While I was relaxing in the village, Donovan, an Elder Dwarf, brought a new type of alcohol.

It was black wine.

It was actually a deep red, but it looked pitch black.

「It’s a little astringent, but I think it’s good.」

Yeah.

Not bad.

But drinking it on its own might be tough.

I want something to go with it.

Look, even the wine slime tasting alongside us says the same.

Like with normal red wine, something meaty would be good.

One of the oni maids brought some small pieces of smoked beef… no, rabbit meat.

Smoked rabbit. I gratefully try it.

Yeah, it works well when you drink the wine with something.

「I see. This was produced for external sales, but will it be manageable?」

It will end up sold in Village Five, but anything made by Elder Dwarves gets bought out at any price before people even taste it.

It helps us, but the makers aren’t satisfied with that. They had Youko create a specialty liquor shop and secretly deliver their alcohol there.

Of course, the shop never displays it as Elder Dwarf-made.

Well, the Goroun Company knows, but they understand our intentions and limit how much they buy.

Because of that, some bottles sit in the back of the shop for years, collecting dust before customers find them.

That is what Donovan is worried about.

He wants people who appreciate the taste to drink it, and seeing it not sell feels wrong.

But that worry isn’t needed.

A lot of devoted drinkers have become regulars, so it won’t turn into unsellable stock.

And with this taste, we could serve it at places like Niz Alcomeat.

「I see. Then I’ll add it to our production plans. Three large barrels will be bottled so the village can drink them. The rest will be sent to Village Five.」

Three large barrels?

Do we need that much here?

If this were our only alcohol, sure, but we already have mountains of other drinks.

「Ah, Loo-dono and Flora-dono requested it. They like how the color is as dark as blood.」

I see.

Understood.

They probably snuck into the alcohol storage that Donovan and the others manage and found this wine.

I should talk to them later.

Next to me, the wine slime was already asking Donovan for another serving of black wine.

-0-

Ice, the ice monster.

He was incredibly useful in summer, but he is just as useful in winter.

The reason is simple. He can freeze and thaw.

Perishable ingredients harvested in summer and autumn are kept frozen, and Ice, who can thaw them instantly, is always in demand among the oni maids and the children.

Even the Fairy Queen once chased him around while carrying frozen fruit.

There is also high demand for freezing and thawing when transporting food to Village Five, so he is often called to help.

I hope it isn’t too much for him.

「No, I’m happy to be needed. I feel like these days are fuller than anything I’ve experienced before.」

I see.

As long as you’re fine, but you shouldn’t push yourself.

「Of course. I’m taking things slowly. Ah, about the plan to build an ice maze on the south side of the village…」

I’ve heard of it.

The children are looking forward to it.

「This time I asked the civil servant girls to help. We’re planning to add puzzles. We won’t lose to the snow mountain made by Raimeiren-sama and the others.」

That’s popular too.

But don’t overdo it.

「We’ll make sure all safety measures are in place.」

Good.

-0-

A strange device was placed in front of me.

Its size was about…. that of a vending machine.

It even had a dispensing slot, so calling it a vending machine wouldn’t be wrong.

It was made by Yaa and the mountain elves.

When I wondered what would come out of the slot, they first set a cup there.

Then a mountain elf pressed the device’s switch.

A strong mechanical sound rang out and juice poured into the cup.

「Here you are. Freshly squeezed.」

Yaa took out the cup and placed it in front of me.

Oh!

A juice vending machine!

「It doesn’t have an automatic payment function…You set the fruit here, press the switch, and it becomes juice.」

That’s amazing.

「The problem is that it needs to be cleaned after every use.」

Yaa removed the device’s cover and inside was splattered with juice and fruit skins.

…

This cup in front of me… is it safe to drink?

「It’s fine. We cleaned it properly.」

I see. Then it should be fine…

The internal squeezing mechanism was impressive.

It could handle different sizes of fruit, which deserved praise.

Although it was a little large for what it did.

「Trying to handle every type of fruit made it this way.」

I get that.

Since no bits of peel were in the cup, they must have strained it through cloth at the end.

「Yes. We prepared a long straining cloth and slide it into place when needed… But since we still have to wash all the other parts every time, sliding it doesn’t really help.」

I see.

It still needs improvement.

「Yes. We’ll do our best.」

…

Ah, Hakuren.

Don’t start squeezing fruit by hand to make juice.

You can do that later.

You’ll make the mountain elves lose heart.

-0-

A few people arrived from Howling Village.

They were probably here to do blacksmithing at Gutt’s place.

Travel had become easier thanks to the Universal Ship and airships. They could also bring more materials, so more of them chose to work as blacksmiths in Big Tree Village during winter instead of staying in Howling Village.

Since Big Tree Village bought most of the blacksmith goods made in Howling Village or sold them on their behalf, working here seemed more convenient in many ways.

We also tended to place detailed orders.

Their visit was a big help, so I granted them permission to stay.

Near Gutt’s workshop, a simple lodging facility had been built for blacksmiths who came from Howling Village.

I suggested building a proper one, but they refused because then they might not want to return to Howling Village.

They also said that if we were spending money, it should go to the smithy instead of lodging.

I understood, but I still made sure to reinforce the place against heavy snow.

If you let your guard down here, the snowfall can get ridiculous.

「Are these cobblestones laid on this road made by Gulf’s son? The workmanship is quite good.」

「Judging from the marks, probably… But the snow isn’t piling up on the cobblestones. How is that happening?」

That was because Loo had magic circles carved on the underside of the cobblestone pavement.

Gulf’s son worked hard on them while crying.

The magic circles sensed snow and generated heat when needed.

There was no power source.

The magic circles alone activated the effect.

「Carved on the underside? What? On all of these stones?」

Only the main street.

Gulf’s son expected Loo to make an even more unreasonable request in the future, so he was researching efficient ways to carve identical patterns.

「Oh, Village Chief. There’s a message I’d like you to pass on to Loo-sama.」

Hmm?

Did Loo ask for something?

「No, no. It’s about mine cough.」

Mine cough.

A disease said to kill you unless you were removed from the mine when it developed.

Howling Village relied on mining for income, so they struggled with mine cough for years, but Loo performed treatments and preventive measures.

「No one has developed mine cough in these last few years. Everyone in Howling Village wishes to express their gratitude to Loo-sama again.」

I see.

In that case, Loo would be happier hearing it directly than through me.

I should call her.

「No. We heard Loo-sama is busy with her research. Telling her directly can wait until she has time. And, um… we still…」

Hmm?

It seemed they were making a gift for Loo, but it was not finished yet.

「It is almost complete.」

They showed me a glimpse. It looked like alchemy tools.

Don’t push yourselves too hard.

「Thank you.」

-0-

Howling Village blacksmiths: 「Rather than telling Loo-sama directly, if Village Chief praises her achievements, Loo-sama will be even happier!」