I turned 18 before I noticed. I finally noticed it at winter, not just that, I was going to be next year soon.

Anyway, this autumn and winter we were very busy.

First about me, since there was nothing major for me to do, I became absorbed in the development of the barrier magic stones. The reason being that they became a big hit. When it were just the adventurers and a few other customers, it was enough to let Luara watch the store. The biggest problem was the number of orders from the army, royalty, and merchants. On some days, I was buried in orders. I spent a lot of my time to deal with it. I’m grateful for the harpies help in delivering the stones. Well, since it was unexpectedly profitable, let’s leave it at that.

That being said, most of the profits went into the Kurumfar territory.

As for the troublesome Kurumfar territory, Mei, Gon, and Peris were in charge of the agricultural development. I was worried at first but the seeds sprouted properly and their growth was acceptable. There were also plenty of paddy fields, the problem is whether it’s possible to grow rice on them, this matter is still being investigated.

The fishing industry, on the other hand, was faring quite splendidly. Since the port of the Kairiku city was opened, the city became much more lively. The esaraharu dishes became popular and you can see people coming all the way from the imperial capital just to taste them. The salt problem was solved and this side is also bustling.

The tax revenue from the fishing industry was somehow able to make up for the agriculture deficit.

Speaking of the happy occasion, it seems that the visitors, who tried the new dishes, spread the word and the population of the Kairiku town increased little by little. Since there were people interested in developing new lands, I went to the Kurumfar territory on my day off, fixed the land with earth magic, and had Mei spread her fertilizer around.

As for the other happy occasion, it’s possible to get「Nigari」together with the salt. Previously, I used to buy it in a drugstore but there is no need to do this anymore. I can make as much tofu as I want.

I approached the matter of the hotel very thoroughly, I have a great confidence in its success. After all, there are Rico’s servants working there with Kuena being in charge of them. Their refined movements and, of course, their bed making, cleaning, and caring skills are exceptional. They can provide services that can’t be compared to even the first-class hotels. You won’t be able to stay in another hotel once you went through their services.

Of course, there are baths and flushable toilets with warm seats in this hotel. They were used by those, who were trained by me in earth magic, it became something like a luxury treatment. [¹]

I spend quite a bit of effort dealing with the sewage by digging a big hole in the ground, hardening its walls, gathering it in one place. Digging that hole took a lot from me and I collapsed midway but thanks to the magical effect of Mei’s lap pillow, I managed to somehow complete it. There, my teacher’s Falco teaching 「magic is an image」became a great hint. In essence, I was able to confirm that you can activate a spell if you have a clear image in your head. I had a great teacher and I’m truly grateful to him.

The gathered wastes turn into fertilizer thanks to Gon’s efforts. Since the sewage line was is complete, next time, I plan to connect the other building to it. To eliminate all the scooping type toilets from the territory is my hidden goal.

The hotel’s menu was a masterpiece of Peris’ making. I chose some of Rico’s servants, who were interested in cooking, and some of the people I brought from the capital and had Peris teach them the recipes. I have absolute confidence in the taste. In the future, I plan to introduce the vegetables, meat, and fish from the Kurumfar territory to the hotel.

As for the hotel itself. I hired workers to repair and remodel the building inside out. Since it was previously used as the Lord’s mansion, there were plenty of rooms but because I put an emphasis on baths and toilets there was a need to completely reform the building. Since there is magic in this world, the work took only 1 month to complete and the interior of the building changed significantly. The late Count Kurumfar would have become weak in the knees if he saw that.

The hotel is going to open its door on the second month of the year.

In addition to the projects above, Rico and her aides dealt with the matters of taxation, finances, army, police, security, firefighting, and trial. Pius and Aga were in charge of the army, Poltan and Popia were in charge of police and security, Pario used his outstanding calculating abilities to settle the taxes, Nokyu dealt with finances, Nokita with firefighting, Jokun with trials and lawsuits. Nizu and Thujin used their abilities to deal with general affairs and everyone had a job to make them occupied. The people brought from the capital worked under them. Everyone put their hopes into their work making their motivation and working efficiency quite high. There were nobles, commoners, and beastmen amongst them, Rico, who made them work together, is quite something.

When it comes to cooking in the mansion, Ferris often substituted for Peris, who was busy recently. Her cooking didn’t lose to Peris’. She wakes up early in the morning to prepare breakfast, goes shopping at noon, and welcomes the tattered us with dinner. We promised to each other that no matter how busy we are, we would always have breakfast and dinner together. Like that, we used our mealtime to confirm our plans and schedules.

At that time, there were a lot of days when Mei shut herself in the laboratory. She said that she was researching better farming tools. They were quite durable and easy to use on top of being provided for free, the farmers’ gratitude was out of bounds. Besides that, you know, big-breasted beauty and all. Her popularity amongst men isn’t to be underestimated. But what was unexpected is that she became popular with women too. Her humble and enthusiastic attitude captured people’s hearts.

In that way, the times I spent my night with Rico increased. Rico being Rico couldn’t get enough of it. Those times, despite being busy, she was always submissive. That being said, when she wasn’t able to be with me, Mei made sure to definitely appear in her place. Contrary to Rico, she released her pent-up stress without reserve and was much more aggressive. As a result, Rico, Mei, and I created a nice balance with each other.

While I was doing all of that, the year came to an end. After we used this time to take a long vacation and restore our spirits, we proceeded with the preparations to open the hotel.

With the port operating and trade expanding, the number of adventurers and tourists increased and the matter of their accommodation became urgent. For the time being, we dealt with it by creating a barrier for residential use, but, in essence, it was just a camp. There was a great number of demands for a proper inn, so I made an urgent project to construct an inn. This world doesn’t particularly celebrate the New Year. The biggest events of the country are the birthday of the emperor, birth of marriage in the royal family, or something like a coronation ceremony. Only the Daquet Company went out of the way to take a break on the New Year. Daquet Company is striving to become the greatest white company in the empire. [²]

Due to its urgency, the inn was completed around the end of the holidays. The rooms numbered around 40. There, the sea tribe and some of the women, who weren’t involved in farming, took care of its management. I don’t plan to meddle with their arrangement as long as they properly pay the taxes.

And finally, the time to open the hotel came. The honored customer number one was, unexpectedly, His Majesty the Emperor himself. Since he came here to rest in peace and quiet, he brought only the smallest number of people with him but they still took whole 16 rooms.

His Majesty brought a rather obedient and more adorable that beautiful girl with him. Most likely, she was his most loved person. According to the rumors, she seems to be a commoner. His Majesty was attracted to her simple unsophisticated nature and she fell in love with him.

His Majesty was satisfied with our services and enjoyed his three days stay quite a bit. We also called out to his servants and brought out the dishes prepared by our chef. The imperial chef cook was impressed and wanted to visit the hotel again to train himself.

In the morning of the day when His Majesty needed to return to the capital, he said

「I shall come again in the next year around the same time. The next time will be even longer. Furniture, view from the window, food. I like all of them. To the extent that I want to move the imperial palace here. No, if I move the palace, it will lose its meaning, isn’t it. Hahaha」

He said and returned to the capital in great satisfaction.

As a result, the emperor’s vacation could be considered a success. Since it was able to satisfy the emperor, the hotel has been full ever since, to the extent of people making complaints. However, there were no complaints about the dishes or services. At that time, the staff even doubted the need to listen to the complaints. That customer screamed in anger during the checkout.

「I have to go back but it’s too comfortable here to leave. How are you going to solve this!?」