Sakura

A grand plan has begun to create a homeland for us in this other world.

There is absolutely no telling whether it will succeed.

Well, even a small village would be fine, as long as we can create a place where everyone can live in peace.

First, we expanded the fields and planted vegetables, then planted sugarcane seedlings beside the lake.

Sugar is a luxury in this world. Sugar production will probably become an important industry in this territory.

Those are not the only crops. We decided to try cultivating tree crops such as carob and cocoa as well.

If we succeed, we will be able to manufacture chocolate in this territory, which could become a major industry.

The former royals living with us had become addicted to chocolate after tasting it, so the other kings, nobles, and aristocrats would undoubtedly pay a fortune for it too.

If the village grew, the cultivated area expanded, and the prices of sugar and chocolate fell, even somewhat wealthy commoners might be able to afford them.

It would be more profitable to mass-produce luxury goods and sell them to commoners than to sell them to the privileged classes, but could we really take things that far?

That was still a long way off.

As a first step, Anemone and I began building a straight road to the highway.

Using her golem, we knocked down one giant tree after another.

I cut the fallen trees into rounds with the greatsword mounted on my heavy machinery and transported them in my Item Box.

If this were done by hand, it would be a public-works project requiring several hundred workers or more.

Anemone and I handled the work alone on the first and second days, but workers began arriving from Astrantia on the third day.

If I handled everything with my heavy machinery and Anemone's golem, it would not be a public-works project.

We entrusted more and more of the work to the people we had hired.

For example, they trimmed the branches from the fallen trees and filled in the huge holes left by digging out the stumps.

Anemone and I forged ahead while a site foreman dispatched from the Marlowe Trading Company took charge of the work at the site.

As the workforce grew, so did the things we needed.

On the third day, a Marlowe Trading Company branch opened inside the large tent I had prepared and began supplying goods.

Akira's truck was used to transport those goods.

He also owned an Item Box, allowing him to transport a large amount of cargo all at once.

Plans for a Marlowe Trading Company branch in the royal capital were also progressing, and the plan would be put into action once reconstruction of the bridge that had collapsed in Iveris was complete.

Transportation by Akira's truck was planned for that as well.

After all, if the roads were in good condition, we could transport goods to the royal capital in a single day.

It seemed the Marlowe Trading Company had also begun experimenting with carrier pigeons.

Of course, there were no pigeons in this world, so they were searching for various birds that were fast and had strong homing instincts, then repeating their experiments.

It would be quicker to use the radios I had taken out of my Item Box, but—

In case anything happened to me, I had to make sure the territory could be built up without relying on my Item Box.

If the territory depended entirely on my cheat abilities, it would be unable to function if I died.

If that happened, the people who had gathered here would be left with nowhere to go. I had to prevent that.

Now that I had become a lord, I had a responsibility to protect my people's lives.

The road Anemone and I were building had advanced about 300 meters in three days, so we finished work for the day.

We had other work to do as well, and if only we kept forging ahead, the other workers would not be able to keep up.

Anemone and I headed back through the road we had made in the forest.

Calling it a road was generous. Unprocessed trees lay fallen across it, and the ground where the roots had been exposed was riddled with huge holes.

We would have to level and smooth it properly before it could be used as a road.

Along the way, workers who had come from Astrantia were trimming branches from the fallen trees and filling in the holes.

The hatchets and axes for trimming branches, as well as the shovels for filling in the holes, were things I had bought from Shangri-La.

I called out to the man from the Marlowe Trading Company who was serving as the site foreman.

He was a man with short black hair, wearing a green shirt, black trousers, and a black vest.

It seemed that many of the Marlowe Trading Company's porters and employees dressed like that.

It was not exactly a uniform, though...

"Keep the work going. Just make sure you do not push yourselves too hard."

"Understood, my lord."

"My lord, wouldn't it be faster to use that amazing iron beast of yours?"

The speaker was a Siamese-patterned male beastman.

Nyamena had an acquaintance who was a Siamese-patterned female beastwoman, but this one really had the face of a Siamese cat.

"That may be true, but if I did everything myself, you would have no work and would be unemployed before long, right?"

"Ah, I suppose that's true."

"The lord is deliberately giving you work so that you can earn your keep."

It was like digging up roads at the end of the year to give people a way to earn money for rice cakes.

Everyone seemed convinced by the foreman's explanation.

"There doesn't seem to be much work in Astrantia, either."

When people live somewhere, merchants profit because necessities are required, but people like the beastfolk, who earn their daily wages through manual labor, have a hard time.

Even if people merely gathered in a place like the royal capital, it would overflow with unemployed people because there would be no decent work.

I left the roadwork to the foreman, and when we returned home—there were more people around, and the place had become considerably livelier.

When a company or a town is lively and full of energy, that means it is growing.

I had a feeling the town would continue growing from here.

The kit-built house I had bought from Shangri-La had already been topped out.

An unpainted plank house stood there modestly, with silver-colored ladders lined up around it.

They were stepladders and two-section ladders I had bought from Shangri-La.

They were popular because they were so light, but since they were made of aluminum, they had to be handled carefully.

Aluminum acted as a powerful catalyst for magic in this world.

I had explained that to the master carpenter in detail as well.

At the end of each day, we checked the numbers and either put them in my Item Box or stored them in the warehouse.

According to the carpenters, construction had been slow at first because they were unfamiliar with the work, but once they understood the process, they could finish one house a day.

As expected of professionals. You should leave the work to the experts.

When I went to inspect the construction site, a minor problem had arisen.

It seemed that Amaranthus, whom I had left in charge of the settlement while I was away, was arguing with the beastfolk workers.

I ran over and called out to the master carpenter.

"Master carpenter, what happened?"

"Well, my lord, the beastfolk are making a fuss."

"What is the problem?"

"We ain't saying we don't want to work. We just don't like taking orders from that woman."

"She is my representative. You have to obey her, or I will have a problem..."

"But isn't she a slave?"

Well, that was true. Since that made things complicated, I had told Amaranthus to remove her slave mark, but she had stubbornly refused.

I sighed.

"Then you would have no complaints if this woman were stronger than you beastmen, right?"

"Huh? Well, I suppose so..."

The beastfolk gathered around, grinning.

They probably thought there was no way something so ridiculous could happen.

"Then have a match with her here."

"Huh? Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. If you win, you can do whatever you want with this woman."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. You rarely get the chance to meet such a fine woman, after all."

My words seemed to fire up the beastfolk's enthusiasm.

Well, beastfolk were tough, so they probably would not die. According to Akira, they had thick skulls and were resistant to concussions as well.

"My lord, are you sure this is all right?"

"Master carpenter, it will be fine."

I called out to Amaranthus.

"It would be better to demonstrate the difference in your strength here, or they will not listen to you later, right?"

"As the Holy Knight-sama says."

Back at the castle, Amaranthus had sparred with the beastfolk from our group.

Myaaree and Nyamena seemed to be among the strongest of the beastfolk, but they had been utterly outmatched.

Considering that, there was no way Amaranthus would be inferior to these men.

"My lord, are you really sure?"

"Yes. I will not go back on my word."

"Come at me whenever you like."

Amaranthus looked completely at ease, and the men seemed to lose their tempers.

The largest of the men, a tiger-patterned beastman, suddenly lunged at her and reached for both her shoulders.

The people around them probably thought the match would be decided in an instant.

There was no way a huge beastman and a frail-looking woman could possibly be evenly matched—

The instant the man's enormous, glove-like hands were about to touch Amaranthus's shoulders, she slipped aside and slammed his furry body into the ground.

The man struck the ground with a tremendous crash, rolled his eyes back, and lay motionless.

"Are you all right?"

No matter how tough beastfolk were, he had hit the ground with considerable force, so I began to worry.

She had probably redirected the energy of his charge and used his own weight to slam him into the ground.

She had used her opponent's power and weight against him—a truly masterful martial-arts technique.

When a person falls after hitting their head, you are not supposed to shake them, but he was not snoring strangely or anything, so—

I tried shaking his body a little.

"Hey! Are you all right?!"

Perhaps in response to my voice, the beastman suddenly sat up.

Amaranthus approached him while radiating intimidation. The man, his face contorted with fear, suddenly toppled backward and exposed his belly.

It was a pose of surrender, pledging obedience by exposing one's defenseless stomach.

"Hmm..."

Amaranthus removed the sandals she was wearing and began gently stepping on the man's stomach with her bare feet.

I was a little startled by her actions, but she was not stomping on him with all her strength. She was just lightly pressing down with the soles of her feet.

It was like stroking the belly of a cat at home with your foot.

"Will you work for the Holy Knight-sama?"

"Big sis, does Holy Knight-sama mean our lord?"

"That is correct."

"Of course we will."

The man sat up and crossed his legs.

"I will devote myself to our lord and big sis!"

"And what about the rest of you?"

Everyone knelt before the intimidating Amaranthus. The fact that the man who seemed to be the strongest among them had yielded meant that the others would obey as well.

Beastfolk had a clear hierarchy, after all. This meant no one here would rebel against her anymore.

She had the bearing of a ruler who had subjugated her followers through sheer strength.

I thought they would return to work, but the other beastfolk came over too, flopped onto their backs in front of Amaranthus, and exposed their bellies.

"Ho ho ho. Do you want me to step on you too?"

The sturdy men were delighted as Amaranthus gently stepped on their stomachs.

This was a true dominatrix routine—well, she was a queen consort, but she was effectively a queen anyway.

I had spent time with beastfolk too, but they had rarely exposed their bellies to me.

The beastfolk who had been with me had been in an equal relationship with me.

I had stroked Myaaree and Nyamena's bellies too, but it had not felt like a pose of submission.

The Siamese girl from before had seemed to be doing something like that, though...

As I watched the scene and pondered various things, one of the beastmen raised a cannon from the side of his shorts.

"Hey, hey. Don't pull that thing out in broad daylight."

"But being stepped on by such a fine woman makes me feel so good, heh heh."

The men were grinning, but the tip of Amaranthus's sword stopped at the base of his cannon.

"If you are submitting to me, then surely I may cut this off, may I not?"

"Yes, and Amaranthus has an Item Box, so you have no idea where that sword might come from."

"..."

Naturally, the men's cannons fell silent in an instant. They had realized that not only had they stood no chance, but she had been holding back the whole time.

Lilith came over.

"Kenichi—what on earth is this?!"

Lilith stared in shock at the row of men happily having their bellies stepped on.

"The beastmen are pledging their submission to Amaranthus."

"Like knights kneeling to receive a sword, perhaps?"

"Something like that, I suppose... Lilith, did you need something?"

"That's right! Akira has arrived."

Akira had apparently brought a load in his truck, so I went to meet him.

"Yo!"

"Yo, yo!"

"Kenichi, what kind of greeting is that?"

"Huh? Oh, it's a greeting from our homeland."

Akira had apparently brought goods to the Marlowe Trading Company branch that had opened here.

Now that many workers had begun arriving, they were consuming large quantities of food, alcohol, daily necessities, and other goods.

The maids were also buying various things from the Marlowe Trading Company.

At first there had been nothing here, so I had provided everything, but once goods became available, they needed to live ordinary lives or we would have a problem.

Of course, it was quicker for me to hand over things directly if they were unavailable from the Marlowe Trading Company or were products I supplied to the company.

Clothespins, for example. If I sold them to the Marlowe Trading Company, had them transported to Astrantia, and then had them brought back here, it would be a waste of time.

"Kenichi, don't you think it's about time we gave this village a name?"

Akira's suggestion made me realize something. Come to think of it, we did need to name this land.

The neighboring Astrantia was officially Astrantia, Eupatorium Viscounty, after all.

We had to give this place a name too, such as Hamada Territory, something-or-other.

"Yes, you're right. It would be a problem if the Marlowe Trading Company branch didn't have a name either."

"What should we call it?"

"Tokyo or Kyoto?"

"Something a little more otherworldly would be better..."

Akira had a point.

"Something Imperial-style, like Osthauptstadt or Edelhauptstadt..."

"Kenichi! If you give it a name like that, I will return to the royal capital!"

For some reason, Lilith was angry.

"Do you hate those names that much?"

"Of course I do!"

"Eeh?"

I had to think of a different name for her sake, since Lilith had folded her arms and turned away.

Then—

"How about Sakura?"

"Oh! That has a rather pleasant ring to it. What does it mean?"

"It is the name of a flower."

If it was pronounced Sa-kura, it would sound like a name from this country.

"Then this place will be Hamada Territory, Sakura!"

"Exactly!"

"Then why not plant cherry trees as the territory's official tree? Could you produce cherry trees with your magic, Kenichi?"

I searched Shangri-La for a moment. Cherry-tree seedlings appeared one after another in the results—and they were for sale.

Cherry trees could be propagated indefinitely through grafting and cuttings, so we would not need to buy a large number.

This world also had a plant called Linker that resembled an apple tree, so perhaps it could be used as rootstock.

The flowers on Linker trees also looked quite similar to apple blossoms.

The fruit looked like an apple, but the inside was something like a combination of an apple and a peach.

Apples and peaches were both members of the rose family, and so were cherry trees.

In any case, when one thought of cherry trees, one thought of Somei Yoshino, but—

"Hey, Akira. We could probably produce Somei Yoshino, but wasn't there some talk about that variety reaching the limits of its genetic diversity or something?"

"Come to think of it, I think I saw a news story about that..."

"Besides, this country is warm all year round. Will cherry trees even bloom?"

"Hmm..."

"Do cherry trees bloom in Okinawa?"

"Not Somei Yoshino, but there were cherry trees there."

Akira had apparently seen Okinawa's cherry blossoms as well. They were supposedly a deep pink color.

I vaguely remembered hearing that Somei Yoshino trees had been planted in the south during the war, but had failed to bloom.

The two of us agonized over it, but decided to buy some seedlings and try them.

We bought Kawazu cherry, Kohigan cherry, Oshima cherry, and, just in case, Somei Yoshino seedlings.

With the beastfolk's help, we planted them near the house. We could gradually propagate them from there.

Lilith and Anemone watched us as well.

"Boss, what kind of fruit will this tree bear?" "Will it be tasty, nya?"

"It will only bloom flowers..."

"Eeh?" "Nyaa?"

Myaaree and Nyamena were extraordinarily disappointed. There was no need to be that disappointed.

They looked as though they were wondering why we would go out of our way to plant a tree that did not even bear fruit.

Since they looked so disappointed, I decided to buy seedlings for fruit-bearing trees too.

Cherries and American cherries.

Japanese mountain cherries also bore cherries, but they were practically inedible. They were reasonably sweet, but terribly bitter.

I bought seedlings of Sato Nishiki, a famous cherry variety, and American cherries from Shangri-La.

Both cost just under ¥5,000. They were surprisingly expensive.

I had dreamed of growing cherries at home ever since I was a child.

Canned cherries had been included in the boxed lunches my mother made for sports festivals and the like, so I had a strong impression of them as something special.

They were quite expensive even when bought at a supermarket.

I had always wanted to eat lots of cherries—and now that wish was coming true in this other world.

"Myaaree, Nyamena, these will bear fruit, so do your best planting them."

"Are these tasty, nya?"

"They are."

Akira peered down at the seedlings we were planting.

"Kenichi, what kind of seedlings are these? The leaves look like cherry leaves. Are they cherry trees?"

"That's right. Sato Nishiki and American cherries."

"Seriously? Don't you have any fruit?"

"Hang on..."

Cherries were for sale in Shangri-La...

With this many people, would we need about a kilogram? Let's see—¥6,000. Cherries really are expensive.

"Click."

Bright red fruit in a white box fell from the air.

"Oh! What beautiful fruit!"

For the moment, I had Lilith, my principal wife, taste one.

"Be careful—there's a pit inside."

"This is delicious! What an elegant flavor."

"Delicious!"

The beastfolk enjoyed them after Anemone tasted one.

"These are great!" "Will this tree bear fruit like this, nya?"

"It probably will bear a lot of them."

"Nyaa! All-you-can-eat cherries!"

"Kenichi, don't you have any American cherries?"

"Do you prefer those?"

"They're bigger and more satisfying to eat."

Well, that was true. As Akira said, they were more substantial and could be eaten more heartily.

When I searched Shangri-La, American cherries were for sale too.

These cost ¥3,000 per kilogram, half the price of Sato Nishiki.

"Click."

Many dark-colored fruits in a transparent package fell out.

"Oh! These are unusual too!"

"They taste a little coarse, but they're big and satisfying to eat."

The beastfolk popped American cherries into their mouths one after another.

"These are good too!" "Nyaa!"

"They may lack subtlety, but they can be eaten with gusto."

"Delicious!"

Lilith and Anemone were both devouring the American cherries happily, while Akira savored the taste of food from our old world, which he had not had in a long time.

"We could make jam with American cherries, couldn't we?"

"Good idea. Kenichi, make some for us."

"What is jam?"

Lilith wanted to know what jam was, though the castle probably had fruit preserved in sugar.

"It is fruit boiled in sugar."

"I want to try it!"

"All right, all right. Let's make some."

"Kenichi! Surely you should ask me, your principal wife, before doing something like that?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Here, I'll pat your head."

I patted Lilith's head.

"Fwaaaaaah... Wait, that's not the point!"

"Me too!"

Anemone clung to me.

"Anemone! I am Kenichi's principal wife!"

"Bleh!"

Anemone and Lilith began circling around me.

"Now, now, don't fight."

I patted both their heads.

"Fwaaaaaah..."

Once the two of them had calmed down, we decided to make jam.

I bought about three kilograms of additional American cherries from Shangri-La.

Everyone removed the stems and pits. Even if we made a large amount, we could store it in my Item Box without a problem.

I added granulated sugar and gin and stirred it. Then it was time for Anemone's magic.

"Anemone, heat it until it boils."

"Okay! Warm!"

The cherries began simmering almost immediately.

"Magic is more powerful than a microwave, after all."

Akira murmured as he watched the jam boil.

"Exactly. Ever since Anemone learned to use magic, I hardly use electrical appliances anymore."

The beastfolk watched the jam too, but Nyamena seemed interested in something else.

"Um... Boss, that's booze, right? It smells really good..."

She must have noticed the scent of juniper berries in the gin.

I took out a cup from my Item Box and poured her some gin.

"The sun is still high, so just a little."

"Hehehe..."

"Kenichi, give me some too..."

Akira wanted some gin as well. Drinkers were such a nuisance.

Nyamena and Akira had begun drinking gin, but another drinker caught the scent—

"Holy Knight-sama... What a wonderful aroma..."

"Amaranthus, you too? Just a little."

They said she was a bottomless pit when it came to alcohol, so I had to be careful.

While the drinkers enjoyed their alcohol, the cherries finished cooking.

I had Anemone cool them with her magic, then squeezed in lemon juice—or rather, I bought lemon juice from Shangri-La. It cost ¥1,000.

"Kenichi, that's lemon juice, right? Put some in my gin."

"Sure thing."

"Boss, give me some too."

"Give me some as well."

Nyamena, who was drinking gin, slapped her knee.

"Ahh! Just how much high-quality booze is in your Item Box, Boss?"

"Indeed, the castle has no alcohol like this."

"That's because they don't have distillation technology."

"Distillation... Is that different from the dry distillation used by alchemists?"

"It is something similar, Amaranthus. Akira was interested in brewing alcohol, so perhaps we can start it here."

"Really, Boss Akira?"

"Yeah. There aren't many kinds of alcohol in this world. Even the ale could be a little better."

The drinkers were enthusiastically discussing alcohol, but I was a nondrinker and had absolutely no interest in brewing.

While everyone was absorbed in talking about alcohol, the American-cherry jam was ready.

I scooped some up with a spoon and fed it to Lilith.

"Mmm, it's sweet and delicious! What an amazing flavor!"

"The castle must have had fruit boiled in sugar, didn't it...?"

"It did, but nothing as delicious as this..."

"Me too!" "Me too!"

I fed Anemone and Amaranthus some with the spoon as well.

"You eat it spread on bread."

"I look forward to it."

"Yeah, me too."

If Sanbak-san came from the castle, he would have no trouble making jam.

We could just leave it to him.

While Anemone was casting magic on the cherry trees, a bicycle arrived.

It was Primula.