The rain and wind on the island had been fierce.
Although the reinforced inn and the birdhouse were unharmed, areas still under construction had suffered partial collapses and damage.
Large building materials had been tied down to rocks and other anchors, preventing them from blowing away, but heavy stone blocks that we assumed were immobile had been scattered haphazardly across the ground.
They had merely managed not to take flight.
Gathering them all up was going to be quite a chore.
According to Yame-san's experience, storms with rain and wind even stronger than this struck several times a year.
The fields tilled with the Universal Farming Tool had come through unscathed, but that was likely only because the sprouts had barely germinated, leaving them less vulnerable to the gale.
For trees and similar flora, it might be better to cultivate them elsewhere first and transplant them later.
That was something to take into consideration.
I had been considering installing windmills and waterwheels on the island, but that plan was back to the drawing board as well.
No matter how you looked at it, they would inevitably be wrecked.
Dismantling and storing the windmills or waterwheels whenever the winds picked up was an option, but it was troublesome, and one had to wonder if they were truly worth the effort.
Windmills and waterwheels did provide plenty of convenience for everyday life, though.
Magic stones could serve as a viable alternative.
Ah—but we couldn't secure enough magic stones on this island, could we?
So we would have to rely on outside supplies for magic stones as well.
Hmm.
The destroyed watchtower was already being rebuilt.
Yeah, as expected of Ria and the high elves.
They worked fast.
I knew the angels had been supporting the structure with ropes from midair, too.
There was no need to try so hard to show off.
I got the message.
I would make sure to pass along my praise to Marubit, the Angel Race Leader.
I would let Tia know as well.
As for the wrecked beach, our only option was to clean it up all over again.
………………
A fish roughly the size of a train car... A whale, maybe? It was probably a whale.
Why was there a whale carcass lying right on the beach?
It had clearly died quite some time ago.
Signs of decay were visible all over.
The stench was awful, too.
The sea race warned that if we didn't dispose of it quickly, it would attract magic beasts and monsters from the ocean. Burning it seemed like a massive headache, so I simply tilled it under with the Universal Farming Tool.
A mound of earth completely out of place on the sandy shore formed in its wake.
Well, it was better than leaving a rotting carcass out in the open.
The waves would wash it away eventually.
We had no choice but to clean the beach steadily, step by step.
I did my best, working side by side with the sea race.
While cleaning the beach, I collected a massive hoard of pretty seashells.
Most were ordinary shells, but a few seemed to originate from magic beasts, possessing an unprecedented luster or jewel-like accretions.
Were these valuable, I wondered?
The sea race told me that things like that littered the seabed by the thousands.
In other words, they were worthless.
If they held any real value, there was no way they would be rolling around everywhere.
People would have gathered them to sell to land-dwelling merchants or used them in commerce.
After all, they were easily uncovered just by lightly tidying up the beach.
I supposed they were only good for decoration.
Or so I thought, until someone showed keen interest after I brought them back to the Village of the Great Tree.
It wasn't Lu or Tia.
It was Gatto.
"These are moon rock shells, aren't they?
I've heard that if you crush them up and mix them into iron or copper, the resulting metal gains remarkable elasticity.
Please, let me run some tests!"
Saying that, he requested the misshapen shells.
Since we had a huge quantity, I gave him permission to take as many as he liked.
If the shells could be put to practical use, that was a welcome bonus.
If he needed more, I could always ask the sea race to gather them.
Ah—you kids watching from over there.
Feel free to take any nicely shaped shells you want.
The moment I said the word, the children swarmed the pile.
Incidentally, the ones who welcomed the shells the most were the chickens.
They happily pecked away at the shells after the high ogre maids crushed them up.
While discussing harbor facilities and shipping operations with the sea race, the topic of a lighthouse came up.
They asked if we could set up a lighthouse on the island if possible.
There were no landmarks around this island, making it easy to lose one's bearings.
That was why they wanted a beacon visible from a distance.
It was a reasonable request, but having just watched the watchtower collapse, I hesitated to agree right away.
Could we actually build a lighthouse sturdy enough to withstand the storms?
The mountain elves suggested making the lighthouse telescopic so it could be lowered whenever the wind and rain turned fierce, but...
A lighthouse was pointless if it moved.
It served as a landmark precisely because the beacon remained fixed in one spot.
Besides, nighttime and foul weather were when a guiding light was needed most.
A lighthouse that took shelter just because the storm raged felt like a contradiction in terms.
At any rate, construction of the lighthouse was put on hold.
We needed to research lighthouses currently operating in other regions first.
How they were built, how they were maintained, and so on.
I also wanted to learn about their operational management.
Ah—Shashato City was a port town, right?
Was there a lighthouse there?
Huh?
I didn't recall seeing one.
Next time, I would check with Miyo or Michael-san in Shashato City.
Railway tracks had been laid on the island.
Man, and here I had told them there was no need to rush.
Since it also served as practice for laying rails, it was merely a short, single track connecting the harbor to the cave storehouse.
It was configured so that a humanoid golem pushed a minecart along the rails.
Testing it in practice yielded favorable reviews.
Being able to haul cargo into the cave storehouse in an emergency would apparently be a huge relief.
That was good to hear.
Next, they planned to evaluate the durability of the rails, minecarts, and golems before proceeding with laying down the full-scale tracks.
I intended to wait patiently for the results.
I wanted to wait, but could I maybe ride the minecart just once?
Sorry.
Just once would do.
Make sure it doesn't derail, all right?
It was a short stretch of track, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Taking a break at the inn.
I glanced at the cards laid out in the common room.
The four suits of spades, diamonds, hearts, and clubs, numbered from ace to thirteen, plus jokers.
It was the familiar deck of playing cards we used in the Village of the Great Tree.
However, the decks back in the village were made of wood.
The one sitting before my eyes was made of paper.
Paper of just the right thickness and stiffness, with crisp printing and clean, uniform edges.
This was the fruit of Village Five's papermaking and printing businesses.
They had informed me that while small-batch production was possible, it wasn't cost-effective, so I had commissioned about a thousand sets.
The paper was reasonably sturdy, but at the end of the day, paper remained paper.
It was vulnerable to water, and its durability had clear limits.
Having an ample supply on hand wouldn't hurt.
For the time being, I attached instructional sheets explaining how to play games like Old Maid, Sevens, Memory, Tycoon, Blackjack, and poker, and distributed the decks to the relevant parties.
The sets brought to the island were the surplus.
They were being put to good use for evening recreation and passing the time.
I was glad to see them so well-received.
Well, given that the Demon King, Beezel, and Miyo and Michael-san in Shashato City had all requested continued production after receiving their decks, I already knew they would be a hit.
Come to think of it, I had received a report that patrons had begun playing cards at Kuro and Yuki and Cafe Blue in Village Five, causing table turnover to plummet.
It might be wise to set up a dedicated tavern where people could play cards to their hearts' content.
Noon.
On the newly cleaned beach, I rubbed two sticks together.
Nursing an ember, I quickly coaxed it into the prepared dry kindling and grass.
A crackling bonfire came to life.
Next, I poured seawater into a pot.
I nestled a cup in the center of the pot, taking care that no seawater sloshed inside.
I made sure not to forget placing a clean stone inside the cup as a ballast to keep it from shifting or bobbing up.
I covered the pot, but unlike usual, I set the lid on upside down.
It was positioned so that the side normally facing outward pointed inward.
Then, I set the pot over the bonfire.
As the seawater inside came to a boil, the rising steam would condense against the inverted lid, collect at the center point, and drip cleanly into the seashell cup acting as a basin below.
That was the concept.
While periodically topping up the seawater in the pot, I waited for the fresh water to accumulate in the cup.
...
Even though I had tended to it for quite a while, there was barely any water in the cup.
Why?
Had the water collected inside the cup heated up and simply evaporated away as well?
The stone I had placed as a weight inside the cup was scorching hot.
Ugh.
Taking the meager yield of water... or rather, hot water...
I took a tentative sip.
I detected a faint trace of saltiness.
Still, it wasn't completely undrinkable.
I indulged in the quintessential deserted island fantasy, if only for a brief moment.
Even if Kuro's children and Zabuton's children, stationed beside me as guards, were looking at me as though wondering what on earth I was doing.
High Elf: "I wonder what the Village Head is doing?" (while conjuring a stream of fresh water with magic)
Mountain Elf: "He must have some profound reason." (while taking a swig of freshly drawn spring water)
High Ogre Maid: "Village Head—could you please return the pot soon?"