Chapter 13

"Oh, this is convenient. It's worth the price, isn't it?"

After buying a large amount of fertilizer at the home center, Ichirō used a borrowed truck to make several trips between the home center and the mansion to transport all the fertilizer. Once he finished, he opened the newly purchased folding wheelbarrow.

The wheelbarrow Ichirō bought had a maximum load capacity of 350 kg and was a high-performance folding model with non-puncture tires.

Seeing the new folding wheelbarrow placed in the warehouse where he had previously taken a 300,000 yen wheelbarrow, Ichirō thought it was a good one and bought two of them.

Incidentally, there was a note on the wheelbarrow in the warehouse that said, "Feel free to take any vegetables," so Ichirō added, "I took two tomatoes. They were delicious," and gratefully took two large tomatoes for his lunch that day.

The ripe tomatoes, which were as sweet as fruit, were indeed a testament to the professional farmer's skills.

"Well, let's load 300 kg for now... I wonder if the tatami will be okay."

While checking the condition of the tatami, Ichirō loaded the fertilizer, which was piled up at the entrance, onto the wheelbarrow one by one.

He thought the tatami might sink a little, but it didn't at all.

Ichirō tilted his head in confusion but convinced himself, "This tatami must be quite sturdy," and pulled the wheelbarrow across the threshold to the other world.

"Thank you always. Here, please take this."

On the way, he offered a cup of Japanese sake to the white skeleton lying in the corridor as an apology for always passing by.

When Ichirō returned to the forest, he saw large piles of leaf mold that the villagers had collected scattered around.

From the number of people collecting leaf mold, it seemed that half of them were now mixing the leaf mold into the fields, while the others were still collecting it in the forest.

"Welcome back, Kazura. Is this fertilizer?"

As Ichirō was taking a break after putting down the wheelbarrow, Barretta returned with the wheelbarrow.

It seemed she was repeatedly loading the wheelbarrow with leaf mold and transporting it to the fields.

"Yes, this is also spread in the fields like leaf mold. It's a bit smelly, though."

"Indeed, it has a rather unusual smell."

As she said this, Barretta approached the wheelbarrow loaded with fertilizer and traced the word "chicken manure" written on the plastic bag with her finger.

"What does this say?"

"It's read as 'keifun.' It's processed chicken droppings from chickens in my country."

"…What?"

"Well, I still have a lot prepared in my country, so I'll go back to get more… Is something wrong?"

Barretta, who had been staring at the chicken manure, opened her mouth when Ichirō spoke to her, still looking at the bag of chicken manure.

"Ah, no… You're going to spread this in the fields, right?"

"Yes."

"This is bird droppings, right?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing Ichirō's answer, Barretta looked at Ichirō and the chicken manure with a puzzled expression.

Seeing Barretta's reaction, Ichirō thought she might have reservations about offering bird droppings to the gods and decided to reassure her.

"Don't worry, it's fine. The gods will use anything that can make the fields thrive, whether it's leaf mold or bird droppings."

"Is that so… Thank you for everything."

Barretta, who seemed apologetic, bowed.

"No, no, it's a thank you for letting me live in the village."

Saying this, Ichirō entrusted the wheelbarrow loaded with fertilizer to Barretta and headed back to the mansion in Japan.

"Is this the last field?"

"Yes, this is the last one."

By the time the sun was about to set behind the mountains, they had finally finished spreading the leaf mold collected by the villagers and the fertilizer Ichirō brought from Japan on the field where the potatoes were still alive.

There was still some fertilizer left in the wheelbarrow, but it was scheduled to be spread on other fields the next day.

"However, it was larger than I thought. I'll have to bring more fertilizer from my country."

"Indeed, this fertilizer is quite smelly."

The village chief's words made Ichirō smell his hands and clothes, and he realized that the smell of fertilizer had permeated his body and clothes from a day of transporting and spreading it.

The villagers around him also wrinkled their noses, smelling themselves.

"Indeed, it's quite smelly."

"Yes, I'll wipe my body with hot water before dinner, but I'm not sure if the smell will come off… Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

"I'll go back and boil some water."

When Barretta said this, a few of the villagers followed her back home.

"Ah, everyone, please wait a moment."

Stopping the villagers who were about to leave, Ichirō opened a cardboard box in the corner of the wheelbarrow.

"Actually, I prepared something good just in case. I'll give two to each household. Please take them. Here, please."

"Wow, it smells good…"

The village girl who received a small bag containing a square object from Ichirō couldn't help but smile at its fragrance.

The other villagers also received it from Ichirō and sighed in admiration at its gentle scent.

"Kazura, what is this used for?"

Barretta, who also received it from Ichirō, looked at the writing on the bag and asked.

"Well, this is called soap, and it's used to wash clothes and the body. It has a nice smell and makes you much cleaner than just using water."

"Wait, this is soap!?"

Indeed, what Ichirō brought was soap.

He had prepared it when buying fertilizer at the home center, thinking that the strong smell might permeate his body and clothes while spreading it in the fields.

As expected, the smell had permeated his body and clothes, so he was glad he had brought it.

"Oh, you know about it. Then, do you know how to use it?"

When Ichirō asked, a few of the villagers nodded, but most of them tilted their heads.

It seemed that soap existed in this world, but it was not a common item.

"Well, the soap I saw in town before was not as hard as this, but softer. And I've never seen soap with such a nice smell."

"Really?"

"I've never seen soap with such a nice smell either… Besides, soap is quite expensive, so we farmers rarely use it."

As they said this, Barretta and the village chief looked at the soap Ichirō brought with a curious expression.

Perhaps the soap in this world was made with different methods and materials from what Ichirō knew.

Ichirō thought he would research the history of soap when he returned to Japan.

"Hmm… Then, I should explain how to use soap to everyone."

Ichirō began to explain the use of soap to everyone.

While Ichirō was explaining, Barretta and the village chief seemed to have a brief discussion and then started distributing the soap to the villagers.

"Please use it according to these instructions. Be sure not to bite it just because it smells good, okay?"

When Ichirō finished explaining, the villagers who received the soap thanked him and went back to their homes.

Ichirō and the others also reloaded the remaining fertilizer bags onto the wheelbarrow and returned to the mansion.

When they returned to the mansion, Ichirō and the others took turns moving to the garden with a bucket of hot water and soap to wipe their bodies.

Ichirō, who was encouraged to wash first, took a bucket of water and a Boston bag with his change of clothes and went to the garden. After hesitating about what to do with his clothes, he decided no one was watching and took off all his clothes, washing his body in the nude.

"Ah, soap is really great. It's a whole different experience from just wiping with hot water."

While covering his body in soap bubbles, Ichirō sighed in comfort.

He had been using hot water and a cloth to wipe his body, but it always felt unsatisfactory, and he was glad he had brought soap.

"Thanks to the water wheel, we no longer have to worry about water. Maybe we should build something like a communal bath. I'll talk to the two of them later."

While saying this and whistling, Ichirō finished washing his body and rinsed off the soap with the water in the bucket, then quickly put on his clothes.

"Then, I'll be going now."

"Um-hum."

"Sure, take your time."

After seeing Barretta off to the garden to wash, Ichirō immediately opened his mouth to consult with the village chief about the communal bath.

"Valin, I have a question…"

"Hmm? …Ah, I understand. I won't tell Barretta, so please go ahead."

"Eh?"

Ichirō tilted his head at the village chief, who suddenly nodded in agreement.

"My daughter is quite beautiful, you know. I owe you a lot, so I'll let you off. Please go ahead and peek."

"Wh-What are you saying!?"

Ichirō couldn't help but shout at the village chief, who suddenly gave permission to peek.

"Wait, you're not asking about peeking?"

"Who in the world would ask a parent for permission to peek at their daughter!?"

Ichirō blushed and argued with the village chief, who said this with a feigned look.

"Haha, you're right. Well, let's put that aside. What is your question?"

"J-Just a joke…"

Ichirō finally realized he was being teased and, feeling quite deflated, brought up the idea of a communal bath that he had thought of earlier.

"Well, since we've managed to bring a waterway to the village, I thought we could use that water to build a communal bath… a large bath for everyone to use."

"A bath, you mean a place where you fill a lot of hot water and get in?"

"Yes, I thought we could build a large one in the village."

"…Hmm."

The village chief crossed his arms and pondered, and Ichirō waited silently, wondering if there was a problem.

After a while, the village chief looked up and spoke apologetically.

"If a communal bath were built in the village, everyone would surely be delighted. However, a bath is a very luxurious thing, used by nobles and the like. Building one in our village might be…"

"Ah… I see…"

Ichirō understood what the village chief was getting at.

Probably, if they installed a conspicuous luxury item in the village, it might attract the attention of the lord, Nalson.

While providing food as before might be fine, building a conspicuous facility like a communal bath might be problematic.

Thinking about this, Ichirō realized a significant issue.

"Then, wasn't the installation of the water wheel also a problem?"

Indeed, the water wheel.

It might be a tool that did not exist in this world.

If that were the case, the moment its existence was revealed, the village chief would surely be questioned.

Even if the water wheel already existed in this world, the source of its procurement would certainly be questioned.

"You're right. However, without the water wheel, the village's fields would have been destroyed, and I am truly grateful to you, Kazura."

"But if Nalson finds out about the water wheel…"

"In that case, it's probably fine. When Isaac came to check on the village, he didn't ask much about the waterway."

"I see… Hmm."

The Isaac who came to check on the village might not have been familiar with the relationship between the village and the river.

According to the village chief, they managed to get through the inspection, but if Nalson had any doubts after hearing the report, the existence of the water wheel might be exposed.

Moreover, Ichirō thought that the existence of the water wheel would eventually be revealed, sooner or later.

If the existence of the water wheel was exposed and it was revealed that Ichirō brought it, the worst-case scenario was that Ichirō might be detained by Nalson.

Just as he was starting to enjoy his life in this village, such a major obstacle would ruin his plans for exploring the other world.

If Nalson, like the villagers, didn't ask about Ichirō's country, it might be fine, but that was unlikely.

"Valin, I have a proposal…"

Ichirō presented a