"Don’t we need any fertilizer?" I asked.
"I believe plowing the weeds back into the soil will be sufficient," Roxanne replied.
Apparently, even weeds could serve as nourishment for the next generation of plants.
"I see. In that case, all that's left is to make the ridges."
"Ridges, Master?"
"Wait, do we not need them?"
"What exactly are those?"
It seemed Roxanne wasn't familiar with the concept. To me, a vegetable garden wasn't a garden without ridges. Come to think of it, what exactly were they for, anyway?
"You heap up the soil where the seeds are sown. By making several rows of them, you improve the drainage."
"I see. That would likely help with sunlight exposure as well. As expected of you, Master. To ensure they receive even sunlight, it would be best to orient them north-to-south."
Following Roxanne’s instructions, I set to work forming the ridges. I knew about the ridges themselves, but I hadn't realized their orientation mattered. I suppose there was a reason for everything.
Once that was done, I joined Roxanne in sowing the seeds. We finished by watering the plot.
I made sure not to do anything reckless like conjuring a Water Wall directly over the garden. Instead, I filled a bucket first and then poured it out. If I used magic out in the open, the neighbors might see me.
"That's that, then."
"Yes. I believe this will become a wonderful garden."
To wrap things up, the two of us sat side-by-side on the veranda to admire our handiwork.
I felt a sense of accomplishment. A pleasant fatigue settled over me.
Well, we didn't actually have a veranda, so we were just sitting on chairs. And despite saying we'd "made" a garden, no sprouts had appeared yet; it was just a patch of lumpy, exposed dirt. Even the drink in my hand wasn't a nice tea, but plain water.
Still, it wasn't as if I’d suddenly turned into an old man. I was still young. Young enough that I could have pinned Roxanne down right then and there. I’d already done that during the day just the day before yesterday, so I figured I should probably exercise some restraint today. On the other hand, why should I hesitate? No, I needed to control myself. Or maybe...
"I... I'll go create a little more reserve water, then we'll head to the labyrinth. Could you lead me to some monsters?"
"Of course."
There was no telling what kind of thoughts would fill my head if I just sat there idling. I stood up immediately and got moving.
I headed to the room with the drainage hole and began producing water. You could never have too much of it. Since we’d been working in the garden, I’d likely need to wash every inch of Roxanne’s body later to get her clean. I would need plenty of water for that, too.
I kept using Water Magic until my MP was significantly depleted. Once it was low, I stopped before the mental drain could ruin my mood and summoned Durandal.
I checked my equipment and entered the labyrinth—the second floor of the Quratar Labyrinth. There weren't many people around, so it was a good spot. I appreciated the proximity to home. It was a bit of a hassle to suit up fully just to fight a few rounds and absorb some MP, but I had to be careful.
I pulled on my leather hat and donned my leather gloves. I prepared to set my Fourth Job to Warrior.
As I was about to select it, I noticed that my list of jobs had grown.
Farmer. I had acquired Farmer Lv 1.
There had been people with the Farmer job back in the First Village, so it wasn't exactly a rare find. In fact, neither its effects nor its skills were particularly impressive.
So, you could obtain the Farmer job just by doing agricultural work? Was it from tilling the soil? Or sowing the seeds? Either way, it seemed that spending nearly half the day on manual labor hadn't been a waste.
Roxanne already had the Farmer job herself. Given how much she knew about things like herb seeds, she must have tended a garden like this before.