The dwarves were in a slump.
It seemed they had failed in their attempt to turn World Tree leaves into sake.
"No matter what we do, it just ends up as water!" they lamented.
Furthermore, the liquid was tasteless and odorless. It was just plain water. While it was technically drinkable on its own, adding sugar and a squeeze of citrus made it go down much easier.
Fairy Queen, I don’t mind you drinking it, but please stop poking my back to hurry me up. You want more sugar? Alright, alright.
Do Zabuton’s children want some too? Here you go.
By the way, does this water actually do anything? Since it’s made from World Tree leaves, I expected some kind of recovery effect.
"Who knows?" one dwarf replied. "I drank some, but... I suppose it took the edge off my fatigue."
If that was the extent of it, we were better off just using the leaves as they were. We decided to cease any further production.
"We wanted to research it more, but I guess it can't be helped," the dwarves conceded. "We’ll put our efforts into the new fruits from Village Four instead."
And so, the project ended.
Wait, don’t drink it all. Leave a little bit. It’s not for me—I intend to offer it to the gods. Since it has a fatigue-recovery effect, it isn’t exactly a total failure. It just didn't yield the results the dwarves were looking for.
I promised to offer some proper sake along with it. I didn't think the gods would complain about a little variety. After placing the water and sake before the Statue of the Creator God and the God of Agriculture, I headed out to the reservoir.
I went to the first reservoir, the one where the pond turtles lived, to present them with a gift of cabbage. We’d had a particularly large harvest recently.
"Don't be shy," I told them.
The pond turtles munched away on the whole heads of cabbage as if to say, "Much obliged." They were quite vigorous eaters. I noticed one that seemed to belong to the lettuce faction.
"Fine, here’s some lettuce." I didn't mind, but I wondered when they had learned what lettuce tasted like. The children must have been feeding them.
"You like Chinese cabbage too? Understood. I’ll bring some of that as well."
After distributing the greens to the turtles, I looked back at Kuro's children waiting behind me. They were lined up perfectly, their eyes saying, "We’re next, right?" They had started gathering the moment I began feeding the turtles. I’d noticed them, of course; they’d given me quite a start when I went to fetch the extra vegetables.
"Well then, what shall we do? We can eat some of the harvest, go hunting, or play with balls. Which do you want?"
"All of them," their expressions seemed to say. How straightforward.
I worked hard at it until sunset.
Upon returning to the mansion, I spent some dedicated time with Kuro and Yuki. They had held back and hadn't joined in the group play earlier. It wasn't just them, either—the other children of Kuro who had duties were also unable to participate. I’d have to set aside another day for them.
After I was finished with the wolves, the cats began a relentless tapping attack on my back. There were the older sisters—Miel, Rael, Uel, and Gael—and the kittens—Ariel, Haniel, Zeruel, and Samael. Whenever the Demon King wasn't around, they were quite aggressive about demanding my attention.
A short distance away, the father cat, Raigiel, and the mother cat, Jewel, stood together with apologetic looks on their faces. I noticed they weren't doing anything to stop their offspring, though. I saw you two look away.
While I was occupied with the cats, a beastman girl who worked in the ranch area arrived.
"Pardon me, Village Head. One of the cows is missing."
"A cow?"
"We thought it had gone to the hot spring area, but it hasn't returned even though it's dark."
Cow, cow, cow... Ah! I had spotted one while playing with the wolves. It had been napping near the water.
"It’s near the reservoir. I know where it is."
I started to get up to help, but the cats pinned me down.
"It's quite alright," the girl said. "We'll go look for it ourselves. Please stay where you are, Village Head."
"Sorry about that. I saw it on the north side, near the fruit tree area. It might have wandered inside."
"Understood."
Thirty minutes later, I received word that the cow had been found. It had indeed gotten lost among the fruit trees. That was a relief. Eventually, the cats grew bored of me and dispersed.
My next visitors were Aegis and the eagle. Aegis boasted about its special training for the day while the eagle watched over it warmly. Despite being different species, they were like a parent and child—or perhaps partners. Either way, it was a heartwarming sight.
The next day, the Fairy Queen appeared in her adult form. She looked even more mature than the last time I’d seen her like this. However, there were no vines this time. I wondered why.
"My divine rank has increased," she explained.
"Divine rank?"
"It feels like... I’ve moved one step closer to true godhood, I suppose."
"Why so suddenly?"
"It was likely that drink from yesterday."
"The leaf water?"
"That was Soma."
"Soma?"
"Ask your wives for the details. All I will say is that further production is strictly forbidden. Do you understand?"
"Yeah. More importantly, are you alright?"
"I’m fine. I’ll return to my usual self in a little while."
"That's a relief."
But the Fairy Queen wasn't the only one who had tried it. The dwarves and Zabuton’s children had drunk it too.
"Do not worry," she assured me. "Just because someone drinks Soma doesn't mean their divine rank will necessarily increase."
"I see."
"If there is a problem, it’s you."
"Me? I barely had any."
"It's not that. Because my rank has increased, I cannot fully control my power yet. That would normally be my problem alone, but you will be affected by the fallout..."
Apparently, there was now a very high possibility that I would be having even more children.
"As a queen, my instinct is to encourage fertility, but I also know how difficult raising children can be. As long as you avoid intimacy until I can control my power, you should be fine, but..."
"I'll consult with my wives."
"Please do. Now then, could I have some breakfast? I'd like something sweet."
"Have you ever asked for anything else?"
"I suppose not."
There were no noticeable changes in the dwarves or Zabuton’s children who had consumed the Soma. That was a weight off my mind.
However, the Soma I had offered to the gods had completely vanished from the altar. Since no one in the village would dream of stealing an offering... I wondered if it had simply evaporated.
I also had the feeling that the World Tree was looking particularly vibrant today, but it was probably just my imagination.