The departures of Urza, Alfred, and Lana left the village feeling somewhat lonely. Even so, we had to keep working to maintain our daily lives.
I say we had to work, but Lu refused to let me go. I suppose it was because Alfred was gone. Usually, she acted like it was no big deal, but I guess she was more affected than she let on.
Now, I didn't mind Lu clinging to me and refusing to leave my side, but I really wished she would have opted for a more romantic approach rather than wrapping me up in what felt like pro-wrestling submissions. My joints actually hurt quite a bit.
It took several days before Lu finally released me. As soon as she did, Hakuren took her place. Well, Hakuren was also lonely now that Urza was gone, so I didn't mind. However, I really had to ask her to stop with the wrestling holds as well...
I spent a few days glued to Hakuren. Once she finally let go, Zabuton was next. That made sense; Zabuton must have been lonely too. I understood completely. I told her I would model as many outfits as she wanted. Since Zabuton didn't put me in any painful holds, it was a much more pleasant experience, though I did have to change clothes about fifty times over the course of three days.
As for the gazes from Tia, Ria, Ann, and the others watching me from the shadows... I decided it was best to ignore them.
About twenty days after Lana and Urza left, Dos and Giral finally returned to their usual selves. The work that had been stagnating began to move quite rapidly, much to the satisfaction of their subordinates. A few of them even muttered that they hoped Lana would visit again, only to be immediately glared at by Dos and Giral.
Furthermore, Dos and Giral held a meeting to discuss countermeasures against Lana. Even Raimeiren and Guronde participated. I personally didn't think they needed to fear Lana that much, but I at least made sure they were supplied with tea.
The Fairy Queen also began showing her face again. It seemed she had been avoiding Lana.
"We had a bit of a... history a long time ago," she explained. "It’s just awkward to see her."
I told her I didn't think she needed to worry about it, but she shook her head.
"She looks mild-mannered, but when she goes on a rampage, she really goes on a rampage."
"That much?" I asked.
"There are stories about her shattering a star or sinking an entire continent."
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"You're probably right. Regarding the star, she apparently just shot down a massive meteorite. And as for the continent, it was only part of one, not the whole thing."
Still...
"At any rate, don't let your guard down around her," she warned.
I promised to keep that in mind.
As for the airship that had transported Urza to Village Five, once it was decided that Urza would travel via Lana's teleportation magic, I sent word for the crew to proceed to the new town Urza is building. Therefore, I didn't have to worry about the airship anymore.
What I was worried about was the Village Five Council.
As a countermeasure against the "Lana threat," they had set up defenses and conducted wartime training and evacuation drills. Then, as if seizing the opportunity, they had even designated an enemy role to conduct a full-scale defense drill. As a result, the council members were now holding their heads in distress, having reaffirmed just how fragile Village Five's defenses actually were.
"There are no issues with the evacuation of residents or our food stockpiles," one councilor noted. "However, the lack of defensive walls is, as expected, a major concern..."
"If we build walls, the town won't be able to expand," another countered.
"There's also the issue of sunlight."
"But what will we do if we are embroiled in a war in the future?"
"We have no choice but to stop them before they approach the village."
"Should we build a fortress somewhere along the Village Five Road or the Village Five New Road?"
"That would be fine during wartime, but it would hinder distribution during peacetime."
"Shouldn't we strengthen our cooperation with Shashato City?"
"We can leave the west to Shashato City. The problem is the east. There are limits to what we can expect from the Elf Village."
"The scouts on the ground suggest building defense bases inside the eastern forest," a councilor reported. "Some meant to be conspicuous, others hidden."
"The construction estimates submitted with those opinions are astronomical... though with Village Five's current finances, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Wait. Even if we build these bases, where will the soldiers come from? We don't even have enough to protect Village Five's entire area as it is."
"Didn't a large number of volunteer soldiers gather during the wartime training?"
"Please do not equate professional soldiers who train daily with untrained volunteer soldiers. Volunteers can only be used for the immediate defense of the town itself."
"We cannot factor volunteer soldiers into the design phase. We must prepare a defense plan that can be managed by regular soldiers."
"That's true, but..."
"In this latest drill, the units judged beneficial to our defense were the Security Team, the units from the Shrine, and... the Angel Race."
"The Security Team performed as well as expected."
"As for the units from the Shrine... they didn't coordinate well with the others, but they are well-suited for guerrilla tactics."
"So they serve to harass the enemy. Can we count on the Angel Race as a military force?"
"I believe the victory judgment for the defense side was only issued because the Angel Race effectively commanded units across various locations."
"In other words, Village Five lacks intermediate commanders."
"We lack lower-level ones as well. Until we can fill those ranks, I want to ensure we have the continued cooperation of the Angel Race."
The Village Council engaged in a series of heated discussions. Once the meetings were over, the councilors went to gather opinions from those in the field, then met again to refine the defense plan.
Yoko returned to her office from one such meeting and sighed.
"If I, Niz, Echid, and the people from the Art Museum stepped out, we could handle most standard enemies. Even so, we are no match for that Lananon..."
Her secretary, Messer, offered a stern correction.
"Yoko-sama. Defensive power that relies on specific individuals is unstable. Defense should be carried out by an organization."
"Ah, you're right. My apologies. Let’s focus on organizational defense."
I suppose I was also in the wrong for thinking we could just ask Hakuren, Rusty, or Draim if things ever got truly desperate.
By the way, I wondered how Roku, the Village Five's Civil Official Representative, evaluated the defense drill. Since Roku was in Yoko's office, I decided to ask him.
"I'm just glad it ended without any major trouble," he replied.
Apparently, so many volunteer soldiers had gathered that managing the logistics had been a massive ordeal.
"The victory judgment for the defense side was actually graded quite leniently. If we had officially declared it a defensive failure, the residents would have become anxious."
I see. In that case, did we need to hurry and strengthen our defenses?
"No, no. A moderate pace is fine. As things stand, there isn't actually any force that would dare attack this place."
That was true, but I still felt we had to consider our defense seriously.
"We are, of course... but the truth is, we currently have excessive combat power."
"Is that so?" I asked. According to the drill report, Village Five had supposedly suffered significant damage.
"That's because Master Zabuton’s children who are here in Village Five didn't participate in the drill."
Ah, I see.
"Also, the scenario was that the attackers were an elite unit of the Demon Kingdom Army."
"The assumed enemy was that strong?"
"Well, Beezel-dono and Gratz-dono were the commanders for the attacking side. I don't think those two would actually attack us in reality."
"Wait, Beezel and Gratz helped with the drill?"
"Yes. Even the Demon King participated. Though he was on the defense side."
I was confused. "Why the defense side? Shouldn't he have been an attacker?"
"He wanted to be on the attacking side, but Beezel-dono and Gratz-dono turned him down... so he volunteered as a defender instead. He spent the whole time hauling logs and building defensive fences. He apparently did a lot of the heavy lifting, but the foremen in charge of construction said having him there made things extremely awkward."
I see. Well, I'll make sure to thank him and offer a word of caution as well.
"Please do."
"Also, while we're talking... what happened to Hii, the Village Five's Military Officer Representative? I didn't hear anything about him being active in the drill."
"The opening scenario, chosen by drawing lots, was that the defense commander was killed in the initial surprise attack."
"So he didn't get to do anything?"
"Not a thing. Since Hii was the one who drew that lot himself, he couldn't even complain about it."
That was a shame, especially since it was such a rare opportunity.
"It really was. Although, every time he sees the subordinate who took over command in his stead, he’s been lecturing them about what they did wrong. 'That was no good, this was a mistake,' that sort of thing."
Hahaha, I could understand his frustration. Still, if it went on too long, maybe I should mention it to Bell?
At my suggestion, Roku let out a weary sigh, practically begging me to tell her immediately so he could finally get some peace.