3 bar menu

Chapter 167: Method of Summering

 

---

I walked to the rear of my house. There, within an area marked by a rope, shining golden rice plants had sprung up.

「I planted it to try…but it seems like they grow alright.」
「Yes, there’s a lot of water and it seems like the rice is growing well.」

Lately my stock of rice had been diminishing, so I had attempted to plant and grow some. Just in case I had confirmed that there was a similar type of crop sold in town.

More precisely, I had the wolf people search for it and deliver it to me…..

However, I thought it’d be best to grow it myself.

With those thoughts in mind I planted the unmilled rice inside a plot of land with lots of water.

Then using magic I pulled more water towards it, and before I noticed, it had sprouted.

…..it had a different feeling from apples.

The amount of power to grow a tree and to raise rice had a subtle difference. Despite that, it wasn’t especially hard.

Even without land like paddy fields, I could still grow it if there was suitable water and land. This was a good result.

I had already collected it once and checked its taste. It was pretty delicious.

「Master’s hand grown rice is good and delicious.」
「Well, it is fresh after all.」

Depending on how long I grew it the taste would change.

Furthermore the amount of water, how I induced it, the amount of magic, and the way I used it would change the flavor noticeably.
If I used water thick with magic power, the taste would become deeper and thicker. If I adjusted how much water I used, then it would gain a purer and cleaner flavor.

Those slight changes were interesting, so over the past few days I’d made a lot.

One of my rooms had been converted into a grain storehouse. One corner of it was dedicated to the rice I harvested though soon it would fill up the room.

「Ok then, let’s harvest this area and stop our rice cultivation for right now. Even if we gather more, we’re the only ones eating it after all.」

It’d be troublesome if we gathered enough to fill up a house like we did with apples.

「Ok, then let’s go put it inside the storehouse.」

And so we began harvesting the rice with the golems but…

「Fuu…….it’s hot.」

It was a little before noon and my forehead was pouring with sweat.

「Master, I have tea here so please have some.」
「Thank you…..lately it’s been getting hotter and hotter.」

I quenched my thirst with the tea…but immediately after I just started sweating more.
It was really hot.

Though it wasn’t hot and muggy, but a dry heat that made sweating slightly pleasant.

…….the sun was cheerfully shining today.

I thought and looked at the sky while taking a break on a small wooden bench.

「Ah, I wanted to help a bit, but you finished?」

Hesty walked over from the garden with small steps.

「Yeah, though the golems did most of it. Even so, I only did a little and look how sweaty I got.」
「n~, it’s the hottest time, for this region, after all.」
「Is that so? Well I’m pretty ignorant of this place’s seasons.」

Last month was pretty warm too, but this month was even hotter. It seems I should have learned a little more about this region’s weather and climate.

I was thinking about that as Hesty took out a small bag.

「Hesty? Are you going somewhere?」
「n, I’m going bathing in the cold lake water, on the plains. This is, for that……I was also, wondering if you’d like to, come?」
「You mean Manaril and Katarakta’s place?」

It should be noted that I had made that place. Certainly it was pretty small for a lake, it was more the size of a large pool.

……..it was both larger and deeper than our cold water bath here at home, huh?

In that case we should be able to swim a bit.

「But, can we just use it like that?」

Katarakta was living in it…so could we really just jump in without saying anything?

「n, it’s fine. I got permission, from Manaril.」
「Ohh, you’re prepared aren’t you?」

If she’d gotten permission beforehand then there wasn’t a problem.

「Ok then, shall we go Sakura?」
「Ah, understood Master. There should be a swimsuit inside the closet so I’ll go grab it.」

Sakura said and ran towards the house.

「Yeah, thank you Sakura.」
「No no, it’s one of my joys.」

And so we carried our swimsuits towards the lake.

---