Rubel's frown deepened as she glared at me even more.

"Isn't it strange that someone who cleared a dungeon doesn't come to sell the core?"

"Who knows? Maybe they'll come to sell them all at once. It's easier to manage a large sum of money than to carry it around."

Of course, I couldn't say that I used the core for a magic bag or dungeon expansion.

But Rubel's distrust of me didn't diminish.

"Hmm. Well, let's leave it at that."

"But that's fine, right? It's a good thing that dangerous undead-type dungeons are being cleared. You can't get much material from undead, right?"

"True. They're unpopular dungeons... but one of them is a restricted S-rank dungeon. It's strange that it was cleared."

"An S-rank undead dungeon!? Is there such a dangerous one?"

"Yes, as you know, Turn Undead works on undead regardless of their strength. That's why undead are considered weak and are ranked lower—"

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Didn't you know, former hero?"

"Well, I could usually defeat them with a direct attack..."

As I scratched my head and tried to explain, Rubel laughed in surprise.

"Unbelievable strength. As expected of a monster of holy waves. —Normally, when you cast Turn Undead, if the undead is weaker than the caster, they ascend, and if they are stronger, they are stunned for a few seconds. So, with two priests casting alternately, any undead can be defeated."

"I see. So even an S-rank could be handled that way."

"But in that dungeon, a Dragon Zombie appeared that was immune to Turn Undead. Holy water, holy swords, and other holy magic didn't work. That's why it was too dangerous and was made off-limits—"

"Wow... that's dangerous. I need to be careful."

I felt cold sweat run down my back.

—I know. I know that Dragon Zombie that is immune to holy power!

Rubel glared at me.

"Be careful, you said. I already told you it was cleared by someone."

"Even if you didn't travel the world, you could have become an SS-rank by defeating that Dragon Zombie."

I tried to change the subject, and Rubel jingled her accessories and shrugged.

"There wouldn't be any proof of the kill. The zombie would be burned to ashes by my flames. —Also, the fact that it was immune to holy power was concerning. It could be a noble dragon. That's why I made it off-limits and was investigating—"

Rubel moved closer and looked up at me.

I leaned back and took a step back.

Ririshia returned at that moment.

"What's going on? Master, Rubel-san?"

"Nothing, just a conversation that doesn't concern us—let's go collect medicinal herbs."

I took Ririshia's hand and headed for the entrance of the adventurer's guild.

Ririshia, with her silver hair swaying, turned back in a hurry.

"Okay, see you later, Rubel-san."

Behind us, Rubel was still looking at me suspiciously.

—It's a good thing I made it a closed dungeon this morning.

I might have been even more suspicious.

I vowed to only target closed dungeons for a while.

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I'll keep working hard!

The next chapter will be updated tomorrow.

Title: Holy Wave Practice