A New Sanctuary

Many people were coming to this Magros Village.

But that raised a certain question.

I understood that adventurers would gather to aim for the dungeon.

I also understood that businesspeople and cooks would come to target them.

Then what kind of people were the ones living in this Magros Village?

Or rather, were there even villagers in this village in the first place?

The answer was simple.

This village already had villagers.

And they were… people who had various circumstances and had chosen to come to this village.

“For now, I had the people who were available come here. The ones here are roughly… about half, perhaps? There are still many people who are not here.”

The place we came to with Fem-san was around the seventh station of Magros Volcano.

Looking down, the plaza in front of the dungeon spread out below us, and when I raised my face and looked ahead, I could see the village from end to end.

And in this place where we had been called, there were the villagers living in Magros Village.

I had met them many times before they came here, so although I could not perfectly match every name and face, there were many people whose faces I remembered.

Among them were also many freed commoners, former slaves whom I had purchased and immediately released.

The people who chose to come to this village had various reasons.

For example, people who could not fit into the relaxed atmosphere of Tree Village or the masculine atmosphere of Guinea Village.

For example, people who had been freed and become commoners, but continued to wait for instructions as they had when they were slaves and could not blend into society well.

There were also families who had staked everything on Magros Village, where large amounts of money would likely move in the future, and had come here with renewed determination.

People with ambition and people without ambition.

Because they were about half and half, a strange atmosphere drifted here.

Some people looked anxious, while others seemed full of confidence.

Some people were calm, while others were boiling with hot passion.

There truly were all sorts of people, and they seemed to be facing the same direction only in one great goal: developing Magros Village.

A village greatly changed its color depending on the villagers who lived there.

What kind of village would Magros Village grow into through them?

But there was one thing that was certain.

That was—their faces looked better than they had when they parted from me and stayed in this village.

“Fem-sama, thank you for your hard work.”

“When speaking to a superior, it is better to say ‘thank you for your efforts.’”

“—Yes, thank you very much!”

The one who smiled as he said that was Sugu-san, a commoner.

He was a capable person who could produce results above a certain level no matter what he was made to do, but he was the kind who waited for instructions in a typical way, and he almost never tried to act voluntarily on his own.

Because of that, he had been made to quit his previous workplace, so he had apparently decided to migrate to Magros Village.

Fem-san seemed to be controlling him well.

She truly understood human subtleties and natures very well.

Her ability to see through a person’s essence was undoubtedly greater than mine.

Divine Beasts differed completely from one individual to another, from their way of life to everything else.

They were all unique, as though they were humans.

Simurg-san was a gentleman who liked being alone, and Wheel-san was a hero who liked sharing drinks with others.

And Fem-san, who was doing something like acting lord of this village… could be described as a perfectionist older sister, perhaps.

Simurg-san had said before that Divine Beasts were basically not supposed to interfere with humans too much, but Fem-san’s way of thinking seemed fundamentally different from his.

Like Wheel-san, Fem-san was actively involved with people.

In actual practice, even in this village, she took on the role of a supervisor who brought the whole place together.

She kicked the backsides of people who were not working, and kindly taught people who did not know what they should do.

As a motherly presence in this village, Fem-san was respected and loved at the same time.

She did many things for us, but of course, she did not forget to show consideration toward us either.

The actual administrative work and governance were carried out strictly by Wenti’s people.

She only took on work within a range that did not infringe upon my domain as the lord.

Rather than saying she took it on… perhaps it would be better to say she herself was gladly doing it.

Seeing Fem-san admired by the villagers made me think that way.

“Now then, ahem.”

When Fem-san cleared her throat softly, everyone who had been murmuring until just now fell silent all at once.

Seeing that, Fem-san nodded once and looked at me.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes—Fem-san.”

Fem-san opened her eyes wide while giving off a more solemn air than usual.

It was a powerful gaze that would not overlook even a single lie.

While suppressing the fear that arose inside me, I put on the strongest brave front I could and looked back at her.

Then, while puffing out my chest, I waited for her words.

“To me, everyone in this village is already like my own children. If they grieve, I shall grieve with them. What they love, I shall also love. Woody, I ask you. Can you make everyone in this village happy?”

“—Yes, of course!”

The various events that had happened recently surfaced in my mind.

When I went to the dwarves to deal with the future surplus of iron, for some reason, I ended up preventing a dungeon stampede.

For some reason, I ended up looking after the dwarves.

I met Fem-san, a new Divine Beast, talked with Ran-san about yet another new business, and through Tree Improvement, various Wenti products increased again… and now, like this, another new village was about to develop by receiving the blessings of the dungeon.

I did not think all of those choices had been correct.

After all, I was by no means a perfect person.

I had made mistakes many times until now.

But each time, I had stood back up.

Helped by Nadja, by Aira, and by everyone.

Life in Wenti had not necessarily been full of only good things.

But I did not think, not at all, that everything until now had been a mistake.

I could proudly say that what I was grasping now was the right answer.

“I am sure many things that I cannot even imagine will happen again. Because of that, I may end up causing all sorts of trouble for many different people. But without fail—in the end, without fail, I will make sure we all laugh together!”

Fem-san smiled after hearing my words.

“A fine declaration—very good.”

She took a long, deep breath, then turned her face upward.

And then—she let out an enormous howl.

It was a cry louder than anything I had ever heard before.

Just what kind of lung capacity did she have to produce such a loud voice?

I felt as though it was far louder than a Red Dragon’s roar.

When Fem-san howled, the spreading sound became a wave of light, shaking the atmosphere as it transformed into a single bundle.

The bundled bouquet of light launched into the sky.

It climbed toward the heavens with a whistling sound.

“Then I, too, shall answer Woody’s words—and protect this place. From this day onward, this village shall—most regrettably, be known as Magros Village.”

As she said that, Fem-san placed her front paw softly on the ground.

At exactly the same moment, the light that had risen into the sky burst open.

And then… bwoom, flash!

The light burst like fireworks.

It spread out and formed a Sanctuary.

The surroundings, starting from where we stood, regained greenery all at once.

Magros Volcano, which had been close to a bald mountain, became covered in grass, and the World Tree planted at the center where the main avenues crossed emitted an especially strong radiance.

I could hear cheers from the people at the foot of the mountain.

From here, I could not see their expressions.

But I felt sure their faces were colored with smiles.

I smiled toward everyone in Magros Village, a name that had settled in before I knew it, and that even Fem-san had been forced to acknowledge before anyone noticed.

“Then once again—I am the lord of this Magros Village, Woody… Woody Adastria!”

In this way, with Fem-san’s cooperation, I successfully managed to turn Magros Village, the third village, into a Sanctuary.