Chapter 202: The Big Plan
Qiong Xing answered like someone from a late-night shopping show, making Albe give him a strange look.
"Where?"
"In the country where they used to live. Even if you call it a country, most of the buildings there are already ruined and falling apart. So I thought we could just clear everything out and rebuild it from scratch."
"Huh?"
It seemed they hadn’t expected something on that scale as they all stood there with their mouths slightly open in shock.
"A country...?"
"That doesn’t mean we’ll rebuild everything right away. Of course, it would be nice if it eventually turns out that way, but for now, let’s focus on building a house that was big enough for all of us to live in together without any problems."
"For now...? And you guys are really okay with that?"
Qiong Xing was the only one getting excited, but Albe seemed worried about whether it was really okay to let people of a different race live together, so he turned to Raon and the others for confirmation.
"In the past, we probably would have made a big fuss and said no, but now... we’re the only ones left. There’s no reason to oppose it, so I think it’s fine."
"I’m totally fine with it as long as I get to live together!"
Their answer came surprisingly easily.
"Well, if you say so, then fine. But I’ve never built a house before. What exactly are you planning to do?"
"...Magic, maybe?"
It wasn’t like Qiong Xing had a clear plan.
The only method he could think of was using magic.
"No, that’s not really how magic works... well, whatever. But even if we use magic, how are we supposed to do it? I’m good at destroying things, but I’m not great at making them."
That figured.
Albe was generally skilled, but that skill mostly showed when it came to things he was interested in, especially anything related to attacking.
For anything else that didn’t interest him, he was rough and careless, like, is there really a point in going that far?
"We won’t know until we try. For now, I think we should stay there for a few days and figure out what we can do."
"Huh? You’re not coming back?"
"...Of course we are. We’re just going there for a few days. We can’t start anything unless we actually see the place and think it through, right?"
"......"
Unlike Iseul who looked happy whenever Qiong Xing came Albe’s face looked pale.
Ah... I see.
"It’s fine. Until we decide what to do, Albe can stay here as usual. Once everything is decided, I’ll contact you, so just wait until then—"
"No, that’s not it! That’s not what I’m worried about!"
Then what was it?
"Y-you’re going alone?"
"I’ll take Lian with me. As for Cari and Mayo, I’ll have to ask them."
He couldn’t leave Lian alone for several days since the child still needed milk.
As for Cari and Mayo, it would depend on what they wanted.
Even if Qiong Xing wasn’t there, it should be fine as long as Joa and the others were around.
"No, that’s not okay! Absolutely not!"
"What isn’t?"
What exactly was the problem?
"B-because... that... C-Caribert would be lonely too!"
"Then I’ll take him along as well."
"That’s not what I mean... um, right! Did you tell Joa and the others?"
When Qiong Xing shook his head and said he hadn’t yet, Albe immediately grabbed his hand and said they should go ask them right away.
What was he so anxious about?
"It’s not a bad idea, but do we really need to go that far?"
Even if they couldn’t all share one room, Joa suggested that Iseul and the others could just live here together.
"That’s an option too. But it’s better to have a place to retreat to, don’t you think?"
"A place to retreat?"
Joa and Albe both looked confused, so Qiong Xing explained that it was something necessary.
"This place won’t stay safe forever, right? There will probably be more people coming too. Even if we can’t do it right away, having a place we can escape to will help everyone feel at ease."
"..."
Just because things had been safe until now did not mean they would stay safe in the future.
The children here would grow up, find their partners, and build their own families.
Just like how humans had increased in number that way, the beastmen here would also grow in number.
Joa, Qiong Xing, and Albe would not live forever either.
If they prepared ahead of time so they would not struggle when that day came, then even if it wasn’t perfect, it would at least reduce the burden.
"...Yeah. You’re right. We should do what we can, just in case."
For Joa, helping even a little longer and saving as many people as possible was also a way of fulfilling the promise he had made with Vita.
"Then should we talk to Fei and the others too? It’s better to have more people, right?"
"No, for now this is just to observe the situation, so it’s fine. Let’s come up with ideas first, decide what to do, and then bring people along."
With Joa’s agreement, Qiong Xing was in a very good mood.
There was no reason to oppose such a plan and no reason to hold back from helping.
Thinking they would need more hands, they tried to gather a few people to go along, but Qiong Xing said that for now, they only needed to check the current situation.
"I’m thinking of taking these two with me, along with Lian as well. As for Cari and the others, I’ll have to ask them, but if they stay behind, can I leave things to you?"
"So you’re planning to leave me behind?"
"Huh, you’re coming with us?"
Qiong Xing looked a little surprised as he said that and Joa lightly knocked him on the head as if to say it was obvious.