Spring was here.
Between the parade and the wedding, life had been a whirlwind, but I was staying on top of my chores. I spent my days plowing the fields in the Village of the Great Tree, distributing Reward Medals, and performing maintenance on the bee huts in the Fruit Tree Area.
In Village Two and Village Three, the residents mentioned needing new agricultural plots so they could rotate their current ones into fallow land. While I didn’t mind them expanding on their own, the land isn't truly suitable for farming unless I personally till it with the Universal Farming Tool. So, I buckled down and put in the work.
Over in Village One, they wanted to expand their bamboo grove, so I focused my intent on the Universal Farming Tool and gave them exactly what they asked for. I really have to be grateful for that tool.
While I was busy with all of that, the unicorn gave birth. It was a relief to see the delivery go smoothly. The foal was… well, a perfectly normal-looking foal. Perhaps because she was still so young, she didn't have any of the distinct unicorn features yet. It was a girl.
Jewel the Jewel Cat also had her litter—four tiny kittens. They were adorable, but Jewel was still being very protective, so I couldn't get too close yet. I had to settle for watching them from a distance.
I had been worried about how Miel and the others would react, considering they’d been a bit lonely during their mother’s pregnancy, but they seemed to have embraced their roles as older sisters. Whenever a kitten started wandering off, they would gently pick it up in their mouths and carry it back to Jewel’s side. They seemed to be getting along just fine, which was one less thing for me to worry about.
What I was actually worried about was the Demon King. He had stationed himself in the prime viewing spot right in front of the nursery—the closest he could get without making Jewel angry. Ostensibly, he was there to admire the kittens, but he seemed to have appointed himself their personal guardian.
"Walk more quietly when you're in this hallway," he whispered. "Samael is sleeping."
Samael was the name given to the last-born kitten. The others were Ariel, Haniel, and Zeruel. We’d held a small meeting with whoever was available to brainstorm names, and the Demon King had joined in for some reason. I didn't see any harm in it, so I let him participate. We hadn't intentionally set out to do it, but all the names ended up ending in "-el."
Their nicknames were Aeru, Haeru, Zeeru, and Saeru. Honestly, they were a bit of a tongue-twister. I had a feeling those nicknames wouldn't stick as well as the older sisters' names did.
"He must be feeling lonely now that Lady Yuri has gone out into the world," Beezel explained, likely the one who had brought the Demon King here. He was currently cradling his granddaughter, Fraciabel.
Fracia was two now and growing fast. Holly was hovering nearby, correcting Beezel whenever his posture was a bit off while holding the child. I made a mental note to watch my own posture too.
Back in the Village of the Great Tree, a new house had been constructed for Galf’s son and his wife. They couldn't stay at the inn forever, after all. With the High Elves, Lizardmen, Mountain Elves, and Dwarves all collaborating on the project, it was finished in the blink of an eye.
Of course, I contributed as well by felling and processing the specific timber the High Elves requested. When the young couple came to discuss the cost of the house, I told them it was a wedding gift from me and not to worry about it. Besides, I had never really charged anyone for the houses I built here. The only exceptions might have been the residences for Rusty and Gral, but even then, they paid in goods rather than currency, so there was no set price. I wouldn't even know how to begin valuing a house in gold.
I told Galf and his wife the same thing—that they didn't need to stress over it. I knew they were just worried about their son.
"Galf, you've properly made up with your son, right? No more issues there?" I asked. "And please, don't say anything reckless about 'settling things' with your daughter-in-law. You were just a bit too deep in your cups that night." The Dwarves had certainly made sure he drank his fill.
"I know, I know," he muttered.
"Good. But you should probably drop the idea of going off on a training journey right now. Aren't you afraid of your wife standing right there?"
I certainly was.
The housewarming was a modest affair. Usually, the new homeowners prepare the food to thank the builders and introduce themselves to the neighbors, but with almost the entire village attending, there was no way the two of them could handle the cooking alone. I sent the High Ogre maids as reinforcements and told them to use whatever ingredients they needed from the storehouse.
The children started clamoring for cake, so I joined the cooking crew as well, starting with the construction of a large outdoor kitchen.
"I know, I know, gentlemen," I said, turning to the Dwarves. "The sake is all-you-can-drink today. You earned it with your hard work."
"Eh? That's not it, Village Head," one of them replied. "We wanted to talk about new crops. Specifically for brewing."
"A medicinal herb-infused liquor?" That was a new one. "Well, if we use the current herb fields... No, Lu would be furious if we touched those. Fine, I'll expand the herb fields for you. But absolutely no dangerous plants."
"Hahaha! We wouldn't dream of asking for man-eating plants," they laughed.
I wasn't just talking about the carnivorous ones, but they were already back to their drinks, so I let it slide.
Speaking of Galf's daughter-in-law, she had initially addressed me simply as "Village Head." However, ever since the spring parade, she had switched to calling me "Village Head-sama." It reminded me of how Ria and the others used to speak.
I had worked very hard to get everyone to drop the "-sama" from my title. If I let it slide now, I was afraid the habit would spread back to the others. In fact, a few of the High Elves were already starting to slip up. I needed to nip this in the bud.
"I understand your concern, Village Head-sama," the girl said. "But Village Head-sama is Village Head-sama."
It was total déjà vu. I was sure Ria had said the exact same thing to me once. Back then, I think I’d used the "distance" argument to convince them. We're too close for such formal titles, I'd said. But I couldn't exactly use that line on someone else's wife.
While I was agonizing over it, Ria stepped in and said, "Leave this to me."
I don't know what kind of logic she used, but the "-sama" disappeared immediately.
"The title 'Village Head' is already the highest form of address in this community," the daughter-in-law explained afterward. "Adding '-sama' to it was redundant and, quite frankly, bordered on being disrespectful by implying the original title wasn't enough. Please forgive my ignorance."
Well, I guess that solved it.
In other news, the three beastman boys were set to enroll in the Demon Kingdom's academy. This wasn't a sudden decision; Yuri had actually suggested it back in the winter when she first arrived in Village Five. She argued that it would be good for them to see more of the world. They were at the right age for it, and their skills were certainly up to par.
I didn't want to decide their futures for them, so I’d left the final choice to the boys. They had agonized over it for a while, but apparently, seeing Galf’s son bring a fiancée home to the village was the final push they needed. They realized that the competition for marriage partners within the village was far too steep for them.
"What about Urza?" I’d asked.
They had shaken their heads so hard I thought their necks might snap.
"How about Nart?"
"She has a terrifying side," they’d whispered.
"Gral?"
"She’s already set her sights on Hiichiro."
"Tiselle?"
"Absolutely not. I’m not giving you Tiselle," I’d flatly refused.
"Understood," they’d replied. "We'll go find wives in the outside world."
I did wonder if "finding a wife" was a valid academic pursuit, but I kept the thought to myself.
"By the way, Yuri, which academy are they attending? The one you and Frau went to?"
"Yes," she replied. "It's technically an academy for nobles, but because of that, they're much more flexible with scheduling and personal circumstances."
I was still a bit worried. "Are they going to be okay? What about etiquette and all the social rules?"
"Frau and the civil official girls will be hammering the basics into them before they leave," Yuri assured me.
Well, if they were handling it, I suppose it would be fine. It was still a bit emotional for me, though. Those boys had been so small when they first arrived, and now they were heading off to an academy. It was quite a sentimental moment.
"Make sure you study hard," I told them.
The three boys eventually headed to Village Five via the teleportation gate. From there, they would travel to the academy in the Demon Kingdom as representatives of Village Five.
"Hakuren-sensei, we appreciate the offer, really," one of the boys had said before they left. "But we don't think it's a good idea to show up at the academy on the back of a dragon."
At their earnest request, Hakuren’s "Dragon Express" service was cancelled halfway through their journey.