Just as Reiko had said, Elsa was in the kitchen. Sonia, the eldest of the girls, was there with her.
"Ah, Jin-nii."
"Jin-sama."
"Hey. Is Sonia learning how to cook from you, Elsa?"
Sonia nodded.
"Yes. The breakfast we had this morning was so delicious that I asked her to teach me how to make it."
"I see. Good work, Elsa."
Jin looked over to see they were preparing porridge and stew. Elsa was focused on teaching her the proper way to handle the Devil's Potato <Devil Bulb>.
Thinking back to how Elsa used to fear them, calling them the "Devil's Potato <Devil Bulb>," Jin felt a deep sense of pride at how much she had grown.
"Elsa-sama, it’s finished! Is this alright?"
Sonia offered Elsa a spoonful of the stew to taste. Elsa took a sip and nodded.
"It’s delicious. This is perfect."
"Thank goodness...!"
Since it was right around lunchtime, it seemed they intended to feed the other girls. Jin wondered for a moment if they were okay with having the same menu as breakfast, but the girls didn't seem to mind at all.
"Ah... Sonia-nee?"
"It smells so good."
The girls who had been sleeping in the guest room had finally woken up; drawn by the aroma, they began to peek into the kitchen one by one.
"It’s almost ready, so go to the same place as this morning."
The porridge and stew were brought into the Great Hall, which had been partitioned off for their use.
"I made this myself, with Elsa-sama's help," Sonia announced, prompting voices of admiration from the other girls.
A warm, harmonious lunch followed. In the midst of the meal, Sonia spoke up to Jin.
"...Um, I know it might be forward of me to ask when you’ve already been so kind to us, but..."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"...There was one other girl who was sold alongside us."
Jin realized who she meant immediately.
"Ah, I know. A girl named Rita, right? Elsa's older brother is looking after her. He'll be bringing her here soon, so you don't have to worry."
Upon hearing that, the faces of Sonia and the others lit up.
"Is that so! I understand. Thank you so much!"
They had clearly been worried. Jin felt a pang of regret that he hadn't told them sooner.
"Listen while you eat. This evening, we’re holding a banquet in this hall. I’ll be introducing all of you to the villagers then."
"...Y-Yes."
"Also, once you’re done with lunch, I’m going to take you to the hot spring. Pick up a towel and a change of undergarments from the Golem Maids."
New undergarments made of magisilk had been prepared. Jin made sure to remind them to double-check their sizes before taking them. Since the baths inside Nidou couldn't accommodate everyone at once, he had decided to take them to the public bathhouse outside.
Even though it was winter, it was a relatively mild afternoon. Between that and their full stomachs, the girls didn't seem to feel the cold as sharply as they had that morning.
"This is the hot spring," Ruby 101, acting as their guide, said as she opened the door.
"Wow..."
The dressing room was thick with steam and felt wonderfully warm.
"Please undress here. Once you are in the bathroom, please splash yourselves with water to wash off any surface dirt before entering the bath itself."
After listening to the simple instructions, the girls headed into the water.
"Phew..."
"It’s so warm... this feels amazing..."
In their hometown of Lario Village, they had a custom of washing with water, but they didn't have the habit of taking hot baths—soaking in a tub—primarily because of the cost of fuel.
"Boiling this much water must be so much work," Sonia mused aloud.
"This is what we call a hot spring; it’s hot water that wells up naturally from deep within the earth," Ruby 101 explained.
"Eh? Really!?" Sonia gasped in surprise.
"Yes. There are very hot places deep underground. When spring water passes through those areas, it turns into hot water."
"Heh, so hot water just bubbles up from the ground..."
"I wonder if it wells up in our village too?"
The other girls listened with fascination as the conversation continued.
"You can use Rita fruit if you like, but using a little bit of this will help get you clean even better."
Ruby 101 showed them some rice bran. It was much gentler on the skin than the Rita fruit (soapberry) they were accustomed to using. Incidentally, the village was currently in the process of trial and error to see if they could manufacture rice bran soap using Kaina Village's specialty baking soda.
"Rita..."
"I wonder if she’s doing okay..."
Remembering the girl who shared the name with the fruit, a few of the girls looked momentarily crestfallen.
"She’ll be fine. That girl is actually quite sturdy in her own way."
The Rita tree grew quite large, and during the hot months, its shade served as a place for people to rest. In the autumn, the flesh of its ripened fruit was used as a detergent.
Hearing this exchange, Ruby 101 contacted Laojun via her built-in manacam. As a result, she was able to offer them further reassurance.
"Yes, she is quite safe. The man who rescued her, Fritz, is Elsa-sama's older brother. He is also a soldier of the Shouro Empire—a very reliable man."
Evening came, shortly before 5:00 PM.
The villagers had gathered in the Great Hall at Nidou.
"I heard it's a wedding reception for the Village Chief today?"
"I heard there’s going to be some kind of announcement too."
The room was a cacophony of excited chatter. Then, exactly as the Bell of Time rang five o'clock, Jin took his place on the podium.
"Thank you all for gathering here today. We’ve set this up on short notice to hold a wedding reception for Village Chief Giebeck and Sally-sensei from the clinic. Please, let's offer them our congratulations."
At that, the pair appeared from the side of the stage. Both were dressed in the fine clothing Jin had prepared. Giebeck wore an outfit primarily in black, with a design fit for a nobleman. Sally wore a white evening dress accented with lace. When Jin had suggested a pure white wedding dress, she had turned beet red and flatly refused.
"Whoo! Chief, congratulations!"
"Sally-sensei, we’re looking forward to having you around for a long time!"
Cheers erupted from every corner of the room.
Jin decided to make the other announcement now. He knew that once the drinks started flowing, he wouldn't be able to get a word in.
"And I have one more piece of news."
At a signal to Elsa, the ten girls stepped up onto the stage.
"Well, due to certain circumstances, Kaina Village will be looking after these girls for a while."
The ten girls bowed in perfect unison.
"They are from Lario Village in the Liebus Region, which is in the eastern part of the Celuroa Kingdom. It seems they suffered a poor harvest this winter, resulting in a severe food shortage. They’ll be staying here until about the end of spring."
Sonia stepped forward as their representative to greet the crowd.
"U-Um, my name is Sonia. We might be a bit of a burden, but we look forward to getting to know you all."
She bowed deeply, and the other girls followed suit. This time, sensing the gravity of the situation, no one in the crowd made any jokes.
"That’s the gist of it. Everyone, please be kind to them. They surely have wisdom and knowledge from their own lives that differs from ours. I hope you’ll let them teach you, while you help them learn the ways of our village. Let’s all get along, even if it's only for a short time."
Giebeck added his own words of support to Jin's introduction.
From there, it turned into a lively banquet.
"Congratulations, Chief!"
"I really want Sally-sensei to be happy, you know?"
Groups gathered to congratulate the newlyweds.
"Sonia-chan, you girls come over here!"
Martha called out to the hesitant girls, beckoning them over.
"You're the Big Sisters who came from far away, right?"
The naturally friendly Hanna also struck up a conversation, quickly hitting it off with the youngest of the group.
"...That’s a relief."
Watching the banquet from a short distance, Jin murmured to himself, finally feeling at ease.
"...Mm. This village, the people here... they are very wonderful."
Beside him, Elsa nodded with a gentle smile.