Chapter 776 - Chapter One: Autumn Harvest
It's finally September. The season of harvest. This year's Harvest Festival is special. The results of the second test at the Flatlands testing ground will be out. Since threshing isn't finished yet, I can't say anything about the exact yield, but looking at Lyudmila's smiling face, it must be highly anticipated. Fortunately, we were blessed with good weather, secured enough water in the reservoir, and it seems it was a bumper crop. The people living in the Flatlands are also enjoying the Harvest Festival.
The recent Harvest Festival in the Flatlands starts with my prayer on the stage set up in the square in front of Shop No. 4... since there's still no church, I'm doing the prayers for ceremonial occasions. When I can't participate due to expeditions, the Headmistress or Jennifer-sensei does it as a proxy. The window is Shop No. 4... after that, there are daytime versions of dances by the ladies from the brothel, choruses by the residents' children, performances by residents who started instruments, and a one-man show contest by the bandits, followed by various performances. Since the eastern half of the Nakanohara district is closer to the Flatlands than to Nakanohara, people come for sightseeing on the shared carriage. Many stalls are out and the entire Flatlands is very lively. The sweets Miana bakes have a good reputation and there's a long line.
While parents are lining up, children pass the time with a flight experience in the Paratroop Jaegers' bowl, Dune's fluffy things, and Mel's flying bubbles... these two's performances are limited to children but are very popular, so they are held in Nakanohara in the morning and in the Flatlands in the afternoon, for about two hours each half-day. Of course, children who don't buy sweets also come, but playing is free.
Among the stalls, there are also Elven crafts, and wealthy enthusiasts come to buy them. Actually, Elven goods can only be obtained in the Royal Capital and here. So, I don't know where the customers are coming from. They don't come by shared carriage, but in their own carriages, and after dropping off the master in the square, they park behind the shops. Since it's behind the bars, diners, and brothels, there's no shortage of food and drink during breaks.
The Main Shop and Shop No. 3 also close before sunset. After that, it's a banquet behind the farm as usual.
"Then, I would like to begin."
The organizer is Miana. Lately, she's been doing it as told by Mary. Since Beatrix, who usually acts as the caller, is away in Morandine, she's a substitute, but since she's the manager of Shop No. 4, it might be fine to have her do it all the time. It's basically the same members, and Miana has become able to handle being an organizer easily while dealing with the old men digging for silica stone daily. If the day comes when Miana reveals her true identity, the old men might deserve a reward.
"Everyone, thank you so much for your hard work today! Especially to the members of the Nakanohara Light Infantry Corps, as many of you are still guarding even now, thank you so much for contributing to the peaceful progress of the Harvest Festival!"
A grand applause rises from the bandits. Some are whistling. When Miana turns her face toward the bell tower and raises her right hand, the soldier on watch waves back.
"Now then, I'm sure your throats are dry and you have beer distributed in your hands..."
Everyone holds their cups filled with beer to respond to Miana's toast.
"But before that!"
"Eeeh!" voices rise. The loudest voice is Lewis-san's.
"There is an announcement!"
"What is it, what is it?" voices rise. Lewis-san is the most prominent here too.
"Beowulf!"
When Miana points at Beowulf, Beowulf, whose face is red even though she hasn't drunk yet, slowly stands up and goes next to Miana.
"What is it, Beowulf? Did something happen?"
When Lewis-san says that, the bandits start saying 'what happened, what happened' one after another.
Could this be...
When I look at Mary, she's looking composed. Magdalena-sama is smiling. The old couple is the same.
No mistake.
"Just recently, a letter addressed to Beowulf arrived from Edward-sama, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Primordia!"
A stir of excitement. Despite that, the bandits are all smiling.
It's confirmed. No mistake.
"What arrived for Beowulf was..."
"What arrived?"
When Miana cuts her words, Lewis-san shouts.
"A proposal of engagement!"
"W-what?"
Lewis-san, who should be surprised, has a full smile. When the farce goes this far, Beowulf, who is blushing to her ears, is pitiful.
"Hey, Beowulf? Did you give an answer?"
Miana has also become able to handle such a role before I knew it. The old men digging for silica stone are to blame.
"Y-yes."
"You have to give an answer. Hey, are you accepting?"
The bandits are clenching both fists and pretending to watch with bated breath.
Seeing that, Matilda burst out laughing.
"Y-yes. I-I think I'll accept."
It's a huge commotion. The bandits, led by Lewis-san who stood up, repeatedly shout 'congratulations'.
Poor Beowulf hung her head.
That said, it's undoubtedly a happy occasion. The Class of 175 and the Associate Class of 175 join in the repeated shouts of 'congratulations, congratulations'.
Little Serena and Glory run around excitedly, jumping up and down, and the members of the Goblin scout team, translated by the Alraunes including Flora, applaud with great excitement.
When Dune splashes water to make a rainbow, Mel flies around that rainbow, and Salamander breathes fire. Gnome... is just applauding with the bandits.
After making a fuss for a while, when Miana gestures for everyone to quiet down with both hands, the bandits' chorus stops abruptly. They are soldiers after all. Since it suddenly became quiet, Little Serena and Glory are looking blank.
The proposal of engagement to Beowulf, of course, came through the Royal Palace. Magdalena-sama coming here must be to bring the letter.
Beowulf, who usually takes the lead in doing heavy work during banquet preparations, didn't come out of Shop No. 4 until just before it started. It must have been conveyed to her then. Since she will marry after becoming an adopted daughter of the Sertoria Royal Family, strictly speaking, it will be marriage diplomacy with Sertoria. Lineage-wise, it's diplomacy with Sertogne. However, it seems neither Sertoria nor Sertogne intends to make it official diplomacy. Someone will come to the wedding, but it will effectively be a marriage from Sertoria. Since Edward-sama himself doesn't care about such things, it probably won't be a problem.
"Since the wedding will be in May next year, until then she will be learning etiquette at the Royal Palace. After that, she will marry into Primordia, so Shop No. 4 will be short one person."
Come to think of it, that's true. I hadn't thought about it. Who will guard Miana? Whether it's the Class of 175 or the Associate Class of 175, we're short-handed. The only ones who can participate in the current banquet are the bandits, right? However, the bandits are all men. They probably won't be made Miana's direct subordinates. There are female Kingdom soldiers at the bar next door, but they don't participate in the banquet. It's too late to make them Shop No. 4 employees. Not to mention, other people can't be placed in Shop No. 4, which has many top-secret matters.
"We need a replacement..."
The bandits look up sharply. They must be thinking 'it's me'.
"I'd like to recommend this person as Beowulf's replacement."
Magdalena-sama stood up abruptly.
Time stops for a moment. The bandits are gaping.
"I'll say this now, it's not me. I stood up to introduce the person I want to recommend."
A stir of sighs follows.
She said it with a smile, but you definitely did that on purpose, didn't you?
The person Magdalena-sama introduced was a woman named Elena.
Elena, whose name was called, was surprisingly next to Lewis-san. Since she was dressed the same as the bandits and had a towel wrapped around her neck and a leather hat with earflaps pulled low, I didn't realize. Also, her physique was like a slightly smaller version of Beowulf's, appropriate for a guard role.
"I'm Elena. I was blending into Nakanohara as a scout directly under Magdalena-sama."
She apparently came when Miana came. Of course, the route was different.
"How is it? Jeanne. Do you not recognize Elena?"
I was suddenly named.
Elena-san took off her hat and removed the towel. Like Beowulf, she has a cute face. I feel like I've seen her somewhere...
"Ah, I remembered. Elena-san, you were at the brothel, weren't you?"
I go to the brothel sometimes. The ladies are fans of Miana's sweets, and I used to deliver them after dinner. I used to go along with that. Also, usually the orphanage teachers offer prayers or deliver medicinal herbs for hangovers, but I occasionally helped out. However, I haven't been able to go lately because of so many expeditions. I recognize Elena-san.
"If I recall, you were in charge of laundry and meals?"
"Yes! That's right. I'm glad you remembered meeting me at the brothel!"
I see. She was guarding Miana even when she was in Nakanohara. Brothels and bars are places where back-alley information is exchanged. It's a perfect place for a scout to lurk.
"Hey, Jeanne."
Mary stood up and lined up next to Elena-san. When she patted her shoulder, Elena-san smiled happily. Mary is from a brothel, and lately she's even doing things like subcontracting for Magdalena-sama and Eleanor-sama during trade. It's not strange for her to know.
"The only ones who didn't know Elena-san was coming as Beowulf's replacement were Jeanne and Beatrix."
"Is that so?"
"Because Jeanne and Beatrix haven't been in Nakanohara lately."
If you say that, Mary, Will, and Bonnie haven't been here either, but...
"Since we couldn't introduce her properly, today is the introduction. Basically, it's fine as long as Miana, the manager of Shop No. 4, says OK... but since this place is, you know, special. How is it? For Jeanne. Incidentally, we got a reply of 'no problem' from Beatrix via the letter-sending magic circle."
Regarding the hiring, I don't have any particular problem. I think it's fine if the manager Miana, the predecessor Beowulf, and Fiona, Keira, Flora, and the triplets are okay with it. After that, there are the special circumstances here, but she's already participating. It's too late to object.
"If everyone is okay with it, I think it's fine."
"Then, it's a pass. Elena. As the manager, I hire you as an employee of Shop No. 4."
"Thank you very much. Manager Miana. And, Bishop Jeanne."
Applause broke out with the words of thanks, followed by the presentation of the uniform and the presentation of the badge from Matilda, and it became a welcome toast.
Incidentally, Elena-san's successor will be a new scout directly under Magdalena-sama. They probably prepared this beforehand too.
"I also have something to tell you."
This time it's Eleanor-sama.
"I think you've already noticed, but this year's harvest in the Flatlands seems to have exceeded the harvest amount presented two years ago."
She suddenly hit the core. She's completely merciless.
"In that case, there is a reward from His Majesty, and I have a consultation with the members of the Class of 175 regarding that. Today I will only convey the proposal, so please consider it including Beatrix. As for the answer, please aim for the end of the year if possible."
It's finally here.
When I looked at Lyudmila, she was looking at me. Since she looks anxious, she doesn't know.
When I look at Mary, she's also looking at me. Since she's not looking composed, she doesn't know.
Will, Bonnie, Beowulf, and Matilda also don't seem to know.
"Land is scheduled to be granted for free."
Yes!
"There are three candidate sites."
Three sites... I can imagine two. Here and the Eastern Plains. Surely it's not the southern border region we newly acquired, is it? That area is just forest and will be the front line.
"The first site is here. The Class of 175 currently owns eight fields, but we will newly grant an orchard area equivalent to ten fields. And, as part of measures for the needy, we will recruit and mediate tenant farmers. The Royal Family will also construct housing for tenant farmers and facilities judged necessary, such as water wheels. The orchard area to be granted will be the land north of the current fields. Basically, you can think of this as the evaluation value for the agricultural research of the Class of 175 centered on Lyudmila."
Ten fields at once! Moreover, if it's the northern neighbor, we're already cultivating it! If bought at market price, it's equivalent to two thousand gold coins. When I look at Lyudmila, she's doing a guts pose. It's the land she tilled herself as a testing ground. She was given that much evaluation. Of course she'd be happy.
"The second site is the Eastern Plains. There is a plain area to the northeast of where some members of the Class of 175 fought the trench defense battle. It's on the west side of the highway. It's exactly the place where you did training before challenging the Demon Lord's subjugation. There is some forest, and the north of the forest borders Little Serena's forest. At present, it has not been cleared, but there are ponds and marshes here and there, and a large river flows to the east. The other side of the river is currently recovering, but it's possible to draw water from the river if a waterway is made. Also, since there is a river beyond the mountain range where the trench is, if a tunnel is dug, water can be drawn from there too. If you are to clear it, the state will provide a certain amount of subsidy for three years, including waterway construction. It's quite wide. Including the forest, it's roughly five hundred paces square. It's equivalent to fifty fields. Of course, you don't need to clear all of it. Also, it's better to leave the forest."
Equivalent to fifty fields!
It's near Little Serena's forest. That's the place we were originally aiming for. Moreover, it's much, much wider than expected. However, when I look at Lyudmila, she has a difficult face with her arms crossed. I wonder if it's not desirable.
"And, the third site will be part of the agricultural testing ground in the Royal Capital area. The area is equivalent to ten fields, the same as the reward here. The orchard area is already cleared and there's no need to worry about water. The state will build housing and necessary facilities. Furthermore, even if you choose the second or third plan, the current orchard area here will of course be yours."
She proposed that we consider it. Normally it would end with being told unilaterally. I'm grateful she asked beforehand. An immediate answer isn't necessary, so we'll have a meeting with everyone, but... there might be a disagreement.