Chapter 56
Leo entered the farm in a state of sheer astonishnt.
In the front vegetable garden, bluish herbs had taken root.
Even as soone ignorant of magic, he knew the na of those herbs.
Mana herbs.
They were items used in alchemy.
It was known that nothing from the roots to the stems and leaves was to be thrown away, and they were traded at high prices.
There was not just one of them, but an entire garden growing thick with them.
“These are mana herbs. No way, did you actually succeed in cultivating these?”
“Yeah.”
Joshua shrugged his shoulders.
While it was not his own research achievent, he was now the owner of these things.
He thought there was no need to deny it.
“If you did business with these, just how much could you earn?”
“It would be best not to touch them recklessly.”
“I know.”
Leo slowly followed behind him.
Joshua released the spell cast on the barn.
Cluck cluck.
Just as the sound of animal cries reached their ears, chickens burst out through the opened gap.
By a rough estimate, there were more than ten of them.
The creatures surrounded Joshua like puppies and rubbed their bodies against him.
“Chicken!”
Talleon’s voice rose in excitent.
It was food.
Furthermore, it was a fresh, living thing.
“I am taming a few of them in this barn.”
“Are you planning to raise them to eat?”
“That would be one way, but for now, breeding cos first. Luckily, I obtained a pair with good compatibility.”
“Then will they keep increasing? The worry about food is over then!”
“It is too early to be relieved yet. There are a few problems here.”
Joshua continued while stroking his chin.
“These fellows all share the sa bloodline. If they inbreed, I am worried about the condition of the chickens born in future generations.”
“Does that also beco a problem?”
“It does if you think about the sowhat distant future. This is not an urgent matter, so we can discuss it gradually.”
Joshua turned his body.
The barn and the garden were all he could show right now.
Even so, it seed to be quite a shock to the three of them.
Their open mouths showed no signs of closing.
“I revealed this farm to you for one reason, which is trust. Do not speak of this place carelessly anywhere. This is a secret only for our group mbers.”
Talleon and Gavinu nodded their heads as if it were only natural.
He had already revealed one secret to the two of them previously.
Healing spell.
Fortunately, to this day, no one had pried into his magic.
It ant they were keeping their promise well.
“I don't worry about the two of you just because another secret is added. The one I am concerned about is you.”
Leonard, who was pointed out, adjusted his tie as if he felt stifled.
“I could trust you, right?”
“Dammit, if I were to betray you, you would intend to kill .”
“Very painfully, yes.”
“I am not going to say I will go back now, but aren't you giving too much pressure?”
“You just need to keep your mouth shut. If you cannot do that, I’m going to have to put a lock on your mouth or sothing.”
Leo felt like he wanted to cry.
If the Sunlight Knights were physically exhausting.
Being with him was ntally fatiguing.
“Are you also planning to cast a curse?”
In magic, there were ways to place restrictions on an opponent’s movents.
Curses were like that.
An outstanding magician was capable of killing a person even with a curse.
“No, I don't intend to go that far.”
Leo swept his chest as if relieved.
“...Thank you. If it were , I could not have acted with trust toward another person in this kind of situation.”
“If you are thankful, repay it with labor. I have a lot of work to give you.”
Leo wore a blank expression but soon accepted with a determined face.
Doing work was not bad.
He had taken on chores even when he was in the Sunlight Knights.
It was only that the location had changed to this place.
‘Anyway, this is amazing.’
Admiration flowed out inwardly.
Movents to organize fields to solve food concerns had existed since early on.
The Knight Orders were no exception.
However, as of now, it was still just an imagination within their heads.
It took ti to search for usable locations or to obtain necessary materials.
Joshua possessed both.
Even if it was just one species of livestock and one species of herb.
It was an unbelievable scale to say a student had created it alone.
“Why are you standing there with a blank expression? Huh, you haven't harbored other intentions, have you?”
“I was just thinking about sothing else for a mont!”
“Do not even think about stealing chickens or eggs. If you pull even a single mana herb, you are dead.”
“I told you I did not think of such a thing!”
“That is a relief then.”
Joshua entered the barn and counted the eggs the chickens had laid.
Nine.
This was a harvest that was not bad.
“Here you go.”
He threw one egg to Leo.
Had they said to give a carrot if one wanted to ta a horse?
People were no different.
To win favor, one must ta them by throwing rewards one by one.
“It is a welco gift for joining the group.”
“I-I cannot eat raw eggs.”
“And?”
Joshua glared at the boy with a pathetic look.
“Should I boil it and put it in your mouth myself?”
“I did not an it that way, is there no way to cook it?”
“It is a world where you have to light even a single fire yourself. Handle it on your own.”
Leo rolled the egg in his hand with a dissatisfied face.
“By any chance, do you have a ballpoint pen?”
Joshua took a pen out of his backpack and threw it.
Leo caught it and engraved the number 1 on the egg.
“This is a mark that this fellow is mine. If it succeeds in hatching into a chicken, I will judge how to use it.”
“Are you planning to sell it instead of eating it?”
“I did not act with that much thought. I just thought eating a chicken would have higher nutritional value than an egg.”
Joshua smiled with satisfaction.
It was admirable to see him trying to use his head in his own way.
The other boys behind them clapped their hands.
“That is amazing. I just gulped it down imdiately when I received one last ti.”
“You have a good head, Senior Leo.”
Leo rubbed his nose with an embarrassed expression.
They were children he had looked down upon for having low ranks or grades.
However, he did not dislike this kind of attention.
Before the world beca like this.
Being envied by others was a natural phenonon for him.
“Well, my written grades were at least in the middle.”
“That is amazing! People who are excellent in one area usually tend to give up on the other.”
“R-Right?”
Joshua let out a snort.
Leo’s written grades were achieved through nurous private tutoring sessions.
A typical education policy of those born with a silver spoon.
He thought about teasing him for a mont but soon gave it up.
“But why are you calling Joshua 'Sir' while I am just 'Senior'?”
“Is that strange?”
“Of course! That guy is now a commoner, not a noble.”
“But the expression 'Sir' sticks to the tongue so well that I like it.”
Talleon showed no intention of changing the title.
Leo wore a sulky expression.
It felt as if the gap between them was felt even through the title.
“Call 'Sir' as well.”
“Hmm, is that an order?”
“An order?!”
Leo wore an expression as if he had been hit.
Giving an order was the sa as acknowledging these two as subordinates.
They were trying to pull tricks while having innocent looks in their eyes.
“Everyone here I swear.”
Leo did not want to acknowledge them yet.
It was a relationship where they t for the first ti today.
He thought it would be a headache if he recognized them as subordinates when he did not even know their skills.
If a flawed side was discovered.
He even planned to use that as a basis to consult with Joshua and kick them out.
“Call Senior.”
Talleon nodded his head with a disappointed expression.
“If the cleanup is finished, I am thinking of giving you work from now on.”
“Wait! I did not even receive proper treatnt for the injuries I suffered while fighting that variant. It is a miracle that I even ca this far.”
“Yeah, I know. So from now on, try taking off all your upper and lower clothes.”
Leo looked with suspicious eyes.
“What do you an?”
“Do not make an embarrassed expression and take them off quickly. I will not do anything bad.”
* * *
Rodwell covered his forehead with his hand.
His head still hurt from the psychological warfare he had fought with the other leaders at the eting site.
He thought it would get better once he returned to the tower.
It was a delusion.
Troubles to be solved remained even after returning here, and the problems had increased further.
The mbers gathered in the conference room fell silent.
They were the ones who were laughing and chatting until a mont ago.
“Are you going to keep your mouths shut? Should I ask each and every person individually?”
Rodwell’s voice was chilly.
There were mbers who trembled their bodies just from that.
“I will speak.”
Lucille caught her breath.
She was the one in charge of this place while he was away.
Whether achieving rits.
Or causing problems.
She reminded herself that she was the person who would be pointed out first.
“Hungry survivors attacked the food warehouse. There were 3 leaders, and about 10 survivors participated.”
“Did they finally cross the line?”
“Since even a sip of water cannot be obtained from the land around here anymore, it must have been difficult to pay the tribute. But it is because those things are swarming if they go further away.”
Rodwell scratched his head.
He felt that the thod of tribute had also reached its limit.
Another way must be found so they can beco self-sufficient.
“What happened with the search I told you to do?”
Thanks to Lucille speaking the first words, the other mbers also regained their composure.
One mber opened his mouth.
“I have identified a field. The soil around the tower is not bad, so it seems crops can be grown with a little work.”
“What about seeds or pits?”
“That is the problem. It seems they cannot be obtained around here. To find them, we have to organize a search party and send them out like before, but...”
“It failed. Because we lost half the mbers.”
Rodwell swallowed a groan.
If the search party had done their job properly, many problems would have been solved cleanly.
That made it even more regrettable.
“How did you handle those village people?”
“I tried not to kill them if possible, but the resistance was too strong. We killed six people, and the ones we captured have been confined in the underground prison.”
“Do the other survivors know this fact?”
“...Yes.”
It was a commotion that happened inside the tower.
If even one person discovered it, the rumor would spread in an instant.
“Make sure not to receive tribute for fifteen days. Give out a loaf of bread once in a while too. Anyway, there are not many survivors left now, right?”
“There are 37 in total.”
“I thought there were well over 100, but it has beco very shabby.”
Rodwell chuckled.
He now wanted to move on to the next problem.
“But if my eyes are not wrong, I don't see two people who should be in this spot. Where did Aaron and Xylo go?”
No one dared to open their mouth easily.
Judging by the atmosphere alone, one could guess what kind of conduct those two had perford.
A hollow laugh flowed out.
They had run away.
“Even while I was here, such things happened twice. If I hold you responsible for that, Lucille, only I will be treated as a peculiar person. You know I am not that stiff of a person.”
Lucille gave a bitter smile.
His words felt like a reprimand rather than consolation.
“So what did they take and run?”
“...Armor and weapons.”
“God dammit! Those bastards were all people who did not have armor. No way, did they take out what was being kept for spares? Do you guys even know how much one set of armor costs! There would be money left even after buying a small village.”
Rodwell lost his composure for the first ti in a while.
Anger welled up.
If he did not explode like this once, it felt as if his heart would stop from the repressed anger.
“All of you, get out! I don't even want to see your faces.”
The knights hurriedly left the room.
Only Lucille kept her place until the end.
“What are you doing not going out?”
“All of this is my mistake. If you want to take your anger out, do it to .”
“Take my anger out on you? What should I do? Will the missing armor and weapons return if I do?”
“They will not.”
“I could strike down your neck right at this spot.”
“If that is your heart, I will take it sweetly.”
Rodwell swept his forehead.
He was confused.
Considering the order of the unit, her mistake could not be overlooked.
Punishnt was fitting.
However, her absence would be felt greatly, and the subordinates would feel anxious as well.
It would not be easy for him to handle that void alone.
“It seems I am not as strong as you. I have no dignity, and I lack leadership. All I can do is take care of the surroundings.”
“...Lucille, I am human too. I have limits as well.”
Rodwell stepped back and sat in his seat again.
It was collapsing.
Even though Joshua had boosted his face at the eting site.
It was this way as soon as he returned to the tower.
“I should have stayed at the eting site a little longer instead.”
“It seems sothing good happened.”
“It was very good. You should have seen the looks in the other captains' eyes as they watched . They were gazes stained with envy and fear.”
“Carius and Derek? I cannot imagine it well.”
“Hehe, it is because of Joshua. That bastard pulled off sothing incredible.”
Rodwell laughed pointlessly.
It had only been a few hours since they separated, but he already missed the boy.
Reviews
All reviews (0)