The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 133

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 133

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Raul thought of them as wealthy eccentrics.

“Bella, thank you. How did you know I’m always worried about food supplies and bring these rich people who’ve gone crazy from boredom?”

Since ancient times, Rudolph Village had lived by moderate self-sufficiency.

But as the village chief, Raul couldn’t help but worry every year.

As hunting techniques developed and the mountain village’s safety was secured, population influx surged rapidly, but farming on this land had its limits.

Usually, they would sell leather and meat obtained through hunting to exchange for grains.

However, grain prices had risen significantly after last year’s monster wave in the Western Region and the warp suspension incident. This was because wealthy territories began increasing their grain reserves.

“Really, this year’s grain worries are over.”

So naturally, he could tolerate the eccentrics’ crazy antics.

Even the village residents who had been grumbling about what kind of nonsense they were doing shut their mouths when given wheat.

‘They must be doing various experiments as a pastime.’

The group of five kept themselves busy in their own ways.

Bella asked Raul about various news and gathered information by traveling around the surrounding areas with local warps.

Harrison said, “This is the first place I’ve felt such pure energy, there seems to be a related magic circle,” and set out to explore the region.

And the remaining two men, Leopold and Alpheus…

“Dig the soil thinly here and scatter the rice seeds.”

They were doing strange work following Brisa’s instructions.

“You can scatter them densely. We’ll transplant them later anyway. Could we ask the children to keep watch? We need to keep chasing away birds and animals.”

Looking over their shoulders, it seemed they were trying to do rice transplanting.

Usually, even northern mountain villages grew rice. But it was only a supplementary crop at best, with the main crops being millet and oats.

‘Isn’t that something that only works in warm regions like the Southern Region, on plains?’

He had heard that previous generations tried it a couple of times but failed miserably. Therefore, they never attempted rice transplanting.

In such an isolated land, attempting something different from the previous year could risk starvation.

But he couldn’t say anything. He had already received the wheat.

‘Well, I guess there are all kinds of people in the outside world. The external world is indeed scary.’

Moreover, Alpheus and Leopold were truly amazing.

Their hands were quick and their strength great, so it seemed like the two of them did the work of a hundred villagers.

‘They’ll grow some seedlings like that, then transplant them, and they’ll all die and that’ll be the end.’

However, after creating the seedbed.

Leopold and Alpheus, following Brisa’s instructions, began strange construction work.

They investigated the soil, mixed clay and mud to make something, had several discussions about whether water would be contained or not, and through just a few days of labor…

“Th-this is…”

Brisa, wearing traditional Northern Region clothing, continuously checked the water flow and said indifferently.

“Terraced fields.”

Before they knew it, the village’s landscape had completely changed.

The giant stair-like lands surrounding the village were spectacular.

‘Ah…’

Raul blinked slowly.

‘That… is what the neighboring village tried a few years ago and failed spectacularly at.’

That village had piled up soil to create stairs. However, the rice couldn’t take root, the stairs collapsed under water pressure, and the fertilizer was washed away together.

Therefore, Northern Region people didn’t even attempt this type of paddy cultivation.

‘Well, they’ll probably restore it to its original state before leaving. From what I can see, both of them are as strong as beasts.’

* * *

Both rice transplanting and terraced fields were farming methods practiced in some areas of the Southern Region.

However, they couldn’t be introduced in the Northern Region.

Terraced fields, due to the Northern Region’s characteristics, had a high possibility of frequent collapses if done wrong, ruining everything.

Therefore, they thoroughly compacted and moistened clay soil on the paddy bottom and compressed it.

Since using only soil would be vulnerable to erosion, they used gravel and small stones to disperse water pressure.

“In Northern Region land, terraced fields and rice transplanting fail when done separately. But if you use both together ‘properly,’ it’s a different story.”

After hearing my explanation, Raul eagerly wanted to do rice transplanting. Of course, this wasn’t thanks to his adventurous spirit but thanks to the wheat piled up in the warehouse.

‘Indeed, people take risks more easily when they have the peace of mind that failure is okay.’

This was especially true for the leader of a group.

I fully understood that feeling, but I shook my head.

“By this area’s standards, we need to wait a few more days. Rice needs warm water.”

I heard they had experienced all their seedlings freezing to death in early spring.

“A slightly later timing is better than direct seeding.”

If rice transplanting succeeds, productivity increases dramatically.

‘The survival rate of plants is tremendously different from direct seeding.’

If this village succeeds.

Using that case as a foundation, many villages in the Northern Region could try it starting next year.

“In the meantime, it would be good to create buffer waterways and shallow reservoirs so that ravine water doesn’t flow directly into the paddies.”

Water management was key to paddy fields.

The Northern Region had a completely different environment from the vast Western Region, so rice farming suited it better than wheat. People lived together intensively, and water was abundant.

“Terraced fields don’t lose fertilizer easily and preserve soil, so they’re good for the environment too.”

When I said this casually, Raul clapped his hands.

“That seems right! At least monsters don’t come!”

At those words, Leopold, who had been working hard, frowned.

“…Monsters?”

He was actually quite dejected about his strength increasing rapidly. He seemed to think of himself as monster-like.

But I kept comforting him.

“I really think it’s fortunate. If you hadn’t become abnormally strong like this, I wouldn’t have been able to make you work because I’d think it was minor labor exploitation. But even for Alpheus, doing construction work of this scale alone would be too much.”

This was my sincere feeling.

“And when you’re depressed, you should originally use your body. So work hard and sleep well. Turn a blind eye to your own flaws appropriately.”

“Really, thank you, Brisa. I’ll also turn a blind eye to you exploiting a minor’s brain yourself.”

At Leopold’s retort, Raul, who thought of him as a wealthy farmer from the Western Region, answered without much suspicion.

“Yes. It’s famous in the Northern Region. Ever since some time ago, when you set fire to the forest… monsters appear.”

“Are you talking about slash-and-burn farming?”

“Yes. So we haven’t done slash-and-burn farming for a long time, and recently… those who put poison in the ravine water to catch fish easily were attacked.”

Then Alpheus, who loved nature, suddenly stood up from his digging.

“They put poison in perfectly good ravine water? That was too terrible!”

He took the monsters’ side.

“Then all the life forms in that water would die! Besides, water flows, doesn’t it? Really terrible! Who on earth came up with such a wicked idea?”

“Ah… long ago, it was originally an idea that Crown Prince first came up with.”

We all blinked in bewilderment at Raul’s answer.

“Long ago, when Crown Prince was young, he liked hunting and often came to the Northern Region. He wanted to catch a silver bear living on a certain mountain… but he kept missing it. So to catch that bear, he put poison in all the streams of that entire mountain.”

At those words, we were all speechless.

“The Northern Region already had many complaints about Crown Prince’s hunting since he would bring knight orders to massacre even very young cubs.”

Raul tried to state only very objective facts, worried it might cause problems. Nevertheless, anger was mixed in his voice.

“Former Duke Backhun formally protested about that incident and requested the Imperial Court that Crown Prince never come hunting again.”

But we knew the result.

That request ended up fizzling out.

The entire family of the former Duke Backhun went missing, and the Northern Civil War began.

After that, naturally, the Crown Prince never came to hunt in this dangerous land again.

“Anyway, since then, people who used poison to catch fish occasionally appeared… but they stopped after rumors began spreading that monsters would take those people away.”

Raul continued speaking.

“But the fact that no monsters have appeared means these terraced fields are safe.”

I had inadvertently become a farmer recognized by monsters.

That’s when it happened.

“Over there, over there!”

Harrison, who had been wandering around all day exercising his mage’s curiosity, came running from far away.

“I think I discovered something incredibly important!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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