Still More To Come

By using Tree-to-Tree Transfer, I could freely go anywhere as long as there was a tree there.

For that reason, lord’s residences had currently been prepared in all three villages in Wenti.

One of them, the mansion in Magros Village, was today’s party venue.

By further crossbreeding and modifying an improved House Tree made with Tree Improvement, its size had become incomparable to anything before.

It might have been about as large as the mansion of the Count Tristan Family that I had seen before.

Quite a lot of attention had been paid to the furnishings as well.

A chandelier sparkled on the ceiling, and the carpet laid across the floor had a texture as fine as a baby’s skin.

The wooden furniture had been made with great enthusiasm by dwarf craftsmen skilled at woodworking, and they had even put their spirit into places people would not normally see.

On the first floor of such a mansion, beneath the spiral staircase, many people had already gathered.

Incidentally, the only ones invited were Wenti’s important figures and the Divine Beasts.

If I were thinking purely about the territory’s profit, perhaps it would have been better to invite great nobles and wealthy merchants and make it a much grander event, but… since this was a celebration, I wanted everyone to enjoy it together. I wanted it to be a fun gathering where we did not have to think too much about difficult things like business or politics, so this was fine.

Besides, when Divine Beasts were invited, it was possible that some people might start thinking wicked things.

“Any chance to drink free alcohol is welcome no matter how many times it comes around!”

“Indeed, wine should be like this…”

Simurg-san and Wheel-san were smacking their lips over wine at the edge of the floor.

At this party, there were many prototype dishes that had not yet been circulated as products at the current stage.

What Simurg-san was drinking was wine made using Element Fruit, which was currently under development. Element Fruit had the property of becoming the supreme fruit for magicians who possessed a matching attribute.

Using that, we were producing wine aimed at magicians of the fire, wind, water, earth, light, and dark attributes.

Basically, humans who could use magic were often nobles with aptitudes, and even when they were not, most of them were high earners.

This wine was currently being developed as a product to be sold on a luxury route.

The one Simurg-san was drinking was Wind Wine, and the one Wheel-san was drinking was Earth Wine. Incidentally, since both of them were quite heavy drinkers, barrels had been prepared for the two of them.

“Simurg-san, Wheel-san. Thank you for joining us today!”

“No, if it is for the future development of Wenti, simply showing my face is no trouble at all.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s a happy day where Fem has come to possess a Sanctuary again, after all! There’s no way I wouldn’t drink!”

“…Again?”

Since I was curious, I instinctively asked back.

Then Wheel-san, whose face was red and who was in a good mood, laughed while twisting the tap on the barrel and pouring wine.

“Yeah, Fem had a Sanctuary before too. Back then, she was even more…”

“Oh my, that sounds like an interesting story. Won’t you let me join in too?”

Creak, creak… Wheel-san turned around.

There stood Fem-san, wearing a pleasant smile while her eyes shone dangerously.

Every sweat gland on Wheel-san’s body opened, and sweat began pouring from his whole body.

“Go on, continue?”

“I-I-I’ve forgotten what we were talking about! At times like this, nothing beats drinking wine! Still, Woody, this Earth Wine is delicious! I’d be grateful if you could give me some regularly!”

Wheel-san was visibly shaken while trembling all over.

His voice was also stammering, and that topic change was far too obvious, but it would be wise to go along with it here.

“Yes, if you would like, I’ll make arrangements to give you some regularly.”

“T-That would help! In exchange, though it’s not exactly compensation, I’ll make a new mountain or two so you can harvest a bit more rock salt!”

“That would be a great help to us as well!”

Seeing Wheel-san start gulping down Earth Wine, Fem-san let out a large sigh.

“I am sorry, Woody-sama. As a fellow Divine Beast, I am ashamed.”

“No, no. Wheel-san has always helped us so much.”

“Woody, may I ask for Wind Wine as well?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Did you like it too, Simurg-san?”

“Indeed. It is like drinking the finest nectar… It gives me an entranced sensation different from simply drinking alcohol…”

Simurg-san was skillfully drinking wine while using wind magic to make his mug float.

His profile looked somewhat enraptured.

“Then, since the two of them are asking, may I have some Water Wine as well?”

“Yes, no problem. …Ah, so that means you are good at the water attribute, Fem-san.”

“That is right. These days, I hardly use my power anymore, though.”

While listening to this new fact about Fem-san, I had Aira take a note to secure wine for the Divine Beasts.

After saying goodbye and walking onward, I next saw Ran-san gulping down alcohol.

Perhaps she had completely stopped pretending, because she was wildly stuffing meat into her cheeks and washing it down into her throat with wine.

“Oh, Woody-sama, hello.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Ran-san. Thank you for taking the trouble to come.”

“Not at all. I was curious about the new products too… You will wholesale all of these to me, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll have them prioritized for the Wing Company.”

“Thank you very much, hehehe…”

The meat Ran-san was eating, while her eyes had turned into money symbols, used the sour seasoning we had made.

After trying them, we learned that even when made extremely sour, the aftertaste and refreshment still differed quite a lot depending on the fruit.

Using mandarin orange sour seasoning made the mouth feel refreshed, while grape sour seasoning tended to leave a lingering aftertaste.

The former matched heavy dishes, while the latter matched lighter dishes.

Because it was a sour seasoning unlike anything before, it would probably sell at first due to its novelty.

But in order to keep it from becoming a temporary fad, many improvements would likely be necessary.

We still could not let our guard down.

After parting with Ran-san, I saw Shekuri-san and Jinga-san.

Degji Village Chief was also beside them.

“Woody-sama, it has been a while.”

“How are things on your end, Shekuri-san?”

“Well, I suppose they are going decently.”

While responding in a safe way, Shekuri-san was drinking the improved juice we had made. Jinga-san and Degji Village Chief were similarly tilting glasses filled with wine under improvement.

With the creation of a new village, there would likely be more coming and going in Tree Village and Guinea Village from now on as well.

So that security could be properly rotated while taking safety into consideration, I would have to increase the number of Wood Golems and Tree Guardian Beasts from now on.

Since we had also gained more leeway in personnel, it might be good to strengthen the patrols of the domain army as well.

…Ah, incidentally, Sandstorm had now officially been reorganized as the Adastria domain army.

Along with that, Nadja had temporarily withdrawn from the army, and Kadin, who had originally served as vice leader, had officially been appointed as corps commander of the domain army.

It was a mixed army including dark elves, dwarves, and even elves, but its ability was high. There seemed to be many troublesome matters as well, but I wanted him to do his best.

“Woody-sama, may I go home?”

“You can’t go home. You are the head of the civil officials, at least in name.”

Several civil officials, starting with Maton, had also been invited.

Incidentally, beyond them, Kadin was also standing there looking deeply moved.

Behind him were several soldiers Kadin had brought along, and they stood out tremendously from this atmosphere.

“Our people are steadily coming together too, Woody.”

“It is because we use talent wherever there is talent. In other words, that means there were that many talented people buried in our territory.”

Just as Nadja said, as Wenti grew larger, our personnel, beginning with civil officials and military officers, were steadily increasing as well.

In the Conrad domain and the like, production-type and specialized aptitudes were basically ignored.

It was strange for me to say this about my own father, but that person truly had no interest in anything except fighting.

Using that as a negative example, I decided that in Wenti, I would simply give important posts to talented people.

In the Adastria viscounty, we did not care at all about race, background, rank, or even aptitude.

The only standard for choosing people was whether they were capable.

For that reason, among the knights and aspiring officials who came hoping to serve us, many had their employment postponed because they lacked ability.

That said, I had no intention of discarding people just because they had no talent.

I intended to enrich the safety nets around that area too, and currently, I was asking Maton and the others to create employment support facilities.

“Are you enjoying yourselves too, Utena-san?”

“Yes, thank you very much for inviting us, Woody-sama.”

“Woody-sama, we are grateful that you invited us to such a gathering… But my, this alcohol is delicious!”

Utena-san’s group of elves and Vis-san’s group of dwarves were gathered around separate tables.

Many elves were vegetarians, and most of the dishes they took were vegetable dishes. In contrast, the dwarf table had meat and alcohol piled up in huge quantities, enough that just looking at it might make me feel heartburn.

…I was glad we made it a standing buffet format, assuming their tastes would be different.

“I had you meet in advance, but honestly, I am relieved to see you eating at neighboring tables like this.”

The bad relationship between elves and dwarves was famous.

Elves treasured forests, while dwarves cut down forest trees to process metal.

Everyone knew the stories about how deep the conflict between the two sides was.

But in Wenti, no matter how many trees were cut down, I could plant new ones with my skill.

So I thought conflict between the two sides would not happen, but…

“Well, it is true that we noble elves and dwarves who can do nothing but grip hammers live in different worlds.”

“Indeed, elves who can do nothing but plant trees and dwarves who contribute greatly to Wenti’s industry live in different worlds. I see. Despite being an elf, you are quite admirable.”

“Ufufufufufu…”

“Hahahaha…”

They… did not have a bad relationship, right?

In any case, thinking about the future, I wanted both races to get along.

Now, dwarves were indispensable to Wenti.

The chandelier glittering on the ceiling of this mansion had been carefully made by dwarf artisans.

The ones making the wooden goods for houses were dwarves, and the ones handling the ironmaking industry were also dwarves.

Without their strength, the standard of Guinea’s processing industry would drop sharply all at once.

And when thinking about the future, the elves’ knowledge of afforestation was essential.

Also, since they lived far longer than humans, they possessed knowledge at a much higher level than humans.

As was already clear from the way that knowledge was helping with medicine-making, it would undoubtedly become necessary for Wenti in the future.

“Well, while we are in Wenti, there is no reason to go out of our way to quarrel. We cannot ruin Woody-sama’s reputation either.”

“That is true. If the forest can be maintained, there is no need to make a fuss.”

I could not tell whether they were close or not, but I could feel that they were trying to get along.

For today, that spirit alone would be enough.

After finishing my greetings, I stood at the edge of the stairs.

Then, while gazing blankly over the whole place, I looked at everyone enjoying the party.

Precisely because I had once gone through something terrible, I often thought this way.

Surely, in this world, there was not a single person who was of no use at all.

Every person in the world possessed something that could shine.

Birth and inborn aptitude.

It was certainly true that those things were important.

People were by no means equal.

Among them, aptitude could probably be called the greatest example of that.

But even without being born with talent.

Even without an aptitude, or even if they had one that was not useful, I thought there was no need to rot away because of that.

There was absolutely somewhere a person could shine.

That was why I believed that preparing places where everyone in Wenti could shine was the role of me, Woody Adastria, as lord.

“Woody, so this is where you were.”

“—Nadja.”

Today, Nadja was wearing a bright red dress that she had deliberately ordered from home. Incidentally, perhaps to match her, Aira was dressed in a pale blue dress.

The two of them stood beside me and looked together with me at the scenery I had been seeing.

“A toast to Woody-sama!”

“To the prosperity of Magros Village and Wenti, cheers!”

Everyone was smiling while enjoying conversation, food, and alcohol.

Looking at that scene, we nodded to each other without exchanging words.

Being able to share something enjoyable with the people I loved.

That alone made the fun and happiness grow many times larger.

“A lot happened this time too, but… for now, good work, Woody.”

“You too, Nadja.”

Clink, we tapped our wineglasses together.

These slightly bluish wineglasses were also one of the products I was thinking of producing from now on. Thanks to the highly transparent glass that the dwarves could make using a blast furnace, it probably would not take that long to commercialize them.

“Phew…”

Tree Village was a village of the desert people who had decided to walk together with me.

It was calm, and it always waited for my return.

Guinea Village had been a village meant to separate people from the kingdom itself so that those from the kingdom would not be interfered with by the kingdom.

And by welcoming Wheel-san, it had now become a place where, regardless of origin or previous circumstances, the steel and mining industries flourished, and with the dwarves being welcomed as well, industrialization was advancing.

How exactly would Magros Village develop?

There were things I could predict, but… surely, everyone in the village would produce results that easily surpassed my expectations.

“Woody-sama, have you noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

“Right now, Woody-sama… you have a very good expression.”

I stroked my own cheek with my left hand.

Had I been making that kind of face?

When I looked back at Nadja and Aira in puzzlement, both of them somehow blushed a little.

It was true that I felt tired too.

But just as much… no, even more than that, I felt fulfilled.

Wenti’s development had still only just begun.

The advance of this Woody Adastria would begin from here… or something like that.

I gave a small bashful smile and pulled the two of them by the hands.

Then, leading my two adorable fiancées, who were looking slightly embarrassed, I once again entered the circle of the party.