Our visit to the Northern Dungeon proceeded much like our trip to the Southern Dungeon.
The only real difference was that I made sure to provide the Giant Race with a larger portion of crops from the Village of the Great Tree. Even though I had been told to keep the gifts as equal as possible, things would have gotten difficult if I didn't account for physiological differences when it came to food. The amount a Lamia eats compared to a Giant is simply night and day.
To compensate for the extra food, I adjusted the other trade goods accordingly, and fortunately, no real problems arose. We were invited to a welcoming banquet, stayed for one night, and followed the usual routine right up until our departure. Even the sight of Ya, the Mountain Elf, busy putting in some sort of request was exactly the same as before. I couldn't help but chuckle a little.
Before we set off for the Eastern Dungeon, I had a little spare time, so I sat down with Gluewald to discuss her concerns. For this expedition, each satellite village had prepared its own local products to be presented alongside my gifts, with the village representatives coming along to deliver them personally.
From Village One, we had paper and bamboo crafts. From Village Two, silk and pork. From Village Three, chicken eggs. From Village Four, spices. From Village Five, various handicrafts.
We had taken the time to coordinate beforehand to ensure the gifts didn't overlap, but that was when a specific problem came to light: Village Three lacked a unique specialty product. Everything they produced, the Village of the Great Tree produced as well.
To give them a role, we had reduced the amount of eggs sent from the Village of the Great Tree so that Village Three could take charge of that category, but this decision weighed heavily on them.
"To think the Village of the Great Tree had to restrain itself for our sake... it's humiliating," Gluewald lamented. "I feel terrible for the Lamia and the Giants, knowing they aren't receiving the eggs actually produced in the main village."
She and the rest of the Centaurs were deeply dejected. When the Centaur Race first migrated, their gender ratio had been so lopsided that I couldn't really ask much of them beyond basic survival. Prioritizing their adjustment to daily life and child-rearing had been the only sensible path. Although the gender ratio eventually improved once Baron Fuka and his group moved in, they then had to struggle with bridging the social gap between the original residents and the newcomers. In the end, developing a unique identity for Village Three had simply fallen by the wayside.
Personally, I thought being a village of Centaurs was a unique enough identity on its own. They were also doing a great job with their scheduled reports. I told her there was no need to rush, but Gluewald spent every spare moment she had lost in thought.
I wondered what kind of product Village Three could specialize in. Ideally, it would be something only they could make, but obsessing over that too much wasn't healthy. Just as I had entrusted Village Four with the production of curry spices, it would be great if there was something specific I could hand over to Village Three.
As Gluewald and I were worrying over the matter, Yuri approached us.
"As a representative of Village Five, which holds a lower rank than the other villages, I think your worries are a bit of a luxury, Gluewald-san."
"Yuri-sama..."
"It's 'Yuri-san,' remember? I am the Proxy of the Acting Village Head's Deputy, while you are the actual Representative. It wouldn't even be out of line for you to address me without honorifics."
"I-I couldn't possibly do that..."
Yuri was teasing her, but I could tell she was doing it to keep Gluewald from spiraling into overthinking.
"Regarding the eggs, you shouldn't think of it as the Village of the Great Tree holding back. You should think of it as your eggs having earned an evaluation equal to theirs. Isn't that right, Village Head?"
"Eh? Oh, yes, exactly. I don't consider the eggs from Village Three to be inferior to our own in the slightest."
"I see..." Gluewald's expression brightened slightly.
I decided to leave her in Yuri's capable hands for a while. Still, the issue of the eggs remained. Was it really okay to settle on that as their specialty? Every village practiced poultry farming to some extent. If we wanted to make it a true specialty, we would have to scale up the operations in Village Three significantly.
But no, that wouldn't work. We already had more than enough eggs; we were practically swimming in them. Increasing production would only lead to a surplus we couldn't consume. Freshness was a major hurdle for external sales, and Village Five, our biggest potential market, already had its own poultry farms. I suppose we could open a new shop like Kuro and Yuki to drive consumption, but would that really make eggs a specialty of Village Three?
I decided to set the thought aside for now.
"Village Head, you won't find a solution just by thinking about it while traveling. You need to see the site for yourself."
Tia had approached us without me noticing. She called Gluewald over and told her that we would continue the discussion once we actually visited Village Three. Gluewald apologized for causing me so much trouble, but I felt like the one who should be apologizing for not having an immediate answer. For now, I'd stop dwelling on it. We could revisit the problem once we were on the ground in her village. After all, I was sure to receive visit requests from all the villages once we returned to the Village of the Great Tree anyway.
The Universal Ship took flight and set a course for the Eastern Dungeon. This was my first time heading there, but I had confirmed the approximate location while moving between the Southern and Northern Dungeons, so there was no fear of getting lost. In fact, that was one of the reasons I had insisted on traveling in a counter-clockwise circle.
However, I hadn't been able to pinpoint the exact entrance from the air. The Eastern Dungeon was located at the bottom of a massive, trench-like fissure in the earth. From a distance, all you could see was the gaping crack in the ground. I had heard it was right in the middle of the fissure, so finding the spot wouldn't be hard. The real question was how to get down. I had worried we might need to climb down the cliffs using ropes, but it turned out the Universal Ship was simply going to dive straight into the chasm.
I see. Wait!
"Ascend!" I shouted.
The Universal Ship veered upward toward the sky at nearly the same moment I yelled. Right behind us, several massive Bloody Vipers lunged out of the depths in pursuit. They were enormous—and there were a lot of them. It gave me quite a shock.
I readied the spear of the Universal Farming Tool, but the vipers immediately retreated back into the fissure. It was unlike them to flee so quickly.
"Perhaps they were hibernating?" Ria suggested, her bow drawn and ready.
Ah, that made sense. They weren't running away; they were just driving off intruders who had disturbed their sleep. But what now? I could attack the area with the spear, but a strike like that might cause structural damage to the Eastern Dungeon itself. When we had hunted vipers at the Northern Dungeon, Hakuren and Rusty had been the main force, but they were both pregnant now.
I considered returning to the village to ask Dos or Giral for help, but that was out. Their power was even more destructive than my spear. Raimeiren and Guronde would be the same. Helze likely wouldn't leave Hakuren's side, and while Mark seemed sensible enough to trust with a delicate task, I wasn't sure if he'd be available to come all this way.
"Village Head, we can't get near the Eastern Dungeon like this. What should we do? Should we wait until spring?"
I tilted my head at Ria's suggestion.
"Up until now, we haven't received any reports of Bloody Vipers living in the Eastern Dungeon. That suggests these ones are only here by chance because they chose this spot for hibernation. They'll likely move on once spring arrives."
"I see."
There were quite a few of them, though. There was always the risk they might decide to settle down permanently.
"If that happens, we can simply ask Hakuren-sama for help. By spring, she'll have already given birth."
Knowing her, she'd probably be delighted to go just to get some exercise after being cooped up. My only remaining worry was the Gorlock Race living inside the dungeon.
"As long as they don't leave their dungeon, the Gorlock Race will be perfectly fine," Ria asserted.
The Gorlock Race were experts at mimicry and could hide by looking like rocks. They were safe enough underground.
I let out a sigh. "Understood. It's a shame, but we'll have to postpone the visit to the Eastern Dungeon until spring."