Once the cherry blossoms had finished falling, I suddenly remembered that it might be a good idea to start growing plum trees as well.
Pickled plums and plum wine.
Yeah, I had completely forgotten about them.
Even if I started planting them now, the harvest would be several years away. While I couldn't help but wish I had started sooner, I shifted my perspective, deciding to look forward to the bounty a few years down the line.
It seemed a series of strange guests had recently visited Village Five.
The first group was a delegation of priests from the Korin Religion. Apparently, they were dressed in incredibly pompous attire.
Yoko was the one who received them. While their speech was filled with high-flown rhetoric, the gist of their request was that they wanted permission to build a church in Village Five. I had already told Yoko that religious matters should be handled with a degree of freedom, so since a church already existed but more were welcome, she granted her permission.
The real trouble started after that. Before long, the group of priests stopped talking about construction and began demanding that the existing Village Five church be handed over to them instead.
Yoko rejected them flatly.
"In our village, religious freedom is paramount. If you wish to build a church, do as you please. However, you shall do so with your own coin."
The priests were incensed by her words and tried to intimidate her, asking if she truly intended to make an enemy of the Korin Religion. Personally, I was annoyed that they would try to threaten anyone like that, but Yoko simply responded with a beaming smile.
"My apologies. I am quite ignorant of religious matters, so pray forgive me. As for the church... let's see. It would be best for you to discuss and resolve the matter with those currently residing there. I shall accept whatever conclusion you reach."
Taking this as her consent to the handover, the priests rushed off to the church in high spirits. Waiting for them there, however, were Seles the Saint and Fouche.
Fouche happened to be on an inspection tour to see if the priests she had previously recommended were performing their duties correctly. I knew this because she had recently visited the Village of the Great Tree with Progenitor-san to pay her respects. Seles had then guided her to Village Five via the Teleportation Gate.
Yoko, of course, knew Fouche was there. After all, she had followed the two of them to Village Five in the first place.
I didn't know exactly what kind of "discussion" took place at the church, but the visiting priests eventually fled Village Five. Apparently, every single one of them was clutching their sides in agony as they left.
"Did Fouche hit them?" I asked.
"I swear to the gods, I did not strike them, nor did I commit any such acts of violence," she replied.
She looked perfectly dignified as she made the claim, and it certainly seemed like she was telling the truth. Then what exactly had happened?
At that moment, Seles the Saint was busy drinking with the Sake Slime.
Could it have been her? No, they probably all just came down with stomachaches. Divine punishment, most likely. Let's go with that.
The reason I knew all this in such detail was that the Civil Official Girls and the Mercury Race members, Roku and Nana, performed the events for me as a reenactment play during dinner. It was quite an impressive show.
It was also a relief to see that the Civil Official Girls finally had some breathing room. Gathering administrative staff in Village Five was finally starting to pay off. While they were only entrusted with matters related to that village, having that burden lifted from our main staff made things much easier. Even Futa and Miyo's eyes had regained their vitality. That was a good sign.
Still, it seemed the Korin Religion was quite a complex organization.
"The Korin Religion doesn't dictate a specific form of faith; rather, it's an organization that manages the conduct of various religions. Even if you lump them all together, there are numerous different faiths and sects within it," Fouche explained over dinner. "As long as they agree with the principle of 'valuing your own faith and the faith of others,' any group can call themselves part of the Korin Religion, regardless of which god they worship."
I recalled Progenitor-san explaining something similar to me once before.
"However, demanding the handover of a church is strictly forbidden by our tenets. I have memorized their names and faces. Their futures will undoubtedly be dark," Fouche added.
Her expression was terrifying. Progenitor-san, help... but it seemed he hadn't returned from the Hot Spring Area yet. I wondered if he was just exhausted.
The next strange guest was a band of dwarves. While there were already dwarves living in Village Five, these ones were of a distinctly different character. There were about thirty of them, all clad in high-quality arms and armor.
Yoko handled them as well. As soon as they met her, they made a declaration.
"We heard that weapons made from precious Magic Iron Powder are being produced in this village. Hand that powder over to us."
The Magic Iron Powder was a rare mineral harvested from the rock that had been attached to the bottom of the Sun Castle. We used some of it to make weapons in the Village of the Great Tree and sold the rest in Village Five.
"Are you saying you wish to purchase it?" Yoko asked.
"No! Magic Iron Powder is too much for the unskilled to handle. Superior materials belong in the hands of superior smiths."
"So... you're telling me to just give it to you?"
"Indeed."
Yoko promptly thrashed the entire group and threw them into jail. Apparently, they were so weak it wasn't even worth a proper fight.
"They were boasting so much about their gear that I crushed their weapons one by one right in front of them," Yoko explained with a hearty laugh. The girls didn't reenact that part, so I had to take her word for it.
I knew Yoko could handle herself, but I told her not to overdo it. Also... I hadn't realized we even had a jail.
"I had one built," she said.
Apparently, it was located on the North Slope where there wasn't much sunlight. Yoko explained that Village Five saw a certain amount of petty crime—violence, vandalism, intimidation, and extortion. The jail was for punishing those offenses. It was unthinkable in the Village of the Great Tree, but with so many people in Village Five, such crimes were inevitable. It was a mercy that nothing truly serious had happened yet.
Still, I wondered if it was all right to just throw people into a cell on her own authority. Then again, Village Five held its own tax, police, and judicial rights, so it was probably fine.
"So, when are you letting them out?" I asked.
"I'd like to keep them there for a thousand days, but I have to consider public opinion. I'm thinking about ten days. On that note, I'd like to borrow an Inferno Wolf or a Demon Spider."
"What for?"
"Nothing special. I just want them to stand guard in front of the jail."
I see. Of course, the answer was no. What would I do if one of Kuro's or Zabuton's children had a miserable experience because they were stuck guarding a prison? Besides, the Demon King and Beezel had specifically requested that I not bring the wolves or spiders into Village Five. Unless it was a life-or-death situation, it was out of the question.
"How stingy," Yoko pouted.
"It's not like you're short on guards, right?"
"No, but the ones currently guarding the jail are a bit... extreme."
"Extreme?"
"Perhaps they feel a great debt to Village Five, but they are incredibly harsh toward the prisoners."
"Are they going too far?"
"Not quite, but... you can never be too careful with the actions of those who are convinced they are in the right."
"Ah..."
I was glad they cared about the village, but it was a problem if they became overly aggressive toward others.
"If you'd like, I could go and talk to the guards myself?" I suggested.
Yoko laughed and told me that would have the exact opposite effect. I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke, but regardless, she planned to release the dwarves early if they showed proper remorse.
The third group was a party of ten elves. Though they were lightly equipped, they were all armed, led by a male representative. Yoko took charge of this meeting as well.
The elves' story was straightforward. Around Village Five, adventurers were busy exterminating monsters and Magic Beasts on a massive scale. As a result, those creatures were migrating elsewhere. They claimed that some of these displaced monsters were attacking the Elf Village, and they wanted us to take responsibility.
"I see. I understand the situation," Yoko said.
"Good. Then, as for how you will compensate us..."
"Wait. Before that, let me confirm something. What evidence do you have that the monsters attacking your village are related to Village Five?"
"Evidence?"
"Yes. Evidence."
"There couldn't possibly be such a thing!"
"Then you cannot say our village is the cause. It could be due to any number of other factors. Without proof, my village can do nothing for you."
"Even without proof, it's obvious your actions caused this!"
"Obvious? That sounds like a mere assumption on your part."
"Are you mocking the elven race?"
"Which of us is doing the mocking? You show up in a large group making accusations without a shred of evidence. If you continue to look down on us, someone is going to get hurt."
"This could mean war."
"If you wish to start something, I shall accept the challenge at any time."
"...Are you saying you won't take responsibility no matter what?"
"As it stands, your claims are nothing but groundless accusations."
"They are not groundless! This village hunted monsters, and therefore they came to our woods!"
"Yesterday, the village chickens didn't lay any eggs," Yoko countered. "That's because someone in the Elf Village was walking too loudly. Take responsibility. I have no evidence, but the connection is obvious. If I told you that, would your village apologize to us?"
"What nonsense! That truly is just a baseless accusation!"
"Is it? It follows your logic perfectly."
"Are you playing with us?"
"No, I am simply humoring the conversation. Tell me, what is the name of the monster attacking your village?"
"Where did that come from?"
"It's a question. What is the monster's name?"
"...I don't know the name. It's a turtle-like creature with a massive shell."
"I see. I haven't heard of it either. Is it strong?"
"It is."
"Is it fast?"
"No, it's slow."
"What does it eat?"
"Trees. It has devoured several of the trees our people hold dear."
"And how many of them are there?"
"Just one."
"I see. So only that one monster attacked your village?"
"Yes."
"Have you already defeated it?"
"Y-yes."
"I see. Then one last thing. What is the distance between our village and yours? How many days does it take to walk?"
"Five days."
"I see. I heard it was closer to seven, but you're faster than I expected."
"If you already knew where we were, why did you ask?"
"I simply wanted to hear it from you. Now then, as I thought, your claim is nothing but an empty accusation. If monsters were migrating because of us, there wouldn't be just one. Furthermore, I have the adventurers focus on hunting carnivorous monsters and Magic Beasts. If it's a monster that eats trees, we leave it alone. We wouldn't go out of our way to hunt something like that."
"Well, be that as it may..."
"You said you defeated it, didn't you? If you were just coming here to complain, one or two people would have sufficed. Why did ten of you come? Do you have that much free time? No, that's not it. You're the ones who gathered to slay that monster. You came straight here from the hunt and started making these foolish claims... which means you haven't actually defeated it yet. If you want help, bow your heads and ask for it honestly."
"..."
"And another thing, boy. Control your emotions better. If your opponent can tell you're panicking, you've already lost the negotiation."
"I am not a boy! I may look young, but I've lived for two hundred years!"
"Then try to be a bit wiser. Don't let the years pass you by in vain. Though I suppose I'm one to talk."
After that, the group of elves changed their tune and submitted a formal request for monster subjugation.
I see.
"Those fellows likely wanted to borrow Village Five's strength, but they were too stingy to pay the price," Yoko explained.
So they tried to make it our fault so we'd handle it for free. In that case, their claim about already defeating it was a total lie. They should have just been honest and asked for help.
"So, did you send out a subjugation team?" I asked.
"The Lizardmen and Beastmen who were visiting Village Five were more than happy to take command," Yoko said.
Ah... that would be Daga and Galf.
"Pirika, her disciples, and a group of adventurers went with them. It's quite a formidable force. They shouldn't lose."
"You say they won't lose, but isn't it an unknown monster?"
"Actually, I know what it is. It's called a Goo Turtle. Its defense is high, but its offensive power is mediocre. It has some unusual attacks, but as long as they stay alert, it won't be a problem. I've already briefed Pirika."
"Why did you pretend not to know when talking to the elves?"
"If I had admitted I knew it, they would have just used it as more 'proof' that it was our responsibility."
True enough.
"And what about those elves?"
"Half of them are acting as guides. I sent the other half on a long-distance run as payment."
"Payment?"
"Indeed. Working for free isn't good for the soul."
Apparently, she had them run all the way to the dwarves' settlement to fetch someone to pick up the rowdy dwarves she had jailed.
I see. Still, that was quite a string of strange guests. And to think all three groups arrived on the same day...
It seemed Village Five was in good hands with Yoko. She had handled everything splendidly.
"I do have some experience as a ruler, after all," she said confidently.
She truly was reliable. I told her I'd be counting on her from now on as well.
I also made sure to let Roku and Nana know I was relying on them. As for Hii... since the village's combat strength was temporarily lower with everyone out on the hunt, she had stayed behind to guard the place. I sent word for her to keep up the good work.