The martial arts tournament came to a successful close, and the guests began trickling out of the village.
Aside from Progenitor-san and Fouche, who were still making frequent use of the hot springs, Raimeiren was the only one who stayed until the very last moment. She simply couldn't bear to be away from Hiichiro. Toward the end, she even tried to take him home with her. It took a coordinated effort from Hakuren and Rusty to persuade her to leave, but I have a feeling she’ll be back before long.
She has other grandchildren, like Rusty and Helzernark, but I wonder if the fact that he's a boy is the key point for her? When I asked Hakuren about it, she mentioned that Raimeiren had doted on the girls quite a bit when they were small, too. I see.
Meanwhile, Giral’s daughter, Gral, officially moved into the village. Since Hakuren and Rusty gave her their seal of approval, I granted my permission. For the time being, she’ll be staying in one of the guest rooms in my mansion. As for her duties... well, for a while, I think it’s fine if she just focuses on her studies alongside Urza.
Once the post-tournament review meeting was finished, we threw ourselves into winter preparations. We worked to the absolute limit, processing food, hunting, and securing enough firewood to last through the cold months.
Come to think of it, I’ve been providing the vast majority of the firewood so far. The trees in the Forest of Death are notoriously difficult to fell and even harder to burn, making them poorly suited for fuel. I didn't really notice it myself since I use the Universal Farming Tool to cut and process them, but it’s a real issue for everyone else.
I had considered a plan where I would provide lumber from the Forest of Death to Michael-san to sell, and in exchange, purchase firewood from him. However, Michael-san’s shipping capacity is limited, and the sheer volume of firewood required would have taken up his entire inventory space, so we scrapped the idea. I’d much rather trade for seafood than wood.
Apparently, if one travels further south than the Southern Dungeon where the Lamia race lives, there are trees much better suited for firewood. I’ve started commissioning the Lamias to handle the felling and drying of wood from that region. Eventually, I’d like to create a system where I don’t have to provide all the fuel myself. Perhaps I should also look into alternative fuel sources.
We held a general meeting. The village and species representatives gathered alongside the Civil Official Girls. The primary agenda was the allocation of labor for the winter.
"We have received an order from Count Chrome for twenty sets of Mahjong tiles," one of the girls reported.
"Twenty sets? That’s quite a lot."
"He says they are perfect for socializing while talking business. Apparently, once a game starts, people find it very difficult to walk away."
High society small talk, huh? I imagine they discuss some pretty heavy topics over those tiles.
"Furthermore, several nobles who became obsessed with the game now want sets of their own..."
"I understand the demand, but I wouldn't be offended if they just had them manufactured in the Demon Kingdom."
"We checked with their craftsmen, but it seems that producing one hundred and thirty-six tiles to the exact same dimensions is a monumental task for them."
"Ah... I see."
That was a task made trivial only by my Universal Farming Tool.
"The Demon Kingdom will handle the production of the folding tables, scoring sticks, and boxes. They are only requesting that we provide the tiles."
"Understood. I'll get to work on them."
"Thank you. Next, the Goroun Company has requested an additional ten sets of carriage suspensions."
"We already had an order for twenty, didn't we?"
"Yes. That brings the total to thirty. Howlin Village has indicated they can fulfill the order if we're willing to accept them in batches of ten."
Since the springs—the most vital component of the suspension—are manufactured in Howlin Village, their schedule dictates ours.
"If Howlin Village is on board..." I looked over at Ya, the representative of the Mountain Elves.
"It’s no problem at all. Please accept the order," she said confidently.
She really is reliable. We added that to the winter schedule.
"The Korin Religion has requested two Statues of the Creator God. They wish to place one of them in the hot spring area."
"If it’s going in the hot springs, does that mean a wooden statue won't do?"
"No, they said the material doesn't matter. They believe the wood from this forest is hardy enough to withstand the humidity of the springs without rotting."
"Understood. Check the delivery deadline for me."
"Regarding that, they said whenever it's finished is fine. Their only request is that you carve it when the spirit moves you—when inspiration strikes your soul."
"They certainly don't make things easy..."
And so, our winter activities were decided, prioritizing external requests while ensuring the villagers' daily lives wouldn't be disrupted.
"This won't be limited to just this winter, but... Lord Hou of the Demon Kingdom has sent a request for alcohol production."
"A production request?"
"Yes. She wants us to brew sake using specific grains and methods she provides."
Essentially, she wanted to provide the raw materials and pay us to process them into alcohol.
"Hmm? If she’s going that far, why not just make it herself? Hou is one of the Four Heavenly Kings and a noble, right? I heard she has her own territory, so surely she has her own brewers."
"She claims she only wants to entrust the work to those who truly understand alcohol."
Well, while our dwarves are certainly the right people for the job, I feel bad for the brewers in her own land. They must be crying. I looked over at Donovan.
"Even if the batch turns out poorly, being trusted that much means we can’t exactly turn her down," the dwarf grunted.
"All right. We'll handle the grain purchase after the next harvest—wait, what's this other letter?"
"That is a formal petition from Lord Hou."
"Don't tell me... she wants us to sell her some of this year's harvest?"
"Yes. We already declined once through Count Chrome, but she persisted."
I checked the letter. It was written with exhaustive politeness, but the summary was simple: "Please sell me this year's Sugar Cane."
If she wants Sugar Cane, she’s probably looking for distilled spirits. She seemed to have taken a real liking to them when she visited. She was asking for three barrels worth.
I had the Civil Official Girls check our inventory.
"She’s a woman who knows the value of good drink. Sell it to her," Donovan encouraged.
With his backing, I decided to accept. I’ll leave the specifics of that project to him.
"Also, Donovan-san, this is for you."
"Hmm?"
"You gave Count Chrome some sake when he left after the tournament, right? This appears to be his thank-you letter."
"He’s a formal one, isn't he? Let’s see... mmmmmmgh." Donovan’s face twisted into a scowl as he read.
"Was there something strange in it?"
"No, it’s a thank-you letter. However... since I didn't give him every type of alcohol he asked for, he’s written several pages complaining about why 'that specific sake' wasn't included."
I caught a glimpse of the letter; it felt like it was radiating a dark aura of longing.
"What did he mean by 'that sake'?"
"The usual honey one..."
Ah, the honey wine made from the village honey. It really was excellent.
"I told him when I let him taste it that it wasn't something he could just drink whenever he pleased," Donovan muttered, though he actually looked quite pleased with himself. It might have been a letter full of complaints, but from a brewer's perspective, having someone practically beg for your work is the highest form of flattery.
After that, the discussion shifted to various other topics. We talked about the shortage of tableware for the new migrants in Village Three and the lack of bamboo for crafts in Village One. We discussed the plans for Gral’s house. Apparently, once it's built, she plans to bring in servants just like Rusty did. She also wants it to serve as a place for Giral to stay when he visits.
Dos had made a similar request for a permanent residence. Building in the middle of winter is nearly impossible... though I suppose I could manage if I really pushed myself. No, overworking is a bad habit. I decided to focus on the preparations so we could begin construction as soon as spring arrived.
Beyond that, we debated whether to hold horse races again this year, brainstormed ways to use the pool during the off-season, and looked into a proposal for road construction to facilitate more trade between the Giants in the Northern Dungeon and the Lamias in the Southern Dungeon.
The topics were exhaustive, but most didn't require an immediate decision. The plan was for everyone to spend the winter months thinking things over. I suppose I need to do some thinking, too. I really need to reflect on my habit of acting purely on whim.
After the meeting, we had a light meal.
The gathering reminded me of the Natto Incident from a while back. I had been preparing a batch of natto starter at Flora’s request when the dwarves came charging in, looking panicked. Apparently, fermented soybeans are the natural enemy of sake brewing. Now that I think about it, I remember hearing somewhere that natto bacteria are incredibly robust—so much so that they are taboo in places where sake or cheese are made.
I worried I had done something catastrophic, but the dwarves immediately set to work at the four corners of the fermentation hut.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"It’s a charm to keep the fermentation spirits quiet," they explained.
I was impressed, but it turned out the dwarves had installed these charms when the hut was first built. I had no idea. Apparently, the presence of the natto starter had pushed the charms to their limit, triggering a spiritual alarm that alerted the dwarves.
"There, that should hold it for now. If it starts affecting the other ferments, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to move that bean-rot of yours to a dedicated hut somewhere else."
I didn't quite grasp the science of it, but they had somehow managed to contain the bacteria. In this world, it seems even microbes are governed by spirits.
"Is anyone actually researching these charms?" I asked.
"Who knows? We’ve just been using them the way our ancestors did," Donovan replied.
"What about you, Flora?"
"It’s a form of Ancient Spirit Magic. It’s mostly a lost art, so very few people study it thesely days."
"Did you know these were here?"
"This is my laboratory, after all. But I didn't realize natto was powerful enough to trigger the alarms. I’m sorry."
"No, I was the one being careless. I’m just glad we caught it in time."
I really was. Still, while I could sort of understand how they contained the bacteria, I wondered about the logic of it being safe to take the finished product out of the hut. Does the charm prevent the bacteria from clinging to clothes or skin? I can really feel the obsession of the people of the past here. Then again, being particular about food is just part of being alive.
I let out a sigh as I looked at the spread of food and alcohol laid out before me. Wasn't this supposed to be a "light meal"? It had turned into a full-blown banquet. Well, I suppose this is just how we do things. People who weren't even in the meeting were already starting to drift in.