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Chapter 310 – Family Gathering Where Work is Inevitably Talked About
After returning from the cathedral, it was just enough time for lunch, so the three of us headed for the castle’s dining room.
“You’re home, huh?”
“I’m home.”
“Umu, welcome home.”
“Welcome home.”
In the dining room, not only Sylphy but also Grande, Melty, and the oni girls were all there. The harpies don’t use this dining room very often. They feel more at home in the dining room used by the soldiers and servants of the castle.
“Welcome home, Kosuke-sama.”
“Welcome back, Kosuke-kun.”
“
..”
Seraphita-san, Driada-san, and Aquawill-san are also there. Only Aquawill just glanced at me and didn’t speak to me. I don’t really have a friendly relationship with Aquawill-san, although she is not an enemy of mine.
Well, I can’t help but understand her feelings. I guess she must see me as some kind of a man who has been poisoning her family one after another. No, I hope she doesn’t think that bad of me. I think she must think of me as a jerk who tears her family apart. Not that I’m trying to be one.
“What did you accomplish?”
“We have found a direction. All that remains is to repeat the process of trial and error.”
“I see. Good luck with that.”
“You’re not going to ask me for more details?”
“I don’t know anything about the technical details.”
Saying so, Sylphy shrugged her shoulders. Well, Sylphy is rather good at moving her body, and she doesn’t seem to have a clue about magic other than battle spirit magic, let alone other types of magic.
“The talk about how to utilize magic is important, but what about the Adventurers’ Guild and the Merchants’ Guild?”
“That’s all left up to you. I don’t see how meddling would do any good. But that’s just an attempt to support adventurers, so it’s not a very radical solution. I think the country has to do the drastic reform.”
“That’s true, but we haven’t gotten around to it
 Negotiations with the Holy Kingdom have been difficult as well.”
“Even so, I think the first priority is to settle the domestic issues. In the worst-case scenario, it’s okay to break up a fight with the Holy Kingdom. If you want to talk about it, fine, then call it a war and kick them to the curb.”
“That’s such a mess
”
While we are talking, the maids working at the castle are serving lunch to me and Isla, and the others. Incidentally, Grande and the oni girls are very quiet when talking about these topics. They are aware of what they are good at and what they are not so good at.
“I thought they were deliberately prolonging the negotiations so that we would be stuck in the middle of it. If they can hold the head of the Merinard kingdom in place at this point, they can weaken the Merinard Kingdom without having to take the trouble to make a move. If the odds are against them in a head-to-head fight, I think they will use this kind of countermeasure.”
“We have thought of that possibility, too
”
Sylphy is silent, with a bitter expression on her face. Most likely, she’s unwilling to actively use me as a force or a deterrent or something like that.
“I think we should use what we can. Sylphy is the queen, after all. To put personal feelings into it is
 well, as for me, of course, I’m happy to be cared for, but that’s that, and this is that. As much as I’m happy to be cared for, I’m equally happy to be depended on. As far as what I can do, you can count on me.”
“
Yes, I understand. I understand that, Kosuke.”
“Yeah.”
I’m happy to hear Sylphy’s cheerful response. I’m a father too. I can’t stay in the back forever to protect my spouse and children. Of course, I’m not about to go in for the long haul and get crushed.
“Suddenly, they started flirting.”
“Muh
 I’m working hard with Sylphy, too.”
“Well, that’s alright. Kosuke knows that I’m the most dependable one.”
“And we’re here, too.”
“I’ve been left behind lately.”
Because of the place they’re going to
 Putting aside the Merchant’s Guild and the Adventurer’s Guild, the cathedral is the size of a human being.”
It’s because I haven’t taken them along as escorts when I go out to do things these days. Iphrita said that we were fine on our own in the previous case of the merchants’ guild, and today’s cathedral was a building designed only for humans, so it was difficult for the tall girls to escort us there. Well, Ellen’s advice was to refrain from bringing the intimidating girls with us.
“
Mmm.”
“Ara? Are you jealous, Iphrita-chan?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Fufufu.”
“
..”
Seraphita-san and Driada-san are teasing Iphrita over there. Or rather, Aquawill-san’s gaze that I saw is painful. I feel a frozen gaze poking into my cheek just by being looked at. It seems that she is an excellent water spirit magic user, and seriously, I’m a little scared that her gaze seems to have physical power.
“Kosuke-san, do you have any strange ideas for me right away?”
Melty comes at me with a sudden movement. If you’re going to do something, you’re going to do it right away, right? Well, it doesn’t matter.
“I think you should recruit some people to help you settle the area. If there are no houses, land, or jobs, it would be a quick and easy way to get all of these things at the same time. And we can process the food as much as we produce it.”
That’s why we developed various kinds of preserved foods and canning technology.
“Are you talking about building a lot of pioneer villages? It is very difficult to cultivate a wilderness from scratch. Even fields have to be made from the soil, and it is hard work to clear forests and other areas for cultivation in the first place
”
“There’s Kosuke.”
“No, I can’t do
 that?”
When Isla prodded, Melty froze with her head tilted back.
“The air board will solve the travel time. The water source can be made with infinite water sources, so there is no need to be tied to a water source when setting up a pioneer village. As long as I have the materials, I can prepare a house in an instant. If it is just a normal field, I can just plow it with my mithril tool.”
“Kosuke can build many villages in a month as long as you can get people to come and live in them.”
“Maybe we could recruit people on the basis of a three-year tax incentive for the first year’s aid.”
Driada-san followed up on what Isla and I had said and gave us some in-depth advice.
“I think it’s pretty much impossible to ask inexperienced people to plow the fields for the first time.”
“It would be better to recruit leaders from the farming villages or to select experienced farmers from among the pioneers as leaders.”
“Well, there are probably not a few people who have experience among those who were forced to work as slaves.”
The oni girls also have their own opinions. I think it’s a good trend that once opinions start coming out, they come out more and more. Although there are a lot of layman’s opinions, there may be some that are right on the money. I guess it will be Melty and her subordinates who will actually do the actual work, but I guess they can be used as a reference.
“So, I’m willing to help you in any way I can, whether it’s war or pioneering, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll rely on you.”
“Since Kosuke-san initiated this, please don’t run away from it.”
“Please be gentle with me.”
I returned Melty’s words with a straight face. I’m asking you not to overwork me. I’m really asking you!