Welcome to the Monsters' Guild ~ The Strongest Group Who Did Everything, for a Price ~ Chapter 12

TL message: the last two weeks hadn’t been easy.
A childhood friend of mine had an accident and died on a tuesday evening. The news itself hit hard, but confirming it sank my humor and filled my head, making me lose the focus to do anything properly. In the following days I wanted to attend the various events in his memory, which brought an entire week of delay on my working schedule. The week after, Editor fell sick and had also to fight with exams.

We will try to get back on track. Now, enjoy this chapter~

Bam, bam, bam!
The sound of hammering echoed in the air.

Raiz and his comrades were working at the construction site where the new Monsters’ Delivery’s base would be built.
Since their former office was destroyed by the storm, they needed a new one.

The carpenter did him a favor regarding the payment time, but Raiz was both grateful and sorry at the same time.
Given the circ.u.mstances, he periodically tried to help his lifesaver, trying to cover at least the basic expenses. He also offered Lamia’s wages, but her salary wasn’t really great, so Dragon’s earnings became fundamental.

We need to pay the carpenters as soon as we can. We should try not to be a bother.

They all knew that the workers’ life was quite stressful, so Raiz was racking his brain to find more ways to earn money and settle his debt.
But the workers in question looked satisfied.

"Lamia, I need to come down, can you help me?"

"Yes!"

A busy worker called her from the second floor, so Lamia prolonged on her tail and squeezed him from behind to make sure he wouldn't slip and fall down.

"Mmmh!"

The man seemed in bliss from the moment her arms embraced him to the moment he was released.
None of them cared about the delayed payment at all.

"Guyyys~! Why don't you take a break~? I brought some fruit that Treant harvested in the forest~!"

Suggested Dryad, showing them a barrel filled with water she made by entangling her vines.

"Sure! Hey, you all! Let’s take a break!"

"Yaaay!"

After the master carpenter’s order, the workers started to leave the building under construction and headed toward the girl for some refreshments.

"Maaan, your water is so good, Dryad!"

"It’s just water," she chuckled.

"No, for real! It’s nothing like boiled well water!"

They were only trying to flatter her but were actually right. The water she brought wasn’t normal.
It was morning dew enhanced with her magical power, which helped the recovery from fatigue and also replenished magical energy.
They weren’t aware that if bought from a magic tool shop, a single cup would have been worth one silver coin.

"Sir, how much will it take to complete the house?"

Raiz asked the master carpenter.

"Let’s see. Given the size, it would take around half a year, but if you and your monsters keep helping us, we might finish two or three months earlier."

The monsters volunteered to help, and they were doing a wonderful job.

For example, Entering the forest to cut down trees was dangerous because monsters would attack people, so Raiz’s subordinates took their place.
Also, they would have had to wait for the wood to dry inside out, but Dekuch was located in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Tend, where the rainy season was a big deal.

Drying timber was a process that took both time and money.
Thanks to Raiz’s monsters, that process was highly hastened.
The trees were brought to a hut where Salamander had lit a fire, and Harpy flapped the hot air over the wood to make it dry earlier.
That way, the waiting time was drastically decreased.

Also, thanks to Treants and Minotaurs’ strength, more material could be transported at once, and little monsters like kobolds helped with simple tasks according to the carpenters’ instructions, letting the workers focus on precision work.

"Tell us if you need help. It’s our job, after all."

The master carpenter said cheerfully to the working Minotaurs.

"Shouldn’t we lighten your workload?"

"Stupid! We hired you to help us, not to let you steal our work!"

He’s right, thought Raiz.

An expert relied a lot on its sixth sense, and its way of doing things was greatly different from an apprentice's.
Learning how to do it properly took time and honing one’s skills was a process of trial and error.
Gathering many experienced craftsmen was usually the best way to create something amazing.

"We won’t mind some help from strong volunteers."

"Leave it to me!"

Said the master carpenter as he started to choose the better suited men for the task.

If we learn enough from them, we might be able to repair our new house if it breaks. In that case, the repairing fee wouldn’t be very high.

Raiz accepted what the carpenter told him without objecting.

"It will take some more time, huh… We should give our best."

He let out a deep sigh and looked at what was going to become his new house.
The roof was entirely made of wood, some of which was recycled from the old hut.
Since it was still under construction and didn't have any walls, they planned to let the wind pa.s.s through the building to mitigate the damage.

"So, this is it, huh."

Raiz heard a voice and turned to see who just talked.
Two figures were walking toward the house with their faces concealed by hoods.

"This is the monsters’ farm."

"Or rather, it should be…"

It looked like they were searching for Raiz’s house, but since it was destroyed, the workers were building it anew, so it wasn’t easy to understand what was happening.

"It should be full of houses, but there're only fences at best. And what's with that roof… is that even attached?"

"Why are you asking me! Anyway, he should live around here… Ah! There’s someone there!
Thank goodness, let’s go ask them! Excuse me!"

A woman’s voice reached the tamer.

"Excuse me, do you perhaps know where Raiz Tamer…"

But she stopped.

"Err… how can I help you?"

He was perplexed. She had some business with him but fell silent all of a sudden.

"Who… might you be, lady?"

"Hey, wait for me…! Oh, is that you, Raiz?"

The other figure got closer and asked with a male voice.

"Are you… Merck?"

"Yes, I am. It’s been a while."

The man took off his hood revealing a handsome face.

"If you’re here, then…"

Raiz’s gaze set upon the other figure, who looked startled at first, then mastered her courage and revealed her face.

"It’s been a while, Lety."

Her confident eyes were betrayed by her embarra.s.sed look.