In the end, he ended up healing every last injured person in the village.
The number of patients was large enough that an ordinary magician would have been at risk of mana exhaustion, but for Rest, who possessed infinite mana, it was far from difficult.
By sunset, he had healed everyone and returned to the inn.
"Count Clover! Please, have some of this!"
"It's the village's treasured sake! I do hope it suits your taste!"
And so… that day turned into a banquet.
Rest and Celestine sat in the inn's great hall, a massive spread of fish dishes laid out before them.
Men and women from across the village had gathered in the hall, bowing deeply as they offered food and drink.
"You are the savior of this village, my lord! Please, stay as long as you like!"
"Today's catch, freshly caught… We lost most of it to the monsters, but we managed to save this much. Please, help yourself!"
"A-Ah… I'll have some, then. You all eat up too, don't be shy."
"Ha—Haha!"
The villagers were practically trembling with deference.
They bowed their heads over and over, as though worshipping a god.
"There's something about this place… in a way, it's really uncomfortable, isn't it…"
"W-Well, I do think everyone here means well…"
"Yeah… I'm sure that's true, but…"
Rest exchanged a wry smile with Celestine, who sat beside him.
"Sashimi, my lord! Please, please, enjoy!"
"Come, come! Have some sake as well...!"
"Madam, please, do have some too!"
"No, we're not actually married... well, we'll take the sashimi though."
The food was delicious.
Last night's dinner had been delicious too, but today's was even more extravagant.
The people of the entire village had pooled together ingredients and alcohol, and were treating Rest and the others to a feast.
"It looks like things are pretty rough because of the monsters, so... is it really okay for us to accept such a lavish spread?"
"Probably not, I would think."
In response to Rest's concern, Celestine quietly answered in a low voice.
"I believe they somehow scraped together whatever limited food they had. That's just how grateful they are to you, Rest."
"..........."
It was nice that they were grateful, but honestly, having them go to this much trouble was troubling.
If they ended up starving to death because they'd fed him instead, that would be an incredibly bitter pill to swallow.
"Celestine... I hate to ask, but is it possible to provide food aid to this village? Of course, I'll pay for it."
"Of course, that's entirely possible. I'll arrange it on my end."
Celestine readily agreed to Rest's request.
Honestly, it felt like going out of one's way for a village of strangers was being too soft-hearted.
Still... Rest couldn't be so heartless as to turn a blind eye to people he'd crossed paths with falling into such misery.
(He knew it was just self-satisfaction, but... well, doing this much should be fine, right?)
Rest currently had more money than he could ever spend.
Some of it was part of the queen dowager's inheritance that had been transferred from Rodele.
(It was originally money that had come from Shoko. In that case, returning it to the village she loved shouldn't be a problem.)
"If you're going to get that involved, you might as well just buy the entire village..."
"The entire village... huh? You can actually do that?"
"It depends on the lord who owns the land. Some people stubbornly refuse to part with their property, while others will easily give up both their domains and titles. If you've taken a liking to the inn and the cuisine here, you could simply claim it as a vacation estate under House Clover. My father owns domains beyond his main holdings, you know."
"Is that so..."
It was only natural for a great noble to possess multiple domains and titles.
Once again, Rest was struck by the sheer scale of House Crocus.
"Well, I'll think about all that when the time comes..."
"Come, come, please have a drink!"
"Yeah, I'll drink..."
Rest took a sip of the sake the villager poured for him.
"Hmm... this is...?"
He let the amber-colored liquid touch his tongue, and his eyes widened slightly.
There was no drinking age in this country. Rest had tasted alcohol on several occasions before... but this drink felt remarkably stronger than anything he'd had until now.
"This is quite a rare drink. It doesn't seem to be wine or ale..."
Celestine also took a sip and wore a puzzled expression.
It was nothing like the grape- or grain-based beverages commonly found in this country. How could such a thing be made?
"Ah, this was made from potatoes harvested in the fields. The reason it's stronger than regular drinks is because we apply heat during the process."
"Heat... could it be a distilled spirit?"
Rest's eyes widened in surprise.
In this country, wine and other fermented beverages were the norm.
Distilled spirits, which used heat to raise the alcohol content, were not widely available.
"Distilled spirits... I've heard of them. They're those potent drinks produced in the Empire, aren't they? To think something similar was being made in this country..."
"You know of distilled spirits as well, Lady Celestine?"
"Yes. They're expensive imports from the Empire. A luxury that only royalty and a few nobles can afford. I've been wanting to find out how they're made, but the Empire's security is tight, and I haven't been able to get close to the secret."
It seemed distilled spirits existed in this world too.
Thinking about it, that wasn't so strange—this was a world with a fair number of reincarnated people.
"Mrs. Sanada taught us how to make this liquor in the village. Unfortunately, we can't produce it in large quantities, so we only bring it out for special celebrations."
"......"
Distilled spirits made from potatoes... a drink close to Japan's shochu. It hadn't spread because the quantity was too small for the villagers to have any surplus to sell.
If this could be mass-produced, the profits would be immense.
"...Mr. Rest, would you leave this matter to me?"
It seemed Celestine had been thinking the same thing, as she whispered.
"I won't do anything to disadvantage you. If profits are made, I'll make sure you get a share."
"...I'm counting on you."
A golden egg hidden in a remote fishing village.
The village that bore the footsteps of the queen dowager held more value than he had ever imagined.