Lilius and the others recently underwent solo forest survival training in Village Five. Apparently, they all returned without incident. I was relieved, but Ria and her squad—who had shadowed them in secret—were far from satisfied. They grumbled about the training being too "lukewarm" to be of any actual use.
Personally, I felt that since they were still just children, a lukewarm experience was exactly what they needed. To be honest, I had been against the idea of them entering the forest alone from the start. That was why I had adamantly opposed Ria's plan to put them into the woods surrounding the Village of the Great Tree. I told her to be reasonable; they were still kids.
Fuuma, who had also been shadowing the group, performed his role perfectly. He ended up binding Ria and her squad with spider silk several times, but I told him there was no need to apologize for it. Ria and the others had clearly been trying to do something unnecessary, like manufacturing a "crisis" to test the children. I was just glad he stopped them.
Setting the matter of the children aside, Ria and the High Elves headed into the forest for their own training session today. Since the snow had already piled up, they planned to keep it to a few days for the sake of safety. Even so, I really wished they wouldn't do anything dangerous.
"We won't go far, and the forest is our backyard. Please, rest easy," Ria assured me. When she put it like that, it was hard to keep objecting.
But was the "Pursuer Role" really necessary? Chasing Ria and her squad into the forest was a group of Kuro’s children. They weren't exactly overflowing with motivation; in fact, they looked quite reluctant. A few of them looked downright miserable, their faces clearly saying they would much rather be warming themselves in a kotatsu than out in the cold.
Normally, the Fenrir family or the Cocytus Wolves—a subspecies of Inferno Wolf led by Fubuki—would have been the best fit for winter duty, but they were currently the mainstay of the Winter Village’s defense. Ria and the others had shown restraint, saying they couldn't pull them away for a mere training exercise. Instead, they had pleaded with the wolves in the mansion. The pursuers gathered here today were those who were too slow to hide in the kotatsu or those who had been kicked out of it.
Of course, the High Elves didn't rely on luck alone. They had also called in Ann to oversee things.
"There is no tension without pursuers," Ria explained.
That might have been true, but this was supposed to be training. If the pursuers were Kuro’s children with zero motivation, wouldn't that make them unqualified for the role? When I voiced this doubt, Ria and her group averted their eyes.
"Village Head... do you really think we High Elves could stand a chance against an Inferno Wolf who was actually motivated?"
And yet, you were just complaining about how lukewarm the children's training was...
"No matter how strict we are, we aren't going to tell a child to challenge a dragon with their bare hands."
I see. So that was the level of power we were talking about.
"Well then, the training shall begin!" Ria announced.
With those words, the High Elves disappeared into the woods. Even though they were heavily equipped and dressed thickly for the winter, their footprints were barely visible on the snowy surface. It was impressive. Kuro’s children were scheduled to begin their pursuit several hours later.
Waiting around until then seemed a bit cruel, though.
"There, there. I'll play with you guys until it's time to start."
I figured I’d reward them for helping with the training. Whether my intervention was good or bad remained to be seen, but once Kuro’s children got motivated, they hunted down every last one of the High Elves before the day was out. At least the training ended safely.
Sea Sponges. Sea Salt Soap. Seaweed Soap.
These were the popular beauty products that had recently gone on sale in Shashato City. Even Silkyne-san, Beezel’s wife, who was extremely sensitive to beauty trends, had her eye on them. I stared at the items lined up in front of me and wondered why they were there.
Bell, who had just returned from Shashato City, was the one who had presented them. She then reached into the next room and dragged out a tied-up Miyo.
"Miyo was involved in the production of these items, yet she neglected to report a single word of it to the Village Head," Bell said flatly. "I consider this an act of rebellion. How shall we dispose of her?"
Miyo began to struggle frantically. "N-No, that ain't it at all, y'know! There ain't no way I'd rebel, y'know! It's a misunderstanding—yeah, a total misunderstanding, I tell ya!"
What was with the strange accent?
"What sort of misunderstanding?" Bell asked, moving right along without missing a beat.
"It's obvious, y'know! These were a surprise! I was gettin' 'em ready to startle the Village Head!"
"A surprise, you say?"
"Course they were, y'know! I was gonna announce 'em all at once and give everyone a real shock, but Bell went and jumped the gun, so now the cat's out of the bag, y'know!"
"So, you weren't lining your own pockets?"
"Naturally, y'know! I haven't taken a single coin for myself!"
"But you've received the actual goods, haven't you?"
"A-Ah, those were just samples, y'know! Just to show 'this is what the final product looks like,' y'know!"
"They seemed like an enormous number for just samples..."
"They gave me extra 'cause they said it'd be good advertising if I passed 'em around, y'know!"
"Silkyne-san, the wife of Count Beezel. I've already investigated and found that these are being sold through you at the Apollo beauty shop she is involved with."
"I-It's a matter involvin' nobles, so if I couldn't stand up to 'em properly, they would've walked all over me, y'know!"
"I see."
"So you understand now, y'know!"
"The one who decides is the Village Head," Bell said, then turned to the next point. "Furthermore, you are expanding the city around Shashato City, aren't you?"
"W-Well, yeah. Shashato City's got limited spots where it can actually grow, y'know."
"You're making heavy use of detached plots, aren't you?"
"That's with future expansion in mind, y'know! Shashato City's a transportation hub. If I just connected everythin' willy-nilly, the whole place'd get clogged up, y'know!"
"Hmm. So the detached plots are purely for expandability? You have no other intentions?"
"None at all, y'know!"
"Then what about the detached plot in the northern part of Shashato City... near the site of the previous explosion? You're producing artificial magnetite there, aren't you? What is this for? It was hidden under the strictest secrecy."
"Ah... w-well, that's..."
"Furthermore, in the detached plot in the northwestern part of Shashato City, you're building a new port, aren't you? Not only that, but you're even constructing a fossil fuel processing facility. There hasn't been a single report regarding any of these projects. Are these surprises too?"
"J-Just a joke. It's just a joke, y'know!"
"Which part of it is a joke?"
"Y-You'll listen without gettin' mad, y'know?"
"I'll listen."
"I thought I'd get the necessary materials ready in advance for when we produce the Multi-purpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Equipment—the Artie Horses, y'know!"
"I see. So you were trying to buy them all up and monopolize them before the prices soared?"
"I-I wasn't thinkin' of anythin' that wicked, y'know! I just thought I'd save a bit of money with my retirement in mind, y'know!"
"For retirement savings, that would be an astronomical amount of money."
"Prices are goin' up every year, so I don't think it's really that big a sum, y'know!"
"I shall leave the judgment of whether the amount is large or small to the Village Head as well."
The skit ended there, and both of them turned to look at me. I was a bit at a loss, but I understood the gist of it. They wanted to settle the matter using this line of reasoning to satisfy the people involved. It wasn't as if she had been embezzling village assets for her own gain. I wasn't going to get angry over a mere delay in reporting.
Both Bell and Miyo looked visibly relieved at my words. I warned Miyo that she would likely get a lecture from the Civil Official Girls regardless, and she gave a weak "okay" in response.
"So, Miyo. What was the real reason you didn't report it?"
"I thought the beauty products would make for good bribes for your wives in case of an emergency, y'know."
I see.
"As for the magnetite and fossil fuels, I wanted to see if I could somehow revive the technology from the old Kingdom era, y'know."
Hmm. So the reason for the reporting delay was because there were so many dragons around me?
"Ehehe."
I told her not to try and laugh it off. Dos and the others were only attentive regarding technology because they prioritized safety. I told her not to hold it against them.
"Okay~"
I wasn't going to punish Miyo myself, but I told Bell I didn't mind if she gave her a personal scolding.
"Thank you very much," Bell said.
"Eh? Village Head?" Miyo squeaked.
I told Miyo she shouldn't make Bell worry so much. As for the artificial magnetite and the fossil fuel processing facility... I’d have to consult with Dos. I didn't think he'd be too unreasonable about it, though.
As Bell was about to leave the room, I called out to stop her. I asked how the Kissinlee couple was doing.
"...They were working quite diligently," Bell replied. "In fact, this whole case came to light because of a whistleblower report from them."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. They said they warned Miyo many times that intentional delays in reporting were wrong, but she refused to listen."
I see. The Kissinlee couple was in a vulnerable position. Even if it wasn't strictly a crime, being forced to participate in such lack of transparency must have been distressing for them.
"Bell."
"Yes."
"Make sure Miyo’s punishment is a bit on the stricter side."
"Understood."
Bell had a truly radiant look on her face as she left.