Repairing and Reinforcing the Secret Passage

  I randomly picked something to eat.

  Shia, Luchila and Milka could eat the same kind of food, so there was nothing to worry about.

  However, Grulf would have to avoid anything with too much flavor.

  And Gerberga should probably stick to fruits.

  “Grulf, would you like some raw meat?”


  “Grrr?”


  “He is a spirit beast, so you do not have to worry about that, you know?”


  “Is that right?”


  “Yes, he can even eat onions just fine.”


  “Well, that is impressive.”


  A spirit beast, eh? They are not like normal wolves.

  Still, I didn’t feel like giving him onions.

  And so I went to a stall that sold meat and bought some.

  “Here. You can eat this, Grulf.”


  “Groof-grooff!”


  “Grulf’s snack looks much better than what I usually have as a meal.”


  Milka seemed very shocked.

  It made me want to feed her well from now on.

  “Luchila. What kind of food does Lord Gerberga like?”


  “Hmm. He really likes bugs.”


  “Bugs?”


  “Like insects. He also enjoys fruits and vegetables.”


  “I see.”


  “Cluck.”


  Gerberga sat in Luchila’s arms and directed his very expectant eyes towards me.

  “Lord Gerberga, what would you like to eat right now?”


  “Cluck.”


  “Would fruits and vegetables do?”


  “Cluck!”


  He seemed fine with that option. That was good.

  It would have been very tiresome to have to go out and catch some bugs.

  And so I searched for a vegetable store and bought a watermelon.

  After leaving, I cut the watermelon and gave it to Gerberga.

  “Cluck-cluck.”


  He seemed very happy.

  Still, he would not be able to eat the whole thing by himself.

  “Do you want some too, Milka?”


  “Are you sure?”


  “Yes. Lord Gerberga won’t be able to finish it.”


  “Cluck!”


  “See, he said that you can eat some too.”


  “Mister Locke, Lord Gerberga. Thank you!”


  And so Milka enjoyed the watermelon as well.

  We walked home slowly, and when we arrived, Serulis was standing in front of the house.

  “I thought you went home?”


  “I did, and then I ran back here.”


  “I see. That was quick. Did you finish your business?”


  “Of course.”


  After that, Serulis turned to Milka and said,

  “Will you show me your cleaning tools?”


  “Sure. Look at what I have.”


  Milka looked very smug as she showed them to Serulis.

  “Hmm, hmmm. Alright, I want to borrow this and this.”


  “I don’t mind. But sister Serulis, what are you going to do with them?”


  “I am going to clean the bathing room.”


  “Cleaning is my job. Leave it to me!”


  “Well, we can do it together then.”


  So saying, they both left for the bathing room.

  I didn’t understand what Serulis’s fixation with the bathing room was, but I decided to leave her alone.

  “Since I’m here, I will help you repair the passage!”


  “Cluck!”


  Shia and Gerberga seemed very excited.

  While we had gone out and defeated some thugs and their boss, the real job for today was to repair the secret passage.

  “Now that I think of it, Eric said that he would visit us today.”


  “Perhaps we should hurry.”


  Luchila said with a serious expression.

  He was thinking that it would be very bad to make the king wait for us.

  “That’s true. Let’s hurry then. Shia, thank you.”


  “Leave it to me!”


  “Grr!”


  And so went down to the underground secret passage.

  Luchila was illuminating the area with a magic light.

  “Let’s reinforce the tunnel as we go. Sorry that we’ll be moving slowly.”


  “Don’t worry about that!”


  “Grr.”


  I cast spells of Hardening and Permanence on the walls as we moved.

  It was time-consuming, but I could not afford to do it carelessly.

  And so we moved slowly.

  “It’s hard to use magic light every time. It may be better to install some magic tools down here.”


  “That will probably be better.”


  It would be very inconvenient for Eric to pass through here in the dark.

  We continued to make slow progress until we arrived at the hole we had filled up yesterday.

  Once again, we would cover it up.

  We used the old stones on the sewer side so that it would not draw any attention.

  As for the parts that were cracked, we had no choice but to cut the slabs of the new rocks and cover them.

  After finishing this, I carefully protected it with magic.

  It would keep it hard and fixed in place.

  “It will surely be impossible to intrude now that Mister Locke’s magic is cast on it.”


  “Cluck-cluck.”


  Gerberga clucked in agreement at Shia’s remark.

  Gerberga had been following us from behind as we walked.

  I could see that he was occasionally catching bugs.

  He would probably prevent a bug infestation as long as he stayed here. That was something I was quite thankful for.

  “Let’s use the new rocks for the tunnel side.”


  “Understood!”


  “Grr!”


  Shia and I placed the rocks in place. And rocks that were the wrong size were cut with magic.

  On the other hand, Grulf was sniffing around in the area.

  Maybe he was trying to show that this was his territory. I had to put a stop to that.

  “Grulf. Don’t go around claiming territories.”


  “Gr-grr!”


  Grulf winced. You really could not let him out of your sight for a second.

  I did not want him to start marking the place.

  Once the hole was filled up nicely, I reinforced it with magic.

  Now, we still had to finish reinforcing the tunnel. But I was used to it now, and so it went a lot faster.

  It did not take long until we reached the wall that led to the room next to Eric’s bedroom, and the reinforcing of the tunnel was finished.