"I'm Ria."
"I'm Lise."
"I'm Liri."
"I'm Rief."
"I'm Ricotto."
"I'm Rize."
"I'm Rita."
Ria, Lise, Liri, Rief, Ricotto, Rize, and Rita.
The seven women who introduced themselves all belonged to the same race, characterized by their long ears.
"Elves?" I asked.
"High Elves, technically... but 'Elves' is fine."
I didn't quite understand the distinction.
"We came here at Tia-san's recommendation. Please, let us live here."
"Uh..."
When I looked toward Tia, she placed her hands on both of my shoulders and leaned in close.
"Let me explain their tragic history," she whispered.
These High Elves had lived in a settlement much further to the north, but it had been destroyed about two hundred years ago during a human war. The survivors had been scattered ever since, wandering the lands in search of a place where they could finally settle down.
"Until now, we have lived as nomads within the forests."
"Without a permanent home, we cannot hope to grow our tribe."
"We beg of you."
All seven of them bowed their heads low. Apparently, bowing wasn't a part of their culture, but Tia had coached them on it beforehand as the proper way to make a request. It felt a bit awkward to watch, but being bowed to by seven beautiful women still made me feel a little rattled. I certainly wasn't used to that kind of treatment.
"They'll be a great addition to our labor force, so please," Tia urged.
"I think it’s a good idea too," Lu agreed. "I’ve heard the High Elf tribe is quite talented, and they’re certainly easy on the eyes. You girls are still young, aren't you?"
"I am the eldest, at a little over four hundred," Ria answered.
"I am the youngest, around three hundred," Rita added.
It seemed Ria was the oldest and Rita was the youngest, but I couldn't see any physical difference between them. They all looked like slender college students, or perhaps high schoolers. Being Elves, every single one of them was beautiful—or at the very least, incredibly cute.
In any case, they wanted to stay. To be honest, I was happy to have more hands on deck.
"There are several other residents living here, so as long as you can get along without fighting, I don't mind."
With that, I gave my permission.
"Thank you so much!"
"We'll work as hard as we can!"
"We look forward to staying with you!"
Cries of joy erupted from the seven women.
Shortly after that, however, they fainted upon seeing Zabuton. Then, once they regained consciousness, they saw Kuro and the others and fainted all over again. That was the first time I’d seen someone pass out at the sight of the wolves. Perhaps they just weren't dog people.
Next, we set about building a place for the seven of them to sleep. They preferred a shared living space rather than individual huts, so we decided to build one large structure. Once it reached a certain scale, calling it a "hut" felt wrong. It was a proper house.
Naturally, a building large enough to house seven people couldn't be finished in a single day. For the time being, Ria and the others slept in the tents they had brought.
After consulting with them, we decided to build the house south of the Planned Reservoir Site and west of the New Field Area. From my perspective, it was in the Southwest Area. I asked if they were sure about being that far away, but they were quite insistent on that specific spot. I wondered why.
If the Southwest Area was divided into a four-by-four grid of sixteen plots—just like the fields—the requested site was slightly north of the center. There was nothing else around it yet, so it seemed a bit lonely standing there all by itself, but I wanted to accommodate their wishes as much as possible.
To start, I built a Log Fence and a moat to demarcate the Southwest Area. I considered the section of the moat touching the New Field Area and decided to keep it. For a residential area, it was better to have solid defenses.
After that, we chose locations for a Well and an Outhouse and built them. Thinking of the future, I also dug out a Cellar and set up a trash disposal area. I could turn my own waste into fertilizer using the Universal Farming Tool, but they didn't have that luxury, so a dedicated disposal site was essential.
While the heavy digging and tree-felling were my responsibility, the seven High Elves were incredibly helpful once the lumber was ready for assembly. In fact, they were stronger and more dexterous than I was. Their techniques for processing logs and joining them together were very educational. I felt like I would only get in the way if I tried to help with the construction itself, so I left the assembly to them. Instead, I followed their directions to dig foundation holes, level the earth, and gather more timber.
In about ten days, a magnificent Log House was complete. It even featured the raised-floor style I had struggled to master. It was two stories tall.
I felt a slight pang of jealousy. But I had learned from watching them. I took notes on their construction tricks. Heh heh heh. Maybe it was time to rebuild my own hut into something better.
The Log House was a long rectangle running east to west. Immediately past the front entrance was a great hall that served as a communal dining area. It was intended to be a space where they could work and eat together. In the center of the room was a frame that allowed for an indoor fire—a sort of Sunken Hearth that wasn't actually sunken into the floor.
There were doors on either side of the great hall. To me, they looked like spots for a kitchen or a Bath, but for now, they were being used as storehouses. Stairs on both sides of the hall led to the second floor. The second floor only existed above the side storehouses; the central area was open to the roof, with only a walkway connecting the two sides. This gave the great hall a very open, spacious feel.
Walking down one side of the second floor, I saw doors lined up at regular intervals. These were their private rooms. Each room was narrow and deep, furnished with a bed, a small chest of drawers, and a single table and chair. I had crafted all the furniture myself using the Universal Farming Tool. Even though the girls were more skilled at woodworking, they couldn't match the sheer speed of my tool. If they didn't like the furniture, they could always remake it themselves later.
There were four rooms on each side, making eight in total. It seemed they were keeping one room as a spare. Once we added the duvets, cushions, and curtains that Zabuton and her spiderlings had woven, their living situation was perfect.
By the time the Log House was finished, the High Elves had adjusted well to life on the farm. They were particularly moved by the flavor of the crops. Their favorites were Pumpkin, Daikon, eggplant, and—for some reason—Garlic. Visually, it was a bit much to see them eating whole cloves of garlic one after another.
Occasionally, they joined Kuro’s pack on hunts and showed off their incredible archery skills. Since the wolves didn't seem to mind their company, they must have been quite talented. I was also relieved to see them consulting with Zabuton and her children about clothing and fabrics.
"Let me know if you run into any problems," I told them.
"We understand, Village Head," Ria replied.
For some reason, they had started calling me "Village Head." I had tried to resist, but they wouldn't listen. They had originally suggested "King" or "Lord," so I suppose this was a step in the right direction. It had been a struggle just to get them to drop the "-sama."
The night after I finished helping with the house and returned to my normal routine, several of the High Elves suddenly crowded into my sleeping quarters.
"Wait, what's going on?" I asked, bewildered.
They looked at me as if they didn't understand the question.
"It is for reproduction," Ria stated plainly.
"Please, for the sake of our tribe."
"Tia-san told us that if we settled here, we could receive your seed... I will do my best!"
I looked to Lu and Tia for help, but it was useless. That's when I finally realized why they had insisted on building their Log House right in the center of the Southwest Area. They were fully intent on breeding and expanding their numbers as quickly as possible.
I tried to resist, but it was futile. You can call me weak-willed if you want.
Later, the women held a meeting and established a formal rotation. I wasn't given a single chance to voice my opinion. As I sat on the floor in a daze with my chin on my knees, Masayuki—the son of Kuroni and Iris—came over and nudged me to offer some comfort.
Plot Map: One character represents roughly 50x50 meters.
□□□□□□□□FruitFruit □□□□□□□□FruitFruit □□□□□□□□FruitFruit □□□□□□□□FruitFruit □□□□□□□□FieldFieldFieldField○○○○ ━Under Construction━PondPond□FieldHouse◇Field○Dog○○ ━Drainage System━PondPond□FieldHouse◇Field○○○○ □□□□□□□□FieldFieldFieldField○○○○ □□□□▼▼▼▼△△△△ □□□□▼Southwest▼△New Field△ □□□□▼▼▼▼△△△△ □□□□▼▼▼▼△△△△
← River roughly five kilometers away.