HELL YEAAAHHHHHH!
If I had a mouth, I'd be screaming like a demon right now!
Finally!
Finally, I could tame them!
Alright—how do I do this?
I focused on one of the birds, thinking hard about the Citizenship Granting skill.
Come on, system! Do your damn job already! Get me this bird!
[Ding!]
[Would you like to use Citizenship Granting on Level 2 Forest Robin?][Cost: 1 Point]
Oh hell yes!
I was so excited that even though the damn system was asking for one whole precious point, I was willing to pay it in a heartbeat!
[Attempting to grant citizenship to Level 2 Forest Robin…]
The bird suddenly froze in place, twitching like some kind of game error had occurred.
But then—
[Citizenship Granting Failed!]
[Reason: The target lifeform is not intelligent enough to be aware of your existence.]
The robin resumed her movements as if nothing had happened.
…
And needless to say—
I WAS PISSED.
AAAAA! DAMN IT!!!
FUCK YOUUUU!!!
This system! I can't believe it! It just scammed me out of my precious point!
Come on! At least give me a bird, man!
But… haizz… there was nothing I could do about it.
Still, even though it failed, I learned something important.
So… I cannot grant citizenship to animals because they weren't intelligent enough?
That raised another question.
At what point is something considered intelligent enough?
If robins were out of the question, what about ravens? I didn't know if they existed here in this world called Azef, but back on Earth, they were considered some of the smartest birds around.
Or… what about dogs or cats?
Can I grant citizenship to them?
Either way, for now, I returned to simply watching the bird family.
When Jack returned, he froze in shock, and then lit up with joy when he spotted the bread! He literally hopped around in excitement!
Well, consider this a present for your unborn kids, Jack!
With this, you won't have to work so hard to provide for your family anymore!
And true enough, with the food problem solved by me, Jack spent the next few days staying close to the nest. Instead of constantly hunting, he relaxed, cuddled with his wives, and sang cheerful bird songs.
***
Well, little did I know, the robin family was only the beginning of something miraculous.
Because over the next week, more animals began arriving at my castle.
First came another family of birds—robins again.
At first, I thought Jack and his wives would welcome the newcomers.
Nope.
The moment the other family landed, Jack puffed up his chest and charged straight at the rival male, trying to chase them away.
Turns out forest robins are extremely territorial—especially when there are eggs in the nest.
Luckily, the other family managed to find a decent nesting spot on the opposite side of the castle.
After that, more and more birds arrived.
They still squabbled with one another, of course, but eventually, everyone found a place to settle. Here and there, ledges and corners slowly filling up.
And just like that, within the span of a single week, I had no fewer than twenty birds living in my territory!
I was ridiculously happy.
Even though they pooped everywhere.
But whatever.
I didn't mind.
And it didn't stop with birds.
One afternoon, a pair of deer wandered into my yard. They moved cautiously at first—ears twitching, eyes alert. But when nothing attacked them, they relaxed and began munching on the grass like it was an all-you-can-eat buffet!
(Rest in peace, Sir Lawncelot and Grasstolfo!)
A little later, I noticed a small mound of dirt forming near my eastern wall.
A bunny.
A fluffy little bunny had decided to dig a den right next to me!
I almost lost my nonexistent heart.
Then another night, things got really interesting.
I sensed movement near my gate. Some soft footsteps, careful and sneaky. A moment later, a family of raccoons appeared. One big one, and several smaller ones trailing behind!
They inspected my walls. Tapped my stones. Sniffed the air.
Then they wandered into my yard, then my rooms, searching for food.
I watched them, completely mesmerized.
Haha. Cute little thieves.
And those fluffy tails!
The raccoons in this world had the fluffiest tails I'd ever seen. The mother raccoon was fairly large, but the little ones were only about the size of soccer balls.
So cute!
Not wanting them to go hungry, I ended up spending a few points to get them an apple and two loaves of bread.
They startled at first, then quickly grabbed the food and shared it among themselves.
Eventually, they settled down and made their den inside one of my empty basement rooms.
Haha. Guess those little guys really liked the darkness and the space there.
Well, good choice!
And then… after a few more days—
Oh.
My.
GOD.
The raccoons brought friends.
They turned my basement into housing for an entire army of them!!!
This is getting ridiculous!
During the day, the raccoons slept inside their basement rooms. Every raccoon was curled up somewhere in the dark.
But once night fell?
Chaos!
One by one, they crept out of the basement like seasoned burglars before vanishing into the forest to forage for food.
And when they came back?
Oh boy.
They fought over scraps. They chased each other in circles! They squeaked, hissed, and rolled across the floor in tiny wrestling matches!
It was a mess.
A glorious mess.
Honestly, it was ridiculously entertaining to watch.
Now… just imagine some poor adventurer wandering into my basement one day.
Torch in hand. Careful steps. Thinking they've found hidden treasure, only to get swarmed by glowing eyes and fluffy tails!
Haha.
Good luck with that, buddy!
***
Yeah, just like that, on Day 20 after being reincarnated as a castle, I had birds in my towers, deer in my yard, a few bunnies at my side, and raccoons overrunning my basement!
Without realizing it, my abandoned castle had become a sanctuary. No monsters attacked. No hunters came. The animals felt safe here.
They still weren't intelligent enough to become my citizens though, but that was fine.
Because for the first time since being reborn, I didn't feel like a lonely building anymore.