chapter 72.1

I feel sorry for the rest of the islanders but I’ll be taking three days off starting today .

On my first day there, I’ll meet up with the three idiots, then ask Latte to take a day off . I’ll probably feel restless during the second day so I’ll go out to play with the kids . As for the third day, I’m thinking of taking my family on a trip to the island . I’ve told them before that I’ll let them see what’s happening on the island so I’ll just use that opportunity to do just that .

However, everything doesn’t go as planned so I’m not yet sure what will happen .

「Well then, if things work out as planned, I’ll be back in two days together with my family so until then, I’ll leave things here to you . I’ll bring Fleur’s flower pot with me so let me know through her if anything happens」

「Gotcha」

The cat-eared old man doesn’t talk much as usual .

「I’m back~」

n.o.body’s home… Well, I came back around the time they finished eating breakfast so I’m sure that Suzuran is with the pond-oneesan to feed the fish and ducks . In the meantime, I just left Fleur-san’s pot in a sunny area in our house .

As long as I leave a note that says not to put it outside since it’s weak to the cold, it would be fine to leave her here even when it snows in winter . Come to think of it, snow doesn’t fall on that island and it’s not too cold during the wintertime as well .

Well anyway, I guess I’ll just laze around until someone comes back .

『……I should restock the barley tea』

I roasted some wheat on a frying pan then let it cool down once it started emitting a fragrant scent . While I was putting the barley tea into the pouch I always kept them in, Suzuran came back .

「Welcome home」

「I’m back . Anything changed while I was gone?」

「None」

「That’s good then . I’m going to brew some tea so do you have any requests?」

「I’ll have whatever you’re having」

「Barley tea it is then」

After brewing the tea, I gave it to Suzuran then sat on a chair . As she sipped on the tea, being as sharp as she is, she noticed something different about me and asked .

「You seem restless . Do you have something you want to talk about?」

「Well, yes…… Things on the island are starting to settle down so why don’t we take a day trip there in two days」

「If Latte can take a day off, I don’t mind」

「Alright, if that’s the case then I can follow my schedule . I should let the kids know not to make any plans with Perna-kun and the others」

After that, I continued to leisurely spend time with Suzuran .

「Ah」

「Hm?」

「The village chief, I forgot that he asked me to let him know when you came back」

「I see . I’ll go meet with him after I finish this and relax a bit more . Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve relaxed like this」

The corners of Suzuran’s lips raised a bit so that was probably her laughing . Unfortunately, she doesn’t show that much emotion . I’m sure she’d be cute if she laughed after all . I guess that just nerves her a bit since I already lose to her whenever she tilts her head when she’s asking for something .

After that, I slowly finished up my second cup of tea then took my time resting .

「Well then, I’ll be off」

「It’s fine just leave him and come home if he starts working you too hard you know?」

「That may be so but I’m acting as a consultant for the village chief so I have to do my best for the village’s sake」

「Come back by lunch okay?」

「I’ll make sure I can」

The chief’s the elusive type so I just went to the center of the village then will all of my strength, shouted .

「VILLAGE CHIEFーーー!!!」

After a while, the village chief suddenly came out from the shadows in front of me .

「Good morning . I’ve heard from Suzuran that you were looking for me」

「Umu, it’s not such a serious problem but…… With the number of villagers increasing, we’re reaching the point where I can no longer match the name to the villager’s face」

「If that’s the case, why don’t we gather everyone and have them write down their names, where they’re from, where they’re currently residing, and the number of people in their family . I wonder if it’s alright to ask them to write their gender down as well?」

「I’ve already done that . There were a lot of submissions」

「Well, how about you make districts and arrange the doc.u.ments to go to wherever district they’re located . For example, with the village square as the center, you divide the village into four districts . You can divide it up into even smaller sections if you want but let’s just limit it to nine per district to avoid confusion . If you go with that, that corner over there will be district one section one」[TL: I’m not really sure if that’s how this naming scheme should be translated but it’s the best I could come up with… Should I use ‘sector’ instead of ‘section’ like in Final Fantasy 7?]

While saying that, I drew a simple ill.u.s.tration on the ground with a stick then continued with my explanation .

「Let’s see, how about we make the area around my house district 3 section 5」

It’s built on the left side of the road leading to Aegirine that’s just across the fields so it’s not that difficult to find .

「Also, since the watchtower is on the outskirts of the village, should it be part of district 1 section 4 or section 7? At any rate, there will be thirty-six boxes all in all so would that be manageable?」

「It might be difficult since we’ll have to sort all of them out but let’s do it . Iyaー, you’ve helped me out a lot, Caam-kun」

「It’s not really a big deal since it’s a method that’s often used in towns」

「I see, I see . You went to the town to work after all so you’re different」

Having said that, the village chief walked off to someplace again . That didn’t really take long, did it? Well, I’m just glad that he didn’t make me accompany him all over the place .

When I got back, Suzuran was outside preparing lunch a bit earlier than usual .

「Welcome back」

「I’m home . Do you need help?」1

*Thud!* She cut the chicken’s head off then handed it over to me .

「Drain the blood and pluck the feathers . I’ll prepare the rest inside」

「……okay」

I’ve already seen that multiple times but I just can’t get used to it . It’s mainly because of how the blood comes flying out like that . At any rate, I held the chicken by the legs to drain the blood then carefully plucked the feathers . Suzuran will get mad at me if I don’t cleanly pluck off the feathers so I need to do it carefully but decisively . Once I was done, I took the chicken inside the house .

「Your plucking, it’s gotten better」

With that said, Suzuran received the chicken then started removing the internal organs and such .

「Caam is better at putting the seasoning so I’ll leave the rest to you」

After saying that, Suzuran left the chicken spread out on the chopping board and let me handle it .

Since it couldn’t be helped, I began by boiling the chicken . After a while, I removed the chicken tenders, broke it into small pieces then removed the sc.u.m of the broth before putting it back in the pot . Then I added the onion and cabbage, seasoned it with salt and pepper, then finally added a lightly beaten egg to finish things off .

With that done, I cut the remaining chicken into bite-sized chunks, seasoned it with salt and pepper then sautéed it . I also added some finely chopped carrots, spring onions, and garlic then shredded the cabbage, and some dried tomatoes preserved in oil . I just steamed the cabbage enough to remove the moisture then mixed it with the pasta that was boiled in a different pot, and it’s done .

What’s the dish called? It is what it is . I just mixed ingredients together after all!

Chicken tender soup with cabbage and spring onions and the other is cabbage pasta .

The kids were playing with Perna-kun and the others but they came back for lunch . When they got home, they were surprised to see me there .

「Otou-san, welcome back」「Welcome back papa」

「Oh hey, I’m back」

Latte also came home shortly after that .

「Ahー . It’s Caam-kunー! Welcome back~」

「Hey, I’m backー」

「Today’s meal was made by Caam huhー? I’m sure it’s delicious~」

After peacefully having our lunch, I started discussing my plans with them .

「I have something I want to discuss . I’m thinking of taking everyone with me in two days to the island but what do you think? I know that Latte won’t be able to ask the oba-chan at the farm for a day off all of a sudden but……」

「Got itー . I’ll try to get a day offー」

「Lily and Miel too, don’t make plans to play with that other kids on that day okay?」

「’kay~」

「You need to train us in exchange」

「But, if Latte-okaasan manages to get a day off work tomorrow, we’ll have to go to the island then so we probably won’t have time for it」

「Then how about this evening! It’s still pretty bright after all!」

「I’m planning to drink with Perna-kun’s father and our other friends so I can’t . Sorry」

「Muー」

I patted Lily’s head then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.