“Alright. I’ll train you both bit by bit, but you’ll still have to level up, too, so don’t think you can get out of that.”

“I know.”

Imiya and the girl nodded and stood by my side.

“We’ll be back.”

Raphtalia waved to us.

“Okay! Off you go!”

“Don’t worry about me, Raphtalia.”

“Huh?”

The girl that had joined the cooking division mumbled as she waved back. What was she saying?

“Okay?”

“I’m not worried!”

Huh? Oh, I get it. He might try to intimidate us, but I’m not scared, so don’t worry. That’s what she meant.

“Okay, we’ll be back!”

“Here we goooo!”

The carriage rattled off into the distance.

“Now then. You two give me a hand.”

“Okay!”

I set about teaching them how to cook and take care of other miscellaneous tasks.

“Bubba Shield, you’re good with your hands.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! You’re really good at cutting up fish and monsters!”

Being told that didn’t feel bad at all.

“My shield has mysterious powers that make things taste better, so I can’t really take the credit. When you’re cooking, think about the flavor of your . . . parents’ cooking, and try to recreate that.”

“Okay! I’ll teach you how to make something I like, Bubba Shield.”

Flavor of your parents’ cooking . . . I kind of stepped on a landmine with that one, but she’d replied with a smile on her face. I guess it was fine as long as she was smiling.

All said and done, I ended up being the one being taught something new, but whatever.

“Is this how you’re supposed to cut the jewel?”

“Yeah. That’s pretty good for your first time.”

Considering that Imiya’s demi-human type made him naturally good with his hands, I decided to teach him what I knew about compounding medicines and making accessories.

Chapter Nine: Hanging Out the Shield

Chapter Nine: Hanging Out the Shield

One week had passed since I’d begun governing the territory . . . or rather, looking after a bunch of brats. The repairs on the houses had been finished for the most part, and it was time to move on to the next stage.

Just like Filo had promised, the new filolial remained a cute little thing, happy just to pull a carriage. As I’d expected, it was nice having a filolial that wasn’t a chirpy little blabbermouth. One morning, while the slaves were still asleep, I tried playing a lighthearted game of fetch with the new filolial, like I had done with Filo in the past. But Filo intercepted the stick and ruined the game.

“Master! Filo is best!”

I was trying to build a rapport with the new recruit. Stay out of the way!

“Rafu!”

“Go long, Raph-chan!”

I feinted a throw and Raph-chan cast illusion magic on Filo.

“Ahh! Waaait!”

Filo sprinted off after a phantom stick that would probably go on flying forever.