While plowing the fields in preparation for the autumn harvest, I reflected with a touch of regret on how I’d been completely preoccupied with the shops in Village Five this past summer.
I’d even left the summer festival in the Village of the Great Tree entirely in the hands of the Civil Official Girls. This year’s theme was a Music Festival. Singing, instrumental performances—anything went as long as it made a sound. We had judges to determine a winner, but the core concept was simply for everyone to enjoy the music.
The winner was Aegis, the phoenix chick, who showcased a beautiful, song-like cry. I hadn't realized Aegis possessed such an incredible talent. It was a well-deserved victory. Lu, who served as a judge alongside me, whispered that it was the "cry of life." I understood exactly what she meant. When I heard that cry, I found myself thinking back to the moment Alfred was born.
The runners-up were the cows. The entire Cow Family lined up and performed a comical chorus of moos. I’m certain one of them was a rapper. Aside from them, the instrumental performance by Zabuton’s Children and the howling chorus by Kuro’s Children were also quite good. The High Elves were skillful, as expected, but since they play so often at village events, the audience had grown a bit too accustomed to their repertoire. A new song is eagerly awaited.
Aside from the festival, the other major event this summer was the Galf Incident. Since an Adventurer Guild was established in Village Five, Galf has been able to take on regular work as an adventurer again. Previously, his registration had been revoked because he hadn't been active for a set period, forcing him to start over from scratch; he was delighted that the new arrangement made things so much easier.
While I thought it was a bit harsh to revoke a registration just for inactivity, the guild explained that since they guarantee an adventurer's identity, they can't keep people on the books if they aren't actually working. Furthermore, they claimed they were being more than accommodating by allowing people to maintain their status simply by reporting their whereabouts, even if they didn't take on quests.
This alone shouldn't have caused an uproar, but the catalyst was the Adventurer Guild in Shashato City. Galf had re-registered and resumed his activities there first. Until the guild was built in Village Five, he would travel to Shashato City to file his reports. Apparently, Galf is an exceptionally talented adventurer, and because of this, the Shashato City branch had been using his name heavily in their advertising.
However, once the Village Five branch opened, Galf began filing his reports there instead and rarely showed his face in Shashato City. This put the Shashato City guild in a bind after they had promoted him so much, and they began plotting various ways to lure him back. Sensing this, the Village Five guild counter-plotted to ensure Galf stayed put.
Eventually, it escalated to the point where the representatives of the Shashato City and Village Five guilds decided to settle the matter with a duel. A group battle involving ten adventurers from each side was held at the event facility at the foot of Village Five, and it was reportedly quite a spectacle. The result, however, was a victory for the five members of the Security Team who intervened halfway through. The Silver Knight and the Iron Knight were among those five, and they apparently performed magnificently.
With the outcome of the match rendered moot, Galf finally settled things with a single sentence: "I'm the Village Head's escort, so it's impossible for me to go to Shashato City."
A total victory for the Village Five Adventurer Guild. Honestly, though, there hadn't been a single reason to fight in the first place. If Galf’s stance seemed unclear—or rather, if his declaration was delayed—there was a reason for it.
Galf had just become a grandfather.
It was his son's child, a girl. A granddaughter. Until his son's wife recovered from the exhaustion of childbirth, Galf was looking after the baby almost every day. During that time, he had a slip of the tongue and said she was a thousand times more precious than when his own son was born, which led to a massive fight with his wife. From her perspective, no matter how cute the granddaughter might be, it wouldn't feel good to have her compared to the son she had carried and birthed herself.
I ended up having to step in to mediate. I make mistakes sometimes too, so I told them we should all be more careful. As for the Adventurer Guild matter, I told them to handle things before the trouble escalated next time. Though, in truth, Galf wasn't at fault at all.
Then there was the pool. We opened it again this summer, and Suarlou, being an angel, found it quite novel. So did Razmaria, who arrived later. Malbit knew the pool existed, but this was her first time visiting during the summer. Perhaps because of that, the three of them were enjoying themselves with an excitement that made it hard to believe they were mothers with grown daughters.
While it was nice to see them having fun, their appearance in swimsuits was certainly easy on the eyes. However, I ended up being pinched for my gaze by those grown daughters—Granmaria, Kierbit, Suarliu, and Suarkou.
Hahaha. You girls look wonderful too, you know.
Hmm? Am I staring only at Razmaria's chest? That's not true. Absolutely not. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop these dishonorable suspicions. It causes me all sorts of trouble later.
The other notable event of the summer was the Fairy Queen Incident. The Fairy Queen loves sweets. She prefers them, anyway, meaning she is capable of eating other things, though she rarely does. The problem arose with the hamburger steaks I made for the children. Seeing the children eating them with such joy piqued the Queen's interest, and she demanded one for herself.
At the time, I had only prepared enough for the children, so a High Ogre Maid hurried to cook another one. This was where the mistake occurred. The children's hamburger steaks had cheese inside. However, the one served to the Fairy Queen did not. If no one had pointed it out, she might not have noticed, but the children spoke up.
"The cheese inside the hamburger steak is so delicious, isn't it?"
The Fairy Queen silently inspected the half-eaten patty in front of her. Then she pouted. She pouted tremendously. It wouldn't have been a nuisance if she had gone off to sulk in private, but she made a point of sulking right in front of me. Since she was genuinely in the way, I gave her the attention she wanted.
We spent an entire day making sweets together. Since it would have been lonely with just the two of us, I invited the children to join in. Once the Queen's mood had improved, I told her to apologize to the High Ogre Maid who had cooked for her. Even if she had forgotten the cheese, she had still gone through the trouble of making the meal. One must never forget to be grateful.
I suppose that was the gist of it. It feels like a lot happened, but looking back, it was actually a relatively quiet season. I suppose that means it was a peaceful summer, which is a good thing.
Now then...
"Giral, it's a bit of a problem for you to just stand there staring at me."
I’d already heard that his wife wants to see Gral. I told him I wasn't stopping him and that he should just take Gral home for a visit. I know Gral doesn't want to leave Hiichiro's side, but he can't take Hiichiro with him. The boy is still too small for that kind of travel. If he absolutely insisted, then Raimeiren would have to go along too. In that case, Giral would be the one who had to persuade her... no, why are you asking me to do it?
"Is it really impossible to bring your wife to this village instead?" I asked.
Apparently, she has a major injury and can't move much. Why didn't he say that first? I asked about treatment, but he said it was impossible and told me not to worry about it. Of course I'm going to worry.
She was injured five hundred years ago? That certainly sounds serious, but at least her life isn't in danger. She even gave birth to Gral in that state, so she must be stable. Giral explained that the only real issues were that she couldn't take human form and that traveling was too difficult. That sounds like an ordeal in its own right.
"Is treatment really impossible?" I pressed.
"Indeed," Giral sighed. "Unless one has a leaf from the World Tree, it will not heal."
...
Wait, what?