Isekai Nonbiri Nouka Chapter 1064: Rain and Wind on the Island

The rain and wind on the island were incredible.

The reinforced lodging and birdhouse were unharmed, but some of the areas still under construction had collapsed or been damaged.

The larger building materials had been tied down to rocks and such, so they hadn’t been blown away. However, the stone materials we thought would stay put had been scattered around in a mess.

They hadn’t blown away.

They had just been pushed around.

Recovering them is going to be a little difficult.

According to Yame-san’s experience, there are apparently several times a year when the rain and wind are even stronger than this.

The fields I had cultivated with the 【AFT】 were unharmed, but that was probably only because the plants had just started sprouting and weren’t very vulnerable to the wind yet.

It might be better to grow trees somewhere else and then transplant them here.

-0-

I had been thinking about installing windmills and waterwheels on the island, but that’s off the table too.

There’s no way they would survive.

We could store the windmills and waterwheels whenever the wind gets stronger, but that would be a hassle, and when you ask whether they’re really worth that much effort, I’m not sure.

Windmills and waterwheels can be quite useful for everyday life, though.

Magic stones can serve as a substitute.

Ah, but we can’t secure enough magic stones on this island, can we?

So we’d have to rely on supplies from outside for those too.

Hmm.

-0-

A new watchtower was already being built to replace the one that had been destroyed.

Hmm, as expected of Ria and the other High Elves.

They’re fast.

I know the angels were also helping from above by holding it steady with ropes.

You don’t need to make a show of it.

I know.

I’ll make sure to tell Malbit, the chief of the angels.

I’ll tell Tier too.

-0-

The beach had become a terrible mess, so we’d just have to clean it again.

………………

There’s a fish about the size of a train car… A whale, maybe?

It’s probably a whale.

There’s a whale carcass on the beach.

It must have died quite some time ago.

There are signs of decay everywhere.

The smell is terrible too.

The Seakins said that if we didn’t dispose of it quickly, it would attract demon beasts and monsters from the sea, so we could have burned it… but that looked like it would be difficult, so I plowed the area with the 【AFT】 instead.

That left a mound of soil that looked completely out of place on the beach.

Well, it’s better than leaving the carcass there.

The waves will wash it away eventually.

Cleaning the beach is just something we’ll have to keep doing little by little.

We worked hard together with the Seakins.

-0-

We obtained a large number of beautiful seashells while cleaning the beach.

Most of them were ordinary shells, but some had a luster I’d never seen before, or had something resembling gemstones attached to them, so they might have come from demon beasts.

I wonder if they’re worth anything?

The Seakins said that shells like these were scattered all over the ocean floor.

In other words, they aren’t worth anything.

If they were valuable, they wouldn’t be lying around everywhere.

The Seakins would be collecting them and selling them to merchants on land or using them in trade.

In fact, they were easy enough to find just by cleaning the beach.

I suppose they’re only good for decoration.

That’s what I thought, but when I brought them back to Big Tree Village, someone showed an interest in them.

It wasn’t Loo or Tier.

It was Gutt.

「These are Moonstone Clam shells, right? I’ve heard that if you crush them and mix them with iron or copper, you can make something with more tensile strength. Please let me try them!」

He asked for the misshapen shells.

Since we had so many, I gave him permission to take as many as he wanted.

If the shells can be put to use, that’s great.

If we need more, we can have the Seakins collect them for us.

Ah, and you kids watching over there.

You can take as many of the pretty shells as you like.

As soon as I said that, the children swarmed the shells.

Incidentally, the ones who welcomed the shells the most were the chickens.

They happily ate the crushed shells that the oni maids prepared for them.

-0-

While discussing the port facilities and ship operations with the Seakins, the subject of a lighthouse came up.

They would like us to build a lighthouse on the island if possible.

Apparently, there are no landmarks around the island, making it easy for ships to lose sight of it.

So they want a lighthouse that can be seen from a long distance away.

It makes sense, but after seeing the watchtower collapse, it’s hard for me to agree without hesitation.

Can we build a lighthouse sturdy enough to withstand the weather?

The Mountain Elves suggested making the lighthouse extendable and lowering it whenever the rain and wind became too strong, but…

That defeats the purpose of a lighthouse if it moves.

It’s a landmark precisely because the light is always in the same place.

Besides, you need the light most of all at night and during bad weather.

A lighthouse that has to take shelter whenever the rain and wind get too strong doesn’t feel like a lighthouse to me.

In any case, construction of the lighthouse is on hold.

First, we’ll investigate the lighthouses currently operating in various places.

Things like how they were built and how they’re maintained.

I’d also like to ask about how the lighthouses are operated.

Ah, Shashaato City is a port city, isn’t it?

Does it have a lighthouse?

Huh?

I don’t remember seeing one.

I’ll ask Miyo or Michael-san in Shashaato City next time.

-0-

Railroad tracks have been laid on the island.

I told them there was no need to rush!

Since they’re also using this as practice for making rails, it’s a short, single-track line connecting the port to the cave warehouse.

The carts placed on the rails are pushed by humanoid golems.

After actually testing it, the evaluation was that it wasn’t bad.

Apparently, being able to transport things to the cave warehouse in an emergency will be useful.

Good.

The plan is to test the durability of the rails, carts, and golems, then start laying tracks on a larger scale.

I’d like to wait patiently for the results.

I want to wait, but could I ride the cart once?

Sorry.

Just once.

Make sure it doesn’t derail, okay?

It was a short route, but I enjoyed it.

-0-

Taking a break at the inn.

I looked at the cards sitting in the common room.

Four suits: spades, diamonds, hearts, and clubs, with numbers from A (one) to thirteen, plus jokers.

They’re the familiar playing cards we have in Big Tree Village.

However, the ones in Big Tree Village are made of wood.

The ones in front of me are made of paper.

The paper has just the right thickness and stiffness, with clean printing and even cuts.

A result of the paper-making and printing industries in Village Five.

They could produce them in small quantities, but they asked us not to because of the cost, so we had about a thousand sets made.

The paper is reasonably durable, but no matter how you look at it, it’s still paper.

It’s vulnerable to water, and there’s a limit to how durable it can be.

Having extras won’t hurt.

For now, I included a sheet explaining how to play games such as Old Maid, Sevens, Concentration, Daifugo, BJ (Blackjack), and Poker, and distributed them to the relevant parties.

The sets brought to the island were leftovers from that production run.

They’re being used for passing the time and recreation at night.

I’m glad they’re well received.

Well, I’d already received requests to continue production from the Demon King, Beezel, and Miyo and Michael-san from Shashaato City after I distributed the cards to them, so I knew they’d be popular.

Come to think of it, I’ve received reports that people in Kuro and Yuki in Village Five and at the Bronze Café have started playing cards, causing customers to stay longer and reducing the turnover.

Maybe we should set up some taverns where people can play cards.

-0-

Noon.

On the beach I had cleaned up, I rubbed two pieces of wood together.

Then I made an ember and quickly used it to light the dry wood and grass I had prepared.

I made a campfire.

Next, I filled a pot with seawater.

I placed a cup in the center of the pot, making sure no seawater could get inside it.

I made sure not to forget to put a stone inside the cup as a weight so it wouldn’t move or float.

I put the lid on the pot, but unlike usual, I placed it upside down.

Basically, I put the side that would normally face outward on the inside.

Then I put the pot over the campfire.

Once the seawater in the pot boiled, the steam would condense on the lid. Since the lid was upside down, the water droplets would gather in the center and fall into the seashell cup beneath it.

That’s how it works.

I kept adding seawater to the pot as needed while collecting the water in the cup.

……

Even after doing it for quite a while, there was barely any water in the cup.

Why?

Did the water in the cup get heated and evaporate as well?

The stone I had put in the cup as a weight was extremely hot.

Damn.

And the water in the cup… Well, it was probably more like hot water.

I took a sip.

There was a slight saltiness to it.

But it wasn’t undrinkable.

I enjoyed the feeling of being on a deserted island, just a little.

The kuros and spiderlings, who were staying by my side as my guards, kept looking at me as if wondering what on earth I was doing.

-0-

High Elf: 「What is the Village Chief doing, I wonder?」 (while producing water with magic)

Mountain Elf: 「He must have some profound purpose in mind.」 (while drinking spring water they had collected)

Oni Maid: 「Village Chief, could you give us the pot back soon?」