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68. First Harvest of the Wolves

About a month and a half has passed since the invasion of the feudal lord’s army and the incident involving the Knights Order.

「Not done yet? I am already at my limit…」

「We’re still waiting.」

Around this time, Bellman and his squad were accepted as residents, and the place became quite lively. The village was about to reach a turning point.

「Geli can’t stand it anymore…」

「Not yet.」

Angelina had also completely become a member of the village. Apparently, she was still in contact with the Academy, giving them the reason she couldn’t return home because she knows the village’s location. Of course, we didn’t continue to force her to stay, but we were definitely saved by her knowledge and golems.

「Master, I feel an unknown sensation. My body is getting hot…」

「It’s still early.」

Koe-san had also become accustomed to living here.

I entrusted her with the task of lending and recollecting skills from the residents. Many came to me crying, and thanking me that everything became easier.

Thanks to that, my total number of skill points also steadily increased.

In terms of domestic politics, Asagi was running around as busy as ever.

「M-Marge-dono, can we please start now…?」

「Okay.」

And today. I gave the order the people had been waiting for.

「Everyone, it’s harvest time!!」

Cheers went up.

It’s been a little over four months since we tried growing rice. On this sunny day, all the werewolves, humans, and golems stood around a rice field.

Of the seven paddy fields, only two reached the stage of earring. Most of the ears of one of the paddy fields was eaten by insects, but the last one had bountiful yellow hanging ears that were swaying in the wind, waiting to be harvested. The contrast with the vermilion flowers surrounding the rice field was beautiful.

「It’s called the Golden Field. It seems to mean a grass field dyed in gold.」

「It’s the same color as [Garou].」

「It might also be compatible with Endemic skills.」

If this land returns to fruitfulness and becomes abundant, the land’s mana will be enriched and the Endemic Skill will be strengthened.

As if to prove that hypothesis, Shizuku’s skill output has been increasing little by little since the rice earring.

「……Let’s start.」

Once everyone was there, I stepped into the golden field. The water has already been drained, and the well-dried rice was emitting a fragrant aroma.

「Look, this is the first harvest of this village.」

I swung the sickle in my hand and cut down the first bunch. As I held it high and declared the success, the villagers responded with applause.

Following behind me were Koe-san, Asagi, and Shizuku, each looking at the harvested bunch with deep emotion.

「I give the right to harvest to everyone in the village. Use one sickle in turn and reap one bunch at a time.」

Everyone was waiting for their turn like children. Seeing that, the burden on my shoulders finally lightened a little.

「You made it all the way up to the mountain, Master.」

「Yeah, but I can’t let my guard down just yet.」

Shizuku, who worked hard to procure rice seeds and agricultural tools, observed intently at the rebirth of her village.

「Marge.」

「What is it, Shizuku?」

「To be honest, I have been thinking all this while if it was okay for us werewolves to get our sustenance from the soil instead of hunting.」

「Then how about now?」

「I’ve come to understand that to live itself is a battle. When your life’s on the line, picking and choosing the means for no good reason is no different than being a spoiled child– Oh?」

A nearby golem lifted us up while we were having a conversation.

Looking from high up, the village was lined with wooden and stone houses, and a refreshing waterway ran between them. It was completely different from the destroyed and ablaze scene when I first jumped down from the sky.

「The leaders should not be having a conversation with a bitter look at an auspicious time.」

「You’re right, Angelina. By the way, what do you think of this result?」

「Geli has actually gained knowledge and expertise after failing in six paddy fields. Next year, Geli will try to succeed in 50% of the rice fields. And after that, it will be 80%.」

「In that case, I am counting on you.」

It seems like she plans to stay here at least until next year.

「Anyway, more importantly, how do you eat paddy?」

「Angelina-dono. Ripe paddy is called rice.」

Asagi, who had been reading through reference books, answered in my stead.

「Rice, huh. So, how do you eat it?」

「You can pretty much do all the same things you can with wheat, such as grinding it into flour and making it into bread, kneading it and boiling it. It’s said that it tastes best when cooked as a grain.」

「Oh, it’s definitely a staple food.」

As Asagi fondly looked over the village, Angelina clapped her hands in response.

The requirements for staple food may vary, but the fact that it can be eaten in a variety of ways cannot be made light of. Wheat can also be prepared in a variety of ways, including porridge, bread, noodles, and pies.

「It would be great if we could just cook it and eat it every day without getting tired of it.」

「That would be too convenient.」

「If a grain like that exists, I would love to taste it.」

After laughing about that for a while, I gave the next command.

「Dry the harvests as well. After that, all you have to do is use a millstone to grind out the grain and we’re done.」

Another half a month passed.

After a year of trial and error, rice cultivation finally came to fruition. Although the quantity and quality could not be called excellent, each grain was still shining like a crystal in everyone’s eyes.

There was no need to be extravagant. I immediately gave out instructions.

「Let’s cook it right away and have a taste! Bring as many pots as you have!」

A wave of people began to move.

「I thought we might need some wine and prepared some. I do not know if it would go well with rice, though…」

「As expected of Koe-san. They say you can make alcohol from rice as well, so let’s give it a try when we can harvest enough rice.」

「Marge, since we have meat and wild vegetables, can we boil those too?」

「Yeah, do it to your heart’s content.」

「Let’s also salt and grill the fish that Geli raised in the waterway! The biggest one goes to the king, but the second biggest is Geli’s!」

「Angelina-dono, grilled fish with only salt on this auspicious day is somewhat…」

「According to Geli’s calculations, this is the best solution! Geli will give you just one bite and you will be crying tears of joy and begging for another bite!」

The mood of the people living in this village seemed to change when it came to food.

The white rice that has been cooked was shiny and jewel-like. The moment all of them stuffed their cheeks with the still steaming hot rice will surely be remembered for a long time.

「Um, Geli-dono…」

「Geli can’t hear anything.」

Furthermore, Angelina’s salted-grilled fish received overwhelming support as an ingredient to go with rice. It also became a topic that those who doubted Angelina’s recipe had to prostrate themselves before her and beg her to share it with them.

「By the way, Marge-dono.」

「What is it, Asagi?」

Asagi whispered to me as the sun was setting and the party was in full swing.

「Even though it’s an auspicious day, I would still like to report it as soon as possible.」

「…Has there been a progress in the matter?」

On the day of the conflict with the feudal lord’s army, I was concerned about what the commander of the White Phoenix Knights Order said when he left. He said they were searching for the werewolf tribe’s stronghold after getting information from the captives. I had Asagi investigate it, and it seems like he came to some sort of conclusion.

「We had a difficult time due to strict information control, but one thing seems certain.」

「Tell me.」

「The person being held prisoner by the Knights Order is a woman of the dwarf tribe who once lived with us in the forest.」

I couldn’t help but notice the treasured sword on my waist. I heard that this famous sword was hammered by the originator of the dwarves. His descendants are being held captive by the Knights Order?

「It seems like I still have things to do outside the village…」

I whispered to myself while looking up at the starry sky.

「Also, there was one more thing reported by the Bellman squad. It’s about Altora and the others…」

Incidentally, Asagi also told me about the current situation of Altora and the others.