Fun Territory Defense of the Easy-Going Lord ~The Nameless Village Is Made Into the Strongest Fortified City by Production Magic~

the surface of the lake.

　Even though her eyebrows are drawn together, she is not scary because she has a cute face.

“I’m sorry.
Please come back!”

　I call out to her.
But she pouted and turned her face away to the side.

　Have I put her in a bad mood?

“Till, do you have any fruit?”

“Yes, I’ll get some right back!”

　Here’s to hoping sweet things will lure her out.

　In these remote fringes of the kingdom, there is are no sweets.
That’s why sweet fruits are so popular.

　Well, in the first place, only the nobility can afford to use sugar anyway, as it is a luxury item.
The only other class which can afford it are the merchants.

　That’s why sweet making is not very advanced in this world.
If sugar, butter, and other confectionery ingredients were to become more widely available to the general public, the variety of sweets would increase as well.

　Personally, I’d like to have butter-filled baked goods, but it would be difficult to procure any, considering my situation.

　At the end of the day, you have to be very rich or a nobleman to be able to eat delicious sweets on a daily basis.

　So, that’s why, when I laid out the sweet fruits that Till had brought and called for the Apcarle again, the results were immediate.

　With half of her face still submerged, her eyes lit up as she gradually came swam closer to the fruit.

“Would you like some meat? Or would you prefer fruit?”

　When I asked her that, her eyebrows tightened and she fell silent until she eventually looked up and opened her mouth.

“I eat both.”

“Okay.”

　Laughing, I decided to give her a piece of meat first.

　She gently took the meat and put it in her mouth, from a small distance away.

　Immediately after, she looked at me with his eyes wide open.
She was still looking at us, but she is clearly enjoying the meat.

　After a few seconds, she gazed at us with a slightly suspicious look on her face.
She seemed to be observing Dee, Orto, and the others.

”…This meat…”

　I tilt my head at the Apcarle, who mumbles to herself.

”It’s Armored Dragon meat.
It’s going to go bad soon, so if you want to eat it later, it’ll be preserved meat and not fresh.

　As I tell her, she looks at the lump of meat that Kamsin holds with his eyes wide open.

”…Who hunted it?”

　At the question, I tilted my head and looked around.
Who indeed? Maybe, the villagers who manned the ballistas?

　I tried to check everyone’s faces to see who they thought was responsible for the successful hunt, but they were all looking at me.

　Then, they opened their mouths in unison.

“Of course, the credit must all go to lord Van.”

“Who else but lord Van could have slain these beasts.”

“Lord Van has never failed to help.”

　They all gave me the credit for the hunt.

“No, you guys are the ones which manned the ballistas.”

　I said so, but in the end, it seemed that the village was in the opinion that the credit was mine.
I felt like I’d been framed for a crime.

“They say I was the one who killed the Armored Dragons.”

　When I had no choice but to make such a statement, she blinked her big eyes and stared at me intently.

　Then she opened his mouth.

“…Okay.”

　After that succinct reply, she took the fruit from my hand and disappeared into the lake.

”…huh?”

　I turn around with a confused look on my face, but everyone just shrugged their shoulders.

　The next day, Till came running to me to wake me from my sleep.
Again.

“Ma, Master Van!”

“What’s going on?”

　I jumped because of how loudly Till threw the door open.
Till is in a cold sweat at the rudeness of her action, but she bows his head in a kneeling position.

”I’m so sorry! I just got word that someone was attacking us, and I panicked…!”

“An attack…?”

“Yes, sir! The enemy forces have been stopped at the moat, I’m told…!”

“Mmm, that’s dangerous.
I hope the villager are safe, especially the ones manning the ballistas.” (T.N.
Note: No idea what the original MTL was trying to say about the ballistas, so I just put what I felt Van would say in this situation.
P.S.
Thanks for the suggestion, sorenmaelstrom)

　Despite the danger, Till made sure that I was well dressed before we headed out to the wall.

　They must have nerves of steel to dare to attack my village.

　I’m going to crush you!

　With that thought, I ran up the bulwark and looked down at the moat and was stunned.

　It was because the moat and the waterway were lined with Apcarles everywhere.

”…It’s not like Armored Dragons were deified by the Apcarles, right?”

　I turned to Till and asked her that, and she shrugged with a troubled look on her face.