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Frontier Lord Chapter 036 – Stable Completed

On the fourth morning after the Camalotte’s arrival in Irk Village, I sent off Camalotte’s carriage watching it make its way toward the neighboring territory situated on the village outskirts. At that moment, Senai and Aihan were overcome with tears and sobs.

Upon their initial meeting with Camalotte and the others, shyness prevented them from exchanging greetings. However, as the days progressed, their familiarity grew to the point where they played together. Consequently, they were deeply saddened by the prospect of bidding farewell to their new friends.

Aruna, displaying her tender side, placed a comforting hand on Senai and Aihan’s heads. Even though their sobs were hushed, their tears continued to flow. She gently stroked their heads and consoled them, saying,

「Don’t cry. Once we’ve sent them off we can go look after the horses. If we don’t get to it quickly, the horses will also cry because they’ll be thirsty.」

Aruna said and Senai and Aihan begrudgingly wiped their tears and cast a last gaze toward the diminishing carriage in the distance. With a sigh, they turned and headed towards the stables. 

Aruna followed them, and Klaus joined in, eager to improve his horse-riding skills.

I had no particular thing to do at the stables, so I opted to make my way back to the yurt for the time being. With Francis and his wife in tow, we headed off to the yurt.

True to Camalotte’s prediction, the construction of the stables was completed within three days The process unfolded exactly as he had described.

The pillars were set up on the day of the Camalotte’s arrival, followed by the roof the next day, and the subsequent day saw the walls and fences added. With these components in place, the finishing touches were applied, leading to the swift completion of the building.

The rapid pace of the construction could be attributed to the use of pre-processed lumber, which was readily available for assembly. This approach to stable construction, employing pre-processed lumber, was favored in the neighboring territories due to its flexibility in adjusting to fluctuating livestock numbers. This method facilitated easy relocation, expansion, and even dismantling of stables as needed.

This time around, a horizontal stable comprising six stalls was erected near the stable belonging to Francis and his wife. If future circumstances led to a livestock increase causing a shortage of space, the option of relocating, expanding, or constructing a new stable would be considered. Naturally, unlike the current instance, there would be a reasonable fee associated with such endeavors.

Camalotte and his group had initially planned to depart for the neighboring territory once the stables were finished. However, due to the lateness of the hour when the stables were finally completed, they opted to wait until daybreak before making their way back. As a result, we held a small feast last night to express our gratitude to Camalotte and the others.

During the celebration, everyone came together to sing, dance, and revel in the lively atmosphere.

Towards the conclusion of the banquet, as a gesture of friendship, we offered Camalotte Earth Dragon materials and magic stones, which we had no use for. This gesture left Camalotte and his group somewhat perplexed.

Seeing the materials that had been brought from the warehouse and stacked near the wagon, Camalotte was visibly confused and uncertain about accepting such a sizable quantity of dragon materials. His guards were equally puzzled, wondering about the purpose behind it all. Eventually, we managed to convince them to accept the offering, though it came with certain stipulations.

The terms of the arrangement dictated that some of the materials would be considered a deposit, not a gift from me. They were to be used for our mutual benefit, and I even composed a letter of mandate to formalize the agreement.

(Well given that Eldan is quite skilled in these kinds of things, I’ll let him handle it however he sees fit. I mentioned Aruna’s fondness of horses in the letter, so let’s hope he’ll send some more our way.)

With this thought in mind, I continued on my way and happened upon the village square, where I spotted Grandma Maya and the other ladies gathered around a bonfire.

Beside them lay the tea sets and pots that Camalotte had brought along. The enticing aroma drifting from them indicated that Grandma Maya and the other ladies were once again indulging in a tea session.

「Grandma Maya, tea time again?」

「Sure is. You don’t drink it, so it’s no big deal if we help ourselves to it, right? It’s too good to let it go to waste.」

Responding with a light-hearted chuckle, Grandma Maya broke into laughter.

As she mentioned, I had yet to actually partake in the tea, having taken just a single sip previously.

While the fragrance was appealing, I remained uncertain about its flavor. It struck me as rather austere, and I must admit I didn’t quite understand why it held such popularity among the wealthy and aristocratic circles.

Aruna, Klaus, and I all shared a common sentiment about the tea and tended to avoid drinking it altogether. The only tea enthusiasts in the village were the elderly ladies, such as Grandma Maya and her friends.

Interestingly, Senai and Aihan carried a small jar of tea given to them by Aruna. Although they too found the taste unfavorable, they appreciated the pleasant aroma. The jar was filled with tea leaves and sealed with a wooden stopper. When opened, the fragrance could be enjoyed.

「I get to drink tea to my heart’s content and eat as much sugar as I want. I feel like I’ve become a lady of some noble family. It was the right choice to come here.」

Grandma Maya said, chuckling humorously while gesturing to the sugar jar by her side. These ladies seem to relish the experience of sipping tea while nibbling on sugar cubes or adding them to their tea.

Curiously, sugar—considered a high-quality commodity like tea—didn’t hold a favorable reputation within the village.

While it was true that it was sweet, that’s all it was, and it wasn’t particularly tasty.

Many shared the opinion that honey and dried fruits could pair better with tea than sugar.

I’d heard that sugar could occasionally be used in cooking, but in our village, it didn’t serve that purpose. Aruna had experimented in various ways to incorporate it, only to find that it didn’t quite suit her cooking style.

She was of the opinion that the sweetness derived from the herbs she regularly used eliminated the need for sugar altogether.

Hence, the tea and sugar Eldan had provided to us became exclusive luxury items enjoyed solely by Grandma Maya and her group of friends.

And no one had anything against it given how much Grandma Maya and her friends were relishing these indulgent treats.

(When the current supply eventually dwindles, I’ll need to consider procuring more to satisfy them.)

「Dias, my dear, when do you plan to start farming? Don’t you have all the tools you need?」

「What? Oh, yea. I’m thinking of starting tomorrow. Why do you ask?」

「It’s nothing major. It’s just that Chirch and Tala are skilled in field work and are wanting to help. Would you be so kind as to call out to them when you begin?」

As Grandma Maya said, Grandma Chirch, sporting a round face, and Grandma Tala, the tallest and most upright among the elderly ladies, glanced at her with smiles, their wrinkles deepening as they did.

「I’d be glad to, but field work is quite the laborious job. They don’t need to push themselves to do it.」

「No one’s pushing themselves. They called out because they wanted to do it. And before coming here they had to do it so that they could feed themselves. They just don’t want to be a burden.」

Grandma Maya explained, to which Grandma Chirch and Grandma Tala nodded in agreement.

(Well I guess I can just ask them to give me some advice while I do the heavy lifting…)

「In that case I won’t refuse the extra sets of hands. We’ll get to it first thing after breakfast tomorrow, so be ready by then.」

Hearing me say so both Grandma Chirch and Grandma Tala smacked their chests as if saying, 「Leave it to us!」

Following Grandma Maya, the grandmas raised their tea cups high and as if cheering, they raised their voices and continued their tea session.

As I looked at the happy and smiling faces of the grandmas I braced myself for the busy day that tomorrow would prove to be.