I hosted a domino toppling tournament with the mountain elves.
It was a massive hit.
The tournament itself went off without a hitch, but trouble was brewing elsewhere.
Specifically, I had commissioned Ire’s filming crew to record the event. When the time came to edit the footage...
"This—this doesn't capture the thrill of dominoes at all!"
The filming crew was utterly miserable with the results.
"The camera positioning was awkward, and the angles were just plain wrong. We wanted to capture the grand scale, but the dominoes fell so fast that we missed several key moments entirely..."
"Even the commentary couldn't keep up with the chain reactions as the gimmicks triggered one after another."
The entire crew was seriously dejected.
"It seems we... no, we became arrogant. We let our success with the baseball games, the parades, and the swan races go to our heads. Village Head, please accept our humblest apologies for this failure!"
"Ah, no, I mean..."
"Our biggest failure was missing the finale—the grand gimmick where the large tray falls on Draim-sama. He put his reputation on the line for that shot, and we missed it. It's the ultimate disgrace!"
I felt for them. It was a shame we didn't have that footage.
The audience at the venue had gone wild for it. The tray was a custom prop designed to be painless, but Draim’s performance had been stellar. Those who weren't there would definitely want to see it...
"Raimeiren-sama has already summoned us; she wants to watch the recording."
I see. Well, if things get ugly, I’ll try to back you up.
"No. For the sake of our own growth, we must face the music ourselves."
I-I see. Well, don't overdo it.
In the original plan, I was actually the one supposed to be hit by the tray. However, no matter how many times I insisted it wouldn't hurt, Kuro, Yuki, and Zabuton were too worried to let me do it. They seemed to associate a falling tray with the time those giant birds kidnapped me. I didn't see the connection, but I wasn't about to argue when they were that upset.
Draim volunteered to be my stunt double instead. Thanks, Draim.
As for Ire, who missed Draim's finest hour... I don't know what Raimeiren will say to you, but make sure you apologize to Draim properly.
"We understand. We will strive to ensure this never happens again."
I'm counting on you.
With autumn settling over the village, residents could be seen practicing combat everywhere. Everyone works hard because the martial arts tournament follows the autumn harvest.
...
Lilius, Rigul, and Ratte were among those training. It’s not unusual for children to join in, but they usually practice with each other. If they have an instructor, it's usually Galf or Daga.
However, the three boys were receiving sword lessons from Suarlou of the Angel Race.
That was a rare sight. Suarlou might look like a young girl, but she’s the mother of Suarliu and Suarkou. More than that, she’s a legendary warrior who once claimed to be the strongest of the angels. Even to my amateur eyes, her swordplay looked masterful. I had no intention of underestimating her.
Still, being a father, I hung around to watch. Granmaria eventually joined me.
"Are Lilius and the others on good terms with Suarlou?"
"I'm not sure about 'good terms,' but they've been learning the sword from her for a little while now."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Apparently, Lilius-kun and the others requested it. They felt her height made her a more relatable model for them than the others."
Ah, that makes sense. I wondered why they hadn't asked Galf or Daga, but the physical stature was the key.
"Besides, Suarlou-sama’s skill is incredible."
"Is it?"
"In a pure sword fight at close range, she might even have the edge over Tia-sama."
That was high praise indeed.
"I see. But Tia-sama usually finishes her fights before anyone can get that close."
"True enough."
I’ve rarely seen Tia swing a sword. I have, however, seen her and Lu punching each other with their bare fists on several occasions. Regardless, I could rest easy leaving the boys in Suarlou’s hands.
"She’s very good at looking after others, so they'll be fine."
"That's good to hear."
"By the way, Village Head. Is it okay to just leave that alone?"
Granmaria pointed toward the forest on the outskirts of the village. There, Hiichiro and Gural were in their dragon forms, clashing with Guronde, who had also transformed.
Guronde wasn't being serious. She was effortlessly parrying their strikes while the youngsters lunged at her with everything they had.
...
"It’s fine. They told me they were going to train."
Giral had vouched for Guronde’s skill as an instructor. He said that no matter how hard they tried, it was impossible for the current Hiichiro and Gural to wound her, and he promised she would never cause them any major injuries.
"So no 'major' injuries, just small ones?"
Well, yes, but the kids were the ones who asked for this. They were still brooding over how little they’d been able to do against the whale skeleton during the parade. Personally, I think Hiichiro is still a child and shouldn't worry about it, but if he wants to get stronger, I shouldn't stand in his way.
Even his mother, Hakuren, approved. So, as long as they don't damage the village, I’ve decided to let them do as they please.
As an aside, Hiichiro had originally intended to ask Raimeiren to train him. However, Raimeiren had a vision of the trained Hiichiro becoming independent and leaving home—likely haunted by memories of Hakuren running away. She gently declined, but Hiichiro didn't give up until Guronde was chosen instead.
Watching Hiichiro and Gural thrive under Guronde’s tutelage, Raimeiren had wailed to Dos, "I messed up the first move!"
Dos just looked troubled.
One day in autumn, Yoko presented me with a proposal to expand the "Wooden Railway" that circles the mountains of Village Five.
The wooden railway was originally built to bring goods to the Underground Shopping Street, but it’s also used for public transport. It’s a convenient way to move around Village Five even if you aren't going to the shops, so it’s apparently reaching its capacity.
However, the tracks run through tunnels in the mountains. I thought expanding those tunnels would be dangerous, given how many buildings are now crowded onto the slopes. I’m wary of digging deeper into the mountain. I suggested that increasing the number of carriages was the most we could do.
The expansion proposal was immediately withdrawn. She probably hadn't expected it to pass anyway. Instead, she produced a "New Wooden Road Plan." This was undoubtedly her real objective.
The plan was to build a wooden railway connecting Village Five and Shashato City.
It made sense on paper, but the two locations are already connected by a teleportation gate. Is a railway really necessary?
"The objective is to alleviate the bottleneck at the teleportation gates."
Currently, the gates are used for both people and goods—and very actively at that. This has created a situation where people have to wait a considerable amount of time to pass through. Yoko wants to increase the number of gates, but that’s difficult. So, she wants to reserve the gates for people and shift non-urgent cargo to the railway.
The route has already been surveyed, and she plans to hire the nearby elf village for maintenance and security. The groundwork was already finished.
"Hmm. If we're going to have security, why not build an actual railroad instead of a wooden one?"
"Is there a problem with a wooden one?"
"If the main focus is heavy cargo, I'm worried about a monorail-style wooden track. Plus, wood rots in the rain."
"I see. Like the railway bogie and metal rails from the model you made, Village Head?"
Initially, we’d gone with the monorail-style wooden road to prevent derailment and deter rail theft, but things have changed. To handle the logistics between Village Five and Shashato City, we’ll need to transport massive amounts of goods. A traditional railway bogie is easier to manufacture and maintain than a monorail.
I’ll have to consult the mountain elves. It will require laying parallel tracks and adjusting angles for curves...
"We did several experiments with that before we built the wooden road, didn't we?"
"Technology has advanced since then. Let's experiment again. We can lay a short stretch of track for now, and if there are no problems, we can extend it."
"A short distance? Well, if we want to avoid waste... perhaps building from the southern foot toward the northeast would be best?"
"Northeast? You mean toward the swan races?"
"I'm also considering the shrine."
I see. Well, I’ll leave the specifics to Yoko, but I won't approve the plan until I've talked it over with the mountain elves.
"Understood."
Village Councilor A: "We must solve the gate congestion!" Village Councilor B: "Won't we just have to tell people to move without using the gates?" Village Councilor C: "Are you really going to tell people who know how convenient the gates are to just walk?" Village Councilor D: "It’s only congested because everyone uses the gates for every little thing." Village Councilor E: "Let's separate people and goods. Gates are for people only!" Village Councilor F: "And how do you carry the goods? You need people for that!" Village Councilor G: "...What about that wooden road? Can't we use that?" Village Councilor H: "That's the one!"
Village Head: "Is it a business tactic to submit an impossible plan first just to make the second one seem reasonable?" Yoko: "No, I just needed to explain why we couldn't just expand the current wooden road." Village Head: "Don't make meta-textual remarks."