The meeting continued, though we took several breaks to keep our heads clear.
"Regarding agriculture in Village Five, we have successfully secured the necessary farmland," one of the officials reported. "However, full-scale cultivation won't begin until next year. The plan for this year is to focus entirely on soil preparation."
It was a logical progression. I saw no problem with it.
Then again, perhaps there was a slight issue. Village Five’s current self-sufficiency rate was incredibly low. We were constantly forced to purchase food from external sources, which meant the Goroun Company was working overtime to keep us supplied. Since food security was a priority, I wanted to improve the situation as quickly as possible, but there was no rushing nature. Soil preparation was vital.
...What if we tried using dungeon potatoes? I recalled that after they withered, they made for excellent fertilizer.
Oh, it turned out they were already doing that. I stood corrected.
"Livestock operations—encompassing cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens—have begun in earnest," the report continued. "At this stage, we haven't encountered any issues with breeding, but it will still be several years before they can be reliably supplied to Village Five."
That was also to be expected. They were living creatures, after all; they needed time to grow.
"For the time being, we plan to supplement our needs through external imports and the meat of monsters and magic beasts hunted by adventurers."
External imports... once again, I was placing a heavy burden on the Goroun Company. I felt a pang of guilt, but when I apologized, Michael simply replied that he was turning a tidy profit, so it was perfectly fine. That was a relief.
"Are there any issues regarding the adventurers?" I asked.
"Monsters and magic beasts have largely vanished from the immediate vicinity of Village Five," the official answered. "This is exactly as planned. Currently, the hunters are focusing their efforts on an area roughly six hours to the north."
"Are they hauling the meat back from that far away?"
"No, we have established a temporary mobile purchasing station. By handling the butchering and transport through Village Five's own logistics, we are striving to secure a consistent volume of meat. However, the adventurers have requested that we build dining halls, taverns, and inns at the mobile purchasing station."
I hadn't been aware of the purchasing station, but I had heard the adventurers' requests for safe places to eat and sleep in the forest. Galf, Daga, and Pirika had all mentioned it.
As a solution, I had proposed the camping carriages. It was impossible to cram a dining hall, a tavern, and sleeping quarters into a single vehicle, so I had separated the functions. To keep the number of horses required to a minimum, I had aimed for a more compact design.
First was the cooking carriage, which was equipped with a full kitchen. By pairing it with a food carriage and a water carriage, it could function as a mobile dining hall.
Next was the tavern carriage, which focused on the sale of alcohol. It wasn't designed for drinking inside; rather, it was meant to transport the supply safely, with specific measures taken to prevent bottles from falling or breaking. Customers were expected to do their drinking outside.
Finally, I had prepared private room carriages. These were packed with beds, allowing two people to sleep in one vehicle. I knew one wouldn't be enough, so I had ten of them built. Even then, I knew it wouldn't satisfy the sheer number of adventurers, but we couldn't produce a massive fleet overnight.
For everyone else, we provided a carriage loaded with camping tents and gear, as well as a shower carriage equipped with bathing facilities. They would just have to make do with those for now.
Because we needed multiple food and water carriages to support the fleet, the total count had reached twenty vehicles. I was impressed we actually got them all ready. The mountain elves had really outdone themselves.
Since it would be a disaster if they malfunctioned while deep in a forest filled with monsters, we were currently testing them at the summit of Village Five. Galf, Daga, Pirika, and her disciples were set to provide their feedback soon. Once I had their notes, we’d refine the designs before officially adopting them. I hoped this would allow the adventurers to cull more monsters and magic beasts, thereby securing a steady meat supply.
Still, for the time being, we were dependent on the Goroun Company for food. I suppose that was unavoidable for a brand-new settlement, but... I suddenly had a thought.
"Is the supply chain stable?" I asked.
Michael answered my sudden doubt. "In what sense, Village Head?"
"Other regions were suffering from food shortages until recently, right? Hou, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, used dungeon potatoes to reform farmland across the kingdom, which ended the crisis. But since they were struggling so recently, wouldn't they be reluctant to sell their surplus? Are we forcing the prices too low?"
"Not at all," Michael assured me. "In fact, it’s the opposite. Farmers and merchants who have seen the effects of the dungeon potatoes are terrified that prices will crash after this year's harvest. They’re scrambling to sell their current stock while they can still get a good price for it."
I see. So a bumper crop didn't necessarily make everyone happy. It was something to think about.
"Well, the Demon Kingdom is already taking steps to ensure the market doesn't collapse entirely," Michael added, glancing at Beezel.
Beezel nodded in confirmation. "Though I imagine Randan is nursing a massive stomachache over the paperwork."
I chuckled. The next time I saw Randan, I’d have to be especially kind to him.
...Wait, if the market was shifting like that, what about us?
"Does this mean the value of the crops from the Village of the Great Tree will drop as well?"
"Goodness, no," Michael said quickly. "Your produce maintains its status as high-end luxury goods. People with money to spare are practically competing to get their hands on it. We look forward to your continued supply this year."
Michael then went on to practically beg me not to reduce our production levels.
"You can even increase them if you like. I'll buy every single thing you grow."
"I... I'll keep that in mind," I stammered.
"Moving on to diplomatic matters," the official said. "I'll leave this to our two representatives."
The Tree King and the Bow King stood up simultaneously and bowed toward me.
"I shall report first," the Tree King began. "I was responsible for the western side of Village Five. There were seventeen elf settlements scattered throughout the west; all seventeen have submitted written oaths of fealty to Village Five. We encountered resistance in a few areas, but we crushed them. Our losses were limited to six injuries; there were no fatalities."
"I was responsible for the eastern side," the Bow King followed. "There were twenty-two elf settlements scattered throughout the east; all twenty-two have submitted written oaths of fealty. No combat occurred on my end. Master Fuano of the dwarves had contacted them in advance, which I believe smoothed the way."
...Wait. This was diplomacy? What was this talk of "crushing" and "oaths of fealty"? Was I the only one who found this strange?
I looked at Yoko, who was sitting next to me. She simply nodded and addressed the two of them.
"You both did well. Are there any other elven factions that might pose a threat?"
"Yoko, wait," I whispered. "That's not what I meant. Diplomacy is about making friends, isn't it?"
Yoko explained that elves generally couldn't negotiate unless a clear hierarchy was established. Essentially, if you didn't firmly place yourself above them, they would look down on you.
I looked back at the Tree King and the Bow King for confirmation.
"Embarrassingly enough, that is the truth," the Tree King admitted.
"As long as the ranking is made clear, they are quite obedient," the Bow King added.
...Thinking back, I suppose it was similar when the other high elves arrived after Ria.
"So," Yoko continued, "which factions might still be hostile?"
"Yes," the Tree King replied. "They are quite far from here, so I doubt they will be an immediate issue, but the notable ones are the Spear King of the Forest of Gigu, the Wind King of the Forest of Gau, and a power calling itself the Elf Empire."
...The Elf Empire?
"It is a nation of elves gathered on a single island rather than the mainland. My apologies, I don't have many details."
Beezel chimed in to supplement the Tree King's report. "It’s a large island located about fifteen to twenty days by merchant ship southwest of Shashato City. I’ve heard roughly five thousand elves live there. They aren't under the Demon Kingdom’s rule and maintain their independence, but they rarely interact with the outside world."
If they wanted to be left alone, we’d leave them alone. I certainly wasn't going to start preparing warships for an invasion.
What about the other two? ...Northeast of Howlin Village, apparently. That was definitely far away. We’d leave them alone as well.
...Wait, wasn't that the same general area where the undead appeared a while back? I wondered if there was a connection or if it was just a coincidence. I’d have to ask Progenitor-san about it next time I saw him.
"Finally," the official said, "we have a few requests from the residents."
"Let's hear them."
"Given how much we've grown, there are many requests to officially call this a 'city' rather than a 'village.' Travelers and merchants who come here have also complained, saying they felt deceived by the name."
I hadn't intended to deceive anyone. "Village Five" had just been a provisional name that stuck. The fact that it had grown to the size of a city was entirely unexpected. Still, if it was causing problems, we could change it. We could call it City Five; there was no reason to be obsessed with the word "village."
"If anyone has a suggestion for a new name, I'm listening."
Silence. Nobody spoke up. Then, Yoko raised her hand.
"The village council discussed this briefly before," she said. "'Hiraku City' was a very popular candidate. Would that work?"
"Absolutely not," I shot back. It would be mortifying to live in a city named after myself. "Would you be okay with it being called 'Yoko City'?"
She looked like she wouldn't mind in the slightest. She really was a big shot.
"Um," the Tree King and Bow King interjected, "if the name of Village Five changes, we will have to have every single oath of fealty rewritten..."
"The paperwork involved would be astronomical," the Civil Official Girls added.
I decided to take the safe route.
"The summit shall be designated as Village Five for administrative purposes, while the slopes and foothills shall be known as City Five. Ensure this is thoroughly publicized."
That should resolve the issue without causing a bureaucratic nightmare. At least, I hoped so.
The meeting continued for a while longer after that, finally wrapping up in the evening. I was exhausted.