“Okay, I’ll go ahead and take Claudette home. Make sure my kid’s not out too late, yeah?”
“I understand.”
Red Eye put away his farming tools and removed the plow from Claudette, hopping up onto her and slapping her back with a “Giddy-up!” The golem horse whinnied and plodded off under the setting sun.
The day after the battle, the golem horse had returned to the village rather nonchalantly and had continued to serve Gaius loyally. The only thing different about her was that her body had gotten slightly lighter in color. She must have reconstructed her body with the sediment from the riverbed.
The river had kept flowing until all through the night following the battle, but strangely, in the morning, more sediment had piled up to block off the mouth of the river once again. Because of that, there was a rumor spreading among the kobolds about a powerful spirit living in the lake.
“Mmmph...” Gaius stretched in his farming clothes and sat down on the ground, turning to gaze at the children nearby. Fluff and Fishbone were practicing running on two legs. Dwaemon stood nearby, coaching them. The two furballs were repeating a cycle of running a short distance, falling to all fours, then getting up again and falling again. The adorable sight brought a smile to Gaius’s face, though only those close to him would have recognized it for what it was.
“Sir Gaius!”
“Thought we’d find you here, Sir.”
The voices belonged to Sashalia, walking with her cane, and Darke, who’d just recently taken the sling off of her arm.
“Oh. Something the matter?”
“It’s almost time for dinner, but Claudette was the only one who came home, so we came looking for you. Blossom’s watching the house.”
“Mm. As for me, I just wanted to go for a romantic evening stroll with Sally.”
Sashalia viciously pinched Darke in the side.
“That actually hurts a lot!”
“Where’s Emon and...ah, there they are.”
“Yeah.”
The three youths seemed to be having a meeting of some sort. From their gestures, the observers surmised that they were incorporating a game of tag with Emon being “it” into their practice. ...Of course, they couldn’t catch him. Their big brother was showing off, spinning and dancing as he ran.
“They sure are full of energy.”
“The children’s growth really does surprise me here.” Darke nodded to herself. “Blue Gale’s the same way. Fluff and Fishbone might be taller than Rain Grass and the other adults soon.”
“I bet the babies born recently will get even bigger.”
“With their kids getting bigger and the litters they give birth to, the good mothers of the kingdom are going to have their work cut out for them.”
“It is. But that’s why we established the nursery and are planning on expanding the hospital, and why we started the school, too.”
“Ah, right you are. Instructor Sashalia.”
“Hahaha... I’m just getting more and more titles, aren’t I?”
The furballs had picked up sticks at some point and were brandishing them as they gave chase to Emon. Something quite vile was on the ends of the sticks; Emon’s expression twisted into fear when he caught sight of them.
“Well, that’s just fine! There are tons of things I still have to do, am doing, and want to do!” Sashalia’s cheeks were flushed, but she had an irrepressible smile on her face, too. Up until now, she’d always just been chasing after Gaius Beldarus, but now she stood with her own power, facing forward and walking her own path. Of course, Sashalia had yet to realize that herself.
“We also need to increase food production and improve sanitation. We’ve organized our military, so we’ll need better armaments to match. I’m even planning to begin trade with the outside world! So you’d better be ready for all the work I’m going to need you to do, Sir Gaius!”
“Hahaha. I’ll do my best.”
“Yep, yep. We’ll have you working at least as hard as Claudette, old man.”
“I’m putting you to work, too!” There was a real fire in Sashalia’s voice.
Meanwhile, Fluff and Fishbone were going after Emon with everything they had. Their earlier clumsiness was all but gone, as if they’d suddenly improved a great deal. The young dwarf they had their sights on was fleeing with just as much vigor, screaming in horror.
“Wow, they got really good all of a sudden.” Darke observed. “You think ’cause they’re descended from a wolf god they get into it when they have something to chase?”
“...I think their enthusiasm is more than likely unrelated...” Sashalia sighed as she adjusted her glasses.
Darke narrowed her eyes beside her, croaking with her usual laughter. “But, y’know, what if the kobolds start looking more like wolves, like their ancestor?”
“You think that’ll happen?”
“They’re so little and fluffy now. Would you be disappointed if they got a little less cute?”
“Why would he be disappointed? I think it’d be great if they became better fighters.”
“Geez, you’re always like this, Sally. Why don’t you act more like the adorable maiden you appear to be?”
Gaius watched Emon cry out in terrible agony as the young kobolds finally caught up to him and turned back to the ladies after a short chuckle. “I wouldn’t be disappointed. No matter what they look like, they’re all my...” Gaius stopped there when he caught sight of Sashalia’s face. The small, redheaded general was smiling, her head tilted as she looked at her king.
Gaius grinned and nodded, looking back over at the kids and correcting himself, his tone warm: “...No matter what they look like, they’re all our precious children.”