Chapter 16: It’s so delicious.

The vegetables we just harvested was unbelievably delicious.

“A-are you alright, village chief?”

“Ahh, excuse me. It was just so delicious, I couldn’t help but shout out loud.”

I apologized like that to Belrith-san who seemed startled by me.

“Belrith-san, why don’t you give it a try?”

“Alright; I’ll take you up on that kind offer.”

He said so and then bit onto a turnip.

In the next moment, his eyes opened widely.

“Soooooooo gooooooooooooooooooodddd!!!”

Our reactions were quite similar.

“Certainly, freshly harvested turnips taste great, but what’s with these!? I’ve… never had… turnips… this delicious…”

Perhaps it was because of his excitement, but Belrith-san continued to munch on the turnip as he talked.

Afterwards, we decided to hold a celebration for the successful harvest.

The just harvested vegetables were a given, but we also decided to use some of the meat of the boar and the deer that the group led by Selen managed to hunt down.

By the way, I built an outdoor kitchen for 60 points. Because we could use it not only to prepare meals for a large group but also as a place to butcher what we caught, it was quite an efficient facility.

“Well then. To the successful harvest as well as new friends…cheers!”

“““Cheers!!!”””

I proposed a toast and everybody quickly followed.

There wasn’t any alcohol in the village yet though, so what we used was just well water.

“What!? I can’t believe it!”

“So deliciouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuussssssssss!!”

Such shouts could be heard here and there.

“Hey, hey, hey, this is too delicious, ain’t it? This is the first time I’ve had anything this good.”

“Are these really prepared by our spouses?”

“…It’s the ingredients. Especially the newly harvested vegetables.”

Everyone was shocked at how delicious the food was.

However, it was during then that…

“V-village chief!”

Even when such a celebration was underway, a young man was keeping watch over the village from the top of the watchtower. However, he suddenly climbed down and hurriedly searched for me.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“A group of people are approaching the village.”

“Eh?”

The group seemed to be refugees as well. This time, there were about 40 people.

Each of them seemed thoroughly exhausted, but when they entered the village and confirmed that the village was real instead of being an illusion they dreamt up, their faces were of shock and awe. And when they smelled the food prepared for the celebration, they couldn’t help but gulp down.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I am Luke, and I stand as this village’s chief.”

“A kid like you is the…? Oh, sorry, never mind. Nice to meet you as well. I am Donga.”

When a man who seemed to be in his thirties said his name, Belrith-san shouted for some reason.

“Donga!? Are you that Donga? It’s been a while!”

“Oh! You can’t be Belrith…can you?”

Donga-san was stunned.

“Do you two perhaps know each other?”

“Yes, we do, village chief. Back in the day, Donga here frequently visited our village. Our villages had many interactions such as trade, but for Donga, the main reason for visiting our village was because he was smitten by my younger sister…alas, that love was not meant to be.”

“Can you not talk about the ancient past!? I may not look it, but I have a wife and children now, you know!”

The two of them seemed to have quite a friendly relationship.

By the way, the younger sister in question seemed to be married to a man in another village.

“Wait, if you’re here… does that mean your village was also…”

“Yes, that’s right. We had to leave behind our village. It was quite a harsh journey, but it came to an end a few days ago when we arrived at this village.”

“Still, to think there would be a village here in this wasteland…”

Things were simple if Belrith-san’s acquaintance was among the new group.

They must be starving, so I interjected.

“I think the details can wait until later. For now, would you guys like to join us? We’re having a celebration for our successful harvest.”

“Wha…are you sure?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

Of course, no one objected to the idea. They knew firsthand the hardships the new group must have endured, so they welcomed them with warmth.