The harvest was a massive village-wide effort. Because everyone had to pull together, I pushed all thoughts of the Vending Machine Golem aside to focus on the work at hand.
The harvest lasted about fifteen days in total. Once it was finished, I moved straight into preparing the new fields. While I worked the soil, the others handled the processing of a portion of our crops. It wasn't until thirty days after the harvest had begun that I was finally able to catch my breath.
By then, summer had arrived in full force.
While the [Universal Farming Tool] was a godsend that allowed us to harvest multiple times a year, it did tend to play havoc with my seasonal rhythm. I decided to take a walk around the Village of the Great Tree to ground myself in the current time of year.
I soon saw people gathering at the pool. The cool, refreshing sound of splashing water paired with the children’s bright laughter made it feel like summer had truly begun. I checked in with the Lizardmen to ensure they were keeping a close eye on everyone so no one would drown, and they gave me a spirited, reassuring response. They were as reliable as ever.
Over at the reservoir, the Pond Turtles were swimming leisurely. I noticed some unfamiliar aquatic plants drifting in the center of the water; apparently, that was floating grass the turtles were cultivating themselves. It was a rare variety that only grew in exceptionally high-quality water, and the Pond Turtles treated it as a special snack.
Perhaps because the grass also served as a precious medicinal ingredient, the turtles presented a few stalks to me. I suspect they only did so because they couldn't endure Lu’s intense, lingering gaze. I felt a bit guilty for making them worry like that. I'd have to remind Lu that she shouldn't try to claim everything for herself.
At the ranch, the horses, cows, goats, and sheep were all running about with plenty of energy. It seemed the heat hadn't reached the point of making them lethargic just yet. The horses galloped through the pastures at their own whim; when one started to run, the others usually followed suit. The goats, meanwhile, were preoccupied with eating as much as possible. They seemed to alternate between eating and running, then running and eating again. I wished they would just pick one and stick to it. And no, that wasn't an invitation for them to come running toward me.
Up in the vast sky, Aegis and the Eagle were flying nimbly together. Aegis’s flight speed had certainly improved. While I was proud of its growth, I did wonder if it would always keep that specific physique. My mental image of a phoenix was a bit more... slender. Then again, they were a long-lived species, so perhaps I just needed to be patient.
Beside me, Kuro and Yuki stood with stoic, dignified expressions. Usually, they wouldn't dream of leaving the cool spots inside the mansion during this heat, but lately, they had been sticking to my side constantly. The reason was their rivalry with Kuroichi, whom I had pampered a bit recently. They were clearly trying to compete with him. Personally, I felt like I was always pampering them more than Kuroichi anyway.
As for Kuroichi himself, the object of their jealousy was currently relaxing in a cool spot with his partner, Alice, looking perfectly content.
Inside the mansion, the cats were engaged in a fierce scramble for the best cool spots. I say "scramble," but the absolute best spot—the top of the bed in my room—had already been monopolized by the mother cat, Jewel. The others were fighting over the second-best location: the top of my desk.
The older sister cats and the eight kittens were all vying for the space. It was fine for them to compete, but they kept knocking everything off my desk in the process. I spent my time picking up my belongings and piling them onto a chair instead. Raigiel, the father cat, seemed to have given up on the competition entirely and was tucked away in a corner of the room. I wondered if it was even cool over there, or if he was using magic to chill the air. Regardless, it was clear there was no room left for me.
I retreated to the living room, where I found Marksbergark and Helzelnark. They were in the middle of returning the black blindfolds to Zabuton. I really wished they would be a little more discreet about that.
They had come to report to Hakuren. It turned out the rampage in the Gorunzen Kingdom had indeed been carried out on her instructions. Whatever the reason, they had helped us out, so I made sure to show them proper hospitality.
I asked why Suiren hadn't come along, and they explained she was guarding the mountain range they had melted down. Apparently, she was keeping watch to ensure other countries didn't use the new path to invade.
Wait, that wasn't the only reason? Suiren was also angry? I didn't recall her being particularly close to Alfred or Urza, but it turned out her anger stemmed from being left out of the mission. She had wanted to appear in the video, too. I see. I'd have to make sure to prepare some nice souvenirs for her.
We held a banquet that evening. After the meal, Helze played happily with Hiichiro and Gural. It was a heartwarming sight, but I couldn't help but notice Hakuren and Mark whispering behind me, discussing whether Hiichiro and Helze would make a good match in the future. I really wished they would stop that. Hiichiro was still just a child; he deserved to grow up and choose his own path freely.
During a lull in the festivities, a group of Zabuton's Children gathered on the table in front of me, carrying several wooden boards. I watched, curious, as they skillfully fit the boards together to construct a small box.
Following their silent prompts, I dropped a coin into a slit in the box. A small hatch opened, and one of the spiders emerged, carrying a cup. It was a perfect mimicry of the Vending Machine Golem I had been trying to build. The sight was absolutely adorable. I took the cup and drained it in one go, though the sake inside was much stronger than I had anticipated.
The reason the Mountain Elves had been able to start work on the golems was the massive influx of small magic stones that served as their cores. Lu had been the one to bring them in, claiming they were part of the apology money from the Dalfon Company. The stones were tiny—between one and five millimeters—and had been carefully packaged and delivered in barrels.
There had been about five hundred of them, but about half had already been eaten by Kuro's Children after they discovered the barrels. Since they usually ate magic stones, they had assumed these were snacks. They even had the nerve to complain that the individual packaging was a nuisance. I'll refrain from describing the look on Lu’s face when she saw that. I've promised to provide her with replacement magic stones from forest rabbits and boars, so I hope she can find it in her heart to forgive the wolves.
Despite that little incident, we still had enough small stones to begin golem production.
Thinking back to before the harvest, the Vending Machine Golem project hadn't gone well. I had spent three days waiting for the first customer, only for the experiment to end with the arrest of a band of thieves. There were many lessons to be learned from that failure. Most importantly, I should have decided exactly what the machine would sell before I built it. It also wasn't a good idea to limit the project to just myself and the Mountain Elves; I should have asked for more help from the start. I’d simply become stubborn after Tia and the others had criticized the idea.
Even so, I still believed the Vending Machine Golem had potential. We just hadn't found the right way to use it yet. Tomorrow, I resolved to get back to work on it with a fresh perspective.
Nudged by Zabuton’s Children, I dropped another coin into the wooden box. Another spider emerged with a fresh cup of sake.
I couldn't help but chuckle. "Try not to get me too drunk, little ones."