NOVEL NEXT 36: It's an Incident!
I plan to grow strawberries in the edamame field behind the house this winter.
If we plant them in autumn, we can harvest them next spring.
Considering making jam, I think it’s better to start mass production now.
Of course, the village also grows them, so this is more of a backup.
There’s no such thing as having too many radberries, so let’s grow a lot!
So, today we came to the pasture by the horse grazing area.
“What! Master! Isn’t this where we plant edamame?”
Today’s guard, Lewis, let out a wail of despair.
Lewis is the youngest squire, and to put it simply, he’s a brown-haired playboy.
He’s a 22-year-old desperately looking for a girlfriend!
“What are you talking about, Lewis? We planted edamame this year, so we have to plant something different next to avoid continuous cropping issues.”
Noel, the youngest from the orphanage, reprimanded him. Poor adult.
“What’s continuous cropping?”
“Lewis, you don’t even know that?”
Their exchange continued like that.
Noel has grown, but you don’t really know about continuous cropping, do you?
Planting the same type of vegetable in the same spot makes it prone to diseases.
For example, cucumbers can get infested with root-knot nematodes, and sterilizing the soil is tough.
Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are the same family, so in small home gardens, continuous cropping problems can occur.
Well, leaving those two alone, I prepared the field with Poko and the others.
By this time, even the three from the orphanage could see the spirits.
In fact, it seemed like some of the villagers could see them too.
Apparently, they think “Master Haku is friends with fairies.”
Close!
Guri and Poko aren’t fairies but spirits.
See, they don’t have those transparent butterfly wings on their backs?
Well, they’re all cute, though!
“Haku, how should we plant the seedlings?”
Millie, in her farming outfit, asked me. Behind her, Billy was holding a tray of seedlings.
Billy’s servile look is… ahem, ahem.
Meanwhile, thanks to Poko and the little earth spirits, we had neat ridges ready.
Fast work!
Thank you!
We made the strawberry ridges a bit higher.
We mixed the strawberry runners we had grown since summer with seedlings from my skill and planted them.
“Um, you plant strawberries with the runners facing away from you and the growing point crown exposed. Please keep the spacing around 40 centimeters.”
We make the fruit grow on the walkway side. My strawberries grow big, so we leave plenty of space between plants.
Everyone divided the ridges and planted the seedlings.
After planting, Kuu watered them generously, and we mulched with a thick layer of straw.
It’s cold in winter, so it acts as a blanket.
Radberries are also hardy, so don’t worry.
We finished planting the radberries before three, so today’s farming work is done.
“Thanks, everyone. Take a good rest tomorrow. Oh, I’ve prepared some souvenirs, so take them from the free distribution area.”
Bye-bye!
After sending the three from the orphanage home, there’s still more work to do.
I’ll prepare the soil for next year’s edamame field.
I’ve already got permission from Father.
Actually, when I talked about the strawberry plan, the new cultivation permit was quickly approved!
Father’s love for edamame is unstoppable.
There won’t be any edamame from my botanical garden in winter.
They’re delicious because we eat them in summer!
When I said that, Father and the squires looked disappointed.
Well, soil preparation mainly involves removing weeds and stones.
This time, we’ll create a larger field on the opposite side of the horse pasture.
Maybe we’ll make it twice the size of this year’s edamame field?
We’ll also make a proper farm road in the middle.
“Plant Cultivation Skill, please!”
As I called out, a magic circle floated in the air, attracting weeds and stones to it.
As usual, it’s an impressive sight!
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
Lewis clapped his hands in joy, along with the spirits.
That’s when it happened.
“Kyuu!”
In the midst of the swirling weeds and stones, I heard a voice, then felt a thud as something hit my stomach and pushed me.
“Whoa!”
“Master!?”
I heard Lewis’s distant shout as I fell backward, looking up at the sky.
At that moment, I saw it!
Guri had pushed me, and a brown object flew over where I had been standing!
The brown object then got stuck in a dirt wall created by Poko’s earth magic!
“Master, are you alright? What’s a horned rabbit doing here?”
Lewis rushed over, grabbed the struggling horned rabbit stuck in the dirt wall, and yanked it out with brute force.
He held a sword in his other hand.
At that moment, Poko dived onto my face!
“Umph!”
With my vision blocked, I heard a dull, ripping sound and a cry.
Oh, Poko shielded me from the gruesome sight…
I’m glad Poko is light…
Otherwise, my low nose would’ve gotten even lower.
After a while, Lewis pulled me up along with Guri clinging to my stomach and Poko clinging to my face.
Cautiously opening my eyes, I saw Lewis’s worried face.
“Are you alright, Master? Are you hurt? I’m sorry for noticing too late!”
Lewis knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply before me.
“… I’m o-okay.”
I felt weak, like my legs had given out.
A shiver started to creep up from my waist.
“Ugh…”
Lewis’s eyes widened as he looked at my trembling face.
My vision was blurry.
He scooped up me, Guri, and Poko all at once and dashed toward the mansion.
“Someone! This is bad! Master’s about to burst into tears!”
Lewis’s desperate cry echoed around.