By noon, the Pond Turtles were sunbathing along the banks of the reservoir. Several were swimming in the water, their shells bobbing on the surface.
...Wait, one of them looked off. That wasn't its shell—it was its belly. Was a Pond Turtle actually doing the backstroke?
Looking closer, I spotted others performing the butterfly and the front crawl. Had they learned this by watching the children swim last summer? No, they should have been able to swim instinctively, shouldn't they? Maybe they just wanted to express some individuality. The population of Pond Turtles had been increasing, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before some eccentrics appeared.
"Fine," I muttered toward them. "Just don't push yourselves too hard and break something."
Given a turtle's skeletal structure, seeing them do the crawl was frankly alarming. I knew they were fundamentally different from the turtles of my old world, but it still felt wrong.
My main reason for visiting the reservoir wasn't just to admire the turtles, however. I had come to check on the White and Black Swans. They were nowhere to be seen. Instead, I found a hut on the bank that I didn't recognize. It was about twelve-tatami mats in size and didn't look like the work of the High Elves. A large wood deck extended toward the water, designed without handrails to keep the view unobstructed.
As I stood there examining the structure, the human-form Black Swan stepped out onto the deck. She set up a beach chair, a side table, and a parasol, then sat down. She had a thick book in her hands. She was clearly in full vacation mode. She noticed me before she could start reading, so I waved and walked toward the deck.
"Village Head, is something the matter?" she asked.
I explained that things had been suspiciously quiet at the mansion, so I figured they’d be here. "What are you doing?"
"Whenever we make a ruckus at the mansion, the High Ogre maids glare at us, so we evacuated."
Well, if they didn't make noise, they wouldn't need to leave, but the White Swan was involved, so I couldn't blame them for wanting a retreat. "And the hut?"
"I built it this morning."
"You and the White Swan?"
"There is no way she would do anything so tedious. I put it together myself. I asked the High Elves to share some materials with me."
"I see. But what's the purpose? You both live at my mansion, so you shouldn't really need a place like this."
"If I don't give the White Swan a space to be isolated, she'll just cause trouble for everyone."
That made sense. I told her I would have helped if she had just asked, but reminded her that I needed a report whenever someone built something in the village.
"Oh? Did the message not reach you? I left that to the White Swan."
Relying on the White Swan was where the Black Swan’s plan had crumbled. She apologized, and I let it slide.
I asked to see inside. The floor was raised timber and was clearly a shoes-off zone. In the center, a short-pile carpet was laid out with a kotatsu on top—the very same kotatsu that the High Ogre maids usually confiscated the moment spring arrived. The human-form White Swan was buried up to her waist in it, fast asleep on her back. Moreover, Aegis the Phoenix Chick and the Eagle were perched on top. They were pecking at some simmered vegetables the Black Swan had provided in a small dish. Next to them sat a medium barrel of sake.
"You guys are living the dream," I whispered.
This was a secret base if I’d ever seen one. Even the Sake Slime had turned up. I decided then and there to claim a corner for myself. I would build a hidden room, disguised behind a bookshelf. I found the outhouse—it had double doors for soundproofing and odor control, which was very clever—and built my little two-tatami secret chamber in a spot that wouldn't get in the way. I was satisfied just having made it; I didn't actually plan to hide out there. I just hoped the swans would find it useful.
Back at the mansion, I spoke with one of the High Ogre maids. She confirmed they were overlooking the rogue kotatsu because it kept the White Swan docile. Then I went to check on Ann and Ramurias. They were in Ann's room, supposedly "relaxing." Since they were heavily pregnant, they had been forced to sit out this year’s parades, and I knew they felt cooped up.
When I entered, I found them arm-wrestling. I stopped them immediately. Even if they claimed they weren't using their core muscles, pregnant women shouldn't have been arm-wrestling. I suggested they try something more sedate, like knitting, reading, or the puzzle the Angels had given them.
They told me they had given up because it was too hard. In fact, Ann had physically hurled the thing into the wall, where it remained embedded. I pulled it out; luckily, it was made of iron and hadn't broken. It was a 3D puzzle—a complex cage where you had to manipulate the frame to extract a stone from the center. A glorified, metal disentanglement puzzle.
"Let's try it together," I said.
I thought I had it at first, but every move I made seemed to block the next. Ann and Ramurias had spent three days on it before snapping. I spent a full day on it myself before admitting defeat. It was impossible. I took the puzzle and made the rounds through the village.
The dragons would probably just crush it, so they were out. Lu was too impatient. Tia might have known the answer since her people made it, but having her solve it felt like losing. I asked Ria, Ya, and even Galf and Daga, but no one could crack it.
In the end, only the White Swan managed to solve it. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that.
Black Swan: "The Village Head saw the hut, and suddenly the one room became two." White Swan: "It's too cramped for me." Sake Slime: (Hiding the sake). Ann: "He comes to check on us quite often." Ramurias: "He really does." Hakuren: "You should just crush it." Rusty: "I agree." Ria: "May I break it?" Ya: "Let's just take it apart." Sena: "This is too difficult..." Galf: "It's impossible." Daga: "I suspect it's structurally impossible." White Swan: "I solved it." Black Swan: "She's always been good at these things..." Tia: "I threw mine away, too."
Time certainly flew. It was already September.