The sight of a sleeping animal was truly soothing.
Particularly dogs—well, no, I meant wolves.
Kuro had experienced tearing the bedsheets with his horns several times while lying on his back. As a result, he had eventually mastered a unique sleeping posture: his body remained face-up while his head was turned to the side.
I didn't think he needed to be quite so obsessed with sleeping on his back, but he looked so comfortable that I never complained. I did worry he might wake up with a stiff neck, though.
Several of Kuro’s children had also taken to sleeping on their backs. Since they slept in areas cushioned with straw, they didn't have to worry about their horns damaging anything while they were face-up. The most they ever did was scuff the walls or floors with their horns whenever they happened to dream.
The older sister cats and the kittens didn't really sleep on their backs. The only one who occasionally did was the father cat, Raigiel. He was an expert at it and even used a pillow.
When Raigiel was in that state, he was dead to the world. He would sleep right through the kittens running wild near him. Because of that, he would sometimes get jump-kicked by a kitten in his sleep. When I checked on him to see if he was injured, it turned out he was using magic to protect himself. He just kept right on sleeping.
I wasn't sure if he was manipulating the magic while he slept or if he had cast a defensive spell before drifting off, but it was quite a feat. It brought a tear to my eye when I imagined what kind of experiences must have forced him to learn such a skill.
Kittens, Raigiel is sleeping, so try not to be too rowdy. It might be your way of playing with your father, but you should do that when he's actually awake.
What? It’s no good if he’s awake? Are you just being shy? No? Raising daughters was certainly a challenge.
Aegis sleeping on its back was perfectly normal. I simply accepted it as that kind of creature.
As for the cows, horses, goats, and sheep... I had never seen any of them on their backs. Even when I asked the beastman girls who worked in the ranch area, they said they had never witnessed it either. Well, given their physical balance, sleeping on their backs would probably be impossible.
No, it's fine, horse. Don't try to challenge yourself. You’ll only hurt yourself.
Just when I thought sleeping face-up was limited to those few, I found one more. A bee. That famously plump Queen Bee was sleeping on her back.
I was startled at first because I thought she had died, but that wasn't the case. She was just fast asleep. Apparently, she had started on her stomach and simply rolled over. The soldier bees guarding the area apologized to me with sheepish looks.
There was no need to apologize. More importantly, I wondered if the Queen Bee could actually get back up. Did she just roll over again to stand? I see. Plump bees had their own clever ways of moving, it seemed.
When I tried to praise her, the soldier bees stopped me. They told me they didn't want her to be spoiled. I see.
After finishing my rounds and returning to the mansion, I found Kuroyon standing in front of the chess pieces displayed at the entrance. They were the variant pieces I had carved previously, modeled after Kuro and the others.
Kuroyon seemed to have taken a particular liking to them; he spent his free time standing before them. Sometimes he even struck the same pose as the King piece, but I felt it was only kind to pretend I hadn't seen him.
"Now then, older sister cats, don't tease Kuroyon."
Hm? They wanted me to make variant chess pieces modeled after cats? I see, I see. So they were jealous.
I didn't mind making them, but I told them I would use the father cat, Raigiel, as the model for the King. They lost interest with alarming speed.
When I set out to procure some lumber for the new chess pieces, I was intercepted by the Fairy Queen. She still hadn't returned to her usual self and remained in her adult version. Because of this form, the children didn't flock to her anymore, so she was basically bored.
I understood her plight, but I wished she wouldn't pester me for sweets. If she asked the High Ogre maids, they would surely prepare some for her. A while back, the maids had been somewhat strict with her, but now they spoiled her constantly. I’ll keep the reason for that a secret.
"I want to eat the sweets the Village Head makes," she insisted.
Being told that didn't feel too bad. After making some dango for her, I resumed my search for wood.
There was plenty of lumber in the workshop, but none of it "clicked" for me. Most of the pieces that had felt right had already been turned into statues of the goddess.
Having no other choice, I headed into the forest. A few of Kuro’s children accompanied me as guards. Even so, I couldn't find a tree that spoke to me. This was going to take a while. I decided to head a bit deeper into the woods.
... There was a Trent.
It was a massive thing, at least ten meters tall. The trunk was about five meters in diameter near the base. It was a different individual from the one near Village Five.
In any case, I wanted it to release my escorts. If it didn't, I would have no choice but to turn it into lumber with the Universal Farming Tool.
... Wait. This Trent... it clicked.
It would be a waste to use this for chess pieces. I felt like I could carve a truly magnificent statue from it. A statue of the goddess might be perfect.
Perhaps my intent was conveyed, as the Trent released Kuro’s children. Since it seemed harmless, I didn't lay a hand on it.
Hm? It had come to see the Nyunyu-daphne, Igu? It had heard rumors from the Trents around Village Five? It had done well to make it all this way.
"Understood. I'll guide you to Village One where Igu is."
Wait, just how fast could a Trent move? I thought its massive size would make it slow, but its pace wasn't much different from my own walking speed. Apparently, it could move even faster than me if it wanted to. If it couldn't, it wouldn't have arrived here so quickly after hearing the rumors.
However, it seemed it could only move that fast within the forest. Even so, that was impressive enough.
Ah, rivers were a no-go? And bridges too? It became extremely slow in those spots. Don't worry about it; just do your best to cross.
I guided the Trent to Village One and introduced it to Igu. They seemed to be old friends and appeared to be getting along... though to my eyes, it just looked like two trees standing next to each other. Well, as long as they were communicating, it wasn't a problem.
As I was leaving Village One, the Trent gave me a branch as a thank-you for the guidance.
Oh, this definitely clicked. The branch was about fifteen centimeters at its thickest part and about a meter and a half long. It was the perfect size for making chess pieces.
"Thank you."