Spring arrived.
I greeted Zabuton as she woke from hibernation. Her first meeting with the cat went without a hitch. To be more precise, the cat immediately flopped over into a surrender pose, and Zabuton seemed to accept the gesture. Come to think of it, a similar scene played out when the cat first met Kuro. I suppose animals just don’t feel at ease until they’ve established a clear hierarchy.
Regardless, it was spring. As the season turned, Beezel and Gratz looked quite reluctant as they departed for home. Galf also returned to Howlin Village, hitching a ride via Beezel’s teleportation magic. It was going to feel a bit lonely without them.
But I shook off the sentiment—it was time for some farming! Or rather, it was time for the spring meeting first. I looked forward to another good year with everyone.
The representatives of each race gathered in the conference room of the Village Head’s Mansion, and the meeting commenced.
The representative for the Village of the Great Tree was me. Kuro represented the Inferno Wolves. Zabuton represented the Demon Spiders. Lu represented the Vampires. Tia represented the Angel Race. Ria represented the High Elves. Ann represented the High Ogre Race. Daga represented the Lizardmen. Rusty represented the Dragons. Sena represented the Beastman Race. Donovan represented the Dwarves. Frau represented the Demon Race and the Civil Official Girls. Ya represented the Mountain Elves. Gordon represented the Minotaur Race and Village Two. Gluewald represented the Centaur Race and Village Three. Igu represented the Nyunyu-daphne and Village One. Mach represented the Harpy Race.
Mach was one of the veterans among the harpies. She had greeted me when they first arrived at the village, but she had a rather faint presence. Since the Harpy Race always moved as a collective, it was apparently difficult for them to display any individuality. In fact, they didn’t even have individual names. I had wondered how they managed to get by like that, but they seemed to have made it work somehow.
As long as it worked for them, I wasn't going to pry. However, it made things difficult for me administratively, so I had her take the name Mach to serve as their representative. The naming was decided after a consultation with the Angel Race.
Bulga and Stifano were there to represent the devils, but as they did every year, they declined to officially participate. Their reasoning was that as attendants serving Rusty, they felt it would be improper to involve themselves in the village’s management discussions.
I failed to establish communication with the slimes. The bees, meanwhile, sent word through Zabuton’s children that they would also be declining.
In their stead, the four caretakers for the outer villages were present: Ramurias, a High Ogre maid, acting as the Beastman Race caretaker. Nuph, a Lizardman, acting as the Minotaur Race caretaker. Rasshashi, a Civil Official Girl, acting as the Centaur Race caretaker. Mam, a Beastman, acting as the Nyunyu-daphne caretaker. While they had no voting rights or permission to speak, they were allowed to observe the proceedings.
Altogether, it was quite a large group. Fortunately, the mansion's conference room was spacious enough to accommodate everyone with room to spare. Even Zabuton, who used to participate from outside the room due to her size, was now able to sit comfortably inside.
The agenda for this year’s meeting was set as follows: First, a review of issues during the winter. Second, the activity policy for the coming year. Third, matters regarding Reward Medals.
We began with the winter review. There were no problems in the Village of the Great Tree. Well, there were minor issues, but nothing that needed to be shared at a formal meeting—things like the cat’s sleeping arrangements, Kuro’s pack hogging the kotatsu, drafts caused by people not closing doors properly, or people leaving their personal belongings in my room. They were essentially just household squabbles. Every other resident seemed to be in a similar boat. We had plenty of food and fuel throughout the winter; if anything, we had a surplus.
It was the same story for Village One, Village Two, and Village Three. No major problems had occurred. If I had to name one thing, it was a request from the three villages asking what they could do for Kuro’s offspring who served as their guards. Because the wolves remained strictly professional while on duty, they never relaxed. They rested in shifts, but they always returned to the Village of the Great Tree for their downtime. From the perspective of the outer villagers, it looked like the wolves were working themselves to the bone without a break.
I told them not to worry too much, but I suggested they could try playing with the wolves whenever they saw them visiting the Village of the Great Tree. Kuro wagged his tail happily at that. When I asked about Zabuton’s children, who also handled security, they told me that there were no issues there since they interacted with the villagers regularly. Zabuton’s children didn't work in shifts; they essentially lived on-site. Apparently, some of them had even grown to be the size of Makura. If they ever needed names, I decided I would ask the respective villages to help choose them.
On a more festive note, two children had been born in the Minotaur village during the winter. I made a mental note to visit them with celebratory gifts soon.
Next, we discussed the activity policy for the year. This year, the top priority was for Village Two and Village Three to practice "normal" agriculture. My reasoning was simple: if the villages relied entirely on my Universal Farming Tool, the community would collapse the moment that tool became unavailable. I wanted to prevent that vulnerability. While the Village of the Great Tree would continue using the Universal Farming Tool, and the orchards would provide their annual harvest, I wanted the other villages to become self-sufficient through traditional farming. It would be a challenge, but even a small harvest would be enough to start. I hoped they would give it their best effort.
In the industrial sector, orders had come in after I returned the suspension-equipped carriage to Michael-san. I had prepared parts for five units with mass production in mind, but that wasn't going to be enough. Beezel and the Civil Official Girls all wanted their own. The girls apparently wanted to send them back to their parents as gifts. I decided to place an additional order for springs with Howlin Village.
As for commerce, we reviewed the sales of processed goods made during the winter: sake, oil, salt, sugar, pickles, jam, and juice. Since these had already been shipped, it was mostly just a report on the volumes sold. We had been wholesaling to Michael-san since late winter and selling to Beezel, Howlin Village, Draim, Dos, and Progenitor-san. We also produced cheese and butter, but those were consumed entirely within the village, leaving nothing to sell. Mayonnaise was also in high demand, but since I didn't know the exact shelf life, I refused to sell it. I didn't want anyone getting sick. For now, mayonnaise remained for internal consumption only. Beezel, Draim, and Progenitor-san had been giving the jars such longing looks that I ended up giving them some as gifts rather than selling them.
Regardless, we were waiting on a formal report from Michael-san. Once that arrived, we would decide on the production volume for the next winter.
Simultaneously, we planned what to plant in the fields. For the first planting in the Village of the Great Tree, we decided to play it safe and stick to last year's crops. However, we did agree to increase the production of certain spices at the request of the High Ogre maids, and Lu requested the addition of several new types of medicinal herbs.
Then came the matter of Reward Medals. I would be distributing them again this year. Every resident of the Village of the Great Tree would receive three medals. Each race representative would receive ten. The packs of Kuro and Zabuton would receive thirty per clan.
The distribution for Village One, Village Two, and Village Three would be slightly different this year. Last year, I gave thirty medals to each village collectively but nothing to individuals. This year, each village would still get thirty, but every individual resident would also receive one medal. I wanted to give more, but the villages themselves declined, insisting that their contributions weren't yet significant enough to warrant it. Since we had discussed this several times before the meeting, we proceeded with that plan.
As a special recognition, the bees were awarded two medals. The Sake Slime was also awarded two. Finally, the Death Knight acting as the guardian of the hot springs was awarded two. The bees always provided us with delicious honey, and the Sake Slime... well, it had been spending a lot of time playing with the children lately. As for the Death Knight, he was out there guarding that place all by himself. I planned to deliver the medals to him soon and see if he had any personal requests.
Regarding medals for the children, we decided not to issue any yet, with the exception of the Beastman boys who received three. Medals are for those who contribute to the village through labor. Therefore, Urza, who wasn't working yet, and Nart, who only helped out occasionally, wouldn't receive them. On the other hand, Lizardman children who were performing proper work would be included. This part of the system relied on the recommendations of each race's representative.
I wondered if I should give about five to Progenitor-san. I decided to keep it under consideration.
Naturally, I couldn't give one to the cat.
The meeting was supposed to end there, but a message arrived right in the middle of the proceedings. It was from Progenitor-san. I suppose you'd call it telepathy? Lu received it and relayed the message to us. He wanted to bring a reward for the medicine I had crafted at Fouche’s request.
I had been wondering what the reward would be, and it turned out to be people. Twenty people, specifically: ten young, childless married couples. They were primarily of the Human Race, though some were half-breeds. He wanted them to be integrated as residents of Village One. This was exactly what I had been hoping for.
"Are you sure you're okay with this, Lu?" I asked. I had sent word that the reward should be for her and the others.
"It's fine," she replied. "When Progenitor-sama asked me, I told him to bring something that would make the Village Head happy."
I was filled with gratitude. However, with the sudden arrival of new personnel, the meeting had to continue. Igu, the representative of Village One, and Mam, the caretaker, took the lead. We had to discuss the reception plan, daily necessities, their initial work assignments, and security arrangements. Things became very busy all at once.
The banquet food I had prepared for after the meeting seemed to be getting further and further away. I had ready-made various bamboo shoot dishes and so much more... No, the meeting was just running long; the food wasn't going to disappear.
Laughter and bright voices began to drift in from the mansion's hall. It had to be my imagination. I could have sworn I heard someone shouting "Cheers to the new spring!" I wondered who was leading the toast. Come to think of it, I believe I told them they could start without us if the meeting ran late...
"Should we... go and eat first?" someone whispered. "No. If we go, we'll never come back to finish this." "Maybe just some sake then...?" "Absolutely not. If we bring in the sake, the discussion will devolve into nothing but drinking." "Then... should we call it a day and finish the rest tomorrow?"
Everyone answered that last one in unison. Their focus was clearly already on the other side of the door. It was spring, after all. It couldn't be helped.
I decided to end the meeting there for the day.