I was in the workshop.
Most of the Mountain Elves were currently in Village Five, so I felt a bit lonely without my usual crafting companions. As I worked, feeling somewhat downcast, Kuro and Yuki approached me to act spoiled. I reached out, careful to avoid their horns, and patted their heads.
There, there.
I decided to call it a day and take them outside for some ball play. However, they signaled that it was simply too hot outside for that. I understood the sentiment, but it made me wonder what had happened to their wild instincts.
"All right, I get it. Then let’s play in the mansion’s hall."
It was cool and spacious in there, after all.
However, when we arrived, the hall was piled high with a massive amount of luggage. I wondered what it could be, then realized these were parts manufactured by the Mountain Elves. They must have been transported over from Village Five.
The Mountain Elves were currently in Village Five to establish a new workshop. While they handled research, development, and the initial production of goods, they wanted to outsource the actual mass production to external workers. The problem was that there weren't many craftsmen with a technical level that met the Mountain Elves' standards, and those who were skilled enough were already busy.
As a result, the Mountain Elves were currently training aspiring craftsmen. The mountain of parts before me was likely the result of that instruction. Since the pieces had passed the Mountain Elves' inspection, the quality was good, but I couldn't help but wonder why there were so many of the exact same part. It seemed the Mountain Elves had placed the order without adjusting for quantity.
Well, I supposed it couldn't be helped, as they likely didn't know how many of the trainees' attempts would pass inspection. I decided to check in with them during dinner.
For now, I turned my attention back to Kuro and Yuki. With all this luggage in the way, playing in the hall was out of the question. When I asked them what they wanted to do instead, Kuro seemed content to just lounge around the room, but Yuki suggested a walk around the perimeter of the reservoir.
After a bit of persuasion from Yuki, Kuro agreed to the walk.
I put on my straw hat for the outdoors and made sure Kuro and Yuki were wearing theirs as well. The hats I had made for them last year were tattered, so these were fresh replacements. They looked quite sharp in them.
Twelve Pond Turtles of various sizes were lined up along the edge of the reservoir, sunbathing. I doubted this was all of them, which meant their numbers had certainly increased. I wondered if the smaller ones were hatchlings from this year. I told them they could continue their sunbathing and that we would just walk around them.
Accompanied by Kuro and Yuki, I strolled along the water's edge. Being near the reservoir made the air feel a bit cooler. I noticed that the Pond Turtles were actually using magic to float blocks of ice in the water. Even though I had told them they didn't need to move, they were looking out for us. I made sure to thank them.
The small pond on the north side of the reservoir served as the spawning grounds for the lizardmen. A fence had been erected to keep people away. It wasn't the season for eggs right now, but it wasn't a place one should approach carelessly, so we took a detour.
When we reached the west side of the reservoir, several of Kuro's children came out to greet us. They had likely been patrolling the village perimeter. I praised them for their hard work.
I noticed the wolves staring enviously at the straw hats Kuro and Yuki were wearing. They kept staring.
"All right, I'll make some for you later. But I can't make them for everyone, so you'll have to take turns wearing them."
On the west side, there was a waterway and a path leading toward the river. In the waterway, there was a pool for the slimes where they purified the water, but it was currently overflowing with them. The slimes were clearly feeling the heat too. I told them they should take turns getting in.
The path leading to the river was well-maintained and clean. I heard footsteps approaching and realized it was a group from the centaur race. It was almost time for the scheduled report. Three centaurs arrived, as was customary. They greeted me, reported that there were no abnormalities, and then headed toward the mansion where someone would be waiting to officially receive their report. I didn't want to hold them up.
After the centaurs left, two more of Kuro's children emerged from the shadows. They must have been escorting the centaur messengers. I thanked them for their service.
I followed the path toward the residential area on the south side of the reservoir. Since the path veered away from the water's edge, I gave a final thanks to the Pond Turtles who were still making ice before parting ways.
There were very few people out and about in the residential area. At this time of day, most residents were likely at the pool. Those who remained were Zabuton's children, the World Tree silkworms, and the Nyunyu-daphne.
The Nyunyu-daphne were resistant to the heat, but I still told them not to overdo it. I wondered if they would want hats, or if that would just be a burden for them.
As it turned out, they did want them—but specifically coarse-mesh straw hats. The high-quality hats from Village One were too tightly woven for their liking, but they said the ones I made would be perfect. They were certainly good at asking for things. I told them I was already working on some and would bring them over later.
Zabuton's children and the World Tree silkworms seemed to know exactly where the best breezes were, as they were all napping in cool, shaded spots. They probably wouldn't become active again until the sun began to set. I felt a bit bad for disturbing their rest.
As I crossed the residential area to head back to the mansion, I ran into the children, Hakuren, and Helze. Helze had been staying in the village ever since she arrived with Mark. She seemed to have taken a liking to the place. Because of that, Mark was still here too, though despite the summer heat, he spent most of his time soaking in the hot spring area.
The children and Hakuren were heading to the pool now that their morning lessons were finished. Helze appeared to be helping them, carrying a thick book I hadn't seen before. As I watched, Helze flipped through the pages while looking back and forth between the book and my wolves.
"Just as I thought," Helze said, looking delighted as she reported her discovery to Hakuren.
Apparently, Kuro and Yuki weren't ordinary Inferno Wolves. To be precise, Kuro was a legendary existence known as the One Who Rules Over Kings, or an Inferno Wolf Emperor. Yuki was the Wife of the One Who Rules Over Kings, an Inferno Wolf Empress.
Those were certainly grand titles. I wondered if I should have made them crowns instead of straw hats.
Furthermore, Kuro’s first children and their partners—Kuroichi, Kuroni, Uno, and Kuroyon—were identified as Inferno Wolf Kings. Their partners—Alice, Iris, Kurosan, and Elis—were Inferno Wolf Queens. It was interesting information, but to me, they were all still just Kuro's children. I didn't intend to treat them any differently based on titles.
I parted ways with Hakuren’s group and finally arrived back at the mansion. As expected, it was lovely and cool inside. In the hall, the Mountain Elves who had returned were busy moving the luggage into the storehouse.
Ya, one of the Mountain Elves, approached me with a report. "It looks like we'll have to handle the production of the slider-style coin counters entirely by ourselves, Village Head."
"I see."
It seemed things wouldn't be getting easier anytime soon. However, we couldn't just outsource everything. The civil official girls had already warned me that spreading our technical skills too easily could be dangerous. We would just have to persevere.
The Mountain Elves had only returned briefly to tidy up the hall; half of them were heading back to Village Five shortly. The remaining half would stay here to begin mass-producing the coin counters.
"I understand. I'll help out too."
Kuro and Yuki followed closely behind me. I didn't mind, but first, I had to deliver those straw hats to the Nyunyu-daphne. And then I had to make more for the rest of Kuro's children.
I had a lot of work ahead of me.