Urza was currently tearing through the village on the back of one of Kuro's offspring. Behind her, the Beastman boys gave chase, riding their own wolves in a similar fashion. I couldn't help but wonder what they were up to this time.
Far behind the children, I spotted a High Ogre Maid in hot pursuit. Despite her long skirt, her running form was impeccable.
It seemed they were running away after pulling some kind of prank. I was constantly amazed by the leg strength of the High Ogre Maids; they could actually close the distance while chasing sprinting wolves.
Wait, perhaps the wolves were slowing down on purpose?
The maid was shouting out the names of various dishes as she ran.
"I won't make those for you anymore!" she screamed.
The wolves' speed dropped abruptly. Urza and the boys panicked, but it was too late. They were caught.
Well, if you do something that earns you a scolding, you have to face the music. Ramrias, the caretaker for the Beastman Race, arrived on the scene shortly after. The boys surrendered immediately.
Urza tried to keep running, but she was cut off by the Sake Slime, which had circled around to block her path. Escape failed. The High Ogre Maids certainly knew how to coordinate with the slimes.
As Urza and the boys were led away, I wondered what they’d done. Had they snuck some snacks? Or maybe they’d made a mess of the laundry? I just hoped I wasn't involved.
Regardless, I had to focus on my own work.
I began tilling the fields with my Universal Farming Tool. Compared to when I first arrived, my tilling speed had improved significantly. After all, I’d spent last year tilling not just for the Village of the Great Tree, but for Village Two and Village Three as well. At this rate, I’d likely finish ahead of schedule.
Once I was done, I had to decide what to do next. Should I expand the fields here? No, I should probably focus on the ranch instead. The number of calves and goat kids had been steadily increasing. While it wasn't exactly crowded yet, it was better to expand the space before it became an issue.
After finishing the fieldwork, I expanded the ranch about four hundred meters to the east.
The animals were hesitant to move into the new area. Livestock are naturally wary of unfamiliar territory, after all. To encourage them, I planted a small patch of carrots in the expansion.
The horses were the first to arrive. They certainly had good intuition.
"I'll make it even wider soon," I told them. "But don't eat them until I'm finished."
With the horses leading the way, the cows and goats eventually followed. The goats weren't quite as clever as the horses—or rather, they were clever in their own way, but entirely ruled by their stomachs. The horses likely wouldn't be able to protect the carrots from them; the sheer difference in numbers was too great.
It couldn't be helped. I decided to establish a dedicated carrot field just outside the ranch fence. I thought about finding something else to distract the goats, but I gave up on that idea. Those creatures were simultaneously the dumbest and smartest animals I knew.
Since the ranch was now larger, I needed to install more watering holes. Previously, I’d dug a well-like hole and connected it to a tunnel so the animals could walk through without having to turn around. However, the cows and goats ended up jamming themselves inside to escape the sun on hot days. If I hadn't found them when I did, things could have turned dire.
Since then, tunnels were banned. It was more work, but I went back to the original method of making water troughs. I simply took large logs, split them lengthwise, and hollowed out the centers.
If the troughs were too far from the source, carrying the water would be a nightmare. I considered making a plumbing system out of bamboo, but maybe I could use the pumps. If I could set them up so the cows or goats could operate them themselves... I decided to consult the Mountain Elves about it later. For now, I just set up simple bamboo waterways.
Next, I prepared blocks of rock salt. Salt is essential for livestock, so I placed the blocks where they could lick them at their leisure. It was incredibly convenient that a layer of rock salt existed right beneath the ground. Looking back, the struggle I went through searching for salt in the beginning felt like a bad dream.
In my defense, most people don't encounter rock salt in the wild, and fewer still think to lick a random rock to test its flavor. I didn't feel too bad about missing it at first.
Using the Universal Farming Tool, I dug into the salt layer, cut it into manageable blocks, and hauled them away. Normally, this would be back-breaking labor, but the tool made it a breeze. I was truly grateful for it.
With that, the work on the ranch reached a stopping point. During my labors, the goats had tried to charge at me several times, but Kuro's offspring had them surrounded and under control. I didn't want the animals to be too stressed, so I gently asked the wolves to release them once things calmed down.
Reports from Village Two and Village Three indicated that their traditional agriculture was proceeding smoothly. They had finished raising their seedlings and sowing their seeds without any incidents. Currently, they were managing well on their own, only requesting the Mountain Elves' help for waterwheel maintenance. It was heartening to see them so reliable, though I felt a tiny bit lonely.
I had requested that the representatives of each village keep detailed work records. These would serve as references for other villages and help us diagnose problems in the future. Right now they were just simple logs, but I believed they would become a valuable asset in the years to come.
I also took a moment to check on the bees in the orchard. Several new queens had been born this year, and the number of hives had increased. To support them, I planted more of their favorite flowers nearby.
Suddenly, I noticed the soldier bees guarding the nests were flying with unusual intensity. Was something wrong? About a hundred soldier bees from various hives gathered into a formation and sped off toward the north. One of Zabuton's children followed after them, and I decided to follow as well.
The bees flew to a spot just outside the defensive perimeter maintained by Kuro's offspring. By the time I arrived, the conflict was already over. A stray queen bee was being circled by the soldier bees from our orchard. On the ground lay a defeated long-bodied weasel.
There didn't seem to be any casualties among the bees. Judging by the state of the predator, it looked like Zabuton's child was the one who had actually finished it off.
The soldier bees began escorting the new queen back toward the orchard. I wondered if there would be territory disputes, but as Zabuton's child began hauling away the weasel carcass, it looked at me. I got the distinct impression it was saying, "As long as food is plentiful, they won't fight."
That made sense. I returned to the orchard and prepared a dedicated site for the new queen's hive. I should probably think about expanding the orchard soon, too.
In my downtime, I decided to try making a kickboard—a sort of manual scooter I remembered being popular when I was a kid. The construction was simple and didn't require any power source. I made an all-wooden prototype first, adjusting the handle height until it was just right.
However, when I tested it by kicking off the ground, the ride was terrible. Making the wheels out of wood had been a mistake. I went back and used rubber for the tires instead. The added elasticity made it much smoother to ride.
The real issue was the terrain. The village was built on ordinary soil that I’d tilled and packed down. There were very few places where a kickboard could actually be used effectively. Using it indoors was out of the question, as it would snag on the carpets and damage them. I decided to set the project aside.
Instead, I built a utility cart—the kind used in restaurants to move large amounts of food. I wasn't sure of the official name, but I applied what I’d learned from the kickboard. I gave it large wheels so it wouldn't get stuck on carpets and kept the design simple with two tiers for carrying items. It was basically a large rectangular frame on four wheels.
Once the prototype was complete, I showed it to the High Ogre Maids.
"Ah, a wagon," one of them said.
So that was what they were called. I let the maids start using it, planning to add some decorative flourishes later if it proved useful.
A few days later, I ran into Urza.
"This wagon is fun!" she shouted.
"Urza, that's not a toy," I sighed. "And where did you get that kickboard?"
I was sure I’d stored it away in the workshop. Urza skillfully balanced herself between the wagon and the kickboard and sped away before I could stop her.
I decided then and there that skipping dessert after dinner would be a fair punishment.
● Village of the Great Tree (Scale: 1 character = 100 meters)
□□□□Orchard Orchard Orchard◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ □□□□Orchard Orchard Orchard◆Horse◆Goat◆◆◆◆◆ □□□□Orchard Orchard Orchard◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ □□□□Orchard Orchard Orchard◆◆◆◆Cow◆◆◆◆◆ □□□□Orchard Orchard Orchard◆Ranch◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ □□□□Orchard Orchard Orchard◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ ━━━━━Pond Pond□Field Chicken Dog Dog Dog Dog Dog Dog□□Field ← Carrot Field ━━━━━Pond Pond□Mansion Mansion Dog Dog Dog Dog Dog Dog □□Golf Course▼Bath▼Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Herbs Herbs □□Golf Course▼▼Residential Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Herbs Herbs □□□□▼▼▼▼Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Herbs Herbs □□□□Workshop▼Inn Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Herbs Herbs □□□□□□Stage Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□Stage Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field Field □□□□□□□□Race Race Race Race □□□□□□□□Race Race Race Race □□□□□□□□Race Race Race Race □□□□□□□□Race Race Race Race □□□□□□□□Race Race Race Race
(The river is approximately 5km in that direction.)
Golf Course = Golf Course Stage = Outdoor Stage Race = Racetrack (including spectator seating)