Chapter 379

The Developing Village and Kiblinki Saltas
Now that Baron Degusal and his son had finished their discussion, it was time for Marquis Vardmoi and me to step in.
The second son seemed more easygoing than I had expected.

"Rugio, wasn't it? It's been a while. So you've been leading this developing village?"

"It has been a long time, Marquis Vardmoi. I rebelled against my father's ways and left the barony to come here. I apologize for failing to fulfill my duties as a noble."

"No need for that. Preventing your people from starving is also an important duty of nobility. It sounds like you've had a rough time."

"It’s been nothing but hardship. The land here isn't particularly fertile, and clearing it for farming takes time and effort. Even building homes required working alongside those with carpentry experience. Ever since I arrived, it's been a constant struggle."

"I see. Still, you look like you've grown into a fine man. It seems those experiences have shaped you well."

"Thank you. So, about the tamed monsters you mentioned?"

"I'll let the tamer explain from here. Lily, come forward."

Ah, I was being called.
Alright, time to go.

"That girl is the tamer?"

"Yes, her name is Lily. Though she is a tamer, she mainly operates as a Silver-ranked merchant now."

"I see. Welcome to my developing village, Miss Lily."

"Thank you. You can just call me Lily. No need to be so formal."

"Is that so? Ever since I started living here, I've struggled to shake off the noble way of speaking. I’ll take you up on that and talk more casually."

Yeah, this suits him much better.
He seemed far more lively like this.

Guided by Rugio, we walked through the village alongside the Kiblinki Saltas.
Since it was the beginning of autumn, the wheat had started ripening, but the crops didn’t seem to be growing very well.

If the lord had been taking seventy percent of the harvest, I could see why life had been tough.

I wondered what the Kiblinki Saltas would make of this situation.

(Hmm. Overall, the soil hasn’t been turned over enough. Also, it’s lacking nutrients. Crops will remain weak in this land.)

"You sure know a lot about farming for a monster. So, how do we fix this?"

(After this year’s harvest, till all the fields again to loosen the soil. Also, crop rotation would help.)

"Crop rotation? What’s that?"

(Instead of planting the same crop on the same land every season, you grow different crops in rotation. This prevents the soil from being drained of specific nutrients. It also reduces the chance of pest infestations. While the immediate wheat yield may drop, in the long run, it’s a more efficient farming method.)

Wow, these spiders even knew about crop rotation?
Apparently, they learned this knowledge from the elder who guarded the Chaos Vortex.
Where did these spiders originally acquire such advanced knowledge?

For now, we decided to try crop rotation on the new fields the Kiblinki Saltas would cultivate.
I would handle sourcing the necessary seeds and sending them over.

Still, I was amazed by how deep their agricultural knowledge ran.

What do you think about this chapter?