The Village of the Great Tree also had its own Cash Grab boxes. They were the result of the trial and error we went through to determine the best sizes—large, medium, and small—before implementing the system in Village Five.
Initially, some of the Angels had rejected the idea of a Cash Grab as vulgar, but once they tried it for themselves, they seemed to find it quite enjoyable. They even began offering suggestions, such as narrowing the opening of the box to make it more difficult to pull out a large haul. I appreciated the feedback, but since my goal in Village Five was to give away as much as possible, I kept the openings wide. In fact, I wouldn't have minded removing the lids entirely.
The children were naturally interested as well, but because the mothers didn't look kindly on the prospect of kids gambling for cash, I prepared a Candy Grab instead. Wrapping each individual sweet was a tedious chore, but seeing the children’s joy made it worthwhile. Interestingly, the one who delighted in the Candy Grab most of all was the Fairy Queen. She shared her winnings with everyone, so I certainly had no reason to complain.
The autumn harvest eventually began in the Village of the Great Tree. Even those who had been training for the upcoming martial arts tournament paused their drills to focus on the work in the fields. I put Draim in charge of the daikon radishes while asking the others to prioritize the carrots and onions first.
The residents of Village One, Village Two, and Village Three appeared to have finished their own harvests, as they arrived in force to lend us a hand. It was a gesture I truly appreciated. Village Four, however, was still in the thick of it. I received an apologetic message from Kuzuden explaining the situation. Between the increased acreage from the Floating Gardens and the work I’d done with the Universal Farming Tool, their yield had increased so drastically that they were struggling to keep up. They had even mobilized the crew of the Universal Ship to help. I told them not to rush; as long as they finished by the time the tournament started, they should focus on harvesting carefully.
"Zabuton’s Children, you know which fields we’re doing today, right?"
I gestured toward the areas marked by the signboards the Civil Official Girls had set up. They responded with a flurry of activity. I left the potatoes and sweet potatoes entirely in their capable hands.
Soon, the Lamia Race arrived from the Southern Dungeon and the Giant Race came from the Northern Dungeon to assist. Both groups were veterans when it came to agricultural labor, and the harvest progressed at a blistering pace under their strength.
It made me wonder how the Gorlock Race from the Eastern Dungeon was faring. A significant amount of time had passed since I first learned of them, yet I still hadn't managed to meet them in person. Something always seemed to interfere. Perhaps it was fate? No, more likely just a string of bad luck and poor timing. I was sure we would meet eventually, so I stayed patient. For now, the harvest was the priority.
Nearby, the Mountain Elves were harvesting by hand, assisted by a large humanoid Golem. Its hands were shaped like hoes, allowing it to dig up the soil and the crops simultaneously. When I asked if the arms could be swapped for sickles, they told me that while it was possible, the Golem couldn't hold the stalks down properly, making it better suited for clearing weeds than harvesting.
The pilot of this Golem was Box No. 4051. I didn't recognize it by sight, of course; rather, its number was painted in large characters across the Golem’s side. It was a bold bit of self-assertion, but since the Intelligence Box was embedded into the machine's back, it wouldn't have been able to make its presence known otherwise.
I did wish, however, that the person who wrote the number had better handwriting. When I mentioned this, the Elves informed me that Tolmane had written it. Tolmane was only two years old—Corone’s daughter. If she had written those characters at such an age, she was surely a genius. The more I looked at it, the more I felt the writing had a certain... unique charm. It was wonderful, really. I felt like putting the whole Golem on display.
I caught myself, though. Harvest first. It couldn't be helped if the machine got dirty. I decided I would eventually ask Tolmane to write something for me on a proper piece of paper.
Grains like rice, wheat, barley, corn, and soybeans were brought in one after another. It was a spectacular harvest. Once again, the Universal Farming Tool proved its worth. I resolved to give it a thorough cleaning once the work was done, though in truth, I tended to maintain it whenever I had a spare moment anyway.
"Village Head, is it alright to harvest this new crop yet?" one of the High Elves asked, running over to me.
She was referring to the Rye. To be honest, I had forgotten I’d even planted it. I had only remembered its existence when I saw the ingredients at the bakery and decided to plow a field for it. This was our first harvest, so I wasn't entirely sure of the timing either. We were still in the experimental phase of gathering knowledge.
"I see. Then just a small amount for now—wait, the Dwarves are already harvesting the whole field!"
"This is Black Wheat, is it not?" one of the Dwarves called out. "The timing is perfect; there is no mistake."
It was a relief to know they were familiar with it.
"Though it's quite different from the Black Wheat grown elsewhere," he added.
"In what way?" I asked.
"Hahaha! The grains in this field are much thicker and heavier than any I’ve seen. I have no doubt it will make a fine sake."
I certainly hoped so, but I warned him not to turn the entire crop into alcohol. He promised to set aside enough for bread and went off to talk to the High Ogre Maids. Judging by the heated gestures from a distance, they were arguing over the distribution. The maids apparently wanted enough for both fine and coarse flour, essentially demanding double the usual amount. The Dwarf put up a fight, but he eventually lost. He looked over at me for support, but I wasn't about to interfere with the kitchen's requirements.
Throughout the harvest, Kuro’s children were kept busy as well. They stayed alert for any magic beasts or monsters that might be drawn to the scent of the crops. As the harvest wound down, they shifted their focus to hunting to build up our winter meat stores. In the past, they had hunted during the harvest, but processing the meat required too many hands, so they had thoughtfully adjusted their schedule.
While we were able to consume the meat and magic stones, our stockpile of hides and bones was becoming a problem. We didn't eat them; we sold them. Initially, I had simply plowed them back into the earth with the Universal Farming Tool, but once I realized they were valuable, I started saving them. The issue was that we couldn't sell them fast enough.
Lowering the price would move the stock, but Michael-san and Randan had forbidden it. Lu and Tia agreed with them. Apparently, if the price of top-tier materials like ours dropped, it would cause the price of common materials to plummet as well, destroying the livelihoods of the adventurers who hunted for a living. It made sense, but it left us with a surplus. I wondered if it would be so bad to just plow them under again, but Lu had nearly been moved to tears at the thought of such waste. As a result, the storehouses in both the Village of the Great Tree and Village Five were now overflowing. I would have to figure out a way to clear them eventually, but for now, I had to finish the harvest.
One day during the peak of the work, the Demon King arrived.
"You mustn't try to grab them with just your fingers," he lectured the children, demonstrating a technique for the Candy Grab. "Bend your wrist and use your forearm to scoop them up. This method only works because the opening is so wide."
I stared at him. Had he actually done that in Village Five? And what about the lottery ticket? He’d caught a tax official? And then he’d paid his taxes and ended up in third place on the leaderboard? I wondered if it was really appropriate for a sovereign to be ranked in a public tax competition, but since he didn't seem to care, I let it go.
"Listen, children," I interjected. "I know you're excited, but we agreed the Candy Grab is a once-a-month treat. If you have a problem with that, blame your past selves for eating so much you skipped dinner."
That night, Yoko informed me that a terrifying new technique known as the "Demon King's Hand" was the talk of Village Five. I nearly choked on my drink. I could only imagine what people who didn't know the context were thinking.
Tax Collector (captured by the Demon King): "A disgrace... to think I would actually be caught." Fellow Tax Collector: "Look, if you had actually managed to outrun the Demon King, that would have caused its own set of problems."
King of a Human Nation: "The... the 'Demon King's Hand'? What is this? What kind of terrifying martial art have they developed!?" Minister of a Human Nation: "We are still investigating, Your Majesty. However, reports suggest that in certain cities, the entire populace is training desperately to master this secret technique..."
Michael: "If the price of luxury materials drops, common goods follow." Randan: "The adventurers would lose their livelihoods." Michael: "The number of adventurers would dwindle, leaving the borders vulnerable to monsters." Randan: "The very foundations of the state would crumble..."
Village Head: "But if luxury items are more common, wouldn't that improve people's quality of life?" Lu: "There are very few craftsmen capable of working with luxury materials to begin with..." Tia: "And that is exactly why the market can't absorb a large volume of them."