The autumn harvest had finally begun.
The entire village turned out to help. From the Angel Race, Malbit, Ruincia, Suarlou, and Razmaria joined in, and Dos and the other dragons lent their strength as well.
The one working most proactively this time was Graffaloon. I wondered if she’d been inspired by Draim’s enthusiasm for harvesting daikon, but then I realized the truth. Ah, that was it. She was making up for her failure during the recent collective flight. It was Graffaloon who had failed to dissipate that fireball, wasn't it? Since Raimeiren was still fuming about it, Graffaloon probably felt she couldn't say a word in her own defense.
I decided not to mention it. I just let her keep working hard at the harvest.
The Lamia Race from the Southern Dungeon and the Giant Race from the Northern Dungeon arrived to help as well. Speaking of which, I wondered how the Gorlock Race from the Eastern Dungeon were doing. We had previously tried to arrange a meeting, but while their delegation was on the way to the village, they were attacked by a giant boar and injured. The plans had fallen through as a result. I intended to go visit them personally once they recovered, so I’d have to check on their status soon.
For now, though, I focused on the harvest.
"Fairy Queen, I’m glad you’re helping with the persimmons, but aren’t you eating more than you're actually putting in the basket?"
Did she prefer soft persimmons over firm ones? Personally, I liked them crunchy.
"Regardless, stop eating them all. Look, Kuro's Children and Zabuton's Children are watching you with envy, you know?"
I didn't mean she should share them, either.
Once the harvest was finished, we transitioned into processing the crops. We spent our days making oil and sugar, and preparing dried sweet potatoes and dried persimmons. We also ground the wheat into flour.
I took a portion of the harvested cabbage and Chinese cabbage down to the reservoir. These served as pre-hibernation meals for the Pond Turtles. They needed to fill their bellies before they went under for the winter. The turtles munched away on the greens with sparkling eyes. Even though I’d brought a significant amount, it vanished in an instant.
"Do you want seconds?"
Though they acted modest, the Pond Turtles happily finished off the extra cabbage and Chinese cabbage I brought. It was a satisfying sight to see them eat so heartily.
The World Tree Silkworms were also beginning their winter preparations. Beneath the branches of the World Tree, they were spinning cocoons using silk that matched the color of the wood. They would spend the cold months inside these overwintering cocoons.
"See you next year," I said.
Beside me, the Phoenix chick Aegis was chirping in frustration. I chuckled; their rematch would have to wait until next spring. I figured I could leave Aegis in the Eagle’s care, but... wait, where was he? That was rare.
Just as I wondered where he’d gone, I spotted the Eagle high in the distant sky. He circled the same spot for a moment before suddenly tucking his wings and diving. A moment later, he rose back up, having successfully brought down a rabbit with impressively large fangs. He gripped the prey in his talons and carried it back to the village.
Lately, we had been providing the Eagle's meals in the village, so there was no real need for him to hunt, yet he still helped out like this. I was grateful. Normally, I would have handed the rabbit over to the High Elves, but this time I placed it in front of Aegis. The chick climbed onto the rabbit and began plucking at its fur.
Pluck, pluck, pluck.
He barely managed to pull anything out, but he was incredibly persistent! Eventually, Aegis sat atop the rabbit with a look of immense satisfaction. It seemed his mood had finally improved. As expected, the Eagle knew exactly what to do.
Afterward, the High Elves came to collect the rabbit. The pelt was a bit damaged, but that was apparently normal. Aegis had worked so hard at his plucking... it wasn't a prank, so I asked them not to scold him.
A new sword now hung at Urza's waist. It was sized perfectly for her current height. I had presented it to her the moment her ban on carrying weapons was officially lifted. I truly hoped she would treasure it.
Urza had earned the right to carry a weapon again by finally producing a dish that satisfied Ann. To be honest, I was the one who gave her the winning advice. Urza didn't have much trouble with chopping ingredients, stir-frying, or mixing. Her problem was heat management. No matter what she was cooking, her heat was always far too high.
So, I taught her a dish that actually benefited from high heat: fried rice.
The process was simple: prep the ingredients, then toss them into a heated pan in a specific order and stir-fry. The higher the heat, the better the result. Of course, if you weren't fast enough, it would burn, but that suited Urza’s energetic style perfectly. Skillfully wielding a wok I’d made specifically for her, Urza mastered the dish. To be honest, hers was probably more delicious than mine.
Even Ann had to acknowledge her success.
"Master, you certainly are soft on your daughter," Ann said with a smile.
However, I knew her well enough to recognize the hidden reproach in her voice. She wasn't upset that I’d helped Urza; she was annoyed that I hadn't introduced the concept of fried rice until now.
In my defense, the rice harvests used to be quite small, and it felt like too much trouble to cook rice twice. But I got the message. I promised to teach the recipe to the rest of the staff and prepare more woks. As a result, both lunch and dinner consisted of nothing but fried rice for the next few days.
Eventually, it was time for Giral to head home. He had originally planned to leave much earlier, but his departure had been repeatedly postponed. I apologized for the delay and thanked him for his help with the harvest. Giral shifted into his Dragon Form, and we loaded a substantial amount of crops onto his back as souvenirs. After spending about two hours bidding a lingering farewell to Guronde and Gural, he finally took to the sky.
Next were the Suiren, Sekiren, and Domaim families. They looked like they wanted to lounge around a bit longer, but they all had work to return to. Since I couldn't force them to stay, I gave them their souvenirs and saw them off as well.
That left Dos, Raimeiren, Draim, and Graffaloon.
Graffaloon eventually found a moment when Raimeiren was in a good mood and apologized for her mistake during the collective flight. With that weight off her shoulders, she looked refreshed as she doted on her granddaughter, Lananon. Draim, meanwhile, had been recruited by Rusty to help with making dried persimmons.
Raimeiren was currently in deep discussion with Dos. I overheard snippets like "officially moving here," but I decided to pretend I hadn't heard anything until the matter was formally settled.
While Raimeiren doted on Hiichiro, she could also be quite stern. She wasn't just there to spoil him; she strictly scolded him whenever it was necessary. She applied the same discipline to the other children as well. Because of that, she wasn't exactly popular with anyone other than Hiichiro. "Unpopular" might be the wrong word—they were mostly terrified of her.
The adults, however, respected her immensely. After all, she was the mother who had successfully raised five children: Hakuren, Suiren, Draim, Sekiren, and Domaim. The village parents frequently sought her out for advice. Raimeiren didn't seem to mind the attention, though Progenitor-san watched the scene with a bewildered expression.
"I really don't think consultations about whether a child has entered a rebellious phase are the kind of thing one should bring to a heavyweight of the Age of Gods Dragon Race," he remarked.