After taking care of the turnips I was about to return to Erucy when Kemin called out to me.
「Cyril-niisama please come with me to pick up the lunch snacks!」
「Oh, sure.」
I had some time til lunch and I had moved my doctor duties to the afternoon so I could lecture the Fire Foxes. This mean I had some free time.
「Thanks Cyril-niisama~」
And so I walked with Kemin towards the stream in the forest.
「Kemin you took too long. Yukino’s tired of waiting…」
「Oh you brought Cyril-niisama? Kuro’s happy~」
When we arrived by the banks of the river the silver fox Yukino, who had finished her deliveries, and the black fox Kurone were there.
「We came as quick as we could. Hurry and let’s take a bath and get the stuff for lunch ready.」
「Got it.」
「Roger nano~」
Wait…bath?
In the moment I had stood there stunned they had thrown off their clothes. Just looking at them made me feel cold.
I saw that the air around them was wavering a bit. It looked like they were using fire magic to warm themselves.
「Yahoo~」
「Wait Kemin」
「Ahh, Kuro’s going too」
And of all things the three of them leapt into the frigid midwinter river. They were surely raising the temperature of the water around them since they didn’t look chilly at all as they merrily played in the water.
「Cyril-niisama come on in!」
「Let’s have a race!」
「I’m fine with just watching.」
If I copied them I’d just end up freezing to death. I doubt there were many amongst the Fire Foxes that could do the same thing as them either.
It was pretty easy to raise the temperature of a room, but trying to do the same thing outside would drain your magic quickly. After all, even if you warmed the air around you it would quickly disperse.
It would be even harder to warm up the water like they were currently doing. It required more energy than air and would flow past them in a moment. There was surely quite a lot of magical burden on them to perform this feat.
Kuu had said that the three of them had many expectations for their performance in the future. I can understand why.
「Are you always doing this?」
「Un, we do it every day.」
「The water well is too crowded with people. If we come here then we don’t have to wait or rush to finish.」
「It’s our special spot nano~」
Well of course it was…anyone who tried to use it without enough power would just die.
Even so, watching these children frolic in the water happily made me happier. Ah, I wonder if the type of fox they were affected their development. I could see that the black fox Kurone was flat, the gold fox Kemin had small buds on her chest, and the silver fox Yukino had developed quite a bit.
Ah, I’d just like to stay here and enjoy the happy sounds of them laughing and playing. I didn’t feel guilty at all. I felt like a big brother watching over his little sisters’ growth. They came here every day so maybe I would come to peek…I mean take a break. Maybe keep watch so nothing untoward happened.
「Cyril-niisama look we’re gonna catch lunch」
「A competition. The winner gets the special seat.」
「Kuro won’t lose nano」
The three of them started looking serious. Despite being naked they didn’t seem slovenly.
They all began concentrating on the water.
「Ei」
Kemin vigorously struck into the water and scooped her hand up. Then a river fish…probably a char flew into the sky towards the bank.
Watching that scene reminded me of how a bear fished.
The Foxes were quite sensitive and were able to move with a good amount of instantaneous force. Yukino and Kurone also ended up catching fish one after another.
At this rate lunch would end up being quite luxurious.
After a while the three of them got up and left the water. They immediately evaporated the water on their skin and magnificently lit their tails on fire.
This was a trait of the Fire Foxes where they would do so to remove any dirt and such from their tails. They were able to target everything except the tails themselves so they could do this without worry.
The winner for today was…
「uuu, lost by one…」
「Kuro didn’t do well…」
「Today Yukino gets the special seat.」
Once it was time for lunch I started to leave but the three of them stopped me and got me to eat with them.
I was going to refuse, but the three of them looked like they were going to cry so I decided to go with them. Yukino got into my lap and rested her back against my chest. Her satisfied expression was simply too adorable.
Apparently the special seat was my lap.
「Yukino~ I’ll win next time.」
「Kuro won’t lose either nano.」
It seemed to be Kemin’s turn to cook as she began. She put plenty of goat milk into a pan with some barley and began to cook the freshly deboned fish with mushrooms and some salt.
Watching the Fire Foxes cook without even needing fire was always a surreal sight.
After a while she removed it from the heat and proudly took out some cheese.
「Here we go. Let’s put on a lot of cheese.」
「Hurry hurry!」
「Uwaa, cheese nano」
Then she placed the cheese inside the pot. Maybe it was because they were more animal-like, but Fire Foxes preferred food that had animal proteins in them. Cheese was a big favorite.
If you added cheese to the barley porridge it would double in flavor and thickness. As this was a luxury only allowed to them every four days every Fire Fox drooled over the opportunity to eat it.
And so once Kemin mixed the cheese in a delicious smell wafted about.
Many people didn’t like the smell of goat cheese, but I liked it quite a bit. There were some amongst the Fire Foxes that didn’t like it much, but they seemed to have gotten used to it.
「Here it’s all done. Everyone grab some.」
Finally the barley porridge was ready to be eaten.
It was prepared in a large pot that could cook enough food for four or five people so each could sit around it and grab a portion for themselves.
Yukino didn’t get up to get her share of the food and simply sat in my lap with a victorious smile as the losers Kemin and Kurone ladled out portions for the both of us and brought them over.
We waited a bit for Kemin and Kurone to grab their own portions before the both of them sat next to me. Kuu had also arrived a short while ago and sat across from me. Having four cute girls and good food was a double blessing that was hard to find anywhere else.
「Un, it’s yummy. I’m falling in love with it.」
「It’s so thick and yummy. Kuro loves cheese.」
「Kemin makes even plain food taste good….Yukino…will admit defeat in that.」
「Kemin’s cooking is great for sure, but the only reason everything tastes so good is because the three of you caught the fish for this meal. Thank you girls.」
「Kuu-anesama we just did what we wanted to do. Don’t thank us too much.」
Just seeing how happy the yummy food made the girls made me feel happier.
The barley porridge went well with the mushrooms, the cheese was melted and had a delicious taste, and the river fish had a gentle flavor that blended everything together.
Instead of removing the bones from the small fish, the Fire Foxes had only removed the guts. That was how they enjoyed eating them so I did so as well.
On a cold day filling your mouth with hot porridge was a wonderful feeling.
Furthermore, the food they were eating today wasn’t simply donated by Erucy, but was food they had earned and created on their own. This was even more impactful.
「It’d be great if days like this could keep on going…」
I couldn’t help but murmur.
Despite their sorrow, the Fire Foxes were properly looking towards the future. Days where we could all eat delicious food and smile…these were truly precious.
To secure our future I had to do my best at tomorrow’s war council.
After we finished eating we took a rest. I took out three trial product brushes that had been produces when I made one for Lucy.
I ended up making a brush because Lucy has such pretty hair that I felt it was truly a waste that she couldn’t properly care for it.
However, even with Kuiro’s skill in craftsmanship it had taken six prototypes before I created one I felt suited Lucy well enough….even though I say they were prototypes they were definitely nice enough to give to anyone else and it would have been a waste for me to dispose of them.
I’m sure that giving them to the three girls would be better than letting them sit and gather dust.
「Here girls, your big bro has a present for you.」
「Kuro…hasn’t seen something like this. Do you know Yukino-chan?」
「Yukino doesn’t know. Kemin do you?」
「There’s no way I know if you don’t know…」
It looks like the Fire Foxes had never made any brushes. Then I suppose I should show them a bit.
「Okay then, Yukino I’d like to borrow your tail for a moment.」
「Cyril-niisama…that’s too sudden. It’s embarrassing.」
I gently lifted Yukino’s tail as she sat in my lap.
I then lightly brushed through her tail to see if there were any tangles or snags in it first. Then I lightly drew my fingers through the fur to make sure I got the tangles out.
The only people who were supposed to grab a Fire Fox’s tail were their husband or parents…but just touching should be safe. In the first place if an unknown man touched their tail it would enrage them, but as they probably saw me as a big brother it should be fine.
「Hyaa, it tickles.」
Finally I pressed the brush firmly yet gently onto her fluffy tail as I slowly brushed through it.
Then the matted hair and tangles were separated by the brush as her fur was drawn straight. Even normally Yukino’s silver tail was pretty, but once any weird knots and unkempt areas were dealt with, her tail looked silky smooth and shone in the light.
「Cyril-niisama this feels good.」
PICTURE
This brushing stimulated her pores, had a comforting feeling like a massage, improved blood circulation, removed dirt from her skin, and improved the gloss of her tail. It was probably comparable to the pleasure a dog felt when brushed by a first-rate breeder.
My skills wouldn’t fall far behind.
「Hauu, how nice…」
Yukino’s entire body relaxed as she entrusted her entire weight to me as the brushing finished. I was quite fond of this as well. I ran my hand once more through her tail as I confirmed how silky smooth it felt and that no snarls were left in her tail.
「Yukino-chan looks happy….Kuro wants it too.」
「Her tail looks amazing. It’s like a princess tail!」
The other two looked on with glittering eyes. They both looked intrigued by the enjoyment and resulting beauty of her tail.
「Come on over, I’ll do it for you two as well.」
「Yay~ I’ll leave it to you Cyril-niisama nano.」
「Ah Kurone! You’re always spacing out but….you were faster than me…」
I slowly lowered the still dazed and happy Yukino as Kurone leapt into my lap. Unlike Yukino’s polite posture, Kurone simply dove onto my lap belly first and laid there. She stuck her black tail up near my face.
「Are you remembering how I’m doing this? I’d like the three of you to care for each other’s tails in the future.」
Trying to brush their own tails would be quite difficult so it would be necessary to help each other.
「Okay. Kuro, Kemin, and Yukino will do our best nano.」
「I’d like that. The brushes should be another symbol of your friendship. It’s a tool that is hard to use by yourself after all.」
「Un, we’ll take care of them. Everyone loves each other.」
The three young foxes nodded. Then they hugged the brushes I gave them to their chest as they looked at each other and smiled.
Friends are great…
「Also Kuu…you don’t have to look so sad that you don’t have one.」
「I-I wasn’t. I didn’t look like that!」
Kuu looked away and made a poor effort at whistling.
「Kuu. I’ll be making a brush special for you and I’ll be the one grooming you so please wait a bit.」
「Cyril-kun…you were thinking of…Yes! I’ll be looking forward to it!」
The three girls blushed as they watched us as they squealed a bit. They let out little comments about how lovey dovey we were and it was a bit embarrassing.
Kuu also blushed as we looked at each other and smiled.
The next day a war council was commenced in the former Chief’s home.
The ones here were me in the capacity as Chief, my representative when I am not available Roleau, 5 Elder Heads of various families in the village, and Kuu as the representative of the Fire Foxes. We had 8 in total.
The Elf Village had been controlled extensively by the Chief for quite some time. The system was for the Chief to hear the opinions of others and make all the final decisions himself. Therefore, technically my decision would be taken as that of Erucy as a whole.
Eventually we’d have to reform a bit, but for now it was very convenient so I would let it be.
Though I say that, if I ignored everyone’s advice and did things as I pleased I would simply garner antipathy. I would have to put together an argument that would convince the majority of the people here.
「The purpose of our gathering here is to discuss nothing less than Erucy’s future. More specifically we must focus on how to strengthen Erucy.」
That was the main topic of our agenda. It was also important for the set-up for my hidden agenda.
「Before speaking of the future of Erucy, we must first share its present condition. Erucy has become far more affluent than when we were under the control of the Empire. The amount of wheat we have stored away is far more than last year and we will not have to worry about our taxes being collected. Furthermore, the efforts of Roleau and the others to cultivate new fields has been progressing well. Our next year harvests should increase by quite a bit. Our dried meat and preserved food is similarly plentiful….this is also an achievement by Roleau and the others. The number of successful hunts has increased.」
As I spoke Roleau’s name with praise he had an expression with some pride and some humility.
「Don’t overpraise us Chief. It’s part of your ability. Those crossbows you made allow us to fire one shot to kill. Plus the field cultivation is moving faster because of the iron farming tools and the well you helped dig.」
「That’s not it. I simply provided the environment for it. The ones who accomplished this are you guys. As your Chief I am thankful.」
「I-is that so? Hehe…that’s kinda embarrassing…」
He laughed cheerfully. For better or worse Roleau was a simple man and was easy to handle. Despite that he was trusted by others. I wanted him to be my ally in this so I decided to uplift him a bit.
「We have become able to obtain valuable salt with ease and if something happens we have quite a bit stored away. The ability to stably obtain goat milk and cheese is also a big change. Once spring comes around we should be able to harvest the turnips and in the summer we can harvest potatoes. This is thanks to the Fire Foxes. Their efforts have helped ensure a more abundant livelihood for the rest of us.」
As I said those words I quickly observed the faces of everyone present here.
Kuu had seen through my intent and had a wry smile on her face and the elves nodded, seemingly pleased with the more abundant lifestyle we had achieved. However, one elf man had a momentary look of displeasure on his face before masking it with a false smile.
….as I thought. He had been marked by Roleau’s group as a man who had probably clandestinely met with Empire Agents when I left the village….his name was Raffa. I didn’t want to believe. I had nothing more than the word of his observer and that he was a past favorite of the old chief.
Raffa was a kind adult. He was 20 years older than me in his thirties. He had been born into an old Elven house that had led for many years. They were well liked by self-righteous chiefs.
He was also well respected by the villagers. However, after his family fell prey to an epidemic he became incapable of physical labor. It was decided that his house did not have much of a future and his wife and child were sent off to the Empire as scapegoats. Since then he’s gone a bit strange.
Keeping that in mind I continued my explanation of the status quo.
「Also within the next two months we will be able to earn foreign cash flow through a new special product we can make. After inspecting the market on our trip I can say with confidence this will earn us money. That money can be exchanged for more food or pleasure goods. Not only that the special product will help in the production of alcohol. I’d have to check the forest conditions a bit more, but we should be alright for ingredients as well. They’re growing properly. The creation issues should be mostly solved as well. With the Fire Foxes’ power we can accomplish these things. To be honest, the first time I made alcohol I was worried since we didn’t have anyone else but me to help with the process.」
「Oi Chief…is that alcohol tasty?」
「Roleau, has any event I put together ever had anything bad?」
「Nope never. Guess I can look forward to it.」
Roleau was weak to liquor and got drunk easily. He became pretty annoying when drunk but still loved to drink.
No, more accurately both Elves and Fire Foxes loved alcohol. If we were able to produce it then it might even inspire them to live life to the fullest.
「Can we stop this already? Let’s hurry and get to the main point. What…did the new chief just gather us to brag about his accomplishments? Ahh wow wow! Not even just that he’s a doctor too~. He’s also so strong~ how enviable~ I’m sure such a man like Cyril wouldn’t have the same worries as us commoners.」
The traitor Raffa had been frowning for a short while as he vented his sarcasm.
Roleau looked about to snap back at him, but I put up my hand and stopped him.
「That was a report of our current situation. I wanted to inform you that we have the ability to increase our money and food supplies more easily. Then using that increase we can strengthen Erucy. We can increase our military might.」
That’s right, if even their food wasn’t guaranteed the next day there would be no one who would follow me into battle.
Now that we finally had enough food to satisfy our needs our power would increase.
「Chief, what will we do specifically?」
「Up until now crossbow and formation practice has only been once every three days for three hours in the morning.」
Before the battle the 100 fighters had trained every day, but once the impending threat abated they had lost some motivation. The frequency had dropped to once every three days.
In truth that was most likely the limit when they still needed to do their farming.
「With just that they will not become strong warriors. They must cease farmwork and train daily in case of emergency. They will be career soldiers. That is a concept I intend on introducing to Erucy.」
「Oi, wait…you mean when everyone is working hard in the fields they’ll just be training to fight the Empire without knowing if they’ll come or not? No one will accept that.」
「The Empire will come for sure. I will have everyone accept this. Normally they will be able to eat without working in the fields, but in exchange once an emergency occurs they will be placed on the front lines of danger. In order to train for such an eventuality they cannot participate in farm work other than in their spare time.」
I need soldiers that are highly specialized, well coordinated, able to move based on their own decisions, and able to understand the field of battle.
The readiness of a career soldier would be different from any other. They would live a life of battle.
「Chief I believe you when you say we need them…but how many? How many elite soldiers will we have to train?」
Roleau asked and I held up my hand with two fingers extended.
「Two hundred? Are you serious Chief? Even with Fire Foxes Erucy only has 250 people.」
「You’re misunderstanding. I’m saying twenty. More than that is impossible for Erucy currently.」
「Now you’re talking way too small! Just the other day the Empire sent 500 soldiers to attack us. What can only twenty do?」
Roleau’s shock was quite reasonable. But he was fundamentally misunderstanding something.
「Roleau these are to be special types of soldiers. What I want are excellent sharpshooters….able to hold their breath and conceal their presence for long periods of time. When worst comes to worst grim reapers with the ability to silently and efficiently snipe enemy soldiers. And I need excellent scouts who can detect enemies before anyone else, gather information, and move quickly. For these two types I don’t need too many. These are the two types of warriors I want to train. With Elven aptitude this is definitely possible.」
Erucy’s victory conditions were to not fight head on and not fight near what we want to protect.
If we fought head on the three thousand soldiers would engulf and kill us. If our strategies were stolen then the Empire could simply go around our forces and attack Erucy directly.
I considered the Imperial Army reaching Erucy an automatic loss.
That meant that we had to begin and end the battle before they got close to Erucy. Of course it was impossible to defeat an army of thousands with just 20 warriors. That didn’t matter. What was important wasn’t killing soldiers, but victory as a whole.
For that reason we needed to strategize. More than likely there were only around 300-400 soldiers within the Imperial Army they would send that were willing to die under orders. The rest of the soldiers would most likely desert under enemy fire.
In order to execute my plan I needed at least 20 thoroughly trained elites and at least 2 fire magic experts.
The twenty elites were the current limit for Erucy as well as my current limit for being able to command them effectively.
「Plus the next battle should have at least 3000 soldiers attacking us. Even increasing it to 200 people wouldn’t necessarily help.」
「T-three thousand…」
Roleau seemed to deflate. It was natural. That was over ten times the total population of Erucy.
Plus amongst the 250 citizens of Erucy half of them were non-combatants. Their combat potential was near a hundred-fold of ours. It was completely different from the previous battle where we had a difference of five times.
「Let’s surrender. We have no chance of victory. We’ve become more affluent. Even if they take the usual tax we will no longer starve.」
Upon seeing Roleau’s depressed spirit the traitor Raffa saw his chance and spoke up.
「What are you saying at this point? We have already dishonored the Empire far too much. They will never forgive us. Plus when you say we should surrender…you mean we should sell out our kin as a sacrifice to them? Did you forget that we fought back because we hated that?」
As if he had been waiting for my protest Raffa’s expression warped.
「You don’t have to worry about that. Let’s offer them the Fire Foxes! If we do that I’m sure they’ll forgive us. Their Fire Stones are worth a high price! If we offer them then it’ll be a show of obedience and the Empire will be able to regain their honor. I’m sure we’ll be able to negotiate a way not to give up elves!」
Raffa spoke assuredly with great faith. I’m sure the Imperial agents had convinced him and told him what to say. However, this would not pass. I would evade the Empire’s plot and obtain a double agent for myself. It was for that purpose that I let him act so freely now.
After taking care of the turnips I was about to return to Erucy when Kemin called out to me.
「Cyril-niisama please come with me to pick up the lunch snacks!」
「Oh, sure.」
I had some time til lunch and I had moved my doctor duties to the afternoon so I could lecture the Fire Foxes. This mean I had some free time.
「Thanks Cyril-niisama~」
And so I walked with Kemin towards the stream in the forest.
「Kemin you took too long. Yukino’s tired of waiting…」
「Oh you brought Cyril-niisama? Kuro’s happy~」
When we arrived by the banks of the river the silver fox Yukino, who had finished her deliveries, and the black fox Kurone were there.
「We came as quick as we could. Hurry and let’s take a bath and get the stuff for lunch ready.」
「Got it.」
「Roger nano~」
Wait…bath?
In the moment I had stood there stunned they had thrown off their clothes. Just looking at them made me feel cold.
I saw that the air around them was wavering a bit. It looked like they were using fire magic to warm themselves.
「Yahoo~」
「Wait Kemin」
「Ahh, Kuro’s going too」
And of all things the three of them leapt into the frigid midwinter river. They were surely raising the temperature of the water around them since they didn’t look chilly at all as they merrily played in the water.
「Cyril-niisama come on in!」
「Let’s have a race!」
「I’m fine with just watching.」
If I copied them I’d just end up freezing to death. I doubt there were many amongst the Fire Foxes that could do the same thing as them either.
It was pretty easy to raise the temperature of a room, but trying to do the same thing outside would drain your magic quickly. After all, even if you warmed the air around you it would quickly disperse.
It would be even harder to warm up the water like they were currently doing. It required more energy than air and would flow past them in a moment. There was surely quite a lot of magical burden on them to perform this feat.
Kuu had said that the three of them had many expectations for their performance in the future. I can understand why.
「Are you always doing this?」
「Un, we do it every day.」
「The water well is too crowded with people. If we come here then we don’t have to wait or rush to finish.」
「It’s our special spot nano~」
Well of course it was…anyone who tried to use it without enough power would just die.
Even so, watching these children frolic in the water happily made me happier. Ah, I wonder if the type of fox they were affected their development. I could see that the black fox Kurone was flat, the gold fox Kemin had small buds on her chest, and the silver fox Yukino had developed quite a bit.
Ah, I’d just like to stay here and enjoy the happy sounds of them laughing and playing. I didn’t feel guilty at all. I felt like a big brother watching over his little sisters’ growth. They came here every day so maybe I would come to peek…I mean take a break. Maybe keep watch so nothing untoward happened.
「Cyril-niisama look we’re gonna catch lunch」
「A competition. The winner gets the special seat.」
「Kuro won’t lose nano」
The three of them started looking serious. Despite being naked they didn’t seem slovenly.
They all began concentrating on the water.
「Ei」
Kemin vigorously struck into the water and scooped her hand up. Then a river fish…probably a char flew into the sky towards the bank.
Watching that scene reminded me of how a bear fished.
The Foxes were quite sensitive and were able to move with a good amount of instantaneous force. Yukino and Kurone also ended up catching fish one after another.
At this rate lunch would end up being quite luxurious.
After a while the three of them got up and left the water. They immediately evaporated the water on their skin and magnificently lit their tails on fire.
This was a trait of the Fire Foxes where they would do so to remove any dirt and such from their tails. They were able to target everything except the tails themselves so they could do this without worry.
The winner for today was…
「uuu, lost by one…」
「Kuro didn’t do well…」
「Today Yukino gets the special seat.」
Once it was time for lunch I started to leave but the three of them stopped me and got me to eat with them.
I was going to refuse, but the three of them looked like they were going to cry so I decided to go with them. Yukino got into my lap and rested her back against my chest. Her satisfied expression was simply too adorable.
Apparently the special seat was my lap.
「Yukino~ I’ll win next time.」
「Kuro won’t lose either nano.」
It seemed to be Kemin’s turn to cook as she began. She put plenty of goat milk into a pan with some barley and began to cook the freshly deboned fish with mushrooms and some salt.
Watching the Fire Foxes cook without even needing fire was always a surreal sight.
After a while she removed it from the heat and proudly took out some cheese.
「Here we go. Let’s put on a lot of cheese.」
「Hurry hurry!」
「Uwaa, cheese nano」
Then she placed the cheese inside the pot. Maybe it was because they were more animal-like, but Fire Foxes preferred food that had animal proteins in them. Cheese was a big favorite.
If you added cheese to the barley porridge it would double in flavor and thickness. As this was a luxury only allowed to them every four days every Fire Fox drooled over the opportunity to eat it.
And so once Kemin mixed the cheese in a delicious smell wafted about.
Many people didn’t like the smell of goat cheese, but I liked it quite a bit. There were some amongst the Fire Foxes that didn’t like it much, but they seemed to have gotten used to it.
「Here it’s all done. Everyone grab some.」
Finally the barley porridge was ready to be eaten.
It was prepared in a large pot that could cook enough food for four or five people so each could sit around it and grab a portion for themselves.
Yukino didn’t get up to get her share of the food and simply sat in my lap with a victorious smile as the losers Kemin and Kurone ladled out portions for the both of us and brought them over.
We waited a bit for Kemin and Kurone to grab their own portions before the both of them sat next to me. Kuu had also arrived a short while ago and sat across from me. Having four cute girls and good food was a double blessing that was hard to find anywhere else.
「Un, it’s yummy. I’m falling in love with it.」
「It’s so thick and yummy. Kuro loves cheese.」
「Kemin makes even plain food taste good….Yukino…will admit defeat in that.」
「Kemin’s cooking is great for sure, but the only reason everything tastes so good is because the three of you caught the fish for this meal. Thank you girls.」
「Kuu-anesama we just did what we wanted to do. Don’t thank us too much.」
Just seeing how happy the yummy food made the girls made me feel happier.
The barley porridge went well with the mushrooms, the cheese was melted and had a delicious taste, and the river fish had a gentle flavor that blended everything together.
Instead of removing the bones from the small fish, the Fire Foxes had only removed the guts. That was how they enjoyed eating them so I did so as well.
On a cold day filling your mouth with hot porridge was a wonderful feeling.
Furthermore, the food they were eating today wasn’t simply donated by Erucy, but was food they had earned and created on their own. This was even more impactful.
「It’d be great if days like this could keep on going…」
I couldn’t help but murmur.
Despite their sorrow, the Fire Foxes were properly looking towards the future. Days where we could all eat delicious food and smile…these were truly precious.
To secure our future I had to do my best at tomorrow’s war council.
After we finished eating we took a rest. I took out three trial product brushes that had been produces when I made one for Lucy.
I ended up making a brush because Lucy has such pretty hair that I felt it was truly a waste that she couldn’t properly care for it.
However, even with Kuiro’s skill in craftsmanship it had taken six prototypes before I created one I felt suited Lucy well enough….even though I say they were prototypes they were definitely nice enough to give to anyone else and it would have been a waste for me to dispose of them.
I’m sure that giving them to the three girls would be better than letting them sit and gather dust.
「Here girls, your big bro has a present for you.」
「Kuro…hasn’t seen something like this. Do you know Yukino-chan?」
「Yukino doesn’t know. Kemin do you?」
「There’s no way I know if you don’t know…」
It looks like the Fire Foxes had never made any brushes. Then I suppose I should show them a bit.
「Okay then, Yukino I’d like to borrow your tail for a moment.」
「Cyril-niisama…that’s too sudden. It’s embarrassing.」
I gently lifted Yukino’s tail as she sat in my lap.
I then lightly brushed through her tail to see if there were any tangles or snags in it first. Then I lightly drew my fingers through the fur to make sure I got the tangles out.
The only people who were supposed to grab a Fire Fox’s tail were their husband or parents…but just touching should be safe. In the first place if an unknown man touched their tail it would enrage them, but as they probably saw me as a big brother it should be fine.
「Hyaa, it tickles.」
Finally I pressed the brush firmly yet gently onto her fluffy tail as I slowly brushed through it.
Then the matted hair and tangles were separated by the brush as her fur was drawn straight. Even normally Yukino’s silver tail was pretty, but once any weird knots and unkempt areas were dealt with, her tail looked silky smooth and shone in the light.
「Cyril-niisama this feels good.」
PICTURE
This brushing stimulated her pores, had a comforting feeling like a massage, improved blood circulation, removed dirt from her skin, and improved the gloss of her tail. It was probably comparable to the pleasure a dog felt when brushed by a first-rate breeder.
My skills wouldn’t fall far behind.
「Hauu, how nice…」
Yukino’s entire body relaxed as she entrusted her entire weight to me as the brushing finished. I was quite fond of this as well. I ran my hand once more through her tail as I confirmed how silky smooth it felt and that no snarls were left in her tail.
「Yukino-chan looks happy….Kuro wants it too.」
「Her tail looks amazing. It’s like a princess tail!」
The other two looked on with glittering eyes. They both looked intrigued by the enjoyment and resulting beauty of her tail.
「Come on over, I’ll do it for you two as well.」
「Yay~ I’ll leave it to you Cyril-niisama nano.」
「Ah Kurone! You’re always spacing out but….you were faster than me…」
I slowly lowered the still dazed and happy Yukino as Kurone leapt into my lap. Unlike Yukino’s polite posture, Kurone simply dove onto my lap belly first and laid there. She stuck her black tail up near my face.
「Are you remembering how I’m doing this? I’d like the three of you to care for each other’s tails in the future.」
Trying to brush their own tails would be quite difficult so it would be necessary to help each other.
「Okay. Kuro, Kemin, and Yukino will do our best nano.」
「I’d like that. The brushes should be another symbol of your friendship. It’s a tool that is hard to use by yourself after all.」
「Un, we’ll take care of them. Everyone loves each other.」
The three young foxes nodded. Then they hugged the brushes I gave them to their chest as they looked at each other and smiled.
Friends are great…
「Also Kuu…you don’t have to look so sad that you don’t have one.」
「I-I wasn’t. I didn’t look like that!」
Kuu looked away and made a poor effort at whistling.
「Kuu. I’ll be making a brush special for you and I’ll be the one grooming you so please wait a bit.」
「Cyril-kun…you were thinking of…Yes! I’ll be looking forward to it!」
The three girls blushed as they watched us as they squealed a bit. They let out little comments about how lovey dovey we were and it was a bit embarrassing.
Kuu also blushed as we looked at each other and smiled.
The next day a war council was commenced in the former Chief’s home.
The ones here were me in the capacity as Chief, my representative when I am not available Roleau, 5 Elder Heads of various families in the village, and Kuu as the representative of the Fire Foxes. We had 8 in total.
The Elf Village had been controlled extensively by the Chief for quite some time. The system was for the Chief to hear the opinions of others and make all the final decisions himself. Therefore, technically my decision would be taken as that of Erucy as a whole.
Eventually we’d have to reform a bit, but for now it was very convenient so I would let it be.
Though I say that, if I ignored everyone’s advice and did things as I pleased I would simply garner antipathy. I would have to put together an argument that would convince the majority of the people here.
「The purpose of our gathering here is to discuss nothing less than Erucy’s future. More specifically we must focus on how to strengthen Erucy.」
That was the main topic of our agenda. It was also important for the set-up for my hidden agenda.
「Before speaking of the future of Erucy, we must first share its present condition. Erucy has become far more affluent than when we were under the control of the Empire. The amount of wheat we have stored away is far more than last year and we will not have to worry about our taxes being collected. Furthermore, the efforts of Roleau and the others to cultivate new fields has been progressing well. Our next year harvests should increase by quite a bit. Our dried meat and preserved food is similarly plentiful….this is also an achievement by Roleau and the others. The number of successful hunts has increased.」
As I spoke Roleau’s name with praise he had an expression with some pride and some humility.
「Don’t overpraise us Chief. It’s part of your ability. Those crossbows you made allow us to fire one shot to kill. Plus the field cultivation is moving faster because of the iron farming tools and the well you helped dig.」
「That’s not it. I simply provided the environment for it. The ones who accomplished this are you guys. As your Chief I am thankful.」
「I-is that so? Hehe…that’s kinda embarrassing…」
He laughed cheerfully. For better or worse Roleau was a simple man and was easy to handle. Despite that he was trusted by others. I wanted him to be my ally in this so I decided to uplift him a bit.
「We have become able to obtain valuable salt with ease and if something happens we have quite a bit stored away. The ability to stably obtain goat milk and cheese is also a big change. Once spring comes around we should be able to harvest the turnips and in the summer we can harvest potatoes. This is thanks to the Fire Foxes. Their efforts have helped ensure a more abundant livelihood for the rest of us.」
As I said those words I quickly observed the faces of everyone present here.
Kuu had seen through my intent and had a wry smile on her face and the elves nodded, seemingly pleased with the more abundant lifestyle we had achieved. However, one elf man had a momentary look of displeasure on his face before masking it with a false smile.
….as I thought. He had been marked by Roleau’s group as a man who had probably clandestinely met with Empire Agents when I left the village….his name was Raffa. I didn’t want to believe. I had nothing more than the word of his observer and that he was a past favorite of the old chief.
Raffa was a kind adult. He was 20 years older than me in his thirties. He had been born into an old Elven house that had led for many years. They were well liked by self-righteous chiefs.
He was also well respected by the villagers. However, after his family fell prey to an epidemic he became incapable of physical labor. It was decided that his house did not have much of a future and his wife and child were sent off to the Empire as scapegoats. Since then he’s gone a bit strange.
Keeping that in mind I continued my explanation of the status quo.
「Also within the next two months we will be able to earn foreign cash flow through a new special product we can make. After inspecting the market on our trip I can say with confidence this will earn us money. That money can be exchanged for more food or pleasure goods. Not only that the special product will help in the production of alcohol. I’d have to check the forest conditions a bit more, but we should be alright for ingredients as well. They’re growing properly. The creation issues should be mostly solved as well. With the Fire Foxes’ power we can accomplish these things. To be honest, the first time I made alcohol I was worried since we didn’t have anyone else but me to help with the process.」
「Oi Chief…is that alcohol tasty?」
「Roleau, has any event I put together ever had anything bad?」
「Nope never. Guess I can look forward to it.」
Roleau was weak to liquor and got drunk easily. He became pretty annoying when drunk but still loved to drink.
No, more accurately both Elves and Fire Foxes loved alcohol. If we were able to produce it then it might even inspire them to live life to the fullest.
「Can we stop this already? Let’s hurry and get to the main point. What…did the new chief just gather us to brag about his accomplishments? Ahh wow wow! Not even just that he’s a doctor too~. He’s also so strong~ how enviable~ I’m sure such a man like Cyril wouldn’t have the same worries as us commoners.」
The traitor Raffa had been frowning for a short while as he vented his sarcasm.
Roleau looked about to snap back at him, but I put up my hand and stopped him.
「That was a report of our current situation. I wanted to inform you that we have the ability to increase our money and food supplies more easily. Then using that increase we can strengthen Erucy. We can increase our military might.」
That’s right, if even their food wasn’t guaranteed the next day there would be no one who would follow me into battle.
Now that we finally had enough food to satisfy our needs our power would increase.
「Chief, what will we do specifically?」
「Up until now crossbow and formation practice has only been once every three days for three hours in the morning.」
Before the battle the 100 fighters had trained every day, but once the impending threat abated they had lost some motivation. The frequency had dropped to once every three days.
In truth that was most likely the limit when they still needed to do their farming.
「With just that they will not become strong warriors. They must cease farmwork and train daily in case of emergency. They will be career soldiers. That is a concept I intend on introducing to Erucy.」
「Oi, wait…you mean when everyone is working hard in the fields they’ll just be training to fight the Empire without knowing if they’ll come or not? No one will accept that.」
「The Empire will come for sure. I will have everyone accept this. Normally they will be able to eat without working in the fields, but in exchange once an emergency occurs they will be placed on the front lines of danger. In order to train for such an eventuality they cannot participate in farm work other than in their spare time.」
I need soldiers that are highly specialized, well coordinated, able to move based on their own decisions, and able to understand the field of battle.
The readiness of a career soldier would be different from any other. They would live a life of battle.
「Chief I believe you when you say we need them…but how many? How many elite soldiers will we have to train?」
Roleau asked and I held up my hand with two fingers extended.
「Two hundred? Are you serious Chief? Even with Fire Foxes Erucy only has 250 people.」
「You’re misunderstanding. I’m saying twenty. More than that is impossible for Erucy currently.」
「Now you’re talking way too small! Just the other day the Empire sent 500 soldiers to attack us. What can only twenty do?」
Roleau’s shock was quite reasonable. But he was fundamentally misunderstanding something.
「Roleau these are to be special types of soldiers. What I want are excellent sharpshooters….able to hold their breath and conceal their presence for long periods of time. When worst comes to worst grim reapers with the ability to silently and efficiently snipe enemy soldiers. And I need excellent scouts who can detect enemies before anyone else, gather information, and move quickly. For these two types I don’t need too many. These are the two types of warriors I want to train. With Elven aptitude this is definitely possible.」
Erucy’s victory conditions were to not fight head on and not fight near what we want to protect.
If we fought head on the three thousand soldiers would engulf and kill us. If our strategies were stolen then the Empire could simply go around our forces and attack Erucy directly.
I considered the Imperial Army reaching Erucy an automatic loss.
That meant that we had to begin and end the battle before they got close to Erucy. Of course it was impossible to defeat an army of thousands with just 20 warriors. That didn’t matter. What was important wasn’t killing soldiers, but victory as a whole.
For that reason we needed to strategize. More than likely there were only around 300-400 soldiers within the Imperial Army they would send that were willing to die under orders. The rest of the soldiers would most likely desert under enemy fire.
In order to execute my plan I needed at least 20 thoroughly trained elites and at least 2 fire magic experts.
The twenty elites were the current limit for Erucy as well as my current limit for being able to command them effectively.
「Plus the next battle should have at least 3000 soldiers attacking us. Even increasing it to 200 people wouldn’t necessarily help.」
「T-three thousand…」
Roleau seemed to deflate. It was natural. That was over ten times the total population of Erucy.
Plus amongst the 250 citizens of Erucy half of them were non-combatants. Their combat potential was near a hundred-fold of ours. It was completely different from the previous battle where we had a difference of five times.
「Let’s surrender. We have no chance of victory. We’ve become more affluent. Even if they take the usual tax we will no longer starve.」
Upon seeing Roleau’s depressed spirit the traitor Raffa saw his chance and spoke up.
「What are you saying at this point? We have already dishonored the Empire far too much. They will never forgive us. Plus when you say we should surrender…you mean we should sell out our kin as a sacrifice to them? Did you forget that we fought back because we hated that?」
As if he had been waiting for my protest Raffa’s expression warped.
「You don’t have to worry about that. Let’s offer them the Fire Foxes! If we do that I’m sure they’ll forgive us. Their Fire Stones are worth a high price! If we offer them then it’ll be a show of obedience and the Empire will be able to regain their honor. I’m sure we’ll be able to negotiate a way not to give up elves!」
Raffa spoke assuredly with great faith. I’m sure the Imperial agents had convinced him and told him what to say. However, this would not pass. I would evade the Empire’s plot and obtain a double agent for myself. It was for that purpose that I let him act so freely now.
