After I sent the play equipment Draim’s relatives had requested, they sent a variety of gifts in return.
They seemed to have researched my tastes during their stay; the haul consisted mostly of rare trees, plants, and crops, along with a significant amount of jewelry and precious metals. I suspected the latter was also meant as payment for the previous banquet. It felt like a bit too much, but since it would have been awkward to refuse, I accepted the gifts with gratitude.
...I couldn't help but wonder if there was also a "handing over Hakuren" fee included in there.
I found some stiff paper among the supplies, so I tried my hand at making a deck of playing cards. They turned out quite well. I considered making a Hyakunin Isshu set too, but I only remembered a few of the poems, so I abandoned that idea and stuck to making a standard Karuta set instead. I realized my mistake shortly after finishing. Paper Karuta cards didn't hold up well during play; they were already showing signs of heavy wear.
I decided to make the Karuta cards out of wooden tiles instead. I did the same for the playing cards—making a set of wooden tiles for games where I didn't mind the lack of flexibility. The main drawback of wooden playing cards is the difficulty of shuffling, which had stopped me before, but I solved it by putting them in a box and shaking it to mix them up.
The Karuta was a hit with the Beastman Race, while the playing cards were popular with the High Elves, the High Ogre Race, and the Dwarves.
Next, I tried making a Kamishibai—a picture-story show—for the Beastman boys. To be perfectly honest, it was mostly practice for when I eventually read stories to Alfred. I went through the classics: Momotaro, Urashima Taro, Kintaro, Hanasaka Jiisan, Kobutori Jiisan, the Straw Millionaire, Princess Kaguya...
I wondered if I should keep them as-is or adapt them for this world. For the time being, I listed several candidates and picked one by drawing lots. The honor of the first production went to Mount Kachi-kachi. I chose the version where the grandmother is killed and the raccoon dog dies at the end. In a watered-down version, the rabbit's role as an avenger is weakened to the point where he just seems like a mean-spirited jerk.
I held a practice run with Lu, Tia, and the High Elves before the public showing. I was met with some unexpectedly heavy-handed feedback.
"The raccoon dog trusted the rabbit. How could he betray him like that?"
"How exactly did the humans manage to bring the rabbit over to their side?"
...Mount Kachi-kachi was promptly sealed away.
The second attempt was The Crab and the Monkey. I began to suspect the lottery was rigged with malice. Then came the questions I had anticipated.
"If the chestnut, the dung, and the mortar have personalities, why don't the persimmon tree and its fruit have them as well?"
"The monkey used his own wits to obtain the rice ball and the persimmon. Is it not the fault of the one who was deceived? Furthermore, the monkey threw the persimmons as requested; if the crab couldn't catch them, isn't that a failure on the crab's part?"
"The fault lies with the one who failed to specify exactly which persimmon they wanted."
"I question the wisdom of participating in a revenge plot after only hearing one side of the story. Were the bee and the chestnut perhaps plotting to eliminate the monkey from the beginning?"
"The mother crab was essentially threatening the persimmon tree in the first place. Are we simply going to ignore that?"
It felt less like a story session and more like a university seminar where people deconstruct fairy tales with grim seriousness. Regarding Momotaro, they argued that sending someone into a life-or-death struggle in exchange for a single Kibi Dango was a clear case of unfair labor practices...
The Crab and the Monkey was also sealed away.
I decided to give up on Earth’s tales and simply turn stories from this world into picture shows.
"I actually like the stories the Village Head comes up with," some said.
I had gained a small following, which was awkward since I hadn't actually written the stories. For now, I just wrote down the fairy tales I knew to serve as "original drafts" for others to adapt. When I got a bit bold and slipped in the plot of a famous manga, they caught it immediately and demanded to know what happened next. Even though it was a famous series, I didn't remember it perfectly, so I ended up improvising the parts I'd forgotten.
I'm sorry, sensei.
Hakuren had been taking on various jobs around the village. Being older than Rusty, she was skilled at controlling her strength and could handle almost any task. She was intelligent and well-mannered. While she lacked general common sense, Frau was the village authority on such matters anyway, so it wasn't that much of a weakness.
The real problems were her complete lack of initiative and her habit of complaining every time she was asked to do something. She worked diligently and never slacked off once she actually started, so I knew the attitude was just for show, but I still wanted her to stop.
As for the lack of initiative... well, she was a dragon. Rusty was much the same. Perhaps being a powerful being naturally saps one's proactiveness. A proactive dragon would probably be a nightmare to deal with anyway, so maybe this was for the best... but I couldn't just stand by while she changed jobs into a NEET, shutting herself in her room to eat and sleep all day.
Because she talked back every time I gave her an order, I’d started avoiding asking her for anything that wasn't strictly necessary. If this continued...
Wait. Was this her plan all along? Was she intentionally making herself a hassle to deal with so I’d stop giving her orders?
I decided to confront her.
"Ow, ow, ow! Stop! Coming into my room and grabbing my face all of a sudden is—ow, ow, ow!"
She confessed. Just as I suspected, it was a calculated strategy to make herself such a nuisance that I’d give up on instructing her. She was playing the long game.
Since she clearly had so much patience, I assigned her the task of digging holes and then immediately filling them back in.
"I've reflected on my actions."
She gave up in a single day. I guess she had patience, but no real grit.
"It's not about grit. Stop making me do such meaningless work. I feel like I'm losing my mind."
"Isn't it better than just eating and sleeping in your room?"
"Eating and sleeping in my room is a million times better!"
"Fine, fine. Just try to keep the complaining to a minimum from now on."
"You're not telling me to stop entirely?"
"I'll tolerate a little bit of it."
"...Hehe."
"What's that for?"
"Nothing."
Incidentally, Hakuren lived at Rusty's house at first, but now she occupies a spare room in my house. Well, that's just the way things went.
After trying her out in various roles, Hakuren finally settled into the position of village schoolteacher. Her current students include the boys and girls of the Beastman Race, the Lizardman youngsters, and the offspring of both Kuro and Zabuton. She’s working hard to teach them basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.
"If the villagers get smarter, my own life will get a whole lot easier," she claimed.
Whatever her motives, it was a good development for the village.