1 Sun Village
After returning from Sun Castle, we gathered the representatives of each race for a meeting.
The topic was the arrangements for taking in Sun Castle.
Originally, Kuzutin and the others had thought that as long as Sun Castle was safe, they could slowly deal with the remaining issues while trading with Big Tree Village.
However, after Bell and Gulf joined the discussion and reviewed Sun Castle's current situation, we reached the conclusion that Sun Castle would struggle to support itself alone.
The biggest reason was that they had no money. Never mind cash-they hardly had any goods they could sell, either.
They did grow dungeon potatoes, but those weren't particularly tasty, so they weren't worth much.
That left them with selling Sun Castle's objects and technology... but those were limited, and they had already traded some of them for food.
Selling off all their technology would also put them in a dangerous position.
Of course, they could probably hole up in Sun Castle and live on nothing but dungeon potatoes.
But that assumed Sun Castle could keep flying forever.
Sun Castle was about to run out of fuel, and if they couldn't replenish it, they would have to land.
Designed on the assumption that it would stay airborne, Sun Castle had no defensive capabilities whatsoever on the ground.
Furthermore, running out of fuel would apparently affect Bell and Gulf's ability to function.
I didn't think Kuzutin and the others could get by without relying on Gulf's wisdom. After all, in a sense, they had spent many years shut away at home.
In short, there were various other reasons, too, but after gaining the consent of the demons and succubi living in Sun Castle, as well as Bell and Gulf, Kuzutin voluntarily pledged allegiance to Big Tree Village.
The demons and succubi wanted to prevent Gulf, who had always looked after them, from shutting down when Sun Castle ran out of fuel. Gulf wanted to protect the demons and succubi. Bell wanted Sun Castle to keep flying.
Each of the three parties had their own reasons.
"By pledging allegiance to the village, do they mean they'll become our subordinates?"
Frau raised her hand to clarify.
"They dressed it up quite a bit... but to put it simply, they'll hand over all of Sun Castle and ask us to provide for them. Well, just think of it as an entire village moving here."
"Then there shouldn't be a problem with treating them like the other settlers, right?"
Donovan the dwarf spoke while fiddling with a dungeon potato. Apparently, he intended to try brewing alcohol with it.
"That's true... but the problem is Sun Castle."
Exactly.
Sun Castle was the reason I hadn't made a decision right away.
"Who owns that castle now?"
According to Gulf, records remained of its original sale to the angels, so shouldn't ownership belong to them? Apparently, Kuzutin and the others' great-grandfathers had occupied the castle during a war. In that case, would it belong to the army their great-grandfathers had served in?
Would accepting the castle cause a dispute?
I wouldn't mind if I could take responsibility for it alone, but I didn't want to drag the villagers into it.
I honestly voiced my doubts.
The room fell completely silent. Huh?
I had expected a lively exchange of opinions... but everyone except me exchanged looks, then nodded silently.
Then everyone turned toward Lu, who muttered, "Oh, fine," and stood up.
"Darling... no, Chief, you're overthinking this!"
Huh?
"We occupied that castle, so we'll look after the people living there. Isn't that all there is to it?"
"What if someone objects later...?"
"Who's going to object after leaving it alone for so long? The angels? That castle belonged to the divine race, right? The divine race..."
"Has already died out."
Tia finished her sentence.
Then she told everyone not to bring up the divine race again.
I see.
"If someone really does come to complain, just tell them this: if you've got a problem, bring it on."
Lu was blunt.
And so, we decided to take in Sun Castle.
"Sun Castle will be renamed Village Four. However, in consideration of its history, special permission will be granted to call it Sun Castle or Sun Village."
Standing on a raised platform in Sun Castle's audience chamber, I informed Kuzutin that I accepted their allegiance.
The name change was proof of their submission.
Lu and Tia had told me this was common practice, so I followed their advice. However, when I told Bell beforehand, she looked so devastated that I added an extra clause.
Lu said I was too nice, but I thought it would be hard to suddenly stop using a name you'd used for years.
In any case, I handed the document prepared by the Civil Servant Girls to Kuzutin, who knelt on one knee before me.
It was apparently something like a certificate recognizing Kuzutin as their representative.
Didn't I need to give one of these to Village One, Village Two, and Village Three, too?
They said those were already prepared and could be handed over later. All right, we'd do that.
At any rate, ceremonies like this apparently mattered.
The representatives of Big Tree Village's various races were all gathered there, and although Gulf couldn't move, the demons, succubi, and Bell watched from behind Kuzutin.
"I humbly accept the position of acting village chief of Village Four. From this day forth, I swear to serve Lord Hiraku faithfully unto death."
Ah, no, you didn't need to do it for me. Just work hard for everyone here...
The atmosphere was too enthusiastic for me to say that.
Had everyone been feeling anxious before? The lively gathering turned straight into a banquet.
The Oni Race maids who had accompanied us handled the food. Hakuren and Rasuti had gone to the trouble of transporting the ingredients and people. Thank you both.
Kuzutin became Village Four's representative, its acting village chief.
Bell and Gulf would assist him.
Although Bell looked just like a human, her true nature was apparently closer to a crystal stone like Gulf.
She could function without eating, but that was because Sun Castle supplied her with energy.
Apparently, once Sun Castle's fuel problem was solved, Gulf would be able to move around in human form.
There were apparently fourteen others, too. I hoped we could resolve the fuel issue soon.
We were currently heading toward the airspace above the hot springs to dig up heat-retaining stones, their source of fuel... but it seemed it would take a while yet.
We were moving more slowly than I'd expected.
I thought it was because we were low on fuel, but apparently not.
This place had originally been built as a vacation home, so staying airborne mattered more than mobility. I see.
Village Four... I'd named it that, but Sun Village rolled off the tongue more easily.
However, Bell looked so sad whenever I said Sun Village that I called it Sun Castle.
First, what did Sun Castle need?
Everything!
No homes, no food, no produce! Only dungeon potatoes!
Well, they weren't bad as an ingredient, though. We'd look for a way to cook them that made them tastier.
As originally agreed, we brought food over in exchange for dungeon potatoes and magic tools.
That should let them eat a little better.
Still, Sun Castle's temperature was always like spring, making me forget the winter cold.
Just what you'd expect from a vacation home.
Perhaps retreating here for the winter was an option.
But as Big Tree Village's chief, that wouldn't be right, so I dismissed the idea myself.
All right.
Just because it was winter didn't mean there wasn't work to do.
A few Mountain Elves and High Elves stayed behind to learn Sun Castle's technology, but most people returned to Big Tree Village. I stayed because I needed to establish Village Four.
Anyway... first, we'd build homes.
The demons and succubi had been living inside the castle... but there were also many fields inside, and with that many residents, there wasn't enough room for personal privacy.
So we needed to build homes.
The location would be the town district.
It was in ruins, so we would probably have to clear everything away before rebuilding.
The Almighty Farming Tool saw plenty of action.
However, I couldn't possibly handle everything right away, so I only cleared the areas where we would build houses.
Next came building materials for the houses...
We could ask Hakuren and Rasuti, but considering the quantities involved, that would be troublesome.
The demons and succubi could fly, so perhaps we could lower Sun Castle as far as possible and have them carry the materials?
No, whatever we did, it was winter, so that probably wasn't an option.
The moment you left Sun Castle, the wind was strong, and it was cold.
Would it be better to simply plant trees we could use for building materials?
We put housing construction on hold for the time being.
Next would be the fields.
Bell wanted to move the fields inside the castle outside.
A very reasonable suggestion.
After all, fields were the first thing you saw upon entering the castle. Walking along the ridges between them to reach the audience chamber felt rather odd, too.
I could help cultivate new fields outside, but I probably couldn't do anything about the parts of the castle already turned into fields...
Apparently, once Sun Castle's fuel was replenished, they could find a way to fix that. Gulf said they could even fill in the huge hole in the northwestern forest district. Impressive.
For now, I consulted Kuzutin about where to make the new fields.
The homes would be built in the town district south of the castle, so the fields would go on either side. We would turn the southwestern and southeastern town districts into farmland.
Ruins, debris-the Almighty Farming Tool plowed through it all.
"Are you a god?"
Bell asked me that while I worked, and I answered that I was just a farmer.
To think she mistook me for a god. She shouldn't say things that were disrespectful to the gods.
Oh, could I put statues of the God of Creation and the God of Agriculture here, too?
I hoped there wouldn't be any religious issues... There weren't.
She seemed willing to let me put them in the best room in the castle.
But wasn't that the castle lord's room...? I shouldn't worry? Kuzutin... seemed fine with it.
It looked like they would treasure the statues, which made me happy.
As for the withered forest district, I left the trees that were still alive and planted fruit trees as well.
It would be a while before harvest, but if they produced fruit successfully, they should make a considerable difference to the food situation.
Kuzutin liked pineapples, right?
Bell and Gulf didn't need to eat, but apparently they could eat in human form.
Bell was deeply moved when she tried curry.
It looked like we should grow some spices, too.
After I'd been busy for a while, Bell contacted me to say we had arrived at the hot springs.
Yes, she showed me an image of the ground, and it was definitely the hot springs.
I could see the Death Knight looking up at us.
That camera performed really well... No, was it magic?
How did that magic work? Well, it didn't matter.
I had intended to head straight down to the hot springs... but Hakuren and Rasuti had already returned to Big Tree Village, which made things a little awkward.
Then the demons or succubi could carry me... They couldn't?
I see.
I'd have to think of a way to contact someone.
We could communicate.
I contacted Big Tree Village and asked them to send someone who could fly. Who would come?
Gran Maria came.
Thank you for coming all this way in such cold weather.
2 Digging up heat-retaining stones
Gran Maria carried me in her arms to the hot springs.
She'd done this many times before, but...
Sun Castle really was high up.
Apparently, it was five thousand meters high?
Wasn't that even higher... than skydiving altitude? Not that I'd ever been skydiving.
...Hmm? What was it, Gran Maria?
Oh, skydiving was about enjoying falling through the air... Wait, I didn't tell you to drop.
Safety and peace of mind came first. Let's descend slowly. I'd put up with the cold.
We arrived safely at the hot springs.
Three undead knights came out to greet us.
You don't have to kneel. Get up, get up.
First, I explained about the Sun Castle.
They were astonished to hear that, after one thing and another, we had brought the Sun Castle under our control.
Then all three broke into a victory dance together.
You practiced that, didn't you? You're perfectly in sync.
You were inspired by the performance during the martial arts tournament's intermission?
I see. I know how you feel.
But why were you dancing around me?
I wasn't going to become a sacrifice, was I?
Since they told me not to worry about it, I decided not to let it bother me.
Next, I told them we would be excavating and transporting heat-retaining stones, so things would get a little noisy.
I had assumed that would be fine too, but the undead knights were so shaken that it was obvious at a glance.
Was there a problem?
Led by the undead knight who had arrived first, Gran Maria and I headed to the heat-retaining stone excavation site.
Apparently, he meant that seeing was believing.
He was leading the way, but I had already been here many times to dig up stones for the village, so I wouldn't get lost.
The undead knight, on the other hand, got lost twice. Come to think of it, I remembered that he had no sense of direction. You really were better suited to defending a position.
The undead knight carried the shield I had given him.
He said it was very sturdy and easy to use.
The other two seemed envious, so I would make some for them when I had time.
Would the same mechanism do? Or would different ones be more interesting?
We chatted as we walked, but we didn't let our guard down.
Monsters and magical beasts appeared around here too.
Well, ever since the undead knights had stayed at the hot springs, we had hardly encountered any...
So we reached the excavation site safely.
Naturally, there were plenty of exposed heat-retaining stones at the excavation site.
Even in winter, the surrounding area was warm.
It wasn't as extreme as the Sun Castle, but it was probably enough to make you forget the winter cold.
There was a family of magical beasts at the excavation site.
Huge lions? Standing on all fours... they were about three meters tall.
They were about the same size as Kuro's descendants when they grew larger for battle.
The one with a mane was probably the father.
The other one, without a mane, was probably the mother.
There were also three cubs behind the mother.
The enormous size of the father and mother gave a misleading impression, but the cubs were actually quite large too.
Still, their features and the length of their limbs showed that they were cubs.
Perhaps they had only just been born?
They were wary of Gran Maria and me, strangers to them, but I sensed no hostility.
Only after the undead knight approached the lions and reassured them did they let down their guard.
Not only that, the undead knight stood between us and the lions to protect them.
Uh, I wasn't against keeping pets, you know?
Yes, it was fine.
It would be a great help if they could join in guarding the hot springs.
Also, I hoped they would let me pet the cubs...
Ah, no, you didn't have to come over looking like you were prepared to die.
I was only going to pet you...
Oh, this was nice.
Did Gran Maria want to try petting them too?
The other two cubs were clinging to Gran Maria.
I wasn't jealous at all.
"These... lions? Do you know what species they are?"
"No, I'm sorry. But... aren't they just slightly larger lions?"
"True. Well, let's ask someone who knows more... when we see Lu or Frau. If they're monsters, perhaps Ria and Mea would know more?"
Apparently, this lion family could be fed on the monsters and magical beasts the undead knights killed.
Come to think of it, there were fewer monster and magical beast carcasses piled up than usual. Perhaps they had all ended up in these lions' stomachs.
Had they actually grown this big from eating too much...? Surely not.
Well, as long as they were healthy, it was fine.
But staying there would get in the way of the excavation.
Whatever else, the father and mother were rather large.
Move them to the hot springs? That felt like driving them away, so I felt a little bad.
According to the lions, food seemed easier to come by at the hot springs.
And they could bathe in the hot springs.
That was true. Still, I felt bad about it.
The father let the three cubs climb onto his back, and I thought he would run straight out like that, but enormous bat wings sprouted from his back.
Huh?
The lion family nodded to me as I stood there in surprise, then flew toward the hot springs.
Right, they weren't ordinary lions.
I pulled myself together and inspected the excavation site as originally planned.
The amount of heat-retaining stone in this area... I wasn't really sure.
But the exposed portions alone probably amounted to over a ton.
There was more than enough to secure the amount Bell and Gulf needed.
All that remained was the digging.
I had at least thought through the procedure beforehand.
I would dig out a large chunk with the Almighty Farming Tool, then have the High Elves and lizardmen remove the excess portions of the heat-retaining stone.
That was our usual method.
If we left the removal of the excess portions to the demons and succubi... the only remaining problem was how to transport it from here to the Sun Castle.
At first, I had assumed a flying castle would have airships for transportation, but it didn't.
According to Gulf, when the lord of the castle had run short of funds, the airships had been the first things sold.
That meant our only option was to have people who could fly carry it up.
But the Sun Castle's demons and succubi apparently had trouble flying while carrying heavy loads.
So I intended to ask Hakuren and Rasuti to carry it over in one go.
Hakuren and Rasuti had helped us a great deal this time.
I would make some of their favorite foods another day to thank them.
No time like the present. Time to get to work.
When I had called for help getting down from the Sun Castle, I had already asked Rasuti to bring people over to help dig.
"Come to think of it, Gran Maria was the one who came to pick me up earlier... how did you decide?"
"By drawing lots, of course. I thank God for my good luck."
I see.
Gran Maria had done a lot for me too.
Another day, I would cook something you wanted... you'd prefer sweets? Understood.
I handled the digging, while Gran Maria kept watch over our surroundings.
We would work hard until Rasuti brought the workers over.
When Bell saw the heat-retaining stones delivered to the Sun Castle, she spoke.
"If we'd had this much when this castle was built... we could have conquered the entire world!"
Bell certainly was excited.
Was this the satisfaction of having a full tank?
No, it still needed refining.
First, we would take the heat-retaining stones to the designated location, and then Gulf would handle the refining.
With enough fuel, Gulf could apparently take human form like Bell, which gave me something to look forward to.
There were others too, and I hoped everyone could help Kuzutin.
Ah... Bell.
Don't consider modifying or adding weapons. It was dangerous.
If you had nothing to do, help with the farming. You wanted to move the fields inside the castle outside, didn't you? You couldn't destroy fields with crops still growing in them, so be patient for now.
3 The Sun Castle's level of technology
We moved some of the labyrinth potatoes planted inside the Sun Castle to the fields outside.
If we moved them all at once and they all died, I would feel bad for everyone.
I was also worried about whether there would be problems moving labyrinth potatoes grown indoors outside.
Would it be better to dig out something like an underground burrow for the labyrinth potatoes?
The Sun Castle's ground was apparently three hundred meters thick even at its thinnest point.
A little digging probably wouldn't break through.
However, the castle's basement was in the center, so I had been asked not to dig too deep.
Well, if a burrow wouldn't work, putting up a roof should do...
For now, we would observe how the labyrinth potatoes grew after being moved.
The Sun Castle flew through the sky.
It was equipped with a magical engine and used fuel refined from heat-retaining stones.
According to Lu, Tia, and the others, it apparently came from an era with highly advanced magical technology.
Even the remnants of that era were far more advanced than today's magical technology.
If we could analyze and reproduce it, it would probably be useful in all sorts of ways.
So I needed to check.
Could Bell and Gulf build the Sun Castle's magical engine?
"I believe riding a horse and raising one are entirely different things."
That was Bell's answer.
In other words, an operator wasn't necessarily an engineer, or an operator wasn't necessarily a manufacturer.
Not every driver could repair a vehicle.
Building an engine from its components was even less possible.
Even so, Lu asked them about the parts they did understand and took notes.
But it wasn't much use.
The reason was that most of Bell's knowledge was built on technology that was already complete.
If I had to give an example... it was probably like someone discussing operating systems and applications with you when you had no concept of smartphones or computers.
And Bell's knowledge alone couldn't explain the concepts of smartphones and computers; she only knew how to operate the operating systems and applications...
In Lu's view, if we immediately assembled the finest minds in contemporary magical studies and then devoted ourselves to research for about a hundred and fifty years, we might just barely understand it... apparently.
Incidentally, Lu and Flora said they didn't want to join that elite team.
Lu apparently had little interest in research with an endpoint already in sight.
A strong thirst for knowledge would be another matter, but without that, it would be hard to find this sort of research interesting. Besides, it was far too early to make money from it.
Flora, meanwhile, was busy researching fermented foods.
Come to think of it, I was surprised by how much faster the natto fermented than I had expected. I had thought it would take about ten days, but in just one day, the culture had spread throughout the whole batch of beans.
So the first attempt failed because it fermented too much.
The second attempt failed from excessive fermentation too, even though we checked it every few hours. We failed several times before realizing we needed to suppress fermentation by aging it at a low temperature.
We hadn't started mass production yet, but the trial batches had been very well received. Still, people who couldn't handle that distinctive smell just couldn't handle it. I wasn't too fond of it either. As with the labyrinth potatoes, we would find a tastier way to eat it.
Back to the subject.
Apparently, the Sun Castle's magical technology couldn't be passed on verbally.
That meant we needed reference materials... but those had been lost during the Sun Castle's troubled history.
All that remained... were assorted documents left throughout the castle, including the study.
Some dated back to when the Sun Castle was first built, while others had been left by visitors.
So they were varied and disorganized.
Some did relate to magical technology, but like Bell's knowledge, they weren't useful. A shame.
Still, the documents were quite valuable as reference material, so we brought them back along with the other books.
We put bookshelves in the hall of my house.
Some of the residents were enjoying reading them... but could everyone understand the contents?
Since they were laughing, perhaps there were storybooks among them.
I would give them a read sometime, too.
For now, Sun Castle, newly stocked with a large supply of heat-retaining stones, had its course set to circle the outer edge of the Forest of Death over the course of a year.
It would travel counterclockwise.
We chose that route on Gulf's advice.
Although Sun Castle did not place much importance on mobility, he preferred to keep it moving rather than leave it in one place.
Gulf handled navigation, so apparently he had nothing to do if it did not move.
I had thought he could take care of Kuzutin and the others, but apparently it was a matter of identity. I see.
So we decided to keep Sun Castle moving.
However, since it now belonged to Big Tree Village, there were concerns about what problems might arise if it went outside the Forest of Death.
Although Lu and the others said not to worry, I felt that not being able to contact it immediately was a problem.
So we decided to have Sun Castle move only through the skies above the Forest of Death.
Someone suggested, "In that case, let's have it circle the outer edge of the Forest of Death." Agreed.
At first, I had thought of moving clockwise, but Gulf strongly insisted on counterclockwise. He seemed to feel instinctively that traveling that way would be more stable.
Since there was no particular reason to oppose him, we adopted that route.
As viewed from Big Tree Village, Sun Castle would be in the northern sky in winter, the west in spring, the south in summer, and the east in autumn.
A giant calendar?
Once we got used to it, perhaps we could tell the current season by Sun Castle's position.
Sun Castle would keep moving, but the only way to get up there was to have members of flying races carry us, which was somewhat inconvenient.
So everyone began researching means of transportation.
Before that, we checked something.
Was there anything like a teleportation device? Apparently not.
When Sun Castle was completed, the use of teleportation magic had been forbidden.
Anyone who used it would be arrested immediately, and apparently even learning it had been illegal.
I had wondered why, but it turned out to be ordinary crime prevention.
True, if you could teleport freely, you could commit crimes however you pleased.
It was magic that required its users to exercise self-restraint.
...Beezel and the Progenitor.
Yes, they should be fine.
Although using teleportation magic was no longer a crime, it was basic etiquette not to teleport directly into villages or towns.
I see.
As for means of transportation, the ones I knew about were hot-air balloons and airships.
Knowledge of airplanes was really a bit much to ask of me.
The others suggested learning flight magic and teleportation magic.
That would take ages.
In any case, the Mountain Elves were very interested in my suggestions and wanted to try making them...
But both hot-air balloons and airships required large, sturdy pieces of cloth.
We could reinforce it with magic, but it would probably be better to wait until Zabuton woke up.
The Mountain Elves eagerly said they could at least build the hull, but I stopped them.
Technology needed to advance one step at a time.
That was what I had learned from this business with Sun Castle.
So we would start with a hot-air balloon.
And not one big enough to carry people. We would experiment with a small one first.
Don't look so disappointed.
Setting the basket aside for now, a device that could steadily feed hot air into the balloon would not be easy to make.
"You're right. We'll do our best!"
I was very satisfied with the Mountain Elves' answer.
For now, though, we would ask those who could fly to help carry us.
After some investigation, I thought there was probably nothing particularly remarkable among the technologies we had acquired from Sun Castle.
But rest assured.
There was still some impressive technology.
Although the equipment was fixed inside Sun Castle, so production was impossible elsewhere, and
the output was very low, I thought this technology was impressive.
Canned food.
Yes, Sun Castle could make canned food.
After the demons and succubi grew labyrinth potatoes, they canned them for storage.
Of course, making cans required iron.
But being able to make thin iron cans was quite impressive.
Being able to seal them was impressive, too.
As for opening them... we would need a can opener. The fact that they were not easy-open cans was a minor drawback.
Still, canned food.
Now we could preserve food for long periods. It really was a shame the output was so low.
Only ten cans could be produced each day.
But that meant a hundred in ten days, and a thousand in a hundred days. Over a year, that would be more than three thousand.
Yes, not bad at all.
Michael would probably be delighted.
Production might increase if Gulf and Bell's companions woke up. That was something to look forward to.
Early spring
It felt as though I had spent this entire winter busy with Sun Castle.
I had gone back and forth so many times.
I still wanted some way to travel there on my own.
We needed to get that hot-air balloon made soon.
Whoops, rushing and failing would not be good, either. We had to make sure it would not crash.
We should prepare parachutes for the passengers as well, just in case.
After all, we had already experimented with the Alcohol Slime.
But before that, there was something else I had to do.
Explain Sun Castle to Zabuton and her children, who had woken up with the arrival of spring.
Thank goodness.
Zabuton's children began thinking about how to extend their threads to Sun Castle as soon as they woke up.
That castle was on our side! There was no need to attack it!
I asked Hakuren to carry Zabuton and me to Sun Castle, and it ended up becoming a venue for a group nap.
No, had they all just fainted?
There was no need to be so frightened...
Don't worry about it, Zabuton. They probably just weren't used to you yet.
Bell really was something, as expected.
Although she was still conscious, her legs had given out.
When I gave her a light poke, she sank into a crouch on the spot and started crying.
Since she seemed to need a change of clothes, I carried her back to her room on my back.
Gulf tried to get through it by turning into a crystal, but I saw through him.
"Th-that's cruel!"
"Um, couldn't you handle even dragons?"
"How could we possibly handle a dragon?!"
He complained to me with all his might.
Huh? Was that how it was?
"At its peak, Sun Castle's defenses could withstand even a dragon's attacks, but that is impossible now."
"The fuel shortage has been resolved, hasn't it?"
"Your attack disabled the defensive functions, Village Chief... we need to wait for them to repair themselves. According to the calculations, that is expected to take two years."
"Sorry."
"No, we were at fault then. Please allow me to offer my sincere apologies once again."
"That's all in the past."
Since we would have kept apologizing to each other forever, I ended the conversation at a suitable point and introduced Zabuton.
I also asked him to provide information related to clothing.
I showed Zabuton around Sun Castle.
That said, I had tilled quite a few places for various reasons, so the scenery was not much different from the village.
The only real difference was probably whether we were surrounded by forest or sky.
Construction had slowly begun in the area set aside for homes.
Transporting building materials really did take a lot of work.
We had planted trees that could be used as building materials, but they would take a long time to grow.
Should we prepare everything down below first, then bring it all up at once when Death and the others visited?
Or should we ask Beezel and the Progenitor to use teleportation magic?
There were a lot of building materials to transport, so whatever the case with the Progenitor, it would probably be a bit harsh on Beezel.
What caught Zabuton's interest was not Sun Castle, but the succubi's underwear-like outfits.
It was fine for her to take inspiration from them, but they would not be suitable as everyday clothing, would they?
I hoped she would use that style in her swimsuit designs.
I returned to Big Tree Village and got to work on the spring tasks.
Of course, that meant working in the fields!
Time to do my best.
We had already discussed what to plant and how much.
Although Big Tree Village's fields had grown larger, I had also gotten faster at working them.
I could have finished sooner if I had been allowed to focus on the fields, but various important matters kept interrupting, so it took about a month.
The first important matter.
Explaining Sun Castle to the lamias and giants.
Neither group was particularly concerned.
Their lack of a reaction was saddening.
Were they uninterested in things flying in the sky because they lived in labyrinths?
Incidentally, we had already contacted Good Forest Village, the Demon King Kingdom, Doraim, and the others during winter using small wyvern messengers.
Good Forest Village had seen Sun Castle before we contacted them, and they were relieved to learn the details.
They even sent their congratulations in reply.
The Demon King Kingdom recognized Big Tree Village's jurisdiction over Sun Castle and privately expressed a desire to be invited there when convenient.
Doraim came to visit despite the winter and toured Sun Castle.
He seemed to want us to get facilities such as hot springs and a tavern ready as soon as possible.
I felt the same way. Let's do our best.
The second important matter.
I had Village One, Village Two, and Village Three farm on their own, but they still needed assistance.
I could have gone over after finishing my own work, but unlike Big Tree Village, which relied on the Almighty Farming Tool, those villages practiced ordinary farming.
So I gave them priority whenever possible.
I had cleared Sun Castle's-Village Four's-fields with the Almighty Farming Tool, so the crops grew quickly.
There should be no problem this time.
The problem would be what came afterward.
They could farm there without worrying about the seasons, but would ordinary agriculture work?
We might have to look for crops suited to Sun Castle.
The third important matter.
Gutt suggested investigating Sun Castle's base.
After my attack, the base had fallen into the forest and become a small hill.
It had still been winter before, so nothing had been done, but now that it was warmer, it was time to investigate.
He said there might be some rare minerals.
But according to Gulf and Kuzutin, the base of Sun Castle seemed to be the result of an attack by the demons.
Would there be minerals there?
It would be no surprise if there were, so we organized an investigation team.
I had farmwork to do, so I wasn't joining them.
The investigation team, formed around Daga the lizardman and Guraru of the Beastmen, set off in high spirits.
I'd thought Hakuren or Rasuti would carry them there, but apparently they were going on foot.
Perhaps they also wanted to get their bodies back into shape after slacking off over winter, but Gutt, who was accompanying them, radiated misery.
"You don't have to force yourself to go, do you? Guraru knows how to identify minerals too, right?"
"It was my suggestion... I-I'll do my best."
I asked Kuro's descendants, who were acting as guards, to look after Gutt.
Important matter number four.
The Progenitor came.
He saw Sun Castle and said it brought back memories.
Thinking about it, it wasn't strange that he knew the castle.
When I asked, he apparently had visited back when the angels still called themselves the divine people. No new information there.
The Progenitor went straight to the hot spring. He met the lion family there and was surprised. Though after his surprise, they apparently bathed together.
The lion cub had gotten bigger. It grew so fast.
Important matter number five.
The Mountain Elves completed a small hot-air balloon in no time.
The key to the hot-air balloon was a cylindrical magic tool fueled by heat-retaining stones.
Lu provided it.
Apparently, it was one of the prototypes from when I'd asked her to make various magic tools before.
The temperature could be adjusted by changing the surface area exposed to the air.
The balloon portion Zabuton made was sturdy too.
Not only that, it was reinforced with magic, so the test flight was a success.
The Alcohol Slime proudly took a test ride.
Shouldn't we praise the fact that even the Alcohol Slime could operate it?
Watching this, Ursa and the others clamored to ride it as soon as possible.
Next, work began on a full-sized version.
So I went to cut timber for materials.
It could have waited, but securing a way to travel to and from Sun Castle was important.
We couldn't keep relying on Hakuren, Rasuti, and the angels.
"I'd be happy to if it were just you, Village Chief... but it gets a little difficult with a lot of luggage."
The demons and succubi of Sun Castle couldn't fly while carrying me.
It reminded me just how impressive the angels were for being able to carry me in flight.
There was a lot to do, but fortunately, I was just barely managing.
Once the work in the fields reached a stopping point, I had some free time too.
Would it be better to go help Daga and the others?
Or perhaps... hmm?
Kuro was waiting with a flying disc in his mouth.
Come to think of it, I hadn't spent much time with him lately.
All right.
Today I'd play with Kuro... no.
Behind Kuro were his descendants. Some had balls in their mouths, others had boomerangs...
I got it.
Today I'd play with Kuro and the others.
Incidentally, some of Kuro's children took turns guarding the different villages.
I left the scheduling to them... but today they had made a point of taking turns returning to Big Tree Village.
To play with me.
Yes, I'd do my best.
Digression number one.
The puppy Kuro's descendants had picked up before.
Though she had grown enough for us to confirm she was a Fenrir... she lived perfectly normally alongside Kuro and the others.
She seemed quite settled in.
But the toys Kuro and the others used weren't the right size for the Fenrir.
I needed to make a bigger ball soon.
Digression number two.
Zabuton's children set off on their journeys again this year.
They extended their threads into the sky and traveled on the wind.
This year, Sun Castle lay downwind.
About ten landed at Sun Castle.
Apparently, they settled down there.
I was happy to be reunited so soon, but the people living at Sun Castle were frightened.
They were panicked enough to contact me.
But it was fine.
They'd get used to them.
5 Dungeon potatoes
Dungeon potatoes.
An excellent food crop that could even be grown indoors. They grew quickly, and the yield wasn't bad either.
The problem was the taste. Their only weakness was that they tasted bad.
Well, plants didn't grow just to be eaten.
Some plants tasted bad, after all. No, I thought most plants tasted bad.
At any rate, dungeon potato improvement plan number one was to try growing them somewhere that got sunlight.
Perhaps a change of environment would change their flavor too.
So I planted dungeon potatoes in the fields at Sun Castle.
Incidentally, improvement plan number two was still under discussion.
Those dungeon potatoes I mentioned above.
They grew explosively.
They engulfed the entire field and even began encroaching on the other fields.
After Bell contacted me, I hurried to Sun Castle and cut away the parts growing beyond the field.
There was a fence, but the dungeon potato vines climbed it in no time and then crossed over it.
Perhaps that was just the kind of plant they were?
But at this rate, the dungeon potatoes would take over all of Sun Castle.
What should I do...?
"Village Chief, these fast-growing dungeon potatoes aren't producing any potatoes."
Hearing that from a demon working in the field made me decide to remove these dungeon potatoes. Sorry.
"To think I'd have another chance to see them..."
The person who knew about dungeon potatoes was the Demon King.
Once exposed to sunlight, dungeon potatoes grew rapidly, and their nutrients went toward growth rather than producing potatoes.
Apparently, they were considered a disaster plant.
"They're called a disaster, but they'll wither on their own after growing in sunlight for a month. If you want to get rid of them sooner, just do it at night. They react to sunlight, but not to the light from torches or magic."
I see.
"But even if you grow them somewhere dark, the potatoes they produce taste bad."
True.
In other words, were they a failure as a crop?
"No, though they taste bad, their yield is excellent. Lords in the past grew them to deal with monsters and famine."
"To deal with monsters?"
"Monsters like eating them. You can use them in traps to lure monsters, and if you're attacked, they can buy you time."
However, about two hundred years ago, a disease that affected only dungeon potatoes spread widely.
The dungeon potatoes were wiped out.
Perhaps the dungeon potatoes in Sun Castle hadn't caught the disease because the castle was isolated.
"The monsters had nothing to eat and rampaged all over the place, which took a great deal of effort to deal with. The complaints from the human nations were especially outrageous. They even suspected us of controlling the monsters... just remembering it makes me angry."
Incidentally, the Demon King had apparently only been a noble somewhere at the time.
After the dungeon potatoes were wiped out, the Demon King Kingdom switched to growing fairy wheat.
Like dungeon potatoes, it could be grown in dark places, but it also grew normally in sunlight. It could even survive in wasteland and tasted better than dungeon potatoes, which made it popular. However, it had the disadvantage of a low yield.
This fairy wheat-
Became even more popular in the human nations than in the Demon King Kingdom. It was easy to grow and tasted good, so of course it became popular.
To compensate for its low yield, they needed vast tracts of land, so the human nations cleared land extensively and planted it in huge quantities.
Eventually, it reached the point where they grew it practically everywhere.
In the Demon King Kingdom, it was difficult to secure sufficiently large fields, so at most, it was grown in places where dungeon potatoes had been grown before. That was probably something to be grateful for.
About fifteen years ago, a disease that affected only fairy wheat spread, causing a great famine in the human nations.
The Demon King Kingdom suffered a famine too, but it wasn't as severe as in the human nations. Because of that, they believed it was a plot by the Demon King Kingdom and started a war, which had continued to this day...
"Wouldn't it be better to farm than fight a war?"
After hearing all that, I couldn't help saying it.
"Exactly. But almost no other crops will grow in fields where fairy wheat was grown."
"Huh?"
"In the human nations, most fields still can't be used. I suppose it's inevitable that they'd turn their attention to war."
"What are the human nations doing for food?"
"Barely getting by on the unaffected fields and newly cleared ones, I imagine. They also buy from the elven and dwarven nations. They buy from the Demon King Kingdom too, though that can't be made public."
"They buy food from an enemy nation?"
"We have issued an order banning it, at least. But we can't seriously crack down on it."
Apparently, there were factions among the humans arguing that since the Demon King Kingdom allowed food trading, they shouldn't go to war.
If the ban were strictly enforced, those factions would weaken, potentially intensifying the war.
"Though the Demon King Kingdom's food supply isn't exactly plentiful either."
Was that so?
But even if we increased Big Tree Village's production, it would probably be just a drop in the bucket for the Demon King Kingdom as a whole. It couldn't be helped. There was nothing I could do.
"In the Demon King Kingdom, is fairy wheat only grown in dark places?"
"No, some was grown in ordinary fields too."
"Nothing will grow in those fields?"
"Yes, that's right. Most are still wasteland even now."
"Why not try planting dungeon potatoes there?"
"What do you mean?"
"Dungeon potatoes grow extremely fast when exposed to sunlight, so I thought they might survive in those fields too."
"That may be true, but dungeon potatoes grown in sunlight won't produce any potatoes, you know?"
"That's not the goal."
"Hmm?"
Though I didn't know why, other crops apparently struggled to grow in places where fairy wheat had been grown.
In that case, we just had to make those places no longer fairy wheat fields.
"Ah!"
"It might not work, but why not try an experiment?"
"Y-you're right. Let's give it a try."
If it was a continuous cropping problem, that meant the fields lacked particular nutrients.
If the dungeon potatoes withered, perhaps they could become fertilizer right there.
We'd be planting them in abandoned fields, so even if it failed, it probably wouldn't cause any problems.
"Wouldn't it be better to grow some normally in dark places too?"
The Demon King made a suggestion.
Of course.
I wished the Demon King luck and gave him some labyrinth potato seed tubers.
Labyrinth potatoes.
Although monsters liked them, in Big Tree Village... Kuro's family couldn't stomach them. Zabuton's family, on the other hand, ate them quite happily. The slimes pretended not to see them. As for the lion family at the hot springs, they seemed to eat them rather reluctantly.
Uh, you didn't have to force yourselves.
What about the death knights? They wouldn't look me in the eye. Probably a no, then.
I tried having the lamias and giants taste them, and they said the potatoes we normally grew in the village tasted better. Thank you.
Still, both groups seemed willing to try growing them.
For the lamias, it seemed the snakes they kept were quite fond of them.
The giants, meanwhile, fed them to the bloody vipers.
After all, if labyrinth potatoes could fill the bloody vipers' bellies, the giants would be safer.
After warning them that monsters liked eating them and that they couldn't be grown in sunlight, I handed over the seed tubers.
An experiment.
I tried putting a large quantity of labyrinth potatoes in a mesh bag and leaving it in the forest.
Of course, it was somewhere quite far from the village.
Several hours later, a horde of insect monsters swarmed over.
Although I considered dealing with them
, there were too many, so I left them alone.
Didn't monsters gather around labyrinth potatoes when they were grown inside labyrinths?
This time, I tried putting a large quantity of labyrinth potatoes in a mesh bag and burying it.
Nothing happened, even after several days.
They hadn't been dug up, either.
I see.
Monsters didn't target labyrinth potatoes when they were underground.
Had there been monsters or beasts responsible for digging up labyrinth potatoes inside labyrinths in the past?
So many mysteries.
The experiment in brewing liquor from labyrinth potatoes-
I helped with the Almighty Farming Tool, so it was ready quickly, but it didn't taste very good.
It couldn't compare to liquor made from sweet potatoes and other crops, which disappointed the dwarves.
We planned to keep some for repeated distillation to extract alcohol.
The experiment in cooking labyrinth potatoes-
The Oni Race maids ground them into flour and steamed it, producing an interesting, konjac-like substance that didn't taste of much but had a springy texture.
Since it was already processed food, it could be eaten as it was, but blanching it made it delicious.
That previously unimpressive flavor... became surprisingly good.
So labyrinth potatoes were konjac potatoes?
No, konjac potatoes were supposed to look more like large bulbs.
Never mind the details.
Finding a way to make them delicious was enough to satisfy me.
So I presented reward medals to the Oni Race maids.
Chapter 6: Reward medals and miniature trophies
The party of Daga the lizardman and the beastmen Guraru and Gutt returned from investigating Sun Castle's base.
As for the results, they had discovered three rare minerals: starlight stone, magic iron powder, and black dust.
Sun Castle's base hadn't originally been there. It was the result of an attack by the demon race.
The demon race had hurled highly adhesive soil at it, making large amounts of earth stick to Sun Castle's underside.
Their goal had been to send up the monster eggs mixed into the soil.
Although the timing of the hatching had been unexpected, the highly adhesive soil that had delivered the monsters as planned hardened beneath Sun Castle, forming its base.
Starlight stone had probably been a component of the highly adhesive soil to begin with.
Although it was a beautiful stone, each piece was only about half the size of a grain of rice.
It was notorious for being troublesome to collect.
Besides decoration, it could also be used as a component in magic tools.
Magic iron powder and black dust, meanwhile, came from shed monster shells that had fossilized over time.
Although they were powder and dust, just as their names suggested, they had originally been shells, so they clumped together to some extent.
Still, being powder and dust made them somewhat troublesome to collect.
Mixing a little magic iron powder into weapons and armor during production gave the finished products special effects; black dust served as a catalyst when casting magic.
These materials could also be used as components in magic tools.
These three minerals.
Because they were so rarely produced, they seldom appeared on the market.
When traded, they were worth anywhere from a hundred to a thousand times their weight in gold.
There were about ten kilograms of them altogether.
"We collected this much with only a little work. There's still plenty left... but selling it might crash the market."
That was Gutt's report.
"We're not selling it! It's all mine!"
Lu was overjoyed.
To me, although the starlight stone was pretty, the other materials just looked like dirty powder, making their value difficult to judge.
Still, Lu rarely showed any material desires, yet she wanted these that badly?
"Please."
"Well, judging by their uses, there probably isn't anyone besides Lu who would use them anyway..."
Someone beside me held out a hand. I wondered who it was, and it turned out to be the Progenitor.
He abruptly wrote something on paper produced in Village One and handed it to me.
It was a list of treasures.
I looked at the Progenitor.
"One kilogram of starlight stone, four kilograms of magic iron powder, and two kilograms of black dust. Please."
He was completely serious.
Uh, I'd give you a share even without anything in exchange.
"Were there any other minerals?"
I asked Gutt.
"Those were the only three in the base that fell from Sun Castle. However, we also found iron ore and copper ore along the way."
"Iron and copper... How large are the deposits?"
"We won't know without a proper survey. Judging from the terrain, though, I wouldn't expect much."
"Really?"
"My estimate would be about two hundred tons of each."
Was two hundred tons a small amount?
Apparently, they could mine more in Good Forest Village, where Gutt and the others used to live.
Well, there was no need to rush into mining it.
If we needed iron and copper, we could just buy them from Good Forest Village anyway.
In that case, as for excavating Sun Castle's base...
I asked Lu and the Progenitor, and they said this would be enough for now.
Still, if more could be excavated, they wanted us to continue.
Continuing the excavation would require Gutt... and he said he didn't mind.
However, he wanted to make weapons and armor using magic iron powder.
Yes, permission granted.
Still, I felt bad about making him dig all the time, so we would organize excavation teams, just as we had this time.
Would they have to compete with other people coming to excavate? They had already put up signs claiming ownership?
I see. Well done.
Since they had found valuable minerals, I presented reward medals to everyone who had gone on the excavation.
The reason I was finding all sorts of reasons to hand out reward medals was a warning from the Civil Servant Girls.
This spring, as usual, I had distributed reward medals to the representatives of each race and the residents of Big Tree Village.
There was no problem with that.
Although there had been some debate over the number allotted to Village Four and the new exchange list, that was nothing unusual.
The problem was the portion I kept for myself.
Every year, I held back about a hundred medals to give out as rewards.
However, I mostly awarded them at events such as festivals and martial arts tournaments, and the girls said I gave out too few at other times.
They weren't angry at me for being stingy. Rather, reward medals were currently too valuable.
If the only ways to obtain them were the annual distribution, festivals, and martial arts tournaments, they would be difficult to acquire.
Then everyone would treasure them and avoid exchanging them.
We had introduced the reward medal system as a precursor to currency, so wasn't that a problem?
They were absolutely right.
So, starting this year, the reward medals for festivals and martial arts tournaments would be set aside separately.
These hundred reward medals would instead be given out by me personally to people who had worked hard and made significant contributions.
"Giving people proper recognition for their hard work and contributions is part of the village chief's job, too."
True.
"Understood. However, there are things I don't see. If the representatives of each race or the acting chiefs of each village know anyone who deserves a reward medal, bring them to me."
After all, I couldn't keep track of everything by myself.
What would I do if a hundred medals weren't enough?
I'd think about that when the time came.
Anyway, that was why I was making a particular effort to remember to give out rewards.
I really had given out too few before. Time for reflection.
"Village Chief."
The Civil Servant Girls approached me with serious expressions.
"Regarding the reward medals, we think the reward aspect should be a little more independent."
"What do you mean?"
"There is no problem with giving them as rewards. However, recipients might treat them as decorations of honor and not exchange them."
"Ah... true."
"Now, the martial arts tournament has trophies for the winners, correct?"
"Yes."
"How about preparing smaller versions?"
Miniature trophies.
I made a sample and displayed it in the mansion's entrance hall.
"Is this Mr. Kuro?"
Since this wasn't for a festival or martial arts tournament, I had struggled a little with the trophy's design.
A cup or tower might have been fine, but Kuro happened to be right in front of me, so I used him as the model.
Kuro stood majestically, with a sign at his feet.
The plan was to engrave the contributor's name on the sign.
"Will the Mr. Kuro part be replaced with the appearance of the recipient's race?"
I had given them unnecessary expectations. Uh, if that was what everyone wanted, I'd do it...
Incidentally, the first recipient of a miniature trophy was Zabuton.
It was for her work making Big Tree Village's flag.
The flag had a green background, with a large tree woven in gold thread at its center.
It felt a little ostentatious, but the villagers confidently assured me it was fine, so we adopted it as it was.
Zabuton carried her miniature trophy around the village, then placed it beside the sample Kuro trophy in the entrance hall as a decoration.
With the first recipient doing that, future miniature trophies would probably all end up here.
I'd consider adding more cabinets.
At present, Kuro was working hard to turn the sample trophy into a real one.
His efforts were good, but I still hoped he wouldn't take any risks.
The miniature trophies needed
Having too much value was a problem too.
I should award them for simple achievements.
Otherwise...
I looked to my side.
The villagers were extremely excited, most noticeably the High Elves considering remodeling my house.
Yes, I needed to hit the brakes before they went too far.
Anyway, I would start by awarding them to the Mountain Elves who had built the prototype hot-air balloon, the Oni Race maids who had turned dungeon potatoes into konjac, and Gutt and the others who had worked hard mining.
I hoped everyone understood that groups could receive miniature trophies too, not just individuals.
The flag of Big Tree Village hung on the wall of the mansion's main hall.
Zabuton's children helped dust it when they cleaned the hall.
I would have to give flags to the other villages sometime too.
Huh? They were already ready?
Just what I would expect from Zabuton.
Then let's go hand them out.
7 The pigs of Village One
There was a problem in Village One.
Apparently, a dispute had broken out over eating pork.
"No, I absolutely won't let you strangle Piggy!"
"Look at those clear eyes! Don't you think it's strange to even think about eating this pig?"
"We're already family!"
"Unfortunately, pigs are food."
"We told you so many times not to name them..."
"Hurry up and hand it over."
Most of the men were against eating them, while the women were in favor.
Emotionally, I was against it.
The pigs probably understood that the men were protecting them, because they refused to leave their sides.
"We do have plenty of food, after all. I can understand thinking there's no need to go out of our way to slaughter the pigs..."
Mam, a beastkin, explained the situation to me, looking troubled.
"They have plenty of uses besides meat, don't they?"
"The materials from the monsters we hunt in the forest are better quality."
"I see. But if we don't eat them, the pigs will just consume food."
We could expect milk from goats and cows, and chickens laid eggs.
Horses could provide transportation and labor.
Considering how quickly pigs reproduced, they probably weren't very suitable as pets.
If the pigs couldn't prove useful... hmm.
Well, we could probably hold off on eating them for now.
"Are you sure?"
Mam looked serious when she heard my decision.
"Until we have a food shortage."
"Pigs have several litters a year, you know. Won't their numbers get out of hand in a few years?"
"I know. We'll discuss it then."
Honestly, I was simply putting it off, but I needed time to make up my mind.
Later, we decided to build more pigsties, but...
Most of the piglets that were born went to Village Two and Village Three.
"Food is important, after all."
"We can't get by just doting on them."
Village Two and Village Three were angry about how I had handled the pigs.
They seemed to be treating the pigs properly as livestock. How dependable.
Then I reflected on my actions.
But it wasn't a decision I could make so easily. I knew that.
I would slowly come to accept reality along with the men of Village One.
One of the dishes at dinner that day was fried pork, purchased from Michael.
It was delicious.
My thoughts and my stomach were separate.
As I drank my after-dinner tea, I thought about how selfish I was.
8 Hot-air balloon
The spaces for raising livestock in Village One, Village Two, and Village Three had expanded.
That was because the livestock born in each village had grown to a certain size.
Village One had pigs and chickens.
Village Two and Village Three raised cows, pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens.
Sun Castle-Village Four-also had plans to raise livestock, but they had stalled because no one knew how to care for them.
The current plan was to have several demons and succubi move to Big Tree Village to learn how to raise livestock.
"We have so few cows and horses that we need to bring in breeding stock from outside."
That was what the Beastmen girls in charge of caring for the livestock in Big Tree Village told me.
Apparently, in ordinary villages, people took their livestock to other villages to breed them, or provided breeding services for others.
"Moving them around is a hassle."
Would I have to buy more from Michael?
Moving them would still be a hassle, but if we bought them, it would only be a one-way trip.
I would wait for a time when Hakuren or Rasuti was available.
As for transporting them by hot-air balloon... that would be dangerous if the animals wouldn't stay still.
The hot-air balloon.
Since Zabuton had quickly finished making the large bag for it, we had completed a hot-air balloon that could carry four adults.
The bag was a simple sphere. We filled it with air, then heated it with a magic tool to make it fly.
We could adjust the heat by operating the magic tool, so ascending and descending were no problem.
The problem was direction. At present, it depended entirely on the wind.
If we hadn't tethered it to the ground with a rope Zabuton had made, there was no telling where it would fly.
Couldn't we steer a hot-air balloon? Was that impossible? Probably.
Adding propulsion and a rudder to steer it would make it an airship.
In other words, we still couldn't use it to reach Sun Castle.
Why hadn't I noticed that when we were making the prototype?!
No, it wasn't over yet!
What could I do to make this hot-air balloon move the way I wanted?
Yes, adding propulsion and a rudder to turn it into an airship was probably the best answer.
Would we have to rely on a magic tool for propulsion too?
Spinning a propeller to provide thrust was probably the best option.
I made a prototype propeller and consulted Lu.
"A device that spins this to generate wind? That should be possible, but... are you going to blow wind at the balloon?"
"Huh? No, I'm going to attach it to the part people ride in."
"Hmm?"
Lu was skeptical of my explanation of the propeller.
In the end, I made something like a prototype fan and experimented with it.
When placed on the floor, it only generated wind.
But when I mounted it on a wheeled cart...
"The cart moved."
Lu was surprised.
This was basic action and reaction, right?
Wasn't it something you experienced in everyday life?
Lu brought Flora and Tia over and showed them the fan mounted on the cart.
"Huh? What kind of magic is this?"
"A wind spirit's prank?"
Flora was one thing, but Tia shouldn't have been surprised, should she?
She could fly, after all.
This was the most basic of basics, and her wings moved, didn't they?
"My wings are controlled by magic. I don't use them like a bird does."
I see.
Was science underdeveloped because magic was so advanced?
Their surprise at seeing a fan mounted on a cart surprised me instead.
They understood the hot-air balloon, right?
"Isn't it obvious that warm air rises?"
"That's a basic principle of magical studies."
"Though I never imagined using that method to lift things."
Maybe they weren't bad at science; their areas of expertise were simply different.
Look over here.
Everyone, press your palms together and line up your fingers too... then shift all your fingers except your ring fingers slightly out of alignment and clasp your hands tightly.
Hold a copper coin between your ring fingers.
Try moving your ring fingers apart to drop the coin while keeping your hands clasped.
"What's so hard about... huh?"
"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"They... they won't move!"
I see.
They weren't very good at this sort of thing either.
That reassured me a little.
"Magic? Is it magic?"
"No, could it be hypnosis?"
"It feels like this isn't my own body."
Don't force it.
It was simply difficult to move your ring fingers while your middle fingers were bent.
Anyway, Lu managed to make the magic tool that spun the propeller.
With that, we no longer needed to rely on the wind to move.
Next came the question of steering.
A rudder would probably have been best, but I prepared two magic tools that spun propellers and mounted one on either side of the hot-air balloon's basket, facing the same direction.
By switching the left and right propellers on and off, we could turn left and right.
Structural strength? No problem.
Weight? We solved that by reducing the capacity from four people to two.
Now, time for a test!
We drew lots to select two of the Mountain Elves who volunteered.
Come on, time to soar through the sky!
...But before that.
For safety, I required the two Mountain Elves riding in it to equip parachutes.
I also had Gran Maria and the others who could fly circle around it.
All right, off you go
!
At present, the basket hung beneath the spherical balloon, and the occupants operated a magic tool there to heat the air.
We had attached propellers to the left and right sides of the basket to provide thrust, but...
I had imagined the hot-air balloon moving forward while veering left and right; in reality, only the basket moved forward, tilting severely.
The balloon at the top showed no sign of moving forward at all.
Worse, the basket was tilting so badly that the flames from the magic tool used to heat the air were touching the balloon. It looked dangerous.
We stopped the test.
If the horizontal thrust relative to the buoyancy acted only on the basket, it threw off the balance.
Thinking about it, airships had their propellers mounted on the balloon section, too.
We shouldn't have tried to modify a hot-air balloon.
We had to think of it as an airship.
In that case...
We would need a frame to mount the propellers on the balloon section. That would add weight.
Which meant the balloon would have to be very large.
But considering how much air our current magic tools could heat... wouldn't that be difficult?
Most airships used gas rather than hot air.
Helium, if I remembered correctly.
I had no idea how to make it.
In that case... hydrogen? No, no, it would explode. Too dangerous.
Hmm...
Then... we would either need an ultralight material for the frame holding the propellers, or we would have to find a substitute for helium.
And so, development of the hot-air balloon and airship was put on hold.
What a shame.
Don't cry, Mountain Elves. I was frustrated, too.
We removed the propellers from the hot-air balloon, restored its four-person capacity, and used it to enjoy the skies.
If the wind was right, we might even be able to fly to Good Forest Village or Doraim's nest.
It shouldn't be completely useless.
Though for now, we would still have to rely on people who could fly to travel to and from Sun Castle.
"Would you like us to guide the hot-air balloon from our end?"
That was what Gulf of Sun Castle suggested.
Apparently, once it rose to a certain height, they could pull it from Sun Castle.
E-even supposing that worked for the trip there, what about the trip back?
"The return trip won't be a problem, either. We can guide it steadily to the skies above the village."
W-well, if he was going that far, we might as well give it a try.
We floated to Sun Castle in the hot-air balloon...
Then floated from Sun Castle to Big Tree Village...
We could travel now.
I looked into the eyes of the Mountain Elves beside me.
We would finish the airship, no matter what.
Of course.
I nodded firmly.
But...
For now, we would mass-produce hot-air balloons.
At least three, including spares. Ideally, five. Let's do our best.