The Angels and a new child

1　Events of spring and summer

"Well, sorry, but I'll be away for a little while."

Gran Maria apparently wanted to let the other Angels know something, so she left the village for a while.

"Is it all right for Kuudel and Corone not to go?"

"If we all went, there would be no one left to patrol the skies."

"That's true... once Gran Maria comes back, you can take turns leaving the village, too."

"No, no, staying in the village is more fun."

"Once you've tasted the food here, you can't live anywhere else."

"I see."

Was that mountain of luggage Gran Maria had taken with her all food?

"It contained packed lunches and gifts."

We received some information from the Giants living in the Northern Dungeon.

Apparently, if you passed through the Northern Dungeon and continued north, there was a pool of hot water.

A pool of hot water.

Hot springs? They're hot springs, right? They have to be hot springs.

I have to go.

The village organized a hot spring investigation team.

Although I had planned to declare, "I'll be the captain!" every villager stopped me.

With no other choice, I appointed one of the High Elves as captain and sent out about twenty members, including some of Kuro's descendants.

The hot spring investigation team returned after about thirty days.

Everyone looked exhausted.

"The journey was difficult, so just reaching our destination took a tremendous effort."

"We also encountered magic creatures we'd never seen before, which gave us a great deal of trouble."

One of Kuro's descendants, who had been injured and carried back by a High Elf, looked a little embarrassed.

"The water there was so hot that we really couldn't soak in it like a bath."

The captain gave me this report with great regret.

Thank you. And thanks for all your hard work.

Even Kuro's descendants who hadn't needed carrying were covered in wounds.

So I asked Lu, Tia, and Flora to use healing magic on them.

Still, hot springs you couldn't soak in? I hadn't considered that possibility.

Well, assuming temperature was the only problem, we could channel river water into them... but there might also be a problem with their composition.

Thinking it over, I had been too careless in sending an investigation team. I needed to reflect on that.

I resolved to go myself next time.

Disaster drills.

Since our population had increased, we needed to consider disaster preparedness.

Fire was the most frightening threat.

So I rechecked all the places where we used fire. I also checked whether there was a way nearby to extinguish one immediately.

No problems.

Everyone was much more conscious of disaster prevention than I had imagined.

I seemed to be the least vigilant of all. I would be more careful from now on.

We also practiced putting out fires.

"Extinguish them with magic."

How boring.

No, being able to extinguish them is what matters. Magic really is amazing.

Still, I wanted to put out a fire with water.

"Shall we transport water with magic?"

"No, a bucket brigade."

"?"

I had the villagers form a line and pass buckets full of water from the water source all the way to the fire.

Then the person at the front of the line threw the water onto the fire.

One or two buckets couldn't put it out.

After dozens-no, hundreds-of buckets, the fire finally went out.

"Fire extinguished... confirmed!"

The bucket brigade took some effort at first, but once everyone understood how it worked, it went faster.

The hardest job actually belonged to the people returning the empty buckets to the water source.

Also, I could only apologize to the minotaur and centaur representatives, who couldn't join the firefighting line because of differences in build or height.

After all, with a bucket brigade, too much difference in height slowed things down.

It should work fine in Village Two and Village Three, though. I hoped they would teach everyone this method when they returned to their villages.

"Village chief, shall we do it again?"

"Hm? Sure, no problem."

"I want to be at the front of the line."

"The front looks the most fun!"

Throwing water from the front of the line was a very popular job.

However, the lizardman who had been at the front just now was exhausted.

He had been closest to the fire, continually swinging buckets full of water. He had probably done the most work, hadn't he?

"All right-then the person at the front gets a maximum of ten buckets. Once you've thrown water ten times, switch with someone else!"

Taking turns along the way was necessary, too.

Learning things like this was why we held disaster drills.

It was time well spent.

Oh, and the already exhausted lizardman could rest for the next round.

The second Big Tree Village hide-and-seek tournament!

"Before we begin, please remember that this isn't training. It's recreation. Everyone is here to play, so please don't take hiding too seriously. Especially the elves and Mountain Elves. You won't be executed if you're caught, so please go easy on us. Also, those who can use magic, please don't use anything that interferes with perception. It will be treated as an attack. When it's your turn to be Death, magical attacks are also forbidden. And Tree Elves, if you take tree form, please stay at least one meter tall. Who could find a one-centimeter tree hiding behind cover! Sorry, anyway, that makes you very hard to find. Please keep in mind when hiding that this is only a game. Now, let's officially begin. I'll start as the only seeker... no, the only Death... any questions? Go ahead."

"Um, why do Kuro and the others look so eager beside you, village chief?"

"They're here to help Death. Don't mind them."

"Why are Zabuton and the others warming up?"

"They're here to help Death. Don't mind them."

"Village chief, you're taking this too seriously!"

The hide-and-seek tournament was once again a lively affair.

"We have more kinds of alcohol now."

"Yes, and they're all delicious."

The dwarves, who had previously been very opposed to selling our alcohol, now proposed selling it themselves.

According to them, good alcohol ought to be enjoyed by everyone.

Hadn't they praised the village's alcohol to the skies when they first arrived? And hadn't they resisted selling it ever since? So far, we had only sold alcohol to Beezel, you know? Mr. Michael had wanted to buy some for ages, you know? So why had they changed their minds? Don't look away.

After I pressed them, they finally confessed.

"For women?"

So far, the only dwarves who had gathered here were those who had heard by word of mouth about Big Tree Village's excellent alcohol.

The main source of that information was Doraim.

As a result, there were now forty-one dwarves who had come to the village.

Their numbers had grown quite a bit.

Four of them were women.

The ratio of men to women was off. Since it was off, they ought to correct it. How? If word about the alcohol spread, women would probably come.

How could they spread the word? By selling the alcohol.

"That was our reasoning."

"..."

"Are you angry, village chief?"

"No, just surprised."

"?"

"I didn't think you were interested in anything besides alcohol."

"Once you have alcohol, you want other things. That, too, is a law of nature."

"Shouldn't snacks to go with it come next?"

"Those are important, too. But once your appetite is satisfied, you start wanting the warmth of a family."

"The warmth of a family, huh? Well, I've been in favor of selling our alcohol outside the village for a long time, so I have no objections."

"Thank you, village chief."

"So, how much are you planning to sell?"

"Roughly from here to there in the storehouse."

"...That's the first batch we brewed, right?"

"Our techniques weren't fully developed back then."

"Don't you think that's too little?"

"No, no, selling this much is plenty."

"How about a little more, over to that part of the storehouse..."

"No, absolutely not. That section contains the fine vintages."

And so, a small portion of the village's alcohol reserves went up for sale, much to Mr. Michael's delight.

"You don't mind giving alcohol away, but you resist selling it. Isn't that strange?"

"Those who receive it as a gift smile for the alcohol itself, but the merchants who buy it smile for the profits they'll make later."

"I see."

"Master Michael has at least drunk here and knows what this alcohol tastes like. Some merchants resell alcohol without even tasting it."

"Well, merchants have to make a living, too."

"We understand, but we can't accept it."

What complicated thinking.

2　This year's festival

The previous mahjong champion had been Lize, a High Elf, but while Lize took a break from playing because of her pregnancy, Frau rose to the top.

With her overwhelmingly accurate reading of the tiles, she built an ironclad defense, steadily accumulating wins while avoiding major losses.

The one currently attempting to bring down this

fortress was Glatts, one of the Demon King Kingdom's Four Heavenly Kings, who had come to see Rinona.

He toyed with his opponents through unconventional discards while building high-scoring hands, continuing to fight with this strategy of sinking his opponents in a single blow.

The other two players caught in the crossfire were Bulga of the Demon Race and me.

"I feel like whatever tile I discard, someone will win off it..."

"Exactly. I'm afraid nothing is safe except tiles that have already been discarded... please let me get through this safely."

"Sorry, I win."

"I win, too. We allowed two players to win off the same discard, right?"

"Whoa, how were you waiting on that tile with discards like those!"

Since Bulga plummeted straight to last place, I barely managed to hold on to third.

And that ended the round. Thank goodness, my streak of last-place finishes was finally over.

"Heh heh heh, this is quite an entertaining game. If possible, I'd like you to sell me a set."

"I don't mind selling you one, but can you find four players? Teaching the rules is a lot of trouble, you know?"

"Ah... that's true."

"Lord Glatts, the Demon King, the princess, and my father all know how to play."

"Do they?"

"Yes, they play when they visit."

Come to think of it, I had played with Death and the others during the last martial arts tournament.

"Then there's no problem. Please sell me a set."

"Understood. By the way, is it all right for you to leave Rinona alone and play here?"

"I've already had plenty of time to talk with Rinona. Besides, Rinona has her own work, doesn't she? I can't interfere with that."

Rinona was on her way to Village Two, leading some of Kuro's descendants as her guards.

This was practice, with the goal of being able to travel to Village Two on her own even in an emergency.

The training had been scheduled long ago, but Beezel happened to bring Glatts over the day before her departure, so the timing was very unfortunate.

"I did tell Rinona she didn't have to leave in such a hurry."

"I heard about that, too, so it's fine. I have no complaints."

"Good, then. Wait, looks like Beezel's here."

"You took your time."

"Just before I came back here, I received word of suspicious movements in the north, so I had to work out countermeasures. Also, Fraurem, you've overtrained those classmates of yours. They could start working in the city as soon as I brought them back."

"This is practical training... no, I suppose they're effectively already working full-time. If they want to, you can take them back."

"I asked a few of them, but they all turned me down."

"Could you please not poach villagers right in front of me?"

"Hahaha, my apologies. Well then, Glatts, isn't it about time we headed back?"

"All right. Village Chief, can I take a set of tiles back with me?"

"Sure, I'll get it right away."

I handed him a mahjong set.

Death and the others had asked me for one when they visited before, so I'd prepared this extra set in case it happened again.

"The craftsmanship on this folding table is excellent, too. Beezel, you'll have to play with me once we're back."

"I don't mind, but please decide on a time in advance. Also, if you want His Majesty the Demon King to join us, we'll need to check his schedule first."

"I'll leave that part to you."

"What I'm saying is, don't dump everything on me."

Those two visitors certainly were lively.

Festival season had come around again.

The martial arts tournament was now held separately, so we needed to plan another event.

Even after a very long meeting, we couldn't reach a conclusion, so we decided by drawing lots again this year.

I'd been wondering whether to check what was written on the slips before putting them in the box, but screening them was difficult, so I gave up.

Instead, I tossed in plenty of safe ideas of my own.

The whole point of an event was for everyone to have fun. But we absolutely couldn't make it dangerous!

"Well then, sorry for the trouble."

At the Civil Servant Girls' prompting, I drew a slip from the box.

"This year's event is..."

A sliding race? What was that? It probably wasn't an ordinary footrace, right?

"A sliding race is a competition where people run down a slope at full speed. It's a famous festival in the Burgan region. About ten competitors start at once, and the winner receives a prize."

"Running at full speed... on a slope."

"Downhill, of course."

"Ah, right, I figured... Isn't that dangerous?"

"Magical protection keeps it from being all that dangerous."

"Really?"

"Yes. But if we hold a sliding race in this village... we won't have a slope."

"True. How steep does it need to be?"

"The gradient varies by region, but the height is around twenty meters."

"Twenty meters. There's nothing like that nearby, and piling up enough dirt ourselves would be a lot of work."

"It certainly would."

"Okay, rejected."

"Aww."

"Don't 'aww' me. We can't manage that much labor, can we?"

"Understood. Then we'll put this sliding race slip back in, and if you draw it again, please hold the sliding race."

"Hahaha, sure."

Apparently, I was an idiot.

This year's festival was officially going to be a sliding race.

If we were going to do it, we'd give it our all.

First, I discussed the sliding race with the Civil Servant Girls and drew up a plan.

"We'll need to build a small hill."

"If we dig a hole first and pile the excavated dirt beside it, we can use the difference in elevation to save half the work..."

"We could use the hole as a new pond afterward, but finding another use for the hill would be difficult."

"How about using that dirt to build a wall around the village?"

"Either way, building a hill wide enough for ten people to run at once is too much. Couldn't we make it for about three?"

"If we can measure their speed, having them run one at a time should be fine..."

"Then, to measure their speed... how about doing this..."

"No, wouldn't that stop being a sliding race?"

"It would magnify the differences between individual competitors."

"In that case, we might as well do this..."

"There's hardly anything left of the original sliding race."

"Isn't it fine as long as it's fun?"

We had our plan.

At any rate, one thing was certain: I'd have to make full use of the Almighty Farming Tool. I needed to put my back into it.

Two representatives had come from Village Two, where the Minotaurs lived.

Rinona and Mirya.

Naturally, both were Minotaur women.

Since they had been selected before winter began, they would generally stay in Big Tree Village.

They occasionally returned to Village Two, but they never stayed there long. At most, they spent one night before coming back here.

Two representatives had come from Village Three, where the Centaurs lived.

Naturally, both were Centaurs.

Unlike Village Two, though, Village Three frequently changed its representatives.

At first, they switched about every three days, and they still rotated frequently. Why was that?

I asked Rasuti, who looked after the Centaurs.

"They find the position of representative very appealing, so a great many volunteered. This was the result."

"Appealing?"

"Yes."

"What part? The food?"

"No, being able to work by your side, Village Chief."

"Uh..."

"We never considered serving someone powerful a hardship. Rather, we regard it as an honor."

"Someone powerful... meaning me?"

"Who else could it be, Village Chief?"

"Ah..."

"Besides, there are opportunities to carry you when you travel... It's an enviable position."

Come to think of it, the Centaurs always seemed restless whenever I was about to leave the village.

"Okay, I understand."

"I see. In that case, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Since Gruwald was appointed chief of Village Three, she can't serve as a representative."

"Uh... what does she want me to do, then?"

I went to Village Three and took a leisurely ride on Gruwald.

"Will this do?"

"I'm terribly sorry for the trouble."

There were currently four people in the village responsible for looking after other races.

Ramurias looked after the Beastmen.

Naf looked after the Minotaurs.

Rasuti looked after the Centaurs.

Mam looked after the Tree Elves.

Although they looked after other races, all four generally lived in Big Tree Village rather than constantly managing and supervising the races in their care. Their job was to offer advice when someone asked for help. As a result, they had plenty of free time when nothing was happening, but were busy when something came up.

Ramurias was the only one who was always busy.

That was because the Beastmen boys were still young. Though they were older now than when they'd first arrived in the village.

Her work was like that of a nanny and an elementary school teacher.

As for Naf and Rasuti, the representatives of their respective races consulted them, keeping them busy with one thing or another.

But Mam, who looked after the Tree Elves...

"Am I really that unreliable?"

In a sense, we could leave the Tree Elves to their own devices without having to look after them much. That meant they rarely consulted her. Or rather... her workload was practically zero, aside from passing along our cautions.

"I wish more people would come trouble me!"

Needing a lot of looking after was a problem, but perhaps not needing any at all was a problem, too.

Next time, I'd ask the Tree Elves to find things to consult Mam about whenever possible.

3 Faith and undead

Village Two worshipped the God of Farming, while Village Three had statues of the God of War and various other gods.

We could have asked Mr. Michael to obtain ready-made statues... but in the end, I carved them myself.

Leaving aside whether they actually existed, this world had a great variety of religions-or rather, deities.

It felt as though every region's faith had its own gods.

Among them, a religious group called the Korin Religion had united many faiths and become a major power.

The Korin Religion had only one principle.

Respect your own faith and the faiths of others.

In short, freedom of religion.

Their principle was that you could believe in anything, but you couldn't interfere with anyone else's faith. As a result, even followers of the Korin Religion might worship different gods.

That said, wherever people gathered, factions formed, and factions affected personnel matters.

The largest faction within the Korin Religion worshipped the God of Creation.

Next, apparently, came the God of Light, the God of War, the God of Farming, the Demon God, the God of Medicine, and the God of Music.

Incidentally, the God of Music was a god associated with music, something like a god of the performing arts.

And apparently, Lu's grandfather-the Progenitor-was an important figure in this Korin Religion.

"Oh."

"Just 'oh'? Couldn't you be a little more surprised?"

The Progenitor expressed his dissatisfaction with my reaction.

"Uh, even if you say that... all I really thought was, 'So that's the sort of work you do.'"

"I suppose that's fair. I've kept it secret all this time, but perhaps there was no need."

While the Progenitor pondered that, Lu brought in the tea.

"Progenitor, I believe there are many reasons why it would be better to keep it secret."

"Really?"

"Yes. People have many misconceptions about vampires, after all."

"That's certainly true."

I had green tea, while the Progenitor had coffee. After setting down our drinks, Lu left the room.

That was because she had to look after Alfred... but thinking about it, she seemed to go to great lengths to avoid getting close to the Progenitor.

Flora never came near him at all. Did they find him difficult to deal with?

"By the way, Village Chief, there's something I've been curious about for a while."

"Hmm?"

"That cup displayed on the shelf behind you-does it have the God of Creation carved on it?"

"Yes. I tried making it over the winter... It was a failure, so it's only good as a decoration."

"A failure? In what way?"

"It isn't practical. There are carvings even on the part you put your lips to."

"No, no, no. Surely you're supposed to hold it like this when you drink?"

The Progenitor brought the coffee cup in his hand toward his mouth.

"With that cup's design, your lower lip would touch the God of Creation's hand... In other words, you'd be receiving holy water from the God of Creation's own hand! Wonderful! What a superb design!"

"Hahaha."

That was a coincidence. I'd never considered anything like that. Still, being praised so highly felt good, so I decided to go along with the Progenitor's interpretation.

"In that case, would you like to take the cup home?"

"I'll use it for the most important ceremonies."

"No, no, I meant for everyday use... Oh well, do as you like."

That was better than leaving it as a mere decoration.

And so, the Progenitor happily took the cup home.

Since the Progenitor had already left, I went to find Lu and Flora to clear up my earlier questions.

"Do you have trouble dealing with the Progenitor?"

"Is it trouble dealing with him, or more like fear and trepidation...?"

"He's practically the god of vampires, after all."

The Progenitor was the first vampire, so he was a god...

I see. They weren't wrong to put it that way.

"Is there only one Progenitor?"

"I've never heard of any others."

"Neither have I."

I see.

If there were lots of them, that would be one thing, but since there was only one, it was only natural that he was treated as a god.

Was that how he had ended up becoming someone important in the Korin Religion? Surely not.

"So, what brought the Progenitor here earlier?"

"Nothing much. He said a large number of undead had appeared and wanted us to keep an eye out."

"A large number of undead? Where?"

"Northeast of here, I think. He said you'd have to go through the forest and then cross the mountains. Quite far away."

"Across the mountains, too? Then it should be fine."

"The Progenitor said it was just a precautionary warning. Well, we won't be going that way anyway, so it should be all right."

"True. Still, we should tell the others."

"Of course. We also need to notify Beezel, Mr. Michael, and Good Forest Village."

In terms of location, Good Forest Village was closest.

Though it was still quite far away...

I asked Rasuti to notify them through the small wyvern communication service.

Undead.

The images that came to mind were zombies and moving skeletons.

And perhaps ghosts, which were a little different?

I pictured a bunch of beings that still had attachments to this world and refused to rest, but apparently that wasn't actually the case.

When an incorporeal Magic Creature possessed a corpse and moved it, it became a zombie.

When an incorporeal Magic Creature sought to obtain a physical body, it became a skeleton.

When incorporeal Magic Creatures gathered and accumulated power, they became ghosts.

The true nature of undead was incorporeal Magic Creatures, with no connection whatsoever to lingering attachments to this world. Apparently, people had simply gotten that impression from seeing corpses move, and that misconception had spread far and wide.

As for that group of undead mentioned earlier...

"Is it all right to leave them alone?"

"Generally, leaving them alone should be fine. They'll disappear in a few years."

"Really?"

"Yes, though they do cause a few problems."

"Please explain those problems in detail."

"Um... zombies are the biggest problem, I suppose. Corpses are sources of disease, and that isn't limited to human corpses. Having those things wandering around is troublesome, and it's even worse if they fall into a water source or somewhere like that."

"That really is troublesome."

"The second problem is that undead become food for Magic Creatures and magical beasts."

"Food?"

"Yes. So powerful Magic Creatures and magical beasts gather wherever undead appear."

"I see. That certainly is a problem."

"But undead don't actively attack anything, and they hardly move, so if you leave them alone, they'll get eaten before you know it."

"Is that what you meant by disappearing?"

"Exactly. We don't really know why this happens on such a large scale, but powerful Magic Creatures and magical beasts will target that food supply, so be careful."

So that was it? I'd misunderstood. I'd thought we were supposed to watch out for the undead themselves.

As I was thinking, Hakuren chimed in from beside me.

"If it's undead, I could go breathe some fire and clear them out."

"Can you destroy only the undead? Without affecting anything else?"

"Hmm... the surrounding terrain would change a little."

"Wouldn't the destruction you caused be worse than the damage from the undead?"

"Maybe."

"Rejected."

"Aww."

"A perfectly reasonable decision."

We would leave them alone for now.

If Good Forest Village, the closest settlement, asked for help, I would have Hakuren put in some effort then.

4. The daughter of the Angels' chief

The place where I currently lived was called the "Land of Death." The forest in the Land of Death was called the "Forest of Death."

There was a reason for using the word "death": there were almost no birds in this forest.

Since these were a forest and land where even birds couldn't fly, they were called the "Forest of Death" and the "Land of Death."

And the reason there were almost no birds was... Magic Creatures and magical beasts had hunted them all down.

I didn't know the details, but apparently a natural enemy of birds called the Demon Spider ruled this forest. A spider

was a natural enemy of birds? Didn't that seem backward?

As for why I was thinking about all this...

Before me were ten Angels and about thirty-Harpies? Was that the right name? Those people whose arms were wings had been shot down with threads by Zabuton's children, then beaten up by Kuro's descendants.

Ah, apparently they really were Harpies. Good.

"Um, excuse me, but could you please have them stop...?"

Gran Maria bowed her head to me with a somewhat awkward expression.

Earlier, Gran Maria had set out to invite some Angels she knew to Big Tree Village.

Along the way, she had run into the daughter of the Angels' chief. The daughter had asked many questions about our village and flown into a rage upon learning that Tia had given birth to my child.

Then she had gathered her subordinates and stormed over here.

They were the group in front of me.

"In other words, you're enemies?"

At my words, the Angels and Harpies, who had been healed and forced to sit on their knees, flinched.

"W-we mean no hostility..."

One of the Angels raised a hand and said that quietly.

"Really? You gathered your people and stormed into our village, didn't you? That seems clearly hostile."

"I agree."

Gran Maria agreed with me.

At present, Gran Maria and I were there.

Before us, the Angels and Harpies knelt in a row.

Kuro's descendants prowled behind them. If anyone dared to stand without permission, they would immediately subdue them.

I had also called for Lu, Flora, and Tia, but only Flora had come.

Apparently, the others had some reason they couldn't show their faces. Things seemed rather complicated.

"By the way, Gran Maria, why did Tia having my child make them so furious?"

"Village Chief, please come this way."

Gran Maria explained to me a little way away from the kneeling Angels.

"The Angels are basically an all-female race."

I thought I had heard that from Tia before.

"But to avoid dying out, the Angels need men."

Right.

"So we seek men from other races."

Yes.

"Normally, we choose humans, but there are all sorts of traditions, trials, and examinations... A difference in views on those things was what started this incident."

"...You skipped too much. Please explain in a little more detail."

"We can't have an unworthy marriage partner making people look down on the Angels, but if the trials are too strict, no one can pass them. So the Angels split into those who follow the rules and those who ignore them, and they argue endlessly."

"Ah..."

"As the chief's daughter, she belongs to the rule-following faction. Lady Tia, Kuudel, Corone, and I would count as rule-followers too, if anything, but, um... with you, Village Chief..."

"So she came rushing here in a fury."

"Yes."

Incidentally, the Angels apparently used egg-laying races such as lizardmen and Harpies as attendants to proclaim their own purity.

I see.

Given the current situation, I could settle things by giving them a little punishment...

But considering Tia's and Gran Maria's positions, that alone didn't seem sufficient.

"What do these trials involve?"

"Huh?"

"In other words, as long as I pass the trials and become a worthy partner for an Angel, there won't be a problem, right?"

"Y-yes. That's true, but..."

"Are they impossible trials like 'fly into the sky' or 'stay underwater for an hour'?"

"Something like that... but I think you should be fine, Village Chief."

"Really?"

"Yes. You are Lady Tia's partner, after all."

"Tia's and yours, right?"

Gran Maria looked a little embarrassed.

Still, before that, I wanted to hear how the Angels and Harpies intended to apologize.

"Well, um... daughter of the Angels' chief."

"My name is Kierbit."

"Kierbit, I understand why you came here now. In other words, you're enemies, right? And since you've been captured, you belong to me, and I'm free to do whatever I want with you. Understand?"

"Wait! I-I'm the daughter of the Angels' chief!"

"I know."

"If anything happens to me, the Angels won't stand by in silence!"

"Gran Maria, is that true?"

"It probably is... but with Lady Tia here, I think we'll be fine."

"Does that have to do with strength?"

"Lady Tia is the strongest of the Angels. Next is the chief, followed by the three of us."

"Hmm... so these ten Angels here..."

"If Kuudel, Corone, and I joined forces, we could beat them."

"How many other Angels are there?"

"About three hundred in total, but the ones who can be contacted and act alongside the chief... probably around fifty?"

"Fifty. Calculating their fighting strength as five times what's here..."

About two of Kuro's descendants could subdue one Angel, and we also had Zabuton's children...

"I don't think we could lose."

"Then there's no problem with how I choose to deal with them, right?"

"Correct."

"Wait, wait, wait! I-it's not just the Angels! There are plenty of races willing to cooperate with us! If you dare lay a hand on me, an army numbering in the thousands will attack this place!"

"...I see."

"It seems you understand. Now, hurry up and release me."

No, I hadn't tied them up or anything. I had only made them sit on their knees.

Well, with Kuro's descendants watching them, perhaps it wasn't much different from being locked up?

I left Kierbit for the moment and walked over to the Harpies.

"It seems you only came along with them. Is that true?"

The one who appeared to represent the Harpies answered my question.

"Yes, that is exactly right."

"I see. Then if you abandon Kierbit and follow Gran Maria instead, I'll forgive you and prepare some food for you. How about it?"

"...We pledge our lives in loyalty to Lady Gran Maria."

They must have practiced often, because all the Harpies bowed their heads in perfect unison.

"Y-you, you, you lot-!"

Kierbit shouted, but all the Harpies turned their heads away.

"Very well. As promised, I forgive you. Stand up."

"Thank you very much."

After confirming that Kuro's descendants behind them had moved away, the Harpies stood up and stretched their stiff bodies.

Was sitting on their knees that hard on them?

"As for food... yes, here it comes. Sorry we can only offer such simple dishes. Please, help yourselves."

"Not at all. We're very grateful."

The Harpies began eating the meals the Oni Race maids brought them.

For a moment, I wondered how they would manage with wings but no hands, but they deftly used the claws in the middle of their wings to hold their spoons and eat.

Their table manners were also unexpectedly good, which surprised me.

It was probably because I had this impression that birds scattered food everywhere when they ate. Sorry for making assumptions.

Next.

I looked at the Angels other than Kierbit.

These Angels, including Kierbit, were all beautiful blond women. Did they put a lot of effort into caring for their hair? Although their outfits seemed intended for combat, they were more elegant than rough. They also had beautiful white wings on their backs that made their presence felt. They truly lived up to the name of Angels.

Though they still fell short of Tia, Gran Maria, and the others. Oh dear, was I playing favorites?

Still, this group of Angels currently had dirt all over their hair, clothes, and wings, spoiling their rare beauty.

They seemed bothered by it too, brushing dirt off their clothes and lovely hair whenever I looked away.

"You were only following Kierbit too, weren't you? If you apologize properly, I'll forgive you."

No reaction.

Were they trying to show they were different from the Harpies?

"Village chief, could you hear me out?"

"Hmm?"

Gran Maria explained to me quietly.

"The Harpies only need to serve Angels. It doesn't matter whether they follow Kierbit or me, so your earlier terms were enough to win them over. But if these Angels openly betray Kierbit, the chief's daughter, they'll have trouble later even if they're saved now."

"Couldn't they say they only did it as an emergency measure to escape danger?"

"Not with Kierbit right in front of them."

"I see."

Then I would change my approach.

"Kierbit attacked this village, and that

is an unforgivable crime! Therefore, I will give Kierbit ten punishments. Each punishment will be quite painful, and multiplied by ten... it might get very miserable. No, it will definitely be too awful to look at."

Hearing my explanation, Kierbit went deathly pale.

"However, for every one of you who apologizes, I'll remove one of Kierbit's punishments. Two apologies mean two fewer punishments. Three apologies mean three fewer. How about it?"

"We're terribly sorry."

Every Angel except Kierbit bowed her head.

Heh heh heh. Everything is going according to plan.

"To think Kierbit's followers would give in so easily..."

Gran Maria was astonished, but I hadn't done anything extraordinary.

"You just have to give them an excuse that makes it all right to bow their heads. This time, I used 'saving Kierbit' as the excuse."

"All right, everyone except Kierbit can stand up now. I'll have food prepared for you, and you can use the bath afterward too."

Now, only one person remained-Kierbit. What should I do with her?

"I'm sorry. It was all my fault."

While I was standing in front of Kierbit wondering what to do, she bowed her head first.

"Well, what should I do?"

"I'm sorry."

She was on the verge of tears. Had I gone a little too far? No, no, she had led an attack on the village. She deserved at least this much punishment. And now that she had apologized...

"I forgive you."

"Aaauuuuuugh."

Kierbit burst into tears.

5 Angel Tribe's Trials

"Are you all right now?"

I spoke to Kierbit, who had calmed down after a bath and a meal.

"Wh-what?"

"Don't be so wary. You're not my enemy."

"R-right, I'm not your enemy. So, what is it?"

"I'll get straight to the point. Tell me what the Angel Tribe's Trials are."

"...What do you mean?"

"If I pass the Angel Tribe's Trials, you'll accept my relationship with Tia, right?"

"Y-yes. But I don't think you can pass."

"Really?"

"That's right."

"Well, just tell me first. The chief's family has the final say on the trials, right?"

Although Gran Maria had said it would be fine, I was still a little uneasy.

"There are five Angel Tribe's Trials in total."

"Five?"

"Yes. Scared?"

"A little."

It sounded like a hassle. No, no. This is to get them to accept my relationship with Tia. I have to do my best.

"Tell me the first one."

"Very well. The first is wealth! You must donate seven hundred and seventy-seven gold coins to the Angels."

"Gold coins?"

"In this region, Galgard gold coins will do."

"Gold coins... can I pay in goods instead?"

"That's acceptable."

"Gran Maria, go to the storehouse and bring something of equivalent value... oh, you've already brought it?"

I handed the item to Kierbit.

"A Singing Fruit Stone? One this big? Huh? It's worth over a thousand gold coins?"

It was one of the gifts Death had given me before.

"This will do, right?"

Apparently, it was fine.

"Then, the second trial. The second is intelligence. First, prepare twenty pebbles about this size."

I brought twenty small stones as she requested.

"This is a game the Angels know well. You will compete against me, and if you win, you pass."

"Got it. What are the rules?"

"We take turns removing stones, and whoever takes the last one loses. You can take one to three each turn, and you must take at least one when it's your turn. Understood?"

"Understood."

So it's that game?

"Then let the match begin. You can choose whether to go first or second."

"All right."

There were twenty stones on the ground. The rules said whoever took the last one lost, which meant the first nineteen stones were safe to take. I could take up to three at once, and I didn't know how many my opponent would take...

Ah, no. Think about it another way. Rather than losing by taking the twentieth stone, the person who took the nineteenth won. So I had to adjust how many I took so that whatever my opponent took made no difference.

Which meant...

If my opponent took three, I would take one. If my opponent took two, I would take two. If my opponent took one, I would take three. That way, every round would remove four stones.

With nineteen stones, four times four was sixteen, leaving three. So if I went first and took those extra three, I was guaranteed to win.

"Then I'll go first. I'll take three to start."

"Really? Then I'll take one."

I won!

"O-one more round!"

"Sure, but I get to choose who goes first."

"No problem. Then we'll add one more pebble this time."

Since there were no extras now...

"Kierbit, you go first."

I won.

"Again!"

"No, tell me the next trial."

This was a game the Angels knew well. In other words, Tia and Gran Maria could play too, so I would have chances to enjoy it with them. Besides, I had seen similar games in my previous world, so as long as I could choose whether to go first or second, I was guaranteed to win.

"The third trial is martial prowess."

"Martial prowess? That's a tough one..."

"Heh heh heh. It seems that isn't your strong suit."

"More or less. So, how do I demonstrate my martial prowess?"

"You fight an opponent I designate. You only have to survive."

"I don't have to win?"

"Correct."

"Hmm..."

I glanced at Gran Maria.

Isn't asking me to fight a bit much?

Despite my complaint, she gave me a thumbs-up to say it would be fine. Seriously?

"All right. Who's my opponent?"

"Heh heh heh. You'll be scared to death when you hear! It's the Vampire Princess who caused such an uproar in the world-Rurushi!"

"..."

"Looks like you're too terrified to speak. I knew it. Rurushi is an opponent even Tia can't defeat. Someone like you couldn't possibly survive!"

"Ah, no, um..."

I glanced awkwardly at Gran Maria. She was already crouching on the ground, struggling to hold back her laughter.

"Uh... this is my wife."

"Good afternoon. Will this do?"

"Yes. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's fine. Anyway, shouldn't we be preparing for the festival? There isn't much time left."

"I know. I'll wrap this up quickly."

Lu left after her brief greeting, and I spoke to the dumbfounded Kierbit.

It took her a little while to respond.

"...Your wife?"

"Yes."

"The one she was holding just now was your child?"

"That's right. He's grown quite a bit, but he still loves being cuddled."

"Uh..."

"Does that count as surviving?"

"Uh, uh... yes..."

"The next trial, please."

"Ah, yes, yes. The next is negotiating ability."

"Negotiating ability?"

"That's right. After wealth, intelligence, and martial prowess comes negotiating ability."

"Then who do I negotiate with, and about what?"

"W-wait a moment."

Kierbit took a deep breath and pulled herself together.

"The fourth trial! It tests negotiating ability! Your counterpart is the king of Mount Gurugurando, who is said to be impossible to talk to..."

Kierbit was interrupted just as she was about to strike a dashing pose.

"You're holding another festival, right? I'll come visit this year too."

"It's still a long way off."

"Hahaha, I only came to see my daughter today. I'll stay for about two days."

As I answered, I could already see how this trial would turn out.

"By the way, Doraim, what's the name of the mountain you live on?"

"Hmm? If I remember right, the people living nearby call it Mount Gurugurando or something."

"Got it, thanks."

Doraim changed from dragon form to human form and headed toward the inn.

I remembered hearing how shy Doraim was when we first met. Was that why she said she couldn't talk to him? Well, his dragon form was pretty frightening.

Now then...

"Are you all right?"

Kierbit had fainted.

For some reason, Kierbit had taken another bath, and now she struck a pose before me with her face flushed.

"The final-

trial!"

"Oh, right."

I'd passed financial resources, intelligence, combat ability, and negotiation skills... What would the last one be?

"Luck."

"Luck?"

"That's right, luck. Flip a coin, and as long as it comes up heads, you pass."

"I see."

"We'll use this medallion instead of a coin. One side has an Angel, and the other has a shield and sword. The side with the Angel counts as heads."

"Got it, but..."

I took the coin and examined both sides.

It didn't seem to have any tricks built into it, and the weight seemed balanced between the two sides.

So it really was all down to luck?

I glanced at Gran Maria again. Once again, she gave me a thumbs-up to show that everything was fine.

Uh, luck wasn't something I could control.

I didn't think I was particularly lucky...

Was I supposed to cheat?

Like catching the coin between my hands after tossing it, then turning it heads up?

"Once you've tossed the coin, you can't touch it again. You have to let it fall straight onto the ground."

She'd seen through me. No, it was probably written all over my face.

"I know, I know. I won't cheat."

It looked like I had no way to influence the outcome.

I obediently flicked the coin into the air and waited for it to fall to the ground on its own.

The coin landed heads up.

But Kierbit suddenly reached out and flipped it over.

"Huh?"

"Hehehe, hahahahahahahahahaha! Too bad! You've failed your trial!"

"Hold on, isn't that going too far?"

"You're not allowed to touch the coin, but the rules never said anyone else couldn't. The coin merely touched me before it came to a complete stop."

Kierbit's smug face infuriated me, but my anger quickly faded.

Because Tia, who had appeared at some point, punched Kierbit hard in the back of the head.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"For doing something stupid."

Tia flipped the coin on the ground back over, then stomped it firmly into the earth.

"There, he's passed the final trial. You'll approve of the village chief and me now, won't you, Kierbit?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!"

"Want another punch if you won't approve? This time, it'll be right in the face."

"Eek-"

"You approve, right?"

"U-ugh..."

"Hurry up and approve."

"I-I approve."

"Thank you. I'm so happy."

"Ugh..."

"It's because the difficulty depends on the whims of the chief's family that people refuse to follow the rules. You ought to think about that more."

"Ugh..."

Anyway, it seemed I'd passed the Angel Tribe's Trials.

Incidentally, Kierbit looked a little lonely as she desperately tried to dig the coin out of the ground, so I helped her.

"Tia, was the trial why you didn't show yourself earlier?"

"Yes. If I appeared, Kierbit would only become more defiant."

"Because she didn't want to show weakness in front of you?"

"That's part of it, but... well, um, it was mainly about me having a child first."

"Jealousy? If the chief's family decides the entire difficulty of the trials, can't they choose whoever they want?"

"About that..."

Apparently, the current chief, Kierbit's mother, had married a man whose looks seemed to be his only redeeming quality.

Kierbit's mother fell in love with him and gave him an incredibly easy trial, and then their daughter, Kierbit, was born.

Having a father whose only merit was his handsome face gave Kierbit a very strong inferiority complex.

"After all, everyone else's fathers were outstanding men who had passed difficult trials."

"Ah..."

"Actually, quite a few people proposed to Kierbit in the past, but her harsh trials drove them all away... Lately, no one has been proposing, and then she heard that I'd had a child with someone who hadn't passed the trials, when she'd thought I was just like her."

"Just like her?"

"Um, well... For some reason, everyone says I'm frightening, so no one has ever proposed to me..."

"But you're so cute."

"O-oh, stop teasing me."

As Tia and I flirted, I felt someone watching us from nearby. It was Kierbit.

"What's wrong?"

There were too many Angels and Harpies for the inn to accommodate, so we'd had to ask them to spend the night in Village One.

However, Village One had nothing, so there was plenty to do to gather bedding and other necessities...

"I-I just wanted to formally apologize and thank you. Also, I'd like to have a proper talk with you."

"..."

"About what?"

"You're pretty normal when you're not being impulsive."

"How rude!"

"All right, all right. You don't mind Tia being here, do you?"

"No."

So Tia, Kierbit, and I sat around a table in the inn's dining room.

It was a little early for dinner, so we had some drinks. The idea had been to help the conversation flow more smoothly, but...

"Ahahahahahahaha!"

Kierbit couldn't hold her liquor nearly as well as I'd expected.

"Uh..."

"Mmm-the liquor here tastes better. Another glass! Ahahahahahahaha!"

"Miss, you clearly know good liquor. Try this one too."

The dwarves, hoping the visitors would lead to a party, barged in, making conversation even more impossible.

"Looks like... today's no good."

"Yes."

"Let's invite everyone else too."

Tia and I gave up on talking with Kierbit and held a party, just as the dwarves wanted.

Discussing things with Kierbit and the Harpies

"Your liquor tastes great. Give me some to take home as a souvenir."

Kierbit and the Harpies stayed overnight in Village One and flew to Big Tree Village for meals.

They felt rather like migratory birds.

"You haven't been causing trouble for the Tree Elves, have you?"

"Don't worry. We haven't interacted with them enough to cause them trouble."

Was that a good thing?

"By the way, why are there so many empty houses?"

"Hahaha."

That was a sore subject.

"Ahaha, don't just ask someone for help and leave it at that. You need to ask for updates."

"You're right."

"Still, thanks to that, we were able to sleep well."

"In that case, why don't you just stay?"

"Thank you for the kind offer, but that would be a little difficult. I have a job."

"A job?"

"I'm a priestess in the Kingdom of Gallet."

"...Gallet?"

"It's a country northwest of here. They revere Angels there, so I have a bit of standing."

"Oh?"

"Basically, I rank higher than their king."

"..."

"Could you stop looking at me like that?"

"Well, you say that, but..."

"Mmm-"

"Sorry. If you can't, what about the other Angels?"

"They have jobs too, so they can't. But some of the ones Gran Maria approached should be fine, right? A few of them should be willing to stay."

"Huh? The Angels who came with you aren't the ones Gran Maria approached?"

"That's right. Gran Maria wouldn't go out of her way to approach those of us with jobs. The ones who came here with me are all people I gathered after hearing what Gran Maria said."

"I see. But..."

That raised a question.

"Is something strange?"

"You have jobs, but you still gathered people and came here?"

"W-we all need a change of pace sometimes."

"That's true, but you shouldn't force people to come."

"I didn't force them."

"Really?"

"Fine, I admit I pressured them a little."

"It's good to be honest."

"Hmph."

"Hahaha. Then what about the Angels Gran Maria approached?"

"They seem to be on vacation, so two or three might come. Please get along with them when they arrive."

"Understood. Also, about the Harpies..."

Since they'd said they would pledge allegiance to Gran Maria, they intended to stay.

"That's fine. There are others, after all. But some of them have families, so I hope you'll only keep those who volunteer."

"Of course. If anyone wants to go back, then-

sorry for the trouble, but please take them with you."

"I'm the one who brought them, so I'll take responsibility."

"Sorry for the trouble."

When she wasn't being impulsive, she was pretty sensible.

"Also, if any Harpies want to come here, may I bring them?"

"Well, if there are any volunteers, please do."

Kierbit stayed another night and went home the following day.

Although most of the Harpies wanted to stay, all of them went with Kierbit.

Even if they were going to live here, they needed to go back to collect their belongings, explain things to their families, and so on.

"Once the Harpies officially move here, let's have them live in Village One."

"That sounds fine. Though, strictly speaking, unless the houses are like those the Centaurs use, the Harpies probably won't be able to live in them."

Gran Maria answered from beside me when she heard me muttering to myself.

"What do you mean?"

"Harpies don't use beds when they sleep. They either perch on branches or sleep in nests."

"..."

"Also, their perches would ideally have roofs and walls to shelter them from the wind and rain."

"Wouldn't the existing houses work?"

"It's not that they wouldn't, but opening and closing doors would be difficult. Still, they should be fine once they get used to it..."

"I-I see."

"Also, those who have families live together with them, but young singles prefer communal living."

"Communal living?"

"Yes. Harpies make their living by hunting in groups, so it helps them work better together."

Differences in culture and lifestyle, huh?

Was it like how the lizardmen wanted a pond to lay their eggs in?

"Understood. I'll give that some proper thought."

"Thank you."

"...Do the current residents have any problems like that, or any complaints?"

"There shouldn't be any problems there. Everyone is settling in more comfortably, too."

"I hope so..."

"I'll go check, just to be sure."

"Sorry for the trouble."

There were always differences between races. I might have unwittingly forced inconvenient things on others, so I would have to be more mindful in the future.

Someone made a suggestion. It concerned cotton.

Quilts, for instance.

Until now, we had asked Zabuton and her children to weave bedding-shaped bags and stuffed them with grass gathered in the forest.

We did the same for sofas and the like.

The grass used for stuffing grew right there in the forest, making it easy to gather and costing practically nothing, so everyone was accustomed to doing it that way.

However, this grass had a drawback. It had to be replaced every six months. For frequently used items, it even needed replacing every month.

As for my quilt, the Oni Race maids were very attentive and replaced the grass inside roughly every ten days. I was truly grateful to them.

Someone suggested switching the stuffing to cotton.

As for clothing, someone also suggested wearing cotton clothes instead of clothes woven from Zabuton's silk.

This suggestion didn't come from a dislike of the clothes Zabuton made. Rather, their quality was too good to wear casually or for work.

These comments mainly came from the Minotaurs and Centaurs.

Those were the two suggestions concerning cotton.

I see.

As for cotton, since we already had grass for stuffing, and cotton wasn't food, I hadn't realized how important it was. Considering the village's industries, growing cotton might be a good idea, too.

Still, simply stuffing it into quilts was one thing, but making clothes required the skills to turn cotton into yarn. Was there anyone here who... Zabuton's children raised a leg.

No problem? Leave it to you?

"Are you sure?"

...Heh. They looked full of confidence.

I decided we would clear a cotton field next year. For now, things would stay as they were.

As for the clothes the Minotaurs and Centaurs currently needed, we would sell the cloth Zabuton and her children wove to Mr. Michael, then have him sell us used clothes against the payment.

Although I wondered why we had to buy used clothes, apparently wearing secondhand clothing was perfectly normal for commoners in this world.

Only rich people and nobles bought new clothes. Commoners apparently bought used clothes or made their own.

I see.

I had thought that, even secondhand, buying up clothes in sizes suitable for Minotaurs and Centaurs would be difficult, but he certainly lived up to being a merchant doing business in the Demon King Kingdom.

He collected enough to cover the payment.

"That's quite a lot."

"It certainly is."

Enough to fill about three freight wagons? I asked the Minotaur and Centaur representatives to distribute the clothes.

There even seemed to be sizes for Minotaur and Centaur children. Just what I would expect of Mr. Michael.

About five pieces per person on average? Was that enough? It was? Good, then.

Let me know if it isn't enough.

The one happiest to see these used clothes was actually Zabuton.

Perhaps inspired by the many clothing styles brought in from outside, she threw herself into making new clothes.

Yes, the designs were wonderful... but were those for me? Ordinary clothes were fine for me. Something simpler.

I received several sets of new clothes that weren't particularly suited to everyday life.

Festival preparations.

I dug a hole west of the residential district, even farther west than the golf course.

Dig, dig, dig. Keep at it. Dig, dig, dig.

The pit I dug wasn't round, but rectangular, and very long and narrow. It was five meters wide and fifty meters long. It grew deeper from the edges toward the middle, then shallower again past the middle.

At a glance, it looked something like a coin buried halfway in the ground.

I designated one of the rectangle's short sides as the entrance, then built up a hill to guide people toward it.

Though I called it a hill, it wasn't round either, but long and narrow.

It was about fifteen meters high.

The hill had originally been wider, but I reshaped it to fit the sliding course, making it four meters wide, slightly narrower than the pit's entrance. I also added guardrails to keep contestants from falling off the course.

I had thought this work would be exhausting, but it was surprisingly easy. Probably because the number of residents had increased.

"What a spectacular sight."

A High Elf said that from the top of the hill.

Although I had led the construction, I completely agreed with her. This hill was the highest point in the area.

I had wondered if we might be able to see Village Two and Village Three, but we still couldn't. What a shame.

All right, it wasn't finished yet. There was still work to do-on the other side of the pit.

"We're turning this into a reservoir, right?"

"Yes, please."

Everyone worked hard together.

Chapter 7: A new home

My new home was finished.

It was an impressive house. Its width was... two hundred meters? A hundred meters deep?

Yes, rather than a house, it was a mansion. A noble's mansion, at that.

It was a two-story building of red brick and timber on a solid foundation. Part of it had three stories? A house like this definitely wasn't an appropriate size for a village chief.

The mansion's floor plan resembled a squared U lying on its side, and could broadly be divided into five sections.

Like the previous house, it had a central entrance hall measuring a hundred meters by fifty meters.

The doors were made quite large so the Minotaurs wouldn't have to stoop to enter.

However, that would be troublesome for those of us living here day to day, so ordinary-sized doors were installed as well.

Part of the second floor was open to the high ceiling, with walkways for opening and closing windows and cleaning. But why were storerooms for bows and arrows planned all along those walkways? Were we going to hold the mansion in an emergency? It was reassuring for crime prevention, but who exactly was the imagined enemy?

There were no rooms on the second floor, so there was a third floor as well. The third floor had many rooms ranging from about three to four and a half tatami mats in size. These were bedrooms for people working in the mansion... but they were all empty for now.

I hadn't known this before, but apparently the higher floors of buildings were for servants and others of lower status. Oh? I had imagined that more important people lived higher up. Was it because this world had no elevators?

In any case, the hall was spacious enough to gather all the residents on rainy days. Unfortunately, the thick pillars standing throughout it were a bit of an eyesore. Removing them would make the view more open... but they were structurally necessary, so there was nothing to be done.

Just inside the entrance was a display stand.

It currently held the championship trophies from the first martial arts tournament, along with Pillow's nameplate.

High Elves and lizardmen occasionally came over and gazed enviously at the trophies.

To the right of the hall, the first floor housed the dining room and kitchen, while the second floor housed the Oni Race maids' quarters.

I had worried it might not be spacious enough, but that concern was entirely unnecessary.

A basement had also been dug here to serve as a food storehouse.

Farther back on the right side of the hall.

Both the first and second floors here were designated as guest rooms.

The first-floor rooms were slightly modified to serve as quarters for the resident Minotaur and Cen-

taur representatives.

There was also a small entrance hall inside, furnished with plenty of recreational equipment.

Who would be the first to use it?

While I was still wondering, Lu, Tia, and the Oni Race maids had already started playing.

The left side of the hall.

The first floor here contained my office and private rooms, along with a meeting room.

The office was a room for work, furnished with an impressive desk and chair, bookshelves, and other things.

It was just like a noble's room.

My private rooms were farther inside.

This section was my private space. Besides my bedroom, there were rooms for Lu, Tia, Flora, Hakuren, and Frau.

Frau already had a house in the residential district, so her room here was to maintain her standing as the local official.

"I live there."

As long as she had a room here, she could declare that.

Although Frau said there was no need to worry about it, Beezel had done a great deal for us, so this much was only proper. Still, all it amounted to was verbally designating an empty room for Frau's use.

We had also proposed preparing rooms for the pregnant High Elf Ria, Ann of the Oni Race, and the others, but they politely declined.

Ria and the others continued living in their houses in the residential district, while Ann of the Oni Race stayed in the same place as her fellow maids.

I wanted to respect their wishes as much as possible, but wouldn't that make it difficult for me to see the children? Though I was somewhat dissatisfied, this was the result of our discussions, so I wouldn't say anything more.

A kitchen and small dining room were also installed near my private rooms so I could cook conveniently.

That was the drawback of a bigger house, I supposed. The rooms were too far from the dining room.

The meeting room was an ordinary meeting room. To accommodate various needs, the table wasn't fixed in place.

The second floor held individual rooms.

There were many rooms here, each about eight tatami mats in size.

Under the current plan, two rooms would serve as children's rooms for Alfred and Tiselle, while the rest would remain empty for now.

This section also had a basement, serving as a food storehouse and armory.

Although the armory held swords, spears, bows, armor, and the like, almost all of them were gifts brought by Doraim, Death, and the others. As such, it was more like a treasury than an armory.

The food storehouse was an ordinary food storehouse.

However, it extended beneath the hall and connected to the food storehouse under the maids' quarters.

Besides transporting food, the maids could also use the passage to come directly to this side without going through the hall.

A vault was installed even farther below the basement. Its entrance was designed to be accessible only from my office, with no way to break in from elsewhere.

An underground vault that was somewhat inconvenient to enter and leave-for some reason, that was a little exciting. However, the vault was rather empty, holding only the gold and silver coins earned through trading with Mr. Michael.

The things in the armory seemed more valuable.

Farther back on the left side of the hall.

The first floor here contained the baths and a storeroom.

The baths were... spacious. Yes, spacious. There was a large tub that could hold about twenty people at once, and a washing area about twice that size.

A public bathhouse?

That was how big it felt.

The hot water for the large tub and washing area was heated outside before flowing in, showing the Mountain Elves' impressive craftsmanship.

At my request, a small bath for one person was also built separately. Though it was more cramped, I thought being able to relax was important.

The storeroom was an ordinary storage space for materials.

It mainly held timber, stone, grass, and the like.

I had wondered whether putting it near the baths might be a problem, but surprisingly, there was hardly any dampness. At first I guessed magic was responsible, but it wasn't. Apparently, the baths had a well-designed ventilation system to expel moisture, which was quite impressive.

The second floor housed a workshop and laboratories.

The workshop was where I would work, and also where finished pieces would be stored.

The laboratories were intended for Lu and Tia to use freely.

There was also a laboratory for Flora, but it had been sealed off.

A research hut for Flora had been built a short distance outside the mansion.

It was mainly for handling fermented foods.

Once development of miso and soy sauce was complete, we built a hut in the residential area for mass production. However, Flora started producing them in her own room as well, causing an odor problem, so we had to isolate her research.

During fermentation, the environment in the room... or rather, the hut, was important too, so perhaps this was better.

Incidentally, Flora had already moved her furniture into the hut and was living there.

Well, I hoped she would at least show her face at mealtimes.

As described above, the new house... no, the new mansion had three major differences from our previous home.

First was the water.

Previously, we had drawn water from the well and stored it in buckets or jars around the house to use, but now we finally had something like running water.

This was because I had taught the Mountain Elves how a pump worked.

We built a huge water tank on the mansion's roof, pumped it full of water, then distributed the water throughout the mansion through pipes.

One pump and tank couldn't meet the entire mansion's needs, so we had five tanks in total.

Fetching water in the morning became much easier, which delighted the residents, particularly the Oni Race maids.

Next was the number of toilets.

There were considerably more.

That was only natural, since the house was bigger. We also had toilets on the second and third floors.

This was all thanks to the water supply system provided by the pumps and tanks, as well as the slimes.

The final point.

Spider passages ran through almost the entire mansion.

These spider passages were routes beneath the mansion's ceilings exclusively for Zabuton's children. Though they were Zabuton's children, they were only about the size of a fist. Anyone Pillow's size couldn't squeeze through.

Needless to say, they could enter the hallways, as well as every room except the women's bedrooms. There were also dedicated passages between floors and dedicated entrances leading outside.

Zabuton's children were overjoyed.

They had probably come to thank me, but seeing the spider passage above my office packed with Zabuton's children startled me. Yes, there were quite a lot of them.

It was a fine home, a fine mansion.

I was satisfied.

Satisfied as I was... that didn't mean I had no complaints. Or perhaps questions would be more accurate.

These mainly concerned my private space, or, to put it plainly, my bedroom.

Normally, a door should lock from the inside, but...

Why was my bedroom designed to lock from the outside? Wouldn't that leave me locked in? I thought this was a construction error and wanted it corrected.

Also, what were those gaps between my bedroom and the other rooms? They were wide enough for a person to pass through, weren't they? Hidden passages? But those passages led into my bedroom, right? Wasn't that strange? For escaping in emergencies? I see.

In that case, why couldn't I get into those hidden passages from my bedroom? The locks on those passages-or rather, the doors themselves-were installed backward, weren't they?

And why could people peek into my bedroom from the passages? Were they meant as places for guards to stand by? I wouldn't bring strangers into my bedroom, so there was no need to worry.

There was also a passage into my bedroom from the ceiling. Would there really be any reason someone had to take that route to wake me? I hoped not.

So...

Please make sure those points were corrected so I could sleep in peace.

"The ceiling passage has been sealed, but we're leaning toward keeping the passages. Isn't having hidden passages more fun? Ah, but entry is generally forbidden. Only Zabuton's children can enter them, except in emergencies."

And that was how things turned out.

Chapter 8: Sliding race (?) trials

This year's festival would feature a sliding race.

The venue was fully prepared.

The slope, pit, and pool were all finished.

Contestants would sprint down the hill one at a time carrying a board, get onto it before entering the pit, and launch themselves toward the pool.

It was a competition to see who could fly farthest from the pit's exit before landing in the pool.

"So this is a sliding race?"

I checked with the civil servant girl standing beside me.

"It's based on something."

"Is that so?"

"It ended up like this after we took safety and other factors into account."

It should have been safer than a martial arts tournament where people fought each other directly. We had also tested the slope inside the pit several times by rolling round stones down it, adjusting the flight distance to just the right length. Was this like a launch ramp half-buried underground?

In that case, couldn't we have done without digging a pit? No, we needed soil to build the hill, so perhaps it was unavoidable?

"We coated the pit with a certain liquid to make it easier to slide through."

"Oil?"

"No, a nonflammable liquid. Oil is expensive, and we were worried about accidents."

"That makes sense. So what did you coat it with?"

"A slimy liquid extracted from grass the High Elves gathered."

"Ah..."

I knew it. That lubricant-like stuff, right? The stuff whose uses were secret.

The pool also had more than

enough water. Although we had taken care to keep water from flowing into the pit, some would probably still get in when waves rose on the surface. Perhaps we needed to consider drainage at the bottom of the pit.

"Now, let's begin the trials."

One of the civil servant girls on the Festival Executive Committee announced it loudly.

Up on the slope, Donovan held his board, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Is Donovan our first test participant?"

"We decided by drawing lots."

I see.

The pregnant women weren't participating. Their bellies were growing, after all.

"Here I go!"

Donovan raced down the slope carrying his board. Ah, he fell.

Thump, thump, thump... He rolled straight into the pit, then flew out and fell into the pool.

"Are you all right?"

Donovan was still laughing, so he seemed fine.

"The next participant is going!"

The second test participant, Daga, held his board ready on the slope.

"Didn't seeing what happened to Donovan make you hesitate?"

Not at all.

Daga sprinted at full speed, jumped onto his board before entering the pit, then slid and launched into the air.

He held onto the board to maintain his position, bounced across the water several times, and reached the opposite bank.

"Ooh!"

"An ideal jump... but considering safety, we should probably make the pool a little bigger."

"Number three!"

This time it was Lu's turn. She had changed into trousers and was full of fighting spirit.

I thought she would start with a running approach, but instead she suddenly got onto her board, slid down, and soared high into the air.

Partway through, she left her board, spun about three times in midair, then fell into the water.

Her flight distance was fairly good.

"Getting straight onto the board from the start works too. Perhaps coating the slope with the slime would be... ah, no, that would get in the way of people who want a running start."

"When the board and contestant separate like that, which one do we measure?"

"The contestant. If we measured the board, people would simply throw it."

"...That certainly could happen."

Whose face came to mind was a secret.

"Number four, ready to go."

Although the voice belonged to Rinona the Minotaur, the one about to slide wasn't her. It was Kuro.

Kuro couldn't speak, after all. Rinona was probably calling out for him.

Kuro placed one leg on the board and readied himself.

After a short bark, he pushed off with his foot on the board, then promptly sat down securely on it.

His expression was serious, but somehow he looked adorable.

He slid down the slope like that, bounced up, and flew into the air.

Kuro wasn't holding onto the board, so perhaps he controlled it by shifting his weight. He moved as one with his board, landed beautifully on the water, then sank.

"Hey, hey, hey."

Kuro dog-paddled ashore and shook himself off.

His eyes sparkled as he came over. He seemed quite taken with this activity.

"The final test, number five, is starting."

The fifth test participant was Rinona the Minotaur.

Rinona ran slowly down the slope and got onto her board partway down.

Then she entered the pit... Why hadn't she come out?

We found Rinona sitting on her board at the bottom of the pit.

"What happened?"

"It seems she didn't have enough momentum. Miss Rinona, how far did you slide?"

The civil servant girls listened to Rinona describe what had happened.

A problem had cropped up with the very last test participant.

I see. So it was possible to lack the momentum to make the jump?

"Miss Rinona, sorry for the trouble, but could we ask you to try again?"

"Understood."

Following the civil servant girl's instructions, Rinona returned to the hilltop.

"What are you going to do?"

"This time, we'll try having her get onto the board from the start, without a running approach."

Rinona's second trial.

Since she was on the board from the start, she entered the pit faster than before.

Then she launched into the air.

Although her flight was short, she landed in the pool with an enormous splash.

Everyone discussed it at the Festival Executive Committee meeting.

"Wouldn't it be better to have everyone get onto their boards from the start?"

"If no one takes a running start, won't it be hard to determine a winner?"

"There should still be differences, shouldn't there? Otherwise, how do you explain the difference between Miss Lu's and Miss Rinona's flight distances?"

"Wasn't that because of their weight?"

"Don't say that in front of Miss Rinona."

"Could it be a difference in their boards? Or their positions on the boards?"

"Probably something like that?"

In the end-

We decided to divide the competition into two categories.

The first would involve a running start, with contestants getting onto their boards partway down.

The second would have contestants on their boards from the start. Before the second competition began, we would coat the entire slope in lubricant.

I hoped everyone would strive to win while also avoiding injury.

"Measuring will be left to Miss Tia, Miss Gran Maria, Miss Kuudel, and Miss Corone."

"Making the boards will be left to the village chief, the Mountain Elves, and volunteers."

With the details settled, the meeting came to an end. I couldn't wait for the actual competition.

"Village chief, please wait a moment."

"Hm?"

"What we just discussed concerned the sliding race."

But hadn't we finished discussing it?

"Next, we need to discuss the food and entertainment."

"..."

For some reason, I was always very busy as village chief.

Chapter 9: The festival: boards

Big Tree Village's festival began.

This year's competition was boarding.

Although it apparently still retained the original form of sliding, we had changed the name slightly to avoid confusion.

The advantage of this competition was probably that anyone could participate as long as they were brave enough. Even the little Beastmen boys were eager to try. What should we do?

"If anything happens, we'll use magic to deal with it, so don't worry."

The civil servant girls skilled in magic confidently assured me. Then I would leave it to them.

Now, we had guests attending this year's festival too.

The Demon King, Yuri, Beezel, Glatts, and one other person.

"I am Randann, foremost of the Four Heavenly Kings. I have already heard many rumors about this place. I personally have absolutely no ability to resist, so should anything happen, I hope your village will swiftly provide protection."

"Er, um... welcome."

I called Beezel over.

"Isn't he a little too timid for the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings?"

"Well, he's in charge of domestic affairs."

"Domestic affairs?"

"Yes. Mainly administrative work, with a little legal work as well."

"...Aren't the Four Heavenly Kings supposed to be the four strongest people in the Demon King Kingdom?"

"Hahahahaha, of course not."

So that was how it worked.

Incidentally, Glatts handled military affairs, while Beezel apparently handled diplomacy because he could use teleportation magic.

"What about the last one?"

"Hou Leg, who handles finances. We invited her, but she said she had other business."

"That's a shame."

I showed the party from the Demon King Kingdom to the guest seats we had prepared.

We had expected guests from the start this year, so the seating arrangements were flawless.

The Demon King and his party weren't our only guests. The family of Dragons who had attended last year came too.

They included Death, Raimeiren, Doraim, and Doraim's wife. Dors and Kuhdel also attended together this time. Their relationship... seemed to be fine. What a relief.

"We'll be imposing on you again this year."

After exchanging greetings, I led them to the guest seats.

The Progenitor came too, bringing a woman with him.

"Is this your wife?"

"Hahahaha."

The woman gave a startled laugh.

"While that would be an honor, I'm not. My name is Fushu, and I'm one of the priests of the Korin Religion."

"You're too modest."

She introduced herself as a priest, but she was wearing casual clothes, perhaps because she had the day off. Did priests get days off too?

She looked very gentle, but there was something about her that faintly suggested a capable lawyer. It was a shame she wasn't wearing glasses.

Michael finally managed to attend this year.

He arrived the day before the festival, bringing a large quantity of seafood.

"Speaking of which, Village Chief, could that woman from earlier be... Miss Fushu of the Korin Religion?"

"Yes. She said she was a priest."

"...She's one of their high priests, you know."

"Is she?"

"Yes. She may be a gentle, graceful beauty, but she has another side, known as Fushu the Ruthless..."

"Oh?"

"You really aren't fazed, Village Chief. If that high priest visited a human nation, they would hold a huge parade to wel-

"-come her."

"You say that, but..."

The Progenitor beside her was the head of the Korin Religion, and the Demon King and Dragon King were here too...

Come to think of it, I hadn't introduced him yet.

"Michael, let me introduce you to our guests."

"Sorry for the trouble, Village Chief."

Just what I would expect of a merchant.

Michael greeted each of the guests in turn.

"We've prepared a place for you in the guest seats too, Michael... Huh? You can't? You'd prefer to sit somewhere far from there, if possible? But to watch the competition... Ah, er, yes. It's not that I dislike you, Michael. Besides, you've helped us so much..."

With astonishing intensity, he insisted that I seat him somewhere other than the guest seats. Why was that? Ah, he hugged a slime that happened to be passing by, seeking comfort.

The Lamia came to watch too.

Unfortunately, Guraru from Good Forest Village apparently couldn't attend.

Besides apologizing for being unable to come, his letter said he would do everything he could to attend the martial arts tournament.

The festival began.

Unlike the martial arts tournament, the proceedings were simple.

"Challenger, Daga the lizardman! He'll be competing on a board he made himself!"

Daga struck a cool pose at the top of the hill.

Then, after checking that the course was safe, the referee gave the "go" signal to start.

Daga raced down the slope and jumped onto his board along the way.

Anyone who failed to get onto their board before entering the sliding pit would be disqualified.

Once on his board, he struck a pose he liked, then launched himself into the air.

Daga bounced across the water about six times, setting the longest distance so far.

"Twenty-four meters!"

The results were written on wooden boards and arranged in order, so it was clear who held first place.

Everyone could try as many times as they wanted within the time limit. Although plenty of people had signed up, everyone's jumps went smoothly, keeping the competition moving at a good pace.

However, the competition itself was a little monotonous, so we occasionally took breaks for entertainment.

The elves sang in a chorus and played instruments.

With dance moves added in, they looked like idols.

The Mountain Elves presented the results of their work.

It seemed to involve using a waterwheel's power to operate something. Although setting up the mechanism took five minutes and the actual demonstration lasted only ten seconds, it was well received. The Demon King and his party were especially enthusiastic.

The dwarves presented a new way of drinking.

In short, they had created new cocktails. They handed them out to spectators who wanted some and collected their impressions.

Almost at the same time, the Oni Race maids presented new dishes.

Perhaps they had coordinated with the dwarves beforehand. The flavors went well with the new cocktails, making a delicious combination.

The residents of Village One, Village Two, and Village Three had all asked beforehand whether they could put on some entertainment.

The Minotaurs of Village Two performed a harvest festival song and dance from the village where they used to live.

The Centaurs of Village Three performed archery while galloping. Was it something like Japan's traditional yabusame (note: a Japanese martial art involving shooting at targets while riding a galloping horse)? Their accuracy was only around fifty percent, but every hit drew cheers.

As for the Tree Elves of Village One, unfortunately, we had to decline their performance. They said it would take three days to appreciate its full essence, which would be rather difficult to accommodate. We would ask them again when we had more time.

The guests' reactions weren't bad either.

I had worried that an event so different from the martial arts tournament might not be worth watching, but apparently, those fears were unfounded.

Judging by how the Demon King, Death, and the Progenitor were huddled together talking, they might have been using this as a place to hold discussions.

Time slipped by, and the first division, where contestants took a running start before jumping onto their boards, came to an end.

The winner was Daga the lizardman.

He stood on his board, maintaining his balance to avoid bouncing and extending his distance by traveling quickly across the water. His stance looked just like surfing.

Tia came second, one of Kuro's children third, Mea the Mountain Elf fourth, and Yuri, who had entered on the spot, fifth.

Yuri apparently had surprisingly good balance.

Others who signed up at the event included Beezel, Glatts, Dors, Kuhdel, and Fushu.

Death wanted to compete too, but Raimeiren stopped him. The Demon King, who saw this from nearby, seemed to have held himself back for the same reason.

Their results weren't particularly good, but they seemed to enjoy themselves, so that was probably fine.

In the second division, contestants started out on their boards.

That meant we had to pour lubricant onto the slope too, making the surface more slippery.

Although the second division was supposed to be a distance competition like the first, for some reason, it turned into a trick performance division.

People rode their boards in ridiculous positions and struck strange poses after taking flight.

While everyone else ignored their distance, only the young Beastmen boys competed seriously. Ramurias, who looked after the Beastmen, seemed worried.

Although they landed safely after their jumps, I still felt I should have made miniature boards for the children.

Seeing the children jump made my son Alfred want to try too, but I stopped him as his father. He could wait until he was a little older.

Unexpectedly, the winner of the second division was the Alcohol Slime.

Was it a coincidence that it became streamlined on the board? Or had it thought things through? Either way, it flew a long way.

One of the Beastmen boys came second, Raimeiren third, the Demon King fourth, and Death fifth. Well, everyone was welcome to participate.

Michael competed too, but he said plunging into the pit was terrifying. Was it?

Incidentally, I didn't compete.

The awards ceremony.

The winners of the first and second divisions each received ten Reward Medals and a trophy I had made myself.

"Thank you very much."

Daga looked satisfied as he raised his trophy high, showing it off to everyone around him.

The Alcohol Slime had no interest in the trophy, but it clung to the Reward Medals with its mouth. It had probably learned somewhere that they could be exchanged for alcohol.

Well, since it had won, I would give it the Reward Medals as stipulated.

I handed out Reward Medals to the other prizewinners too... but what should I do about those who had entered on the spot?

"You can exchange Reward Medals for things, right? Then what's the problem?"

Raimeiren and the others agreed with Yuri's words, so I gave them theirs too.

As soon as the sun set, the festival transformed into a banquet.

Yes, I was glad it had ended safely.

Festival review meeting

The members of the Festival Executive Committee gathered and sat around a table.

"We'll now begin the festival review meeting."

"A review meeting? I don't think anything went particularly wrong."

"Nothing went wrong, but there should be things we can improve."

"Ah... that's true. It would have been nice to have three competition slopes."

"Perhaps it would be better to have more variety in the shapes of the boards."

"This isn't related to the competition, but there was a problem with the food service."

"What problem?"

"The sweets were so popular that we didn't get any."

"Ah, that's true."

"I'd like portions set aside for the staff."

"Agreed, agreed!"

Everyone offered plenty of opinions, and I wrote them down.

We would probably hold a different event next year, but there was no harm in recording these points for reflection and improvement.

"Don't you have any suggestions, Village Chief?"

"Me? Let's see..."

The problems, in my view, were... the winners of the first and second divisions receiving the same number of Reward Medals, and our inability to recognize the trick performers.

"Well, we announced the number of Reward Medals at the start. Giving different amounts to the two divisions wouldn't feel right."

"Those trick performances... or perhaps I should call them strange flying poses, were funny, but they're difficult to score. It's a headache deciding what standard to use..."

It was difficult to deal with when we couldn't explain which performances were better.

In that case, perhaps it would be better to use something straightforward, like the size of the splash...

"Differences in physique would make that unfair."

"Then how about letting the village chief judge them subjectively?"

"That's a little too much responsibility for me... How about deciding by the volume of the audience's applause instead?"

"Each race has a different number of people."

It was a difficult problem. We put it aside for the time being.

"Also, calling everyone from Village One, Village Two, and Village Three here leaves their villages completely undefended."

With Kuro's and Zabuton's children helping stand guard, it probably wasn't wrong to say they were safe, but...

Without anyone who could speak, we couldn't investigate the situation if something happened.

However, as things stood, we either had to invite everyone in each village or invite none of them.

If we assigned people to stay behind, some would be able to attend Big Tree Village's festival while others couldn't.

Unless we first decided on compensation for those who stayed behind, it would be difficult to find anyone to do it.

"Once the villages become more established, older people will naturally volunteer to stay behind... but right now, everyone is still young."

"So having more young people isn't always better?"

Apparently, Gordon from Village Two had originally wanted to volunteer to stay behind, but the representative of a race couldn't be absent, so he attended in the end.

The review meeting continued like that.

"By the way, Village Chief."

"What is it?"

"This is outside the scope of the review meeting... but what should we do about that ongoing issue?"

"Ongoing... you mean Miss Fushu?"

When the Progenitor went home, I had thought Fushu would leave with him, but she stayed in the village.

She stayed at the inn and spent most of her days praying before the shrine in Big Tree Village.

That was fine, and the Progenitor had left some money, so her staying here was no problem at all...

The problem was that the statues I had carved seemed to be glowing.

Was there some proper way to pray? Or was magic causing it? It felt like the sort of glow that would get people who knew no better hooked on religion. I really had no idea what to do.

"The brightness at night is a problem."

"Zabuton's children seem to be having some trouble with it too."

"I'd like it dimmed at night, at least."

"I'll go speak to Miss Fushu."

If it couldn't be switched on and off, we could make a curtain to block the light.

And with that, the review meeting ended.

Still, I felt there were other matters we really needed to discuss.

Like Death and the others competing, or leveling the little hills we had piled up and filling in the pools.

Oh well. One thing at a time.

The Alcohol Slime brought its Reward Medals to exchange.

I had thought it was just a slime, but perhaps it really was intelligent. No, I had gotten that impression for a while now... Was the Alcohol Slime the only special one?

Anyway, anyone with Reward Medals could exchange them.

"Did it trade them for alcohol, as expected?"

"Yes."

Just as we had thought.

Some people had thought it might exchange them for crops to brew its own alcohol, but the Alcohol Slime simply traded for alcohol.

What surprised us, though, was that it didn't exchange them all at once. It only used one Reward Medal.

It planned for the future. Wasn't it pretty intelligent? That was my first thought, but there was more to the story.

It gave the remaining Reward Medals to the Oni Race maids.

"Was it paying for the alcohol it stole before?"

"It feels more like sending money home."

"So, money for its parents?"

"No, isn't it more like showing off to its owners? Not that anyone thinks they're keeping it as a pet."

Whatever the case, the residents, including the Oni Race maids, saw the Alcohol Slime in a slightly different light.

The Harpies returned.

There were seventeen families, forty-two people in total. Kierbit and several Angels accompanied them, probably as guards for the journey.

"You certainly took your time."

"Don't say that. We wiped out some undead along the way."

"Hm? You don't mean that group to the northeast?"

"That's right. That was why we left the Kingdom of Gallet in the first place."

I see. When they had encountered Gran Maria, they had been on their way to slay the undead.

"Did someone ask you to do that?"

"A big shot in the Korin Religion. We have a cooperative relationship, so it's hard to refuse. Besides, Angels have an advantage against the undead."

"Really?"

"Yes. But you understand that we don't particularly want to fight those things. So, treat us."

"Though I do feel like asking, 'Why me?'... thanks for your hard work. I'll have food, alcohol, and baths ready."

"Thank you."

The Angels accompanying Kierbit had all visited before too. Apparently, there were fewer of them this time not because the enemy had killed any of them, but because the others had already gone elsewhere.

When would the Angels Gran Maria had gone to persuade arrive?

For now, I left the Harpies in Gran Maria's care.

"Can the Harpies live in Village One?"

"About that, can the Harpies travel there on their own?"

When they had stayed here last time, they had traveled with Kierbit and the others.

"Harpies aren't that weak... but I can't guarantee anything in this forest."

"I thought so. Then let's have them stay at the inn or in the mansion's guest rooms for now."

After some discussion, we decided to prepare a large house for the Harpies in Big Tree Village.

The Harpies' job was to scout the surrounding area from high above.

They were to contact Gran Maria and the others as soon as they noticed anything unusual. Gran Maria and the others now covered an area extending as far as Village One, Village Two, and Village Three, so we needed the Harpies to fill the gaps.

Apparently, they would fly together for the time being and try various things. I hoped they would do their best.

...Wait. In that case, wouldn't the Angels Gran Maria had gone to find... have no work?

Chapter 11: A lot happened

"This is delicious. Another glass."

Kierbit and several Angels were enjoying dinner.

Dinner for our guests included alcohol. When there was alcohol on the table, it turned into a party, and once it became a party, the residents joined in... It was quite lively.

The Harpies joined in too. Everyone drank their fill and got drunk.

Kierbit began a dance that resembled tap dancing. Its lively rhythm made things even merrier.

Tia and Mea started dancing too. I didn't mind, but please don't invite me to join in. Also, please don't dance on the tables.

"Ugh, my head hurts..."

"This is a trial..."

Kierbit, several Angels, and the Harpies slept until past noon.

Drinking was fine, but letting it affect the next day wasn't so good.

"The alcohol here is delicious. You can't blame first-time drinkers for overdoing it."

Donovan spoke up for them, but they had already drunk it on their previous visit. Oh, I wasn't going to restrict everyone's drinking over this. There was no need to look so worried.

Incidentally, none of the residents other than the Harpies had hangovers. Everyone worked hard as usual.

If there was any effect, it was that Kierbit's tap-like dancing became popular among Zabuton's children.

It had been quiet before, but now rhythmic footsteps could be heard all over the house.

The rhythm sounded cheerful, but I still asked everyone to agree on places and times to practice.

Yes, that wasn't a sound suited to the middle of the night.

"It's ready."

Looking a little tired, Lu and Flora handed the medicine to Fushu.

It wasn't medicine for hangovers, but the reason Fushu had stayed in the village. It was a specific remedy for a certain illness.

Apparently, Fushu's son was seriously ill, and Lu and Flora had accepted the request to make the remedy. After all, the Progenitor had helped persuade them, so they probably couldn't refuse.

Well, even when an important person said, "Feel free to refuse if you can't," actually refusing still took courage.

A little hard work would leave a good impression on the Progenitor, so the two of them put in considerable effort.

I hadn't known it before, but apparently Lu and Flora were both famous figures in the field of pharmacy.

Their pharmaceutical skills weren't a problem. The problem was the ingredients, which were all rare medicinal materials... but all of them could be found in the village's medicinal herb fields.

Having both people to make the medicine and its ingredients come together all at once surprised Fushu and made her very happy.

Though, well, that delight had resulted in her praying to the statue of the God of Creation...

"Now all that's left is to wait for the Progenitor to pick her up?"

"We already told him when the medicine would be ready, so he should come in two or three days at the latest."

No sooner had Lu said that than the Progenitor arrived.

"I thought I was a little early, but it seems my timing was perfect."

"Your Holiness, I'm sorry to make you come all this way."

"Not at all, not at all. I have plenty of free time anyway. Now, although I've only just arrived, I imagine you're eager to take the medicine home, so we'll be going."

"Yes. Thank you for your help."

With a little luggage and a great many local gifts, Fushu went home with the Progenitor.

The Progenitor's method of long-distance travel resembled teleportation magic.

I said it resembled teleportation magic because it differed from ordinary teleportation magic.

Ordinary teleportation magic created a gate connecting two spaces. Apparently, the gate's size, the amount that could pass through it, and the teleportation distance varied with the amount of magic power consumed.

It seemed to be very advanced magic. Of the people I knew, only Beezel could use it.

I had wondered whether the Dragons could use it, but apparently they had no reason to go out of their way to spend large amounts of magic power on teleportation magic.

They proudly declared that travel was no problem because they had wings. It wasn't that they couldn't use it, but that they didn't. That distinction apparently mattered.

By contrast, the Progenitor's teleportation magic instantly moved objects to a specific location.

That seemed more deserving of the name teleportation magic, but apparently only the Progenitor could use it, so it didn't matter.

"I'm back.

The Progenitor, whom I had thought had already gone home, immediately returned.

"Let me relax here for a little while."

He handed me a small shield, probably as a gift, or perhaps payment for his stay.

"What's this?"

"A magic shield. It offers strong protection against fire. Displaying it in your home helps prevent fires."

"Oh! That's handy."

"However, it's best not to put it near the kitchen."

"Hahaha, that's certainly true."

So I displayed it in the mansion's entrance hall.

"I'll prepare a separate gift in thanks for the medicine. Though I made the request, I thought gathering the ingredients would take some work, so I haven't had time to prepare anything."

"Don't worry about it... is what I'd like to say, but Lu and Flora were the ones who did the work, so I'll leave that to you."

"You can look forward to it."

"Hahaha. But didn't you see the medicinal herb fields when you visited before?"

"I did, but I don't know as much about medicinal herbs as those two."

"Really? But Lu and Flora said they taught themselves using your documents as a foundation."

"That was before I erased my memories. As for those documents, the ecology of medicinal herbs has changed over the years, so they're not much use today."

"I see. Changing the subject, how did you meet Miss Fushu?"

"Once she became a priest of the Korin Religion, we naturally came to know each other. Incidentally, I told her my true identity at the time."

"Doesn't that cause trouble?"

"No. For some reason, everyone looks as though it makes sense."

"Because there are so many legends about you?"

"Perhaps."

The Progenitor smiled and headed toward the mansion's guest rooms, but immediately hurried back.

"The statue of the God of Creation is glowing."

Uh, Miss Fushu was the reason for that.

"Thank you for looking after us these past few days. I'm very interested in the martial arts tournament, but it's about time we headed back."

Kierbit and her group came to say goodbye.

"That's a shame. Well, stop by if you're ever passing through. The Harpies would be happy to see you."

"I hope so."

Kierbit and the others were carrying plenty of local gifts.

"Can you carry all that?"

"This much is fine. Besides, we have a ride for part of the way."

Rasuti would take Kierbit and the others west to the royal capital of the Demon King Kingdom.

Frau and several civil servant girls happened to need to go back, so Kierbit and the others were apparently hitching a ride.

"It would be nice if we could use teleportation magic, but it really is difficult."

"So I hear."

Even the most basic magic was difficult for me...

"Legends tell of items with teleportation magic sealed inside... but apparently no one has seen one. Someone must be keeping them all to themselves."

"Hahaha."

Would Death or the Progenitor know?

Kierbit and the others left on Rasuti.

Was the martial arts tournament next?

Ah, no. Ria and the others would give birth first.

I had wanted a little rest, but it looked like things were about to get busy again.

Chapter 12: The second martial arts tournament: highlights of the general division, warrior division, and exhibition matches!

Just when I thought it was time to start preparing for the second martial arts tournament, I was already giving the opening address.

Time flew.

However, Ria and the others apparently hadn't given birth yet.

Though there was no point in rushing something like that, I couldn't help feeling anxious.

This martial arts tournament was also split into three divisions: the general division, warrior division, and knight division.

For various reasons, the number of spectators had increased too.

As usual, Death and the rest of the dragon family were there, along with the Demon King, Yuri, Beezel, and the others from the Demon King Kingdom. Kuhdel, Kuron, Glatts, and Randann had also come.

The Lamia and Guraru and the other Beastmen had come to compete as well.

The Progenitor was there too, but he had actually stayed in the village ever since coming to pick up Fushu last time. Wasn't he an important figure in the church? Was his work going to be all right?

The martial arts tournament began.

Hakuren and Rasuti served as referees together.

Like last year, the general division used a simple format in which everyone fought just once.

Who you faced made an enormous difference, depending on your luck. One of the Civil Servant Girls, for example, faced a Minotaur and unfortunately lost.

"So whether her magic landed decided the match?"

The Centaurs, meanwhile, were at a disadvantage because of the stage.

"The moment I started running, I went out of bounds..."

"I didn't even do anything. Is it really all right to declare me the winner?"

A Beastman girl was bewildered by her unexpected victory, but the matches continued smoothly.

The general division was very peaceful.

The warrior division used a consecutive-win format.

The winner stayed onstage to keep fighting. Whoever won the most consecutive matches onstage would be the champion. Since anyone who lost could leave the stage and line up as a challenger again, they could challenge as many times as they wanted.

The rules were almost the same as last year's, but to shorten the competition, the fights took place in two arenas.

The challengers formed a single line and went to whichever arena opened up first. That added an element of luck too, but I hoped everyone would understand.

For me personally, the problem was having to build another stage.

The Minotaurs helped, but we were pressed for time, so it was quite hard work.

Now, as for the warrior division... As before, the participants included High Elves, members of the Oni Race, lizardmen, dwarves, Mountain Elves, the Beastmen from Good Forest Village, and the Lamia from the Southern Dungeon.

Frau and Sena the Beastman, who had performed well in the previous tournament's general division, also participated, along with Gruwald the Centaur and Gordon the Minotaur.

I had been worried that something might go wrong...

But Guraru, the Beastman from Good Forest Village, was strong. It seemed he had been training seriously lately.

Another key factor was the absence of Mea, the Mountain Elf who had given Guraru a good fight last time. This time, Mea had entered the knight division.

Despite the persistent efforts of Donovan the dwarf and Gruwald the Centaur, Guraru ultimately won.

"All right, next year I'll be in the knight division too. I've got to beat Miss Mea."

Behind the victorious Guraru stood an exhausted-looking Randann.

"I was pretty confident, too..."

He had faced Guraru and Donovan and lost. He apparently hadn't had the energy to line up for a third match.

Incidentally, Glatts had beaten one of the Civil Servant Girls in the general division.

The knight division was next, but before that came the exhibition matches.

Since so many people wanted to participate, the exhibition used a single-elimination format.

There were eight contestants in total.

Death, Raimeiren, Grafaloon, Hakuren, Rasuti, Kuhdel, the Demon King, and Zabuton.

Was it just my imagination, or did the Demon King's eyes look lifeless compared with the dragon family's enthusiasm?

What worried me even more, though, was Zabuton, who had suddenly joined in.

Come to think of it, I had never seen Zabuton fight. I was a little worried, but Zabuton calmly warmed up, surrounded by her children.

The matchups were decided fairly by drawing lots, and the Progenitor served as referee.

The first match of the first round was Death against the Demon King.

The Demon King looked despairing.

The result was just what his expression had suggested. No, perhaps I should have said he lived up to his title? I thought he had held out quite a long time.

After the match, the audience gave the Demon King a warm round of applause.

The second match of the first round was Rasuti against Kuhdel.

Personally, I was rooting for Rasuti, but unfortunately, she lost.

Kuhdel was a little better in every respect. It felt like a teacher facing a student.

Despite losing, Rasuti looked quite refreshed, which finally put me at ease. After the match, she asked Kuhdel all sorts of questions.

The third match of the first round was Grafaloon against Hakuren.

It was a fierce battle.

Apparently, back when Grafaloon used to tease Doraim, Hakuren had often interfered.

Although they seemed to be good friends now...

"I'm going to wipe away the humiliation I suffered back then."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Yes, it was quite something.

Both of them ended up covered in wounds, but Hakuren won.

The fourth match of the first round was Raimeiren against Zabuton.

I had been a little worried, but I supposed I could say Zabuton put on a splendid performance.

Zabuton easily dodged Raimeiren's special move and counterattacked with thread. Raimeiren dodged that and created duplicates at the same time. More than ten Raimeirens attacked Zabuton.

Since each duplicate moved differently, it felt like a whole crowd was attacking.

But Zabuton withstood all of them, then bound Raimeiren up and won.

As soon as she won, Zabuton called her children over and performed something like a tap dance onstage. Had Zabuton been practicing those steps too?

Their marvelous group dance earned thunderous applause.

Death, Kuhdel, and Hakuren muttered to one side.

"Huh? That's the first time I've ever seen anyone counter my wife's duplicates."

"One of Mother-in-law's attacks could destroy a mountain, right? Sixteen of them? She blocked every one? You've got to be kidding."

"Um... am I the one facing her next?"

The first match of the second round was Death against Kuhdel.

Could I call this matchup a complete difference in level? Death won overwhelmingly.

It felt like a reversal of Rasuti and Kuhdel's earlier match.

"Considering who comes next, losing here might be an option."

"That would be a little too... Father-in-law, do your best."

The atmosphere after the match was just as refreshing.

The second match of the second round was Hakuren against Zabuton.

I really struggled to decide who to root for. I hoped neither would get hurt.

That was what I thought at first, but the match ended in no time.

Zabuton won.

Before Hakuren could do anything, she was wrapped in thread and laid out on the ground.

Hakuren sulked for a while afterward, so I went to comfort her.

The final was Death against Zabuton.

The battle was fierce.

First came a one-sided assault from Zabuton, but Death successfully dealt with every attack.

Then they switched between offense and defense.

After this repeated about three times, Death claimed victory.

It felt like Zabuton had lost in a contest of strength.

Her children carried her off the stage, and I applauded her.

Hakuren, meanwhile, rushed up to the victorious Death.

"Father, that fight just now...?"

"You saw it, didn't you? She let me win. Look."

"She's waving a leg at us."

"After all, I have my standing as the Dragon King, so she let me save face."

"I see. Still, a win is a win. If you don't celebrate it properly, you'll dampen the mood."

"Oh, I can manage that much of an act."

Watching Death flaunt his victory, the Demon King murmured.

"I have my standing as the Demon King too..."

Glatts, Yuri, and Randann each offered words of consolation.

"If you were considering your standing, wasn't entering the tournament rather rash?"

"You worked very hard, Father. I'm impressed."

"Just what we'd expect from Your Majesty."

With the exhibition matches over, it was time for the knight division, but...

"Um, having to go on after matches like those..."

"I wish they'd show a little restraint in their matches."

"Ugh, I've still got so far to go."

Before the excitement stirred up by the exhibition matches could cool, we took a break.

13 The second martial arts tournament: Highlights of the knight division

Before the knight division matches began, there was a formation dance by the Harpies, a mysterious dance by the Tree Elves, and an instrumental performance by the High Elves.

The Harpies weren't participating in the tournament, so they apparently wanted to liven things up with a performance like this. The same went for the Tree Elves and High Elves. Apparently, they never missed a chance to showcase their talents.

Although it was only an intermission show, the response was enthusiastic.

And it seemed the knight division contestants had gotten themselves into the right frame of mind too.

There were sixteen contestants in the knight division.

The only contestants from last time who hadn't entered were Ria and Ann, who were pregnant. Everyone else was there.

The contestants therefore included Lu the vampire; Tia, Gran Maria, Kuudel, and Corone of the Angels; Daga the lizardman; Bulga and Stifano of the Demon Race; Uno the Infernal Wolf; Zabuton's child Pillow; and Junia and Sunhea of the Lamia.

Joining them were Mea the Mountain Elf, Masayuki the Infernal Wolf, Fubuki the Underworld Wolf, and Kierbit of the Angels.

Kierbit had previously said that although she was interested in the tournament, she probably wouldn't have time to participate. In the end, she came anyway.

The Progenitor had heard about it and brought her over with teleportation magic.

But after seeing the other contestants, she looked rather dismayed. Was she really going to be all right? Ah, after Tia provoked her, she declared she would win. How bold.

Kierbit faced the previous champion, Pillow, in the first round and unfortunately lost.

There really were unfavorable matchups between races.

"I couldn't do anything..."

Gran Maria went to comfort Kierbit, who had burst into tears.

Perhaps those two were surprisingly close.

The knight division matches went smoothly, and the first round was over in the blink of an eye.

Although things went smoothly, every match was full of excitement.

Winning and losing were part of battle, but everyone gave it their all.

Those who made it through the first round were the previous champion, Pillow; Fubuki the Underworld Wolf; Lu the vampire; Tia of the Angels; Uno the Infernal Wolf; Bulga of the Demon Race; and Junia and Sunhea of the Lamia.

Fubuki eliminated Mea, Lu eliminated Gran Maria, Tia eliminated Corone, Uno eliminated Masayuki, Bulga eliminated Stifano, Junia eliminated Kuudel, and Sunhea eliminated Daga.

The two Lamia surprised everyone the most.

They were already good at fighting with their serpentine lower bodies, but their techniques had improved even further this time. It felt as though they had carefully considered how to fight humanoid opponents.

They coiled their serpentine lower bodies and used them as a base to keep their upper bodies elevated, securing an advantageous position in battle and going on to win.

Ria and Ann, who were in the audience, explained the brilliance of this fighting method to me at length. You two were still pregnant. Please don't get too excited.

After a short intermission, the second round began.

The Lamia were unlucky this round, with Junia and Sunhea having to fight one another.

Junia won.

Just what I would expect from the Lamia chief.

However, both were badly wounded and had to rely on Flora's healing magic.

The other matches were incredible too.

The previous champion, Pillow, faced Fubuki the Underworld Wolf. To my eyes, either one could have won.

Pillow was the winner.

Although she won, Pillow had been forced to sacrifice two legs on one side.

That sacrifice frightened me, but apparently, they would grow back if left alone for a while.

Since she still had another match, however, Pillow received regenerative magic from Death and Raimeiren.

Fubuki, on the other hand, apparently didn't need healing magic despite losing.

The remaining two matches were Lu the vampire against Tia of the Angels, and Uno the Infernal Wolf against Bulga of the Demon Race.

They were exactly the same matchups as in the previous tournament, but both results were reversed.

Lu had probably gotten a hint from our conversation after the last tournament. She toyed with Tia using a very vampire-like fighting style and claimed victory.

"It's not fair to give only Lu advice. I want some pointers on fighting too..."

That was what Tia told me, but as for a fighting style suited to Angels... What came to mind was either beating an opponent one-sidedly from long range or charging with a spear like Gran Maria.

Sorry, that didn't seem very helpful.

Uno deliberately took the attacks from Bulga's duplicates before counterattacking, a strategy that successfully earned him the win.

Had he taken inspiration from Zabuton's exhibition match against Raimeiren? Even if he had, copying it didn't seem easy. The victorious Uno had taken repeated attacks from Bulga and was covered in wounds.

"Good boy, good boy. Thanks for all your hard work. Hurry over to Flora and have her heal you."

Despite his wounds, Uno ran toward Flora with a spring in his step. He seemed very happy to have won.

As for the loser, Bulga, she brushed the dust off herself and stepped down from the stage.

"Once my opponent catches me, my options really shrink."

The semifinals.

The first match was Pillow against Lu.

Pillow's legs had completely regrown. Regeneration magic was amazing.

It used its restored legs to move at high speed, playing with Lu through feints, and ultimately claimed victory.

Rather than saying Pillow had secured the key to victory, it was more that Lu had created the cause of her own defeat.

Lu thrilled the audience with her special move, but Pillow used that opening to set a thread trap.

"Ugh, this is so frustrating."

What frustrated Lu most was probably that the cheers when Pillow's trap activated were louder than those for her special move.

The second match was Uno against Junia.

I had expected an unpredictable match, but Uno held an overwhelming advantage from beginning to end.

Junia seemed weak in the knees. Had the trauma from when Kuro's descendants conquered their labyrinth resurfaced?

If so, I was really sorry.

The finals.

The previous champion, Pillow, faced the Infernal Wolf Uno.

From a spectator's perspective, or judging by the atmosphere, Pillow seemed to have the edge. But Kuro's descendants, led by Uno's mate, Kuro Three, howled together around the edge of the grounds.

That turned the momentum around in an instant. Now there was no telling how things would go.

Zabuton, who had been injured in the exhibition match, was also watching nearby.

The match was a truly

fierce battle.

Just when they seemed about to put some distance between them, they closed in at high speed. Just when they seemed about to fight at close quarters, they immediately pulled away.

Both launched numerous attacks during this time. Perhaps they had deliberately saved them for the finals, because Pillow and Uno both revealed ranged attacks.

Pillow fired threads rolled into balls. They were not meant to cause damage on impact, but to entangle its opponent and slow him down.

Uno opened his mouth wide and spat out flame bullets... no, fireballs would be more accurate.

Uno's ranged attack was more powerful. Pillow, however, had the advantage in rapid fire.

One of Uno's fireballs hit, causing considerable damage, but by then, countless balls of Pillow's thread had struck him, leaving him completely immobilized.

Pillow seized the opportunity to attack. I thought that would secure its victory, but I had spoken too soon.

The horn on Uno's head suddenly shone blue. He used it to cut through the threads binding him, regained his freedom, and intercepted the oncoming Pillow.

Uno's blow knocked Pillow off balance and sent it flying.

Perhaps he felt he could not let the opportunity slip away, because Uno roared and doubled in size all at once.

Huh? He could do that too? Breathing fireballs was startling enough!

A stir ran through the grounds. Apparently, I was not the only one surprised.

Then Uno pressed his attack.

Pillow fell, defeated. Uno was the champion.

The joyous barking of Kuro's descendants around the grounds was incredible. Uno's mate, Kuro Three, was probably the happiest of them all.

Yes, it was a shame Pillow could not defend its title, but I was sincerely happy about Uno's victory.

Now, according to the schedule, the awards ceremony should have begun... but something happened.

Ria and Ann, who had just finished watching the finals, went into labor.

I panicked.

Chapter 14: After the Martial Arts Tournament and Childbirth

The martial arts tournament ended, and the customary banquet followed.

Everyone enjoyed the food and drink that had already been available during the tournament.

Ria and Ann had gone into labor during the awards ceremony, but fortunately, everything turned out fine.

Ria safely delivered a boy, and Ann also gave birth to a boy.

As though unwilling to fall behind, Lize and Rafa also went into labor and soon delivered their children. Both were boys.

I had no particular preference about the children's sex, but all four had boys... I did want more men in the village, but this was a little different from what I had in mind.

The High Elves felt completely differently. Having three boys born at once sent them into raptures.

"Our future is bright."

As for the Oni Race maids... they also wept tears of joy.

"With this, reviving the Oni Race is no longer just a dream."

With such happy news arriving during the banquet, there was no way we would not celebrate in grand style... and so it turned into an enormous banquet.

Despite that trouble... no, I meant pleasant surprise, the awards ceremony still went ahead properly.

The champion of the knight division was Uno.

That move that enlarged his body was probably some sort of spell or technique, because he had returned to his normal size. Thank goodness. If he stayed that big... it would cause all sorts of problems.

As before, the champion received a trophy and a crown. The trophy and crown would later be displayed near the entrance to my mansion, but for now, Uno walked around looking a little bashful, carrying the trophy in his mouth and wearing the crown. Kuro Three walked beside him, even happier than Uno himself. Those two really got along well.

Pillow had lost, but did not seem discouraged.

It was enjoying potatoes with Zabuton, who had recovered from her injuries.

Hmm, was it my imagination, or did Pillow seem to be learning new moves from Zabuton as they ate?

Even after the tournament ended, its excitement lingered, and volunteers were still competing on the stages.

Guraru, the Beastman from Good Forest Village who had won the warrior division, was fighting an evenly matched battle with the lizardman Daga.

No, Daga probably had the advantage.

The Mountain Elf Mea teamed up with Stifano of the Demon Race to face the Infernal Wolf Masayuki and Gran Maria of the Angels.

Perhaps they had lost too quickly in the official matches and still wanted more.

Having two stages this time shortened the wait, which everyone appreciated, but I still hoped they would not push themselves too hard and get hurt.

Progenitor, thank you for all your hard work as referee.

Death and the other Dragons focused on eating, drinking, and the residents' talent performances.

The lizardmen's human pyramid was quite popular. Their perfectly coordinated movements were wonderful, without even a single misplaced tail.

After watching them, the Harpies wanted to see whether they could do it too, so I had to give them a little warning.

Save that sort of thing for when you have not been drinking. You would get hurt trying it now.

The Beastmen performed acrobatics.

They balanced on large balls, jumped on seesaws, performed on flying trapezes... Was this a circus? Let's skip the knife throwing. That was too dangerous.

Watching the acrobatics was fun, but hard on my heart.

Perhaps that was part of their appeal... but I still worried about whether proper safety measures were in place. Then I noticed that Zabuton's children had already strung safety nets everywhere. Thank you.

Glatts and Rinona were already in a world of their own.

So Beezel left him alone and took only Randann on a tour of the village.

Come to think of it, I had known Beezel for quite a while now.

Randann wanted a bath? I did not mind, but please do not take alcohol into the bathhouse.

Yuri and Frau were together with the Civil Servant Girls, discussing who knew what.

Cheerful laughter rose from their direction from time to time. Were they talking about romance? I chose to keep my distance to avoid getting dragged in.

Still, although everyone enjoyed themselves in different ways, the High Elves and the Oni Race were the liveliest people at the banquet.

Alcohol was being consumed much faster than usual, and all the dwarves were busy tending bar.

As for the food... well, they had made it themselves.

I understood their joy at welcoming new lives, but they needed to be careful not to drink too much.

The banquet continued for about three days, but some people went home at noon on the second day because they had fields to tend.

Perhaps we should hold some sort of festival in Village Two and Village Three as well, to reduce the sense of unfairness. Though perhaps I was the only one who felt it was unfair.

As for Kuro's descendants and Zabuton's children assigned to guard Village Two and Village Three, they apparently took turns enjoying the banquet.

Beezel, Glatts, and Randann headed home on the second night.

"I wanted to have a little more fun..."

"Rinona, I'll come again."

"I have to get back to work."

The Demon King seemed busy too, but he stayed, saying he still had something to do.

The Dragon family would stay until the banquet ended.

They apparently had nothing to do most of the time. However, because they were such powerful beings, they apparently needed to remain stationed in particular places.

"Oh, being away for a year or two won't really matter."

After saying that, Death continued drinking.

"In that case, is it all right for Rasuti and Hakuren to stay in this village for so long?"

"They're still children. They don't need to shoulder that responsibility."

That was Death's answer, but there was something odd about his eyes. Was he lying?

"What's the truth?"

"Lastismun aside, even if I assigned Hakuren that duty, I doubt she would stay in one place."

I see.

"Her willingly staying in this village is like a dream... but since it is a dream, I hope she'll have a child while she's at it."

"Looking at me won't help..."

"This is a special medicine for relieving fatigue. If a human takes it... it should keep him going for ten days."

"You brought something that dangerous..."

"It isn't dangerous at all. It's perfectly safe."

"No, no, that's not what I meant by dangerous... Oh, never mind. Please don't let anyone else see it."

"I'll be careful from now on, but some has already been taken."

"Huh?"

Um... I really wanted to believe that nobody would drug me, their village chief. I would trust everyone.

The births to Ria, Ann, Lize, and Rafa not only made the tournament's closing more lively, but also brought energy to Big Tree Village.

They also strengthened the others' desire to become pregnant.

Yes, I would do my best, so please do not use drugs. Though I did appreciate their bringing them directly to me. Besides, I was still responsible for the tournament and banquet, so I could not completely relax until everything was over.

Still, seeing the newborn children made the corners of my mouth lift despite myself.

And so, Guraru from Good Forest Village and the Lamia stayed for a while after the banquet ended.

Their purpose was special training.

Besides the champions Uno and Pillow, the lizardman Daga was also a popular training opponent.

Daga was not weak, but why was he as popular as Uno and Pillow? Apparently, it was because he was humanoid.

I see. After all, Uno and Pillow were rather unusual

opponents. Daga understood why he was popular too, and always avoided attacking with his tail. Such kindness and consideration were probably another reason he was a popular sparring partner.

I glanced at Gran Maria and the others.

"I-I still have work to do."

"So busy, so busy."

"All right-let's give it everything today too."

Apparently, that was why nobody asked them. It certainly was not because they went all out and knocked their training partners down right from the start.

Incidentally, everyone relied on Flora for healing magic during the tournament, the banquet afterward, and the special training after that, leaving her utterly exhausted.

"Couldn't you reward me a little more?"

She had a point, so I gave Flora a substantial reward.

Chapter 15: Names and the Future

The children's names had been decided.

The High Elf Ria's child was named Ririus.

Lize's child was named Riguru.

Rafa's child was named Rati.

Ann of the Oni Race had named her child Tiselle.

The three High Elf mothers each named their own child.

I did not know whether there was some custom or rule behind it, but they seemed very particular about the first sound of the names.

As for Tiselle, that name was the result of discussions between me, Ann, Death, the Demon King, and the Progenitor.

At first, the name Ann suggested was very difficult for me to pronounce. Put simply, it contained lots of voiced consonants and palatalized sounds. I felt bad for Ann, but at first I thought it was the name of some demon from a hell of chaos. Although I was fully determined to love my child, I still could not help thinking, This really won't do.

Since there was no rule requiring someone to die or obey if their true name was spoken, would it not be better to choose an easy-to-pronounce name?

But I could not think of an alternative. No, more accurately, I had ideas, but none satisfied Ann. I knew perfectly well that I had no taste in names, so I could not force her to accept one. We needed a name we could both agree on.

But I was so troubled that I could not help consulting the Demon King nearby. Perhaps that was a mistake.

"You asked the Demon King, but not me?"

"I can join the discussion too, can't I?"

Death and the Progenitor both came over, suggesting several names and discussing naming rules, their origins, great figures of the past, and so on.

In a sense, those three were more enthusiastic than Ann and I were.

I could understand Death and the Progenitor acting that way, but the Demon King's enthusiasm surprised me a little.

"That's because Father never had the chance to name a child before..."

Yuri's words made it clear.

In the end, we narrowed it down to one candidate from each person, then drew lots in front of the Big Tree Shrine to decide.

It meant, "The glowing statue of the God of Creation decided this, so surely no one has any objections now."

Before drawing lots, Ann and I had checked all three names, just to be safe. Whichever one came up would be fine.

I was the one who drew the lot.

The result was "Tiselle."

The Demon King raised both arms high toward the sky, expressing his joy.

"I thought the names that weren't chosen this time were good too. I would be happy if you gave mine to the next child."

"The same goes for the one I chose."

"Yes, they're all good names. Let's do that."

As long as the children's mothers agreed, I would use the names Death and the Progenitor had come up with for boys born in the future.

We were doing what needed to be done, so we would probably keep having children.

"Ria, Lize, Rafa, I'm sorry. I was so caught up in thinking about Tiselle's name."

I apologized to Ria and the others.

During the naming process, I had only been thinking about Ann and Tiselle.

"Not at all. Lord Death and the others were involved, after all."

That was certainly true, but I still felt guilty.

"Please don't worry about it. More importantly, thank you very much for letting us name our children freely."

Unlike Ann's case, all the names they had suggested were very suitable.

"Also..."

Ria sat up straight, holding Ririus.

"Though I have mentioned this many times before, please allow me to raise this child as a future leader of the High Elves."

"Of course. Do as you wish, Ria."

"You have my deepest thanks."

"Lize, Rafa, you can do as you wish with your children too."

Both of them bowed their heads.

The three of them had made their proposal before their children were born.

It was a declaration that even if they gave birth to boys, they would not threaten Alfred's position.

From the standpoint of their race, they wanted boys. However, having boys would raise the issue of succession.

When they first came to discuss it with me, I thought we still didn't know whether they would be boys, and even if it caused trouble, that would be far in the future. But the pregnant Ria and the others seemed deeply troubled.

To keep the pregnant women from worrying, I accepted their proposal.

Whether their children were boys or girls, they would be raised as successors to the leader of the High Elves of Big Tree Village. Lize's and Rafa's children would be raised as the right- and left-hand aides of Ria's child.

I had thought there was no need to plan their futures before they were even born, but Ria and the others would not budge on that point.

Was I the strange one for not caring about that sort of thing? I had wanted to educate the children as equally as possible... perhaps that way of thinking did not suit this world.

Well, as long as I didn't let that sort of thing bother me and gave them equal fatherly love, that would be enough.

It could also just have been postpartum depression. I would discuss this with them again once they had settled down a little. I also needed to talk to Lu and Tia. Raising children was not something one person did alone, after all.

I wanted to be a good father, but forcing my ideas on others was not necessarily right.

Besides, my ideal image of a father was based on monogamy, so it might be completely useless in our current polygamous relationship. It would be one thing if my ideas were simply wrong, but they could also cause danger.

Yes, I should discuss it properly with everyone.

Now, as for our arrangements for raising the children... there was not much I could help with.

Ririus, Riguru, and Rati were all being raised in the High Elves' homes. I had asked whether they would like to live in my mansion, but their mothers politely declined, worried that the children might get the wrong idea.

To me, it was important for children to live with their father, but that argument did nothing to persuade them. Besides, I myself wondered whether growing up surrounded by so many mothers was appropriate, so I could not force them. I could just go visit the children myself.

Tiselle, meanwhile, was the child of Ann, the head maid of the Oni Race, so she would grow up in my mansion.

Before I could suggest that she sleep near my room, it had already been decided that she would stay in the Oni maids' quarters.

I felt so lonely. Though if I wanted to see my child, I could simply walk over.

"When it comes to raising children, it's best to follow their mothers' wishes as much as possible."

Death had said that, but the Progenitor and the Demon King had said similar things, so I did not go against it.

Still, I hoped they would come to discuss things with me if anything happened to the children.

I took Alfred and Tiselle to see their new younger brothers, but they did not seem to understand what the babies were to them yet.

They were all siblings with the same father and different mothers. I hoped they would get along in the future.

While I was holding Tiselle and doting on her, Kuro watched from a distance, looking lonely.

After handing Tiselle back to Ann, I sat on the floor and called Kuro over.

Kuro immediately lay down beside me, looking happy.

"No need to hold back. You're my family too."

I said that as I stroked Kuro where he lay, and Yuki came running over and lay down too.

"Ha ha ha."

So I petted Kuro and Yuki.

In a way, they had been with me longer than Lu and the others. There was no way I would not treasure them.

As I thought that, I felt something nudging my back.

I turned around to find countless descendants of Kuro waiting beside me.

"J-just for today, all right?"

Petting dogs was hard work too.

More than ten years later.

"We won in the south. Tiselle routed the enemy."

Rati showed the report that had just arrived to Ririus, who was standing by near the headquarters tent.

"Just what I'd expect from her."

"It's nothing special. Master Daga and Master Gruwald were there too. That much was the least she had to achieve."

"Big words. Could you achieve the same results?"

"Ha ha ha. Does that mean you'll give me an army to command?"

"Having different strengths is what brings out our individuality. Sorry, but I'm not irresponsible enough to give you an army."

"It's true I'm not good at commanding, but couldn't you put it more tactfully?"

"You shine brighter fighting alone than leading an army, Forest Surprise Attack King."

"That title doesn't make me happy in the slightest. Surprise Attack King... couldn't they have come up with something cooler? Like Black Demon Bow or Chaos Wave?"

"All right, all right, just be satis-

fied with Rati, the name your mother gave you."

"Ugh."

"All right, enough chatter. The south is settled, so next we advance west. Go help Riguru."

"Hm? Isn't Master Glatts there? They shouldn't need me, should they?"

"Master Glatts himself asked for you by name. He said he wanted to ask for details about that tactical treatise you submitted."

"Isn't he taking it awfully easy on the front lines?"

"He is Master Glatts, after all. In any case, Riguru really has requested reinforcements, and having you there to carry out all kinds of missions on your own won't hurt."

"I don't mind, but will things be all right here?"

"We're not entirely without problems, but at least things aren't as bad as they are on Riguru's end."

"We don't have enough people, after all. We went overboard at the start and expanded our territory too far."

"Ha ha ha. Master Pillow and Master Uno worked too hard. I feel sorry for their enemies."

"Exactly. That's why I swore to myself that I would never oppose Master Pillow or Master Uno."

"Same here... though there are already plenty of people who wouldn't dare defy them."

"Ha ha ha. Too many to count. I gave up counting long ago."

"Do you know what our enemies call us brothers... the three of us, you, me, and Riguru?"

"A title other than Forest Surprise Attack King? No idea."

"Apparently, they call us the 'Death God Brothers of the Abyss.'"

"Ha ha ha ha ha. That's a pretty extravagant name for a bunch of cowardly brothers like us."

"Exactly. All right, be careful out west. Don't die."

"Right. You too."

I had a strange dream. In it, my children were fighting a war, and they seemed to be doing very well, but from a parent's perspective, I supposed it was a nightmare. I needed to stay alert so that nightmare would not become reality.

I also needed to keep expanding the fields so they could make a living without going elsewhere for work. For my children's sake, I had to keep working hard at farming...

No, forcing them wasn't good either. I should hear what the children wanted...

"Um? Village chief? The children can't talk yet. Wouldn't it be better to discuss their futures when they're a little older...?"

That dream had made me act strangely without meaning to. Surely it wouldn't come true?