I woke up. It seemed I had dozed off after lunch. Worse yet, I was in the kotatsu. That wouldn't do; I would catch a cold if I wasn't careful. No matter how much of a Healthy Body I possessed, I couldn't afford to be careless. I had to stay vigilant.
With that in mind, I nudged my companions. "Kuro, Yuki, time to wake up."
Kuro aside, it was rare to see Yuki sleeping flat on her back. She was being far too defenseless. Kuro, meanwhile, was actually drooling. If Ann caught him like that, he would definitely get a scolding.
Then there were Zabuton’s children. I asked them to stop packing themselves quite so densely inside the kotatsu, as it was a bit unsettling to look at.
I noticed another occupant as well. "Sake Slime, were you in there too? Ah, you couldn't move because Zabuton’s children were blocking you. My apologies. You’re getting overheated, so go cool yourself off. Not outside, though—you’ll freeze solid. The basement should be nice and cool."
As the slime departed, I noticed something else lingering in the kotatsu... a furball? It was Hitoe.
"Are you sulking?" I asked. "What’s wrong? Did you have a fight with Yoko? She praised Aegis but didn't praise you?"
It turned out the issue was about the way they ate fish. Aegis’s technique was a masterstroke—something only Aegis could pull off.
"You’re still a child, Hitoe, so you don't need to worry about eating like that. It’s fine. I’ll put in a good word with Yoko for you. Does that make you feel better? Then please, come out of the kotatsu. Next time, make sure you keep your face out instead of crawling all the way in."
As soon as she emerged, the Older Sister Cat and the kittens scrambled into the space vacated by Zabuton’s children. They looked at me as if complaining that I had been too slow to kick the others out. I told them not to get too rowdy just because the Demon King wasn't around.
Aegis and the eagle arrived shortly after. Hitoe immediately tried to take her frustrations out on Aegis, so I told the phoenix chick to evacuate to a high spot. The eagle looked ready to intervene, but I held it back. I understood why it was angry that Aegis was being targeted, but if the eagle attacked Hitoe, Yoko would be furious.
It was Hitoe’s fault, certainly, but when it comes to their children, a parent’s logic often takes a back seat. It was a complicated situation. I suspected that if I explained the details later, Yoko would be the one scolding her daughter.
I picked Hitoe up and headed toward the dining hall. "Want something sweet? If so, turn back into your human form. There we go. Good girl. Just wait a moment."
I wasn't alone, though. I knew the Fairy Queen was watching. I promised to prepare a portion for her too and asked her to look after Hitoe while I worked.
I had some pre-made zenzai ready to go. I asked Hitoe and the Fairy Queen how many pieces of mochi they wanted. I laughed when they gave me their answers—it was a wonder they could eat that much. I made sure to cut Hitoe’s mochi into small pieces to prevent her from choking, then set about grilling the mochi on the brazier and making more zenzai. I knew I would need more soon.
True to my prediction, Granmaria arrived, lured by the scent of toasted mochi. I asked her how Kudel and Corone were doing. She told me there were no major problems, though they were experiencing minor issues like shifting tastes. I told her to accommodate their cravings as much as possible and asked if they would like some zenzai. Granmaria agreed and offered to deliver it to them. I promised to go check on them myself later.
After serving Hitoe and the Fairy Queen, I started on the portions for the pregnant angels. Suddenly, the Older Sister Cat and the kittens went racing off. The Demon King had arrived.
I set about preparing bowls for the Demon King and Beezel as well. Malbit, Ruincia, and Suarlou showed up too, so I made some for them as a reward for their patrol. They reported that there were no problems in the village. When I asked about Razmaria, they said she was delivering some prey she had caught to the High Elves. I decided to prepare a bowl for her as well, knowing she would arrive soon.
Then I heard the familiar thumping of footsteps—the children were here. It seemed their etiquette studies were over.
"Hahaha, it’s no use walking quietly only when you're in front of me," I teased them. "You need to maintain your manners even when you aren't being watched. Do you want some zenzai? Just the mochi? Alright. Urza, Alfred, you two grill the mochi for everyone. Limit it to two pieces each, or I’ll be the one in trouble if you can't eat your dinner."
As they started, I realized the mochi supply was nearly depleted. I wondered how we had gone through it so fast until I remembered that Giral and the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race had taken quite a bit home as souvenirs. I had been generous with it as a gesture of thanks for the Flying Whale meat.
There was enough for today, but I decided we would have to pound more mochi tomorrow. The children were excited, but I told them it was impossible to start immediately. Between soaking the rice and steaming it, the preparation was a lot of work. We certainly owed the High Ogre maids our thanks.
In the evening, I used the teleportation gate to head to the hot spring area. The massive bath I had built for the dragons was now being used by them on a rotational basis. They claimed that while human-sized baths were fine, the dragon-sized one offered a superior sense of liberation.
Guronde was currently using the spring. While common sense usually dictated staying away when a woman was bathing, it was considered acceptable since she was in her dragon form. Still, as a precaution, I always rang a bell twice when approaching to ensure no one was bathing in human form.
I found her in her dragon form and was slightly relieved to see she wasn't floating on her back.
"Village Head, what brings you here?" she asked, lifting one of her heads.
My purpose was to collect the magic beast she had hunted before entering the spring—a Panic Caribou. She hadn't been in her dragon form when she caught it, so the creature must have been caught completely off guard.
When I reached the spot Guronde indicated, I found a scene that wasn't fit for the faint of heart. After offering a silent prayer, I secured the antlers and used the Universal Farming Tool to till the rest of the remains into the soil.
"Guronde, you went a bit overboard," I called out. However, I praised her for not letting the beast escape and told her she could look forward to dinner. When I asked if she wanted to eat at the spring or back at the mansion, she said she would return shortly.
After dinner, I relaxed in the guest room. Recently, the Demon King, Beezel, and Lu had been holding frequent discussions. It was mostly about Urza and Alfred’s upcoming enrollment at the Royal Capital Academy.
Still, I wondered why the three of them often looked so grim. I didn't think the children were so poorly behaved that they needed to be this worried. We had already arranged for chaperones to accompany them. Galf had been the first candidate, but Lu had vetoed him, arguing that the children were too comfortable with him and wouldn't feel the need to behave.
Instead, we chose Asa, who had been managing the teleportation gate at the hot spring area. He had a very butler-like air about him, which made sense given that he had previously served as the butler to the lord of the Sun Castle. With recommendations from Bell and Gou, he was appointed as the primary chaperone. We were currently discussing having Village Four send a replacement to manage the gate in his absence.
In addition to Asa, there would be two other chaperones. One was Urza's soil doll, Earth. He had been absolutely adamant about following her, so I relented on the condition that he look after the other children as well. He was currently studying alongside them to prepare for life at the academy.
The third chaperone would be a representative from the Post-Age of Gods Dragon Race. When they had visited regarding the Flying Whales, they had offered their assistance, and I decided to take them up on it. They promised to provide someone who wouldn't mind being stationed at the academy for several years.
With those three, plus the Beastman boys—Gol, Sil, and Bron—I felt there was nothing to worry about. When I expressed this to the Demon King, Beezel, and Lu, however, they answered me in a perfect, flat unison.
"You’re being naive."