The New World, Wenmigudan Island.
As dawn rose over the sea, sunlight began to drive away the night. Golden morning light spread inward from the island's harbor, and by the time it reached the very center of the island, the Rainbow Tree, shining with the most beautiful light in the world, had fully awakened.
Brilliant, multicolored radiance reflected from the Rainbow Tree and blended into the sunlight, wrapping all of Wenmigudan Island in a dreamlike glow straight out of a fairy tale.
And it was not only the island that the Rainbow Tree awakened. The Harrot Tribe living in the port town also stirred from their dreams and began the day's work.
Compared to the unease they had felt when they first arrived on this island over two months ago, the Harrot Tribe had now fully adapted to life here and accepted it as their new home.
In just a month, the port city had expanded once again. Countless houses had been built, ready to welcome the newcomers.
Beyond that, in pursuit of a better life, they had begun gradually reshaping the island, making it more suitable for everyone to live on.
Not far from the city, close enough to see with the naked eye, farmland had been cleared and planted with all kinds of crops.
Around the city, rings of trees had slowly appeared as well, so the island was no longer covered only in low shrubs.
Other animals had begun to appear on the island too. Most were birds drawn by the beautiful Rainbow Tree at the island's center, along with various insects.
Everything was moving forward steadily and in good order.
Over the past few days, everyone's busiest task had been solving the island's drinking water supply.
Seawater obviously could not be drunk directly, and Wenmigudan Island was not lacking in fresh water.
The problem was that all the island's fresh water was concentrated in the lake at its center, far from the city built near the island's edge. To solve that, everyone planned to build a freshwater pipeline connecting the central lake to the public well in the port city.
After several days of effort, at noon...
Fresh water trickled from the stone pipe and flowed into the huge reservoir everyone had already dug. Cheers immediately erupted all around.
"Great! We finally did it!"
"Now we won't have to run back and forth every day just for water..."
Wenmigudan Island was huge. Building a freshwater pipeline from the lake at the island's center to the public well at the port was no easy task. On top of that, they had to be extremely careful to avoid damaging the lake's environment during construction.
Dana, the Princess of the Harrot Tribe, and Modlin, the captain of the guard, had personally supervised the project.
Now that the drinking water project had succeeded, both of them were smiling.
Their smiles carried both joy at the project's success and hope for the future.
Once the cheering settled down, Modlin gave Dana a look, and she stepped forward to address everyone.
"Thank you all so much. Thanks to everyone's hard work, our lives are getting better and better. Now that the drinking water problem has been solved, food is next. Once our crops grow successfully, we'll be able to become completely self-sufficient. Let's keep working hard!"
"Yes, Princess Dana! Don't worry, we'll do our best!"
"Let's all work hard together!"
After the celebration, the public well was put into use. Countless members of the Harrot Tribe came over with buckets in hand and began lining up for water. Dana and Modlin said goodbye to everyone and left, because there was still one more thing to take care of today.
Before leaving, however, Modlin arranged for a squad of guards to remain there and maintain order.
After all, this place was now tied to the drinking water safety of everyone on the island. They could not afford to be careless.
After leaving the public well, Dana and Modlin walked through the city streets. People greeted them along the way, and happy smiles filled their faces. This was something Dana and Modlin would never have dared imagine two months ago.
Thinking of that, Dana asked again with concern.
"Uncle Modlin, are all the houses Yemu-sama asked for ready?"
"Don't worry, they're all ready. Each house has also been stocked with seven days' worth of food and fresh water for a family of four. Once the people His Majesty is bringing arrive, they can move in right away."
"Good. I heard there are a lot of infants among the people joining our country this time... We can't be careless about that either."
"Don't worry. I've already taken all the infant and toddler supplies out of the warehouse. There isn't much, but it won't be a problem for ten days or half a month. As for after that, I'll take people out to sea and purchase more."
Just then, cries of surprise rang out across the town.
"There's a ship in the sky..."
"Is it His Majesty the King?"
"Yes... yes, I see it..." ... "So that's it. This is the other reason you said this country is called the Rainbow Kingdom, Yemu-sama! What a beautiful island!"
On the warship flying through the sky, Fes had followed Yemu to the bow and was gazing at the island ahead, which shimmered with dreamlike rainbow colors. His eyes shone with wonder.
If even Fes was reacting like that, then Aming, still a young girl, was even more overwhelmed. She stared at the dreamlike island before her, so astonished that her mouth hung open.
The people from Baterilla Island around them also looked utterly stunned, as if they could hardly believe such a beautiful island existed in this world. They murmured to themselves.
"Is this going to be our home?"
"That's right!"
Yemu's powerful voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
"Everyone, welcome to my country, and to the country that will be yours from now on, the Rainbow Kingdom! Now let's head down. I've already prepared everything for you."
Under Yemu's control, the two warships descended from the sky and landed at the harbor. Dana and Modlin hurried over as well.
"Fes, Aming, you two come down with me first."
"Mm!" ... As Yemu led the two of them down from the warship, Dana, Modlin, and the Harrot Tribe members behind them all greeted him with great respect.
"Your Majesty!"
Yemu did not reject the courtesy.
When everything was still chaotic, ceremony and etiquette were the simplest form of order.
"Mm. Dana, Modlin, looks like you've done well. Is everything ready?"
The two were very happy to receive Yemu's praise.
"Everything is ready! Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"
"Mm, I trust you. Now, let me introduce you. These two are the people I told you about, Tadas Fes, the former treasurer of Baterilla Island, and Sheriff Saranojo Minsen. And these two are Dana, the Princess of the Harrot Tribe, and Modlin, captain of the guard, whom I told you about. From now on, you'll all be colleagues. Get briefly acquainted first, then work together to arrange housing for everyone on the ships before nightfall. We'll discuss everything else tonight..."