After the Demon King’s envoy and the dragon, our next visitors arrived: a group of armored beastmen.
With no roads to follow, they couldn't bring wagons. While they weren't quite as weighed down as Daga’s group had been, they still carried substantial packs on their backs.
There were ten of them in total. Their equipment was well-worn, giving them the look of veteran warriors. They had human faces, but beast ears sat atop their heads and tails swished behind them, asserting their presence. The hairiness of their arms varied from person to person; some had limbs like beasts, while others looked entirely human.
"I am Galf. I come from Howlin Village, located halfway up the eastern mountains. I wish to establish friendly relations with this village."
The representative of the group, who had been guided in by Kudel, stepped forward to offer his greetings. I started to move toward him, but Lu—in her adult form—beat me to it.
"You have done well to come. The Village of the Great Tree extends its welcome to you."
Unlike her usual self, Lu spoke with an air of grandiosity.
"You have my thanks."
"I shall show you to a place where you can rest... but tell me, are those currently present all of you?"
"That is correct."
"I see. In that case, I shall consider anyone else out there an enemy."
Lu spoke with a sharp edge of intimidation. I wondered what she meant, but the answer came quickly as two more beastmen emerged from the Forest. They were wearing lightweight equipment in inconspicuous colors; they had clearly been hiding. They were likely forced out because Kuro and his pack had appeared right behind them.
"...Forgive me. It seems a few of our party went astray."
"That is dangerous," Lu replied. "You should confirm your numbers before entering the village. Furthermore, please refrain from acting on your own while you are here. There are individuals in this village even I must be cautious around."
"...Understood. We will not act without permission. You have my word."
With Lu in the lead, the beastmen were shown into the guest house we had just finished building.
In my initial plans, I had envisioned the guest house as a place where four people could live elegantly. However, the others had rejected the idea, claiming it was far too small. Anyone wanting to reach this village had to cross mountains and navigate the Forest of Death. While we had seen a string of unusual guests like the Demon King’s envoy and a dragon, normal visitors would likely arrive in groups of ten or more. They told me I should probably prepare for groups as large as thirty.
I conceded that they were right and built it on a much larger scale. Since this group had twelve members, we were able to provide more than enough hospitality.
The guest building was located on the southern edge of the Southwest Area, where Ria and Flora’s houses were. It was a single-story structure with no second floor or basement, but in terms of footprint alone, it was roughly the size of my own house. As is often the case, the building constructed later was functionally superior; however, since it was primarily for guests, I had made the design a bit more showy. Some parts of the interior were actually more elaborate than my own home.
That said, it was only elaborate by the standards of our village, so it might only look like a decent inn to an outsider. Because of that, rather than calling it a guest manor, I decided we would just call it the Inn. A name that matches the reality is always best.
The Inn was surrounded by a fence to clearly define the boundary. I wanted to be able to say, "Please feel free to do as you wish within this fence."
I definitely didn't want to have to say, "If you cross this fence without permission, I won't be responsible for what happens to you."
Unfortunately, the latter was what actually ended up being said.
The fence wasn't a simple log structure; it was an ornate gardening fence like one might find at a high-end estate. Since I didn't have any paint, it remained the natural color of the wood, though I hoped to paint it white eventually.
Looking around right after finishing the Inn, I realized the area was a bit desolate. Ria and the others' houses were visible a short distance away, but since I had tilled this entire area, there were no obstacles in sight. While I didn't need defensive fortifications here, I did want something to serve as a visual screen for privacy.
The obvious solution was trees. I decided to plant fruit trees near Ria’s group's houses. I chose fruit-bearing varieties because the residents wanted something with practical utility. I worried it might look a bit lonely in the winter, but I went ahead with the plan anyway. I focused on apples, pears, and persimmons. For my own taste, I also planted ornamental cherry trees that produce fruit in a few spots.
Of course, they would be saplings for a while and wouldn't provide much of a screen yet. To supplement them, I added home gardens for strawberries and watermelons around the houses. Near the Inn, prioritizing aesthetics, I planted ornamental cherry trees that were meant for viewing rather than fruit. Finally, I grew a hedge just inside the Inn's fence. I didn't know the specific names of the plants, but by focusing on the image of the hedges I remembered from my previous world, the fields produced exactly what I needed. I’ll have to figure out how to prune them once they've grown.
After that, I got a bit carried away and planted trees in every area. I told everyone they were free to eat any fruit from trees outside the main fields and offered to plant more if requested. It was very well-received.
On a side note, when we expanded the Southwest Area for the Inn, I officially renamed it the Residential Area. Originally, the names were just how I categorized things in my head, but since that was how the residents thought of them, I updated the names to reflect their perception. Consequently, the area around my house and the great tree was officially named the Great Tree Area.
"I can't tell if we welcomed them or just locked them up..." I muttered, feeling a bit uneasy about Lu’s treatment of the guests.
Tia was the one who answered my concern. "Husband, under normal circumstances, an envoy seeking friendship brings some kind of gift. Even that dragon brought a peace offering."
"...So you think they aren't here for friendship?"
"Perhaps they are, but if they don't follow proper etiquette, they cannot expect a standard reception."
"I see. That makes sense."
"Furthermore, for reasons unknown, they chose to hide two soldiers. Lu-san likely lowered our level of hospitality by another rank because of that."
"I see. Wait, did Kudel not notice them while she was acting as their guide?"
"She noticed them, but she didn't consider them a threat, so she just ignored them. I'll be scolding her for that later."
"Go easy on her. I mean, they probably weren't a threat."
"...I suppose. I'll stick to a warning, then."
On the night the beastmen arrived, we held a small welcoming banquet at the Inn. Lu, Tia, and I attended. Ria and Ann came as well, though they remained behind the scenes to handle the service.
The meal was essentially what we usually eat, just a bit more generous. The fruit was served whole and unpeeled. When we had welcomed Draim, we'd held a massive celebration with beautifully peeled and decorated fruit platters. However, it wasn't realistic to give every guest the same level of treatment. Your response naturally changes depending on whether you're hosting a king, a noble, a merchant, a friend, or a total stranger.
I understood the logic, but we still had a bit of an argument during the planning phase over whether to serve wine. Everyone but me was against it, but I eventually won them over. Whatever their reasons for coming, they had traveled a long way to get here. Until it was clear they were enemies, I wanted to show them proper courtesy.
"I apologize for the meager meal," I said.
I had pushed for the wine, but the amount was strictly limited to about two cups per person. Once they finished that, it would be water. Personally, I felt bad about serving something that was only a step above our daily dinner, but Lu and the others had told me to cast those feelings aside. They explained that we were going to determine their true purpose during the banquet, and if they had something important to discuss, they would bring it up. It wouldn't do for us to appear humble or indebted during that process.
I took the advice to heart. Once the meal began, I shifted my mindset and acted as a normal host, keeping the conversation going.
"I apologize for my ignorance, but could you tell me more about Howlin Village?" I asked. I had asked around the village earlier, but no one knew of it.
"Howlin Village was founded a thousand years ago in the mountains to the east... or so I’m told," Galf said, his tongue loosened by the wine. "In reality, it’s probably closer to five hundred. The elders like to puff up our history."
The population of Howlin Village was around five hundred people, split across five settlements of about a hundred people each. It was more of a federation of mountain villages than a single town. Most of them were beastmen, predominantly of the dog-type. They lived mainly by hunting and mining, trading their goods with human villages on the other side of the mountains.
However, they’d recently had trouble with those human villages, causing trade to stall and life to become difficult. They had turned to us as a potential new trade partner. They had only recently learned of our existence through a notice from the Demon King’s subordinates. Apparently, Howlin Village and the human settlements beyond it are all part of the Demon King’s territory and pay him taxes.
That explained their primary goal.
After that, Galf and his men began regaling us with stories of the hardships they faced on the journey here. I nodded along while I ate. Looking around, the other beastmen seemed to be enjoying the food as well, which was a relief.
"If we’d stayed hidden, we might have missed out on this food," I overheard one say. "I'm glad we came out."
"Speaking of which, why were you hiding?" one of our side asked.
"Well, it was our first time visiting. You have to be cautious. If something happened to the main group, someone had to get back to the village to report it."
It seemed Lu and Tia were doing a thorough job of gathering information. They were as reliable as ever.
[Village Layout Map]
Field Field Chicken Field [Guest Area] Upper Waterway Pond Pond Field [Building] [Building] Field [Dog Area] Drainage System Pond Pond Field [Building] [Building] Field [Empty Area] Field House House Dorm [Empty Area] [Bath Area] [Residential Area] [New Fields Area] [Inn Area]
[River located approximately five kilometers away.]