*Burp!*
After Arlan was full, he picked his teeth with a very gloomy expression. He was wondering who had leaked the news yesterday evening?
He had only killed a mountain wolf, so why was it that after roasting fish in the forest for so long, not a single lost jackal, wolf, tiger, or leopard had followed the scent?
Is this even a border Village?
It's a bit too peaceful!
Whatever!
After eating his fill, Arlan began to fell trees. Although he knew nothing about architecture, he fortunately had a lot of strength. Relying purely on brute force, he would pile up a bathhouse even if he had to!
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
"Cutting trees is also a form of cultivation!"
Arlan was like Might Guy possessed; youth must always burn!
*Thud!*
In five seconds, a tree trunk as thick as an adult's thigh successfully hit the ground.
"Next is the fine processing!"
Arlan quickly stripped the bark and trimmed the branches; soon, the tree was turned into fresh timber.
"Hmm, I'll need to cut about seventeen or eighteen more trees like this to build a grand bathhouse!"
Arlan thought about the little lolis and Sister Lily in the church, each having their own charm. This gave him a feeling of 'keeping beauties in a golden house,' so this bathhouse had to be grand!
Around noon, Arlan carried a pile of wood that looked like a small mountain and walked toward the Village step by step.
"Carrying wood is also a form of cultivation!"
Arlan gritted his teeth. Although Asta's body had high explosive power, his endurance was still a bit lacking. Carrying timber that weighed over 50 times his own weight was already very taxing.
"Now is not the time to give up!"
Arlan's back was almost horizontal to the ground. When he walked on softer soil, he would even leave deep footprints.
"Look, what kind of monster is that!"
"My god, it's covered in wood? It's a wood monster!"
"No, that looks like Asta, the rascal from the church!"
"Good heavens, how heavy must that be!"
The villagers who were preparing to head home from the fields for lunch were all stunned. No one could have imagined that a child only fifteen years old could carry so much timber!
"Make way, make way!"
Arlan carried the dozens of logs to the open space outside the church and came to a dead stop. Then, the pile of wood landed perfectly with a series of bangs.
"Not bad. If I put in more effort this afternoon, I should be able to build a bathhouse."
Arlan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"A... Asta, did you bring all of these here?"
A little loli wearing blue and white clothes looked at Asta in shock. This was even more shocking than Brother Yuno using magic to spin-dry clothes or split firewood!
Because in this world, using magic wasn't rare, but people who trained their bodies to this extent were truly few and far between!
"Yeah, in a bit, Big Brother will build a bathhouse for you all. I guarantee it'll be nice and warm so you can bathe even in the middle of winter. And I'll even make a dedicated bathtub for each of you!"
Arlan leaned toward the little loli and spoke while wiggling his eyebrows.
"Ah! Asta, you handsome rogue!"
The little loli shyly covered her face and ran back into the church, leaving Asta standing alone in the wind, confused. He thought he had been quite honest and hadn't said anything suggestive...
"Asta, what 'good deed' have you done now!"
The Father burst the door open like a steam train with a bang, then froze upon seeing the mountain-like pile of wood. "Asta, did you hijack a wagon of timber?"
"How pathetic!"
Arlan curled his lip. If he were going to hijack something, it would be money. Why the hell would he hijack a pile of wood!
"Oh? You've learned how to be sarcastic now?"
The Father's eyes widened as he activated his Priest Sarcasm Skill. "Look at our church's rising star; he's known how to help the church with chores since he was little. Then look at you, doing nothing but playing with mud in the mountains all day!"
"I plan to build a luxurious bathhouse for our church!"
Arlan said while picking his nose.
"What was that?"
The Father was stunned, his sarcasm skill cut short by Arlan.
"I've had a great dream since I was little, and that's to strive to give every kid in the church their own dedicated wooden bathtub. Plus, they won't have to worry about avoiding each other or picking specific days to bathe. They can soak even in the dead of winter!"
Arlan said calmly.
"Hahaha, stop joking with me! If you knew how to build a house, then you would be the rising star of our church!"
The Father laughed heartily while clutching his stomach.
Tch, don't believe me then, but don't blame me when your face hurts from being proven wrong!"
Arlan rolled his eyes, turned around, and walked back outside.
"Where are you going? It's time to eat!"
The Father called out to stop Arlan.
"To improve everyone's diet, of course!"
Arlan rolled his eyes and quickly ran toward the stream. This time he didn't run on his hands but advanced at full speed. With this body's full explosive power, it only took him five minutes to run to the stream three kilometers away, which was already twice the speed of an ordinary person.
"Go!"
Arlan repeated his old trick, but this time he wasn't as violent. Controlling his strength, he used stones to bind the carp. After binding about fifteen of them, Arlan found a resilient long branch, wrapped the fish onto it with a rope, and ran back with them on his back.
Arlan had just reached the church entrance when a kid, who looked a bit like Nara Shikamaru, opened the door while holding bowls and chopsticks. As soon as the kid saw Arlan, he immediately switched to sharp-tongued mode. "Asta, everyone is waiting for you alone again today. Yuno caught a fish with magic around noon to improve everyone's lives. When will you be able to catch a fish and bring it back like Yuno?"
"Oh? That kid Yuno is quite on the ball!"
Arlan raised an eyebrow and then told the kid to step aside.
"It's fish!"
After Arlan walked in, the kid saw the large carp tied to the branch, which seemed even bigger than the one Yuno had caught! However, the kid quickly curled his lip; after all, counting yesterday's, Yuno had caught two in total!
But as Arlan continued further inside, the kid's eyes widened. The fish on the branch were like gourds on a vine, one after another!
"The second one!"
"The third one!"
"..."
"The seventh one!"
"The fifteenth one!"
The kid's mouth hung open. Was all of this real?
As the king of troublemakers and the Emperor of Roars, Asta had actually caught fifteen carp!
"Seems like I caught quite a few carp."
Arlan finished speaking with a curl of his lip, leaving the kid with a cool view of his back.
He gave himself a perfect score for this bit of showing off!
...