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Chapter 740 - Village Four’s Expansion

It’s past noon.

I board the universal ship and head for Village Four in the sky.

Just before I leave my mansion, my children, who have finished their studies, see me off, which made me more motivated.

I thought about taking them with me but they have things to do on their own too.

They had to prepare and practice for the play they were going to perform after the martial arts tournament.

Apparently, it was their own idea and they’ll be dedicating it to Hakuren, who’s taking her time off from teaching because she’s taking care of our children.

Basically, it’s just the children with Guronde and the ghost sorceress supervising them.

By the way, big tools and props were made secretly with the cooperation of the high elves and mountain elves.

There is no way I’ll get on their way.

-0-

I have to mind my own business.

Accompanying me to Village Four are the fenrir, its kuro partner, and their children.

There are around…40 of them?

Thus, the deck of the universal ship is cramped.

Don’t push each other around or you’ll fall.

As I was observing them, Tou, the captain of the universal ship, asked me if it was okay for us to leave.

Ah, no problem.

Please take us to Village Four.

「Aiyo, leave it to me! You bastards! Set sail!」

The other sailors responded to Tou’s order with enthusiasm and the universal ship began to float.

Feeling floating for the first time, the fenrir and kuro’s pups, who boarded the universal ship for the first time, made a worried cry.

Then, as the universal ship gained altitude, several fenrirs headed for the cabin.

Looking at them closely, you can see that their legs are trembling.

They must be afraid of heights.

I know how they feel.

It’s scary to do things you’re not familiar with.

However, the cabin is already full of luggage.

My apologies but please, don’t try to force your way in.

Also, the fenrir that’s on the bow of the ship, I know you are quite tense but can you please stop howling?

That’s super loud too.

Look, there’s already a commotion in the forest.

It seems to be heading in the opposite direction of the village, which is good but……

When you return to the village, apologize to the kuros and the angels who were currently on duty.

You might have startled them.

Good, there you go, calm down.

It was a bit noisy until we arrived at Village Four.

-0-

We arrived at Village Four.

Ah, fenrirs.

You might find the pier that’s connecting the universal ship and Village Four scary but please move away. If you stay still there, you’ll interfere with the unloading……

Don’t worry, it was designed to make anyone unharmed even if you fall.

There’s magic in it.

I don’t really know the principle either.

We already arrived at Village Four and it was a little noisy again.

-0-

The person who greeted me in Village Four was Kuzuden, the acting village chief of Village Four, a devil.

There’s also the mercuries Bell and Gou.

Thanks for your warm welcome.

Apologies for the wait.

The fenrirs were able to disembark without any incident.

The universal ship held up the pier from below.

Yeah, it used its arms.

The arms of the universal ship are very useful for loading and unloading cargo.

I think it would be a good idea to equip all of my ships with them.

But I only have the universal ship.

Ah, no, we also have the elven empire ship, right?

A ship that can move without sails but was modified with sails on it.

However, technically speaking, it’s not my ship but Hiichirou’s.

And I left its operation in the hands of Michael-san.

I wonder how it is now.

I’ll ask him next time.

For now, I’ll have to discuss things with Kuzuden, Bell, and Gou.

Thanks for your time today.

Ah, by the way, I’m being accompanied by two fenrirs.

They are still considered young but I chose them because they were quiet on the universal ship.

They were the earliest ones to get off the universal ship too.

The other fenrirs are complaining but the place where we are going is at the edge of Village Four.

In other words, when I told them we were going to a place that is quite “scenic”, they became quiet.

I’m sorry but, please wait around there until I get back.

It won’t take long.

-0-

Now, there’s a reason I’m here in Village Four.

I’m here to discuss the expansion of Village Four.

For some time now, there has been a problem with the amount of spices harvested in Village Four.

The supply is low compared to the demand.

It would be better to increase the amount of spices grown but that would be difficult to do so in Village Four where land is limited.

The situation has even gotten worse now that all the places that can be turned into fields have already been turned into fields.

Therefore, Village Four submitted a proposal to expand.

「To explain it in simple words, we just want to make the current Village Four bigger……we thought we must obtain village chief’s permission first so I passed it as a proposal.」

I nod to Bell’s explanation but I had heard about the project in Big Tree Village beforehand.

It seems that the safety of the expansion is ensured.

There will be no problem in the operation of Village Four after the expansion.

All they need is my permission.

I thought it would be a problem to issue permission without seeing the site first so I came here……

A small mound of dirt had formed at the edge of Village Four.

「May I demonstrate how it works?」

Bell asked and I gave her my permission.

Do it.

「Thank you very much.」

Bell bowed to me and then, casted magic towards the small mound of dirt.

The small mound of dirt crumbled and began moving on its own. It spread out at the edge of Village Four.

It spread into a 10 meters square.

Considering the volume of that dirt mound from the start, it seemed small……

I guess there are certain parts that need to be compressed.

As expected, this is not the end of the expansion process. This will be repeated many times.

The goal is to double the current field area.

However, considering the recovery of Bell’s magical power and the preparation of soil for expansion, the work will not be completed until next spring.

According to Belle’s plan, she intends to complete it this winter.

Don’t overdo it.

「Understood. By the way, Gou has a few suggestions.」

Gou?

It looks like you never told me everything before.

「We’re sorry. It took a lot of time to calculate the expenses and we haven’t prepared the materials yet but if you take a look at them, you’ll understand what we mean.」

-0-

Gou led us to the center of Village Four.

There, he took out……

Two disks are about 10 meters in diameter and one meter thick.

One disk is on the ground.

The other was floating around……15 meters above the other.

What are those?

「The one below floats too.」

Gou snapped his fingers and the disk on the ground floated 1 meter above the ground.

Are the upper and lower disks linked?

However, how can the one below float too……

「These are supposed to be detached residences to the Sun Castle.」

Detached residence?

Ah, I see.

You can build a building on top of those disks, is that what you were trying to say?

「Yes, and if you fill them with soil, they can be used a field too.」

I see.

Bell’s expansion plan was to expand Village Four themselves but Gou’s was to use those to prepare a new floating land?

「Yes. In addition, it is possible to create a multi-layered structure by adding a lid on the top and although it is difficult to fully use it, there’s no problem building a huge reservoir if we fill it with water.」

Ohhh!

My apologies Bell but, couldn’t we just use this method?

「Unfortunately, the budget is going to be a huge problem……we are still in the middle of calculations but even if we cut down the parts that can be cut down, we still came out with this much……」

The paper that Gou showed me had an amount of money on it that was close to the amount of sales for a year of Big Tree Village.

I suddenly became repulsive.

「The spice harvest will increase however, given that the demand will be met, it will affect the trading price……」

No no, the demand for spices is great.

The trading price will not change even if the production is doubled.

In fact, the only demand we currently meet is the demand of Marla and the Goroun Company in Shashaato City, and Niz’s Alcomeat and Noodle Shop Britoa of Village Five.

Considering the spice inquiries of the Goroun Company, I don’t think the price will decrease even if we produce ten times our current production.

Considering the profit that Village Four makes from spices, this budget is feasible.

We can afford it.

Then, there’s no need to hesitate.

Let’s do it.

「A-are you really okay with it?」

I am.

Do it.

I’m already looking forward to seeing it complete.

「Yes, leave it to us.」

Gou bowed his head vigorously.

Then, he stared at me.

Eh?

What?

「What we have here is only a sample. The real one is around a hundred meters in diameter.」

Ah…I see.

I guess the detached residence will be for villas of guests who’ll come to the Sun Castle.

「We plan on making four floating units considering there will be three or four layers each.」

One layer is 100 meters in diameter…ehto, the area of the circle was radius x radius x π, right?

Well, if we’re going to use the square in it, that should be 70-80% of its area.

Still, given that there will be more than ten of them, it will be exceedingly helpful.

……

Will the necessary expenses increase then?

「No. We’ll make sure to do everything within the budget we showed.」

Good.

Hnn?

So, what exactly do you want to ask me?

「Well, it’s like this, since we can expand the field quite a bit……」

Gou hesitated for a moment then said,

「Will you permit us to move the field inside the castle over there?」

Ah……

Gou is probably not that comfortable seeing that the castle has become a field.

My apologies. I should be more considerate.

「N-no…I’m already used to seeing it with fields but……it’s not really…the reason……」

Kuzuden stopped Gou from saying things that sound like excuses.

「The number of devil and dream demon children has increased. We thought we should improve the living environment. Initially, there was a plan to move to these detached residences but it will not be the home everyone has grown up to…… Please forgive us for this foolish idea of moving the important field of village chief.」

Foolish idea……

Wait wait.

Even for me, I would choose a better living environment than a field.

Especially when children are involved.

When I said that, they were surprised.

What did you think of me?

「Protector of the field?」

Bell, Gou, Kuzuden.

Don’t say that in unison.

Two fenrirs who are accompanying me, why are you nodding?

No, I certainly don’t tolerate anyone who ravages the fields.

Anyway,

Prioritize improving your living environment.

Worst case scenario will be a decrease in spice harvest.

As for the expansion plan of Village Four, let’s use both Bell and Gou’s ideas at the same time.

If there is anything else, don’t hesitate to tell me.

I’m counting on you.