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Tack…tack…tack…

The sound of an axe rhythmically striking a tree could be heard in Nebel. The source of that noise was the lumbering area at the beginning of Schwarzwald, where a small white-haired girl swung an axe that seemed too big for her.

Eventually the tree tipped over, and there was a crackling sound as the remainder of the trunk split apart and the tree was felled.

“Phew…that should do it for today.”

Crim had been working there since before the sunrise, tirelessly piling up logs of trees one after another until a bit before noon. During the day the sun would keep rising, which affected her negatively, so she preferred to work early.

She let go of the pitch black axe she was using, which quickly dispersed and blended into nearby shadows. Once she made sure it was gone, she placed her hand on the tree logs, which began to glow and vanish one after another.

“[Oak Pulpwood] x 3 have been stored.”
That system message appeared, a single log produced three.

“Hmm…my inventory is full now. I’ll have to carry the rest by hand. Alright…then.” With that careless voice, she easily picked up a large load that dwarfed her small frame, then walked proudly back to the town.

A week had passed since Crim defeated The Strongest Monster and made up her mind on her next objective.

There were still two weeks and a few days left before the Area Master registrations opened up. That was part of the reason why building a house was the top priority for Crim now.

There were two main conditions for someone to register as the master of a certain unclaimed area. One was to have a certain amount of trust from the residents of that area. The other was to own a lodging in said area.

She was still working on gathering all the materials she needed to build that house. That would be a large first step to claiming that town as her own area, so she was extremely motivated to keep living as a lumberjack for the time being.

Having completed her work for the day, she entered the town.

“Criiiiim!”
“Woah.”

She felt a heavy hit on her back, which almost made her lose balance and drop the heavy logs she was carrying, but somehow managed to keep them together.

“Eheheheh…caught you.”
“Alright now…”

Crim sighed in defeat, feeling that girl hugging her from behind, rubbing her face on Crim’s long white hair. That was Juna. Crim was an only child, so she was weak to the way Juna always treated her like an older sister.

Even though Crim would prefer to be more of an older brother, and tried to indirectly coerce Juna to act that way, it did not work out in the end.

But that was not important now.

Since Crim had been working hard to gather materials to build her house, her Physical Strength stat had gained many points. Thanks to that, she could handle being tackled by Juna like that.

That did not change the fact that charging into a regular person like that could be dangerous though, so Crim had to harden her heart and scold Juna.

“Juna, I already told you it’s not good to jump onto someone carrying heavy things.”
“I knowwww, I’m sorry.”
“Good girl.”
“Eheheh…”

In reality her heart was still as soft as cotton.

Juna smiled happily being praised like that and feeling Crim’s hand patting her head. Because of that, Crim had to carry the logs on one hand, which she then placed in the box for materials she used to collect everything.

“Also Juna, are you sure you should be out here?”
“Mhm, though I’m only allowed to be out two hours every day…”
Juna’s voice sounded disappointed as she replied.

While her sickness had been treated, her health would not recover instantly. It was better not to rush things. After making sure Juna was allowed to be there, Crim sat down atop the pile of tree logs before beckoning Juna to sit on her lap, who did so happily.

“Well, that’s still for the best, so just bear with it. What’s George up to?”
“Ah, he’ll come here with lunch once mom is done cooking. She said she’ll make you a serving too Crim!’
“Ohh? I see, I’ll be looking forward to it then.”

Juna continued talking happily, saying how it would be a picnic to commemorate her recovery to the point of being allowed outside. Crim just smiled and continued patting her head.

“Juna! I knew you’d be here. I’m really sorry she’s causing so much trouble for you, Crim.”
“Ah, Georgieee!”
“Hey George, thank you for coming.”
“Hello…”

Crim and Juna greeted George with wide smiles, which were a bit too overwhelming for him, so he just fidgeted nervously and went to sit on another log a slight distance away.

The food basket George had brought included some sandwiches of freshly picked vegetables and cheese for Crim, and they all enjoyed the food happily while talking to each other.

The main topic of conversation was the progress of rebuilding the house.

“The garden is looking really pretty already though.”
“Yeah, I’ve already trimmed all the overgrown lawn, and I also renovated the foundations and floor. Now I just need to gather a bunch of materials.”

The main building would be constructed by workers from the town once she gathered the necessary materials. Crim chuckled realizing that only happened in games, but made sure the two kids would not see that.

“Does this mean you’ll stay here forever then? If you’re building your house here.”
“Mm, forever is a long time. But for now that’s the plan.”
“I see…I see…”
“..?”

George seemed to be rather happy to hear that, which made Crim tilt her head wondering why he reacted that way.