NOVEL NEXT 4: First Harvest
The next morning after a sound sleep.
Today is another fine day. The air is delicious!
I go through my morning routine and have breakfast.
Today, Grandpa is going to train my brothers.
Good luck~
As a toddler, I’ll do my best to enjoy my free time and naps.
While I was leisurely thinking about this, the adults continued their conversation.
In September, Ren will enroll in the academy in the royal capital. They were discussing the preparations and schedule for that.
For reference, Ren was born in April, I was born in May, and Riol-nii was born in July.
It seems that the children of nobles are required to enroll in the academy in the royal capital. The eldest son is mandatory, but subsequent children can be exempted depending on the family’s finances. In a poor noble family like ours, money is tight.
In Ren’s case, he will go to the margrave’s territory early to receive supplementary lessons in manners, social dancing, and general education. While we also receive guidance from Martha and Burton at home, our manners are a bit lacking for interacting with high-ranking nobles.
Ren turned pale when he asked, “What’s dancing?”
At the royal capital’s academy, if you complete the basic curriculum early, you receive a certificate and can take other specialized courses. It’s better to finish the basic curriculum quickly and enroll.
Ren plans to study in the knight course and land management. Being the eldest son is tough.
After spending about a month at the margrave’s house, he will head to the royal capital with cousins who are already enrolled. The journey to the royal capital by carriage takes around three weeks, allowing for a leisurely pace.
Upon arrival, he will commute to the academy from the margrave’s townhouse.
Now it’s late May, so Ren will spend June at the margrave’s house, travel to the capital in July, and prepare for the entrance exams and other preparations in August. Academy life will start in September.
Father will also accompany him on the July journey to report various matters to the royal castle. As a lower-ranked noble, he won’t have an audience with the king, but tax and other reports are necessary. It’s like filing taxes, I guess?
Good luck, Dad.
Father will be away for almost two months, but he’ll return much faster on horseback.
Even so, it’s lonely when Dad is not around.
I’m a bit sad.
The adults’ conversation continued, so as a toddler, I excused myself.
I would only get in the way, so I toddled back to my room.
Back in my room, I sat on my usual chair.
Let’s continue from yesterday!
I opened the status screen to check on the potatoes I planted yesterday.
Oh, potatoes are called potatoes here too.
Plant and animal names are mostly the same. Some are different, though.
Did the gods here copy Earth?
Anyway, all nine plots showed the leaves nicely withered.
This part feels more realistic than in games.
‘Harvest? YES / NO’
When the text appeared on the screen, I tapped YES, and a picture of a potato flew to the warehouse. This part is game-like.
But the next part was very realistic.
‘Do you want to compost the leaves and stems? Time: 24 hours’
Huh? Will it compost them instead of just disappearing?
How kind! That’s super user-friendly for home gardening! I agreed without hesitation.
In reality, compost is crucial for soil improvement. Good compost changes the quality of the soil.
I hope the compost can be used in the actual garden.
By the way, the alternate dimension garden is designed like a farming game, so there’s no crop rotation issue.
Crop rotation issues occur when you grow the same crop in the same place repeatedly, making it susceptible to pests and diseases and causing poor growth.
This is said to happen easily in small home gardens.
To avoid crop rotation issues, it’s important to practice crop rotation and use good compost to keep the soil healthy.
It’s wonderful not to worry about crop rotation issues!
Thank you! I said to the Skill.
Now, I want to test if I can take out the harvested crops.
I tapped the warehouse icon, and a number nine appeared on the potato picture.
I tapped it again.
But, tapping the screen each time is a bit troublesome.
Can’t I do it mentally?
‘Take out? Please specify the quantity.’
I hesitated for a moment, then mentally said ‘one.’
A magic circle appeared on the floor in front of my chair, and a pile of splendid potatoes appeared from it!
“Oh!?”
The Skill is very responsive!
Large, plump potatoes rolled out!
They are about the size of an adult’s fist.
I squatted down and picked one up. With my small hands, it took both hands to hold one.
They’re big~
As I grinned and looked closely, an announcement in my head said (Potato – Quality: Best / Very Delicious).
The Skill even evaluates the quality! Amazing!
I couldn’t help but hold up the potato and spin around in a little dance.
Calm down, me.
I looked at the potatoes on the floor again.
There are about fifty potatoes from one plot, and they’re all large. Quite a good yield.
As my level increases, I might expect even more yield and shorter times.
For now, I’ll focus on increasing my stock.
And for now, I’ll keep the details of this Skill a secret.
I returned the potatoes to the warehouse.
Yes, they went back easily when I willed it.
I returned to the Skill screen and planted the potatoes in the brown field plots. It was okay just to plant it. It made the task easier.
The next harvest is a day away.
But, I still can’t plant more types of crops yet.
Well, it’s only the second day.
Using the Plant Cultivation Skill consumes a bit of magic power, but it’s negligible.
Our family has a lot of magic power, and Riol-nii and I have especially high amounts. It’s been like that since we were kids, so it should increase even more as we grow up.
My long hair is because of that.
In this world, magic power really resides in the hair.
Once, I accidentally cut it with scissors, and the next day it was back to its original length!!
I was seriously scared, thinking, “Am I a cursed doll!?”
Then Dad scolded me, and Martha cried a lot…
It’s a bitter memory from my childhood.
Though it was just last summer, you know?
It was just hot.
Sorry about that, Martha.
***
I received comments about compost and crop rotation issues.
After some consideration, I added details about crop rotation issues to the main text.
I’ll briefly explain compost and crop rotation for those who might not be familiar.
Compost is a soil amendment. Plant-based compost almost contains no nutrients.
It is used to make the soil fluffy, improve water retention and aeration, balance microorganisms, and condition the soil. It’s also used for mulching.
Crop rotation issues are now included in the main text.
I won’t write about how to deal with crop rotation issues here as it’s unnecessary.
I hear that farmers plan rotations in large fields to prevent it.
To avoid crop rotation issues, rotation and compost use are essential.
Incidentally, compost specifically for crop rotation issues is available in the market.