Rice Harvest
The next day, Canal said she wanted to see the rice harvest, so we went to the fields together.
“Whoa, this is amazing.”
“The rice is even fuller than yesterday; the stalks might break under the weight.”
“Yesterday, Young Master Reinhardt prayed with the Plant Goddess, and it seems our prayers were heard.”
“That’s great.”
The beastkin helping with the harvest were chatting behind us.
“Hardt, did you do something with the Plant Goddess’s blessing?”
“Like the beastkin said, I just prayed and sprinkled water magic on the fields.”
“And this is the result?”
“You ate curry rice yesterday, didn’t you? Of course you want plenty.”
“That’s true. But it will still take some time before we can eat normally.”
“This year we planted in a few villages and even in other territories, so I think it will be ready sooner than usual.”
“Next year, grow even more. I want to eat it anytime, like bread.”
“I’ll tell Father.”
This time, Brother Chris isn’t here, so Meyer will take the lead in the harvest.
Beastfolk who can use wind magic are participating as well.
First, Meyer demonstrated, using wind magic to cut the rice in one section and gather it in a pile. It took less than five minutes—a lightning-fast display.
“Amazing!” “So fast!”
“Let’s do our best!” “Incredible!”
“I wonder if I can do it.”
Those were the voices of the beastkin about to try using wind magic for the first time.
Meyer acting as both instructor and example probably motivated them.
The beastkin spread out to their assigned fields and began harvesting with wind magic, but the rice kept flying into the air, making it hard to control the magic.
I hadn’t noticed because Meyer and Brother Chris harvested so swiftly yesterday.
“Knight’s magic really is amazing. I have to work hard too.”
“I heard Canal improves fast.”
We haven’t practiced together much lately.
“Still, there’s so much I want to do.”
I’m not entirely sure if my water and healing magic has improved, but since my magic capacity and level seem to have increased, I’m satisfied.
I don’t plan to aim for royal court mage duties in the future, so moderate progress is fine. I also don’t want to stand out too much.
“Meyer, the beastkin seem to be struggling. Any advice?”
“They probably have too much magic capacity.”
“I see.”
“Yes, which is why controlling it is difficult.”
“It is tough for beginners with high magic capacity to adjust properly.”
I know that feeling.
Since we can’t have rice flying all over the air, Meyer ended up harvesting the entire field himself.
To the disheartened beastkin, he explained that high magic capacity makes control tricky, but with practice, they’ll improve by next year.
They bombarded Meyer with questions about how to practice properly.
It’s good that they’re motivated.
After collecting Goosh’s wool, we parted ways with Canal and the others.
They would spend a night at Shinana Village before returning home.
When I asked if they had seen Pere, they said many eggs had hatched and there were lots of young ones.
I’ll have to see that—let’s stop by Shinana Village.
Upon arrival, I told the village chief that Canal mentioned Pere had babies. He looked delighted and said he even wrote a letter to the lord and handed it to Mr. Natt.
I wish Natt had just given me the letter directly. Or maybe there wasn’t a good moment to do so.
“No worries, I have the letter,” Meyer reassured me.
Being a merchant, he hadn’t overlooked anything—my bad for doubting him.
Inside Pere’s hut, an elderly woman showed me two wooden boxes holding the young Pere.
“Is it okay to separate them from their parent?”
“Yes. After laying eggs on the leaves, the parent left them alone.”
They stayed with the parent for a few days, but when the parent tried to eat the leaves with the eggs, they were hurriedly moved to a different box.
Ten days later, the eggs hatched, and the young Pere immediately began eating Oid leaves on their own.
“When they grow a bit more, we’ll add more boxes to separate them further.”
“How many hatched?”
“Thirty-nine.”
“Did one produce about four eggs?”
“No, each laid between eight and ten eggs, and about half hatched.”
The reason some didn’t hatch will only become clear after Pere lays eggs multiple times.
Still, thirty-nine is a lot.
“Grow up healthy, all of you,” I said, and left Shinana Village
What do you think about this chapter?
