1 Festival preparations and visitors
Since the Progenitor had gotten busy with his main occupation, our days of commuting (?) to and from Shashaato came to an end.
We transported as many seasonings and provisions as we could on the last trip. I hoped everyone would do their best.
Remember to ask Michael for help if anything comes up.
I left the bowling tournament to Marlon. Sorry for the trouble.
And thank you, Progenitor.
I was truly grateful to the Progenitor, so I considered making some improvements to the hot spring area for him.
Preparations for the festival had already begun in the village.
This year's events were the quiz tournament we'd held last year and cavalry battles divided by physique.
In these cavalry battles, teams were grouped by physique, with three people forming a horse while a rider on top competed to snatch the other riders' hats or headbands, like at a sports festival.
I'd originally planned to ignore differences in physique, but teams of Minotaurs were far too intimidating.
Only the Centaurs would have one-person horses instead of three-person ones.
However, their riders would be Harpies or children as a handicap.
Faced with that handicap, the Centaurs did end up protesting.
"Children are one thing, but Harpies don't have hands. How are they supposed to snatch anyone's headband?"
"They'll use their feet instead."
"Flying is forbidden, right? So they'll have to snatch someone else's hat with one foot while riding us?"
"Surely Centaurs can manage that? Huh? You can't?"
"W-we can!"
The Civil Servant Girls dealing with them did a splendid job of tricking... ahem, persuading them.
Still, this was a festival, after all.
Don't get too hung up on winning or losing.
Having fun is what matters most.
Marcus and Paula, who were staying in Shashaato, wouldn't be attending the festival.
I'd asked them while I was traveling back and forth.
I'd asked whether they wanted to close the shop temporarily and come back for a visit.
However, both said they wanted to keep the shop open.
They seemed to have found enjoyment in it.
I'd originally intended to rotate people through, but if they wanted to stay, perhaps leaving the Shashaato shop in their hands was an option.
Still, it wouldn't be right to decide that on my own.
I'd discuss it with them before making a decision.
Also, Marcus and Paula, remember to take a day off yourselves after every six days of work.
As the day of the festival approached, four Lamia and four Giants came to visit.
Had they adjusted their numbers to participate in the cavalry battles?
One person and one animal accompanied the Giants.
A Death Knight and a lion.
The Death Knight was riding the lion.
He was the lion father from the hot spring area.
He'd brought the Death Knight because the Death Knight would get lost on his own? I see.
Come to think of it, I remembered the Death Knight had no sense of direction.
The lion said he'd delivered the Death Knight to the entrance of the Giants' labyrinth, but the Death Knight had wandered off and gotten lost before even entering, so he'd accompanied him all the way here.
Good work. Have some monster meat as a reward. Sorry, but I'm counting on you for the return trip too.
Were the cubs doing well? Let me pet them sometime.
The Demon King came with Beezel, Randann, and Yuri.
Glatts and Hou apparently couldn't get away from work, so they wouldn't be attending.
The main topic of conversation was Shashaato's great roof.
After word of Shashaato's great roof spread, it had apparently attracted quite a few people who came to study it.
The more impatient territories had quickly begun copying it.
However, things weren't going very well.
First, no shops were willing to move in.
Even when there were enough shops, they didn't attract as many customers as expected.
That made sense to me.
Gathering food establishments in one place should attract a certain number of customers.
People would know they could get something to eat there.
However, this world's cooking techniques weren't advanced enough yet.
Lu and Tia had mentioned it before, and walking through Shashaato's streets had brought it home to me again.
Basically, people here either grilled or boiled their food.
Every shop served similar dishes. To me, there wasn't much difference.
And the flavors were bland.
Shashaato had a seaport, so seafood was plentiful, and neighboring villages supplied beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and other meats, allowing shops to compete through the variety of their grilled and stewed dishes... places that couldn't do that would have a hard time.
Besides, not having a shop that could draw customers, like the curry shop Mara, was another problem.
Recruiting restaurants under those circumstances would only leave customers eating at their nearby eateries.
Copying the system didn't mean everything would go smoothly.
It was the same as revitalizing a village.
Even if you copied a place that had already succeeded, that didn't mean you'd succeed yourself.
You had to take measures suited to the local area.
I'd started sounding preachy. Time for some reflection.
But I didn't want this to throw other towns into confusion.
Nor did I want to invite unwarranted resentment.
Of course, I'd told the Demon King and the others all this, but I ought to mention it to Michael too.
It would have been nice if he were attending this festival, but things seemed busy over there.
Still, some of that work was stuff I'd dumped on him... I was really sorry.
There was also that Albatross family's heir.
Apparently, he was working diligently at the church.
I'd heard he hadn't been very serious at first, but after a friend of his visited the church and took the lead in working, he'd turned over a new leaf.
With a friend like that, surely he wouldn't have done something like that? Asking for details revealed that they'd originally just been drinking buddies, but the friend had reformed first and fallen out with the Albatross family's heir.
That friend had already declared he was cutting ties, but hearing that the Albatross family's heir had been entrusted to the church had left him restless...
Though the friend hadn't moved in, he frequently visited the church.
Randann told me this.
"You certainly know a lot. Did you investigate?"
"That friend is the son of Shashaato's governor."
I see.
I'd heard from quite a few people that Shashaato's governor was very capable.
He'd even managed to straighten out a son who'd gone astray? Impressive.
No, if he were truly impressive, he'd have acted before his son went astray.
Even so, it was quite an accomplishment.
Although I believed Alfred and the others wouldn't go astray, that was still a matter for the future.
I had to remember to maintain good communication with my children.
Reunited with Frau and the Civil Servant Girls, Yuri was happily drinking tea.
"How much were you involved in that business in Shashaato?"
"Only managing ingredients, at most. We had absolutely nothing to do with running it... I'm very sorry."
"I see. That makes things difficult."
"Has something happened?"
"You ask whether something happened... you do know what this village chief did in Shashaato, don't you?"
"Yes, he opened a shop, right? According to the village chief, it was bigger than he'd originally expected, which surprised him."
"It surprised him... and that's all?"
"Well, he is the village chief."
"I suppose that's true... anyway, I'd like some information too. I don't have sources like Father and the others."
"Why not simply ask the village chief?"
"I suppose that's true, but I have nothing to offer as payment."
"Don't worry. Just dress up in something entertaining, and he'll tell you right away. Get things ready."
"Something entertaining? Huh? Huh? What are you talking about?"
Well, I'd tell her without any entertaining outfit.
But I was a little curious about what she'd wear, so I kept quiet.
Wolf pajamas, huh.
They were more cute than entertaining.
Though she seemed to like them surprisingly well...
Wouldn't she be mistaken for a monster walking around outside like that?
From the front, perhaps not, but from behind, she looked like a wolf standing upright.
Oh, that pose was cute. All right, all right, ask whatever you want. I'd tell her.
After the Demon King and his group, Death, Raimeiren, Doraim, Grafaloon, and Giral arrived.
"Guraru, have you been well?"
"Yes."
Giral and Guraru shared a heartwarming embrace.
Death watched them.
"Hakuren, have you been well?"
"..."
"So cold. Her eyes are so cold."
What were you doing?
Beside them, Doraim and Grafaloon were doting on Rasuti.
But...
"There aren't as many of you this time."
"Yes. After that business with the Sun Castle, we're being mindful."
Death answered me.
I see.
When the Sun Castle was designed, the gathering and movement of Dragons had been included among its activation conditions
as well.
He said there might be other conditions too.
They'd gone to some trouble for us.
"Actually, Raimeiren and I should have stayed away too."
Death looked toward Raimeiren, who was doting on Hiraku Ichirou.
"But she looked so excited that I simply couldn't bring myself to say it."
I could imagine.
Well, if there were any other conditions, surely they would have been triggered already.
Don't worry too much about it.
The day of the festival arrived.
Residents from each village gradually arrived.
This year, the Demon Race, the Succubus Race, and Bell from Village Four-the Sun Castle-were participating for the first time.
Gulf was apparently staying behind to watch over the place.
This year's venue was the racetrack rather than the arena, but that had nothing to do with the cavalry battles being the festival's main event.
Tents had been set up beside the racetrack to serve food to everyone.
The camping wagon we'd made before also saw plenty of use.
It really was handy during festivals.
Maybe we should make another two or three... no, we'd only use them a few times a year anyway.
I'd discuss it with everyone later.
Hmm?
The festival was about to start, so I needed to give an opening speech?
Understood.
The quiz contest was coming up next, right?
Got it.
Then, let this year's festival begin.
2 Festival: The quiz contest and cavalry battles
First up was the quiz contest.
It was a simple true-or-false quiz using circles and crosses.
After someone read out a question, anyone who thought it was true moved to the circle area, and anyone who thought it was false moved to the cross area.
That meant anyone could participate.
Last year it had been a sideshow, but this year it became an official event.
Also, the questions would be broadly divided into categories, with the content broken down further.
There were five categories: "Everything in the village," "The world," "Crops," "Monsters," and "Dragons."
I figured that having a winner for each category would increase the number of people receiving prizes, letting us hand out Reward Medals and miniature trophies.
As for the difficulty, this time the questions would get progressively harder.
Perfect.
Winner of the "Everything in the village" category: Lu
"As long as you don't ask strange questions like last year, I won't lose."
Rather than strange, I'd say the questions had been too obscure.
Winner of the "The world" category: the Demon King
"I am the Demon King, after all. I can't lose on questions like these."
"What about Beezel and Randann, huddled over there hugging their knees?"
"Never mind them."
Winner of the "Crops" category: Frau
Impossible!
I actually lost...
"The question about shipping destinations decided the outcome."
Winner of the "Monsters" category: Zabuton
Yuki and Guraru, who had stayed in the running until the end, looked very frustrated.
"That's not the ecology I know..."
Bell got a question wrong right at the start and took it hard.
Winner of the "Dragons" category: Hiraku Ichirou
To be precise, it was Raimeiren, who was holding Hiraku Ichirou.
Yes, nobody objected.
The result was a lively atmosphere and a successful event.
But it was harder to say how well the difficulty adjustments had worked.
It felt like the winners had won too easily.
Maybe random difficulty, like last time, would be better after all.
No, should we add more categories instead?
We'd discuss it at the review meeting.
The festival's main event!
Cavalry battles.
Since the divisions were based on physique, we started with the small division.
Honestly, we weren't very strict about the size distinctions. There were individual differences and racial differences.
We first put together a horse and rider to serve as the standard, then had everyone judge whether their size was close to it.
The standard for the small division was a team of High Elves serving as both horse and rider.
In other words, ordinary size.
A team of four dwarves was a little small, but acceptable.
The Centaur and Harpy pairs also competed in this division.
There were thirty-two teams in total. Quite a lot.
Four High Elf teams.
Two lizardman teams.
Two Mountain Elf teams.
Two Oni maid teams.
Two Beastman teams.
Four dwarf teams.
Two human teams from Village One.
Six mixed Demon Race and Succubus Race teams from Sun Castle.
Six Centaur and Harpy teams.
Then there was Frau's team with the Civil Servant Girls.
And a team of the Demon King, Beezel, Randann, and Guraru.
The riders wore straw hats instead of headbands.
With headbands, someone might hurt another person's head or face while trying to snatch one, so we'd changed to straw hats during testing.
Once a straw hat left its wearer's head, that team was out.
Also, the horse could break formation, but if the rider touched the ground, the team was out.
Everyone except the riders was forbidden from attacking or obstructing other teams.
Of course, weapons weren't allowed. Bare hands only.
However, as part of the competition, horses were allowed to collide.
The field was inside the racetrack.
It was quite large, but easy to understand.
Under the rules, stepping onto the track also meant elimination.
Though the winning team would be the last one standing, captured straw hats wouldn't pass to anyone else, and Reward Medals would be awarded afterward according to the number of hats, so I hoped everyone would give it their all.
"Village Chief, who do you think has the best chance?"
The Civil Servant Girls acting as announcers asked for my opinion.
"Hmm... probably the Demon King's team."
Guraru led the horse, with Beezel and Randann behind him.
The Demon King rode on top, looking better in a straw hat than I'd expected.
"The Demon King's team? I think they'd have a better chance with Lord Guraru as the rider. But even if this is just a game, they can't exactly make the Demon King be the horse."
"True."
Besides, I felt a little sorry for Guraru, surrounded by the Demon King and two of the Four Heavenly Kings.
The Demon King had initially grabbed Jack from Village One, but when Guraru saw that, he volunteered to switch with Jack. What a good guy.
Once the teams had spread out a suitable distance apart, a whistle sounded, and the cavalry battle began.
Everyone had practiced with their teams beforehand, so nobody was at a loss.
But there wasn't much movement.
Perhaps everyone was keeping everyone else in check because they had to fight until only one team remained.
One of the dwarf teams made the first move.
"Chaaaaaarge!"
They lunged at a nearby High Elf team.
The High Elf team under attack fled toward the other teams, and everyone started moving.
"They've split into teams that attack aggressively and teams that just run away."
"The teams with plenty of stamina are attacking, while those with less are choosing to flee... ah, but the Centaur and Harpy pairs are running all over the field."
"A melee would put them at a disadvantage. They're probably trying to take advantage of the field's size."
"If the Centaurs run away, won't nobody be able to catch them?"
"...Let's shrink the field once the number of teams drops enough."
"Good idea. Then, once half the teams are left, we'll reduce the field by half."
"Please do."
On the field, the Demon King's team was surrounded.
The teams surrounding them were probably joining forces to take down a powerful opponent.
"What should we do? Break through? Or fight back?"
Guraru asked the Demon King for instructions.
Beezel answered.
"Your Majesty, there's a gap between the dwarves and High Elves on the right. Let's escape through there."
"No, if we run, we'll just get surrounded again. We should target the Oni, whose teamwork is poor."
Randann objected.
Then the Demon King objected to him in turn.
"Randann, that's a trap. Think about how the Oni maids usually work in this village. Do you really think their teamwork would be poor?"
"N-now that you mention it..."
"They certainly underestimate us. How could acting of that caliber possibly fool me, the Demon King!"
"As expected of Your Majesty."
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
As the Demon King laughed loudly, Guraru asked again.
"So, what should we do?"
"We'll go with Beezel's suggestion. Move out."
"Yes!"
With skillful movements, the Demon King's team broke through the encirclement.
Unfortunately, Frau was among the teams surrounding the Demon King.
"They broke through just as I expected. Everyone, change formation."
There was another encirclement outside the first, and the Demon King's team was defeated.
One of the dwarf teams snatched the Demon King's hat.
I'd thought the height difference would put it out of their reach, but the horse and rider made a splendid jump together.
Though they failed the landing and dropped their rider.
Then, with the Demon King defeated, the teams that had been cooperating split apart again...
It was quite a spectacle.
After a fairly long, fierce battle, a lizardman team claimed victory.
They had also collected an impressive five hats, the result of fighting and snatching one after another.
"Offense is the best defense."
The victorious lizardmen kept their formation as they circled the field, responding to the crowd's cheers.
Next came the large division.
Four Minotaur teams.
A team with Tia as rider, along with Gran Maria, Kuudel, and Corone.
A team with Lu as rider, along with Kierbit, Suuriruu, and Suurikou.
One Lamia team and one Giant team.
In addition, the lion team, with the Death Knight as rider, entered as well.
"Isn't that a bit unfair?"
The complaint came not from the other teams, but from the Centaurs who had entered the small division.
But all the other participating teams said it was fine, so there was no problem.
Nine teams competed in total.
The rules were the same as in the small division.
First, Tia's and Lu's teams joined forces.
They had probably agreed to defeat the other teams before facing each other one-on-one.
Perhaps they wanted to show off their cool side because Alfred and Tiselle were watching.
But their plans soon fell apart.
The Death Knight and the lion stood in their way.
Even working together, Lu and Tia could barely evade the Death Knight's attacks.
Nearby, the Lamias met the Giant team with perfectly coordinated movements.
The reason the Lamias could do that was probably because their lower bodies were snakes.
They slipped smoothly past the Giants' hands as they tried to snatch their hat.
The Lamias swiftly circled to the Giants' side, then extended their tails all at once to raise their rider.
Then the Lamia serving as rider extended her own tail, aiming for the Giant rider's hat.
I'd thought the Lamias would win, but instead, the Giant rider caught the Lamia rider in an embrace and snatched her hat.
"My experience fighting Bloody Vipers came in handy."
Did that mean they got stronger when something involved snakes?
The Lamia left the field in frustration.
The Minotaurs fought among themselves.
The teams of Minotaurs, standing two to three meters tall, were quite imposing.
It looked pretty entertaining.
The winners of the large-size division were the Death Knight and the lion.
They defeated Lu and Tia's teams, ambushed the surviving Minotaurs, and finally faced the Giants' team one-on-one.
The deciding factor was probably the lion's leap.
What a great match.
Next came the special division.
The Centaurs carried the Angels Kierbit, Suuriruu, Suurikou, Gran Maria, Kuudel, and Corone, along with the High Elf Ria and the Oni Race maid Ann.
Besides them, the Lamia team and the Death Knight and lion team were competing again.
Rather than the space inside the track, they used the track itself.
The race would be decided in a single lap, with an added rule that contestants did not have to steal hats: the first to reach the finish line would win.
However, that would make it easier to simply sprint at full speed from the start, so obstacles had been placed along the way-or rather, enemies who would target their hats.
The enemies were not the other teams, but the Harpies.
Once contestants entered certain areas along the course, the Harpies would swoop down from the air to snatch their hats.
This was an experimental obstacle-course version of the cavalry battle. I wondered how it would turn out.
The whistle sounded to signal the start.
They split into teams that immediately started stealing hats and teams that headed for the finish line.
Suurikou, Kuudel, Corone, and Ria headed for the finish line.
Perhaps because she had made the decision faster, Suurikou took the lead by several horse lengths.
However, the diving Harpies concentrated their attacks on her and stole her hat.
It seemed that moving as a group was more advantageous than being the first to enter an area with Harpies.
Kuudel, Corone, and Ria, who were following behind, temporarily cooperated to evade the Harpies' attacks.
Among the teams stealing hats, Kierbit and Gran Maria were evenly matched.
However, Ann and the Death Knight, who had defeated the other teams, attacked them from the side and beat them.
I thought the remaining two, Ann and the Death Knight, would face off, but instead they turned around and ran back to intercept Kuudel, Corone, and Ria, who were close to completing their lap.
I see. Since running in reverse was not forbidden, that was an option too.
However, while Ann and the Death Knight had to steal their hats, Kuudel, Corone, and Ria only had to cross the finish line to win.
How would it turn out...?
Ann stole Kuudel's hat, and the Death Knight stole Ria's.
Whether it was luck or whether she had gotten the knack of it, Corone evaded Ann and the Death Knight and reached the finish line.
She won.
Ah... the Death Knight was really dejected.
The lion was comforting him.
What a touching scene.
Ah, right.
I would take care of comforting Ann.
Last came the children's division.
The children, led by Ursa, competed on the backs of Kuro's children.
Since this was essentially playtime, I specifically reminded Kuro's descendants not to throw their riders off.
No injuries, okay?
What worried me most was that Alfred insisted on taking part.
He was still so young.
I could only pray he would not fall off his horse... or rather, wolf.
Oh, Zabuton would help keep an eye on him?
She would catch him with her threads if he was in danger? Thank you. I was counting on her.
The match began.
I had expected a heartwarming atmosphere on the field... but Ursa looked ready to go all out.
The one who could stand up to her... was Guraru.
Then there were the Beastmen boys.
Alfred, it was all right to run away.
There was no shame in running away.
Over here.
Run this way.
I supposed I could call the festival lively.
"How was it?"
I spoke to Bell, who was leisurely drinking tea.
"Quite entertaining. Especially the final event."
After the children's division ended, there was a cavalry battle open to anyone.
Death and Giral both took part, which made things quite troublesome.
Death and Giral were still somewhat reluctant to ride on "horses" formed by women, so they gathered the few men available.
The Demon King, Beezel, and Randann all participated.
Naturally, I got dragged into it too.
Honestly, it might have been fun to watch from the sidelines, but taking part myself was terrifying.
What was taking place now had become something of a tradition...? Sumo and arm wrestling.
The sumo matches between the Minotaurs and Giants were very popular.
"It has been a long time since I laughed so heartily. I hope you invite us again next year."
"I'll invite everyone every year. Gulf should be able to come next year too, right?"
"Yes, that should be fine. The others should be waking up soon too."
The others... meant Bell and Gulf's companions.
If I remembered correctly, they were dormant to conserve fuel.
"It'll probably be tough, but good luck."
"Tough?"
"Explaining the situation. A lot has changed, hasn't it?"
"Indeed. I'll do my best."
After that, Bell and I discussed the plan to grow seasoning crops in Sun Castle.
There was no need to discuss it on the day of the festival, but Bell and I were both busy, after all.
"Village chief, I'd like to take home one of the hats used in the cavalry battle as a souvenir."
Bell wanted a straw hat.
"I thought we'd only use them once, so they're pretty roughly made, you know?"
"It's a souvenir."
"If that's the case, no problem. Please take one."
The Demon King, Death, and Giral wanted them too.
Please take one.
All right, tomorrow... there would be cleaning up to do, and a review meeting.
I also needed to think about the shop in Shashaato...
Oh, right. Today was still the festival.
I did not want to sleep yet... so I decided to find someone to talk to.
A heart-to-heart on festival night
Village One.
A mixed village of Tree Elves and humans.
Farming was progressing smoothly.
The fields were not large, and they mainly grew tubers and beans.
Livestock consisted mainly of chickens and pigs, and they were still learning about the others.
There was also a bamboo grove planted near the village, so they produced a certain quantity of bamboo goods.
They had also planted plants suitable for papermaking.
If there was a problem, it was that there were still vacant houses.
I was considering continuing to bring in people from elsewhere.
The villagers also wanted to try growing mushrooms.
Black truffles in particular.
But finding mushrooms growing underground was hard work, you know?
Oh, I see. They would use
pigs to find the black truffles?
Understood.
When I had time, I would prepare a mushroom patch.
But make sure the pigs did not eat them.
Village Two.
The Minotaurs' village.
Since they had moved here from a farming village, their farming was progressing very smoothly.
They mainly grew wheat, barley, corn, cabbage, napa cabbage, and potatoes.
They had previously grown foxtail millet, barnyard millet, and proso millet, but had switched to barley and corn.
As for fruit, they had oranges, peaches, apples, pears, as well as lemons and limes.
They had expanded their fields this year and were continuing to work hard.
Their goal seemed to be self-sufficiency.
Oh, apparently they were not considering independence, but wanted to first get Village Two's production high enough to feed everyone in Village Two.
They would then exchange the surplus for crops from Big Tree Village, and only at that point would they consider themselves a village capable of standing on its own.
Their output had actually already reached that goal, but they seemed to feel it was not enough.
"Because we want to offer half our crops to you, village chief."
I appreciated the sentiment, but they should not push themselves too hard.
Their livestock consisted mainly of goats, along with small numbers of chickens, pigs, sheep, and cattle.
They were all growing well.
Minotaurs raising cattle felt a little strange, but they did not seem particularly concerned.
Since I had already eaten beef in front of them, bringing it up now seemed pointless anyway.
There were no major problems.
It looked as though the population would continue growing like this, making the village larger and larger.
I hoped everyone would keep up the good work.
Their request... was for farming tools? The tools they were using had started to show damage?
That was not a request, but a problem they were facing, wasn't it?
I would prepare them right away.
Village Three.
A village where Centaurs had gathered.
Gruwald and her group had moved in first, followed later by Baron Fuka and the others.
So I had been a little worried that strange factions might form, but there did not seem to be any problems at present.
Baron Fuka was still young and willing to listen obediently to Gruwald, which seemed to be the key.
Pairing the two of them up in the future... my apologies. They were both women.
Their farming focused on carrots, daikon radishes, eggplants, pumpkins, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. They were also working on strawberries, watermelons, and muskmelons.
Peaches were their most common fruit, followed by persimmons and oranges. They had also started growing pomegranates this year.
Their livestock consisted mainly of chickens, along with some pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle.
After preparing the fields, I had worried about how the Centaurs' physiques would handle farmwork that required bending over, but they managed it easily.
"Rather than our backs, the harder part is avoiding stepping on the crops with our hind legs as we walk."
I see.
Would it be better to take some measures? Such as increasing the spacing?
Problems... there were none at present, but because Baron Fuka's group included men, there had been a baby boom. Although it was something to be happy about, it might continue into next year.
Let us all celebrate.
Their request was... more houses.
Understood.
"Hm? You also want a running track around the village?"
"Got it. Let's build one, then."
Sun Castle, also known as Village Four.
The Demon Race, the Succubus Race, and Mercury Types such as Bell and Gulf lived here.
According to Bell, it seemed the other Mercury Types would wake up and start moving before long.
For farming, they would use the fields I had tilled, with this year's goal being to get everyone used to farmwork.
The crops were mainly daikon radishes, carrots, cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and the like.
As for fruit, I had taken it upon myself to plant tropical fruits such as papayas, mangoes, bananas, pineapples, mangosteens, and lychees.
Next year, we planned to grow seasoning crops in addition to these.
They were actually for Mara, the curry restaurant in Shashaato.
I had already discussed it with acting village chief Kuzutin, as well as Gulf and Bell, the leaders of Village Four.
I was counting on them.
The problem was... the villagers' ability to manage daily life.
They had previously stayed inside the castle to avoid monsters, and after several generations, there seemed to be gaps in their basic life skills.
The Succubus Race could clean and do laundry, but the Demon Race could not.
So the Succubus Race was currently teaching the Demon Race how to clean and do laundry.
Previously, their staple food had been dungeon potatoes, so their cooking had been limited to making soup or simply roasting them.
Gulf and Bell received energy from Sun Castle, so they did not need to cook.
In other words, even if they could obtain food from their harvests, they would not be able to cook it.
That was why most of the crops grown here could be eaten raw.
For now, the Oni Race maids and the High Elves were taking turns bringing ingredients over and teaching them to cook.
Also, although the monsters had been cleared out so everyone could leave the castle, a few people still lived inside. A few were unusually afraid of sunlight.
We would let them get used to it slowly.
There was no need to rush.
The Alcohol Slime.
It was bouncing around.
Wine was better than beer? White wine was good too, but red was best?
I see. It was hurrying me along?
I would go get some for it.
The cat.
So soothing... I hoped it would stay right there.
I picked it up and put it on my lap to pet it, and Kuro rested his chin on me too.
I would pet them both, then.
Ah... no lining up, no lining up.
There, there.
The Guttural Bees.
Thank you for supplying honey all this time.
Was there anything they needed?
They wanted some unusual fruit?
I would bring some over once the tropical fruits at Sun Castle were ready to harvest.
What else... how about watermelon? It had a lot of water in it, but it should still be pretty good.
...They were bees, yet they ate fruit?
Ah, they had been like that from the start.
I remembered Zabuton's children giving them strawberries back then.
The watermelon was not sweet enough? I thought it was plenty sweet... should I sprinkle on some salt?
Not salt, sugar would be better?
All right, all right.
I would obey Her Majesty the Queen's wishes.
The clay golem.
How had Ursa been lately?
Ah... yes, thanks for all the hard work.
My Alfred had become quite active too...
Let's both do our best.
Did it want some watermelon?
It did not need to eat?
I see. Then I would cut some first. Could it take it to Ursa and the others?
They were still awake, right?
Drinking fluids before bed was risky?
Hahaha.
True.
But Ursa... or rather, Ursa and the others...
Were heading our way.
Ursa and the others picked up some watermelon and ate it, then moved on to their next target.
Apparently, strawberries.
The Death Knight.
Yes, whenever he drank alcohol, it leaked out.
The dwarves were glaring, so he would have to make do with water.
The lions might have cubs this year too, so I was counting on him.
Come to think of it, I had thought lions lived in groups with several females around one male...
Oh well, these were flying lions, after all. I could not judge them by common sense.
Did the lions eat watermelon too?
There were still a few uncut ones... oh! They bit into them whole.
The hot spring area might be more comfortable in winter, but were they all right there in summer?
I would be going over another day to build more facilities for the Progenitor, so I could make anything they needed too.
Hm? A shelter from the rain? Would the hut not do?
Because the Death Knight and the others were already there?
They did not need to be so considerate... ah, the lions were rather large.
I would hollow out the rock another day and make them somewhere to sleep.
Giral.
...He had passed out drunk.
Nothing good came of a dragon getting drunk, you know?
I looked at Death, who had likewise collapsed beside him.
Doraim was looking after the two of them.
Raimeiren... ah, she had gone back with Hakuren to put Hiraku Ichirou to sleep.
Her grandson mattered more than her husband?
But...
Wasn't Rasuti her grandchild too?
Had she been like this when Rasuti was born too?
Back then, she had held back out of consideration for Doraim's wife.
Um... what about Seiren's daughter, Hise?
That time, she had held back out of consideration for Seiren's husband, Maxbergak.
For one thing, Maxbergak held considerable standing among the other Dragons, and for another, there had been a dragon by their side who served as a nanny.
I see.
With Hiraku Ichirou, she probably did not need to hold back much, since I would not complain and he was her own daughter's child.
Raimeiren was worried Hakuren did not know how to raise a child?
Was that so?
She was doing a good job, wasn't she?
Think back to how she had been when she first arrived in the village... ah, true.
Hakuren had been very free-spirited when she first came here.
All right, tell Raimeiren she could visit whenever she liked, as long as Hakuren did not mind.
Put it gently.
Zabuton.
Hm? On guard? Apparently not. Zabuton had her drunken children on her back. Thanks for the hard work. I would help.
Who had I not talked to yet...?
Hm?
Someone took my hand.
I looked to the side and saw Lu, her body grown larger.
"Don't you think it's about time you spent some time with me?"
At the table Lu pointed toward were Tia, Ria, Ann, and Sena too...
Do not worry.
I would not run.
We could talk all night.
So, rather than using that table, come over here.
Yes, because that table was closer to the house.
Think about it. Alfred and the others were already asleep, right?
Even on the night of a festival, making a racket would bother everyone.
Also, why was there nothing but alcohol on the table?
Do not drink too much now. Hahaha.
The night was long.
Side story: The Succubus Race
My name was Venavolna, a woman of the Succubus Race.
Many of the Succubus Race and the Demon Race had lived together in Sun Castle for about five hundred years.
Although monsters kept us from leaving the castle, it did not really feel as though we were confined.
That was probably because the Succubus Race was not very active to begin with. Yes, it certainly was not because the Succubus Race was keeping the Demon Race locked inside the castle.
Then Sun Castle, where we of the Succubus Race and the Demon Race lived, fell to a single spear.
Yes, a throw that made us submit.
Our will to fight vanished. We surrendered completely.
The spear thrower's subordinates easily dealt with the monsters that had prevented us from leaving the castle.
After all, the subordinates he sent were Dragons and Infernal Wolves, so that was only natural.
Ah, although I said Dragons, they were not ordinary dragons.
They were the Dragon Race of the Age of Gods (Ancient Dragons). A rare race with fewer than a hundred in the entire world, known as the "world's administrators" or the "world's mediators."
Normally, they should not have become anyone's subordinates. Was this how the times were changing?
Then there were the Infernal Wolves.
Why were ferocious magical beasts, a single one of which could be called a disaster, traveling in packs? And they had come riding on dragons' backs... the sight was practically a joke.
In any case, we could leave the castle now. That alone was cause for celebration.
What concerned us was what sort of person Sun Castle's new ruler would be.
We of the Succubus Race were subject to many misunderstandings because of our appearance and nature, so it would be no surprise if someone refused to allow us to exist.
The Divine Human Race had protected us in the past, but they were gone now.
The only ones who could protect us were the Demon Race, who had lived with us for so many years. Although they were stronger than us, I still hoped they would not push themselves too hard.
After all, no matter how hard the Demon Race tried, I could not imagine them defeating Dragons and Infernal Wolves.
I had worried for nothing.
Sun Castle's new ruler was very gentle.
But why had Sun Castle chosen Kuzutin of the Demon Race as its lord?
Before this, it had firmly refused to let anyone of the Demon Race become its lord, hadn't it?
In any case, Sun Castle's generous new ruler announced that we could continue living as we had before.
Thank you very much.
That aside, why was I tied up? And my companions too?
Uh, we weren't planning to rebel, you know? We'd surrendered completely. So why were you tying us up?
Launching an attack? What did you... oh, no, that wasn't it. My companions and I only wanted to express our gratitude to the new ruler of Sun Castle. That wasn't an attack. We just wanted to give him a pleasant dream.
We of the Succubus Race could make members of the opposite sex dream.
Any kind of dream, pleasant dreams and nightmares alike.
So when we attacked enemies, we gave them nightmares, and when we expressed our gratitude to friends, we gave them pleasant dreams.
Huh? Since you didn't know what sort of dream it would be, you couldn't let us do anything dangerous? That wasn't fair!
While we were at a loss, the new ruler of Sun Castle forgave us.
He even released us.
Ah, how generous.
Huh? Because we looked suggestive tied up? I wasn't quite sure what you meant.
Our clothes? Because of our racial traits, we didn't wear very much... understood.
We would put on another layer right away. Ah, another one? U-understood.
So, when should we go to the bedroom and wait?
There was no need?
Um, sorry. Could you say that again?
It seemed I hadn't misheard.
Whaaaaat?! Did that mean you didn't need our dreams? Oh, were you worried about nightmares? If anything went wrong and we gave you a nightmare, you could execute us!
We were prepared for that!
The new ruler of Sun Castle nodded in acceptance of our enthusiasm.
However, rather than permitting us to give him dreams, he gave us an opportunity to learn about the new ruler of Sun Castle.
Simply put, he allowed the Succubus Race to observe from the room next to the new ruler of Sun Castle's bedroom.
Though I was the only one there, representing the entire Succubus Race.
So reality could be even more outrageous than dreams.
I was truly very sorry.
To think we had wanted you to deal with someone even in your dreams.
Yes, please sleep soundly, so soundly that you wouldn't even dream.
You had already worked so hard!
Also, I offered the new ruler of Sun Castle my utmost respect. Ah, just ordinary respect. Not a dream.
Side story: The target-shooting stall
My name was Bowie, and I was ten.
I was the second son of a small family. My father was an apprentice merchant, and my mother worked at an inn.
With a family background like that, I didn't get much pocket money.
At best, after helping out at the nearby shops for ten days straight, I could just about earn one medium copper coin.
Though, well, helping out only meant fetching water and looking after children.
Then my life took a turn.
A large shop opened in town, with a target-shooting stall in one corner.
It was a place where you played by shooting at targets with a toy bow and arrows.
It wasn't just a place to play. If you hit the targets and scored points, you could win prizes.
An attempt cost one medium copper coin.
You got three arrows, so you could shoot three times, but the prize depended on your total score, so you couldn't waste a single arrow.
The targets had pictures of monsters on them. They were a little scary.
Although any hit earned points, weak spots like the eyes and mouth were worth more.
If you wanted a good prize, you had to aim for those spots.
But even though you had to aim for them, doing so wasn't that easy.
Because the targets moved.
The targets seemed to move through some sort of mechanism, so there was a pattern, but even after watching them for a long time, I couldn't figure it out. Still, there were some distinctive traits.
The mechanism that moved the targets was operated by hand.
Someone turned a strange, large wheel, and the rhythm of their turns had distinctive traits.
Of course, the same person wasn't in charge every day. But after watching for a long time, I had completely figured out the rhythms of a few people.
If I just played when those people were in charge... heh heh heh.
I played about once every ten days and took home prizes worth more than one medium copper coin.
The prizes I'd won so far included a "free extra topping voucher," a "free curry voucher," a "short sword," a "small shield," "twenty candles," a "torch," "five bundles of firewood," and "five medium copper coins."
The "free extra topping voucher" was useless unless you ordered curry, so I sold it to people waiting in line at the curry shop Mara.
The most expensive extra topping cost ten medium copper coins, so I could usually sell the voucher for two or three medium copper coins.
When I first got a "free curry voucher," I ate the curry myself instead of selling it, because I'd been interested in it for a while. It tasted just as good as I'd expected, which made me really regret it. There was too big a difference between it and the food we ate at home.
After that, I sold the "free curry vouchers" too. They fetched three or four medium copper coins.
The "short sword" and "small shield" became my treasures. Maybe becoming an adventurer in the future wouldn't be so bad.
I gave the "twenty candles," "torch," and "five bundles of firewood" to my parents. They were quite happy, so I hoped I could bring home more.
The "five medium copper coins" made me happiest. It meant I got back five times the cost of playing.
Unfortunately, those weren't the highest-tier prizes.
There were lots of other kinds, including "ten medium copper coins," "twenty medium copper coins," a "luxury inn lodging voucher," "pretty clothes," a "cool hat," and a "bowling priority voucher."
But getting those prizes required a very high score.
To get a score like that, simply aiming
at the ordinary targets wouldn't do. You had to aim for the targets hidden in the back that were hard to hit.
I tried once and couldn't manage it at all.
Just figuring out the distinctive rhythm wasn't enough. You needed overwhelming skill.
I wasn't up to it yet. I had to know my limits and stick to what I could do.
That was enough.
A few days later.
The mechanism that moved the targets was switched from manual operation to a magic tool.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
I screamed in the shop.
Ah, no, it was nothing. I was just a little shocked.
Anyway, calm down first. Stay calm and observe the magic tool.
Great, there was nothing distinctive about its rhythm.
This was trouble. What should I do? I couldn't even play if I couldn't figure out the rhythm.
Ugh... retreat.
So I went home and took out the prize I'd won last time, a "target-shooting bow and arrow set."
So I was supposed to practice with this.
All right, I'd aim for the most valuable prize and give it my best!
My name was Bowie.
The man who would one day become a famous master archer.