The harvest began in the Village of the Great Tree.
Once the work was finished, winter would be upon us in the blink of an eye. There was no time to lounge around, so I brought the Dragon family's perpetual banquet to an abrupt end and put them to work. I also called back Kuorun and Domaim from their dungeon training and tasked them with harvesting root vegetables like daikon and carrots. Since Hakuren and Rusty were sidelined by their pregnancies, Mark and Helze stepped up as volunteers to take their places.
The rest of the effort focused on the rice, wheat, barley, and corn. We worked hard. Since the other villages had already completed their own harvests, reinforcements arrived from Village One, Village Two, Village Three, and Village Four. Their presence was a lifesaver. Members of the Lamia Race and Giant Race processed the crops with practiced ease. Most of their work revolved around sake brewing, but I decided not to press for details.
I had assumed there would be plenty of space in our storehouses since the Dragon family had been eating through our supplies, but the yields were so high that they overflowed anyway. We quickly began transporting the portions earmarked for sale to the Goroun Company and Village Five. Yoko grumbled that the Village Five Mansion Storehouse was also reaching its limit, so I resolved to have the Goroun Company take delivery as soon as possible. Beezel handled the transport of the goods sold to the Demon King and his officials as usual. It pained me that I couldn't do more to help with the logistics.
In about two weeks, the bulk of the harvest was complete. We were in the process of drying the crops that required it, but the weather had turned poor this year. It looked like the process would take quite a while. In the worst-case scenario, we might have to resort to using magic to dry them, though that always seems to ruin the flavor. There is truly no substitute for the power of nature, so I hoped the weather would cooperate.
Despite my concerns about the clouds, we held a banquet to celebrate the end of the harvest. I made sure to tell everyone they had done a wonderful job this year. Of course, I had to remind the dragons that the celebration was for one night only—they needed to know where to draw the line.
During this harvest season, the Angel Race had focused their energy on hunting. Malbit and Reginleiv had led a group to challenge a Grappler Bear, but they returned in defeat. They probably could have won if they had used spears tipped with horns from Kuro's children, but they argued that doing so would ruin the meat and render the hunt pointless. They held a review meeting right there at the banquet, debating how to improve their tactics. On the other hand, the High Elves and Kuro's children were all smiles, having brought in a massive haul of rabbits and boars.
However, those smiles froze when the Death Knights arrived from the hot spring area. They brought two Panic Caribou with them. While the large numbers of boars and rabbits were better for winter provisions, the deliciousness of Panic Caribou horns made everyone momentarily forget the logistics. The Death Knights were about to join the feast when they approached me with a rare request.
They were worried about Yor, who lived at the hot springs. Apparently, a monster attack had destroyed one of the catapults beyond repair. There were other catapults remaining, but that particular one had been her favorite, and she had been crying ever since. I promised to prepare a new one for her. Since I planned to build it alongside the Mountain Elves, it might end up being something entirely different from a standard catapult, but as long as it was a specialized tool for Yor, it should make her stop crying. The Death Knights nodded, seemingly satisfied. It was good to see that they were getting along so well with her.
The Death Knights joined the banquet and were soon approached by the Death Mage and Quentan. Since the Death Mage had started working as a teacher for the children, she had moved her residence from the hot springs to the Village of the Great Tree. It had been a while since they had seen each other—or so I thought. It turned out the Death Mage and Quentan periodically returned to the hot spring area to conduct research. They spent their time dissecting and investigating the monsters and magic beasts that were killed while trying to approach the springs. It was better than letting the carcasses rot, but I asked them to keep their hobby in moderation.
I had told Miyo, who had been relaxing at the hot springs, that she was welcome to keep resting, but she joined the harvest instead. She claimed that trying to relax while everyone else was busy was more exhausting than working. I felt bad, but her help was appreciated. Her stay in the village had been extended, though she laughed and said the change of pace was good for her. She didn't touch a single piece of paperwork, however, much to the disappointment of the Civil Official Girls. I realized I would need to send a formal apology to the Magistrate of Shashato City so he wouldn't think I was ignoring his letters because of Miyo's delay. Yoko was an expert at those kinds of professional courtesies; I really needed to follow her lead.
The conversation at the banquet eventually turned to the Coastal Dungeon. Everyone was excited about the prospect of an unexplored site. The location was on the coast about three days east of Shashato City, or about two and a half days from Village Five. While it was under the Demon King's direct management, it was still officially Demon Kingdom Territory, which meant Kuro's pack and Zabuton's children couldn't join the expedition. They looked at me with deep regret, but my hands were tied.
The pregnant Hakuren and Rusty were also excluded. Even if they had insisted, I wouldn't have permitted it. Their health was the priority. Since they were enduring the boredom of staying behind, I expected the other dragons to do the same. Draim was clearly ready to go, but I had to tell him to stay put.
At first, it seemed like I wouldn't be allowed to go either, but the situation reversed. Reginleiv and Ruincia were hesitant to flatly deny my request, though many other residents argued that letting me walk into a dangerous place was irresponsible. Eventually, we reached a compromise: the exploration would be carried out by multiple groups entering at different times, and my group would be the very last to enter. I didn't have any desire to fight powerful monsters anyway; I just wanted to see a unique location. I accepted the deal.
We spent the rest of the banquet organizing the groups. In total, eight teams were formed. I didn't mind having Reginleiv and Ruincia in my group, but I was a bit puzzled to see the phoenix chick Aegis and the Orthrus Ol on the list as well. Aegis was one thing, but Ol still hadn't warmed up to me. I wondered if they were meant to be symbolic stand-ins for Kuro and Zabuton. I decided it was best not to voice my doubts about our group's reliability.
There was also a group slot left blank. I suspected Alfred, Gol, and the other boys would want to participate once they heard the news upon their return. I didn't want them to be the very first group to enter, though. I suggested they follow after me, but knowing they would be upset by that, we compromised on making them the second-to-last group.
With our plans for the dungeon in motion, we had to focus on winter preparations first. The exploration would have to wait until we were ready for the snow. I also made sure not to forget my promised visits to the dungeons of the Lamia Race and the Giant Race, as well as our meeting with the Gorlock Race in the Eastern Dungeon. With the Universal Ship, the travel should be easy.
As we were wrapping up, I noticed Progenitor-san had been tilting his head in confusion ever since we started talking about the Coastal Dungeon. I asked if he was alright or if he was perhaps suffering from a hangover.
"No, it's not that," he replied. "It's just... this is a bit awkward to say, but that dungeon... I think I might be the one who built it."