To the Beastkin’s Village
"Um, why am I riding in the same carriage as the Duke and his entourage?"
We were told it would be better to have acquaintances when visiting the beastkin's pioneer village, so Brother Gerald and I ended up going along as well. But Gerald went on horseback. I wanted to ride a horse too.
“I want to ask about the beastkin in advance.” Said the Duke, but I secretly suspected he really wanted to ask about the blessing of the Sage God.
“If Father starts to go overboard with something, I’ll stop him, so don’t worry.” Raphael reassured me.
“Raphael, haven’t you been a bit cold to me lately?”
“If you didn’t try to push your ducal duties onto me just so you could go read books…”
He’s already trying to make us do lordly duties. We’re still only eight years old!
We suggested staying in Shinana Village for the night, but they said camping in tents would be fine. Since they probably want to make progress on the development during the day, they said they’d do interviews at night. They seemed considerate in that regard.
Because we came by carriage, we arrived later than expected, reaching the beastkin’s pioneer village in the evening. Still, Saphid and the others came out to greet us.
It’s only been two weeks since they came to this land, and already they had constructed a large two-story building.
“This building was made to shelter us from monsters and the wind and rain. Once everyone’s houses and the defensive walls are done, we plan to use it as a meeting place.” Saphid explained.
Living in tents with the Great Forest nearby would make for uneasy nights. It’s definitely more reassuring to be inside a building. And for the instructors who will teach magic, they won’t come unless the living environment is stable.
They offered us to stay in the building, but we declined, saying we’d stay in a tent. We have magical tools for barrier spells and protective magic.
Apparently, building earthen walls is not allowed. They said it would count as helping with the pioneer work. Since there are other pioneer villages too, I suppose they have to be fair about it.
When we asked Raul and Saphid about life here, they said those confident in their strength go into the Great Forest in groups of four for hunting in shifts, while the rest focus on developing the village.
They also named the village “Helios,” which means “sun” in the old language of the Beastkin Country.
Helios Village, huh. Yeah, that’s a nice name.
When I told them to let Mr. Nat know if they needed anything, they said there were quite a few things and were grateful for the offer. I asked about the budget and priorities and took notes.
Mr. Nat’s escort will be making monthly round trips from the capital to the pioneer village via Shinana Village from spring through autumn, and during winter, the Golden Wings will continue the duty.
They plan to rely on Mr. Nat for shopping until the pioneer village stabilizes. Eventually, they’ll start lessons in reading, writing, arithmetic, and magic. They’ve got plenty to do as well.
“They’re really strong. To think two of them could carry such a huge log together…”
“Raphael, I knew they had great physical ability, but even I’m surprised.” I said, as we watched the beastkin working while being careful not to get in their way.
Since we didn’t finish all the interviews yesterday, we planned to stay here another night.
Brother Gerald, Atre, and Ripka had gone into the Great Forest and weren’t here at the moment.
The men were cutting trees from the Great Forest and transporting them to the village to build fences and houses.
The women were preparing meals, making preserved food, cutting grass, and tilling the land for fields.
But everyone was smiling. There was none of the despair I saw when we met at the World Tree.
I’d like to believe they’re happy because they feel they now have a future to hope for.
“Raphael, can you plant these seeds on the fifth floor of the medicinal herb and fruit dungeon?” I handed him five types of seeds.
Yesterday, I caught Natalia and had her share a few spice seeds that are used to make curry powder.
“If it works out, it might become a business. Let me know if it goes well.”
“If all I have to do is plant them, it’s easy. I’ll look forward to the results.” He said, taking them without asking for details.
After that, we watched the beastkin work while chatting cheerfully about where we should go once we returned to the capital.
The day after returning to the capital, Raphael said he wanted to buy souvenirs for his family, so we looked at glass accessories, glass pens, and charms made from scrap gemstones.
For lunch, we did a food stall tour, as Raphael had hoped. Apparently, that’s something he can’t usually do in the royal capital or the Clondale Dukedom.
I thought the Duke Clondale might show up and hassle us, but whether it was thanks to something Raphael said or because he was busy with work, we never ran into him and he went back to the royal capital.
What do you think about this chapter?
