Drawn Mochi Volume 6 Chapter 5.1: Forest, Village, And Wall*4

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　So more and more people came to the fields, and as a result, more and more fields were added.

　…When I asked a farmer, he told me that it was quite difficult to plow land that wasn’t originally a field and turn it into a field, but this field, where all that work has already been done, is very easy to work on.

　I, on the other hand, am getting better and better at drawing soft soil, and am able to produce better fields. Also, I think I’ve gotten much faster at drawing houses. I think practice is the key to this kind of thing.

　…but.

“Um, Mr. Tougo.” (Woman)

　The farmer’s wife called out to me as I came to check on the field.

“You know, it’s kind of strange, but…when I woke up in the morning, the soil on the other side of the field was completely plowed.” (Woman)

“Oh, I see.” (Tougo)

“I don’t suppose anyone could have tilled that large an area, and I’m wondering…” (Woman)

　…well.

“Um, that place was originally a cultivated area, probably…?” (Tougo)

“…I-I, maybe…?” (Woman)

　Yes, it was. It’s been turned into a field overnight, but I’m sure that’s just a mistake…

　…Yeah.

　You know, when I build a field or a house like this, the farmers who have already started living around me are a little bit surprised, so I have to, uh, do it a little bit at a time, or I have to make sure that I build the field on a slightly separated plot with some space in between. Yep…

　However, if I leave too much time between activities, immigration will become congested. …I think that’s why I need to build a road that cuts through the forest as soon as possible.

　While I am worrying about it, the next applicants will come. So, for now, I’m going to build a field and a house in a position where the farmers who live there can’t see it.

　I can draw even when I am worried. I was thinking about it while drawing, and as a result, one of the fields ended up looking like fluffy cotton, so I hurriedly redraw that part…

　…And then, Ms. Croix and Laocles returned.

“Welcome back!” (Tougo)

“I’m home. …it is normal again. All the horses are safe. No bandits showed up.” (Laocles)

“This carriage is very comfortable to ride. It’s strange! I feel like this will sell well if it becomes available in the market. Well, I can’t sell it unless Tougo draws it, so we can’t really spear it around…” (Croix)

When Laocles and Croix returned, their faces were bright. Yep. The horses are safe and sound. The horses safely delivered the people who were rejected this time to the territory under the direct control of the royal capital, I am glad. I’m glad that there were no incidents.

“…And then, in the carriage on the way home, I brought the next applicant with me.” (Laocles)

　…eh?

　It seems that Ms. Croix and Laocles dropped off those who had been rejected and instead loaded up the next applicants for the return trip.

　One after another, people are getting off from the carriages. …Eh, umm.

　I’ll prepare right away…

　…Then, the next day, there was another first interview with the fairies and a second interview with us, and the next group of people to be hired was decided… and there were more people in the field. This time we hired 55 farmers, so now we have a village with a total of 100 farmers, including those who have been working there since the beginning.

“T-the number of people is increasing at an incredibly fast rate…” (Tougo)

“I see.… For now, I guess I’ll cancel the next recruitment.” (Fay)

　Please do so. At this rate, I won’t be able to expand the fields and houses in time!

“…But it’s starting to look more like a village.” (Fay)

　Yep.

　In short, what is outside of the forest is a group of fields and houses, but there are people there, and they are beginning to interact with each other, and it is gradually becoming more like a village.

　Watching them from inside the forest, I can see them gathering outside in the evening after they have finished their farm work, talking, dancing, and eating together. Yep. It’s a good feeling.

“The number of people has increased, and it seems like it won’t be enough just to transport them here… Ah, but if that happens…” (Fay)

　…So Fa started thinking for a moment.

“Is something wrong?” (Tougo)

“Well… Let’s see.” (Fay)

　Fay took out a map from his pocket. A map of the Redgarde territory.

“First of all, he is the forest.” (Fay)

“It’s big…” (Tougo)

In the middle of Redgarde territory, there is a forest… It’s this place. When I look at it on the map, it once again looks very large.

“So, here we are.” (Fay)

“Yep.” (Tougo)

　Then, Fay’s home and the city of Redgarde. It’s in the northeast of the forest. …I guess we are at the center of Redgard territory. By the way, the forest village is located outside the forest. Moreover, it is the one where Fay’s house is located. In other words, that is located in the northeast of the forest.

“So… there’s a town over here that does livestock farming.” (Fay)

　The next point was southwest of the forest. The next town shown was southwest of the forest, across the forest from Fay’s house.

“For things like ham and cheese, the raw materials are made in this town and then they come here for all the processing to be done. Wheat is grown here.” (Fay)

　The next point shown is the southeast part of the forest.

“What we produce in our territory is only what we use in our territory. The rest is dependent on other towns. Well, speaking of the territory as a whole, we are relatively self-sufficient.” (Fay)

“I see.” (Tougo)

　I guess that means Redgarde territory has a food self-sufficiency rate of nearly 100%. However, it seems that some luxury items are not produced, and such items are imported from other territories. Well, that kind of thing does happen.

“…In other words, if you’re going to procure food, it would be faster to have buy directly from the forest village instead of having it go through this place.” (Fay)

“I see…”(Tougo)

　…I was also thinking about it.

“I’m sure it would be quicker if we could go through the forest.” (Tougo)

　This forest is a huge hindrance to transporting supplies.

“Oh. Tougo. What are you painting?” (Croix)

“Um… a path to go back and forth between the boundary of the forest…?” (Tougo)

　So, I was drawing various ideas.

　Redgarde territory would be better off if we could get through the middle of the forest. If it were easier to get to and from the other side of the forest, we could use each other’s land more effectively. Ultimately, it would be much easier to do “a house was built overnight” if we could make the fields on the opposite side of the forest and the other side of the forest. Yup.

　Besides… in Redgarde territory right now, there is a city-size forest that is eating up the land, but the biggest problem is that the forest has become an obstacle. If it is just unusable land, that is one thing, but if it is inaccessible land, that is a problem.

　There are other towns in Redgarde territory in addition to the one where Fay and his family live, but travel between them is basically a detour via a road that goes around the forest. That is not very efficient.

　That’s why I’m trying to build a road that cuts through the forest…

“Well, this is my first idea.” (Tougo)

　I showed the painting to Ms. Croix.

“…It’s a big bridge.” (Croix)

“Yep.” (Tougo)

　Yep. I was going to build a big, big bridge over the forest. Like a pedestrian bridge. I was thinking of building several connecting parts so that people can enter and exit from about eight different directions.

　But… this is really, really hard.

“It’s going to be a hell of a climb uphill.” (Croix)

“Certainly, there are a lot of big trees in this forest…” (Tougo)

　…This forest is full of life. Somehow, I feel like it is doing well lately.

　With that in mind, the trees in this forest are quite tall. The area around the nest of the giant robin is so large that each tree is over 100 meters long.

　If you try to build a bridge over it… Of course, the height of the bridge will be ridiculous. Moreover, trees have the potential to continue growing, so the bridge must be built with a certain amount of leeway in height…

“It’s definitely hard to go up, and it’s hard to go down… If we were to build a bridge at a height of about 120 meters and try to keep the slope to around 10 degrees, the slope would keep going at 680 meters from the forest. But then… I thought it was too long…” (Tougo)

　The mathematics I learned at school was useful. If I do the calculations, I will know the distance I need. …However, as a result of that calculation, it ended up showing that it was a bit useless. I mean, I think climbing 680m up a 10-degree slope is pretty tough…

“Also, if I was to build something that big, it would be on a very large scale, but then… I was a little worried about the sunlight.” (Tougo)

　Forests grow in the sunlight. If that sunlight is blocked by a bridge, it is bad for the forest.

“That’s right… For my part, I’m more concerned about how you can create something that big in the first place, rather than the structure of the bridge or the sunlight…” (Croix)

　I think it will materialize if I paint it, so it’s okay. I think it’s probably possible to materialize it little by little over a few days. But… hmm.

　…Also, I think farmers will be surprised by this as well. Yeah. So, it’s not a good idea.

“Next, I thought about running a road underground.” (Tougo)

“That’s a tunnel, isn’t it?” (Croix)