While I was taking it easy in the village, the Elder Dwarf Donovan arrived with a new batch of alcohol.
It was a "Black Wine."
In reality, it was a very deep red, but it looked pitch black to the eye.
"It’s quite astringent, but I don't think it's half bad," Donovan said.
He was right; it wasn't bad at all. However, drinking it straight was a bit of a challenge. I wanted some kind of snack to go with it. Beside me, the Sake Slime—who was sampling it as well—seemed to be of the same mind. Just like when drinking a standard red wine, I figured something meat-based would hit the spot.
A High Ogre Maid brought over some thinly sliced smoked beef—no, wait, it was rabbit. She brought some smoked rabbit, which I gratefully partook of. Yes, this wine was perfectly fine as long as you had something to eat alongside it.
"I see," Donovan muttered. "Now, I produced this for external sale, but do you think it will be manageable?"
It would likely be sold in Village Five, but since it was an Elder Dwarf product, it would be bought up in bulk before anyone even bothered to check the taste, no matter how high we set the price. While that helped the village's bottom line, the producers themselves weren't satisfied with that. They had asked Yoko to set up a sake specialty shop where they could secretly wholesale their spirits. Naturally, they didn't label the bottles as being produced by Elder Dwarves.
Of course, the Goroun Company and a few others had already figured it out, but they understood our intentions and showed restraint in the quantities they purchased. Because of that, there were times when a batch might sit in the storehouse gathering dust for several years without being discovered by customers. Donovan’s worry was the burden of such cases. He had requested the shop specifically because he wanted people who appreciated the flavor to buy his work, so it seemed he found it a bit disappointing when it didn't sell.
However, that worry was unnecessary. It seemed many dedicated alcohol lovers had become regulars at the shop, so the wine likely wouldn't become dead stock. Besides, with a flavor like this, places like Sake & Meat Niz could easily carry it.
"Is that so? Then I’ll incorporate it into our future production plans," Donovan decided. "I’ll bottle enough to fill three large barrels for the village’s consumption and arrange for the rest to be transported to Village Five."
Three large barrels? Was it really necessary to drink that much in the village? If this were the only alcohol we had, we might have gone through that much, but we had mountains of other varieties.
"Ah, Lu-dono and Flora-dono requested it. They seemed to have taken a liking to its blood-like darkness."
I see. Understood. I suspected that Lu and Flora had snuck into the storehouse where Donovan and the others managed the alcohol and discovered the batch there. As I sat there thinking I’d have to give those two a warning later, the Sake Slime beside me was already demanding a refill of the Black Wine from Donovan.
Then there was Ice, the Ice Monster. He had been a huge success during the summer, but he was actually just as active during the winter. The secret was that he could not only freeze things but also defrost them. Ingredients that spoiled easily, harvested in summer or autumn, were kept frozen, and the Ice Monster—who could instantly thaw them—was in high demand among the High Ogre Maids and the children. The Fairy Queen had even been seen chasing Ice around while clutching frozen fruit.
Additionally, there was a high demand for freezing and thawing for food transport in Village Five, so he was often called upon to assist. I wondered if it was a nuisance for him.
"No, I feel joy in being needed," he replied. "I feel like this is the first time I've ever had such fulfilling days."
I-is that so? That was good to hear, but I told him not to push himself too hard.
"Of course. I'm allowed to take it easy. Ah, regarding the talk about building an ice maze on the south side of the village..."
I’d heard about it. The children were looking forward to it as well.
"This time, I plan to have the Civil Official Girls help me add some riddles. I won't lose to the snow mountains made by Raimeiren-sama and the others."
Those were popular too, after all. But I told him to make sure he didn't overdo it.
"I will ensure the safety measures are perfect."
I was counting on him.
Later, a strange tool was placed before me. Its size was... about that of a vending machine. Since it had a dispensing slot, there was no harm in calling it one. The ones who had produced it were Ya and the other Mountain Elves. While I was wondering what would come out of the slot, they first set a cup there. Then, when a Mountain Elf pressed the switch...
A powerful mechanical roar erupted, and juice was poured into the cup!
"Here you go, it's freshly squeezed," Ya said as she took the cup and placed it in front of me.
Oh! A juice vending machine!
"It doesn't actually have an automated selling function, but if you set the fruit here and press the switch, it turns into juice."
This was amazing.
"The only drawback is that it requires a full cleaning after every single use," Ya added.
When she removed the cover of the device, I saw that fruit juice and peels were splattered all over the interior. I looked at the cup in my hand. Was it actually okay to drink?
"It's fine. I cleaned it properly beforehand."
Well, that was good, then. I thought the squeezing mechanism inside was quite well-made. The fact that it was designed to handle fruits of different sizes earned high marks from me. Though, the fact that it was such a large-scale setup was a slight concern.
"This is what happens when you try to make it compatible with every kind of fruit," Ya explained.
I understood. And since there were no peels or pulp in the cup, I assumed it was filtered through a cloth at the end.
"Yes. I prepared a long filtering cloth and designed it to be used by sliding it along... but since the other parts need to be washed every time anyway, the sliding feature has become meaningless."
I saw. It seemed more improvements were still needed.
"Yes. I'll do my best."
As she spoke, I noticed Hakuren nearby.
"Ah, Hakuren. Please don't squeeze juice with your bare hands. You don't need to do that right now. You'll just make the Mountain Elves lose heart."
Several people had also arrived from Howling Village. They were likely here to do some smithing at Gatto's place. With travel becoming easier thanks to the Universal Ship and the airships, the number of people who did their smithing in the Village of the Great Tree during winter instead of Howling Village had increased. Since we bought most of the smithing products made in Howling Village or acted as a sales agent for them, it was more convenient for them to work here in many ways. We also tended to give them very detailed orders, so having them on-site was a help. I granted them permission to stay.
Near Gatto’s workshop, simple lodging facilities had been built for the blacksmiths. I had suggested building proper housing instead of something so basic, but they had refused, saying that if they did that, they would never want to go back to Howling Village. They also insisted that if money was to be spent, it should go toward the smithing facilities rather than their rooms. While I thought that made a certain kind of sense, I made sure they had robust measures against heavy snow. In this place, if you let your guard down, the snow could pile up to a ridiculous degree.
"Is the stone pavement laid on this road something Galf's Son made? It's processed quite beautifully," one of the visitors remarked.
"Looking at the technique, I believe so... but wait, snow isn't piling up on the stones. How is that possible?"
That was because the underside of the stone pavement was engraved with magic circles that Lu had drawn. Galf's Son had worked himself to the bone to get them done. The effect of the magic circles was to generate heat whenever they sensed snow. There was no power source; they were excellent items that functioned solely on the magic circles themselves.
"Engraved on the back of the pavement? You mean on every single stone here?"
"Only on the main street, though," I clarified.
Predicting that even more unreasonable demands would come from Lu in the future, Galf's Son was currently researching ways to efficiently engrave the same pattern.
"That's right, Village Head. I'd like to ask you to deliver a message to Lu-sama," one of the smiths said.
"Hmm? Did Lu ask for something?"
"No, no. It's regarding the Mine Cough."
The Mine Cough was a disease said to be fatal unless the sufferer was moved away from the mine immediately. In Howling Village, which relied on mining for its income, they had suffered from it for years, but Lu had been providing treatment and prevention.
"No one has developed the Mine Cough for the past few years. Everyone in Howling Village wishes to express their gratitude to Lu-sama once again."
"I see. In that case, rather than me delivering the message, Lu would probably be happier if you told her directly. I'll go get her."
"No, no. We heard that Lu-sama is busy with her research. Speaking to her directly can wait until she is free. Besides, um, it's not quite..."
It seemed they were trying to make a gift of gratitude for Lu, but it wasn't finished yet.
"It's just a little bit more until it's done," the smith admitted.
I was given a quick peek, and it looked like a high-quality compounding tool. I told them to make sure they didn't push themselves too hard.
"Thank you very much."
One of the blacksmiths whispered as I walked away, "Rather than saying thanks to Lu-sama directly, she’d probably be happier if we told the Village Head all about her great deeds!"