The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Wants to Retire – Chapter 71

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
Relations with the beastmen had recovered considerably.

Although they weren’t providing resources at the level of simply handing them over, it was undeniable that more resources were coming than previously agreed upon.

With support from the Kingdom, the Republic, and now the 12 tribes added, they began to have a bit more leeway.

Of course, the support was inevitably less than what the Royal Knights received in their heyday.

The important thing was that the Royal Knights were regaining their former position.

With three races starting to provide support again, other races would slowly begin to move as well.

This was not a bad achievement in just half a year.

Meanwhile, time continued to flow.

The mild warmth of spring disappeared, and the sweltering summer took its place.

Hans sipped the tea Cluna had brought and fell into thought.

He wanted to give them a summer vacation, but giving them a vacation in the current situation wasn’t a good choice.

Even at this moment, people were dying from monster attacks somewhere.

They couldn’t be laughing and enjoying themselves.

Hans asked Cluna,

“Are there any requests that came in today?”

“There are, but only ones we have leeway for.”

“I see, then shall we give them a combat holiday today?”

“Combat holiday? What’s that?”

Oops, he had unknowingly used military terminology.

Hans cleared his throat and briefly explained.

In a word, a combat holiday was similar to a vacation with many restrictions.

They couldn’t go out, but there was no other work to do on the holiday.

There were no urgent requests at the moment, and an emergency standby team was prepared.

It seemed like not a bad choice.

“I see, it certainly doesn’t seem like a bad option.”

“There’s been a lot of work lately with training and introducing emergency standby teams.”

“Understood. I’ll inform everyone.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Cluna left the office with a faint smile.

Hans didn’t feel like gathering everyone for a meeting.

He just wanted them to rest comfortably on their day off.

That was his small wish.

“But isn’t this very different from a small business mindset?”

He pondered for a moment but soon shook his head to dismiss the thought.

Public and private matters should be separate.

Apart from quitting the commander position by running it with a small business mindset…

In a situation where demons and monsters were rampant, he couldn’t do anything to lower their morale and combat power.

What if the tower they had just rebuilt collapsed again?

Then a brilliant idea struck him.

The so-called military-style duty officer operation.

What was one of the worst things in the military?

It was the duty officer who bothered you on holidays.

[Did I ask you to do anything difficult? I won’t bother you if you just do what you need to do.]

[Do some cleaning. The weather’s nice, so take the mats and blankets outside for sun-drying.]

[This is for your own good. All that dust and dirt goes into your mouths, you know?]

Thinking about it again, it was beyond infuriating, almost disgusting.

Anyway, this method wasn’t bad.

It might affect morale slightly, but not too much.

After all, except for guard duty, it was similar to resting for 24 hours.

It would just feel a bit shitty.

Judging it to be not a bad idea, Hans stood up.

“I’ve informed everyone, Commander.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to convey?”

“I’ll convey that while having breakfast.”

Asking Cluna, who had just returned, to convey it again seemed to cross a line even to Hans, so he concluded by saying he would convey it himself during breakfast time a little later.

This week’s meal duty was on Yuren and Ruby.

This was an unexpected fact, but Yuren and Ruby were good at cooking.

At least their food was more edible than Clara’s.

The problem was that their tastes were too biased towards one side.

Yuren liked very spicy meat and soup, and Ruby also preferred spicy food.

What if these two collaborated?

“Ow, it’s so spicy!! Is this really food for humans?”

“I-I swore not to run away, but…”

“…”

Clara was openly complaining, Bayard was on the verge of fainting, and even Cluna’s smile was cracking.

It was quite a scene.

Then Helia, who was next to him, spoke.

“Are you alright, Teacher?”

“It’s not bad. It’s nice to eat this after a long time.”

“Hmm! As expected of the Commander!”

“B-But if you didn’t like the food… That would be disappointing…”

Unlike Ruby, who was puffing out her chest with a confident expression, Yuren muttered while fidgeting with her fingers.

Hans had no idea what she found disappointing, but he decided not to pry.

For the sake of his mental health.

Perhaps because he personally liked spicy food, it wasn’t bad, but if they prepared such spicy food every time, it could lower the morale of the others.

Hans cautioned Yuren and Ruby.

They showed slight dissatisfaction but chose to obey his words.

They seemed to know they had gone too far.

“Ah shit, I forgot.”

And because of that, he even forgot to tell them about sun-drying.

Hans sighed.

He decided to convey that to everyone during lunch time.

For now, he should focus on work.

After finishing his meal, Hans returned to the office and resumed the work he hadn’t finished.

How to use the resources received from each race, and how to utilize resources efficiently.

Among other things, there was an overwhelming amount of work to do.

Perhaps because he was focused on work, he didn’t even notice when Cluna came in.

“Commander, I’ll help too.”

“You go rest as well.”

“Huh? But…”

“Today is a combat holiday. It’s a day off for all members. And that includes you.”

“…Is that so. Then excuse me…”

Cluna, who had looked surprised for a moment, soon bowed to him with a faint smile and then left the office.

Left alone again, Hans soon began to focus on his work.

Then he suddenly noticed an unfamiliar letter on the desk.

Like the one Comprachico had sent before, he suspected it might be made of human skin, but fortunately, it wasn’t.

Hans took out the letter and read it, and soon after, he realized he couldn’t read the text written on the letter.

It was a letter written in a script other than the common language of the continent.

“I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.”

After pondering for a while, he recalled that it was very similar to the writing in the memos Cluna made.

He was barely able to remember it thanks to often seeing the memos Cluna usually wrote.

After scratching his head for a moment, Hans pushed back his chair and stood up again.

He knew where Cluna’s room was.

He thought he could simply go find her and deliver it.

Until he directly saw Cluna’s expression greatly distort upon receiving the letter from him.

It was rare to see Cluna not just lose her smile, but frown.

In other words, the contents of that letter were more serious than he had thought.

Not long after, Cluna smiled again.

To the point where it gave Hans goosebumps from just watching her.

“Cluna, what exactly is written in that letter?”

“I’m sorry, Commander. This is a private matter.”

“Is that so. Then it can’t be helped.”

“Commander.”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry, but would it be alright if I step out for a while?”

Her lips were smiling.

A smile as cold as mid-winter ice.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Cluna bid me goodbye and swiftly packed her things and left the fortress.

I didn’t have the courage to stop her.

She looked like she would cut off my wrist if I said anything right away, but I couldn’t just stand by.

Something must have happened in the Elven Forest.

Was it the demons interfering again?

No, if demons were involved, there would still be damage left.

Moreover, the Elven Forest was where the power of the barrier remained strongest, making it difficult for demons to meddle.

In other words, they couldn’t plant spies like in the Republic or like Yana in the 12 tribes.

“Mother left alone… without me?”

“Oh my…”

However, the problem didn’t end there.

Clara had realized that Cluna had left alone.

Moreover, for some reason, she knew that Cluna’s mood had been unusual.

“Clara, do you know something?”

“…I’m sorry, speaking without Mother’s permission is a bit…”

“I see. Then don’t force yourself to speak.”

Clara expressed reluctance, but thanks to that, I was able to grasp the general situation.

Something Clara knew about had happened in the Elven Forest.

That was why Cluna had reacted.

She had left alone for the Elven Forest.

Moreover, the fact that she left her daughter Clara behind meant that either the Elven Forest was in danger, or Clara could be in danger.

So, here we should calmly…

“Commander, I have a request.”

“Huh?”

“Come with me to the Elven Forest.”

Like mother, like daughter.

Clara’s spirit was no weaker than Cluna’s.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇