Winter was fast approaching.
Zabuton and her children were beginning their hibernation. It was time for a brief farewell. However, just like last year, some of Zabuton’s children decided to stay in the mansion and the dungeon rather than sleep. It was nice knowing the place wouldn't be lonely. Arako, the Arachne who lived in the dungeon, also remained active as usual, having no particular need for hibernation.
I also had to say a temporary goodbye to Galf and Daga. It seemed they planned to spend this winter training in the vicinity of Village Five. They appeared to be taking their lackluster performance in this year's martial arts tournament to heart. To be fair, they were both defeated almost instantly. It must have been frustrating to lose without being able to show their true strength. Pirika, her disciples, and the elves from Village Five were all joining them, so it sounded like things were getting quite lively.
They were certainly enthusiastic... but I couldn't help but wonder if they couldn't just train closer to home. Well, I didn't want to dampen their spirits, so I decided to keep that thought to myself.
Meanwhile, a small change occurred in Village Five. Yuri, the Demon King's daughter, arrived to take up her new post. Her official title was Demon Kingdom Administrator. It was a role similar to an inspector for regions that didn't have a Magistrate.
Initially, the people of Village Five were hesitant. While they could accept a government administrator, they found the idea of hosting the Royal Princess—the Demon King’s own daughter—a bit daunting. Rumors that the Princess was selfish didn't help her image. To counter this, Yuri decided to go door-to-door to greet every single village councilor personally.
She meant well, but...
"What kind of harassment is this?! Having the Royal Princess visit every single house for greetings?!"
She ended up getting scolded by two of the previous generation’s Four Heavenly Kings. Still, since she was officially accepted afterward, I suppose you could call it a blessing in disguise.
"Uu... I only did it because Frau told me making the rounds was important..." Yuri lamented.
Yuri was aware of the Teleportation Gate in Village Five, so she had been coming to the Village of the Great Tree almost every day since starting her job. She was absolutely delighted that Fracia, Frau’s daughter, called her "Yuri-neetan." Incidentally, while Beezel was called "Ji-ji" as the grandfather, his wife Silkyne was called "Ne-tan." Given how young she looked, it was hard to blame the child. Perhaps to balance things out, Holly was being called "Ba-ba." She looked quite apologetic about the title, but secretly, she didn't seem to mind it at all.
We had planned to build a new mansion for Yuri, but the project was postponed until spring. Construction was possible during the winter in this area, but the schedule was currently backed up with the construction of livestock barns. Yuri was kind enough not to demand that her residence take priority over the farm's needs. Instead, she decided to stay at Yoko's mansion until her own was finished. She had brought about twenty attendants with her, but Yoko's mansion was massive, so it wasn't an issue. Truly, space is a blessing.
However, Yuri was the only one in her group who knew about the Teleportation Gate and had permission to use it. The ones protesting this arrangement weren't Yuri herself, but the Civil Official Girls.
"Among the twenty attendants who came with the Princess, several of them are my former peers," one of them pointed out. "Please, let us recruit them into our ranks. Don't worry, we'll whip them into shape."
"Viscount Gon’s daughter is there," another added. "She’s excellent at arithmetic and handled her family's accounts."
"There’s also the daughter of a famous magistrate from the Southern Continent. She must be intimately familiar with administrative work."
"Wait, is that Baron Bolloy’s daughter? Lady Fuuryurin! I heard she got married, but is she back home now? She has experience in finance! We absolutely have to secure her!"
Their job was supposed to be assisting Yuri, not working for our administration... but the Civil Official Girls eventually made a direct appeal to the Princess. In the end, eighteen of the twenty attendants changed jobs to join the Civil Official Girls, leaving only two behind so Yuri wouldn't struggle with her daily life.
"I'm sorry for being so unreasonable," I apologized to Yuri later.
"I had a feeling it might turn out this way, so please, feel free to put them to work," Yuri replied gracefully. "I'll contact their families myself to explain the situation."
"I appreciate it."
Since they had officially joined our staff, I thought about inviting them to the Village of the Great Tree, but I was warned that it would be "too cruel" to do so suddenly. I didn't quite understand why, but we decided they would undergo training in Village Five for the time being. During that period, we would perform background checks to ensure they held no ill will toward the village before telling them about the Teleportation Gate. Looking further ahead, we even hoped to send a few of them to Big Roof Shashato. I was all for it. I hoped they would do their best.
Then came the winter.
Since we were doing what needed to be done, children were conceived when they were conceived. There was no problem with that. The problem was that it all happened at once.
Lu and Tia were both pregnant with their second children. Two High Elves and three Mountain Elves were also pregnant. Seven in total. It was a joyous occasion, but there was a specific reason for this sudden boom. It’s a bit of a long story, but bear with me.
About a year ago, Alfred reached the point where he could sleep in his own room. His growth was something to be celebrated, but sometimes he would get lonely and come to either my room or Lu's room at night. If he went to Lu's room and she was there, there was no issue. But if she wasn't there, it became a bit of a problem. Likewise, if he came to my room and Lu was there, it was fine—but if I was with a woman other than Lu, it was very much a problem. I felt he was still too young for that kind of "education."
However, I couldn't bring myself to turn Alfred away when he was lonely. As a result, I spent many nights sleeping alone just in case he showed up. They were peaceful days.
But then the Fairy Queen arrived in the autumn. While she occasionally spirited children away at night, she was also surprisingly good at putting them to sleep. She managed to appeal to Alfred's sense of male pride, encouraging him to stay in his own bed all through the night.
With that, my peaceful nights vanished. The "intense nights" returned in full force. It didn't help that my spirits were high following the successful martial arts tournament and Paula's safe delivery. I simply did my best. And that was the cause of the collective pregnancies.
I had hoped that Tiselle might visit me at night because she was lonely, but...
"Lady Tiselle sleeps like a log, so please don't worry about her," I was told.
I suppose I'll have to look forward to Hiichiro’s growth instead.
Once the news of the pregnancies spread, the Beastkin girls intensified their own pursuit. I suppose I'll just have to keep doing my best.
Ya, the representative of the Mountain Elves, seemed to be brooding a bit. It was likely because the other Mountain Elves had conceived before their representative. But children are a gift from God. I told her not to worry and to just let things happen naturally.
Also... she really didn't need to wear those "weird" clothes. They were definitely not having the seductive effect she thought they were.
I think I’ll have to consult Zabuton about this once she wakes up.