Draim the dragon visited the village frequently for two main reasons: the food and the alcohol.
The other villagers were equally full of praise for those two things, but having memories of my previous world, I couldn't bring myself to agree. To me, the food always felt like it was missing a certain something, and the alcohol was clearly lacking in maturation.
The issue with the cooking was largely due to the fact that resources simply weren't as plentiful as they had been in my old world. Even if I could source the ingredients, seasonings, and utensils, my own knowledge was limited to that of an amateur. I suppose I should have been grateful that I could at least cook rice.
For the time being, I shared my ideas for dishes, seasonings, and guessed cooking methods with Ann and the others of the High Ogre Race, leaving them to handle the research. It was a bit awkward, however, when even their experimental attempts received glowing reviews. It made my further requests feel almost unreasonable.
Still, I refused to compromise when it came to our meals. I was giving it my all, so I wanted everyone else to do the same.
Our efforts eventually bore fruit in the form of donburi-style dishes. Rice truly was a miracle grain. Additionally, our grilled, simmered, and pot dishes had reached a level I found acceptable, even if they weren't quite perfect yet.
In terms of seasonings, the completion of mayonnaise triggered a literal revolution in the village's culinary world. The vital ingredients for mayonnaise are eggs and vinegar.
I certainly owed a debt of gratitude to the chickens for the eggs. However, I was terrified of salmonella, so I knew I needed to sterilize the eggs if we were going to eat them raw. Unfortunately, I didn't have any modern disinfectants.
When I consulted Lu and the others, I learned of a medicinal agent used in this world specifically for preparing eggs. Flora was able to manufacture it, so I put her in charge of that. It seemed Lu knew how to make it as well, but since she was pregnant, I didn't want her anywhere near those kinds of chemicals. You never knew what might happen.
After the eggs came the vinegar. At first, I tried to see if wine would turn into vinegar if left to age, but that experiment failed. My backup plan involved the vinegar produced during the process of brewing Japanese sake, which turned out much better. Once I had something resembling vinegar, I took a crack at making mayonnaise, and it worked perfectly.
I did wonder if the acidity of the vinegar made the sterilization unnecessary, but I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. Honestly, I didn't even know if salmonella existed in another world to begin with.
In the end, I decided not to sweat the small stuff. The mayonnaise was a massive hit. It worked with so many different dishes that it vastly expanded our flavor profiles, leaving me quite satisfied. Now, if only I could get my hands on some seafood...
As for the alcohol, the main problem was that everyone insisted on drinking it far too early. No matter how much I pleaded for them to let it age, it always ended up being consumed one way or another. I suppose they just lacked patience.
Taking that into account, I expanded the wine grape field. Heh heh heh. This time, I would definitely have enough to set some aside for aging. At least, I hoped so.
Alongside the sake, we were also producing juice, tea, and coffee. This was born from my desire for something to drink other than just alcohol or water. Recently, it had also begun to serve as a way to curb our overall alcohol consumption.
The villagers themselves didn't actually consume that much of the new drinks. The fruit juice was mostly claimed by the Beastman Race, as they were deemed too young for alcohol. As for the tea and coffee, they gained a few devoted fans among the High Elves and some of the High Ogre Race, though they were still far from becoming village staples.
On the other hand, the demon Beezel took a great liking to the tea and bought a massive shipment of it before last winter. I was very grateful for the business.
Then came the annual spring events: Kuro and the others shed their horns, the beehives were divided, and Zabuton’s children set out on their journeys.
Speaking of which, I had been wondering what happened to the thirty of Kuro’s offspring who left the village last year. I hoped they were safe.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than all thirty of them returned. They were covered in scars, but they looked incredibly dignified, as if they had just survived a series of grueling trials. I had no idea what they had been up to, but I was simply glad they were alive. A few days later, however, they set off again, this time carrying several of the remaining spiderlings on their backs.
I really had to wonder what they were doing out there. I just hoped they weren't causing any trouble.
Later, a request was made to build a new bath. Until then, the villagers had simply used the bath I built with the High Elves whenever they felt like it. Since I had been the only man—aside from the young boys—it had essentially functioned as a mixed-bathing area.
However, since we now had an adult male dwarf living with us, he requested a dedicated men's bath. Given that women far outnumbered men in the village, it was decided that any new construction should be for a women's bath instead.
It wasn't a bad proposal. I had always been self-conscious about the mixed bathing, which often prevented me from using the bath when I wanted to. The plan was to turn the existing bath into the men's area and build a new one for the women.
But the women blocked that idea immediately. They argued that having separate baths would decrease their opportunities to interact with me. I pointed out that they could just talk to me outside the bath, but they wouldn't hear of it.
In the end, we compromised: the current bath became the Village Head's Private Bath, though anyone I permitted could still use it. Meanwhile, we would construct two entirely new baths—one for men and one for women.
I figured this was a win since it would finally allow me to soak in peace. I was confident our water supply could handle the extra load.
My main concern was the firewood. Heating multiple baths required a surprising amount of wood. Even though we lived in a forest, I felt guilty about burning through timber so aggressively. I started thinking about alternative fuels, but the problem solved itself when they decided to use magic to heat the water.
We still prepared hearths to hold the water, but those capable of using fire magic took turns heating it. Apparently, it also served as practical magic training for the Beastman Race.
It turned out to be incredibly convenient, as magic could heat the water much faster than firewood. I wished I could do it myself, but I knew I didn't have the talent for it. I decided to leave it to the experts.
Next, I received a petition regarding the trees in the fruit area. The request came from the bees, passed through the spiderlings to me. Although I couldn't speak with the spiders, we were able to communicate well enough through gestures.
It seemed some of the queen bees wanted me to grow certain trees that were native to the forest inside the fruit area. The existing trees were fine, but they wanted more variety. Since there was no harm in it, I readily agreed.
However, I couldn't just transplant trees. I needed to see and understand the specific tree before I could replicate it with the Universal Farming Tool. Since the trees weren't nearby—otherwise the bees would have just flown to them—we had to go find them first.
One of the spiderlings knew exactly which trees the bees were looking for. I considered trekking into the forest myself, but the issue was resolved in no time. Kuro’s offspring carried the spiderlings into the woods and quickly located the trees. All I had to do was follow their lead.
Even the travel was quick, as Granmaria flew me directly to the site. Once I had seen them, I returned to the village to plant them.
Since I had already expanded the fields, I decided to double the size of the fruit area as well. Currently, the cows were kept to the east, so I expanded to the west, bringing the orchard to an 8x8 block size.
The trees the bees wanted were short and produced flowers I had never seen before. They also bore fruit, so I planted a generous amount of them. While I was at it, I also planted rubber trees, aloe, and palm trees. Even with the expansion, I made sure to leave some open space for any future requests.
Finally, that task was finished.
Before I knew it, I had become a father. It all happened so fast. To be honest, I have almost no memory of the time between being told the baby was coming and finally holding him in my arms. I must have been in a total state of panic.
But he was born safely, and for that, I was profoundly relieved. He was a healthy baby boy.
I caught myself wondering if someone like me was really fit to be a parent, but I quickly shook the thought away. It was too late for doubts now. For the sake of my son, I had to do my best.
Despite the various challenges, the village celebrated with a banquet that lasted for days.
Legend: One square is approximately 50x50 meters.
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The river is approximately five kilometers in that direction. The wasabi water paddy is not shown due to its small size.