Spring had finally arrived.
Yes, it was pleasantly warm.
The snow mountain to the south of the village was putting up a fight, refusing to melt... it hadn't gotten any lower at all.
Well, I’m sure it’ll start shrinking soon enough.
Since it had kept the children entertained all winter, I felt a slight pang of regret seeing it go.
Should I make one every year?
No, that would be... well, I suppose I can just worry about that when the time comes.
Zabuton finally woke up, and I saw her for the first time in a while.
I was about to give her my usual greeting, but she snatched me up and carried me off before I could say a word.
Wait, was Zabuton in a panic?
I wondered what was going on, but our destination turned out to be the entrance to the dungeon south of the village.
Come to think of it, I hadn't told her about the dungeon yet.
Of course she was surprised.
As I gave her a tour, I filled her in on everything that had happened over the winter.
Mostly about the dungeon, the Teleportation Gates, and the plan to build a new village elsewhere.
Also, the story about the snow mountain.
Zabuton seemed to like the dungeon well enough, but she appeared dissatisfied with parts of the construction and requested some modifications.
Actually, those "modifications" would turn the place into an absolute death zone, so I had to beg her to take it easy.
Zabuton’s children were also scuttling around freely inside the dungeon.
I told them they could do as they liked.
They looked strangely at home in there, after all.
Oh, Floor 3 isn't finished yet.
Don't look so disappointed.
A lot happened with the Teleportation Gate Installation Plan.
We also have plans to expand even further down, so the dungeon construction has been on hold for a bit.
Now that it’s spring, the workload is increasing, and we have the plan for the new village where the Teleportation Gate will be installed.
I’m not sure when we’ll be able to resume building the dungeon.
Eh?
Zabuton's children will build the dungeon?
I don't mind, but... can they actually do it?
The ground here is quite hard.
Apparently, there's a type specialized for digging holes... do spiders even dig holes?
I had no idea...
Ah, wait, wait.
Let me check with Lu and the others first.
They'll be furious if it turns out too different from the original plan.
After consulting with Lu and the others, we decided to leave Floor 4 to Zabuton's children.
There were restrictions on the vertical depth, but we told them they could expand horizontally as much as they wanted.
I hope they enjoy themselves.
I confirmed this year's goals with the Acting Village Heads of each village.
We finalized the production plans and decided on which new facilities to build.
That said, since we’d already discussed most of this during the winter, it was really just a final confirmation.
Everything proceeded without a hitch.
I took up the Hoe form of my Universal Farming Tool and began plowing the fields in the Village of the Great Tree.
They're massive fields when you think about it, but...
Since I know the joy of a good harvest, the work isn't a burden.
Besides, I don't get tired while using the Universal Farming Tool.
It used to take me forever in the past, but now... yeah, I finished in about a month.
It might have been even faster if other jobs hadn't interrupted me.
We also started producing Bean Sprouts and Asparagus inside the dungeon.
While I was down there, I checked on the state of Floor 4... and found what looked like ancient subterranean ruins.
The decorations were incredibly elaborate.
A competitive fire lit up inside me, and I started working steadily on the unfinished decorative parts of Floor 1 and Floor 2.
While I was working away, the Cat came rushing in.
What was wrong?
He was in such a state...
Then it hit me.
I scooped the Cat up and ran back to the Village Head's Mansion.
Just as I suspected, the Jewel Cat was about to give birth.
Jewel paced back and forth on the bed, lay down for a moment, and then got up to pace again after a while.
She seemed high-strung, so there wasn't much I could do but keep watch.
I asked a High Ogre Maid nearby to fetch someone who could use Healing Magic, just in case.
It was Lu who arrived.
Together with Lu and the Cat, I stayed by the Jewel Cat's side during the labor.
Actually, was it okay for us to be watching?
Wouldn't she be more relaxed if she weren't being stared at?
But the Cat was the one who came to get me in the first place.
I wasn't sure which was better.
Suddenly, the Jewel Cat started bunching up the bedsheets to create a sort of screen.
I guess she didn't mind us being in the room, but she didn't want us staring directly at her.
I felt bad for making her go to the trouble.
After that.
Over the course of about six hours, four kittens were born safely.
The Cat was making a real racket, meowing with what seemed like pure joy.
But the kittens.
Their eyes hadn't even opened yet, but they were incredibly cute.
"Hey, Husband."
"Yeah?"
"You look even happier now than you did when your own children were born."
"Wh-what? No way. That's not true."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure."
Maybe I had let my excitement show a little too much.
I should reflect on that.
But they were just so cute, I couldn't help it.
Besides, there's no reason not to celebrate a few new residents joining the village.
With the Jewel Cat having safely delivered her kittens, a new problem arose.
It was the names of the Cat and the Jewel Cat.
We hadn't given them specific names until now, but we'd need them to distinguish the parents from the kittens.
As for the Jewel Cat, she was already being called Jewel among the High Ogre Maids, so we officially adopted that.
The Cat, however...
That was a bit harder.
Everyone called him something different.
I figured there would be an argument no matter which name I picked.
In that case, I should probably just give him a new one.
Since he's a black cat, maybe Chat Noir in French? Or Schwarzkatze in German?
No, those sound way too cool for him.
I'll decide later.
The real debate was over the kittens' names.
First of all, there were far too many people wanting to weigh in.
Even those who I thought had no interest before were completely captivated the moment they saw the kittens.
Names were being thrown around left and right.
Since it looked like a fight was brewing, we made a list of candidates and let the Cat choose.
Good grief, Cat.
I know those were on my list, but don't you think those are a bit much?
I know you have high hopes for your kids, but names like that can be a heavy burden to carry.
You're really set on these?
Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and Gabriel.
I think they're fine, but to keep the expectations from being too overwhelming, how about Miel, Rael, Uel, and Gael?
Yeah, I know I have zero naming sense.
You don't have to look at me like that.
The kittens' names became Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and Gabriel.
However, it was decided that they would be called Miel, Rael, Uel, and Gael.
Incidentally, we still don't know if they're boys or girls.
It's hard to tell the gender of kittens, isn't it?
After a few days, their fur colors settled to some extent, and they turned out to be two whites, one black, and one spotted.
"By the way, they don't have jewels on their foreheads... does that mean they're just normal cats?"
"We don't know much about Jewel Cat biology, but their traits rarely show up when they're this young."
Ah, I see.
Maybe the jewels will appear as they grow.
And even if they don't, I won't mind.
As long as they grow up healthy, that's all that matters.
"See? You definitely look happier than when your own..."
"I told you, it's just your imagination!"