Weed completed about 30 stuffed animals with tender and friendly expressions and laid them out neatly. Wild beast plushies like lions, elephants, bears, cheetahs, and rhinos were in cute poses.
“Though a doll is best made with evil looks and gleaming eyes…”
They were severely mismatched with Weed’s tastes, but they were for children anyways.
Out of the dolls he made from leather, 5 Fine pieces emerged. As dolls made by attaching cloth and leather with the involvement of the Tailoring skill, the degree of completeness was considerable.
Weed’s craftsmanship boasted tremendous durability. He created plushies that would remain fluffy even if a real elephant were to come and trample them; they would even be perfectly fine if they were burnt with fire magic. They were at a level where children playing with them unawares would be rendered agape with astonishment upon seeing the plushies that remained unscathed even as they burned in a fire!
“The bias that a doll shouldn’t be sturdy has to be disposed of!”
As Weed made even more stuffed animals, he learned the basics of doll production. He also displayed imagination that truly went outside of the box. Leather squirrel plushies were turning a millstone to crush a big acorn– they were going to make acorn jelly to eat. Rabbits made carrot soup and were swimming around in it.
“For the piece name, ‘Squirrel and Rabbit Cooks’ will suit it.”
It was a Fine piece. If he used his Cooking skill later to make real acorn jelly and carrot soup and added it, it would be perfect.
Monkey plushies were peeling bananas, singing, and dancing in a group. They lit a bonfire and cavorted in a dizzying and sensual dance that would seduce monkey lovers. He even staged the comical scene of the playful monkeys falling over and slipping on the banana peels below them.
“The piece name will be ‘Cheeky Monkey Festival.'”
This time, it turned out to be a Masterpiece. The sight of the monkeys handling instruments carved out of wood was adorable.
“Next will be…”
Animals, animals, animals.
If it was for a little boy, he would be able to make sculptures like cars, boats, and planes. However, they had to be sculptures for a female child.
“Because little girls like stuffed animals!”
He made so many stuffed animals that it was ridiculous. He had an immunity to hard work, so he didn’t tire even after making hundreds of them.
“So I can completely fill up one room with dolls… I have to make it so the child will feel that she was happy and never unfortunate.”
The dolls he was making right now were merely side accessories. He had to make a special doll for his ultimate work, a greater magnum opus than any other works Weed had made. He had to make a true masterpiece.
* * *
Trivan, a village close to Morata, was recorded as a territory that had been ruled by a viscount in the days of the Niflheim Empire. It had been a blessed domain that produced a lot of silk and cinnamon, and had even possessed an expansive granary region.
However, after the harsh winter of the North passed by it, all that was left was a wasteland and ruins. There were also many monsters, so the village was often plundered. After an attack by the likes of wild dogs, there was hardly any food supplies left in the village.
The Styrene Guild settled down here.
“Dig up the ground! We have to take out the rocks and plant the seeds, so we’ve gotta hurry.”
30 guild members under the command of Styrene were working with pickaxes. It was so they could clear the earth and plant seeds.
“Dammit, at least in Norman Kingdom, even beginners recognized you if you said you were part of Styrene Guild… what the hell is this.”
“There’s no helping it since there aren’t any residents to do the work. They’re all earning in Morata right now.”
Styrene Guild had settled in Trivan Village about 5 months ago in Versailles Continent time! Around the time when the North’s pioneering was booming, Styrene Guild had moved their base early.
The villages and territories in the North were currently being governed for the players and guilds that were migrating over extensively.
When the Styrene Guild was choosing a village to settle, their conditions hadn’t really been that picky.
“Real estate is all about location. Fertile land? Broad fields? Or terrain next to a mountain? They’re all unnecessary. It just has to be close to Morata.”
At that time, Morata had been rising as the North’s famous village. Its future looked bright, even to Styrene.
“The benefit of being the center of the northern continent… Merchant trade is flourishing and players are gathering. In the future, Morata will become the North’s hub.”
It was as Styrene predicted. Morata developed at a frightening speed from the Lord’s bold investment and the influx of people. Every time the Styrene Guild went to Morata Village to purchase goods they needed, they saw a world of differences in the changes.
Where there had only been the Tower of Light and a few sculptures, the ruin that had been Morata Village was paved with roads nice enough that a carriage could speed along on them and new buildings were built. Though it wasn’t fancy, a wide central square with a fountain also formed. In the square, Warriors, Magicians, Knights, and Adventurers sought party members to quest and hunt with. As they looked at the Merchants who packed around the fountain doing business, Styrene was so envious that tears sprang to his eyes.
“Our Trivan Village will… definitely also become like this later.”
Since the Lord of Morata’s profession was Sculptor, there was hope.
“The sculptures will have the effect of drawing in people at first. But once our Styrene Guild publicizes the hunting ground information and stuff, they’ll all come to our side.”
Styrene Guild excavated a dungeon and publicized monster information. They meant for many players to come hunt and settle in Trivan.
“Wow, so this is Trivan Village? We found it properly.”
“Let’s hunt!”
Fighting parties visited in swarms. They were able to come quickly on horses because Trivan wasn’t that far away from Morata. However, once night fell, they returned to Morata.
“Let’s go look at the Tower of Light.”
“I’m a bit hungry. Let’s go to Morata and eat.”
That was the nearby city’s limit. The players made money from the dungeon and hunting ground and went to spend it back in Morata.
“Let’s sell our japtem in Morata, too.”
“Yeah, there are lots of Merchants in Morata so we can get a good price.”
They didn’t even sell off their japtem in Trivan Village.
Styrene’s village operation suffered a loss, but they weren’t frustrated and didn’t give up. “It’s the development of a village, so… we expected this much difficulty at the beginning anyways.”
They spent an additional 100 thousand Gold to invest. They built new houses and even made a square so that there were no discomforts. However, players still didn’t come, so it was no different from a ghost town.
“It’s probably because it’s not known. Let’s go to Morata in person and try advertising there.”
Styrene went to Morata Village with Duma, a guild member.
“Seeking people to live in Trivan Village. It is a village that the Styrene Guild is peacefully governing. We will support you with various conveniences and even provide you with a fixed resettlement fund.”
They found other guilds that seemed to be in similar circumstances, as they were tearfully advertising.
“We welcome adventurers to come to Home Village. It still has many inadequacies, but our Faroe Guild will…”
“We invite everyone to Keatu Village!”
When Trivan Village had improved a little, Morata had grown in the number of buildings and people. The Goddess Freya Statue was completed, and an artificial lake appeared. The Lord personally expanded the tavern and even set up battle guilds. As it even became a starting city, the Morata region was growing bigger day by day. The expansion speed was so tremendous that the shops and houses were built on the empty lots beyond the Lord’s Castle, village, and the stone castle walls. It was a shantytown that overwhelmed them on their first visit to Morata!
“Eurgh, it’s really incredible.”
Even then, Styrene was optimistic. The fact that Morata was developing meant that people’s interest in the North was also growing! If Morata was getting better, Trivan Village would also gradually grow in residents.
“That’s how a city’s development is. If one place is intensively developed, the areas around it will also benefit.”
Having learned things like city organization and administration before, Styrene decided to think positively.
Morata wasn’t only a village with a Lord’s Castle, but also an extremely large land that included the neighboring regions.
“The Lord doesn’t even rule the region himself and he entrusted it to the elder, so that lack will probably show up somewhere.”
Through Styrene’s personal connections, he was clear to some extent on the situations of other guilds ruling castles and villages. The town’s representative didn’t leave his position unless there was a serious issue. That was because if you entrusted the administration to the elder or another noble, the expenses on useless aspects were severe. Morata’s expenses in the field of cultural art were great enough that they were unimaginable in the central continent.
“Good. Even Morata has a hole to it. If it’s investing in cultural art, then the waste will be severe and it’ll collapse soon.”
Styrene pulled together the guild’s astronomical funds to increase the number of smithies and develop the related techniques, investing a whopping 780 thousand Gold. He was developing the town tremendously as a city for Blacksmiths. Building a battle guild and even a magic guild, he strove to draw in players.
“There’s no place in the North that has a higher technological development level than Trivan Village. In time, this place