The Liebus Region, located in the eastern part of the Celuroa Kingdom, was a territory dominated by rocky highlands.
Its primary product was sheepa wool.
The residents paid this wool to their respective villages and towns as tax, which was then passed on to the state. In the technologically advanced Celuroa Kingdom, this wool was spun into yarn and woven into fine textiles.
During the reign of the former King of Celuroa, Richard Valois de Celuroa, the populace was crushed under the weight of exorbitant taxes. In several villages, those who could not pay their dues were forced to surrender their women and children instead.
Lario Village, the former home of a girl named Rita and her companions, had been one such place before Fritz rescued them.
Fortunately, they had been saved by Jin and were now being cared for in Kaina Village until the food and economic situation in their homeland stabilized—specifically, until around the end of May or the beginning of June.
In the meantime, the girls received a basic education, starting with reading and writing. They were also undergoing training and studies suited to their individual aptitudes, such as agriculture or culinary arts.
Whether they were orphans or still had families to return to, the girls heartfully enjoyed their life in Kaina Village and worked diligently to build a foundation for their futures. The villagers watched over them, sometimes with kindness and other times with strict guidance, and as the days passed, they gradually became part of the community.
As spring drew to a close, they would be faced with a choice: return to their homeland or remain here. However, that day was still more than two months away. For now, they simply focused on living each day to the best of their abilities.
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The eldest of the girls was named Sonia.
Sonia was currently studying the art of dyeing at Nidou. Her interest had been piqued by a book she found in the library.
Having mastered basic reading and writing in about a month, Sonia spent every spare moment in the library. She would examine the illustrations in books she couldn't yet read and diligently pore over those she could, exploring the collection one volume at a time.
Among them, she had discovered a book on plant-based dyeing.
Back at the orphanage where he grew up on Earth, Jin had once experimented with plant dyes alongside the younger children. Laojun had later compiled that knowledge into a book.
"…Wool takes dye so easily," Sonia murmured to herself. "If we could dye sheepa wool into many different colors, our village might become much more prosperous."
One of the simplest forms of dyeing was the brown spectrum.
While Jin had once used loquat leaves to produce brown, Sonia tried using the leaves of the peruhya, or the tea tree.
The process was straightforward: chop the fresh leaves, boil them in a pot for the extraction of the pigment, strain the liquid, soak the wool in the resulting dye, and boil it once more.
When she consulted the Golem Maids stationed at Nidou, they managed to procure the wool she needed for her experiments from their stores. Thus, Sonia worked day and night to produce various colors using the flora around her.
Unfortunately, she was not yet aware of the process of mordanting, so the vibrancy and colorfastness of her work were not quite perfect. Even so, her method was far more durable than the traditional technique of using squeezed flower juice, making it a revolutionary advancement.
Depending on the type of leaf used, the shades of brown varied—some were reddish, some yellowish, and some almost black. She also discovered that using mushrooms could produce surprisingly vivid colors.
So far, she had found that a mushroom called isutake—resembling the bracket fungus found on Earth—produced a yellowish-brown dye. The leaves of the peruhya tree produced brown, while the leaves of the shineria produced a reddish-brown. Each of these dyes proved to be at a practical, usable level.
"If I can bring this knowledge back to the village, we’ll surely become a little wealthier…"
Clinging to that hope, Sonia continued her experiments with various dyes day and night.
As payment for the wool she used, Sonia reported all of her results—including the failures—to the Golem Maids, who then relayed the data to Laojun.
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"…And this is the heart. Its job is to pump blood throughout the body."
"Oh, it's closer to the center than I thought, Teacher."
"That's right. Because people can feel the heartbeat on the left side of their chest, they often assume it's located there, but the heart is actually positioned just slightly to the left of the center."
Lou, the youngest of the girls, was studying the healing arts under Sally Mileshann. Currently, she was receiving a lecture on anatomy.
Lou had originally been interested in medicinal herbs. While she was looking at books in the library—staring at the illustrations since she couldn't yet read—she happened to meet Sally, who was looking for reference materials. Sally had taken a liking to her, and Lou began visiting her frequently to seek her guidance.
Because Lou was an orphan, Sally had consulted with her husband, the Village Chief Giebeck, and they had officially adopted her.
Despite this, Lou still seemed unable to shed her formal manner of speaking. Nevertheless, she felt a profound happiness in spending her days as part of a family.
Sally and Giebeck felt the same way.
I hope she’ll call me 'Mother' instead of 'Teacher' someday, Sally thought.
She had no way of knowing that Lou was thinking the exact same thing: …Mother. I want to be able to say it out loud soon…
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"Sheepa hate damp places, so if you build a shed, make sure it has plenty of ventilation. Also, it’s good to provide shade for the lambs. Oh, and don't forget the salt…"
The one providing these explanations to Rick was Kana. She was also an orphan and possessed a wealth of knowledge from her time helping to raise sheepa.
Kaina Village had expanded its ranch this year and started keeping sheepa for wool production. However, sheepa were quite different to handle than the capri they had raised previously, and Rick had been struggling until she offered her assistance.
"They look gentle, but they're surprisingly temperamental. In that regard, capri are much more docile."
Kana mentioned that when kept in a flock, sheepa tended to develop a competitive spirit. If Jin were to see them, he would likely have called the capri goats and the sheepa sheep.
"Yeah, it’s really helpful to learn from someone who has actually raised them," Rick said. "…If possible, I wish you could stay here forever. You know, to take care of the sheepa with me and all."
"…I’d like that."
"…Huh?"
Even though he was the one who had made the suggestion, Rick was stunned when he actually received the answer he wanted.
In contrast, Kana walked straight up to Rick, her face turning bright red.
"…W-Well, say something!" she stammered, lightly bumping her forehead against his chest.
"…K-Kana. Kana."
"…What is it?"
When Kana looked up at the sound of her name, she saw Rick's face, which was just as red as her own.
"…I-I'll definitely make you happy!"
Rick said nothing more and pulled Kana into a tight embrace.
"…Thank you."
For Rick, at the age of twenty-eight, spring had finally arrived.
The only witnesses to the scene were the ten sheepa.
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"…Like this, Ma'am?"
"No. Pull your right foot back more. Spread your left hand a bit further to the side."
Mine was personally providing Rita with intensive maid training.
Rita spent her days studying to become what would be considered a housemaid on modern-day Earth. It was a daunting task to master the full range of duties in the short span of about two months, but Rita was driven by an immense amount of motivation.
Her curriculum included reading, writing, arithmetic, and etiquette, as well as cooking, laundry, and general housework. Since this education was intended to prepare her to serve Fritz, a soldier of the Shouro Empire, Mine—who had also worked in the Empire—was the ideal instructor.
(…So she wants to be a maid for Fritz-sama. If this child is okay with that, I suppose I should be as well…)
Because Mine herself had been assaulted by Elsa's father, Georg Randol—the battalion commander of the expeditionary force at the time—and had conceived Elsa, she couldn't bring herself to support the idea of serving a soldier wholeheartedly.
Regardless, she knew that acquiring a skill was a positive thing, and there was no doubt that being a maid was a profession that provided a woman with a stable livelihood. Therefore, Mine carried out the rigorous education day and night as Rita desired.
(I personally think she would be happier working at Jin-sama's house, though.)
However, happiness took many forms. One never knew what path would lead to ultimate fulfillment.
"No, that won't do. If you measure like that, the flavor will change every time. Look, when you use a spoon, you have to level it off like this."
Mine, who even went as far as teaching Shouro Empire-style seasoning, was a perfectionist in her own right.
"Yes, Teacher!"
And Rita, for her part, rose to meet that strict guidance with unwavering determination.
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The other girls were much the same; there was no longer any trace of the dark shadows that had once haunted them, and they spent their days in apparent happiness.
As spring visited Kaina Village, the days continued to pass in peaceful tranquility.