After closing hours, they returned to the guild office and stretched. Charging the core was a vital but boring task. Helen checked and saw only the receptionists. The elf twins, the beastkin, Imayne, and others. All people Grendel and they could trust.

"Well Soren, I hope you enjoyed your visit to the dungeon," Helen spoke openly.

The adventurer hostel was moved to the other side of the street, an abandoned complex of houses that were renovated into an inn. The former hostel was now the guild staff's private quarters. Grendel's improved guild cores had a better energy efficiency. the current guild master wasn't a greedy bastard, and in a pinch, Mercy could draw from the City Core to bolster the guild field.

The squirrel-kin girl blinked her beady eyes, twitched her furry ears and swished her fluffy tail. She was exhaling mirth. "Yes, it was a marvelous sight!"

A grin crept on Helen's face. "Good. Because your service comes now. Next time you might want to ask what it is before accepting, Petal, to the warehouse."

Most guild branches were built from a model that worked. The warehouse was very similar to the one at Colchester's wrecked guild. Hooks for the carcasses, metal tables for the butchering, rusted metal grooves to drain the blood.

Soren didn't seem bothered by it. She took an apron from the back of the door and donned it. "Do you have something special for me to dismantle?" She asked, excited. "Is it a rare monster?"

Helen shrugged. "No. Just about three hundred rabbits."

Soren's ears flopped. "Aww, really?"

Petal unceremoniously proceeded to dump hundreds of rabbit corpses on the table. Soon the wretched crop-eaters were falling on the ground.

Marcy clapped Soren's shoulder, careful to avoid touching the tail and gave the butcher girl some hope. "Tomorrow I'll send some townspeople to help you process the pelts and the other rabbits we are going to hunt."

'And she won't even bother to take a quiver with her', Helen noted. Now that Marcy had capped the Guild Master job and unlocked the ultimate Skill [Personal Guild Field], She was no longer restricted to staying near her Guild Crystal, safely stashed in Willow Hill, to use her guildmaster powers. She could sustain her magical arrows limitlessly now, as long as she didn't abuse multishot.

It was something Helen was incapable of. Pacing herself. With all the pressure born from the responsibility she was taking upon herself, She was either at full throttle or resting. She could feel her mind and spirit as tired as her body but she couldn't stop. Mirfield depended on her.

Sensing the chilling mood, Cloude decided to excuse himself.

"I'm going ahead to dismiss the guards that are manning the north walls. See you soon."

He went away. Outside the warehouse in the patio, Mercy finished setting the teleportation endpoint to bring Tancred out of the Dungeon. The huge minotaur appeared, Crouching and holding his massive ax to the ground. He remained still as he heard the gasps from the receptionists. Imayne let a shrill shout escape before silencing herself.

Helen ran to the door and checked. Imayne was holding her mouth with both hands, staring at the minotaur from behind foggy glasses. She moved and rested a hand on the bespectacled librarian's arm.

"It is fine, Imayne," Helen soothed her, meeting the other woman eye to eye. "Tancred is laid-back and nonchalant. He's a sweet guy that wouldn't hurt a flower," She cooed with a sincere smile.

Imayne softened but Helen could still feel her shaking. "Hard to believe. That's a B-rank at least, Helen. And that ax..."

"Did you notice he hasn't moved yet?" Helen pointed out. "That's out of consideration for you. And minotaurs have excellent hearing."

Tancred snorted a laugh and spoke slowly. "That we do, Helen. That we do." The minotaur tilted his head until one eye was facing Imayne. "Well met, miss Receptionist. I'd like your permission to move. My back is really stiff."

Imayne opened her mouth and made some strange gurgling sounds. "O-of course. I wouldn't dare burden..."

"She said yes," Helen answered.

Tancred stretched, loudly popping his back muscles. Then he sat down. "Thank you."

With the situation defused, Petal flew down. "Hey, big guy. Ready for a short-range teleport? The trees won't cleave themselves."

He snorted, blowing the fairy a couple meters back. "Bro told me to say 'Beam me up, Scotty' on these occasions. I don't know what it means though."

The fairy fluttered back, giggling. "Who can fathom what that big doofus' head things, silly? Let's go!"

In the northern woods, the first fur versus chitin logging contest was about to start. Tancred and Mittens eagerly waited for Helen's greenlight. Petal insisted she had to drop a handkerchief to start it. She did and the two monsters rushed ahead, demolishing the trees. Startled rabbits fled their burrows only to find their demise under Marcy's magical arrows. Other woodland critters were spared but the outskirts of the crop fields were the domain of the terrible starvation-causing vermin.

The night vision was no issue. Some time ago, Helen learned [Mass Night Eyes] through her [Lifestyle Magic] Skill.

The two were even for the first rows of trees, but soon the agile Mantis Knight took the lead.

"I can cut trees better than him, Lady. The minotaur would be way faster in removing these stumps!" Mittens chimed in the tamer mental link.

"I know you are capable of cutting a tree in a single swing, Mittens. But Tancred can cut a half-dozen trees in one swing. It is my fault to have that many trees, I shouldn't have grown all the plants in the area."

That was the reason Tancred was even during the start of the contest. Helen's spell to grow the frillbush created nigh-impassable copses of trees as the saplings grew on magic alone without the usual competition for resources.

"I need bigger scythes." Mittens complained.

"But please don't evolve into something too big. I like the size you are now."

"As you wish, Lady."

Helen sighed. She couldn't get Mittens to stop calling her 'Lady', but she didn't mind too much. He was her knight and protector.

The work went on through the night, the sounds of trees crashing down soon fading in the distance. Here and there the glowing figures of the two fairies were followed by more crashing noises as the trees vanished and allowed gravity to pull down the others.

Even though he could cut down trees faster, Mittens was recalled. His greater agility and precision was crucial in the de-limbing of the trunks, while Tancred went around removing the stumps with brute force. But the fairies were faster in moving the trees. The pile of logs grew along with another pile, the bunny corpses Emory and the rat squad were bringing in from all the kills Marcy scored.

Helen helped cut the tree limbs with [Wind Blade]. She wondered about taming another blood mantis when everything around her spun. The last thing she heard was Mittens shouting in their mental link.

"Lady Helen!"

"..."

She opened her eyes staring at the canopy of their bed. She took in her surroundings and found herself in the Viscount's manor. A window floated in front of her.

Grendel has gained 0 + 2 + 0 levels (5-Monster Wrangler 1 > 3).

She tried to rise and winced, feeling a pang of sharp pain in her forehead. Flopping back on the pillow, Helen wondered how many rabbits did Marcy kill and why Grendel earned Exp. The only explanation was the City Core. It could have some property that extended the party Exp-sharing range. Since she brought the bees, the field almost doubled in range. it didn't cover the forest before. The bunnies are G-ranked monsters. If they have cores, it is smaller than a grain of sand and irrecoverable.

Helen shook her head, dismissed the notification and focused her sight, looking around. She soon found short strands of red hair hanging from her fellow wife.

"What should I do with you, Milady Viscountess? You overdid it again!"

Helen closed her eyes and grunted, visibly displeased by the treatment. She tried to remember what they were doing and sat up, startled.

"Marcy, the trees?"

The redhead pushed the blonde back, forcing her to lay down. "Forget about stupid trees! It is your health we are talking about!"

Helen blinked, small pools of water forming on the corner of her eyes. "And not you too. Enough with this 'Milady Viscountess'. If anything, you are the viscountess too."

Marcy snorted. "I'm more like a concubine, all the fun and status and none of the responsibilities. You can be the official wife, I don't mind."

"You just don't want to be bothered and do what you want!" Helen pouted.

"Yes, and speaking of which, I am going to rub hareroot oil on you from the tip of your toes to your head. Strip!"

She went for the smaller girl's petticoats, pushing the straps to undo the knots holding the fabric in place. Helen struggled to defend her modesty.

"Why? I don't want it, you are harassing me. Stop pulling on my clothes!"

"This is mixed with drakeweed for your vitality, an oil personally mixed by Alvus, you know? Now be a good bride and surrender your body! Didn't you say that? That I am your bride too. Now come, I am eager to rub all your secret spots with this invigorating concoction!"

Helen saw the devilish grin in Marcy's eyes and knew there was no escape. She soon relented and allowed Marcy to rub her with the oil. The properties of the dragon valley herbs quickly showed up, as her skin figuratively melted under the invigorating massage. Even the muscles underneath relaxed and stretched under the warming effects of the oil. She could swear it was magical.

After she was thoroughly girl-handled by Marcy and felt the oil soften even her feet's soles and the skin between her toes, Helen looked through the window and measured the hour by the sun's position. Marcy was lying down by her side.

"Back to work. By the position of the sun, I already missed the second afternoon bell!"

She stood up and pointed her legs toward the edge of the bed when Marcy held her back.

"Hold, won't you stay? I want some oil too!"

Helen sighed, turned around and poked the tip of her tongue at the other girl.

"No. I won't do that to you. It is your punishment for touching me where you shouldn't!"

"But your squeal was so cute, I couldn't hold myself!" Marcy whined.

Paying no mind to the whimsical redhead, Helen picked up fresh spider-silk undergarments from the dresser and slid them on. The style of clothing women from Grendel's former world never ceased to impress her. How it held on her body, holding the bits of flesh to their rightful place. She slid the undergown over and started to don her robes when she met Marcy's eyes and spoke, seriously.

"We need to clear the north and west sides at least before the army comes. Or all those trees will come back to bite us."

"We know that. But you can't pass out again! Promise me!"

She noticed it was daytime already and that they didn't have the cover of darkness anymore. "Hold, where are the monsters?"

"Your bees are making a new hive using the frillbush you grew. Tancred took Mittens to the dungeon. We brought Shraaizar and three goblin squads to cut the branches along with two flame gorilla females to deal with the leaves. You are forbidden to use any other spell besides Plant Growth.

"Everything is going on just fine, Helen! Stop overburdening yourself!"

Helen's heart and mind were like coiled springs, eager and hurting to let loose. She needed to act, she had things to do, she had to save everyone. Her despair only deepened with the guilt of having slept for half a day.

"There are so many things to do! The dungeon's opening day is today, right?"

"Postponed for tomorrow. And mom will handle the crews and the processing of the materials. Soren already drafted five helpers from the townsfolk that had the dismantling skill. They are training with the hundreds of rabbits we hunted."

"You hunted, you mean."

"No, Petal and Sepal caught a lot of them too."

"The harvest of the north fields!"

"Alvus, Sebastian and the maids are there coordinating over two hundred farmers and other townsfolk. Zahariel already built stone granaries for the grain. They will finish before dusk.

"Clearing the rabbits from the west fields..."

"We are using the berries that were gathered from the north field bushes to smash them and rub the juices on lettuce. The adventurers from yesterday are there hunting with the fairies as we speak."

"Moving the logs inside the walls!"

"Mittens cut the branches and Sepal already finished moving them. We demolished some old crumbling houses and piled the logs there. We will move them to the safe hallway of the Dungeon to build a village there." Marcy jumped out of bed and with her over buffed agility, quickly pinned Helen's elbows against her body. The redhead stared deep into the blonde's eyes and frowned. "Everything. Is. Under. Control. Calm down or I'm going to rub more hareroot oil on you. I'm certain I missed some spots and that's why you are so skittish.

"Are you skittish? Do you need another oil rub? I can do it all day long if you need!"

Under the threat of relaxing oily massage on previously-untouched places, Helen shuddered and swallowed her apprehension.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Rest. We need you at the top of your game. Now, Can you please rub some oil on me? I ran too much on the walls yesterday, the babies jiggled too much," She moved her shoulders to put emphasis on her above-average chest girth. "Even with that brassiere thing Grendel made for me I am chafing underneath..."

Helen narrowed her eyes and opened a mischievous grin.

"Yes, Marcy, I'm going to give you a payback rub you won't forget!"

"Bring it on, Milady!"

"Impudent fool!"

A couple hours later, two women left the room fully relaxed and recovered, convinced that Hareroot oil was awesome.

"Milady Viscountess, I'm glad to see you! Thanks for blessing us with this bountiful harvest!" The farmer almost groveled before Helen.

They were on the north fields, and it seemed like a kicked anthill. Except nobody kicked anthills in this world because the ants were four feet long and came out in hundreds. But no person was without a chore to do. They were filling carts with barley and oats, but the north was almost all wheat. Bushel upon bushel of wheat was bound and piled up by the roadside for pickup. Even the wall guards were helping to harvest and carry the wheat.

Helen looked at the north section near the garrison. She noticed that the wall her enchanted tree broke was finally repaired and several round stone towers that weren't there yesterday. Round structures that weren't quite on the wall. It seemed that they cleared the row of houses that were demolished and burned in the orc invasion to build more granaries.

"Zahariel pulled an all-nighter," Marcy pointed out. "I told you. We're few but invincible. Look at their smiles. No army can wipe these smiles!"

Helen tried to smile, but her heart still felt heavy. The few kids that didn't flee or die were running through the fields, brandishing branches of frillbush, feasting on the sweet berries. At that moment, it felt like the siege was a lie. A boogieman meant to scare little noblewomen into sleep.

They moved to the west fields. The road to Whiteridge was empty and she imagined rows upon rows of soldiers coming up from the valley between Mirfield and the mountain where the mining town sat. In the west fields, the adventurer party was there, hunting rabbits. Helen noticed some of Grendel's goblins roaming the woods way past the treeline, luring the rabbits with lettuce leaves coated in frillbush berry juice.

The day before was replayed almost entirely. Helen used her magic to spread more frillbush on the edge of the treeline, grow the crops to maturity, although this time the tree saplings were cut off by the goblins before she used her magic. They went to the core room of the Minotaur Dungeon to finish charging what Tancred needed for the last spawns. The room was crowded. Not only several monsters from Willow Hill were there but Marcy, Zahariel, Imayne, Mercy, Alvus, and Alice. Soren was missing because she was struck down with a bad case of having-a-thousand-bunnies-to-dismantle.

"Congratulations on making the town alive again! Amazingly, we can get an almost instant harvest like that. We can solve famine instantly!" Alvus cheered.

Helen shook her head. "No, Alvus. That spell drains too much energy from the earth. The soil becomes weak and unable to bear fruit for a while. The spell only speeds up the harvest. We would have to spend too much power to heal the earth before planting again. We'll let the field rest and the grass to grow. Before the next planting season comes, we'll cut off the grass and bury it under a layer of soil. Then the earth will absorb the grass' energy and recharge itself for a new harvest.

"So we will have double the trouble to get a faster harvest. I'm only doing this because we are in a pinch."

Alvus nodded and didn't push the subject further. After a long period of silence, Imayne moved next to Helen and confessed.

"I've read a report about you years ago, Milady. It was when Kareena was dating the Mirfield guild master. At that time he wanted to use the forbidden rite on you to enrich the land around this town. But seeing you do it with a flick of your wrist, it makes me think if it wasn't better to just train these exceptional kids to allow them to use their powers instead of just killing them."

Helen grimaced. The former Guild Master was still a painful memory. She took in large gulps of air, trying to push down the memory of the time spent in jail. She still remembered the despair. Marcy was the one that saved her from having to reply.

"It's not worth it in the eyes of the guild. It takes too long to raise someone as strong as us. We only got this strong because Grendel has a lot of special powers to accelerate the leveling process and having a nigh immortal tank is a big plus. The guild is an organization that prioritizes immediate results and has not a shred of respect for life. Either of the people it manages or the monsters'."

The librarian receptionist adjusted her glasses and gave a wry smile, clearly embarrassed. "It is eye-opening to see the truth from this point of view. Here we are sitting, relaxing and talking along with four B-rank monsters that could turn almost any adventurer party into corpses in a matter of minutes. But instead, we can talk and share experiences like that. I could spend years just gazing at the marvelous magical circles engraved in the dungeon core. Mr. Tancred, thanks a lot for having us here in your domain!"

Shraaizar hissed content at the praise and respect in the receptionist's speech. Tancred guffawed and waved at the human woman.

"You are most welcome, Miss Imayne! My Bro Grendel surely is amazing! To think he would make a kingdom where monsters and humans would live together! I'm still putting my mind around it."

The charging session went on without a hitch. [Meditation] was a silent endeavor and everyone there needed to use the Skill or they would never finish in time. Helen relaxed at the familiar humming of the dungeon core as it activated the glyphs related to monster spawning.

She dozed off.

And woke up sometime later with Marcy shaking her shoulder. "Helen, wake up! We are done now and since you are at full MP, could you please return the guys to Willow Hill?"

She had a blanket wrapped around her. Helen blushed as she noticed the tired faces on both men and monsters.

"Ok. I'm booting everyone from the core room," The minotaur declared. "I too need my beauty sleep!" He snorted, then guffawed. "Beauty sleep!"

With mild and momentary disorientation, they were back on the first floor of the Minotaur Dungeon, the great hall. A pile of logs as tall as the fifty food ceiling was stacked between two pillars.

"We are making log cabins down here tomorrow," Alvus said. "Mittens here will be invaluable."

Helen took her passbook. Aligning the tokens for the Minotaur Dungeon and Mirfield, she touched Shraaizar and the goblin squads.

"Beam me up, Scotty!"