Tia of the Angel Race was one such resident. She normally assisted me with my duties as the Village Head’s aide, but her primary work in early spring involved civil engineering with her golems. She spent her days tilling the fields and clearing away overgrown tree roots. However, since I had my Universal Farming Tool to handle the heavy lifting in the Village of the Great Tree, she had spent a great deal of time recently on assignment in Village Two and Village Three.
But this year, the introduction of the Artie Horses—our multi-purpose humanoid mobile heavy equipment—had changed everything. The machines had essentially rendered Tia’s previous role redundant. Consequently, she had traveled to Village Five to perform golem work there. I had heard she was taking her tasks very seriously, and her reputation among the locals was quite positive.
I suppose it would have been rude of me to act surprised by that. Despite her occasional grumbling, Tia always ensured her work was done to a high standard. Granmaria and the other angels were the same. It made me wonder exactly when I had started thinking the Angel Race was strange...
Was it Kierbit? No, even Kierbit was a diligent, sensible person whenever she wasn’t bickering with Tia. The Suar Sisters weren't particularly prone to mischief either. That left Malbit, Ruincia, Razmaria, Suarlou, and Reginleiv. Or perhaps it was the ordinary angels they had brought along with them?
I decided it was best not to dwell on it.
As for Lu the vampire, her routine remained much the same even with spring's arrival. She focused on managing the herb fields and compounding medicines. While the latter was partly a hobby for her, it served a vital practical purpose. She received private requests from influential figures in Village Five and Shashato City, routed through Yoko and Miyo.
These were individuals whom Yoko and Miyo found difficult to refuse—high-ranking officials or people whose cooperation was essential to our interests. In the end, Lu’s pharmaceutical expertise brought significant benefits to both locations. For my part, I had hoped her talents were being used to treat legitimate illnesses, but most of the orders were for things like athlete’s foot medicine, vitality enhancers, and hair growth agents. I chose to keep my opinions on that to myself.
Beyond those individual requests, the administrations of Village Five and Shashato City also commissioned her to produce treatments for epidemics, venereal diseases, and skin conditions, as well as suppuration prevention medicine, bruise ointments, and the like. Lu only provided small quantities of the finished products; for the most part, she shared the manufacturing methods instead. Since these medicines were needed in bulk, the actual mass production was left to specialists in the cities who were skilled in handling medicinal herbs.
Because few of the finished medicines or their raw ingredients could be preserved for long, the herb gardens in Village Five were strictly managed to ensure we could produce the necessary quantities whenever a need arose.
Flora, our other resident vampire, was currently in a more relaxed mode. She had spent the winter preparing various fermented foods, and while she continued her research in early spring, it was at a much more leisurely pace. She certainly wasn't idle, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. Whenever she left the village, it was usually to visit the Village Five Fermented Food Area.
I sometimes thought she should rest more, but she always made sure to participate in village events and insisted that she was having fun, so I didn't worry. The only time I really had to intervene was when her experiments became so pungent they started bothering the neighbors. My only real grievance was that she seemed to be receiving secret letters from Alfred. She wouldn't tell me what was in them, which left me feeling a bit left out.
Then there were the High Elves. Normally, they spent their time hunting in the forest or handling the village's carpentry needs. In early spring, however, they were kept busy inspecting every building for damage caused by the winter snow and cold. Simultaneously, they worked on dismantling the various winter protections they had installed months prior.
As they did this, they also prepared for the Spring Parade. I had considered suggesting we hold the parade less frequently—perhaps once every few years—but our options for entertainment were limited. I figured there was no harm in letting the residents enjoy themselves.
Wait, had I really thought we lacked entertainment? We had the pool in the summer, the Martial Arts Tournament in autumn, and skiing or sledding in the winter. Year-round, people played bowling, chess, and shogi, and we had recently added basketball to the mix.
Despite that, the residents were essentially workaholics. The only ones who ever seemed to visibly take time off were the Angel Race and the Civil Official Girls once their autumn paperwork was behind them. Everyone else spent their winter searching for any job that needed doing.
That didn't mean they worked inefficiently, though. The High Elves, for example, often built Large Wheeled Yagura for the Spring Parade. To save time, they spent the winter pre-fabricating the components, allowing them to assemble several massive towers in the blink of an eye once spring arrived. Their speed never failed to shock me.
The Beastman girls, led by Sena, focused on the livestock. They worked hard year-round handling births, milking, and breeding for the horses and cows. Early spring was usually their busiest time for rearing the new young. The adult animals had grown so accustomed to the girls that they didn't mind them approaching their offspring; in fact, I heard some of them would even bring their young over to show them off.
As for the Beastman boys, Gol and his companions were doing well in the Royal Capital. They occasionally visited Shashato City on business and would leave letters for the village in Miyo's care.
The Beastman blacksmiths did the bulk of their heavy labor during the winter. From spring through summer, they shifted into a more relaxed pace, focusing on collecting and processing materials. Of course, they still gave priority to any urgent smithing requests I had. Meanwhile, the blacksmiths from Howlin Village had finally departed on the Universal Ship. They had radiated an aura that suggested they didn't want to leave until the very last second, but I expected they would return before next winter.
The Lizardmen primarily handled manual labor, assisting the High Elves, Mountain Elves, and the Beastman Race. Since they had historically served the Angel Race, they continued to look after them as well. Their most unique contribution, however, was shrimp farming. About half of the shrimp consumed in the village was raised by them. In early spring, their main task was recovering and organizing the lumber and materials used for the winter protections. They were far too practical to use something once and throw it away, so everything was carefully stored for the following year.
The Dwarves were doing what they always did: brewing sake. The changing seasons had absolutely no effect on their behavior. The only difference spring brought was a change in the snacks they paired with their drinks.
As for the Civil Official Girls, they had finished the crop production calculations during the winter. Once they finished reporting the figures to me, they shifted their focus entirely to the Spring Parade. Since the High Elves handled the construction and the Mountain Elves handled the mechanical details, the girls focused on the creative direction and the order of the procession. They also kept in close contact with the officials in Village Five. When we were here in the village, we relied heavily on them for any news regarding the Demon Kingdom.
A few of the girls were currently in Village Two and Village Three, accompanying Yuri as she worked with the Artie Horses. We couldn't very well send the Demon King’s daughter out alone, so they went along to supervise. I had also assigned a group of Lizardmen as an escort. While those villages weren't dangerous, one couldn't be too careful on the road. Several of Kuro’s children had joined the group as well.
The Mountain Elves were also busy. First, they set out a series of new traps around the village perimeter to ward off monsters and magic beasts. They made sure to inform Kuro’s and Zabuton’s children of the locations so no one would accidentally get caught.
Next came their parade preparations. While most of the villagers were doing normal work, a few of the Mountain Elves were always trying to shove new gimmicks into the designs. I suspect they viewed the parade as some sort of technical exhibition. Watching the Civil Official Girls struggle to reign in their wilder ideas was a sure sign that spring had truly arrived.
Finally, there were the dragons. Hakuren, Rusty, and Guronde were busy as always, serving as teachers for the village children. The others, however, seemed to still be in their winter slumber. They would likely stay in that leisurely mode until they grew bored.
Draim, at least, was busy growing daikon. Meanwhile, Raimeiren was taking Hiichiro and Gral out for flights—her dragon version of a spring stroll.
The High Ogre Maids spent most of their time cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. Spring didn't change their workload much, but the sight of them joyfully washing the massive piles of winter linens was a classic seasonal scene. They even collaborated with Zabuton’s children to hang everything out to dry.
I also noticed that the meals had changed. The table was now frequently laden with dishes made from the last of our winter preserves. We had to eat through our stores before they spoiled, which felt like a quintessential spring tradition.