Chapter 16

Time flies.

Three years have passed since then.

I am now fifteen years old.

After the wheat harvest, the village population increased to seventy.

Forty more people. Not just young children, but there were many older children, around ten years old, which suggested that the food situation was quite dire.

For the next three years, there was no famine, but the number of parents giving up their children due to heavy taxes increased, and the current population is one hundred. It's not a laughing matter.

From my perspective, the population of any country is not that large.

I don't think the number of children born each year is that high...

This is pretty serious, isn't it?

Of course, there are also children who have been abandoned in places other than this forest, or sold into slavery.

By the way, out of the one hundred people, thirty are between fifteen and twelve years old, forty are between eleven and eight, and thirty are under eight.

The old fields in the village are starting to become insufficient, so we have begun cutting down trees to expand the farmland.

We have four cows, ten goats, and ten chickens.

I would like to introduce pigs when we have more resources, but...

If we expand further, the surrounding villages will reject us.

We originally received a small number through forceful negotiations.

Oh, there's something I can't forget about the animals.

Recently, Soyon picked up three young hawks.

Apparently, she brought them because their parents didn't return to the nest for a long time.

They seem to be a large species of hawk, but in this world, there are terrifyingly large birds of prey roaming the skies, so they were probably eaten.

I said to abandon them because I was unsure if they could be raised and because raising them would require a lot of meat, but she said, "Even though our situation is a bit different, I can't abandon children without parents."

In the end, she asked the other children to help, and I reluctantly agreed.

Well, abandoning them would be bad for their education.

Besides, Soyon, Tera, and another child named Ruru have started to show talent in magic.

So I had a hidden motive: if we could somehow transfer souls into these hawks...

By the way, as planned, the three hawks are now hunting with those three.

If the results are good, everything will be fine.

Also, in the past three years, we have completed a survey of the entire forest and found several abandoned villages.

They are from an earlier era than our village, and are in poor condition, but they are better than starting from scratch.

If the population increases further, we have a plan to move people there.

By the way, our relationship with the griffins continues.

I regularly bring them alcohol and talk to them.

I want them to protect us in an emergency.

And now, I am heading to Yuria's place alone.

We used to go to Yuria together to have her train the children in magic.

But recently, she has started saying that she wants to meet alone every third time.

I don't know why.

When I asked, she said it was because she's a girl.

I kind of understand, but I don't really get it...

"Hey, Yuria. I just got here..."

As I parted the grass, Yuria came into view.

Naked.

"Wh-What, Almus!?"

Yuria hurriedly submerged herself in the lake.

Unfortunately, I only saw her back.

It was a beautiful, white back.

And there was one thing that caught my attention.

"Hey, what are those small letters on your shoulder?"

"Wh-What!? Oh, these are sacred runes."

Sacred runes are characters... or rather, pictures used in rituals. They are about 30% characters and 70% pictures, and have a very complicated shape.

They are completely impractical.

"Is it magic?"

"Yep. Everyone gets them around the age of five. But they don't really have much effect. It just feels better to have them. By the way, the difference from tattoos is that they glow when the person who put them on touches them."

"But the kids don't have them?"

"Only certain powerful magicians can engrave them. You have to be a person of some influence."

I see.

So, those who have them are of high birth.

"I want one too."

"Ahahaha, if Almus comes to our country, I'll do it for you."

"That's not an option."

For now, at least.

If the village continues to grow, it will eventually be targeted. It would be bad not to belong to a larger country.

For now, I'll pretend to be a bat.

Even considering that, I can't neglect my relationship with Yuria.

"By the way, how long are you going to keep looking?"

"Ah, sorry."

I turned around.

I could hear the sound of water and then the sound of fabric rubbing against each other.

Now that I'm fifteen, Yuria has become quite a woman.

Specifically, her chest.

Recently, even my son has started to react a bit.

By the way, Tera has average-sized breasts. Not small. Don't get that wrong. You'll be killed if you do.

"Almus, I'm done changing. You can turn around now."

Finally, I got the go-ahead.

"Hey, why were you taking a bath in the water?"

"Well, I made a mistake today and was spotted by a guard. We had a chase. I managed to lose them, but I was drenched in sweat. I thought it would be bad to meet Almus like this."

That's tough.

Actually, it's more surprising that she wasn't caught in the past three years.

The guards are really incompetent.

"I might not be able to come as often from now on, sorry."

"That's fine. Just be careful."

When I said that, Yuria looked a bit sad.

Was I too cold?

"Here, have some bread."

"Yay! This is delicious!"

Yuria happily took the bread I offered.

Yuria seems to be from a very upper-class family, but the food is apparently not very good.

It can't be helped without the technology.

My bread is made with eggs, goat's milk, and yeast.

It's probably the best bread in this world.

"Here, have this too."

I handed Yuria a small pot.

"What? What is this!!!"

"Honey."

Yuria's eyes widened.

While it's too early to say for sure about this world, at least in this region, honey is a valuable commodity.

It seems they collect honey by bringing nests from the forest and raising the bees to collect the honey.

This is incredibly troublesome.

So, I decided to make beehives.

Bees have a habit of building nests in narrow spaces.

If we make beehives, we won't have to go looking for bees.

As for the question of whether the bees will sting, the old man at the orphanage was a tough guy who could exterminate giant hornets without protective gear and serve them fried at the dinner table.

I watched him from a distance, so I know the basics.

The question of whether I would have an allergic reaction is easily resolved. I was stung twice before I decided to make the hives.

This body is fine with bee stings.

Of course, I don't let the children do it. I don't know if they have resistance.

"Delicious!! Amazing. Do you have a lot of it?"

"I don't have a lot, but I have a decent amount."

To collect honey, you have to destroy the bees' nest, which means you have to gather the bees again each time.

In modern beekeeping, there is a method to collect honey without destroying the nest, but...

I don't know about it.

They use some impressive machinery, so I couldn't make it anyway.

I wish I had watched more honey-related variety shows.

I never thought I'd be transferred to another world...

If I had known, I would have looked it up on the internet...

But there's no point in thinking about such silly things.

Anyway, this honey can be a weapon.

To curry favor with the powerful, for example.

I might even be able to save my life in exchange for this knowledge.

"Hey, hey, teach me too!"

"No way. We are few in number, so we need to use this kind of knowledge as a weapon to survive."

I'm really sorry, but I can't teach important things to someone who might become an enemy.

Well, I've already told Yuria a lot.

"Then, what are we going to talk about today?"

"About the political system of the Rosais Kingdom... your country. I think it's time to start asking about that."

I can imagine to some extent, but...

"Right. It's a confederation of nobles centered around King Rosais. It's the same in every country. In our country, the nobles are very powerful, so the relationship is more of an alliance than a master-servant relationship. In fact, King Verm is completely out of reach."

"King Verm is the king of the recently independent country, right?"

"Yep. Exactly four years ago, around the time you and I met. He gained control of the region by winning the support of the people who were dissatisfied with the ruling noble family, the As family, during the famine. That's how he became independent from King Rosais. He sends tribute to both King Rosais and King Domorgal, so we don't interfere with him. If we fought with King Domorgal's country, we would be destroyed."

Yuria shrugged.

King Rosais' country is three times as powerful as King Domorgal's country.

This is evident from the presence or absence of iron weapons.

"King Rosais is currently ill. It's impossible for him to wage war. Sigh..."

Yuria sighed sadly.

Even magicians have their worries.

"But King Verm is also in a bad situation recently. The agricultural technology hasn't changed, so he's suppressing the discontent with violence. If something happens... please help me?"

"I don't want to. I don't want to get involved in any killings."

In the past three years, I have already killed five people.

If I don't kill them, they will come in large numbers.

I have to kill them as a warning.

I have killed many people... but I don't want the children to do it.

Whether that's possible or not, I don't know.

"By the way, Almus, do you want to meet my father?"

"I don't want to pay taxes. You understand, right?"

If we come under the control of someone, we will have to pay taxes. I don't want that.

Even if it's an inevitable fate, I want to delay it as long as possible.

"Huh? Did I talk about my father?"

"No, you didn't. But your father is a powerful person, right? So, there's a high chance I'll end up meeting him automatically."

"Oh, right. Ahaha. It's okay. Don't worry about the taxes. If I have to pay, I think a monthly supply of this amount of honey would be enough. Besides, don't you think it's better to have connections for emergencies?"

"Hmm, you're right."

Not interacting with anyone is also tough.

With the population increasing, we need more things.

For example, livestock.

I want to increase them, but to do so, I need a large trading partner.

Also, clothes, salt, medicine, and so on.

"Okay, I'll meet him once."

"Yay! Then, tomorrow. At this lake. I'll bring the clothes, so don't worry about it."

And so, I agreed to meet Yuria's father.

Next time, Yuria's true identity will be revealed!!

Well, some people might have already guessed...

I think the daily updates will start to settle down soon (predicted for the 10th at 20:00), so I will slow down the update pace.

However, I will definitely update one chapter per day.

If the backlog starts to decrease, I might have to conserve it.