On August 6th, Jin’s double was sent to Kaina Village with Reiko by its side.

  “Father, please don’t leave Hourai Island while we’re out.”


  Reiko not only reminded Jin of his promise, but also had left Soleil and Luna in charge of Jin’s protection. Like a child who was being overprotective of her parent.

  At Nidou Castle…


  The previous night, Jin had called Barrow to his office after having confirmed with the surveillance Land Units that there was nothing to report about Shion and Lucas.

  “Good morning, Master Jin.”


  The one sitting at Jin’s desk was actually the Substitute Doll. Barrow didn’t seem to be aware of that fact.

  “I wanted to ask you something. Do you know how much food Kaina Village has in stockpile?”


  “Ah, yes. Please wait a moment.”


  Barrow took out a file from a bookshelf.

  “Following Ms. Mine’s teachings, I’ve been keeping such records here.”


  “Ooh…!”


  Jin read through the file through the double’s eyes.

  It described the yields of all agricultural products in Kaina village, including all their related income and expenditures.

  “I see. 15 tons of winter wheat harvested before summer, huh? That was a good harvest. And 4 tons of it went into the storehouse as a tax…?”


  Other useful numbers were written there as well.

  “There are currently 30 houses in Kaina Village, including Eric’s shop but not Nidou Castle, huh? Each of the inhabitants eats an average of 150 kg of wheat per year. The village has 105 inhabitants, so the amount of wheat we need for a year is about 15 tons…”


  This number of inhabitants probably wasn’t including Jin and Elsa, though it could be taking newborns such as Henry into account.

  “Spring wheat is doing well, too. And about the wheat and barley in the storehouse…”


  Jin found what he was looking for after flipping through a few pages.

  “Oh, here it is. The village’s food stockpile. Let’s see, 4 tons of wheat, 4 tons of barley, 1 ton of round beans (like Earth’s soybeans), 200 kg of red-eyed beans (like Earth’s red beans), 100 kg of black-eyed beans (like Earth’s cowpeas)…”


  He started to think about how much he could give to Shion from the stockpile in Nidou Castle, the village’s stockpile, and the planned harvest amount of the village.

  “…This is too much for me after all…”


  Though he had come up with some sort of plan, he wasn’t sure about how viable it was. Therefore, Jin decided to consult with Giebeck, the village chief. Reiko would be bringing Barrow’s file with her.

  Before leaving the office, Jin asked Barrow about something different.

  “How are Shion and Lucas?”


  “Both of them were feeling well this morning, so during their checkup earlier today, Dr. Sally said they could start having normal meals.”


  “So you served them Nidou Castle’s usual breakfast?”


  “Correct. This morning’s menu was toast, soup, topopo salad, and citran, and yet they ate all of it.”


  It was nice to see that they had an appetite.

  “And now?”


  “Since Dr. Sally said they should go out and move their bodies a little, Belle took them for a walk around the village.”


  “I see, I’m glad to hear that. Thanks, Barrow, that’ll be all for now.”


  “Very well, I’ll be taking my leave then.”


  Barrow seemed to have gotten used to bowing like a butler.

  Jin (that is, his substitute doll) left the castle and headed for the village. Reiko followed along silently. However, he was interacting with the real Jin, who was on Hourai Island, using her built-in Mana Comm.

  (Father, the substitute doll is doing a great job. So far, nobody has been able to realize it’s not the real you. It acts very naturally from what I can see.”


  “That’s great to know, thanks, Reiko.”


  As Jin’s double continued walking toward Giebeck’s house, he was called out by a certain someone.

  “Big Brotheeer!”


  “Hey, Hanna, good morning.”


  The real Jin was the one who answered.

  “You know? Haku caught a mouse!”


  “Hmm, did he?”


  “Granny said that we should let him because the mouse had been nibbling on things around the house.”


  The golem cat once again proved to be quite useful.

  “And, and… Huh?”


  “What’s wrong, Hanna?”


  Though she had been rushing towards Jin’s double, she came to a sudden stop a few steps before coming too close to it.

  “Big Brother… Is that really you?”


  “Huh? What do you mean?”


  “You look different somehow…”


  Hanna began to take a few steps back.

  “Ah, so you noticed…”


  “Huh?”


  Perhaps it had been due to the innate intuition of a child, or maybe because Hanna was particularly sharp, but she had realized that this wasn’t the real Jin.

  Reiko began to explain the situation to Hanna, who was starting to get nervous.

  “Hanna, this is Father’s ‘Substitute Doll’.”


  “Huh? A doll?”


  “Yes. Just like me.”


  “Ah, like Big Sis Reiko…”


  Hanna seemed convinced by the explanation. However, she still appeared to be a bit uneasy, and wouldn’t come any closer.

  “And where’s the real Big Brother?”


  Jin himself answered that.

  “I’m in my house, Hanna.”


  “Hmm…”


  “I have something to discuss with the village chief, so I have to go.”


  “Okay, see you later.”


  Hanna waved at him and ran off somewhere. Seeing her off, Jin muttered something.

  “…Hanna saw right through it, huh?”


  (She has spent a lot of time around you, Father.)

  “Oh, well.”


  After some more walking, they finally arrived at the village chief’s house and knocked on the door. The signboard that read “Milleshan Clinic” was very noticeable.

  “Good morning.”


  Giebeck himself came to the door and greeted them.

  “Good morning, Jin. If you’re here to see Dr. Sally, she’s out on a house call.”


  “Oh, no, I’ve actually come to discuss something with you.”


  “Hmm? Well, come on in then.”


  After being invited inside, Jin faced Giebeck across the table in the living room.

  Jin then quickly began to explain the purpose of his visit. Without actually mentioning who they would be selling food to, though.

  “Hmm, so there’s a potential buyer for the village’s surplus of food, and you’re thinking about selling, Jin?”


  “Yes. Also, this is partly because I want to help the buyers by giving them as much as possible, but I was still wondering how much I could sell in the village’s current situation.”


  Jin had Reiko show Giebeck the file they had brought along. After taking it and reading it carefully, he started to share his view.

  “Well, last year was a good harvest and the first half of this year was also very good. Spring wheat and other crops are going well in August. So I think there wouldn’t be a problem if you were to sell everything off, leaving only what we need until next year’s harvest season.”


  “Really?”


  “Yeah. The village is also doing well financially, so we’re in a position where we can buy food to cover shortages in case of an emergency.”


  Jin was relieved to hear that.

  “Besides, you said that you were trying to ‘help the buyers’. If not for that, I would’ve wanted to keep half of it.”


  “Understood, thank you very much. So, in that case…”


  Jin decided he would sell 2 tons of wheat, 2 tons of barley, and some legumes.

  Since 6 tons of winter wheat and 3 tons of barley had already been distributed to each household, they only needed to have 6 tons of barley and wheat in stock. They had already estimated how much they would harvest in autumn, and Nidou Castle still had a stockpile of nearly 5 tons.

  “As for how to transport all that food… Well, I’m sure you can figure something out, Jin.”


  “Yes, that’s my specialty.”


  His biggest concern had been resolved. Jin then kept on talking with Giebeck to ask a little more about the way of thinking around the village’s food management for a bit.

  “Oh, but if it isn’t Jin. Morning.”


  Sally had just returned from the home visit.

  “Henry is growing up healthy and quickly, and maybe two more babies will be born within a month.”


  “That’s great news. Thank you, doctor.”


  “Please, I’m not doing anything. By the way, I saw those two people taking a walk a while ago. It looks like they’re getting better.”


  “Yes, that’s thanks to you too.”


  “Haha, well, let’s go with that then.”


  Sally tapped the shoulder of Nurse Gamma, the nurse golem who had been joining her as her assistant.

  “This one has come in really handy as well. This village is very nice.”


  “I’m glad to hear you say that. It’d be great to see you settle down here for good.”


  “As for me, I’d like you to stay in this house for as long as you want.”


  Both Jin and Giebeck shared their earnest thoughts with Sally.