A Temporary Return

Several days have passed since the sea voyage.

There isn't much to do at sea. We're sailing within sight of land, but there's essentially nothing. Even fishing is just a waiting game unless you catch something.

The reason we could even see land was because the ship was strong in coastal waters, and it was safe based on the distribution of marine monsters.

… In other words, there'd been no monster attacks! Even though the hero's on board, it was a peaceful sea journey.

As a result, I've been pretty bored so far this voyage. We're all sharing two rooms between Rokuko, Wataru, and Nerune.

Wataru suggested we separate by gender at first, but I didn't want to share a room with him and have him constantly snooping around.

You ask, "What if we're split by gender, and something happens?"

Simple—I'd make him take responsibility. Well, knowing Wataru, he'd happily take the responsibility.

If he didn't, I'd lock him up and make him Nerune's research material and DP production device.

Now, there's another reason for this room division.

"Well then, shall we go back for a bit?"

"Yeah, it was fun at first, but now it's boring since there's nothing here."

I opened my [Storage].

"Ah, Papa, Mama, welcome back!"

We were now at the entrance to the [Storage] dungeon, and just a step outside would take us to Golen Village.

By the way, the ship's [Storage] uses a stone—specifically, a stone golem that's been taught [Storage]—as a teleportation marker, so with Soto's help, we could return anytime we wanted.

We'd kept separate rooms so that we wouldn't be seen coming and going. I even put Nerune by Wataru's side in case of any emergencies.

"How was the ship journey?"

"Welcome back, Soto. The sea's actually kind of boring. It's constantly swaying and makes me feel dizzy."

Ah, I do appreciate a stationary footing. Rokuko took a seat in the entrance to the [Storage] dungeon.

"Somehow, I feel like that ship's swaying more than the one I had Rokufa and the others ride before."

"That's just the ship's characteristics. So, Soto, how's the village doing?"

"Well, it's pretty peaceful. I'm the next village chief, after all!"

"… Huh?"

Wait, did I ask Soto to take on that role?

"We only left the village a few days ago, right? Why is Soto already claiming to be the next village chief? Did something happen?"

"Well, please listen, Papa. It just sort of happened."

"… But I heard from Rei that everything was fine in the regular reports?"

"I was stopping it!!"

Hey, Rei, it's not good to deceive your master, even if it's about the village.

"Ah, I knew about it though?"

"Rokuko? You could've said something. I need to stay informed about these things."

"Well, when our cute daughter says, 'I want to surprise Papa by working hard,' how can I say no? It's such a lovely little helper."

Apparently, there wasn't really any problem… but anyway, I decided to listen to what happened.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Misha had come to the village chief's office, where Amelia was working.

Since it was a holiday, Vice Village Chief Wozuma wasn't present.

"I'm so bored. Ah, I wanna do something…"

"No, please don't do anything unnecessary, Misha. Didn't you just have the guild handle a difficult task?"

"But! I was supposed to be sent here because I was considered capable!! Now that I think about it, I have to do some proper work or Haku-sama will scold me…"

She'd told Kehma she'd be slacking off and napping, but upon reflection, Haku, being higher in the command chain, had ordered her to "go work".

"I don't think you need to worry too much. Isn't Kehma-san's recommended way of working to use your hands and feet effectively?"

"I hope Haku-sama would understand that…"

Misha shivered, imagining being punished for slacking off.

"On my side… it's tough. We've been getting complaints from the Adventurers' Guild…"

"Huh? Are they causing trouble for Amelia?"

"… The village chief is supposed to act as a consultant for the Adventurers' Guild, or at least that's how it's supposed to be… I've had to give instructions to our villager-cum-adventurers and delegate some tasks…"

"Oh, I see."

"So, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do anything else right now."

"Ah, sorry about that, nya…"

Misha apologized for the complaints her colleague, Amelia, had.

Just then, Rei entered the room.

"Excuse me, Amelia-sama. It's time for Mass, but have the preparations been made—"

"…! Ugh, that liar Kehma-san… What do you mean 'nothing much to do'!?"

Bam! Amelia slammed her desk. She hadn't quite learned the proper customs of Beddhism. While she had been told it was fine to be casual about it, as a key figure of the White Goddess Faith sect, that wasn't going to fly.

"Speaking of which! This village has so many problems, doesn't it?! There's so much going on that Golen Village is practically a town now, not just a village!"

"Why not just leave it to Vice Village Chief Wozuma?"

"We've got these 'unprecedented cases where we leave decisions to the village chief' piling up! It's hard to remember past precedents…"

This was a unique problem of Golen Village, which had expanded rapidly by tackling a variety of new things.

Recently, a lot of complaints had come up around the newly established "Hero Wataru Confession Memorial Park."

Wozuma was handling those matters as much as possible, but final decisions still had to come from the village chief.

What part of this isn't ceremonial? She's basically the village chief already, Amelia muttered bitterly.

"… Well, Amelia-sama, it's fine to be casual about the Beddhism Mass!"

"Ugh, but as a member of the White Goddess Faith sect, I have to do it properly…"

As Rei tried to calm her down, a savior arrived.

"—I'm here!!"

"Soto-sama!?"

With a grand entrance, Soto appeared behind Rei.

Soto was the real daughter of the village chief couple—Rokuko's daughter, and Haku's cute niece. Soto was someone to be respected not only by Rei and the others from the [Cave of Desires] but also by the Four Heavenly Kings.

"I, Soto, as the next village chief, shall help Amelia-san!"

"… Uh, well… um…"

Amelia hesitated, thinking this would just add more work to her already full plate.

"I've already sent my sister, Niku, to the Adventurers' Guild. As for the church Mass, I, being a true Beddhism follower, can handle it no problem!"

"…!!"

"I've also told Dolce-san's Wraith subordinates to cancel their work at the inn and help with the Adventurers' Guild instead. The inn's dining and cleaning duties are being handled by our Silkies, so I can't let that go. It's a bit of a hobby for them… Taking it away would cause friction, you see. Dolce-san thought it was for the best, but it led to other issues."

And that's when it hit me. This girl was that Kehma's daughter.

"… Anyway, as the next village chief, I hereby order you, Amelia-san, to assist me! And Misha, you'll be under me too! I'll give you appropriate instructions and put your skills to good use!"

"Y-Yes!"

"Uh… Okay, I understand, nya."

Soto, who had only been assigned tasks related to Kehma's [Minor Replication] ability, normally acted like a carefree child, playing as she pleased.

However, she had been taught the knowledge of the [Space-Time God Karinisoto] and her abilities were more than sufficient for the role of the next village chief.

… However, considering her nature, it felt off that she would outright say, "I want to work."

Soto usually only did the minimum unless necessary, preferring to minimize the impact of her actions.

What is she planning? Rei cast a suspicious glance at Soto.

"Ah, and my reward for work will be Amelia-san's shed skin, please!!"

Rei nodded in understanding.