-Squeak.
From medium-sized ones to small-sized ones.
Boars of various sizes scurried around inside the enclosure.
-Oink.
“What should I even call this?”
I had managed to put them all in here, but…
It ended up being quite an awkward situation.
“There are so many pigs! Oink, oink!”
Our Ara was absolutely thrilled.
I guess it was somewhat fortunate.
The other kids were also watching the mini boars with curious eyes.
“Are we raising all of them, Dad?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah.”
The little humans inspected the fence we had built.
They seemed more surprised that we had built the enclosure in such a short time than by the fact that we were raising boars.
“It’s really sturdy.”
“If we had something like this for our fortress walls, it would be much safer.”
“Didn’t it take almost no time? It was finished so quickly!”
For now, I decided to put off deciding what to do with these boars and asked Choro.
“Did these guys attack you?”
“Yes. If you hadn’t sent the slimes at just the right time, it would have been a disaster.”
“I see.”
To me, the biggest one was only about the size of a medium-sized dog, but to the little humans, it must have felt as big as an elephant.
They held out well.
It was a good thing I didn’t delay my deployment either.
“So, about that, Demon King…”
While I was lost in thought, Choro hesitantly spoke up.
“We’ve made our decision.”
“A decision? Ah!”
I didn’t even need to ask.
They must have finally made up their minds to join me.
“Please accept us!”
With eyes squeezed shut, Choro bowed his head.
Then, the other little humans beside him also lowered their heads and shouted.
“Demon King! Please take us in!”
As they all bowed and shouted together, it actually made me feel pressured.
Wanting to get rid of this burden quickly, I waved my hand and responded.
“Alright. I’ll accept you. So, all of you, lift your heads.”
“Wow! Really?”
“Hooray! Hooray! Long live the Demon King!”
“Yes! Now I’m part of the Demon King’s army too!”
Something about the way that sounded didn’t sit right with me, but since everyone seemed happy, it was fine.
‘Hmm, I just happen to have some equipment the cats made… I should hand it over right now. Since they’ve officially become my subordinates, I need to be generous.’
Leaving the boars in Ras’ care for the time being, I returned to the Nyang village.
As if they had been waiting for me, some of the cats were already standing by with equipment in hand.
“Ooooh!”
“T-That’s…!”
Seeing the gear the cats were holding, the little humans immediately made a big fuss.
The first one to grab a helmet shouted excitedly.
“This helmet saved my life several times in the last battle!”
“With a full set of armor, we’ll be truly safe now!”
“Ahh! Thank you, Demon King!”
At this point, it was tiring to correct them every time that I wasn’t really a Demon King.
I just gave up and had the little humans try on the armor sets.
The newcomers consisted of about ten elite soldiers and 200 regular troops.
There were only about 50 armor sets available, so not everyone could wear them.
“We can share them!”
The armor sets were split among them.
Some wore the upper pieces, others took the lower pieces, and a few just wore helmets or guards.
This way, all 200 soldiers managed to wear at least one piece of equipment.
“This is the Demon King’s army gear!”
“It feels so reliable!”
At first, they were wary of me as a “Demon King,” but now they proudly referred to themselves as my army.
“I’ll keep asking the cats to make more equipment for you.”
“Thank you, Demon King!”
“By the way, if monsters keep attacking like this, won’t you need weapons too? Do you have enough weapons?”
One of the little humans proudly raised something in his hands.
“This is our weapon!”
“Hmm, let’s see.”
A wooden stick?
There’s something attached to the end, but…
“Wait, is this… a rock?”
“I-It’s embarrassing, but the only real weapon we have is my hero’s sword.”
Choro blushed in embarrassment once again.
I had heard they were short on supplies, but this was worse than I expected.
“Is there anything else you need? Earlier, I saw you looking at the fence with envy—do you have materials to repair your walls?”
“We don’t have materials, and we don’t have the tools to fix them either. It’s not just the walls—there’s practically nothing we can use to build anything.”
“Hmm, alright. Then we’ll provide everything you need.”
“Gasp! Really?!”
Choro and the other little humans all looked up at me with shocked expressions.
It was both adorable and a bit overwhelming, but I just smiled.
“Of course. That’s only natural.”
After all, there were plenty of resources lying around.
If the cats and goblins worked together, they could figure out the tools.
First, I needed to go back and check what supplies were required.
But since they needed everything, I should at least send them something right away.
“What do they need the most?”
Food was the top priority, and I had already provided plenty.
That meant I had solved the ‘food’ part of the necessities, but now I had to think about clothing and shelter.
“Do you have enough clothes?”
“It’s embarrassing to admit, but we don’t have any.”
“That makes sense.”
“If you ask what we need the most right now, it would be materials and tools to reinforce the walls. They were damaged quite a bit this time, so if a strong wind blows, they might collapse.”
“Wait, it’s that bad?”
The situation was more serious than I had thought.
After discussing with my people, I made a decision.
“Transport construction materials from the mines!”
I personally went to the mines by wagon.
The little humans huddled together in the wagons, marveling at the new technology.
“The wagon moves on its own!”
“So fast! I feel like I might get blown away!”
When we arrived at the mines, the gnolls and goblins greeted us.
At the same time, the little humans were in awe at the sheer scale of the mines.
“T-This is a mine?”
“What incredible technology! What an enormous scale!”
Their exaggerated reactions to everything made me feel quite proud.
Apparently, Ara felt the same way, as she eagerly explained everything to them.
“Rocks! Dirt! Ore! They all come from here!”
“Ooooh!”
“Gnolls dig, and goblins refine the materials!”
“Ooooh!”
Afterward, we visited the storage area to check the stockpile of construction materials.
There were so many materials piled up that they were starting to rot.
“Guys, can you process these into smaller pieces for transport?”
-Krrk!
-Kaang!
The goblins and gnolls immediately got to work.
They broke the stones and wood into smaller pieces to match the little humans’ sizes.
“Like this, like this! Just about this size!”
A little human eagerly gave instructions from the side.
Following their guidance, the gnolls and goblins diligently split the stones and wood.
“I don’t even know how to properly express my gratitude for this!”
Choro couldn’t just stand by and started helping as well.
As expected of a hero from another world, he seemed to have at least the strength of a Level 4 Awakener in this world.
To be honest, I felt like I would lose if we fought.
The processed materials steadily piled up.
Soon, they were being loaded onto carts.
“Heave-ho, heave-ho!”
“Hahaha! This is great, just great!”
Even though it must have been tiring, the little humans moved the materials with bright smiles.
I told them they didn’t have to, but they insisted on doing it with their own hands.
“Such commendable spirits!”
Ara chimed in while helping.
Grrrgle.
“Ara, are you hungry?”
“Hehe.”
It was about time for a meal.
And after working so hard, we should eat soon.
“I’ll leave it to you, rabbits.”
-Beep beep!
Of course, there was a rabbit-run dining hall here as well.
A kitchen was always ready to prepare food for the working goblins and gnolls!
Before long, the kitchen began radiating heat, and dishes started coming out one after another.
“Let’s eat first before we continue.”
-Understood!
Even Mammon, who had been working hard on processing materials, quickly took a seat.
Soon, everyone was seated and began eating.
“Mmm! The rabbits have improved their cooking skills!”
I wasn’t just saying it out of formality—I meant it.
Since the rabbits rotated through different locations, all of them eventually learned how to cook from Jae-seong.
As a result, the food kept getting better.
“A heavenly taste!”
“No, it’s the Demon King’s taste!”
“Huh? That sounds even weirder.”
The 200 little humans took a break and ate with great enthusiasm.
Now that I was watching them, they seemed to be eating even more diligently than they had worked.
Each of them ate at least three bowls before standing up with their bellies full.
“Burp.”
“Thank you for the meal, Demon King!”
I was glad they enjoyed it.
But if they ate this much, even the food supply I had given them earlier might not last long.
For now, we finished up the remaining work.
“This should be enough!”
Was it the captain of the guards?
Whatever the case, after his words, I sent Ara ahead while we started moving the carts loaded with materials one by one.
“Let’s go too.”
Once again, we set off toward the Nyang village by cart.
When we arrived, we saw the cats and Ara had already finished organizing everything in advance.
“Good work.”
“Yeah!”
Now, all we had to do was transport these materials through the portal…
“Heave-ho!”
The soldiers began carrying the materials by hand.
“Aren’t they heavy?”
“They are heavy, and that’s precisely why it’s good! The heavier they are, the stronger our village’s defenses will be!”
“Uwooooh!”
Hearing that, Ara pursed her lips, seemingly touched.
The 200 soldiers repeatedly moved back and forth, transferring all the materials.
Meanwhile, the cats had finished crafting construction tools tailored to the little humans’ sizes.
“What’s this?”
And then, an unexpected object appeared.
It was slightly taller than me—was this a crane?
It looked like a traditional pulley crane.
A device used for lifting heavy loads.
I didn’t expect them to make something like this.
And it even had wheels for mobility.
-Meow meow meow.
-Click!
The cats pointed toward the goblins who were with them.
Ah, now I see—they had built it together.
The goblins were quite skilled with their hands, after all.
Soon, a goblin started explaining to the little humans how to use the crane.
“Ooooh.”
“This is truly amazing.”
Everyone was mesmerized, watching the crane in action.
“Hmm, this seems risky.”
I couldn’t leave it like this.
Time for a hands-on lesson.
Before sending the crane over, I had the little humans practice using it right here.
Dozens of them confidently stepped forward.
They were completely captivated by this massive mechanical device.
Moving heavy stones so effortlessly—it was pretty cool.
One by one, they took turns trying it out.
It couldn’t be operated alone, so they had to work in teams, but they quickly got the hang of it.
“Oh, they’re doing well!”
Especially the group led by the little human who first grabbed the helmet—they handled it with great skill.
I could rest easy knowing they could manage it.
After finishing the practice session, we carefully transported the crane as well.
Lastly, we prepared not just stone and wood but also metal materials and sent them through the portal.
Before I knew it, the day was coming to an end.
“Good job, everyone.”
“Thank you, Demon King!”
Choro stepped forward to express their gratitude.
The 200 soldiers had already begun repairs in their world.
“By the way, Choro, didn’t you say there were originally more soldiers?”
“There was a recent attack, so many of them are staying behind to protect the village.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Still, I worry that I’ve only become a burden to you, Demon King.”
“A burden? What do you mean?”
“Those terrifying fangs, you know?”
“Oh, the boars!”
I had left them with Ras and completely forgotten!
Scratching my head, I thought about Ras still dealing with the boars and then responded.
“Don’t worry about it. Those monsters might actually be useful somehow.”
As I spoke, an idea suddenly struck me, so I asked Choro.
“What kinds of monsters are there?”
“Monster types? Hmm… Most of them have beast-like appearances. Only a rare few look different.”
“Oh, really?”
Then…
“Can you keep capturing monsters for me?”
“Yes! I will make sure to capture them!”
“No, no, don’t overdo it—just bring in the ones that attack your village. It’ll be easy if you get help from Poispois.”
“Understood!”
Choro now brimmed with loyalty.
Well, after everything I had provided, it would have been strange if he wasn’t loyal.
With that, I wrapped up my conversation with Choro and urged him to head back.
Though he looked somewhat reluctant, he understood that his village needed him and thanked me before leaving.
“I will return in two days!”
“Alright, see you in two days.”
We even set a specific meeting time before parting ways.
“Phew.”
I felt like I had accomplished something big.
Now, I needed to check on Ras as soon as possible.
‘Livestock… livestock, huh…’
When Seon-ah returns, she’s going to have work to do.
Cliche Novel 