The next morning, both Jin and Elsa ended up oversleeping slightly. The time was already past 7:30 AM.
"Onii-chan, it’s morning!"
Hanna had come to wake the fast-asleep Jin.
"Mm... Ah, is it that time already...?"
Jin glanced at the wall clock.
The clocks on Hourai Island were perfectly accurate, managed by Laojun, who calculated them based on the positions of the sun and moon.
"...Come to think of it, I went to bed last night without telling Reiko what time to wake me."
That was one reason Reiko hadn't woken him. The other was that she had been considerate enough to let him rest, knowing there were no matters of extreme urgency.
"Ah, I slept well."
Having enjoyed over six hours of sound sleep, his exhaustion had vanished.
"I’m going to wake up Big Sister, too!"
After waking Jin, Hanna skipped off toward Elsa’s room.
Jin dressed himself at a leisurely pace and headed for the washroom. While he was washing his face, a sleepy-eyed Elsa joined him.
"Morning, Elsa."
"...Jin-nii, good morning."
As they finished freshening up, a savory aroma drifted from the kitchen. Having realized the trio was awake, Soleil and Luna had begun preparing breakfast.
Created as Reiko’s assistants, the golems Soleil and Luna had recently been stationed at the Mansion rather than the laboratory. They handled the daily maintenance and management, including cleaning. Their subordinates, Plane and Satella, were primarily responsible for the vegetable garden and groundskeeping. When they had free time, they assisted the Five-Colored Golem Maids or worked alongside Laojun to produce new books.
"Oh, we have grated daikon this morning."
The menu consisted of morning congee, wakame miso soup, umeboshi, grated daikon, pickled leafy greens, and dried horse mackerel.
The Quinta had discovered the daikon just the other day. Jin was already hoping they might find some turnips soon as well.
The pickles were nukazuke. Now that they were harvesting their own rice, they had access to pesticide-free rice bran, allowing Perido Leader to recreate the recipe based on Jin’s fuzzy memories. Soy sauce had also begun to be supplied, though the brewing period was still a bit on the short side.
"It’s delicious."
Hanna was perfectly fine with sour foods like umeboshi. In fact, she wasn't a picky eater at all; she ate everything with joy, though she was obviously happier when the food was particularly tasty.
Jin was much the same.
As for Elsa, she only disliked the meat of a large, chicken-like bird called a kokarisk; otherwise, she was quite easy to please. However, given her noble upbringing, she would occasionally frown at something poorly made. Still, Jin found her admirable for how she remembered the hardships of her escape with Mine and never forgot to be grateful for her meals.
"Seconds, please."
In any case, since both Elsa and Hanna shared Jin’s preference for Japanese-style recipes, he found their shared meals to be a delight.
"Seconds for me, too."
The breakfast table was a scene of peaceful domesticity again today.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Well then, let’s plan to head to the Klein Kingdom after lunch."
Jin had decided that a little time adjustment wouldn't hurt.
"I’m going to drop by Kaina Village first to see how things are going. Hanna, do you want to come along?"
"Yeah!"
"What about you, Elsa?"
"I’ll go too. I’d like to speak with Sally-sensei for a bit."
Using the Warp Gate, the three teleported not to Nidou, but directly into the basement of Jin’s workshop in the village.
"Grandma!"
Hanna sprinted toward Martha. Having been away from home for so long, she had clearly been feeling lonely.
"Oh, Hanna, welcome back. Jin and Elsa, you too."
"We’re home, Martha-san."
"I'm back."
"What brings you three here today?"
"We’re heading back to the royal capital this afternoon, but since we had a little time, we thought we'd stop by."
Martha nodded understandingly.
"I see. It sounds like things are getting quite difficult in the capital."
"Is that so? That’s exactly the kind of thing I wanted to ask about."
"In that case, you’d best talk to Erik. Roland-san only just left the day before yesterday."
"Understood."
With that, the three split up for a while: Jin headed to Erik’s shop, Elsa to the Mileshann Clinic, and Hanna stayed behind with Martha.
"Ah, Jin-san!"
Barbara was helping out at Erik’s shop.
"When did you return?" Erik asked.
"Just now. I have to head back to the royal capital after lunch, though."
"To Alban?"
"Yeah. That’s why I wanted to hear whatever you could tell me about the state of affairs there."
Hearing this, Barbara silently pulled out a chair and began brewing tea. She was already performing the role of a fine young wife.
Jin sat down and prepared to listen to Erik’s report.
"...Fear of famine is beginning to grip Alban—honestly, most of the kingdom. Between the poor wheat and barley harvests and the mold that broke out during storage, estimates suggest supplies won’t last until next summer’s harvest..."
"I see. So it's as bad as I feared."
"Kaina Village and our neighbor Toka Village should be fine. Especially us. But there are rumors that the kingdom might try to levy additional grain taxes on villages like ours."
"They absolutely shouldn't do that..."
Even Jin could see the danger. Such a move would not only breed deep distrust toward the government but also destroy the incentive to work, ultimately crippling the nation's strength.
"Because of that, wealthy people around the royal capital have apparently started hoarding food."
"Looking at it objectively, when do you expect the famine to truly set in?" Jin asked, wanting a merchant's perspective.
"...Well, if you'll take my estimate... let’s see. Looking at the country as a whole, this year’s harvest was seventy percent of a normal year. Of that, twenty percent was lost to mold. That leaves only fifty-six percent. At that rate, stockpiles will run out long before spring arrives."
"...I see."
The outlook was grim. If the average person consumed 150 kilograms of grain per year, they would be short by 66 kilograms. Given that the Klein Kingdom had a population of roughly 100,000, that meant a deficit of 6,600 tons. Not even Hourai Island could produce that much food on such short notice.
Jin intended to run the numbers again once he was in Alban, but he had a sinking feeling they wouldn't look much better. He fell into a deep silence, wondering what he could possibly do to help.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...What? The King is ill?"
Elsa had gone to the Mileshann Clinic to consult with Sally.
"And you were dispatched by the Shouro Empire to treat him? I see."
Sally frowned, looking troubled.
"Experience aside, you are likely one of the finest healers in the world. I can guarantee that. If there is one piece of advice I can offer you now, it’s this: believe in yourself. Don't let the noise around you get into your head."
If she focused solely on saving her patient and gave it her all, Sally said, the results would follow.
"Sensei, thank you very much."
Elsa bowed her head in gratitude.
"Hmph. Still, this village is remarkably peaceful. We’ve had a string of babies born recently. The mothers are fine, and the infants are perfectly healthy. Recovery is going well, and everyone is nursing without issue. There isn't a single problem to be found."
A soft smile spread across Elsa’s face.
"Being able to purely rejoice at the birth of new life is a wonderful thing. I’m glad I came here."
Sally smiled as well.
Elsa looked out the window at the clear, bright sky, feeling certain that as long as Jin was there, this village would remain a sanctuary of peace.
＊ ＊ ＊
"And then, Grandma, with Shiide-chan..."
Hanna sat munching on her favorite dried Wylie as she gave Martha a full report of her travels.
(To think she's met the Empress of another country... My granddaughter has certainly become a big shot...)
Martha could only listen in a mix of disbelief and admiration.