Recently

“Phew… I’m glad that worked out somehow.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Woody-sama… here you go.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

After finishing negotiations with Ran-san and her group, I was relaxing peacefully at home.

What Aira had prepared for me was a fruit tea I had come to drink often recently.

I dropped in a piece of dried fruit and let it steep in the tea.

As it soaked, the intensely condensed sweetness of the dried fruit melted into the tea.

In this Tree Village, where we had no proper sugar, it was a precious source of sweetness.

Since I wasn’t very good with bitter tea, when I first discovered this, I trembled with delight.

“Were the trade goods decided to be dried fruits, as we discussed beforehand?”

“Yeah, for now it’s dried fruits… and also water. We’ll wholesale those two while expanding the distribution channels.”

After our first meeting ended, I had a private discussion with Ran-san, without anyone else present.

It involved my aptitude, and I didn’t want to discuss such raw matters in front of everyone.

For now, it seemed that the only things Tree Village could sell elsewhere with certainty were fruits and its abundant water resources.

Apparently, until now, Ran-san had been pushing herself, trading at rates so bad she ended up taking losses.

So this time, though it wasn’t exactly compensation, we agreed to wholesale goods at a very low price.

By selling cheaply, it would also serve as promotion to spread Tree Village’s name elsewhere.

Since the initial cost was a shocking zero, even cheap sales would still bring profit.

“But it seems water can’t be transported very far.”

“Well, if too much time passes, it will spoil.”

“Exactly. They said it can only be sold within the range where it won’t rot, so selling to the seven nearby villages is the limit. I was told not to expect too much.”

“…Are there really that many villages nearby? Shekuri-san said there were only four.”

“Yeah, apparently these are new villages Shekuri-san doesn’t know about. It seems refugees fleeing from the kingdom built them.”

As someone who traveled constantly for business across the desert, Ran-san was very well-informed.

She possessed information even Shekuri-san, who had lived in the desert all his life, did not know.

Of course, she hadn’t told me everything… but having her as an ally would be reassuring.

It seemed that the kingdom—or rather, House Conrad, governed by my father—was still waging war, and the people were suffering under crushing taxes.

Unable to live properly, many people had recently fled with resolve, prepared to die, leaving the duchy to live in the desert outside its territory.

Perhaps they could survive on desert oats and monster meat… but still, to leave with such desperate determination meant the rule of House Conrad must be that cruel.

“Woody-sama…”

Before I realized it, I was being embraced by Aira.

Feeling that soft sensation enveloping me, what should I call it… I felt deeply at ease.

I gently hugged Aira back in return.

When she let out a cute little squeal, I smiled at her and stood up.

“First, once Tree Village stabilizes to some extent, the next step is to support other villages. Whether we bring them here or send aid, I don’t know yet… but that’s the next goal.”

“Th-that’s exactly like you, Woody-sama! This Aira will follow you for life!”

Perhaps to hide her embarrassment, Aira shouted in a booming voice.

As if to distract herself further, she began pouring another cup of tea.

…Shekuri-san and the others had said that the most important thing in this desert was mutual aid.

Then I would use this aptitude to help everyone.

If I did that, then surely, when I was truly in trouble… they would help me in return.

—Now that I could sell goods through Ran-san, the next step was to seriously produce dried fruits with sales in mind.

Once trade routes were somewhat established, Ran-san had promised to procure sugar for us… and when that happened, we could boil fruits down into jam or bake fruit-mixed pastries.

People excited by those tastes might come to Tree Village, applying to settle here… heh, the dream kept expanding.

There was still so much to do, no time to rest at all.

And yet, why was it?

Recently, every day just felt so full of life—.