I set about expanding the village fields to the east. These new plots were dedicated to producing the raw materials needed for the shops I had recently opened in Village Five. It was a fair amount of work, but I knew it would only be a temporary burden.
I was already working through Michael-san’s Goroun Company to establish supply lines from sources outside the Village of the Great Tree. If I didn't ensure we could procure ingredients elsewhere, the shops would be in jeopardy if anything ever happened to me. A business model that collapses the moment its leader is incapacitated is simply unacceptable.
Well, while some personnel are truly indispensable, I wanted to reach a point where the management wouldn't be thrown into chaos just because someone caught a cold.
As I was tilling the soil, I spotted the children heading toward the dungeon with Urza in the lead. The group included Urza, Alfred, Tiselle, Nart, Lilius, Rigul, Ratte, and Torain, along with Hiichiro and Gral. Hakuren and three High Ogre Maids were following closely behind them.
Trailing even further back was a group of about twenty Lizardmen. At first, I wondered if they were an escort, but I quickly realized they were actually Lizardman children. I could tell by their gait. Actual Lizardman guards would have marched in perfect lockstep, but these little ones were struggling to keep their pace uniform. Since they were still practicing, I suppose that was why they were walking at the rear. They were only going out to play, though; they could afford to relax a bit more.
Their destination wasn't the dungeon itself, but Village Five, which they would reach via the teleportation gate located deep inside the caves. Earlier this morning, Alfred had come to me to ask if he could take the children who were interested to an event facility at the foot of the mountain in Village Five. Apparently, there was some kind of festival or event geared toward children.
It was rare for Alfred to initiate a request like that, so I had been more than happy to grant my permission. To be fair, these were the same children who had caused a bit of a stir in Village Five recently, but I didn't think that was any reason to keep them cooped up in the village forever. If they were curious about the world outside, I wanted them to experience it.
I had considered going with them, but when I saw that the children had already recruited Hakuren and the High Ogre Maids as chaperones, I decided against it. I suppose I could have tagged along anyway, but I had my hands full with the field expansion. It was a bit of a shame, though.
As for potential trouble... well, they were children. Trouble was par for the course. Still, I trusted them to return home safely. Urza, leading the way, noticed me and waved. I hoped they would have a good time.
The event facility the children were headed to was a place I had commissioned as an apology for their previous run-in with the Village Five Security Team. I believe the technical term was an urban survival game field. I had ordered its construction with the intention of providing a space where urban combat could be practiced without disturbing the local residents.
When it came to the buildings within the field, I had envisioned simple, basic structures. However, the Village Five apprentice carpenters had turned it into a competition, resulting in a surprisingly impressive mini-town. The buildings were sturdy enough to serve as actual emergency shelters if the need ever arose. If it ever came to that, we could just use them for that purpose, so I didn't see any problem with the over-engineering.
The members of the Village Five Security Team had been absolutely thrilled with it. Come to think of it, when the facility was finished, I had asked if they could conduct fire drills there in addition to their combat training. Pirika had looked at me with a perfectly straight face and asked, "Is this a countermeasure against fire attacks?"
I still wasn't sure if she was joking or not. I felt a bit bad that I hadn't known how to react.
Once the fire drills began and more residents started participating, the field began to be used as a venue for various games and events. Now, it was reportedly quite the popular spot. Because of that, I suspected that Noodle Shop Buritoa would become the most successful of all the new shops. After all, it was located right next to the event facility and the baseball stadium.
Noodle Shop Buritoa was named after Gratz’s family name. I had decided that this particular shop wouldn't focus on sweets due to the supply issues with raw materials, so I had consulted Gratz and Ronana while they were nearby. The idea for a ramen shop had actually come from Gratz.
In the spirit of celebrating their upcoming marriage, I wanted to name the shop after the two of them. Gratz and I had initially proposed "Noodle Shop Ronana," but Ronana herself found it too embarrassing, so we settled on "Noodle Shop Buritoa." I did wonder if it was appropriate to use a noble house's name for a restaurant, but since Gratz gave his personal permission, I decided it wasn't an issue.
Beezel had looked rather envious when he heard the story. His family name was Chrome, if I recalled. Should I open a Noodle Shop Chrome somewhere eventually? No, knowing Beezel, he would probably want to use his granddaughter's name instead. In that case, it would be Noodle Shop Fracia. That had a nice ring to it. Well, opening any more new shops was out of the question for the time being.
Shortly after noon, I took a break from the field work. I wasn't actually tired, thanks to the Universal Farming Tool, but if I spent the entire summer day tilling the earth without stopping, the people around me would start to worry. I made sure to let everyone see that I was taking proper rests.
While I was sitting there, one of the centaurs approached me.
"Village Head. I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's been a bit of trouble."
The issue, it seemed, was in the residential area. I climbed onto the centaur's back and was carried to the scene.
We arrived at the World Tree in the residential area. A crowd of minotaurs and centaurs had gathered, surrounding the massive tree. I had already been briefed on the situation, but I looked where one of the minotaurs was pointing nonetheless.
There, I saw a massive caterpillar—a silkworm. It was roughly eighty centimeters long. It was currently perched on a branch of the World Tree, contentedly munching on its leaves.
This wasn't just some random silkworm that had wandered in from the forest; it was one of the ones being raised in Village Two. Apparently, after I had fed some of them World Tree leaves in the past, this particular individual had developed a taste for them that it couldn't forget. It had escaped from the Village Two silkworm hut and made its way all the way here to the Village of the Great Tree's own World Tree.
Had it really traveled through the forest all by itself? That was incredible. Oh, wait, that wasn't it? Apparently, it had hitched a ride on one of the centaurs traveling between the villages. Smart little creature.
"I'm terribly sorry, Village Head," one of the residents apologized. "Our discovery was delayed. We had no idea it would grow this large."
"It's fine," I assured them.
The World Tree didn't seem to be suffering at all. In fact, it was sprouting new leaves just as quickly as the silkworm could eat them. That was likely why nobody had noticed it for so long. And no, I wasn't angry. After all, I was the one who had introduced it to the taste of World Tree leaves in the first place.
I was fine with it, but there were others who definitely wouldn't be. Lu and Tia, for instance. I remembered the terrifying expressions they had made when I first fed those leaves to the silkworms. I hoped they wouldn't be too hard on the little guy. I really didn't want to see it "disposed of." Besides, a silkworm this large might produce amazing silk—maybe even a legendary grade of thread.
I figured I could eventually appease those two, but the three who had just arrived looked like they would be much harder to convince. Granmaria and Kierbit had just returned to the village, accompanied by an unfamiliar, short angel. The three of them were staring at the giant silkworm gorging itself on the World Tree with expressions that defied description. They seemed completely unable to process what they were seeing.
I wondered if the short angel was Granmaria's mother, but their features didn't quite match. A younger sister, perhaps? Her face felt strangely familiar, yet I couldn't quite place her...
I never got the chance to figure it out. Before I could say a word, the short angel shed a single tear and collapsed, foaming at the mouth. It was a good thing Lu and Tia were nearby to catch her. This wasn't a blackout induced by one of Stan Bash's stunning techniques; this was a total collapse from pure mental shock.