Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Yggdrasil’s golden holiday lasted for four days.

There were only a few students left at the school, while the others would have gone down to their hometowns or enjoyed their rest with an easy mind.

On the other hand, Duke Ren was probably growing without a moment’s rest, undergoing rigorous training from his mentor.

That was the destiny of the protagonist who carried the future on his shoulders.

A stubborn passion to the point of foolishness, and an unshakable goal to grow.

He was surely overcoming hardships through that.

‘Seeing him train alone while everyone else is resting… it’s admirable, and I’m grateful too.’

As I opened my eyes, thoughts of Ren suddenly crossed my mind.

The dazzling morning sunlight streamed through the trees.

I was lying in a hammock installed between the trees next to the storage room.

‘Not bad, this.’

In the middle of the night, I had tied a long piece of cloth between two trees to make a hammock.

I had climbed onto that cloth and slept there overnight.

‘It’s not softer than a bed, but sleeping on it is fine enough.’

I wasn’t asking for much anyway.

As long as I could sleep well, that was enough.

With that thought, I checked the quest.

Clean the first pen.

Fill all the pens with feed (morning/evening).

Give the lamb its special meal (morning/evening).

Total obtainable points: 15pt

There were three today.

As long as I followed the quest instructions, that day’s quota would be over.

‘Let’s finish early and rest.’

I picked up a few unfertilized eggs, fried them, and recharged my energy.

By now, I had somewhat adapted to work at the livestock shed.

I was no longer the weakling who would run out of breath after just a bit of mopping.

‘My stamina is still below average, but it’s much better than on the first day.’

I wondered how much time had passed.

After cleaning the pens and distributing feed, the sun was already high in the sky.

‘Time to rest now.’

I wiped the sweat running down my forehead and plopped onto a wooden box.

Taking out the wand I had kept in my back pocket, I recalled last night’s events.

After gaining Ilawne’s heart, I had tested its power.

‘It was quite strong.’

It didn’t seem like the increased firepower was simply because it was a good weapon.

Ilawne’s heart hadn’t yet fully grown into a perfect weapon.

‘It was originally that capable.’

I remembered what had happened during the exam, inside the dungeon.

Back then, I had used an ordinary torch instead of a weapon, so the firepower must have been weaker.

Now that I had a proper weapon, I could finally bring out its true performance.

‘Compared to the other brilliant top students, it’s nothing special, though.’

I still had a long way to go, but at least I could now hold my own as a student of Yggdrasil.

‘Right, when I had no ability at all, I was practically an unqualified admission.’

Among all the students, Villed had been overwhelmingly incompetent.

But now, at least I wouldn’t be in last place anymore.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve saved up quite a few points.’

I looked at the shop screen of ✿Animal✿Farm✿.

At the top, it displayed 50P.

I had only cleared quests without spending points, so they had accumulated.

I had forgotten about them for a while anyway since there wasn’t anything to buy.

‘What should I do with this? Other than the Happy Nest, is there anything else to buy?’

Now that I had gathered a decent amount of currency, maybe I could buy something I needed.

With that thought, I opened the general store.

‘It’s open.’

Next to “Happy Nest,” two slots had been unlocked.

Once again, the shop had partially unlocked new items.

‘Let’s see what they’re selling this time.’

You never knew.

Maybe I could buy a new animal or a new ability.

With that hopeful anticipation, I checked the sales list.

Goddess of the Animal Kingdom’s Knitting Set – 20P

Needles and thread blessed by the goddess!

Make clothes with this and they’ll be very sturdy!

After completion, they disappear like magic!

‘What the heck is this?’

Knitting, out of nowhere?

It’s not like I was in any situation where I needed clothes.

With a puzzled expression, I checked the other slot.

Wool Growth Promoter – 20P

Makes your sheep friend’s wool grow faster!

Disappears like magic after one use!

‘Wool, huh.’

Both were one-time-use items.

In exchange, they were cheaper compared to the Happy Nest.

‘If I have this, I could keep the wool for myself.’

After shearing the wool, if I applied the growth promoter, it would return to normal in no time.

Since it would be restored, there shouldn’t be a problem.

‘The growth promoter looks useful, but the knitting set… I don’t get the point.’

Since I was in a financially tight spot, I could probably sell the wool to make a little money.

But I wasn’t lacking clothes, so I didn’t feel much need for a knitting set.

‘Wait a second.’

Then, something flashed through my mind.

‘Wool… knitting…?’

I had a feeling.

Almost like I was possessed, I bought both the knitting set and the growth promoter.

‘Let’s shear the wool first.’

With a dagger in my right hand and a carrot in my left, I headed toward the pen with the sheep.

– Baa!

“You listen to your big brother, right? That’s it, stay still like that.”

I carefully sheared the wool so the sheep wouldn’t get hurt.

Was it because it understood my intentions?

Fortunately, it stayed still.

I had been showing my face often and giving it special meals, so it seemed to trust me a little.

‘Looks kind of bare.’

Once all the wool was sheared, only a skinny body remained.

‘If I apply the growth promoter, the wool should grow back.’

I applied the bottled growth promoter around the sheep’s body.

I wanted to see the process of the wool growing back with my own eyes, but there was another priority.

Carrying the pile of wool, I went to the storage room.

I took the knitting set in my hand and brought it close to the wool.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Just as I swallowed with a gulp, a new hologram appeared.

Wool Arm Guard – Craftable

Slightly increases defense. Excellent for keeping warm.

Up to four can be equipped.

‘Knew it!’

I snapped my fingers with a click! and smiled.

‘So this was for crafting equipment!’

In Yggdrasil, you could check whether something could be crafted by bringing one material close to another like this.

‘A wool arm guard, huh…’

It wasn’t exactly a piece of equipment I needed.

‘I can just make it and sell it!’

That would solve the money problem.

I could expect several times more profit than selling the wool as-is.

And with continuous crafting, I could even grow my crafting ability.

Earning money and developing my skills — it was killing two birds with one stone.

But my excitement lasted only for a moment.

‘Of course, I still have to find a good buyer.’

In the world of Yggdrasil, shopkeepers were infamous for being ruthless.

The kinder ones would buy for 20–30% of the original price instead of half.

And there were plenty of crooks who would slash it down to just 10%.

If I were lucky, I might rarely find a merchant who would buy for half-price.

But finding such a trading partner wasn’t easy.

‘I’ll have to think about that part later.’

Setting aside complicated thoughts, I decided to just make it first.

Using the wool and thread as materials, I began knitting.

I hadn’t done it since my school days, but I proceeded smoothly without a hitch.

At this rate, I could finish it in less than a day.

‘Must be the equipment bonus.’

Come to think of it, didn’t it say the needles and thread were blessed by the goddess?

It might be because of that.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I started knitting.

The sun, which had been high overhead, was now setting.

‘Looks like I’ll finish sooner than I expected.’

Completion was just around the corner.

First, I decided to drink a glass of water and take a breather.

That was when I stepped out of the storage room.

“Huh?”

I heard someone’s voice.

“Isn’t that the noble sir?”

Turning my head toward the sound, I saw a student wearing the Yggdrasil school uniform.

She was also a first-year.

“Yeah, it is! Noble sir, what are you doing here?”

Clear, round eyes that looked clueless about the ways of the world.

Dark red hair tied into two pigtails swayed as she moved.

Of course, I knew this character.

‘The chatterbox, Keirin?’

Why was she here?

I wondered for a moment, but then realized the reason.

‘Tomorrow must be the day to go to the snowy mountains.’

I remembered a brief line in the story where Keirin said she went to hunt an Ice Dragon during the holiday.

That must be why she was waiting here in Yggdrasil.

“So this is the place where you work, noble sir? No wonder there are so many animals.”

She looked talkative and fragile on the outside.

‘But she was actually the second-highest ranking in the entrance exam.’

She even had an Earth-element professor assigned to her personally.

Even with an advisor tagging along, going to hunt a dragon was still a huge feat.

And later, she even appeared in the main story, holding a fair amount of importance.

“That lamb over there is so cute. I wanna pet it.”

Other characters tended to be wary of Villed.

But perhaps because of her personality, she was different.

Besides, Villed was a petty character who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Knowing Keirin’s strength, he had only ever been quick to run away from her.

That must be why Keirin wasn’t afraid of me.

“Noble sir?”

When I just stared silently, she kept walking closer to me.

I sighed and answered.

“Stop calling me noble sir.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“Call me by my name.”

“Hmm.”

Keirin tilted her head, then replied.

“That’s boring.”

If it’s boring, then just leave.

‘It’s not like you’ll get anything out of hanging around me.’

She hadn’t come because she was interested in me anyway.

She had probably just found me while out on a walk.

‘If someone else had been here instead, she would’ve talked to and followed them too.’

I suppose you could say she had high sociability.

She was the type to approach anyone without distinction, which was why she had the nickname “chatterbox.”

“I like animals. Do you like animals too, noble sir?”

‘Enough already, just go.’

She spoke without pause, and it was too bothersome to answer each time.

I already had enough work to do.

‘If I just wait, she’ll leave eventually.’

Fine, you talk, I’ll work.

Leaving Keirin alone, I returned to the storage room and continued knitting.

It wouldn’t take long to finish.

“So even noble sirs know how to knit!”

Before I knew it, she had followed me inside and was watching me knit.

But asking if a noble knew how to knit…

Of course, I knew she wasn’t mocking me.

With her personality, she was just purely curious.

“Since it has wool on it, is it an arm guard? If you wear it on your arms in the cold, it’d be super warm.”

It was almost done now.

For some reason, the area around the guard started to sparkle with a faint light.

Noticing that, my breathing quickened.

‘Looks like it’s going to turn out to be a pretty good item.’

When light appeared during crafting, it was a good sign.

While I ignored her and focused on knitting, a thought suddenly flashed in my mind.

‘Wait a second.’

Hearing Keirin’s words had made something come to mind.

Maybe I could find a buyer after all.

‘She’s going to the snowy mountains tomorrow.’

Keirin was a character from a tropical climate who absolutely hated the cold.

It was written right in her character description under “Dislikes” — cold.

‘And she doesn’t have anything to protect her from it.’

The professor accompanying her would carelessly lose their cold-weather gear.

Even in the game, during the Ice Dragon hunt, she had a line where she complained that the cold was unbearable and she never wanted to go again.

‘And I just happen to have appraisal skills too.’

In the game, Keirin was one of the people who often requested the protagonist to appraise newly obtained gear.

This was the perfect situation to have her hold onto a sparkling arm guard for a bit.

‘Let’s throw out some bait.’

With that thought, I held out the finished arm guard to her.

“Can you appraise this for me?”

“Huh? Congratulations! You finished it!”

But right after saying that, Keirin blinked.

“But how did you know I had gear appraisal skills? Hm, did I ever tell you that?”

“Just appraise it first.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

She took the arm guard and pulled out a round lens, bringing it close to her eye.

“Hm…”

A few minutes later, Keirin lowered the lens.

“Wow… That’s amazing!”

She was so straightforward it was easy to read her.

It wasn’t a joke — she was genuinely impressed.

“It’s not master-level quality, but the craftsmanship is really precise. Did you really make this?”

“You saw me making it right in front of you.”

“There’s nothing a noble young master can’t do!”

“Then I’ll take it back.”

“W-wait a second!”

Keirin stared at the arm guard and spoke.

“You know… could I maybe buy this from you?”

She had taken the bait instantly.

I shook the arm guard casually.

“How much will you give me?”

Your offer, please.