“I will come back again at night.”
Dale wiped the dirt off my fingernails with a worried look.
"I've tried staying up into the night, but to no avail.
He seems to appear at dawn, or maybe he's watching me when I leave this herb garden."
Dale's facial expression turned tense as he wiped my hand.
“Is the criminal targeting you, Enya?”
“I don't think so.”
"….Yes."
I ignored Dale's serious concern.
“But it seems the criminal is watching us.”
I looked out across the vast land of lush grasses.
Indeed, Grunwald's weeds grew quickly, all thanks to the fertilizer.
I made a special fertilizer by grinding minerals unique to Grunwald.
‘Can I plant four times a year?
No, maybe twice a month.'
The cultivation rate accelerated.
In other words, 'it is possible to accumulate a lot of wealth in a short time.'
My escape funds are plentiful.
‘I have gained the trust of the lord, I am on good terms with the villagers, and I have even made money.’
I wiggled my fingers and trembled with excitement.
excellent!
And of course, the guy next to me was perfect too.
Dale helped me work on his days off.
He worked day and night and helped me every dawn and morning.
“Aren't you tired?”
I muttered, looking at Dale.
His beauty was flawless twenty-four hours a day.
The Emperor's twenty-four hours must have been busier since I assigned him more work at Grunwald.
I leaned on the plow and looked at the vast land.
When Yorta had money in Grunwald, he began to cultivate the land at a rapid pace as if he had been waiting.
A cool breeze blew.
“You'll catch a cold.”
"I'm fine."
Dale looked at me suspiciously.
“I heard that Kydland sold a lot of its land.”
“This was the only way to survive.”
Kydland lost a significant amount of its wealth.
They had to pay compensation for their breach of covenant and loss of mining rights by returning the mines to their original owners, which resulted in penalties for breaking contracts with their trade guilds.
The only way to manage all this was to give some of their lands to neighboring regions.
“Did the Lord manage to get them all?”
“He's smiling from ear to ear.”
Everything was settled in the end.
I scratched part of the uncultivated field with a large agricultural implement.
“Dale, I need you to spread some fertilizer, please.”
He followed me and helped me with farming.
The Lord cried when I told him that I had made fertilizer by grinding up mineral ores to grow herbs, but he understood.
In return, I taught the lord strategy.
Since the Kydlandites were about to sell their land, she suggested that he negotiate with them to pretend to be pardoned for their crimes in exchange for their business connections and part of their land.
'Or for the Hexagon to secretly contact.'
Hexagon was the primary power of the ancient nobility and still has many followers despite her weakness.
They had many ways to generate money.
The moment the neighboring nobles purchased Kydland's land, creating even a slight opening for the Hexagon to infiltrate, this land would fall under their influence.
Kydland was a vital supply route and transportation hub, and was even considered a borderland.
It had main roads leading to the sea, even if they were on the outskirts.
It was necessary to defend this region for the future of the empire.
The Lord followed my advice, and eventually Hexagon seemed to retreat from a much weakened Kydland.
Kidland was still struggling to find its footing.
'It would be annoying for the Hexagon to provoke the Emperor.'
He had to remain as quiet as a mouse.
Provoking the Emperor will only hasten our marriage to secure the stability of the empire.
“I wonder what kind of ideal emperor really is...”
I muttered as I shoveled the soil.
Although the Emperor would choose a political marriage, he had a romantic side in the original novel, making him a man who could make rash decisions if it aligned with his taste.
Dale looked at me curiously.
“What's wrong?”
“….”
Dale often seemed like he had a lot to say, but usually ended up saying nothing.
“Aren't you bored being with me, Dale?”
“…Do you hate being with me, Enya?”
“I didn't ask because of that.”
Dale's face reddened as he lowered his voice.
“I have no friends.”
“Ah…”
It may be so.
Dale seemed to choose his acquaintances carefully.
It was like a malfunctioning automatic door.
As I struggled with the big plow in the field, Dale couldn't stand it and took over.
“Dale sometimes goes to D.C.”
“….”
“Ah, the Lord mentioned that.
When I asked where Dale was because he wasn’t there, he said he might be in the capital.”
“….”
The atmosphere around Dale seemed sullen.
“Isn't it?”
“No, it's not.”
“Really?
I was thinking of asking you to bring some delicious things from there sometimes.”
“I go from time to time.”
Dale stared at me intently.
“Lady Longbarren's sweet shop?”
“Oh, it's delicious too.”
“Bushwalter’s Sweet Shop.”
“It's been a long time!
That place is pretty good too!”
How does he know him so well?
Does Dale also like sweets?
“Knowing good places to eat is my hobby.”
“Really?
We both seem to enjoy the same food.”
It was surprising that a man who drank green tea or mildly sweet black tea at most liked sweet desserts.
"I see.
So, Dale, you like sweet things and drink bitter tea to balance it out?
Right?"
Dale smiled a vaguely amused smile in response to my smile.
Before long, he had plowed the remaining land that had been allotted to him, making it ideal for growing herbs.
But there was a problem.
The shovel was too big, and the weed seedlings were small.
When I planted the seeds, I had no choice but to dig large holes.
Even if I could plant it with a shovel, when it came time to dig up the crops next to it, the blunt shovel required double the effort.
“I wish it had a sharper edge like this.”
“Shall I sharpen it for you?”
Dale asked if he should sharpen the edge.
"Er, it might seem like too much of a weapon.
It would still be difficult to handle."
I stared at the soil and thought about it.
“Dale, can you make something like this?”
I drew a picture in a pile of dirt.
"Something small and sharp that doesn't strain the wrist too much.
Do you have something like that here?"
“I've never seen this before.”
Dale tilted his head.
“Is it an agricultural tool?
It’s unfamiliar to me...
Can you tell me what this tool is called?”
"This is amazing?"
I pointed to the drawing and smiled broadly.
“It's called a 'shovel'.
***
A shovel is a gardening tool that was not in this world.
Only large farming tools were available, making them unsuitable for planting herbs and other delicate tasks.
“At the moment, Grunwald is not interested in growing crops on a large scale.”
This little gardening tool will come in handy.
The next afternoon, as I was weeding the garden, a question came to mind.
'But how do I make it?'
I visited many blacksmiths, but most of them could not understand my explanation.
It seemed like they didn't know how to make it.
Of course, I've never made a pick either.
Where can I find a skilled blacksmith?
I returned the potting tools that I had borrowed from the Lourdes region to the storeroom.
I coughed.
The old warehouse was full of dust.
huh?
Cough, cough, cough, cough!
Cough!
I kept coughing because of the dusty air.
But...
I thought I heard a voice other than my own.
Swish!
At that moment, I heard something running on the ground.
It wasn't a mouse.
The sound was louder.
“There!”
I quickly tripped over the moving object.
Bang!
“Ouch!
What is this?"
Then I heard a voice groaning in pain.
It wasn't a voice I knew.
“What is this?”
When the dust settled, a person was revealed.
It was a young man I had never seen before.