Isn’t Eight Too Many?
When I went looking for the leader of the Varshe group, I found him lying in the pasture.
As I got closer, I saw that the mottled pattern on his skin had disappeared.
“From what I can see now, the mana blockage seems to be gone. How are you feeling?”
“Moo. (I’m back to how I was before I got sick. This place is great—especially the hot springs.)”
“Right now we’re checking the milk from each cow one by one to make sure it’s safe to drink.”
“Moo. (It’s fine. We’re milked every day, so we’re used to it.)”
“Anything inconvenient? Are things going smoothly with Mr. Bale and the others?”
“Moo. (It’s all good. No problems so far.)”
It looked like Varshe really liked this pasture too.
With that, we could safely leave things in Bale’s family’s hands.
When I looked around for Brother Gerald and Miss Diana, I saw them watching the Varshe soaking in the hot spring, so I went over to them.
“Brother Gerald, the Varshe seems to like this pasture, and everything looks good. I also gave Mr. Bale the magic tool and explained how to use it, so now we just have to hear the results of the milk tests.”
“I saw Bale spraying water, so I figured it must’ve worked. And even though it’s still in progress, I heard the milk is already drinkable.”
“Then let’s boil some milk and have a drink before we go. Should we also take some milk back with us in the cans?”
“Good idea. I’m sure Father and the others would love to try Varshe’s milk too—and I want some ice cream.”
Miss Diana, overhearing us, looked surprised.
“This milk is the base for that frozen dessert we had the other day?”
“No, that one was made with dairy cow milk. We’re planning to use Varshe’s milk for making ice cream the specialty of the hot spring town, so we negotiated and got some of Varshe’s herd to move here.”
“I can’t believe the gentle Varshe are powerful monsters like that.”
“They are docile beasts to those they don’t see as hostile. But because they can only live in specific environments, I suppose that’s why not many people know about them.”
Even the Encyclopedia of Monsters describes it as a beast rarely encountered.
We’ve never seen Varshe fight either, but since Atre and the others say they are strong, I have no doubt about it.
After boiling the milk, Mr. Bale’s family joined us to try it.
“This is the richest milk I’ve ever tasted. Why doesn’t anyone know about Varshe? I bet it would make excellent cheese or fresh cream,” Mr. Bale said, clearly excited.
I mean, I get the urge to make those things, but I doubt we’ll have enough milk for cheese.
We’ll probably only have enough for milk and cream—maybe.
We had them try the ice cream too.
“This is… what kind of confection is this?” Mr. Bale asked cautiously.
Looks like he realized it—the weight of the responsibility they’ve just taken on…
“We’re planning to make this dessert using Varshe milk. It’s going to be the specialty of the hot spring town. And it’ll probably be even tastier than this.”
The more famous the ice cream becomes, the more likely it is that someone will try to steal Varshe.
Back when I first saw this heavily fortified outpost, I wondered why it was built like this—but now the mystery is solved.
It only takes about 30 minutes to reach the hot spring town, but is it really safe to leave milk deliveries to just Mr. Bale?
Let’s eat some of Varshe’s ice cream and then talk to Father and the others about it.
We received five cans of milk from the knights and Mr. Bale’s family and headed to the still-under-construction hot spring town.
By horse-drawn carriage it would’ve taken 20–30 minutes, but on horseback we got there in under 10.
Even from afar, the mansion Grandfather and the others are supposed to live in stood out with its pure white exterior and calm orange roof.
Grandmother pressured Grandfather into agreeing to adopt the Fleur Village style here too, just like she wanted.
I wonder if the doors and window frames of their mansion will be the same color as the roof?
“The exterior is pretty much finished already. Isn’t that fast?”
“Apparently, the carpenters really like the hot springs and want to move here, so they’ve been rushing to get it done,” said Meyer.
According to Meyer, in order to bring their families here, the carpenters need their own homes—but first, they’re building Grandfather’s mansion.
And with how the hot springs help them recover from fatigue, their work’s been moving quickly too.
“Hardt, are you going to see Grandfather?”
“No, I’m heading to the hot spring source first where Maria should be. What about you and the others, Brother Gerald?”
Miss Diana looked to Brother Gerald and gave a small nod.
“We’ll go with you,” he replied.
Seriously? You two already in perfect sync? Sheesh…
I almost wanted to ask if I should start calling her “big sister.”
When we reached the source, there were eight straw huts built around it to harvest hot spring minerals.
Eight?! Isn’t that a bit much?
I thought two or three would be plenty for testing.
But the place was filled with thick white steam rising into the sky, and the hot air was intense.
“Young Master Reinhardt, over here,” Maria called, waving from outside one of the straw huts.
With her were Raul and Natalia.
So Raul and Natalia were the bodyguard-assistants Maria mentioned?!
What do you think about this chapter?
