It was just before noon.
Giral was taking Ol, the Orthrus, for a walk through the village. It was a common sight these days. Since Guronde had been busy training Hiichiro and Gural lately, the "left behind" duo of Giral and Ol had apparently bonded over their shared loneliness.
Well, it wasn’t as if they had stopped bickering entirely, but they had certainly grown closer. They walked side-by-side even without the need for a lead.
By the way, it seemed Raimeiren had finally managed to join Guronde, Hiichiro, and Gural in their training. Dos reported this to me with a look of pure satisfaction on his face. It was a good development, so I made sure to share in his joy.
Oops—Kuro and Yuki just gave me a stern look. It was time for our scheduled walk. I needed to focus on them.
Once our stroll was finished, it was time for lunch. Today, I took charge of the kitchen. I mixed soy sauce, sugar, and cooking sake together, heating and stirring the mixture until it thickened into a proper teriyaki sauce.
I took some thin, thoroughly grilled hamburger steaks and dipped them into the jar of sauce before pulling them back out. They looked a little dull—perhaps they needed more of a glaze? Well, the flavor should be fine regardless.
I decided to do a taste test.
I knew, I knew. I had already prepared portions for the High Ogre Maids. The Angels who were helping with the meal prep got a sample as well.
I took another bite. Yes, it was delicious.
"The sweetness is just right," one of the maids noted.
"The children are going to love this flavor," an Angel added.
"I think even the adults will take a liking to it."
The feedback from the High Ogre Maids and the Angels was excellent. I really should have made this sooner. With that in mind, I worked alongside the maids and the Angels to mass-produce today’s lunch: Teriyaki Hamburger Steaks.
The dish was a massive hit with the children, but Sena’s daughter, Sette, was particularly fond of it. She even went back for thirds.
With Sena’s due date fast approaching, Sette was vibrating with excitement over her new sibling. Whether it was a boy or a girl, what the name would be, and whether they would get along—these were the topics she discussed endlessly with the other village children.
I watched her with a smile, silently praying for a safe and healthy delivery.
Later, I made sure to set aside a portion of the teriyaki hamburgers to send to the Fairy Queen.
The Village Head's Mansion had many spare rooms, several of which were currently occupied by Zabuton’s Children. When I entered the specific room I was looking for, I was greeted by a magnificent wooden railway model.
The scale was roughly 1/100, featuring tracks just like the ones I remembered from my old world, with roofless carriages resting on the rails. The spiders were busy playing, riding in the cars or pushing and pulling them along, but they scurried over in a swarm the moment they saw me.
Sorry, little ones. I didn't mean to interrupt.
The Zabuton’s Children in this room were all fans of craftsmanship. While they were skilled with thread, they had zero interest in decorative weaving. Instead, they were the type who found the Mountain Elves' mechanical engineering far more fascinating. They had watched the recent Domino Toppling Tournament with rapt attention, and as soon as it was over, they had begun setting up and knocking down dominoes of their own.
Currently, they were obsessed with their railway. It seemed the mechanics of wheels on a track had completely captivated them. They were especially moved by the way the wheels functioned while navigating a curve.
The wheels were conical, tapering toward the outer edge. This taper allowed the wheels to adjust for the difference in distance between the inner and outer rails during a turn. If these spiders could have shouted, I’m certain they would have let out a deafening cheer. Instead, they expressed their thrill through a vigorous tap dance.
The scale of their project was growing by the day. Using "Spider Walks"—the arachnid version of a catwalk—near the ceiling, they had expanded their railway network across multiple rooms.
The room we were in was modeled after the Village of the Great Tree. They were building dioramas to go with the tracks, as well. They had many sections they wanted to show off, but their pride and joy was the Great Loop Line that encircled the perimeter of the village.
There was also a Central Line extending east and west from my mansion. This line continued into the next room, which was modeled after Village One, and the room beyond that, which was modeled after Village Two. Village Three was currently under construction.
The reason their models remained so local was simply because these particular spiders had never seen Village Five, Shashato City, or Howlin Village. I’d have to take them there eventually. I really wanted to show them the actual railway in Village Five.
I had come to the room to help with the construction. Since the spiders were handling the rails, I focused my efforts on the carriages.
All right, today I’ll work on a locomotive. It would just be a model, of course. In reality, these things were supposed to run on coal.
Since this was made of wood, though, burning actual coal would be a fire hazard. Best to skip that.
They looked at me as if asking if I could make one out of iron instead. No, even for a model, building a functional steam engine was no small feat. Well, I suppose I could try to make the engine block, at least. But don't get your hopes up.
I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying a peaceful session of model-making with the spiders.
Later, I sat down and lined up various gold and silver coins on the table. I wasn't trying to flaunt my wealth; I was just curious. While I had always referred to them simply as "gold coins" or "silver coins," there were actually many different types. While they were all circular and identical in size, thickness, and weight, the designs, patterns, and inscriptions varied wildly.
They were clearly issued by different countries, organizations, or groups. The actual purity of the gold and silver also varied slightly between types.
However, that didn't mean the value of the coins fluctuated much based on the design. A gold coin was a gold coin, and a silver coin was a silver coin; they held the same value regardless of their origin.
While the value of the currency shifted based on the economic power of various regions, the "bottom floor" of the value remained constant. This was because every type of gold and silver coin in this world could be used in negotiations with dragons. In essence, the ultimate guarantor of the global currency was the dragon race itself.
As for the amount of currency in circulation, it was impossible to track accurately, as many of the issuing nations had long since perished. However, it was said that dragons stockpiled massive quantities of coins and periodically released them to regulate the market.
I wondered if Dos and Raimeiren were the ones doing that. Based on their usual behavior, it was hard to imagine them handling such meticulous economic planning. Or were they just keeping it a secret?
I decided to ask Hakuren about it.
"Publicly, the dragons are supposed to be the ones handling it, but we don't actually do anything," she explained. "Dragons aren't the type to care about those kinds of details."
I figured as much. Does that mean no one is managing the money supply?
"The ones actually managing things are the Devil Race members who serve my father and mother. It seems a group of them who specialize in that sort of thing gathered together to handle the details."
"Is that so?"
"However, even those Devils say the economy is a monster. They say control is impossible, and they sound quite happy when they say it."
"Happy?"
"Yes. They apparently love the feeling of dealing with something uncontrollable."
There really were all kinds of people in this world... or rather, all kinds of Devils.
Frau provided a little more context.
"Generally, a gold coin is a gold coin, regardless of the type... but an unfamiliar coin might be suspected as a counterfeit, which can lower its perceived value. Gold coins especially are unfamiliar to commoners, so they tend to be wary of them."
"That makes sense."
"On the other hand, there are collectors who seek out rare designs, which can actually drive the value up."
"So, it depends?"
"It fluctuates based on the individual you're dealing with. It's rarely an issue in the Demon Kingdom, but when trading with Human Kingdoms, they sometimes specify exactly which types of coins they are willing to accept."
Interesting. In that case, should we be sorting the coins in the Village of the Great Tree by type as well?
"Could we use that slider-style coin counting machine the Mountain Elves built?"
That machine distinguished coins based on size, weight, and mineral content. Expecting it to sort by the visual pattern on the face might be asking too much. Then again, if we taught it every design, maybe it could work...
I glanced over at a Mountain Elf standing nearby. She had clearly been eavesdropping. She thought about it for a moment before suggesting that while it sounded like a fun challenge, the machine would likely end up being the size of a small house. If it wasn't portable, that would be a bit of a hassle.
"Also... if we were to sort them by hand, it would be a hellish job," Frau added. "Not with the sheer volume of gold and silver we have stored in this village."
"Yeah... let's not."
Sorting could wait. Maybe I'd do it a little at a time whenever the mood struck me.
Mountain Elf: "What did you mean about it moving by burning coal?" Village Head: "...Were you spying on us?" Mountain Elf: "I just thought it looked like you were having a lot of fun." Zabuton’s Children: (We have a new friend!)
Village Head: "I think the locomotive is... about finished." Mountain Elf (Maa): "Wait... a steam engine? This compact? How?"
Devil: "Now then, please take a suitable pile of gold coins and hunker down in your nest." Dragon (Mixed-Generation): "So, I just need to lose the fight, right?" Devil: "Exactly. You must lose. Under no circumstances are you allowed to win. It's non-negotiable." Dragon (Mixed-Generation): "Yeah, yeah, it's for the sake of the economy. I get it."