A letter arrived from Gienel, the representative of the Six Dragon God Kingdom.
His report stated that he was working hard and doing well, but the core of the message—a plea to share some of the village’s harvested crops for his wife, Mettora—was wrapped in five layers of over-the-top formal language.
I thought it would have been faster if Mettora had simply sent the letter herself, but apparently, as a married woman, she felt it was improper to correspond with men other than her husband.
I see.
Then again, I was fairly certain I had received a significant number of letters from married women before. When I pointed this out, I was told there was no issue as long as it was for work.
Fair enough.
In any case, I had already made arrangements to send a share of the harvest to Gienel. I considered asking Hakuren or Rusty to transport it, but I figured that might make Gienel’s side feel too much pressure, so I entrusted the delivery to the Goroun Company instead.
When I checked on the progress, I was told the shipment had left Village Five without incident. If I remembered correctly, they were transporting the goods by sea from Shashato City to the Six Dragon God Kingdom to avoid further congesting the Teleportation Gates.
That was likely why the delivery was taking so long. Though I was a little concerned, I decided to wait and see for a while.
As I prepared for winter, I spent some quiet time relaxing with Zabuton and Zabuton’s Children. Most of them hibernated once the cold set in, so I wanted to make sure we communicated while we still could.
Of course, the "communication" mostly consisted of me putting on a solo fashion show for them and fretting over Urza.
Yes, I was definitely worried about Urza.
I knew that if anything happened to her, I could count on the others to handle it, but it was always best if nothing happened at all.
Perhaps sensing that I was getting along well with Zabuton and the spiders, Kuro came over to be pampered. I gave his belly a good rub.
"There, there."
I stroked his head, scratched under his chin, and felt his thighs. His legs were impressively firm. Even his belly looked leaner than before. He must have been working hard while I wasn't looking. When I praised him, Kuro looked quite proud of himself.
Fracia, however, looked a little dissatisfied. She was usually content as long as she had the Angel Race’s wings to play with, but lately, things had become complicated.
The Angel Race in the village had become divided into two categories: the "moving Angel Race" and the "non-moving Angel Race." Malbit and Ruincia were currently racking their brains over the situation. Apparently, Frau and Holly—who was helping with childcare—were at their wits' end because they couldn't stop Fracia from seeking out the "non-moving" angels.
There was no real harm in her visiting them, but she would spend hours there just massaging their wings. Her caretakers were worried about what kind of habits she was forming for the future.
Speaking of Holly, I heard she had recently returned to Beezel’s Mansion and made quite an impact. She immediately set about correcting all the slackness that had crept in during her absence. While no one had actually done anything wrong, Holly was famously strict. Even Beezel had been instructed to reform his lifestyle. I made a mental note to be careful so I wouldn't end up on the receiving end of her lectures.
As I continued petting Kuro and chatting with him, Yuki eventually nudged him aside with her nose, signaling that it was her turn. Kuro reluctantly yielded his spot, and Yuki flopped over to show me her belly.
"Good girl."
I made sure to scratch all of Yuki’s favorite spots.
A few days later, I learned that the sea transport to the Six Dragon God Kingdom had failed. A giant sea monster had appeared.
The ship that sailed from Shashato City encountered the beast and was forced to turn back in a panic. It seemed all ships would be avoiding that route for the foreseeable future. Consequently, the Goroun Company gave up on the sea route and decided to use the Teleportation Gates after all. Since the goods had already reached the fortress near the Royal Capital, they were expected to be delivered within a few days.
I received this report from Miyo. Ordinarily, this was news I would have heard from the Goroun Company or Yoko, but Miyo had come specifically to deliver a request for aid from Shashato City.
"We usually leave these matters to the Sea Race, but... it seems this one is more than they can handle."
"Did the Sea Race take casualties?" I asked.
"Yes. The Sea Race living near Shashato City gathered to drive it away, but they were defeated instead."
"I see."
"The Sea Race sent word that they will remain in hiding until the giant sea monster is gone."
"Understood. I’ll arrange for some condolence money."
"A small amount will suffice. Most of them have come ashore and are currently killing time at Village Five."
I blinked. Was the situation not as dire as it sounded?
"These things happen often at sea," Miyo explained. "Something similar occurred once before, and Rusty-sama was the one who resolved it."
"Rusty did?"
"Yes. It was before I was stationed in Shashato City. A giant sea monster approached the city, and Michael-sama of the Goroun Company happened to find Rusty-sama there. He requested her help in subjugating it."
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered something like that happening around the time Ya and the other Mountain Elves first arrived.
"So, I’ve come to see if we might be able to ask Rusty-sama for her help once again."
"I understand. I’ll try asking her."
As I spoke, Giral entered my line of sight, striking a pose that clearly suggested, "Is there not another reliable person standing right here?"
"Wait, Giral, are you offering to go?"
"I have one condition."
"Then never mind. I’ll ask Rusty."
"Wait, wait, wait! Just listen to me!"
"What is it? Actually, I think I can guess."
"To be honest, Guronde and I are having a bit of... a situation."
"I thought so. Did you have a fight?"
"It wasn't a fight. We simply had a slight difference of opinion."
"I see. So, what is this condition?"
"I want you to secure some dried persimmons for me."
"Dried persimmons? You mean the ones made during the autumn harvest? Those haven't been drying long enough yet."
"I know. They weren't sweet at all."
"If you know they weren't sweet, does that mean you ate them?"
"I couldn't help myself! They weren't sweet, but the harshness was strangely addictive. They were excellent as a snack with sake."
I see. So he had a thing for astringent flavors. I decided I would give him some burdock next time.
"I’d appreciate that," Giral said. "But the problem is, Guronde is... well..."
"She wouldn't get that angry over just a few, would she?"
"I ate every single one that was hanging out to dry."
"Ah..."
"She told me not to bother coming home until I found replacements."
He had tried to find some on his own, but there were almost no astringent persimmons outside of the Village of the Great Tree. To make matters worse, Rusty monopolized the village’s supply for her own production. The only exceptions were the small portions given to those who helped her, which was where Guronde had gotten hers.
"Please," Giral pleaded. "If I don't get them, I won't be able to go home until next year."
Well, Rusty produced a massive amount every year, so she would likely share some if I asked.
"What is it?" Giral asked, noticing my expression.
"It’s just that, either way, I have to ask Rusty for a favor. If I tell her there’s a giant sea monster that needs killing and I need dried persimmons, I get the feeling Rusty will just go and kill the monster herself."
"Don't say that! Think of it as helping your old friend, the Dark Dragon Giral!"
"Alright, alright. I’ll ask Rusty to share some of the dried persimmons."
"Thank you! Leave the sea monster to me. I’ll have it slaughtered by the end of the day."
"The sooner the better, but don't overdo it. If you get hurt, Guronde will have my head."
"As if a Dark Dragon would lose to some random sea creature! ...But thank you for the concern. I’ll be careful."
Giral shifted into his human form to head for the Teleportation Gate. I could see his determination to resolve the matter as quickly as possible—or rather, his desperate desire to make up with Guronde.
I decided I should go and talk to Rusty before Giral got back.
"Miyo, please send word to Shashato City. Giral is going to handle it, so tell them not to let it turn into an uproar."
Miyo nodded and hurried after Giral.
The next day, Giral returned in his dragon form, clutching a massive piece of frozen meat. It seemed the subjugation had been a success.
Based on the color, shape, and flavor of the meat, it seemed the giant sea monster was actually a massive tuna. It was delicious.
Guronde: "When there are perfectly good sweet persimmons available, why on earth would you eat every single one of the unsweetened, drying ones!?" Giral: "I-I'm sorry!" Dwarf: "Using the astringency as a snack for sake... I see." Giral: "You understand?" Dwarf: "...I can understand the appeal a little, but eating raw astringent persimmons is just masochism. You can't even swallow them." Giral: "No, no, they're actually quite good once you get used to them." Guronde: "..." Giral: "Raw astringent persimmons are not for eating. Right. I'll make sure to tell everyone that."