I felt like spring should have been arriving any day now, but the chill of winter showed no signs of fading. Even though I felt that way, spring always tended to arrive quite suddenly. To be certain, I asked a Nyunyu-daphne. "Just a little more winter," they replied. I see.
Village Four’s field area had increased significantly due to land expansion from the Floating Gardens. Even before that expansion, the residents had been fairly active with agricultural work during the winter. Since Village Four was enclosed within a magical field, it maintained a consistently stable environment, essentially acting like a giant greenhouse. Well, it wasn't quite warm enough to be considered "Ever-summer," but the environment felt something like "Ever-spring."
In this Village Four, two small problems had cropped up. The first was a water issue. A portion of the Floating Gardens had been configured into water tanks for storage, but the levels were depleting faster than expected. It wasn't as if we were in immediate danger of running dry, but while I had initially thought a refill every few years would suffice, it now looked like we would need to supply water two or three times a year. I wondered if the water consumption in the expanded fields was simply too high.
"No, the water usage for the fields is well within our calculations. The cause of the shortage is a change in lifestyle," Bell explained when I arrived at the village to investigate. "The Devil Race and Dream Demons who used to live in the castle rooms were finally able to have their own houses thanks to the Floating Gardens," she continued. I had recommended that move myself. While the interior of the castle wasn't exactly small, living in large groups within communal rooms could be quite stifling. I had houses built for anyone who wanted one. "A fair number of people moved out to their own homes, but half of them chose to remain in the castle." It was difficult to force people to change their living arrangements once they were settled. That was just the way things were.
"Is there some kind of disparity between those with houses and those without?" I asked. I figured Kuzuden, the Acting Village Head of Village Four, and the coordinator for the Dream Demons would have been handling those adjustments. I had also heard that Bell and Gou were doing their best to help. "Yes, we have made adjustments. As part of that, and to improve the lives of those who stayed, we opened up the bathhouses inside the castle." Bathhouses? I didn't know the castle had those. "Village Four... or rather, the Sun Castle, was originally a secondary royal residence, after all." I suppose it was only natural for it to have bathhouses. However, I didn't recall seeing any when I first toured the place. "They had been converted into fields until recently." Ah, that made sense. Since the land area increased with the Floating Gardens, we had moved the indoor fields to more suitable locations. And so, the bathhouses had been restored. "Is that bathhouse the reason for the water shortage?" I asked. "It is a major factor. Initially, we planned for them to be used about once every five days, but both the Devil Race and the Dream Demons took such a liking to them that they now use them almost every day. In particular, the Dream Demons have rediscovered their natural fastidiousness and are pouring all their effort into polishing their beauty." I hadn't realized Dream Demons were so obsessed with cleanliness. "I am ensuring it doesn't interfere with their work in the fields," Bell added. "Well, just don't be too hard on them." "Yes. Now, regarding the bathhouses... the issue is that, even for a villa, they were built for royalty. They are pointlessly wide and deep, so the water consumption is massive." I could see how that would be a problem. "Then, the people who moved into their own houses heard the bathhouses inside the castle were operational, so they built a communal bathhouse of their own outside the walls... and so, the water consumption climbed even higher." "Was it difficult to let the homeowners use the castle baths?" I asked. Since the baths were meant to bridge the disparity in the first place. "No, once we realized how much water was being used, we told them they were welcome to use the castle facilities. However, the people who stayed in the castle started heading out to the new communal bathhouse instead, so the plan didn't have much of an effect." I see. "Furthermore, once someone becomes clean, don't they naturally want to make their clothes and homes clean as well?" So they were using water for laundry and cleaning too. "Yes. Gou, for instance, uses a staggering amount of water whenever he cleans the castle walls. We have the castle's filtration system running at full capacity, but we simply cannot keep up with the rate of consumption." Well, I had noticed the castle was looking exceptionally clean. It was practically sparkling. Besides, we were managing the supply for now by having the Universal Ship carry water using the tank-configured Floating Gardens. Finding a pond or lake to draw from was a bit of a chore, though. It would be a nuisance to the locals if we kept drawing from the same spot repeatedly. There was always the option of drawing seawater and filtering it, but that would require increasing the number of tank-configured Floating Gardens. Still, considering the possibility of emergencies, having more water storage seemed like a safer bet. I decided I would mention it to Lu. "I'm sorry for the trouble," Bell said. "I would appreciate the help."
There was one other problem. I wondered if anyone remembered the lizard-like monster that the Devil Race had gone to great lengths to protect back when the Sun Castle first became Village Four. Yes, the chameleon-like monster. Back then, it was small enough to be hidden by a young girl, but it had grown to a total length of about five meters. It had gotten big in a hurry. "I believe this is also due to the change in lifestyle," Bell noted. Previously, it had been kept in the castle dungeon, which had limited its growth. However, when its owner—a young beastkin girl—moved out of the castle, the monster went with her. Being raised in a much more spacious environment had apparently allowed it to reach this size. Well, if it happened, it happened. "Is the size the only issue?" I asked. "The size itself isn't much of a problem. The real issue is its appetite. We have enough food, but... well, for it to eat more than twenty people's worth of food every day without doing any work is quite a burden." I understood her point. The residents of Village Four were working hard, but they weren't in a position to be wasteful with their resources. "In that case, how about returning it to its original habitat?" "I thought that might be for the best as well, so I had Miyo and Yoko-sama look into it... but it seems this monster hasn't been sighted in the wild for about a hundred years." "Which means?" "Based on their research, the species is likely extinct. There is no longer a place we can call its habitat." That was a surprise. I didn't know why they had gone extinct, but it meant this one had only survived because it was inside the Sun Castle. If I recalled correctly, it had hatched from an egg that was inside a pile of soil thrown during the siege to conquer the castle.
Wait. The chameleon-like monster in question was watching me. It had the typical reptilian eyes that made it difficult to read any emotion, but I felt like I understood. I could tell exactly what it wanted to say. "I want a wife." It seemed to be mating season. This was a difficult situation. Would I have to hire adventurers to search for a monster that was supposedly extinct? "I want a wife," it seemed to insist again. "I understand. I'll put in a request. But don't get your hopes up." Then I looked at the creature again. "Also, as long as you're living in this village, I’d like you to contribute something... Is there anything you can do?" "I don't know," the monster seemed to reply. "But I think the fluid secreted from my skin might be useful for something." Fluid? Indeed, parts of the chameleon's body were quite slimy. When I reached out and took a small amount of that fluid onto my hand... My hand vanished. "What?" In a panic, I looked down. My hand was still there, but the area touched by the fluid had become completely transparent. It was a bizarre sight. Bell hurriedly used water magic to wash my hand, and it returned to normal. I tried touching the fluid once more. Amazing. It really did vanish. And it reappeared as soon as it was washed. "I use this fluid to do this..." The chameleon-like monster gradually began to blend into the surrounding scenery—no, it was turning completely transparent. "This is incredible." "However, I cannot maintain it for a long time," it conveyed. Depending on its health, it could stay transparent for about half a day. Personally, I thought half a day was a very long time. It also mentioned that it could only move slowly while transparent. I see. It was an ability meant for ambushes. It was transparency rather than camouflage, but it was certainly chameleon-like.
I began to think. Not just about the potential uses for this transparency fluid, but about the nature of the species itself. If others of its kind could turn transparent at will, then perhaps they weren't extinct after all. Maybe they just hadn't been found. A glimmer of hope appeared. Then again, how was anyone supposed to find a monster that could turn transparent and lived in an unknown habitat? The task seemed almost impossible. I felt a wave of despair. Finding a partner for this monster was going to be a monumental challenge. Well, for now, I would consult with Michael-san and put out a request to the adventurers. As for the uses for the fluid, I would leave that to an expert rather than trying to figure it out myself. By an expert, I meant Lu. I was always leaning on her for these things, but I was sure she could find a practical application for it. My only hope was that we could earn enough to cover the monster's food expenses.
"Um, Village Head... when it comes to the uses for a fluid that makes things transparent, I can only think of nefarious purposes," Bell said. I felt the same way, but I was certain Lu would manage to find a better use for it. Yes, surely.