Village Five.

I traveled by carriage from Youko’s mansion to the adventurers guild building in Village Five.

My companions were Gulf, Daga, and Reginleif.

We also had a guide, one of Youko’s secretaries. If I remembered correctly, his name was Messer*.

TN: Chapter 916

This time, my trip to the adventurers guild was not because of any trouble there.

It was simply a routine exchange.

There was no particular agenda. The main purpose was to show that Village Five cares about the adventurers guild.

Youko said that gestures like this are important, so she asked me to go.

Well, all I had to do was visit the guild, speak briefly with the higher-ups, and that was it, so there was no reason to refuse.

It was winter and I had a bit more free time anyway.

-0-

Since my visit had been announced in advance, the guild was fully prepared to welcome me.

But the adventurers themselves had not been informed, so things became a bit noisy.

「It’s the Sword God Gulf! Amazing! It’s my first time seeing him!」

「The Lizardman Daga is here too! I heard he’s even stronger than Gulf!」

「It’s the angel anego*! Anego is really here!」

TN: Elder sister but more like a female boss.

Hmm, Gulf, Daga, and Reginleif were so popular that I was completely overshadowed.

「It’s the village chief! The village chief is here! He’s more important than Youko-sama!」

…Messer-kun.

Thank you.

You don’t need to flatter me.

Let’s just head to the back of the adventurers guild.

That was what I was thinking when one adventurer looked at me and muttered something.

「Th-the legendary ramen stall’s owner…」

His voice had been quiet, but everyone else heard it clearly, and more eyes turned toward me.

「I-it’s true! It’s the ramen stall’s owner!」

「Boss! Your ramen was amazing!」

「Do the mochi simmered ramen again!」

「The vegetable ramen was great too!」

「That white one! The white one was my favorite!」

Probably the white broth ramen.

In any case, the calls for the stall’s boss rivaled the cheers for Gulf, Daga, and Reginleif.

Hmm, the stall was more popular than I expected.

Even the conversation with the guild leaders ended up being mostly about the ramen stall.

I should probably increase the number of times I open it.

-0-

After finishing my business at the adventurers guild, the rest of my schedule was free.

Gulf and the others would continue acting as my guards, but Messer would return to the village council hall.

What?

You’re not going back?

You plan to accompany me until the end?

I didn’t mind, but from here I was heading to the swan racetrack, then the shrine.

If there was time, I also intended to visit the art museum. Was that alright?

It seemed to be fine.

We were allowed to keep using the carriage, so we rode it to the racetrack.

-0-

The reason I came to the swan racetrack was not to gamble, but to deliver treats to Odette the swan and Odile the black swan, and to check on Kugui*, who ran the Village Five merchandise shop.

TN: Chapter 845

Odette and Odile were…

They seemed to be working seriously enough.

Unexpected.

I had thought they would slack off a little or cause some kind of trouble.

A pleasant surprise.

Well, since I heard you were working hard, so I had them made for you.

The treats were cakes made by the oni maids.

There was one with fresh cream, and one like a stollen that kept well.

There were cookies too.

They must have been delivered by a different route from ours, right?

Since the treats were meant for the racetrack staff as well, make sure everyone received their share.

It’s all right.

For the swans, ducks, and geese, and for the pond turtles who maintained the water quality, water plants and small fish had been delivered.

I had not forgotten.

But…

In the short time I had been away, the number of swans, ducks, and geese had increased.

I had heard their request for a new pond.

Around spring, I would build a pond a little farther north.

We were investigating the site now.

We couldn’t build it in a strange location.

We also had to drive off any demon beasts or monsters, and ask the pond turtles for their thoughts.

The pond turtles here were awake, but the ones in Big Tree Village were hibernating.

Not only I but also Youko was working properly on this, so they didn’t need to rush us.

Look, even Youko’s secretary Messer was proudly saying to leave it to him.

-0-

Kugui, who ran the Village Five merchandise shop, seemed to be selling steadily.

The recent best seller was the wooden sword.

…

You heard that right.

The wooden sword was the top seller.

It was not just an ordinary wooden sword.

The handle had proper carvings like Village Five Visit Commemoration, Prayer for Victory, or Swan Praise.

It was made from durable wood, so it could be used for practice.

Wearing it as a self-defense tool would not get you scolded easily too.

….

Wait a minute.

I understood why wooden swords stirred a man’s heart, but I still didn’t understand why they were number one.

A stuffed swan or something like that seemed like it would sell better.

Three per household had already sold?

I-I see.

Either way, we needed to think of products other than wooden swords.

-0-

After the racetrack, the next stop was the shrine.

I only planned to pray, so it should not take long.

I wanted to check on Ekido, Niz’s friend, but…

I figured I would see her if the timing worked out.

When we arrived at the shrine, Kon and the silver foxes greeted us in full formation.

I had not sent word beforehand…

Messer told them?

Thank you.

And thank you, everyone.

No, really, I was happy.

Ekido was here too.

Is there anything that’s troubling you?

Kon said she was fine because she was supporting her.

Youko had mentioned that Ekido and Kon knew each other.

Ah… you had been enemies or allies depending on the job.

As long as you don’t fight here, all is well.

If anything happened, you could come to me or Youko.

Or even to Messer, who was trying very hard to be noticed.

Take care.

…

What?

You had prepared a banquet?

You wanted me to join?

Ah, well then, I guess I’ll trouble you for a bit.

It looked like the art museum would have to wait for another day.

-0-

The banquet went smoothly, though there were occasional flashes of intense light that were blinding.

Niz, Swan, Black Swan, and Youko arrived in the middle.

I thought they had come to join the banquet, but instead they went to the area where the gods were enshrined and started rushing around.

Looks like they’re in a lot of work.

While I was still sitting, Youko told me to make offerings in each god’s chamber.

For some reason, it had to be me.

Fine, fine, I would help.

I received the food and drinks prepared by the silver foxes and placed them at the proper spots, then put my hands together.

Speaking of which, the whale skeleton…

It seemed calm.

Good.

Ah, I needed to offer something to the whale skeleton as well.

The dragon statue over there was giving off an aura of ‘Hurry up’, but I would do it in order.

I would give the offerings properly, so just wait for it.

-0-

AN: I had written before that after crossing the big mountain, the rest would be small mountains in a row…

Even if they were small, mountains were still mountains.