On the morning of the final day of my holiday, I finished my preparations and waited at the entrance of the abandoned mine.
"They're here!"
I spotted a carriage approaching on the road from Gimul. Lilian, the maid, was at the reins, with Yudum sitting beside her. There was no mistaking them. I waved to signal my position and guided them to a suitable spot to pull over. Fina, Maria, and Jane—the three migrant workers from the farming village—hopped out as soon as the carriage came to a halt.
"Good morning, everyone," I greeted them. "And thank you for coming all this way."
They returned my greeting with bright smiles. Despite the journey, they seemed full of energy.
"We aren't tired at all!" Maria chirped.
"This carriage was so comfortable," Jane added.
"Back in the village, we either walk or ride in wagons that bounce you half to death," Fina explained.
"It really is a fine carriage, then," I remarked.
This was one of the three carriages that had been parked in the lot next to my shop the other day—the ones brought by the group from the Ducal House. I had suspected it was high-quality, but hearing it from them confirmed it.
"Calling it 'fine' is an understatement. This is a top-tier vehicle," Yudum noted as he climbed down.
"So it is as I thought, Yudum."
"It's an older model the Duke's family was planning to retire, so please don't let it weigh on your conscience," Yudum continued. "Reinhardt-sama sent a message saying that you'll likely be getting much busier from here on out, and he wants you to use it freely as your own personal transport. Just let us know whenever you need it."
"I'm very grateful," I said.
Believe it or not, I had been lent this carriage along with one other. Having my own set of wheels for personal business was an incredible luxury.
Of course, it wasn't just the carriage and the reinforcements from the Duke's household that I was thankful for. A few nights ago, the neighboring couple had come to pick up the two children they’d been watching, but the children had actually been spending their time with my employees—all of them except for Calm.
While I was away, my staff had handled the Guild Master and the visitors from the Ducal House. Naturally, they were curious about what was happening. After I explained the situation to them, they had asked if there was anything they could do to help. I gratefully accepted their offer, and that led to today: having the three girls with farming backgrounds teach me the fundamentals of agriculture.
"Thank you again for coming on your day off. I'm looking forward to learning from you today."
"Ahaha! Why are you being so stiff, Boss?" Jane laughed.
"You're always taking care of us, so this is nothing," Maria added warmly.
"We’re just happy to finally be of use to you," Fina said. "But why the sudden interest in farming?"
"Ah, I suppose I haven't explained that yet. Well..."
I didn't mention the part about the God of Agriculture, but I told them that it had been pointed out that my use of Wood Magic was mere brute force. I’d been told that I could achieve far better results if I actually understood the science of farming.
"I see, so that's how it is," Fina said.
"We don't know the first thing about magic, though," Maria said, looking a bit worried. "Will we be okay as teachers?"
"Don't worry, Maria," Yudum cut in. "Understanding the nature of the target you're influencing is a crucial part of casting magic."
"Exactly as Yudum said," I added. He’d beaten me to the punch. "Wait, Yudum, can you use magic too?"
"I'm no master, but I can manage the Wood attribute. I can also handle Water Magic—at least enough to water the plants."
"That’s a huge help!"
Having someone with knowledge of both farming and magic would be invaluable. Besides, I still didn't know Yudum very well, and I hoped this would be a good chance to bond.
"Well, no sense standing around talking. Follow me. I've prepared a place for us to work."
I led the five of them toward the west side of the abandoned mine, where there was a relatively large stretch of flat land. I had recently cleared the overgrown weeds to set everything up, but looking at their faces, I wondered if I’d overdone it.
The five of them—especially the three girls—stood there with their mouths hanging open.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Is something wrong? Boss..." Jane stammered.
"Is that a greenhouse over there?" Fina asked.
Indeed, next to the open plots of soil stood a structure I had built to ward off the winter chill. I’d modeled it after a vinyl house, but since I’d used the Hardening Fluid Plates from my Sticky and Crust Slimes, it looked like it was made of solid glass.
Then it hit me. Glass was a luxury item in this world. Seeing a building that appeared to be made entirely of the stuff standing in the middle of nowhere was bound to be a shock.
"Oh, thank goodness... it's not actually all glass," Maria sighed with relief once I explained.
"You really gave us a scare," Jane said.
"Come to think of it, those are the same plates used for the shop windows," Fina realized. "I should have put two and two together."
"I'm still impressed," Yudum admitted. "Even among the nobility, very few houses actually own a greenhouse."
I see. I suppose it was quite the sight, then.
"Well, let's head inside. It's warmer."
The interior was shielded from the wind by the hardening fluid plates, and with the sunlight streaming in, it was quite cozy. In fact, since the air didn't circulate well, it was almost humid. I’d installed some ventilation windows at the top of the doors and along the sides, but I realized I’d eventually need a more sophisticated way to regulate the temperature and moisture.
"So, where should we begin?" I asked.
"In that case, could you show us how you usually do things?" Fina suggested. "I'd like to see how you use magic for farming."
"Understood!"
I decided to demonstrate my usual routine. First, I softened the earth with Earth Magic. Then, I had my Scavenger Slimes create ridges while mixing in fertilizer. Next, the Sticky Slimes stepped in to sow the seeds. I followed up with a quick spray from my Water Magic, and finally, I used Wood Magic to stimulate their growth.
"And... done!" I announced.
Dante Flowers are incredibly versatile: their seeds produce oil, their roots can be made into dandelion coffee, and their stems serve as food for my Latex and Sticky Slimes. In the blink of an eye, a beautiful field of flowers had bloomed within the greenhouse.
"..."
"Uh, guys?"
Once again, silence fell over the group.
"I... I don't even know what to say," Fina whispered.
"Magic sure is something else, isn't it?" Maria added, her voice trailing off.
They seemed overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it. Lilian, the maid, had likely seen something similar at the Duke's estate, as she merely gave a small, wry smile.
Yudum, however, looked like he’d been struck by lightning. "What... haha... what is this? Is this some kind of illusion magic?"
"Yudum? Is something wrong?"
"Is something wrong?! Everything is wrong! Forcing a plant from seed to full bloom in seconds is unheard of! And in this quantity?!"
"Calm down, please!" I said, trying to settle him.
He took a deep breath and visibly forced himself to relax. "Right... right. My apologies. That was just far too much to take in at once. Shop Manager, do you have a massive pool of mana or something?"
"I have a fair amount, but it's mostly thanks to the high-quality fertilizer the Scavenger Slimes make. It really supports the growth."
"Even so, that fertilizer and those slimes must be incredible. I've studied compost, leaf mulch, and all sorts of growth stimulants, but I've never seen anything that allows one person to create a field like this without exhausting themselves. Usually, medicines that powerful have severe side effects, but these Dante Flowers look perfectly healthy. They're brimming with life. A normal mage would have run out of mana halfway through."
He continued to mutter to himself, clearly analyzing the situation. I turned to the girls.
"We don't use magic medicines in the village," Fina said.
"They're way too expensive for us," Maria added.
"And you'd need a ton of it for a whole field," Jane finished with a shrug.
"You really know your stuff, Yudum," I remarked.
"My family has been Court Gardeners for generations," he explained. "My father drilled this stuff into my head since I was a kid."
That explained his expertise. But "Court Gardener" implied he served at the palace, which meant...
"Yudum, were you a noble? I had no idea."
"Ah... well, I’m technically from a Baron's house, but I ran away. I don't use my family name anymore. Being known as a noble just makes things difficult—people get shy, they won't duel me, or it scares off the girls. It’s easier to just keep it quiet."
I could see his point. Mentioning nobility often made people stiffen up.
"Besides, my father is a Noble of the Robe. We don't have any land, so we aren't much different from commoners," he said with a wry smile. He then turned to the girls. "So, please, just keep treating me like you always do, okay?"
He was quick to pivot. The girls still looked a bit hesitant.
"Is that really okay?" Fina asked.
"Totally! Like I said, my old man just works at the castle. His job isn't that different from a regular gardener's. I'm just a guy who left home. I don't have any real power. Honestly, if we're talking about power, the Boss here—who has the Duke's backing and can get this kind of cooperation—is much scarier than I'll ever be."
"That's true!" the three girls chirped in unison.
"Hey, you don't have to agree so fast!" I protested. Even Lilian was nodding silently beside them.
"We don't mean it in a bad way, of course," Yudum added with a laugh.
Once we all settled back down, the real lesson began.
"Looking at how you do things, Boss, it seems you don't do anything to the plants while they're growing," Fina observed.
"Normally, you have to weed out the grass and thin out the bad sprouts," Maria explained.
"I see... I knew about thinning out, but I wasn't sure which ones to pull, so I just left them. I figured if a sprout was weak, I could just pump it full of magic until it caught up."
"Wood Magic can force growth, but it takes a toll on the plant's vitality," Yudum corrected. "The trick is to support the plant's natural strength. Even when using magic to accelerate things, you should do it in stages over several days. It’s easier on the plant and much more efficient with your mana. You shouldn't force a bloom; you should assist the plant in blooming itself."
They watched my "brute force" method and pointed out every flaw they saw.
"Okay, let's try some actual crops now! I brought some sprouted potatoes from Shelma in the kitchen," Jane said excitedly. "If we plant these, they'll become seed potatoes!"
"I brought some beans that looked like they'd grow well with magic," Maria added.
"And I have a little bit of wheat," Fina said.
We used a mix of seeds I’d gathered and ones they had brought along.
"Stop right there!"
"This is the perfect time to thin them out."
"Here’s how you tell which sprout to keep and which to pull..."
"Wait, let's try replanting the weak ones over here. That'll be good practice for your fine-tuning with Wood Magic."
We went through the entire cycle of planting and care.
"With wheat, you have to do the wheat treading at this stage!"
"For these beans, you want to take it slow."
I learned about crops I’d never even considered growing before. As I was shown the essential steps—the weeding, the thinning, the careful timing of each task—I realized just how much I’d been relying on the sheer power of my magic to force results.
Every new piece of information was a revelation. By the time we finished, I felt I finally understood the heart of agriculture. It was an incredibly rewarding way to spend the final day of my holiday.