Gazing up at the winter sky, I watched Hiichiro flying around in his dragon form.
It was flight practice. He had certainly improved, though his wings still flapped with a somewhat jerky, unstable rhythm. It wasn't Hakuren or Raimeiren soaring alongside him, but Tia. Ever since Hiichiro had taken to the skies, he and Tia had become remarkably close.
I wondered if it was her teaching style. I knew Hakuren tended to be hands-off, but Raimeiren was surprisingly rigorous when it came to formal instruction. It was a bit of a shock, considering how much she usually doted on the boy.
"Why is she so strict?" I asked.
"Because she once had a daughter who flew the coop before she could be properly taught and didn't return for twenty years," Dos explained.
I see. Her severity was born of worry.
"By the way, who was that daughter?"
"Hiichiro's mother."
Ah, Hakuren. That made sense.
"When her first child suddenly vanished, Raimeiren went on a rampage that caused quite an uproar," Dos continued. "By the time the commotion finally died down, Hakuren just casually strolled back home as if nothing had happened. You have no idea the trouble it caused... To see that same Hakuren bearing a child and living so peacefully... to me, it feels like a miracle."
From Dos's weary expression, it must have been a truly exhausting ordeal.
Suddenly, Hiichiro let out a massive sneeze. A plume of fire erupted from his mouth at the same time. The flames vanished instantly, likely lacking any real power, but it seemed he had burned his mouth. He immediately sought out Tia, presenting his snout so she could cast recovery magic. He was certainly playing up the "spoiled child" angle.
From my position beside Dos, I noticed the look Raimeiren was giving Tia. It was honestly terrifying.
Hakuren, meanwhile, was inside the Village Head's Mansion, busy teaching Urza and Alfred their lessons. That meant the angriest person currently on the field was Tiselle, who was sulking in my arms. She had tried to sneak out of the mansion when she saw Hiichiro and Tia together, but I had caught her. Since then, she had been clinging to me and pouting. It seemed I wasn't the one she wanted comfort from.
I'd have to ask Tia to deal with her once she finished.
Hiichiro’s practice continued for about an hour. Partway through, Hakuren came out to look for Tiselle, but since the girl was still in a foul mood, I decided to keep her with me for a while longer. Eventually, Hakuren scooped up the sulking Tiselle and carried her back into the mansion.
I felt a little lonely watching them go.
When Hiichiro finally landed, he shifted back into his human form and was promptly gathered into Tia's arms. After a bit of motherly coddling, Tia passed the boy over to Raimeiren. Perhaps she had noticed the dragon grandmother's intense gaze. As I expected, Tia didn't come to me; she headed straight inside to find Tiselle. I left that situation in her capable hands.
Now then, I should probably prepare some warm soup for Hiichiro since he was likely chilled from the flight. However, the High Ogre maids had already beaten me to it. They informed me that Raimeiren had already given them instructions.
Well, since Hiichiro was well-looked after by Raimeiren and Dos, I decided to head back to a warm room myself.
When I entered, Kuro and Yuki poked their heads out from the kotatsu to look at me. It seemed they had no intention of actually leaving its warmth. The Fairy Queen wordlessly thrust her teacup toward me, signaling for a refill. The only one who gave me a proper greeting was Aegis, the phoenix chick. Perhaps it was because he wasn't huddled inside the kotatsu with the others.
"There's a good boy," I murmured.
I placed Aegis back on top of the kotatsu, poured a fresh cup of tea for the Fairy Queen, and gave Kuro and Yuki a pat on their heads. Peeking inside the kotatsu, I saw the kittens huddled together. I told them not to get upset, promising to close the cover immediately.
Naturally, there was no room left for me. Kuro gave me a look as if offering to move, but his posture suggested he wouldn't actually budge unless I made it an order.
I gave up on the kotatsu. I figured I'd go help with dinner preparations instead; the kitchen was always warm, after all.
It seemed everyone else had the same idea. The kitchen was packed.
Lately, the High Ogre maids had been obsessed with developing preserved foods. It all started when I crafted those tiered food boxes. They were fairly large, four-tiered containers. I had packed them with various long-lasting dishes to create something resembling Osechi cuisine. While I was serving it, the maids had become fascinated by the concept.
Unfortunately, I didn't actually know how to cook most traditional Osechi dishes. I could only give them general descriptions of the items and their flavor profiles, but that was enough to set them off on a quest to recreate the meal. I was satisfied with their progress on the black beans and kuri-kinton, but the rest of the dishes were strange, mysterious creations. They tasted good, at least.
I found myself wishing for some herring roe, but that required herring eggs. I wondered if I could find a suitable substitute.
Since there was no room for me in the kitchen, I retreated to the workshop. I spent the time crafting additional tiered boxes while I pondered ingredients.
"Leave the decorations to us," the Mountain Elves said, joining me. "You want these to be lacquerware, right?"
"Just make sure you don't get a rash from the lacquer," I warned.
"Don't worry about us. We've been doing lacquerwork for over a hundred years."
Honestly, craftsmen from long-lived races feel like a cheat code. They were overwhelmingly better at the finish than I could ever hope to be. Since I was just an amateur, I didn't even try to compete.
"Alright, I'll keep cranking out the bases, so I'm counting on you for the rest."
"Certainly. But I thought the order was only for ten boxes?"
"I'll sell the extras outside the village."
"Understood. But won't Yoko-san be troubled by that?"
"Ah... you're right. Let's forget about selling them and just use them as gifts."
Yoko's current headache was the massive trade imbalance between the Village of the Great Tree and the outside world. The crops, sake, and crafts we produced were sold through Village Five, but there was almost nothing the Great Tree Village needed to buy in return. We had started purchasing firewood for fuel about a year ago to try and balance the books, but it wasn't nearly enough.
As a result, money was pouring into the village. I didn't keep the cash myself; it was all deposited in Village Five. However, the sheer volume of wealth was forcing them to build more and more storehouses. I had thought Yoko was exaggerating until I went to see for myself. The number of storehouses really had increased, and they were all crammed to the rafters with gold, silver, and gemstones.
As Michael-san had warned me before, letting that much currency sit stagnant in a vault wasn't healthy for the economy. I’d have to think of a way to spend it by the time spring rolled around.