My name is Hiraku.
Hiraku Machio.
I serve as the Village Head of a modest village.
Recently, we decided to develop an island.
I don’t know quite what will come of it, but I intend to do the best I can.
I was treated to some of Yame's tea.
It was good.
Really good.
It tasted just like the grass teas I used to see on TV back in my previous world.
Not that I’d want to drink it every day, but maybe once a year... No, once every few years... Or perhaps whenever the memory of its flavor completely fades from my mind, it might be fine to have another cup.
It holds a strange charm that makes you think that way.
Though my throat actively rejected it, and I felt like gagging.
Travel to the island is handled via teleportation magic.
We leave that to either Shiso-sama or Lana-san.
Though we did take a sailing ship the very first time.
I simply wanted our initial landing to be by ship, that's all.
Nothing more to it.
The investigation team that went ahead had already built various things across the island.
It wasn't that I didn't want to build them myself, but I could hardly tell the advance party not to build outhouses, a kitchen, or places to sleep.
Because of that, the island doesn't feel uninhabited at all.
There was a suggestion to pick an untouched spot for our first landing to give it that deserted-island feel, but since I had already been selfish enough to insist on arriving by boat, I held back.
They told me I didn't need to restrain myself, but that wasn't the point.
I just refrained because there were plenty of other things I wanted to do instead.
My apologies.
And so, the pioneering began.
I worked hard alongside the Universal Farming Tool.
Clearing paths, leveling ground for buildings, digging out caves.
It reminded me of the days when I lived all by myself.
Somehow, the Universal Farming Tool seemed delighted as well.
The high elves erected the building foundations in no time at all.
This seemed like the kind of situation where one ought to use a Multi-purpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Equipment—an Artie Horse—but transporting one all the way to the site is quite an ordeal.
Besides, while it might be useful for laying foundations, it isn't much help with the finer details of construction.
At best, that massive frame could only serve as a mobile scaffold.
That would be a terrible waste.
Having a single unit for underwater work is more than enough.
Oh, speaking of which, to digress for a moment—Yor recently acquired a pilot suit.
She gleefully piloted the Multi-purpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Equipment back at the village.
However, she is, after all, an amateur.
A minor mistake resulted in a massive fall.
Yor was unharmed, but the Multi-purpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Equipment was completely wrecked.
She is currently feeling terribly depressed.
While the island's facilities and amenities are coming along smoothly, an essential element is still missing.
Food production.
Left entirely to nature, there's just enough for Yame-san to live on her own without trouble.
However, if about ten people were to live here, things would get tough.
That was the conclusion reached by the investigation.
Indeed, it didn't seem as though Yame-san had been enjoying a particularly lavish diet either.
And so, it was time for the Universal Farming Tool to take the stage, but...
What should we grow on this island?
They did mention the winds here are harsh.
Spots suitable for fields also seem scarce.
Since it has a tropical feel, should we focus on suitable fruits?
Pineapples, mangoes, mandarins, limes... Bananas might be good, too.
As for crops... Considering the wind, perhaps we should make potatoes the staple.
Then add root vegetables like daikon, carrots, and turnips.
We might also grow some sugar cane.
I’d like coffee beans and tea as well.
Ah, maybe we could try growing spices, just like in Village Four.
...
Before I knew it, I had tilled a substantial area of land.
Did I go a bit overboard?
Also, I should have given a bit more thought to the season.
It seems I got far more carried away than I realized.
I need to keep myself in check.
It was reported that there are no strong magic beasts or monsters on this island.
It's safe.
However, that doesn't mean there are none at all.
There are small magic beasts and monsters.
Apparently, there are slimes, too.
We must never let our guard down.
I called out a warning to Kuro's children and Zabuton's children, who were acting as my guards.
"Stay sharp, everyone."
The birds that Yame-san cherishes so much.
I'm not quite sure of their species, but they look like parrots.
They have colorful feathers.
And those feathers.
When Yame-san brought some back to the Village of the Great Tree as a souvenir from the island, Lu latched right onto them.
"Feathers from a Gorgeous Bird!"
Yame-san seemingly just wanted to delight the children.
Since I told Yame-san that the feathers were valuable, she will likely collect them from now on.
She seemed to be looking for a way to earn her keep anyway.
Though knowing Yame-san, she might claim that these belong to the birds themselves.
...
She really would say something like that.
Maybe I should arrange to give some food to the birds as compensation.
I wonder what they eat?
Sunflower seeds, perhaps?
The birds happily pecked away at the sunflower seeds.
What a relief.
To be honest, I grew a bit too many of them back in the summer.
Originally, I grew them as feed for the chickens, but the high ogre maids caring for them warned me that overfeeding wasn't good for them.
So make sure you birds on the island don't overeat either.
Incidentally, Aegis, the phoenix chick, and the eagle wouldn't even look at the sunflower seeds.
Apparently, they prefer roasted meat or fish.
The watchtower on the island.
It looks splendid, but it was built on the assumption that it will eventually break.
The decision was made that building an easily broken watchtower would be far cheaper than building a sturdy one and constantly repairing it.
After all, we've only heard about the severity of the island's storms from Yame-san.
In reality, we won't truly know until we experience one ourselves.
Building it sturdy only to have it break anyway is the one thing we want to avoid most.
I'd like a railway connecting the port under construction to the area around the inn built by the investigation team.
The railway that kept getting debated, paused, and revised in Village Five.
It wasn't a technical issue, but rather a moral one—the risk of the rails being stolen.
On this island, however, there is no one to steal them.
Even if someone did, the methods to transport them off the island are limited.
It is exceedingly safe.
The downside is that being so close to the sea, the iron rails will rust, but Gatto and the blacksmiths of Howlin Village have long been researching rust-resistant iron.
It involves mixing rare minerals into the iron, but using it here should be perfectly fine.
Ah, it doesn't need to happen immediately.
Just whenever there's some leeway.
I'll tell Gatto and the others the same thing.
No need to rush.
Time to clean the beach.
Even on an uninhabited island, all sorts of things wash up on the sandy shore.
Mostly seaweed, driftwood, tree nuts, roots, leaves, and the carcasses of marine creatures.
The carcass of a giant stingray smelled dreadful.
As for what looked like the eggs of a giant frog—unsure whether it was a magic beast or a monster... I was at a loss for how to handle them.
The sea race advised that burning them was best, so we burned them with gusto.
Even though I had started cleaning the beach all by myself, the sea race joined in to help before I knew it.
They said it was their thanks for the banquet.
I appreciate it.
It really helps.
In the end, everyone used tools resembling giant rakes to stir up the sand and collect the buried debris.
It turned into quite a lovely beach.
It almost makes me want to set up a parasol.
Well, we'll probably have to clean it regularly, though.
Yame-san told us a heavy rainstorm was coming.
She judged this based on the wind and the look of the distant sky.
The high elves, the angels, and the sea race also agreed the weather was taking a turn for the worse.
Then it surely would.
They recommended that I return to the village, but I decided to spend the night at the inn built by the investigation team.
I figured I should experience the island's rainfall for myself.
However, that didn't mean everyone had to stay.
Only a small group should remain behind on the island.
So, I had the majority of them head back.
Though they put up quite a fight about it.
Those remaining on the island were myself, three inferno wolves, and ten demon spiders.
Also, Gulf of the beastman race as my guard.
And Yame-san.
She stayed behind because she knows the island well.
The sea race evacuated to the seabed near the island.
They said they would rush over if anything happened, but I told them not to push themselves.
Yes, really, please don't overdo it.
We'll be fine over here.
Because Shiso-sama, who can use teleportation magic, returned to the island.
If worst comes to worst, we can always escape.
Heavy rain.
An incredible downpour.
And the wind was tremendous, too.
Just like a typhoon.
However, the inn didn't budge an inch.
After all, it was reinforced the second I said I was staying behind.
Not a single leak, either.
The birdhouse was reinforced in the same manner, so it should be fine.
I considered evacuating the birds into the inn, but they refused because they had eggs.
That's why we reinforced it so thoroughly.
All that's left is to wait for the rain to stop.
According to Yame-san's forecast, it should clear up by dawn tomorrow.
Trusting her word, we spent the night playing games in the common room.
The next morning.
The sky was crystal clear.
The inn and the birdhouse were completely intact.
No damage at all.
Thank goodness.
The watchtower had snapped in half.
Oh-ho.
The beach we had cleaned was a total mess all over again.
Oh boy.
Sea Race: "Fire purifies all."
Village Head: "Is that really something the sea race should be saying?"
Sea Race: "There are volcanoes on the seabed, so it's fine."
Shiso-sama: "I thought I could finally relax after finishing the transport from the island to the village, but then Dose-kun (flanked by Hakuren and Lastismun on either side) asked me, so I came back to the island."
Village Head (GM): "Alright, morning has broken."
Shiso-sama: "Fortune teller coming out! Gulf is a werewolf!"
Yame: "Hold on, I'm coming out as fortune teller too! Gulf is a villager."
Gulf: "Wait, what are you two doing?! (I'm actually the werewolf, though. Yame-san isn't a werewolf, right?)"
Kuro's Grandchild A: "Woof woof woof. (Hmm, should we roller the fortune tellers?)"
Zabuton's Child A: Rustle (Is wait-and-see a bad idea?)"
Kuro's Grandchild B: "Wuff. (Is Yame the madman?)"
Zabuton's Child B: Rustle rustle (Could be the fox. Oh, by the way, I'm the medium.)"
Kuro's Grandchild C: "Woof-oo. (If she were the fox, she wouldn't fake a role out of fear of a roller, right?)"
Zabuton's Child C: Rustle rustle (That's precisely why she'd come out as a fortune teller, isn't it?)"
Shiso-sama: "(Without the Village Head translating, I have no idea what the discussion is even about...)"
Yame: "(Why are the inferno wolves and demon spiders having the fiercest debate here?)"
Gulf: "(I'm terrible at using my brain, though... For now, when night comes, I should just bite Shiso-sama... right?)"