BXBX NOVEL 82 - Art. 82. Harvest And May'S Awakening
"We\'re almost out of anko (red bean paste)!
"Okay. Just give me a minute."
The work began at 5:00 a.m. and has already been going on for six hours straight. I look out the window and see many people in the distance. We still have to make it. With renewed determination, I start to work on the bean jam.
It is a beautiful autumn day. In Krumfal, all available hands are harvesting the crops. The rice in the paddy fields is especially golden, showing its good growth.
"Hey, that\'s enough. Go to lunch! Mr. Pius and the others will have dinner when you\'re done there!"
The one who gives instructions in a voice so strong that it is hard to believe that he has been working all morning is Knogen, a former knight of the Imperial Guard. He is now in charge of the education of mercenaries in Krumfal.
Five days after his return to the capital with Auche, Knogen reappears in our midst. And then..,
"Would you hire me at Krumfahr? Oh, and here is a letter of recommendation from Commander Lafayence.
It said, "I present this man to you as apology for the other day. I immediately recruited Knogen and placed him under Pius. Knogen quickly showed his talent and began to teach training and strategy to the newly organized mercenaries. His leadership skills are impressive, and today\'s harvest is being completed one after another in the vast rice paddies, thanks to the lean movements of the mercenaries under his command.
Ferris and Ruara take the lead in the fields, harvesting alongside the farmer\'s wives. A Kaijin man from Kaiseroom has come to help them, and the harvest is being completed at a very fast pace.
Gong and Mei are in charge of the quality of the harvested crops. Both of them are checking the produce with a strict eye. And Rico, commanding Gurion and Harpy, keeps an eye on the harvest from the air and on land to make sure the demons don\'t touch the crops. As one would expect, none of the S-ranked demons dare to touch Gurion and Harpy. If any dragons come along that can\'t handle them, I\'m going to leave.
Itra, the baby gurion, princess of Krumphal, tastes the o-hagi and zenzai we make. She seems to like them and is squealing with delight.
After noon, we finally have some idea of what we\'re going to do, and Rico, with me, Peris and Itora in his arms, takes the finished o-hagi and zenzai with him to the harvest area.
"Hey, let\'s eat! Dessert is o-hagi and zenzai!"
Nearly 1,000 people shouted in joy.
The rice balls, sandwiches, soups, pastas, fried foods, stir-fried vegetables, salads, etc., prepared three days in advance for the soup kitchen, are served buffet style at several desks. Then, o-hagi and zenzai (sweet bean soup) are also placed together. In the blink of an eye, the plates are empty. The plates are quickly emptied and refilled with more food.
The harpies and gurions in charge of security are also served lunch. Since they are the only ones who take turns eating, I prepare two more dishes for them than for humans.
They all eat heartily. They are chatting and laughing here and there. It is a peaceful scene.
"...I never thought this would happen..."
Suddenly Rico mutters something.
"What\'s wrong, Rico?"
"Linos, look here. Men and women, young and old, beastmen and adventurers, monsters and humans, all working together, eating together, laughing together. It is a miracle to see them like this.
"I don\'t know how it happened, but..."
"...I wish we could see more places like this."
"Yes."
I gently hugged Rico\'s shoulder.
After a while, Gon and May came back.
"Oh, thanks for your hard work. You should eat!"
"Master, Dr. Gong and I checked the harvest. No problem at all! It\'s coming along very nicely!"
"Oh, yeah! Good for you. Hey, somebody go get Willis. And go get Marcel."
After a while, they came.
"Willis, I hear the crops are coming in well. We will open the supermarket tomorrow as planned. Bring in the food as soon as you finish eating lunch. I\'ll leave the arrangement of the goods to you. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so get some sleep.
"Yes, sir! Leave it to me! I had a client who was impatient for us to open. We will definitely open tomorrow.
"And now, Marcel, I\'d like you to go back to Kylique and bring the dried bonito flakes, dried bonito flakes and dried kelp to the supermarket. And tomorrow morning, bring the fish to the supermarket.
"Okay. I\'ll take care of it."
For the past few months, I have been working hard to develop dried katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and dried kombu (kelp) using dried esarahal. Finally, I had something that I was satisfied with. I tried to sell it at a stall in Willis and it became very popular. It is now so popular that it sells out the moment it goes on sale. Thanks to this, our food tastes even better. This time, we are selling it for the first time in a long time.
While I was busy, May was surrounded by many people and had a puzzled look on her face.
"Um... what\'s going on, everyone?"
"Mei..."
""""""Thanks~o！！！！！"""""
May rolls her eyes at the sheer volume.
"Oh, what? What\'s wrong?
We thought the land was dead. But you\'ve done such a good job with our land. Thank you.
"Atasha, I was at a loss when the ground turned white. But now the land is so rich. It\'s all thanks to you, Mei.
"This farming tool of yours, Master Mei, is really useful. I can\'t believe how quickly the harvest went... thank you very much.
"Thank you, girl, for helping us."
"Thank you, Mei." "Thank you, Mei." "Thank you, Mei." "Thank you so much for your help." "Please teach me more.
May was among the many smiling faces. She was talking to the farmers with a smile on her face, looking very confused but happy.
"All right, when you\'re done eating, let\'s harvest the rest of the crops! Tonight we will feast on what we have harvested!"
""""""""Oh ！！！！！！！""""""""
By evening all the harvest was done and we were ready to feast. The sake was excellent as we watched the bright red sun go down over the ocean, and the sashimi prepared by the divers was delicious. And, of course, the rice and vegetables we harvested were exquisitely delicious. I offered all the meat I had left over from the Kaas Shaloree and the Golden Bird to add to the festivities.
I wonder how long we all stayed together. Leaving the noisy banquet hall, May stood alone on a hill looking out over the land of Krumphal, where the harvest was over.
"May, what\'s wrong?"
"...No, it\'s nothing."
"If you get too much wind at night, you\'ll catch a cold. It\'s getting colder in the mornings and at night these days. The party\'s almost over. You\'d better get some rest because tomorrow I have to help Willis open the store. I\'ll be back at the house soon.
"I... I don\'t know if I can stay with the master like this."
What\'s wrong?
"I\'ve killed many people. But so many people are grateful to me. I really think this is the right thing to do..."
"Of course it\'s good. Mei, to live in this world, you only need to keep two things. You\'re doing fine, so it\'s all right.
"Two things, sir?"
"Yes. The first is not to cause trouble. And the second is to do work that helps people. Now May has done the job of helping many people by herself without bothering anyone. That\'s enough."
"・・・・"
"Everyone in Krumfal thanked May, but was it too much trouble for her?"
"That\'s not true! But I was a little confused. I was not sure if this was the right thing to do.
"What do you want to do from now on? Don\'t you want to do research and help people like you do now?"
"I want to... help people from all walks of life. If I can help a lot of people with my knowledge and skills, that would be great. I don\'t care what it takes. Any kind of work."
"That\'s what work is all about. No matter how simple the job is, it makes a part of people\'s happiness. May has done work that has helped many people. Will you continue to do so?"
"...Yes. I would be very happy to do so!"
"Oh, May, look at the sky. It\'s so beautiful.
"...Wow."
The sky was full of stars. The cold winter air made the stars shine even brighter.
"Mei, let\'s go home."
"Ha........ah......ugh......ugh......."
"May, what\'s wrong?
May cowered with her head in her hands. I call everyone in a hurry and move into the house. I put her down in May\'s room. The others tell her to go to bed early because there is another day tomorrow. However, Rico and Gon insist on taking care of her, and the three of us watch over her.
May was suffering from a high fever. Occasionally, she utters a few words of apology or forgiveness. Finally, at dawn, May\'s breathing calmed down.
"Linos, why don\'t you go to sleep? I\'ll take care of the rest.
"Your fever seems to have gone down, so you should be fine now.
"No, it\'s almost time to go to Willis. I\'ll leave it at that."
While we are having this conversation, May slowly opens her eyes.
"May, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I feel light-headed. My head feels so much clearer. I heard a cracking sound in my head just now, and after that I felt so much better. Is it the master\'s magic or Dr. Gong\'s?"
Did you hear a cracking sound in your head? Did you feel light-headed? ...It\'s the same feeling I had when I was freed from slavery. I rush to appraise May.
Meirias (slave, 19 years old) LV57
H!? H: 282
M!? : 750
Alchemy LV5
Blacksmith LV5
Apothecary LV5
M!? Recovery LV4
Culture LV5
Good manners LV1
matured in old age, superior medical care and medical country
Old age and maturity: Alchemy LV5 Blacksmith LV5
Shangri-La: Pharmacist lv.5 Cultivation lv.5
The title of "self-effacement" has disappeared. On the contrary, almost all the skills have been improved, and four of them have been maxed out. It seems that my growth, which I had been suppressing, has been released all at once, and the skills that had been accumulated may have risen as a reaction. Moreover, two titles have been acquired. What in the world is this?
This is the moment when the "Great Sage Meilias," who later saved many lives by making full use of her profound knowledge and skills, was awakened, respected as a "saint," and at the same time, nurtured many outstanding human resources as an educator and engraved her name on future generations, but neither Rinos nor Meilias herself knows this fact now.