CH 200

Words : 1184 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

I Spent My Time Relaxing in Range Village “A place where the children are happy… That is probably really important. No matter how much work there is, the village will not survive if the next generation doesn’t bear the load.” “Indeed. Even if things are good now, it will mean nothing if the children all leave.” They may make more money, but the time will come when they will have to let the next generation take over. And if the children are gone, then it will all be over. And so it was important to ensure that the children did not leave. Of course, they couldn’t spend all their time with the children as well, so the balance was difficult to achieve. “After this incident with the illness, I am unsure of our future when it comes to making wine. However, thanks to you, Mr. Takumi, the village is not in as much of a desperate situation as we would have been. Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to reconsider things.” We knew for a fact that the wine had spread the illness. Even if this knowledge wasn’t made public, rumors would spread eventually. And so no matter how delicious the wine was, fewer people would want to buy from this village. And so their income would be reduced greatly. “Will you be fine?” “Well, we did not even buy any grapes this time. So we have some money left from that. In the meantime, we’ll have to think about what must be done for this village.” They could use the money for the grapes and find a different way of supporting themselves. I didn’t know if they would stop making wine completely, but as long as their income was guaranteed to decrease, it would make little sense to have everyone in the village focus on that. As the orcs had been brought in by the merchants, there would be a lot of anxiety about where they would get grapes from now. Could they even buy them from another territory? In fact, now that the connection between that store and the merchants was revealed, and the Count’s misdeeds uncovered, it would greatly affect his relationship with the duke… “Thankfully, our wood can still be sold in the town. If we aren’t using the barrels for wine, we can sell them to other towns and villages.” They could probably make a decent amount by just selling the wood materials. That would help them survive until they found a long-term solution. “Before the wine stops selling?” “Yes. I need to think of the village and move quickly… Well, think quickly. It is important.” “That is true…” As Mr. Hannes was the chief of the village, he needed to be ahead of the others when thinking about things. However, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad about that delicious wine being gone forever. Even though it had spread the disease, the real reason was the glass sphere that the merchant had brought. But people didn’t care about such details when spreading rumors… Once rumors about the wine being the cause started to spread, it would just be a matter of time before its reputation was ruined. “Well, perhaps these are just the ramblings of an old man.” Still, I was worried. Was it my personality or… I suppose it was due to my past experiences. I knew what it was like to be so consumed by work, and I felt like the situation in the village was similar to the situation that I was in. Things were different now, and while I didn’t have all the answers, I couldn’t help but think about it. …The wine was good… That was another reason. “Wuff-wuff!” “Ah, it’s Leo!” As I was talking with Mr. Hannes, and thinking about the future of the village, more time had passed than I thought. I heard Leo’s voice from far away, and the children began to shout excitedly. “Wuff… Wuff.” “Welcome back, Leo. That’s a good girl.” “Wuff.” She had run past me at an incredible speed, but then realized it and came back frantically. Then she dug her claws into the ground noisily in order to stop right in front of me, and I proceeded to pet her. “Leo!” “Wuff?” After seeing that Leo was back, the children all gathered around her. No matter where Leo went, she was always popular with the children. To them, Leo wasn’t a frightening monster. It was like they could tell that she was gentle… Or maybe they just saw her as a playmate. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hannes. I think Leo is really thirsty. Do you have any water or milk?” “Of course. I’ll prepare some milk right away.” “Wuff-wuff.” “Leo! Let’s play!” She had run nonstop to the town of Ractos and back. Assuming that she was thirsty, I asked Mr. Hannes to bring her something to drink. Leo wagged her tail happily when she heard that it would be milk. She had worked so hard, and deserved a treat at the very least. The kids played with her tail as one after another, they gathered around her. “Here you go, good Leo.” “Wuff! Wuff-wuff. Glug-glug…” “She drinks so fast…” She must have been very thirsty. Leo practically dunked her face into the bucket of milk and drank. After drinking it all, I wiped the milk on her face with a towel. I thought she should be clean if she was going to play with the children. “As I was saying before, it really is nice to see the children playing.” “Yes. And Leo really enjoys it.” “Wuff-wuff.” “Ahahahah!” We sat at a table in the village square and watched Leo as she played with them. Tea was brought out, and I was able to relax as the time passed leisurely. Like this, I spent the next few days in the village quietly. There was nothing really to do. I did feel a little bad, but Mr. Hannes insisted that I could stay for as long as I’d like, since I had saved them. Still, I had no intention of accepting their hospitality for too long. And while I did spend time lazily watching Leo play, I also didn’t forget to run and train, so that my body wouldn’t grow weak. Also, I made some herbs behind Mr. Hannes’s house, so I could give them to Mr. Kalis later. I had given some to Sebastian, but he would need more soon. However, even as I relaxed during the days, there was always something on my mind. It was about the village’s wine. I didn’t know what Mr. Hannes and the others would do, but it would be a waste to abandon the wine business entirely. Also, what work could the adults do…that would still afford them enough time to spend with the children…? While it seemed like there was nothing I could do, it still bothered me.

CH 200

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