Chapter 36: Three (18+)
Elysia found her new life in Quantora village far less stressful than she had anticipated. At first, people often glanced at her skeletal hands and sometimes gave her odd looks, but with a pair of gloves and Hiro’s tentacle to help, the problem was easily solved.
The refugees were particularly welcoming toward her, as she contributed significantly to the village’s construction efforts. Numerous skeleton laborers rose from the ground at her command, becoming the workforce for Quantora’s expanding walls. At first, they were fearful. But as soon as they saw how helpful the skeletons were, they quickly accepted Elysia as part of the labor force.
Although Hiro was limited in the amount of wood he could produce, crafting specific timber sizes for construction posed no problem. His efforts were instrumental, and the villagers were quick to notice.
"Thank you!" was now the villagers’ greeting as Elysia passed by. With Hiro’s help, Elysia also repaired their broken tools, such as hoes, hammers, and even rakes.
Hiro sighed internally, amused and a little frustrated. Despite already demonstrating his ability to extract iron from pangolins and convert it into ingots, many villagers seemed to think he could only work directly with materials from monsters or turn metals into ingots. They still didn’t fully understand his capabilities—partly because Hiro couldn’t speak. So, when Elysia opened her shop beside Marissa’s house, he showed his true strength.
Elysia was particularly surprised one day when Hiro slithered out from her and grabbed a broken hoe nearby, repairing it on the spot. Marissa quickly recognized the potential for greater efficiency and enacted a new law: all trash in the village was to be sorted.
With no plastics or chemical waste like batteries in this world, sorting trash was straightforward. Trash was divided into two categories: metal and non-metal. Non-metals were to be made into compost, while metallic waste was to be collected in a designated area for Hiro to convert into ingots.
Hiro’s ability soon became a cornerstone of the village’s operations. Villagers flocked to Marissa’s manor, bringing broken tools and items for repair. Thanks to his work, Elysia quickly gained a reputation as a valuable and indispensable member of the community. Any prejudice against her vanished as people recognized her contributions. To the villagers, she became akin to a government employee. They didn’t ask Cecile, Nana, and Rebecca because the villagers thought they were Marissa’s knights.
Technically, Elysia served as Marissa’s maid, so all the money she earned went to Marissa. Marissa paid them as much as Cecile. However, Elysia didn’t derive satisfaction from eating or other material comforts, so her wages remained untouched.
After Elysia closed her shop beside Marissa’s manor, she was invited by Nana and Cecile—a daily routine they had come to enjoy.
"Elysia, want to play with Hiro together?" Nana asked assertively, while Cecile shyly looked away, her cheeks flushing red. Hiro playfully nudged Cecile’s belly, causing her to collapse onto the floor.