After a Year…
We received word from Helios Village saying, “We’re about to begin harvesting the rice—what will you do?” so we decided to head there, combining it with a trip to collect Goosh’s wool.
“Mother said we’ll get to have curry rice for the first time in a year,” so I suppose that’s what we’ll be eating when we return.
Not that I mind—it’s one of my favorites—but I could feel the maids at the edge of the dining hall silently pleading, We’ll get to eat it too, right? and that made me hesitate for a second.
Still, I’ve learned how important benefits and morale are, so it’s fine.
In that case, maybe I should use the blessing of the Plant Goddess to increase the rice yield before harvest.
Otherwise, we might end up eating rice less often.
Honestly, I’d love to have beef bowls, tempura rice bowls, omelets over rice, or fried rice too—but I don’t know how to make soy sauce or ketchup.
Wait. Maybe fried rice would work even without soy sauce.
Yeah. Let’s increase the rice harvest with a blessing.
On the way to Helios Village, we ran into a wagon. It was Canal and Mr. Natt.
This time, it looked like beastfolk were acting as their guards.
“Canal, are you heading home?”
“Yeah. Hardt, why are you going to Helios Village?”
“They contacted me saying it’s rice harvest season and asked if I’d come collect some.”
“Rice harvest?”
“Rice is… kind of like a grain similar to wheat, maybe?”
“Are we eating it tonight?”
“No, I think the harvest is tomorrow, so we probably can’t eat it yet.”
“Dad, it’s bound to be delicious! Let’s go back to Helios Village and stay one more night.”
“Canal, what’s gotten into you? We’ll just inconvenience Young Master Reinhardt and the others.”
“I don’t mind, but what about your work, Mr. Natt?”
“A day or two’s delay won’t be a problem,” he said apologetically.
“Dad, if even Hardt’s going to Helios Village, we can’t let this chance pass!”
A quiet murmur came from behind us. One of the guards… probably Kamuela.
In the end, Natt gave in to Canal’s insistence, and they turned back toward Helios Village.
Since we were on horseback, we went ahead to let the villagers know Canal and the others would be returning.
In the meantime, I decided to use the blessing.
Once we arrived, without even taking a break, I began sprinkling water magic over the golden fields, murmuring, “May the rice grow even more bountiful,” invoking the blessing of the Plant God.
Behind me, the five others who also possessed the Plant Goddess’s blessing joined in, repeating the same phrase as they cast their own water magic.
“We’re watering the fields with water magic too, but we’re not getting results like yours, Young Master Reinhardt.”
“Could it be the words?” they asked, surrounding me with questions, so I explained that the image was what mattered most.
“Imagine the plants heavy with grain as you pour the magic water.”
“And the word ‘tawawa’—what does it mean?”
“It refers to the fullness of crops bending under their own weight when they ripen.”
“Understood!” they chorused, and we continued watering the fields together.
When we finished, I asked which fields held the rice given to us by the Alraune, and they said it was planted near the village.
When I went to check, that rice was indeed growing thicker and heavier than the rest.
We’ll need plenty since we’ll have to feed the Alraune too.
When we returned to the village, Canal and the others had arrived.
“Hardt! Saphid said we can eat rice dishes today!” she said excitedly.
“They already harvested part of another field so we could eat tonight.”
“You were still growing more?”
“Yes, we said we wanted to eat a bit more this year.”
Sorry about that.
Our household has a lot of people, so we always end up taking more.
“Next year, you should plant more of the high-yield rice seedlings.”
“I compared them, and they seem to produce about 1.5 times more, so I’ll do that.”
“That’s a big difference.”
“Yes, it’s visible even at a glance.”
Now it depends on how much rice Father can collect from the villages across the territory.
Once people taste it, they’ll all want to grow it themselves…
We’ll have to expand the cultivation next year.
Dinner that night was curry rice.
“This is quite the privilege,” Meyer and the others said, clearly delighted at their first curry of the year.
We’ll probably have it again once we get home.
“Hardt, this is amazing! There are still so many delicious things in this world!”
Canal came over holding her plate of curry rice.
“You haven’t eaten it yet, have you?”
There were no signs of a bite taken, so I asked, and she replied, “It’s my second helping.”
Curry rice does make you eat more than usual… I hope she’ll be fine.
Then Atre and Lucas both said, “Seconds!” and motioned for me to go get them some more.
What do you think about this chapter?
