August 6th. Jin sent his Double into Kaina Village. Naturally, Reiko accompanied it.
"Father, please, I implore you not to leave Hourai Island," she had warned him firmly before departing. Furthermore, Reiko had entrusted Soleil and Luna with looking after him in her absence. She was a daughter who was far too overprotective of her father.
At Nidou Castle.
Having confirmed with the Land squad on watch that nothing had changed with Sion and Lucas during the night, Jin summoned Barrow.
"Good morning, Jin-sama."
Sitting at Jin's desk in the office, the Double faced Barrow. The boy did not seem to realize he was speaking to a proxy.
"Yes, good morning. Barrow, I wanted to ask—do you have a firm grasp on the food reserves in Kaina Village?"
"Ah, yes. Please wait a moment."
Barrow pulled a file from the bookshelf.
"Mine-sensei taught me how to do this, so I’ve been keeping records of those figures here."
"I see."
Jin read the contents through the eyes of the Double.
The file listed the crop yields for Kaina Village, with all income and expenditures meticulously recorded.
"I see. The winter wheat harvested before summer came to fifteen tons. It was a bountiful harvest. Four tons of that went into the warehouse as tax."
There were other useful figures noted as well.
"The number of households in Kaina Village is currently thirty—including Rick's shop, but not counting Nidou Castle. On average, each resident consumes about 150 kilograms of wheat. With 105 residents, the annual requirement is approximately fifteen tons."
Between Jin and Elsa being in and out of the village and the count including the newborn Henry, these figures seemed about right.
"The spring wheat is also doing well. And the wheat and barley in the village warehouse are..."
Jin flipped to another page.
"Ah, here it is. The village's food inventory: four tons of wheat, four tons of barley, one ton of round beans, 200 kilograms of red-eyed peas, and 100 kilograms of black-eyed peas."
Based on the castle's reserves, the village's current stock, and the expected harvest, Jin calculated how much he could provide to Sion and her people.
"...This sort of management really isn't my forte."
He had come up with a tentative plan, but he wasn't entirely confident in its appropriateness. Therefore, Jin decided to consult with the village chief, Giebeck. He had Reiko carry the documents.
"How are Sion and Lucas doing?" Jin asked Barrow as he prepared to leave the office.
"Yes, both of them are quite energetic this morning. Sally-sensei, who just came by for their checkup, said they could return to a normal diet."
"So you served them the standard Nidou Castle breakfast?"
"Yes, exactly. This morning's menu was toast, vegetable soup, Devil's Potato salad, and citran. They ate every last bit of it."
It was a relief to hear their appetites had returned.
"And where are they now?"
"Well, sensei suggested it would be good for them to move around a bit, so Belle is acting as their guide while they take a look around the village."
"I see. Thank you, Barrow. Good work."
"Thank you, sir. If you'll excuse me."
Barrow's manners as a butler were starting to become quite polished.
Jin—via the Double—left the castle and headed toward the village. Reiko followed in silence, though she was communicating with the real Jin back on Hourai Island via her built-in manacam.
(Father, the Double is functioning perfectly. No one has noticed a thing so far. Even to my eyes, its movements are natural.)
"Is that so? I'm glad to hear it."
The Double continued toward Giebeck's house until a voice called out.
"Onii-chan!"
"Hi there, Hanna. Good morning."
The response was Jin's own voice, transmitted through the doll.
"Guess what? Haku caught a mouse!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Grandmother said it would be okay now because things have been getting chewed on lately!"
It seemed the cat-type golems were proving their worth.
"And also... Huh?"
"What's wrong, Hanna?"
Hanna, who had come running up, skidded to a halt just before the Double.
"Onii-chan... are you really Onii-chan?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"You're... somehow different than usual..."
Hanna slowly backed away, her eyes narrowing.
"Ah—so Hanna can tell, huh..."
"Eh?"
Whether it was a child's intuition or simply because Hanna was particularly sharp, she had realized this wasn't the real Jin. Seeing her looking troubled, Reiko stepped in to explain.
"Hanna-chan, this is Father's 'Double'."
"Eh? It's a doll?"
"Yes. Just like me."
"Like Reiko-oneechan..."
With that explanation, Hanna seemed to more or less accept the situation. However, the sense of wrongness clearly remained, as she refused to approach any closer.
"Where's the real Onii-chan?"
Jin answered her himself.
"Hanna, I'm at my house right now."
"Hmm..."
"I have a bit of business with the village chief, so I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, see ya!"
Hanna waved her hand and ran off. Watching her receding figure, Jin murmured softly.
"...Hanna saw right through me."
(Hanna-chan does spend a great deal of time with you, Father.)
"I suppose it can't be helped."
As they talked, they arrived at the village chief's house, where the 'Mileshann Clinic' sign stood out prominently.
"Good morning."
Jin knocked, and Giebeck came to the door.
"Oh, Jin. Good morning. If you're looking for Sally-sensei, she's out on her rounds."
"No, actually, I have a bit of a consultation for you, Chief."
"Hmm? Well, come on in."
Invited inside, Jin sat across from Giebeck at the living room table. He immediately explained the purpose of his visit, though he omitted the specific identity of the people he intended to help.
"I see, I see. So, there's a party who needs food, and you're considering selling them the village's surplus?"
"Yes. Half of the intent is humanitarian aid, so I want to provide as much as I can. I wanted to know how much would be safe to part with given the village's current state."
At Jin's signal, Reiko presented the documents. Giebeck took them and read through them meticulously, falling into deep thought before finally speaking.
"Well, last year was a bumper crop, and the first half of this year was excellent as well. Now that we're in August, the spring wheat and other crops are looking healthy. Honestly, it shouldn't be a problem to sell everything except what we need to last until the next harvest."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. The village's finances are in great shape. If it really came down to it, we could even afford to buy any shortage."
Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Of course, that's only because you mentioned this is partly for aid. If this were a purely commercial venture, I'd advise keeping at least half on hand."
"Understood. Thank you. In that case, I'll settle on this..."
Jin decided to sell two tons of wheat, two tons of barley, and a small assortment of beans.
Since nine tons of grain had already been distributed among the households, he calculated that having six tons of combined wheat and barley in the central reserve would be plenty. His reasoning was bolstered by the fact that the autumn harvest was coming up and Nidou Castle held nearly five tons of its own.
"As for transport... well, if it's you, Jin, you'll manage that easily enough."
"Yes, that's my specialty."
With the biggest concern resolved, Jin spent a little more time listening to the chief's views on food management.
"Oh, if it isn't Jin-kun. Good morning."
Just then, Sally returned from her rounds.
"Henry is growing healthy and strong. Also, I expect at least two more babies to be born within the month."
"That is wonderful news. Thank you, Sally-sensei."
"No, I haven't done anything worth mentioning. By the way, I saw those two out for a walk earlier. They seem to have recovered quite well."
"Yes, that's thanks to you as well."
"Hehe, well, let's go with that."
Sally lightly patted the shoulder of Nurse Gamma, the nurse golem acting as her assistant.
"This girl is also being a huge help. This village is a wonderful place."
"I'm happy to hear you say that. I'd certainly like for you to settle down here permanently."
"Personally, I'd like for you to stay at my house forever," Giebeck added.
Jin and Giebeck each spoke their sincere wishes to Sally, though the nuances behind their words were perhaps a little different.