ALL NOVEL 6: The Appearance of Kuu from the Clouds
The next day also dawned with clear blue skies.
It’s a perfect day for farming.
Today, I am full of energy.
In the morning, Father and Grandpa went out to patrol the nearby forest.
Being the village at the furthest frontier, it borders a vast forest known as the Demon Realm, so they regularly patrol and cull monsters.
The shallow forest adjacent to the village is maintained by woodcutters who clear underbrush and thin the trees, and hunters who hunt wild animals. This human intervention makes the forest relatively safe.
Meanwhile, in the deep forest, Father, his retainers, and occasionally knights or adventurers from the Frontier Marquis family go to subdue magical beasts.
It’s necessary to cull the dangerous monsters to keep them from overflowing.
Today, Grandpa, our super-strength, is also participating in the magical beast hunt.
It’s like an ogre with a mace.
I saw Grandpa off with a cheerful back, unusually excited.
Please bring back lots of meat as a souvenir!
Take care!
Today, Ren said he would prepare to go to the Frontier Marquis territory.
Riol is helping him, and they plan to practice sword fighting together once they’re done.
They don’t have time to play with their much younger brother. But they promised to play with me in the afternoon.
I have to complete today’s tasks by then.
As part of my daily routine, I harvested potatoes from the botanical garden’s field and moved them to the warehouse.
Today, I had an idea and asked if I could turn the remaining dead grass into ash.
“Burn and create wood ash? Time: three hours.”
Oh! It’s worth asking.
On the skill screen, a new brown little person started a small fire.
So cute.
I continue planting potatoes in the harvested field. Until my level goes up, it’s only potatoes, right?
Yeah.
It’s not an easy game that levels up quickly.
I don’t plan to cheat as a toddler, so I’ll take it easy.
After that, I head to the garden.
Yesterday, I opened up two more plots next to the area I dug up.
The trial field of one meter by three plots is complete.
I plan to plant the potato seedlings made with the plant cultivation skill here.
Since I’m planting in a wasteland, I need to mix in wood ash and compost to enrich the soil first.
There’s nothing more I can do until the wood ash is ready, so that’s it for today.
In the afternoon, as promised, Ren read a picture book to me.
Even though I’ve read it many times and memorized every word, it’s nice to have it read to me.
Especially since Ren will soon leave for the capital, our time together is limited.
I feel sorry for making him take care of a little kid, but today he’ll play with me a lot.
Riol watched us with an exasperated look.
The next day, I put a small amount of magic wood ash into the field I made yesterday to adjust the soil acidity. The amount to mix in is based on intuition.
(Magic Wood Ash, Quality: Best / Can be planted immediately)
Normally, you should wait about two weeks, but magic materials are strong.
Being able to plant immediately is so convenient.
Compared to real-life gardening, it’s much easier.
I churn up the soil with soil magic.
So easy!
Next, I throw in a lot of magic mature compost!
(Magic Mature Compost, Quality: Best / Contains Beneficial Microorganisms)
Oh yes, good soil needs good bacteria.
Again, with soil magic, swirl swirl.
Ah, what about fertilizer?
Potatoes can grow in wastelands, but they really do better with fertilizer. Maybe the magical wood ash can manage the phosphoric components?
What remains is nitrogen. Was it a rapeseed meal or rice bran? We don’t have rice here, so that’s not an option.
Next, we’ll use clover or legume nodules…
Well, we’ll research that later. Let’s try without fertilizer this time!
Still, I decided to let the field rest for a day.
Today, let’s try planting potatoes.
Last night, I asked the plant cultivation skills to make seedlings for me.
It’s a bit sneaky, but I don’t mind!
Please and thank you, and seedlings popped out from the magic circle when I focused.
Since it’s late to grow from seed potatoes, I’ll take my time planting seedlings.
This is an experimental field to see actual growth, yield, and taste.
I also want to confirm disease resistance.
I plant the seedlings in plant-made pots at equal intervals.
It’s not much for a 1×3 meter area, but it’s heavier labor than I thought for a toddler.
After planting, I pat my bent back and say, “Whew, that’s done.”
That wraps up this series of tasks!
Hehe.
Now, for the next verification, it’s plant cultivation and water magic!
Don’t forget plenty of water when you plant.
Oops, I forgot to put water in the planting holes first.
Teehee.
So, come on, water!
As I raise my hands in the air and focus, fluffy little clouds appear above the field!
I couldn’t help but open my mouth wide in astonishment.
It’s going beyond my imagination!
Then, oh my.
Rain suddenly pours down from the clouds.
Is it suddenly a watering shower mode!
It’s different from what I expected, but this is fine too!
“What in the world!?”
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
Oh no… Is it this pattern again?
When I turn around, there’s Tom and Burton standing there with a surprised expression, as if they’ve been there from the beginning.
How long have they been watching?
Since pretty much the beginning?
They found the swirling soil interesting?
They were surprised when compost and seedlings suddenly appeared from the magic circle?
And then, they saw a small rain cloud appear fluffy, and they came running out?
Huh, my myriad expressions were cute?
Oh dear…
“I’m Joro’s spider, the cloud’s Kusan,” she said, tilting her head cutely.
They laughed at my cute and silly little gesture.
Even when I do strange things, the family is accustomed to it and watches over me warmly. I’m glad I wasn’t nagged.
Cloud Kusan seems to belong to the same clan as the little people working in the skill screen.
From now on, they will reside in the small garden and manage it.
Somehow, we can communicate, it’s mysterious…
Since it’s cramped here, I’ll ask Father when he returns if Cloud Kusan can move around the garden.
At dinner that evening, I explained about Kusan to Father and got permission.
Father, who had received a report from Burton beforehand, smiled happily and readily agreed.
“Introduce him to me tomorrow.”
Well, seeing is believing.
The next morning, Father and Grandpa were overjoyed to see the newly created field and Kusan.
My brothers had their mouths wide open in surprise.
I think that’s a normal reaction. Isn’t it strange how Father and Grandpa reacted?
Don’t they have any questions?
Even if asked, I can’t explain it.
Grandpa picked me up and rubbed his cheek against mine, saying “Great job, great job!”
So I said, “Ouch, your beard hurts!”
Father said, “You can freely plant along the walls or under the eaves of the mansion!” and gave permission to cultivate.
But the next day, it rained, so we took a day off.
The following day, Ren left for the frontier territory.
I won’t see Ren until next summer.
I felt lonely and ended up crying.
“Please write me a letter,” Ren said gently, hugging me.
Holding hands with Riol, I watched Ren and Grandpa from the entrance of the house.
I waved my little hands vigorously until I couldn’t see them anymore.
Tears streamed down uncontrollably, and Martha hugged me all day long.
I still can’t control my emotions well.
I’m sorry for causing trouble, Martha.