Starting the very next day, we split into groups and resumed the work. Since demolishing the orphanage could affect the neighboring buildings, the first priority is to prepare the site for a safe dismantling.
As for the church, there was nothing left to clear out, and with the renovation plans still awaiting the young carpenter’s proposal, there was nothing to be done there today.
“Alright! Let’s get to it and keep things moving!”
As for the workforce, more than ten adventurers had gathered. Over half of them had experience in construction, and they would be teaching the less experienced adventurers as they worked.
The first step was to put up the scaffolding.
“Alright then, Ao and I will store the supplies in our Item Boxes—”
“Hold it, kid,” interrupted the tiger beastman who seemed to be leading the adventurers. “Leave that to the rookies. They need to learn what kind of cargo to carry and how to transport it properly.”
It seemed they were deliberately making the newcomers haul the materials instead of relying on Item Boxes. Which left me wondering what Ao and I were supposed to do. But at the moment… there really wasn’t much for us.
“Everyone knows you two are exceptional mages, but if we depend on magic for everything, we’ll never get anywhere. You two just stay ready. If something unexpected happens, that’s when we’ll need you.”
Even the master carpenter, who had come by to inspect the site, told us the exact same thing as the adventurers.
Since there wasn’t any heavy work for us, Ao and I decided to take care of preparing the rest area and getting lunch ready.
Pluck. Pluck.
Just like yesterday, Shiro and the others were busy pulling weeds. The church garden wasn’t all that large, though, so it looked like they finished clearing it before the day was over.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape
“Ao, what are you doing?”
While I was preparing food at the clinic makeshift into food stall, I noticed Ao using wind magic to carefully shave down a piece of wood.
Curious, I took a closer look—and discovered Ao is carving a tiny wooden statue of the Goddess.
“Wow… It’s beautifully made.”
“And since it’s so small, it’d be easy to carry around.”
“It doesn’t take up much space either. Even ordinary households could display one.”
Ao proudly showed the finished carving to Sue and the others. Its charm lay in the fact that it wasn’t overly elaborate. The simple craftsmanship gave it a warm, inviting feel. And, as if that weren’t enough, Ao had even carved a little slime emblem onto the back of the statue.
“Ao… don’t tell me you’re planning to make these statues from the lumber salvaged when the orphanage is demolished?”
In response to my question, Ao simply curled one of its tentacles into a perfect circle—a clear sign that I’d guessed correctly.
“Ao, you’re forgetting something. You’re the only other person besides me who can use wind magic. Don’t tell me you’re expecting the two of us to make all of them?”
Once again, Ao formed a neat little circle with a tentacle.
The statues might help raise funds for rebuilding the orphanage… but producing them would be an enormous undertaking. Especially for me.
“Then we’ll think of other ways to make use of the reclaimed wood—something the rest of us can help with as well.”
Inspired by Ao’s idea, Sue and the others began brainstorming ways to put the salvaged timber to good use. And so, until it was time for the morning tea break, we sat together tossing around one idea after another, discussing every possibility we could think of.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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