Winter was still in full swing, but fortunately, the weather during the day remained pleasant. I bundled up in several layers and set out to patrol the village. Hakuren and Gral accompanied me. It was a rather rare combination for a stroll, and there was a specific reason for it.
First, Raimeiren was currently tied down by work. Toshira, Mettora's younger sister, had arrived in the village the night before and dumped a mountain of documents on her. Raimeiren had been staying here for quite some time lately, so I suppose the backlog finally caught up with her.
Meanwhile, Hiichiro was busy making sweets. Apparently, once he gave it a shot, he found the process quite engrossing. I had expected Gral to join him, but instead, she left him to his baking and stuck close to Hakuren. It really was an unusual sight to see those two together.
"That's not true at all," Hakuren said. "She's been helping me with all sorts of things."
"Oh?" I looked over at Gral.
"She is my future mother-in-law," the girl said firmly. "Building a solid relationship now is vital."
I see. She was methodically laying the groundwork—or, as the saying goes, filling in the outer moats.
Thinking back, Kuon had done the same when she felt destiny called her to Domaim. She had secured the approval of his mother, Raimeiren, as well as his sisters, Hakuren, Suiren, and Sekiren, before moving in on him. She definitely knew how to prepare the ground. Domaim’s father, Dos, and his brothers, Draim and Marksbergark, supposedly stayed neutral, but the point stood. At any rate, it was a good thing she wasn't relying purely on raw power.
Speaking of which, what had happened to Helze? She had claimed to feel a similar destiny with my other son, Hikaru. Helzelnark was the daughter of Suiren and Mark, but I hadn't seen her around lately.
"Raimeiren-sama has her flying all over the place making deliveries," Gral informed me.
So that was it. I had assumed she’d never leave the village, but perhaps Helze was also busy filling her own outer moats? If she were like Gral, wouldn't she be sticking close to Hakuren too? Especially since Hikaru would be right there.
"Her mother was worried," Hakuren explained, "that if she doted on him too much while he was still an infant, Hikaru might grow up seeing her as a mother figure instead of a potential wife."
Is that how it works? Wait. I heard that in Domaim’s case, Kuon took care of him since he was still in the egg.
"Mother was busy with various things back then," Hakuren said, averting her eyes. It was likely a time when she was causing some kind of trouble—perhaps during one of her phases of running away from home.
Well, unlike Hiichiro, Hikaru was still very much a baby. I figured I’d just wait and see for a while.
Wait. Was I already subconsciously assuming that Hiichiro and Gral were going to get married? Had Gral already "filled in" the moat around me as well?
As that thought crossed my mind, I felt something rustling inside my layers. Aegis, the phoenix chick, poked his head out from the chest of my coat.
"Ah! You were using Aegis to stay warm! That's not fair," Hakuren teased.
"It's not unfair," I protested.
"Yes, it is—!"
Hakuren plucked Aegis out and passed him to Gral, then immediately shoved her hands into the front of my clothes.
"Cold!" I yelped.
Looking up at the winter sky, I saw the Universal Ship and an airship flying in tandem. Based on the time, they were probably returning from Village Four. Normally, one ship would be enough to handle the cargo, but I suspected the Universal Ship just didn't like flying alone.
A short while later, Bell arrived at the mansion. She had been visiting more often since we set up a room for her here.
"As expected, the amount of information one receives while staying at this mansion is on another level," she remarked. Apparently, being stuck in Village Four limited her perspective to local matters.
"But don't worry, I was still properly thinking about the Great Tree Village," she added.
That was good to hear, though I told her she didn't need to be so obsessed with our village. She was free to use the teleportation gate to check on Village Five or the Royal Capital whenever she wanted.
"Is there anywhere you'd like to go or anything you want to see?" I asked.
"Well, I would like to check on Miyo's work in Shashato City."
Did something about Miyo bother her?
"The reports she sends you, Village Head..."
"Yes?"
"She’s been cutting corners. I need to set her straight."
Really?
"Yes. She probably grew complacent once she took on Kissinlee as a subordinate. Miyo is capable, but the moment she has some breathing room, she tends to slack off."
I see.
"Don't worry," Bell assured me. "I won't use violence."
"Right. I'll leave it to you, then."
"Yes. Though I won't go just yet. Today, I'm heading to the hot springs."
I told her to enjoy herself and relax.
"I’m not sure I can relax with Yor there," she laughed.
I told her to scold Yor if she was doing anything strange. Yor had actually been quite well-behaved since Crim arrived, though.
"I hope so," Bell said.
I offered to have her take some sake or food to the hot spring area, but I worried it would be a burden to carry.
"It's fine. I can transport it easily with a small floating garden."
That settled it. "All right, then. Take care."
A motorbike was currently moving along the snow-covered village road. The Mountain Elves had built this copy after inspecting the one Maa developed in the capital via the teleportation gate.
"Maa is brilliant with these mechanisms," one of the elves said. "But we can still improve on it!"
They didn't seem satisfied yet. The bike made a powerful thump-thump-thump sound, but it moved only slightly faster than a walking pace. To me, it felt incredibly slow.
I could guess why. The tires were massive—about sixty centimeters wide. That was wider than a truck tire. They weren't particularly tall, but they were so heavy they killed the speed. Plus, with that much surface area on the ground, steering it probably required immense strength.
Fuuma was the one currently piloting the machine. The Mountain Elves wanted the mannequin to use this bike as a means of transport while escorting Alfred.
Alfred might enjoy the novelty, but at this speed, wouldn't a horse carriage be better?
"Maybe you should make the tires thinner and add more of them to help with speed?" I suggested.
"Maa begged us in tears never to increase the number of wheels," the elf replied.
Why was she so set on it being two-wheeled? Well, I suppose new inventions required that kind of stubbornness.
"In that case, try making the tires thinner..."
"But won't it tip over while we're moving?"
"Not if you have enough speed," I explained.
"I see! You move forward before you can fall!"
"In principle, yes."
"But what about when we stop? It'll just fall over."
"Use a stand," I said. "A sidestand."
"A stand?"
I explained it was like a leg you put out when the vehicle was stationary.
"Oh! As expected of the Village Head! You're a genius!"
I wasn't a genius; I just knew what the finished product looked like. However, unlike the bikes I knew, this one ran on firewood.
Ah, I see. That was why they were so afraid of it falling and chose those thick tires.
Fuuma was currently feeding wood into the stationary machine. It needed water, too.
Wait, wasn't this an internal combustion engine? No, a steam engine is an external combustion engine. Oh, they were using it as a supplement to an internal combustion engine? I see.
Anyway, tipping over would definitely be bad.
"Sorry," I said. "Forget what I said about the tire width and the stand."
"Ehh—?!"
Gral: "Do you have any idea how it feels to have the Village Head and Hakuren's flirting shoved in my face?" Hakuren: "S-Sorry."
Bell: "This is a home visit." Yor: "I-I'm behaving myself!" Crim: "Yor stays up late making ammunition." Bell: "..." Yor: "..."
Village Head: "What if we lined up four thin tires used for carriages? Eight wheels in total, front and back." Mountain Elf: "The maintenance would be... well, the stability would be the same, but the off-road capability would increase. Is that an option?" Maa: "It has to be two wheels!" Fuuma: (Hoping the bike will eventually transform.)