Chapter 688 – Summer Harvest and City Ruins

Summer harvest has begun.

Those who are not busy in the village and those who have come from other villages to support are working together.

Hnn?

The children will help too?

You’re a lifesaver.

Listen to what Guronde says.

But not Hiichirou, Guraru, and Rananon?

Ah, they’ll be harvesting radish with Doraim.

Please do.

-0-

The civil servant girls took the lead in checking the type and quantity of the harvest.

Those that need to be processed are transported to each processing plant.

Maybe because we are doing this three times a year that everyone’s skill is superb.

I have to do my best to not lose.

-0-

When the harvest is over, I have to plow the field for the autumn harvest but a light banquet for those who helped with the harvest must be celebrated before that.

I have to thank everyone, especially those who came to help us from other villages.

We had a barbecue centered on good meat parts.

Of course, freshly harvested vegetables are also grilled.

No one needs to be shy.

Eat as much as you can because we’ll grill as much as we can.

Doraim, are you done boiling the radish?

Oh, that scoring is perfect.

Hnn?

Ah, Rananon.

Scoring is making shallow cuts on the surface of an ingredient.

It has several purposes such as tenderizing, making it absorb more flavor, or allowing fat to drain if you do it to meat.

Are you interested in cooking?

You should ask Ann’s group if it is about cooking.

Do you want to learn Doraim’s flavoring?

I see.

You can ask Doraim later.

Yeah, later.

If you ask him now, he’ll probably cry and his tears will fall on the food.

-0-

I plow the field using the AFT in hoe form.

As I was hoeing, time passed quickly.

Wait, did I plow faster?

…..

It’s not good to be conceited.

Let’s think that the performance of the AFT has risen.

I’m proud of the AFT.

When I’m done plowing, I’ll polish it well.

If I make the AFT disappear and put it out again, all dirt will be gone but gratitude must be expressed in an attitude.

Going north from Shashaato City is the Iron Forest and beyond it, in the mountain range, is Doraim’s nest.

Even in such an environment, there is a road going north from Shashaato City.

It may have not been maintained for many years but it’s a good road.

What is it for?

I shouldn’t be the path to Doraim’s nest, right?

No.

「Apparently, there was once a big city to the north of Shashaato City.」

With the installation of the short-range teleportation gate, there were more opportunities to meet them than before.

「Even though it is big, it seems to be smaller than the current Shashaato City. It is in the forest before the Iron Forest. Around a few months ago, a team of adventurers discovered the ruins of that city.」

Heh.

「The adventurer team that discovered it has the priority of searching the place but monsters and demon beasts that live there are too strong so they put their rights to search for sale.」

It can be sold?

「Yeah. So, it was Governor Ifrus of Shashaato City who bought it. Well, it’s actually me who bought it.」

Don’t say too much.

「I am allowed to say that much because of my job.」

Even so…..

「I only need to say “I won’t let the governor waste this chance”. Aren’t I good? 」

Right….

「By the way, the name of the city north of Shashaato City is Shato City. It is a city of priests and it has been there for a long time even before Shashaato City was founded. 」

City of priests?

「It is a city with a lot of religious buildings. It seems that it was a religion that worshiped the gatekeeper dragon. 」

Is that so?

It’s a bit unfortunate that such a city has been destroyed.

「Maa, it has been 2500 years ago when it perished. 」

2500 years.

That’s a long time ago.

That means there’s already a gatekeeper dragon since 2500 years ago?

……

2500 years ago?

Sounds familiar.

Ehto….ah, doesn’t that fit the time when the boxes fell?

Do the boxes know about the city?

「Yes. I also thought so so I asked the boxes. It turned out that they probably fell while heading to that city. 」

Ooohhh.

Isn’t this a strange coincidence…….?

「However, since they fell before they managed to get there, they have no other information about that place. 」

Maa, I guess so.

「After that, I asked the gatekeeper dragon, Doraim-sama, about the city….he said he wasn’t even born at that time so he didn’t know desu. 」

I see.

That’s normal since he’s not been born yet.

「So I asked Dors-sama and Girar-sama but they said when they were born, there’s no city in that place. 」

Fumu.

Hnn?

Then, why are you telling me this as if you’re sure that this will make some money?

What’s more, why are you telling me this as if you got some information?

How did you even know that they are people who worship the gatekeeper dragon if neither Dors nor Girar knows?

「Versa-sama knows about it. She said it was destroyed by someone so there’s a high possibility that the items in that place were never taken away. 」

So the information source was ancestor-san wife, Versa.

However, she doesn’t know who destroyed it.

「Versa-sama is a hikikomori so her information about the outside world is sparse…. 」

It can’t be helped.

Maa, no matter who destroyed it, it no longer matters since it was 2500 years ago.

「Yeah. That’s it, village chief. 」

What is it?

「Why don’t you check it out? I’ll give you all the treasures you’ll find during the investigation. 」

…………

All of them?

「Yeah. 」

Then, how do you make money yourself?

「If village chief will go there to investigate, all monsters and demon beasts of that place will be wiped out and the money-making scheme will start after that. We have to lend it first to the shooting team led by Irre. We plan on making that place a dedicated shooting city.」

A dedicated shooting city?

「Even though the city was destroyed, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be rebuilt again. We only need to connect it with a short-range teleportation gate to Shashaato City and it will become a large-scale project that will employ a lot of people.」

Right.

By the way, Miyo also thinks that movies are profitable?

「I watched one in Village Five. That kind of entertainment will definitely be profitable and the demand will only continue to increase. I can bet my hands to assure that there will be no loss. 」

Tiselle wrote something similar in her letter.

No way. Is it Miyo who influenced Tiselle?

「It’s the other way around desu yo. Tiselle-sama was the one who encouraged me to go watch a movie.」

I see.

「So, what is your response to the survey request?」

Fuh.

If it was the usual me, I would have replied immediately but the present me is different.

「I will consult my wives first. Wait until tomorrow for my reply.」

「I understand. Please consider it positively, thank you.」

Maa, Miyo had already laid groundwork so none of my wives objected….

How did she do that?

She has to tell me secretly later.