Third Outer World Story Series: Pumpkin Sorcerer - Chapter 93

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

“Hyulololooo! It’s Samsara Egg! I am back!!”

For some reason, this made Pumpkin feel obligated to scream, so he swooped down from about 100 meters in the air to the center of the village square, decelerated just before the ground, and landed on his feet.

My feelings are like that, you know? It’s called “High-altitude military parachuting”. Not that it’s high enough, I guess.

“Phew, sorry to keep you waiting!”

“P-Patriach!?”

“Patriach, is there an enemy!?”

“You’re too late to return home, Patriach!?”

He was greeted by the voices of Spalpkin and those surrounding him as soon as he landed, and the adventurers staying in the village started to stir.

After three years, Pumpkin has discovered that, like their physical and magical prowess, each Spalpkin has a unique linguistic capacity. While some Spalpkin can pronounce words like regular people, others seemed to have a propensity of pronouncing words in a certain way.

Therefore, the Spalpkin outside the village centered on those whose language lacked many idiosyncrasies. But this was irrelevant now, he supposed.

“Where are the people in charge?”

“At the meeting place.”

“They’re in the middle of a discussion.”

“Okay. Oh, here’s a souvenir from the capital. Share it with everyone.”

[[[Yes!]]]

Handing the bag of Senkonoto souvenirs he had bought with the money earned from this request to a nearby Spalpkin, Pumpkin flew slowly through the village, which had expanded over the past three years, towards the meeting place where the group of leaders was said to be located.

A shrine to an egg-shaped boulder that served as the village’s symbol was initially created on the site of the structure where he had resided; nevertheless, it was now often utilized as a gathering place for discussions.

Since it was troublesome to move it, Pumpkin’s house was attached to the meeting house. This was quite useful when anything happened.

“It’s me, Pumpkin. I’m home!”

He, therefore, knocked once on the door after arriving at the meeting place before entering.

“Oh, welcome back.”

“Bunbubu. (Welcome home.)”

“You’re back.”

“Oh, there you have returned.”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Five people were seated in a circle inside the meeting place: Mizuki, who was wearing a hood and mask to hide the fact that she was a spirit; the leader, who was holding a dial for communication; Gorky, who was wearing armor that was more solid than the other Spalpkin; and Crave and Tax, who was attired in their usual outfits and facing Pumpkin.

“Were you in the middle of a discussion? Sorry about that. Did I interrupt you?”

“No problem. Given how long it took you to return, we were just discussing whether or not to send a dispatch to the capital.”

Saying that, Mizuki was evidently radiating an aura of indignation.

Oh yeah. I suppose I have caused you to worry after all…

“Ah, I’m sorry. For a while, I was in danger of dying. Sorry to worry you guys.”

“I heard you had a fight with the God of Destruction.”

Crave added a few more phrases at his remarks, as if recalling something he had heard before.

“Oh, even I myself wondered how I survived…”

“That’s not what this is about!”

[[[!?]]]

Mizuki then unexpectedly raised her voice.

Um, what are you angry about?

“You don’t even know what I am upset about… Do you have any idea how anxious we were while you were wandering around out there with no contact? You stupid pumpkin!!”

“Owww, hey, don’t shake me so violently, Mizuki-san. I’m getting sick!?”

Mizuki became even more furious as she aggressively shook Pumpkin when a questioning comment was made to her.

No, well, I feel bad that I went to the royal capital on my own without even sending a single message, and I nearly perished… but why are people around here grinning at me? Huh? I don’t get it.

At any rate, I should get down on my knees to Mizuki and somehow ask for her forgiveness. That will do.

“Hah… this stupid pumpkin is seriously… forget it.”

“Yes. I apologize again and again.”

“Well… cough. Let’s just leave it at that and move on.”

“Ngh. First, let’s start off with a report.”

“Right. That would be good.

“Bunbubu. (That’s right.)”

The conversation proceeded with Crave acting as the moderator after Mizuki’s fury had subsided due to Pumpkin’s continuous prostration on his knees for a while.

Each of the six individuals assembled here had specific responsibility for one or more aspects of the village, yet they all had a specialized purpose.

And precisely what activities did each one oversee?

Pumpkin: Village chief, negotiations with Count Kunuki and other high-ranking officials outside of the village, resonance spell-related matters.

Mizuki: Water, hygiene-related

Leader: Hunting Bee, construction, beeswax armory-related

Gorky: Young leader of the Spalpkins, hunting, agriculture-related

Crave: Adventurer who stays in the village, related to the investigation of Lean Forest

Tax: Administration-related

The only question was who was in charge of each task, in actuality. Gorky was not the only one participating in agriculture; Mizuki and the leader also helped raise the crops, while Tax, Crave, and Pumpkin assisted with the harvest. In the end, everyone was involved in the process.

After all, this kind of thing merely served as a distinction to make it easier to figure out who to consult and so on.

“Then I want a report on what happened while I was gone.”

“Okay. Let’s start with me.”

Gorky’s report then kicked off the discussion.