With Ki making a hasty exit the message was clear.  Time was of the essence.  Alex imagined all the people who showed signs of the infection being put in wooden cages like Sakura had done with Fumi.  It probably wouldn’t be that drastic but making an appearance in the crisis would hopefully be helpful.  The only human in the forest group being absent likely was a bad look for the tribe's people who just set down their whole way of life to try something new.

 

“Well Bob, Martha, could I stock up the carriage on some more supplies for the town?  I would like to grab some food and maybe some wool or other things for making fabric.” Alex asked the pair shamelessly.

 

“Usually, people trade things, not just take.” Bob chuckled, his tone not serious.

 

“Actually, I cleaned up a few things that they found when searching out the ruins that you might be able to use.”  Alex said.  He took a wooden chest out from the carriage. 

 

With a creaking of wood, the chest opened.  Several shining metal tools were inside.  There were several spades, a scythe, a sickle, and a pair of shears.

 

“Oh, wow you clean them up like new.” Martha stepped forward and inspected the tools.

 

“Well, not completely like new.  The wooden parts are all gone.  I just cleaned up the rust.  Hopefully Bob is a good enough woodworker to make handles and poles.”  Alex nudged the farmer.

 

Bob grinned. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem.  Lets get your carriage loaded up and you can head out.  You are already burning daylight.” 

 

With the ability to turn the carriage into card form loading it up with food and clothcraft supplies wasn’t difficult.  This second version of the carriage could hold a lot of stuff.  

 

Classes, skills and magic change everything in this world.  The farm could produce way more than what it should be able to.  What was insane in terms of output on earth was normal for people of Bob and Martha’s level.

 

Alex wondered if they hadn’t been trying hard before and just farmed enough for their own needs or if they threw a lot of food away.  

 

“You know, if we could get an insulated room set up and use the cold water from the stream to run through a radiator we could throw together a really basic refrigerator.” Alex pondered.

 

“What’s that?” Martha asked.

 

“Oh it is something that keeps the temperature cold.  You can put food in it and it lasts longer.  The big problem though is that we are almost out of metal.  Almost all the nails gathered from the ruins were used to build new buildings.  Maybe we can get some more metal from dungeon drops but I’m not sure that is sustainable.  Having a source of iron or copper ore would be nice.  I don’t think anyone I know has a mining path though.  It would help so we could consistently produce metalworks, like that radiator in the refrigerator. Sorry, that might be a bit too much info.  Short version is that a refrigerator is a box that keeps things cold and fresher.”  Alex felt like he might have lost Bob and Martha with the long explanation.

 

“Martha has a skill that does that.” Bob was quick to answer.

 

“Well it might be able to help it last even longer.”  Martha softened the blow.

“Did you get anything else?  I thought they were running that dungeon while you were gone.” Bob asked.

 

“Well, most of the stuff that they got from the dungeon was stuff that would help a diver.  Though some of the swimsuits they stashed were quite cute.  There were some pearls but I’m not sure how useful that would be.” Alex explained with a shrug.

 

Martha frowned. “Ah, you should have made me some jewelry out of the pearls.  That would have been nice.”

 

Alex shook his head.  “I already have cooking, cleaning and tailoring.  Isn’t three domestic skills enough?  Maybe I can’t even get jewelry.”

 

Fufi chimed in. “I bet you could.  Making cute jewelry sounds like a class skill for a magical girl doesn’t it?  Alex’s priorities are wrong.  Creating cute things for the new citizens would go way farther than trying to pretend to be a mayor.”

 

Alex glared at the bird.

 

“This farming outfit that you made me has really given me a nice boost.  She’s got a point Alex.” The farmer agreed.

 

Alex sighed. “Okay, point made.  I guess I can try when I get a chance.  I don’t know the first thing about making a pearl necklace though.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll be cute.  I believe in you and the gifts Luna has blessed you with.” Martha said with conviction.

 

The group loaded up the carriage. As gears turned and cogs ticked the panels for the carriage closed up and they were ready to go.   

 

Alex looked around for Merumeru but she was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, he and Fufi set out.  Likely the slime girl would beat the carriage on the trip back to town.  The trip was getting familiar at this point.  Carriage ruts and footprints lined the area, letting the pair know they were retracing the path to the farm but in reverse.  The first leg of the trip through the wooded mountains consisted of mostly walking.  The second day would be easier.  The most annoying part of the trip was the musky smell of sheep that covered everything.

 

“Next time we try this, remind me to wash the fleece before we pack it.  It smells like range rats.” Alex said to Fufi when they stopped for the night.

 

“What’s a range rat? Also, why not use your feather duster and cleaning skill?” Fufi asked.

 

“Oh, it is just a slang term for sheep.  It has nothing to do with rodents. As for using the cleaning skill, it feels like cheating.  I’d like to do it right at least once.  I was wondering though what happens if the skill gets too aggressive?” Alex replied.

 

“Hmm, not sure what you mean by too aggressive.” Fufi said.

 

“Well, like I can use the duster to remove rust, or hair laying around.  It just evaporates.  What do you think it would do to dirty sheep fleece?” Alex asked.

 

“Oh, I think that might be a possibility.  You should take a little and try it and find out.” Fufi advised.

 

Doing just that, Alex took a bit of fleece and set it on a flat surface.  His fears were confirmed when running the feather duster across the fleece.  It got swept away and vanished into a puff of mist. “I guess the feather duster isn’t a tool that solves all cleaning-related problems.”

 

Fufi nodded. “It sounds like you might have found a way to improve your cleaning skill.  I bet you could make an outfit that would go very well with that feather duster from the dungeon and really empower your cleaning.”

 

Alex considered this.  The cleaning skill plus the feather duster plus a cute maid outfit would give maximum cleaning potential.  He imagined a cute maid with green-black hair dusting a manor cheerfully.  Alex caught himself before the fantasy could go too far.  Why was the first thing that popped into his head a maid outfit?  Couldn’t a janitor outfit work just as well?  No, it wouldn't be cute.  Maid outfits are the cutest.

 

“Hey, I see what you did there.” Alex scornfully stated.

 

“What?” The flamingo innocently replied.

 

“Just because I think maids are cute with their frilly dresses and headbands doesn’t mean I want to dress up like one.” Alex stomped on the carriage floor.

 

“But I didn’t say anything about a maid outfit.” The pink bird sounded smug.

 

“Ugh, nevermind.” Alex gave up.

 

As the ground straightened out their pace picked up.  With some winding of the key inside the carriage they were good to pick up the pace. Even with the suspension, going offroad with the horseless carriage was rough.

 

“Rubber wheels sure would help.” Alex muttered aloud.  “Do you think the nymphs could help us with some rubber trees?”

 

“I’m not sure.  You might want to ask Ki or one of the other nymphs.” Fufi said.

 

“Hmmm, If something similar exists in this world then we might be in the wrong part of the world.  I think rubber trees grow in a tropical climate.   Do they have jungles in this world?” Alex poked Fufi for answers.

 

“Oh, yes there are all the same climates as well as some more extreme ones.” Fufi explained.

 

“Extreme?  I thought Terre was a similar size to earth.  Though I bet there is more to it than just size” Alex wondered aloud.

 

“Yes, you’ve already seen it.  Like this forest we are in right now has high nature attunement.  The wasteland outside where the barbarians roam about is what happens when the land loses its attunement. This is different from fire attunement.  An area with a high fire attunement tends to be a scorching hot desert or a volcano.” Fufi explained.

 

“I wonder what the wasteland used to be and how it got that way?” Alex questioned.

“The demons create wastelands by consuming the attunement to obtain power. Ki might know how things were before.  I’m guessing a forest and grassland mix?” Fufi said.

 

“This world is weird.” Alex shook his head, green and black hair swaying around. “My hair sure is getting long.”

 

“Don’t worry about the demons.  Sometimes imps fly around and try to feed off the forest.  Fumi said it was really funny when Sakura dealt with them.  They would sit down in what they thought was a good spot, close their eyes and suck the energies into them.  They she would just root strike to the head.  Sitting around trying to power up by doing nothing. What else did they think would happen?” Fufi told her fellow flamingo’s tale.

 

That method of powering up sounded oddly familiar to Alex but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was called.

 

The hamlet came back into view while Alex tried to figure out a term that was on his lips but couldn’t quite come out.  Oh well, it was just some silly thing that wasn’t important anyway.

 

Ki and a flattery of nymphs came to greet them at the adventurer’s guild.

“Welcome back magical girl Alex” One unfamiliar nymph said, eyes sparkling.

 

“Just call me Alex please.  How are things here?” Alex asked. 

 

Ki gave the other nymph a stern look and stepped forward. “As well as can be expected.  Most of the people had mixed emotions on seeing the group that abandoned them.  Luckily we didn’t get the chief back.  He got targeted the heaviest from the harpies.  The largest males got swarmed and then flown off to the harpies nests.  Some of the injured have shown signs of feminization.  So the fact that we are dealing with bird flu is confirmed.” 

 

“Oh dear, that is not good.  What happens with them?  Are they contagious?” Alex worried.

 

“Hopefully we caught it early enough.  The people who are showing symptoms are being kept in a tree house outside of town. As you can see, some of my cousins came to town to help watch over them.  We can’t have other humans taking care of people who are infected with bird flu.” Ki gestured to the other nymphs

 

The other nymphs smiled and a few waved.

 

“First, I planned a town hall today.  It is in about an hour so you should have some time to get unpacked.” Ki said.

 

“I brought some food and some wool.  I could use some help unloading it into the warehouse.  Also the fleece is stinky and needs to be washed.” Alex wrinkled his nose.

 

The warehouse adjacent to the adventurer's guild had apparently become a hybrid building / tree while Alex was gone.  The stone walls were covered with vines snaked up and met in the middle of the building.  They wound together tightly with leaves covering the sun facing area.  It made the top of the building look like a roof of green leaves. Inside, roots sprouted from the ground in impossible shapes.  They formed tables, shelves and stools.  

 

Alex used the card for the carriage inside the warehouse and pulled some levers to open it up. With a ticking noise, panels opened and the contents of the carriage were easily accessible.  

 

A group of humans helped empty everything into defined places on the shelves.   Brief pleasantries were exchanged but not much.  

 

Alex had to get ready for the town hall.  After washing his hands and face in the kitchen sink, Alex joined Ki in the open area of the adventurer’s guild.  

 

A crowd of humans with a few nymphs gathered at the tables.  They were seated and looked anxious. The pelt wearing humans stood in contrast to the simple dresses of the nymphs.  It was a bit weird.

 

Ki stood on a small platform where everyone in the crowd could get a good look at the green-haired nymph.  She gestured for Alex to join her. 

 

Alex walked up and smiled awkwardly. 

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to our first town hall.  We have some announcements and then we’ll be answering questions.  The first issue is the bird flu outbreak.  Please report if you have any of the following symptoms: fever, feminization, feather growth.”  Ki continued on with some other announcements related to the running of the new village.  

 

There were a lot of questions about the outbreak.  Ki explained the tree house a few times addressing fears that the infected would just be killed.  Apparently being killed was the normal way to handle bird flu.  Even if someone completely succumbed to the bird flu no one was going to be killed.  They would just be released to the south where the occupied territories started.  Everyone seemed happy with this.  It would be fitting for the crazed harpies to come home to roost in the demon’s territory.  

 

Ki’s phrasing made Alex chuckle a bit.  Luckily he didn’t have to say much.  Public speaking wasn’t really his thing.  The only questions sent to him were just to confirm things Ki had already addressed.  Racial tensions were inevitable.  When Alex explained that people who recovered would be returned to their families it eased the tension more than when Ki said the exact same thing.   

 

After the meeting, Alex was tired.  He fell asleep in his bed almost immediately.  He had really been pushing himself.