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119. In the Fair Weather of Early Spring

 

The hidden village of the werewolves lay deep in the mountains. Sunlight was scarce, snow took its time melting, and the cold air clung to the valley as if unwilling to let go—but that had only been the case until just recently. Now, as one werewolf walked beneath the sun, he pointed upward.

「Look, the trees are budding.」

「Things are about to get busy again.」

A late spring had finally come to the village. The season of new growth had arrived at last—and with it, more than just a gentle spring breeze was making its way through the fresh greenery of the forest.

「Master, what’s that?」

「A letter from Azula. Looks like she’s coming this way soon, along with a few others, including several skilled craftsmen.」

After the battle at Vita Tama, I had returned to the village once the city’s recovery was well on track. Before leaving, I’d asked for a few dwarves to be dispatched here. The purpose of the visit to Vita Tama wasn’t just to rescue Azula—it was also to find engineers capable of improving and maintaining the village’s machinery and farming tools.

Azula had been the first to volunteer. But winter made travel difficult, and even the waterwheels had frozen over. So we’d agreed that she would focus on rebuilding the dwarves’ own society for a while, and then come to the village once spring arrived. That promise was finally about to be fulfilled.

When I showed the letter detailing how things had been on their side, Shizuku and Angelina both looked on with eager eyes.

「We didn’t really get the chance to study dwarven tech properly while we were there. Gelli’s excited to see what it’s like.」

「So, the town the dwarves are building—is it going well?」

「Yeah. It’ll still be a long time before it’s finished, since they’ve got a lot of people to accommodate, but the main framework is done and they’ve even picked a name. Apparently Azula came up with it. This letter also includes a formal request for approval.」

「Since the dwarves are under Marge’s leadership now, I guess they need his permission to relocate an important base or change its name, huh.」

I’d expected at least some pushback once it became official that they were under my rule, but apparently there’d been barely any dissent from the over twenty thousand dwarves. Most just said, ‘A promise is a promise’.

「That’s quite admirable. Gelli feels like Papa would’ve said the same thing in his heart. Just a feeling, though.」

「I suppose they expect me to refrain from doing anything rash as their leader after showing their battle prowess against that horde of dungeon monsters.」

「Yeeep…」

Just imagining that meat tsunami crossing the plains and crashing into the village was enough to send a chill down my spine.

Of course, I had no intention of interfering in how the dwarves lived. I stood above them purely to facilitate cooperation between them and the werewolves, while leaving day-to-day governance in their hands. That was the relationship we’d agreed upon.

「So, Master, what’s the name of their new town?」

「I’ll read the letter out loud.

‘We, Dwarves—the kin of the stone—build a new capital for our people—a place to return to. It stands upon the land of former suffering, where we fought side by side with our friend, Angelina Emesmes. In the darkness where light and sound were lost, we battled guided only by the resolve and conviction conveyed through her hands. For the sake of our future, we chose mercy, softening the stone rather than slaying our foe. Upon that ground, we lay our foundation.’」

「Oh, so it’s that place.」

It was where Angelina and Azula had stood together to stop Kirmiji. The site that had once been swallowed by a Dungeon Break was now serving as the foundation for their new town.

Now came the moment of truth—the town’s name.

「To stand forevermore as a symbol of our friendship, the name of this town shall be… huh?」

「Master?」

「Don’t keep us in suspense!」

Koe-san and the others peeked over to see what was going on. No point keeping quiet now, so I simply read the rest aloud.

「The name of this town shall be ‘Jet-Black Fuzzy Town,’ and we humbly request your approval.」

Silence fell over the room.

「…Marge, one more time.」

「They wish to name the town ‘Jet-Black Fuzzy Town.’」

I understood the reasoning.

Azula had fought in darkness, robbed of sight and sound—hence, ‘jet-black’.

At the end of that battle, she softened the rock to avoid killing Kirmiji—hence, ‘fuzzy’.

Put them together, and you get ‘Jet-Black Fuzzy Town’.

「I like Azula, but… I don’t think I’ll ever understand her.」

「It’s a cute name! Geli thinks it’s fine. Will you approve it?」

「If the dwarves are happy with it, I’ve got no reason to deny it.」

「Then, Master, I shall draft a formal approval document for ‘Jet-Black Fuzzy Town.’」

Koe-san calmly began the process, as reliable as ever. Shizuku watched her with a mixture of admiration and sheer disbelief.

「Hearing Koe-san say ‘Jet-Black Fuzzy Town’ in that dead-serious tone is so weird…」

And so, amidst all the laughter and bewilderment, news of the dwarves’ impending arrival quickly spread through the village. The elders felt a deep emotion at the return of their long-lost brethren, a story passed down by their parents. The youth brimmed with anticipation at the prospect of meeting a new people.

But there was one more reason the entire village was abuzz.

The coming of spring and the dwarves also meant the long-awaited second season of rice cultivation was about to begin.

Last year’s harvest had mostly been a trial run, so the yield was small. But this year was different. This time, we would finally start growing rice as a staple crop. As the spring winds grew warmer by the day, everyone pitched in to prepare for the season ahead.