Chapter 66: Puu, the Carrot Bandit of the Floating Island

After a hectic day, in the night where darkness had deeply settled.

“…Zzz.”

“Yum yum… Honey is sweet…..”

When everyone was fast asleep.

Something wriggled under the ground of the Floating Island.

Shhk shhk.

The creature started heading toward the field as if it were familiar with the path.

At that moment.

Ding.

[An intruder has entered the field.]

[Activating the security system.]

Creak-!!

The scarecrow standing stiffly in the field began to move.

***

Early morning.

“Is it a bit chilly this morning?”

A shiver ran through me.

As I stepped out the front door, a cold chill brushed against my skin.

The morning weather had become quite cool, signaling that it was truly mid-autumn now.

The house made of cypress wood retained a fair amount of warmth.

Just as living beings maintain a constant body temperature, my living, breathing house seemed to function similarly.

I thought I’d done well in building a house that was nature itself.

Decorating the interior would make it even warmer.

A cozy carpet on the floor would block the rising chill.

I wondered when I’d be able to buy a carpet from the beastkin village.

If I had the means, it’d be nice to get a winter blanket as well.

While mentally making a list of things I wanted to buy, I headed to the field.

“Huh……?”

A mysterious basket lay in front of the scarecrow.

As I cautiously approached the basket,

Twitch.

“What, what’s this?”

Sensing my presence, the basket jolted.

Ding.

[The scarecrow has captured the intruder.]

Could it have caught the carrot thief alive? How?

Come to think of it, the scarecrow’s position seemed different from yesterday.

It must have moved secretly during the night.

As expected, the scarecrow implemented using growth points was different—it even included a capture function!

Anyway, the important thing now was that it had caught the culprit.

“Elenia!”

“Did you call?”

Elenia came to my side at my call.

“The scarecrow seems to have caught something!”

“What?”

Elenia, who flew over in a hurry, stared intently at the basket.

“Have you finally caught the thief? What are you waiting for? Hurry and open it.”

“Ah, alright.”

For some reason, I felt unnecessarily tense about this.

I knelt on one knee in front of the basket and carefully opened the entrance.

Flinch.

Through the opened gap, I glimpsed a white fluffy mass moving. 

It resembled the white rabbit I’d seen in the underground first floor.

Soon, the creature’s identity became clearer.

“Puu?”

It was a creature with a body like a white fluffy mass, tiny hands and feet, and clear, innocent eyes sparkling brightly.

“…What on earth are you?”

It was an animal I’d never encountered before.

“Puut?”

It tilted its head as if it didn’t understand my question. 

Even with its head tilted to the side, its round, fluffy shape remained unchanged.

This was definitely a furry, chubby appearance.

“Ahem.”

For a moment, I almost let my guard down due to its cute looks.

I gathered my wits and began the interrogation again.

“Are you the one who’s been stealing carrots from my field?”

“Puu?”

Puu just blinked its eyes, as if it had no idea what I was saying.

I couldn’t back down just because it was making an innocent expression. 

I picked up a carrot.

“This.”

When I showed the carrot, its sparkling eyes shone even brighter, and it suddenly started bouncing like a ping-pong ball.

“Puu! Puu!”

“C-calm down.”

“Puu! Puu!”

In the end, it snatched the carrot from my hand.

Crunch crunch.

The fluffy mass chewed on the carrot for a while, then shook its fur as if its belly was full.

“Good grief. It seems to have calmed down now.”

There was no need for further interrogation—the creature was undoubtedly the culprit.

“So, you’re the one who’s been stealing and eating the carrots all this time?”

It was too cute to be a rat, with soft, fluffy fur. 

Moreover, it stood on two legs like a rabbit and bounced around. It even dug tunnels like a mole.

Elenia examined the creature from all angles and smiled contentedly.

“My, it’s quite cute.”

Ding.

[You have discovered a new life form.]

[Please give it a name.]

“A name? Hmm… What would be good? It’s hard to think of one on the spot….”

Once I gave it a name, would that become the species name? 

In that case, I needed to think carefully and give it a fitting one.

“It might be good to name it based on its characteristics.”

“Characteristics, huh….”

Its fist-sized body looked like a bundled mass of fur. 

With small hands and feet hidden in the fur, it hopped on two legs like a rabbit.

Elenia placed her hands on her hips and said proudly.

“Ahem. I’ll bestow a name with my naming sense.”

“Do you have a good idea?”

“Doesn’t it bounce around? How about naming it ‘Bouncy’?”

“…Well? Rather than me, wouldn’t it be better to ask it directly? What do you think?”

I asked the fluffy mass, which was quietly curled up in the basket. 

It tilted its head.

“Puu?”

“Huh? You don’t like it? I went through the trouble of thinking it up, but you’re quite picky.”

Elenia crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

“Understand it. This is different from naming an object.”

I asked the fluffy mass.

“What should I call you?”

“Puu?”

Its clear eyes sparkled innocently.

“It keeps saying puu puu. Can’t I just name it ‘Puu’?”

For example, a cuckoo is called that because it cries cuckoo cuckoo.

“Puu! Puu!”

The fluffy mass reacted by bouncing happily at the sound of ‘Puu.’

“You like the sound ‘Puu,’ huh?”

It seemed amazed that a human could make the ‘Puu’ sound.

“Alright, your name is now ‘Puu.'”

Ding.

[You have named the new life form ‘Puu.’]

[ ‘Puu’ has been registered in the Floating Island Creature Guide.]

I felt a sense of pride at having discovered a new life form.

While I was momentarily immersed in emotion, Elenia sat on my shoulder.

“But what do you plan to do with this one?”

“Ah, right. I hadn’t thought about that.”

I’d been so focused on naming it that I’d completely forgotten it was the culprit who stole the crops.

“If I release it like this, it’s obvious it’ll keep lurking around the field.”

I couldn’t just let it roam and dig up the field. First, I needed to reason with it properly.

“Puu. This is the field I’ve carefully cultivated. You can’t just come in and dig things up. Got it?”

“Puu?”

“If you steal the crops again, the scarecrow will keep trapping you in the basket, you know?”

“Puu?”

“So, carrots—”

“Puu! Puu!”

At the word ‘carrot,’ it started bouncing again. I placed a hand on my forehead.

“Sigh. This is hopeless.”

Its eyes were too pure. It clearly hadn’t understood a single thing.

In a way, I couldn’t blame the creature’s actions entirely. 

It was just foraging for food.

No matter how much I tried to reason, if it couldn’t understand, what could I do?

“It seems to like carrots a lot.”

“…Ah!”

“Have you thought of something good?”

“Rather than the field, what if I induce it to forage elsewhere?”

If I plant carrots all over the Floating Island, wild carrots will grow, and with abundant food, it won’t need to target the field.

Until now, I’d only cultivated the field for myself, but perhaps it was time to start thinking about the Floating Island’s ecosystem.

“From now on, I’ll cultivate gardens too.”

Ding.

[Mission! Plant carrots all over the Floating Island. 0/100]

“The Floating Island seems to approve?”

“Good! I’ll help too!”

I gathered carrot seeds and, together with Elenia, planted them all over the Floating Island.

Ding.

[Carrots planted. 25/100]

“Let’s plant over there too.”

[Carrots planted. 50/100]

“Elenia, please handle that side.”

[Carrots planted. 70/100]

“Should I plant the rest around the east side?”

[Carrots planted. 99/100]

We went around the Floating Island, planting carrot seeds evenly.

“This is the last seed, right?”

Ding.

[All carrots planted. 100/100]

[The Floating Island expresses gratitude for your actions.]

[The Floating Island’s ecosystem will become healthier.]

Ding.

[You have acquired 1 growth point.]

[Current growth points: 1]

I felt a great sense of fulfillment knowing that my small action had made the Floating Island more abundant.

“This should be a good time to release it.”

I tilted the basket to let the creature out.

Bounce bounce.

The released Puu stood dazed, looking up at me. It seemed to have grown attached already.

“I’ve planted your favorite carrots all over the Floating Island, so stop stealing from the field now, okay?”

“Puu! Puu!”

Puu bounced happily at the mention of planted carrots.

“Then, off you go. See you next time.”

“Puu!”

Puu dug into the soft soil with its small feet and disappeared underground in an instant.

“It won’t get caught by the scarecrow again, right?”

For some reason, I worried that something like this might happen again. 

Perhaps it might accidentally touch the field crops a few times.

To coexist with the Floating Island’s ecosystem, it would take time to get used to it through trial and error.

This was enjoyable in its own way.

“Since things have wrapped up well, shouldn’t we eat now?”

Elenia rubbed her hungry belly.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”

The sun was heading overhead. Having eaten nothing until lunchtime, it was no wonder I was hungry.

“I’ll make something really delicious!”

“Good!”

“Then, how about cooking with carrots today?”

Seeing Puu eat the carrot made me want to eat fresh carrots today too.

I made fried rice with plenty of carrots and other vegetables freshly picked from the field, and it was very delicious.

The next day.

As soon as I woke up, I checked the field.

“Thankfully, it wasn’t caught today.”

The scarecrow had been quiet all night, and there were no holes in the field.

While strolling around the Floating Island, I checked the spots where I’d planted carrots just in case, and sure enough, there were holes made by Puu here and there.

It must be eating carrots to its heart’s content by now.

Imagining Puu bouncing happily brought a content smile to my lips.

I hurried to start my day.

Today was the day I would do my first business in the beastkin village.