While doting on Lupumirina and Aurora, I set to work in the courtyard, constructing a Clothing Hut and a shrine to house the Statue of the Fairy Queen.
The Clothing Hut was a two-story structure situated near the mansion. I designed the first floor as a display area, complete with mannequins to showcase various outfits, while the second floor was dedicated primarily to storage. Because of this layout, it ended up looking quite a bit like a small boutique.
At the moment, the only clothes inside were mine, but I hoped that eventually, the children's clothes and other garments would be made and displayed there as well.
Zabuton was more delighted with the Clothing Hut than I had anticipated. It seemed to set her creative passion ablaze; she immediately began producing new outfits at a staggering pace.
Just to be sure, I had to ask—are those for me?
Ah, yes, they were. I thanked her, though I did make a few requests: please keep the sparkles to a minimum, and try not to make the shoulders protrude so much.
Then I noticed a peculiar rod. I asked if I was supposed to wear it on my back.
Apparently, it was intended to represent a halo. It was the same concept I had used back when I carved the Statue of the Creator God. I see.
Still, while I appreciated the new clothes for myself, I reminded her that I was counting on her for the children's outfits too. After all, the number of little ones in the village was only going to keep growing.
To my surprise, she had already prepared them. Ten outfits for each gender, for every single season... eighty outfits in total?
I decided right then and there that we would have to hold a fashion show produced by Zabuton one of these days. I would have to give it my all.
As for the shrine for the Statue of the Fairy Queen, I kept it as simple as possible, incorporating the suggestions of the village residents. It wasn't so much a grand shrine as it was a raised platform to protect the statue from the mud, covered by a roof to shield it from the rain. The sides were left open, with only the pillars supporting the roof. Since I was told this would suffice, I didn't add anything unnecessary.
When I went to check on the shrine the next day, the area surrounding it was already overflowing with greenery. Vines had even begun to wind themselves around the statue. It was incredible growth, but I certainly hadn't used the Universal Farming Tool on it.
I wondered if the Fairy Queen herself was responsible. When I asked, she claimed to have no idea. It was a mystery, but since it wasn't causing any harm, I decided not to worry about it. Strange things happen in this world, after all.
Oh, that reminded me. I told the Fairy Queen she was free to do as she pleased with the offerings on the platform. Various nuts and flowers, likely gathered from the forest, had already been lined up there by someone. I told her the other fairies were welcome to them as well.
As for my contribution... I laid out several pieces of sugar cane, each cut to about thirty centimeters. The moment I set them down, the fairies swarmed the platform.
Predictably, the Fairy Queen didn't join the undignified scramble. I laughed, telling her I knew she was waiting for her reward, and promised to bring her some pudding later.
This year's autumn harvest proved to be quite difficult. We were severely short-handed. While part of the reason was that I had expanded the fields, the primary cause was that much of our labor force was occupied with childbirth and childcare.
Yes, there was a baby boom. Two High Elves and three Mountain Elves had given birth in what seemed like a competition. Both of the High Elves had girls—they were absolutely precious. As for the Mountain Elves, they had two boys and one girl. The girl’s crying voice was more powerful than anyone else's, which gave me quite a start.
Just like that, the village grew by five children. Then, amidst the initial chaos, two of the beastman girls gave birth as well. Both were boys. Counting Lupumirina and Aurora, our numbers had increased by nine children in a very short span of time. While it was a joyous occasion, it meant that a significant amount of manpower had to be diverted to help them.
I was in a bind. But just as I was starting to worry, a helping hand was extended.
The civil officials Yuri had brought along when she was assigned to Village Five had arrived. These eighteen women had finally completed their rigorous training and made their way to the Village of the Great Tree.
It was pure pandemonium.
I tried to calm them, telling them there was no need to be so terrified. Their reaction was making Kuro's children and Zabuton's children quite depressed.
It really felt like an overreaction. When the first group of Civil Official Girls arrived, they had fainted in much the same way, but it hadn't been this extreme.
"It’s because we had already met the Lamia Race before coming here..." one of the original Civil Official Girls explained, a very distant look in her eyes.
Ah, I see. That made sense. Regardless, the Eighteen New Civil Official Girls wouldn't be of any use for a while. They weren't the reinforcements I had hoped for. It was a disappointment, to say the least.
Left with no other choice, I looked elsewhere for help.
Raimeiren was the first to respond. Even if she only looked after Hiichiro, that was already a massive help. However, I couldn't help but notice how quickly she appeared. She must have been waiting right around the corner. I hadn't even finished handing the letter to the small wyvern when she showed up. Well, I wasn't about to complain. I thanked her for the help.
A few hours after Raimeiren arrived, Draim showed up accompanied by about twenty members of the Devil Race. Apparently, Raimeiren had sent them to Draim's Nest some time ago with the intention of having them help with childcare.
However, the new mothers were hesitant to entrust their newborns to strangers, so I had the newcomers help with the harvest instead. I felt a bit guilty making them do work they weren't used to. I also requested that they change out of their exquisite butler uniforms and into something more suited for manual labor that they didn't mind getting dirty.
I told Draim he didn't need to push himself and suggested he spend time with Rusty and Lananon. However, he informed me that Rusty had specifically told him to help out in the fields.
"Well then, I'm counting on you," I said. "I'll be tilling these ridges, so please gather the daikon."
I continued the harvest, working in tandem with Draim. I figured the new civil official girls would recover in a few days, so with this extra help, we should be able to finish the harvest on time. At least, I hoped so.
That night, the mothers who had refused to leave their children with the Devil Race came to apologize for being selfish. Since it was the first child for each of them, I told them I understood perfectly. I had no intention of forcing them to hand over their babies.
More importantly, I reminded them that it hadn't been long since they gave birth. I urged them not to overexert themselves and to stay warm and get plenty of rest, as the nights were beginning to get chilly.
Ten days later, the harvest was successfully completed, thanks in part to Dos, who had brought along another twenty members of the Devil Race to assist us.
I expressed my gratitude by holding a banquet for all the Devils who had come to help. It was the least I could do. Draim, of course, joined in. I told him not to hold back.
"I am the world's best daikon-harvesting dragon, you know!" Draim boasted to everyone at the party.
Hearing that made me feel a twinge of guilt. Perhaps I should have assigned him something more befitting of a dragon... But then again, I wondered, what exactly constitutes "dragon-like" work?