After Nathan and his group left, there was not much to do but talk with Prim. She took the time to begin explaining to me the ‘common sense’ of this world. First, there were the four races.

  First among the four races were the elves. They were renowned for their magical aptitude and their uncanny accuracy, so adventurer elves almost always ended up as either a mage or an archer.

  Second was the dwarves. Their greatest strengths were their craftsmanship and… well, their raw strength. All of the most famous blacksmiths in this world’s history were naturally dwarves. As for the dwarven porter for Nathan’s group, it made sense if he was the one with the highest physical strength.

  Third came the beastfolk. Beastfolk came in a wide variety of different animal types. For the most part, they looked similar to humans, aside from their ears, tails, and sometimes claws. Their specialties were their agility, bestial instincts, and their ability to reproduce. However, of the four races, they had the shortest lifespan, with a typical beastfolk living to be no more than fifty years old, at most.

  Finally, there was the humans. Humans were sometimes discriminated against by the other races in certain areas because they didn’t have a specialty that stood out amongst the four races. They weren’t as strong as a dwarf, as fast as a beastfolk, or as magically gifted as an elf. However, they also didn’t have the weaknesses of any race, having a higher average ability across the board without any trait that truly stood out.

  Aside from the four races, there were also monsters and demons. Monsters were considered any creature that had a magic stone within its body, considered to be the source of their different abilities. Magic stones were a popular commodity, as they could be used as crafting ingredients in any field, or as power sources. Some awakened items even ate them to grow stronger. For reference, I was unable to ‘eat’ the magic stone of either the horned viper or the goblin.

  Demons were a powerful race that stood on par with the four main races, but they themselves were a type of monster, having magic stones grown in their body from birth. According to Nathan, demons were incredibly strong, each one gifted in either strength or magic.

  Thankfully, the area that I appeared in wasn’t near any demon settlements. The worst that I had to face were C-ranked monsters like the horned viper. Admittedly, a C-ranked beast was strong enough to destroy a small village if it didn’t have an active guard, but that was something to worry about another time.

  The next thing that I learned from Nathan’s visit was about the items within my territory. In short, they could be summarized as ‘products’ and ‘property’. My territory’s ‘property’, such as the kitchenware in the house, parts of the trees, or even Prim, could not be taken outside. If such an item were to be removed from the territory, it would rapidly decay and ‘respawn’ where it was meant to be. I wasn’t sure if the same would apply to Prim, but she seemed physically incapable of leaving.

  As for ‘products’, these were things meant to be shared with travelers, such as water from the well, or fruits from the trees. These could be taken out of my territory without any problems at all. Most likely, the items that could be purchased from the tavern would turn out to be a similar sort of product.

  The next thing that I learned was something that I was only able to realize after Nathan and his people had left. That was the fact that I was unable to receive points from Prim. Even days after they had left, my points remained at six, the same as they were when I first purchased the well. I had dreamed of being able to farm points off of Prim, then use those points to create another resident, and use this cycle to infinitely increase my income, but that was clearly not going to work.

  As I was thinking about that, and debating over what my next move should be, I noticed that it had begun raining…

  “What are we doing out here, anyways?” a young man asked the woman walking alongside of him, both dressed in light armor and carrying swords. The rain pelted down against them, seeping into their armors and chilling their bodies. “The guild said that the path between Leonin and Corvath is temporarily closed due to an ongoing investigation. If we get caught, our licenses could be revoked.”

  “Then we just need to not get caught. Stop worrying so much,” the woman said in a smug tone. “Besides, the most dangerous thing in this area is a grey wolf. Between the two of us, that won’t be a problem. But, what if there’s a new dungeon along the road? If we can get an inside scoop before other adventurers show up, we might be able to run away with the best loot.”

  The man grumbled under his breath at her reasoning. He knew that there was no point in trying to dissuade her when she had her mind set like this. If he didn’t come along, she would run off by herself, and that would only put her in more danger. Although it was a risk to follow her, he didn’t want to see her die because of her own stubbornness.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Hey, Brock, was there always a village here?” she suddenly asked, looking ahead. Brock followed her gaze, squinting to see it through the heavy rain. Sure enough, there were five houses just down the road.

  “I’d hardly call it a village… but I don’t remember there being anything like that the last time that we came through. They might be recent settlers or something?”

  The girl’s eyes widened at this, her fists clenched. “Do you think that they could be the target of the investigation?” she asked, though she herself was uncertain. However, their presence along the road would fit in with the temporary travel ban. “If they’re not, they might not be aware of what’s going on in the cities.”

  “Sylphy, I really don’t think we should get involved--and she’s gone…” Brock lowered his drenched face, trudging along after the girl who was already sprinting towards the houses in the distance.

  When Sylphy arrived at the collection of houses, she found a simply-dressed, blonde rabbit beastfolk woman there, standing in the rain with a smile as she greeted her. “Welcome, guests,” she said, her hair pressing against her face. “Perhaps we can go inside to talk? It would seem that you didn’t prepare for the rain.”

  Sylphy hesitated for just a moment, wanting to say something. However, a chill swept through her body, and she suddenly sneezed. Despite her protests, her body clearly wanted shelter from the storm. “R-right, thanks. My friend is coming too, is that fine?”

  The rabbit-eared woman simply nodded her head, gesturing towards the first in the row of houses. “Please, be my guest.”

  Soon, Brock caught up, and the three went inside without delay. Immediately, Brock and Sylphy gasped, feeling the damp chill fleeing from their bodies. They were still wet, but they were now at least warm and wet. “I’m afraid that I don’t have any spare clothes for the two of you, but feel free to dry yourselves by the fire,” the woman offered, gesturing towards the kitchen. “You don’t want to catch a cold or anything.”

  “R-right,” Sylphy muttered, looking around the well-furnished house in surprise as she made her way over to the fireplace, feeling the heat radiating off of it. “Who are you, by the way?”

  The woman offered a light bow towards the two. “My name is Prim. You can consider me the caretaker of this Land. If you’d like, feel free to spend the night until the rain passes. There’s plenty of room for the two of you.”

  “What about the other residents?” Brock asked, looking back towards the door. “There were five houses, right? Are you able to welcome strangers for everyone?”

  Prim shook her head. “I’m currently the only resident here. This Land was just recently colonized, and we are still growing and looking for proper residents. For now, we will welcome any travelers passing by, offering them a warm bed and a free meal.”

  “A meal?” Sylphy asked, confused. However, she soon snapped out of her thoughts. “Ah, right! I should let you know, the adventurer’s guild has declared this road off-limits for the last week. If you’re offering food to travelers, you might burn through your supplies without being able to restock!”

  Prim blinked at that. “The last week? Ah, the investigation? Their team stayed here for shelter while they were doing their investigation, so I’m not worried. They just left the day before yesterday, so I assume that the restriction should be lifted soon after they arrive in Leonin.”

  Sylphy’s eyes lit up when she heard this. “They stayed here? That means that the cause must be nearby, right? Can you tell us what it is?”

  Prim couldn’t help but let out a light laugh, looking off to the east. “This Land itself was the cause of their investigation. However, you need not worry. From my understanding, they found the Land to be a friendly entity, and will likely wish to establish friendly relations in the near future.”

  “The… Land?” Brock asked, his eyes going wide. “The Land itself has awakened?” As he asked that, he thought back to some of the things that she had said. It didn’t seem that she had really been trying to hide it from the start, though few would have caught onto her meaning in a normal conversation.

  Sylphy, meanwhile, had none of Brock’s anxiety. Her energy had been turned up to eleven, and she leaned closer to Prim with her eyes practically shining. “Awakened land? That’s so cool! What kind of effects does it have? Can it generate its own dungeons, or spawn monsters? Oh, can it impart power to those who live on it, awakening latent abilities?”

  Prim had to force herself not to recoil back at the sudden tirade of questions, clearing her throat to stop Sylphy. “For now, the Land merely wishes to provide a comfortable place for people to live. These houses that you saw on your way in are all creations of the Land. In addition, the two trees nearby can produce an abundance of food, and the well behind this house can produce clean drinking water.”

  Sylphy blinked at this, her enthusiasm cooled. “The Land just… wants people to be comfortable? That’s… remarkably chill for such a strange being. I thought it would be all for world domination, becoming a Demon King’s country, or some kind of fantastic dungeon with terrifying monsters.”

  Prim’s brow twitched slightly as she heard Sylphy’s expectation. “I assure you, the Land has shown no intention of wanting anything other than to provide comfort for those who need it. Travelers may stay as long as they wish, and new facilities will be provided as they are needed.”

  Prim had already been instructed by the Land not to call it ‘my lord’ in front of others. While making houses was already a rather unusual power, it would only get more unbelievable for travelers if they found out that the only resident was a being created by the Land itself. Better to let them think that she was a caretaker, perhaps someone that had already attuned to the Land.