Reading the letter from the beastman boys brought back memories.
We had held a modest farewell party for them before they departed. Has it really been three months since then?
Hmm.
I had been reasonably busy during that time, but only three things really stood out in my mind.
The Harvest and Festival Executive Committee. The consultations with the Demon King regarding the education of the newborn kittens. And the spring harvest.
This year was another bumper crop. The harvest had been a massive undertaking, making me wonder if I had expanded the fields a bit too much. However, when I thought about the children yet to be born, I knew I had to keep pushing myself. Of course, it was for the sake of the children already here as well.
The Festival Executive Committee has officially begun preparations for this year's festivities. The Civil Official Girls were working hard—perhaps a bit too hard, if I’m honest. Maybe having the new girls currently training in Village Five has provided them with some healthy motivation.
The Demon King visited the mansion once every four or five days to dote on the kittens born this year. Or rather, one might say he was protecting them. Perhaps as a result of his dedication, he had become incredibly popular with Samael, one of the kittens born this year. I was a little jealous.
Still, I had to wonder about him sitting in a guest room, airing his daily grievances to Samael while she perched on his lap. I had the feeling he was leaking actual state secrets, but I made a point of pretending I hadn't heard a word, even if his voice reached my ears. Honestly, if he has complaints about Yuri, he should probably just tell her directly. She has been coming to the mansion quite frequently lately—usually for the food.
As for the other kittens, the one they were most attached to was Aegis, the phoenix chick. Aegis himself seemed thrilled to finally have beings smaller than him around. Despite being a chick, he worked remarkably hard to look after them. Well, "looking after" mostly involved him chirping to alert a nearby High Ogre maid or the Demon King whenever something was needed, but even that was a huge help. It was certainly better than them not getting along. I hope they continue to be on good terms.
Arrangements for a meeting with the Gorlock race, who live in the Eastern Dungeon, were finally coming together. Ever since our first encounter—or rather, the unfortunate misunderstanding with the Eastern Dungeon investigation team that resulted in some of them being injured—I had been waiting for a chance to greet them properly. I had considered heading out to see them myself, but those around me held me back. They insisted it would be better to wait for the Gorlocks to recover and then welcome them here.
Since that was the majority opinion, I followed it. A significant amount of time seemed to have passed since then. Well, the wait would be over in a few days. The Gorlock race had formed a delegation and was currently heading our way. The hard work of the High Elves who coordinated the meeting was finally about to bear fruit.
Or so I thought, until a problem arose. The Gorlock delegation bound for the Village of the Great Tree encountered a giant boar on the road. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but it sounded like the majority of them had been injured.
The Gorlock race—also known as Stone Men—are a people whose entire bodies are made of rock. In the dungeons, they camouflage themselves as boulders and live off moss. I wondered if their camouflage simply didn't work in the forest? Regardless, I felt terrible for having asked them to leave the safety of the dungeon.
"Once the Gorlocks have recovered, I'm going to visit them myself," I declared. "But, about that..." "I’m not allowed to send escorts or guides from our side, right?"
I didn't quite understand why, but that was the rule I had been told to follow. If they couldn't be protected on the way here, then I had no choice but to go to them. We argued back and forth, but in the end, my opinion won out. Of course, it would still be a while before the visit actually happened.
For the time being, I wrote a letter of sympathy to the Gorlock race and made sure to thank the High Elves who had been coordinating the meeting. They were likely the ones most disappointed to see the talks fall through.
In my room, Aegis and the new kittens were all napping on top of Kuro’s belly as he lay on the floor. It was a heartwarming sight. Since Samael was among them, I guessed the Demon King hadn’t arrived yet.
Come to think of it, every kitten in this year's litter was female. The father cat seemed to be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the ladies. Speaking of the father cat, referring to him that way was getting inconvenient, so we finally gave him a name: Raigiel. I had selected it by lottery from a list of candidates. Apparently, it was the name of an ancient god of magic. It turned out to be quite a grand title.
"Hey, Raigiel!" I called out.
I thought he might ignore me, but he reacted instantly. It seemed he actually liked the name. As long as there were no problems with it, that was fine by me. He did look strangely bashful, though.
"If you don't like it, I can change it?"
He seemed to indicate that wasn't necessary. I see. Good boy.
By the way, where were the older sister cats? Since the new litter arrived, calling the previous ones "the kittens" had become confusing, so I started calling them the "older sister cats." They had grown quite a bit, after all.
Are the sisters over there? Looking up, I spotted the four of them perched on the ceiling beams. What were they doing hiding up there? Were they keeping watch over the kittens? Talk about doting older sisters. Still, it was better than them being indifferent. Their behavior was certainly a far cry from any cat I had known back in my old world.
Suddenly, Samael woke up. It looked like Beezel had arrived with the Demon King. The spatial magic was certainly convenient, though I felt a small pang of jealousy.
"Samael, what about me? My lap is wide open right now."
I sat down and patted my knees, but Samael ignored me entirely and strolled out of the room. In her place, Yuki entered and rested her head on my empty lap. Thanks, Yuki. You're a pal.