Farm Village Arc ⑤ – It was a new village!

Took me a while again, but here is another chapter :)
I’m going to try to increase my pace to two chapters a week at least before university starts again, so look forward to that.

‘HoHoHoHo!
This much is good!

Lots of ’em! Though they’re small.

My fish trap was a great success. They’re about as big as an adults thumb, but there is 10 of them in the basket.

Seeing the insides of the basket, Shuu and Maru were rooted on the spot.

(篭の中身をみて、シュウ兄ちゃんもマル兄ちゃんも驚き桃の木)
The village children saw that from afar and gathered around me,  saying they wanted to catch fish by themselves as well. After telling them to bring all the straw from home they can carry tomorrow and that we’ll make it here together, they finally calmed down.

The children were making a commotion saying how awesome and great I am, while I was grinning broadly. Guhehehehe

Yes, yes, it’s no trouble. Masses, praise me more!

I was in a great mood, so I taught the children which wild grasses were edible.  After which they were making another commotion about how awesome and great I am. Yes, yes, it’s no problem!

(みんな、栄養つtて、ガリガリ村をぽっちゃり村にしようじゃないか！)

After going home and showing my mother and father the caught fish, they were delighted. Mother, father – you can praise me even more, you know? I’m your precious daughter, aren’t I? Aren’t I? Ufufu  (自慢の娘でしょ？)

That day’s dinner had both fish and wild grasses in it. Fish bones are scary, so I didn’t eat any, but  the fish soup stock did it’s job so it was really delicious.  The best thing I’ve eaten in my life so far. Though I’ve only been living for about a year.

After that, I made more traps for small fish, sandals and baskets together with the other village children while teaching them.

As these days continued, while kindly and thoroughly explaining the ways to knit straw to the village children, one of them said this: “Couldn’t it be that Ryou is a magician!?”. Everyone in the surroundings immediately become noisy. “That’s right, that could totally be!”, was everyone’s reaction.
Is that right? I might just be one, I’ve got all kinds of knowledge and technologies after all. It’s from my previous life – in this pioneer-like village I might just become one. Ufufu.
If “Magicians = People with advanced technology”, then it’s no exaggeration to call me one! Chichinpuipui!¹

“But my dad said that if your mom or dad weren’t magicians, then you couldn’t become a magician, so only nobles can!” Hee, so it’s like that. Hmpf. There are nobles in this country.
Which also means that there is royalty and a prince. I kinda want to take a look at that prince.

Still, if magicians are nobles then in this country magic (I mean, advanced technology, pupupu) and knowledge are something monopolized by the strong and influential.

I mean, there is no school in this village. They can talk, but they can’t read or do maths.
Even worse, this is a farm village but they don’t know how to cultivate crops or everyday wisdom, they don’t know anything.  They’re adults limited to being children. (それは子どもだけにとどまらず大人も。) That’s the really mysterious part. How have the people of this village lived until now?

Perhaps this village open for development. Wanting this land to be newly cultivated, they gathered a bunch of people who don’t know anything about cultivation is the only thing I can think of. The people living in this village are all basically young couples with children, the so called nuclear families. Grandpas or Grandmas, those elderly figures full with wisdom are missing.

“Since when does this village stand?”
After the discussion of nobles and magicians calmed down one degree, thinking it’s finally my time I boldly asked the question that has been burning on my mind for a long time (then again it’s just been a year).
“Since about 5 years ago. Before that, we were carrying stones to a magician building a castle.” The one who answered was the oldest here, Raaja (ラージ). He’ll be 10 years old soon, so there are plans for him to start working the fields soon.
“Oh, it’s like that! Then the adults of this village were building a castle! That’s amazing!”
Since I was coming closer to the true identity of this farming community , I excitedly answered.
It was work related to civil engineering!
“The magician is the amazing one. Mom and dad just carried stones. But with magic, a magician can make anything!”
Seriously? Magicians are pretty impressive. Or rather, this country monopolizes technology and knowledge way too much. What a an impressive coverup of technology. Why would you go that far in covering it up!　Are you corrupt!? And on top of that not afraid of rebellions!?

After which the older older boys started to voice their complaints.(すると、年上の男の子たちが、ここぞとばかりに愚痴を語りだした。) “Anyway, when they were helping to build the castle, we weren’t this hungry. Field work sure is difficult.”
“If the lord would cultivate the land, plant seeds and give water we could harvest crops, is what I heard, but father also said that it’s different from what was promised. ”
Apparently when still helping to build the castle, food and so on were still properly provided. But the castle was finished and they lost their jobs. To find the people who lost their work a workplace, they were offered to live as farmers and reclaim lands. That time they were given a minimum amount of tools and seeds and told that they just had to sow the seeds.
For a few years the country supplied them with food and so on but about two years ago those provisions stopped. Paying a part of their crops as tax, the rest would be theirs to keep since they wouldn’t need any more food. That kind of thing. I thought the villagers were an irresponsible bunch (including my parents), but if it’s the country that was irresponsible then I can kinda understand it.
“But this time when the magician comes, the village mayor wants to discuss the crop failure with him. Then he’ll do something with magic and on top of that we’ll eat fish and wild grasses from now on! We’ll be able to as much as we want!”

Is what Maru suddenly said with a lot of passion. Everyone is nodding in agreement with his words.

That’s right, the first priority should be on eating your fill.
Let’s stop being Garigari village and become Pochari² village.

^{1. This is supposed to be a magical incantation like ‘Pain, pain go away’}

^{2. This means ‘plump’ or ‘chubby’.}