Maggie and Matthew—mostly Matthew—taught me the very basics of farming.
I’m exhausted, but it’d be wonderful if I could grow even a little food in the Great Forest, Schwarzwald.
By evening, we’d finished planting seeds in Maggie’s garden as well.
On the far side of Lang Village from the Great Forest, fields stretch out in every direction, but Maggie’s family runs the general store. Her mother manages that side of things.
So what about her father? Doesn’t he do farm work? Is he lazy? That might have been possible in my past life, but this world is harsh.
Those who don’t work can’t survive! On this point, I can only be grateful to Selina. She did raise me, an abandoned child, after all.
Maggie’s father sells timber from the Great Forest. No matter how much they cut down, the trees in the Great Forest keep growing back, so there’s a bunch of uses for them—building materials, furniture, and firewood.
“Tomorrow, he’s hauling wood, and I’m going to get him to take me to Carlton on the way!”
I get to tag along too.
Maggie’s father is a big man with brown hair. He looked intimidating when I first saw him, but he’s gentle-hearted and strong.
Her mother has the sharper personality, so it’s definitely a case of the wife wearing the pants in the family.
But it seems Maggie isn’t just going to Carlton to have fun.
Her father is going to sell timber. Maggie is going to sell medicinal herbs and furs in place of her mother.
In other words, now that Maggie’s turned eight, she’s gradually starting her apprenticeship at the general store.
“Dad, take Zoe along too!”
Her mother made a sour face, saying, “Can she even manage to sell the herbs and furs properly?” But her father agreed. “Sure, why not?”
“Zoe, make sure you get Selina’s permission properly! It’d be terrible if we made the witch angry!”
I think it’ll be fine… Anyway, if I’m going all the way to town, I’d like to do some shopping, you know?
“Hey, is Maggie bringing spending money?”
Maggie laughs. “Of course I am!”
Ugh. I made money selling herbs over the winter, but almost all of it went to clothes and food. Plus, I bought an old hoe and seeds today, so my funds are looking pretty thin.
“If you’re eating a meal in Carlton, you’ll need ten copper pennies,” her mother says with concern. She knows exactly what my financial situation is like.
“I’ll figure something out!”
As a last resort, I’ll have to throw myself on Selina’s mercy.
Still, first things first—I need to get permission!
While teleporting into the Great Forest and walking the animal path back to the cabin, I think about how to ask for money.
As I trudge along, dragging the hoe behind me, an Almiraj suddenly leaps at me.
“Air Cutter♪”
I slice its neck clean through and the hunt is over! Good—that gets me fur and a small magic stone! Plus, Almiraj stew is Selina’s favorite, so this might make getting permission easier.
I tie the Almiraj’s legs to my backpack basket and run back to the cabin, humming cheerfully. I hoist up the hoe too and pick up speed!
When I get back to the cabin, I report to Selina: “I’m home! I caught an Almiraj!”
“Ah, then it’s stew tonight!” Selina answers happily from where she’s sprawled on the sofa.
This is looking promising. Usually when I say “I’m home!” she either doesn’t notice, ignores me, or gives me a “hmph” through her nose if I’m lucky.
Selina really isn’t cut out for child-rearing.
“Hey, Selina! Tomorrow, Maggie’s father is going to Carlton. Can I go with them?”
Oof, she’s giving me a stern glare. Scary!
“There’s nothing to see in Carlton anyway,” she says.
“Well, maybe not, but... there’s got to be more there than in Lang Village, right?”
While wheedling, I store the Almiraj and separate it into hide, meat, and magic stone.
Hehehe. I couldn’t do this before, but I’ve gotten much better at using Storage over the winter.
“You’re still too green for a place like Carlton. It’s packed with rough types.”
“Eh, is the security bad?”
That surprises me. I mean, the people in Lang Village all seem so easygoing and peaceful.
“Carlton has an Adventurers’ Guild. It’s a small-town branch, but it’s right up against the Great Forest, you see. Still, official expeditions into the forest are sent from the royal capital, and their base of operations is usually set up in the neighboring town of Heinz.”
Mmm, I see. So Heinz is more urban than Carlton, where Lang Village’s lord lives.
“I’d love to see it!”
I mean, everything’s so rural. I was happy when I was able to visit Lang Village, but that village only has a general store, a tailor shop, and a blacksmith.
“Zoe! You need to settle down a bit more.”
Selina is already an adult, and though she won’t tell me her age, she’s quite elderly. So she’s probably already tired of towns and such.
But me? I grew up in the Great Forest and only know little Lang Village.
I wanna see more—so much more!
Moving on though, the Almiraj stew was delicious. I added some of Merry’s precious milk, so even Selina had seconds.
“Come on, I can go, can’t I?” I plead with Selina while she seems to be in a good mood.
“I suppose it can’t be helped. But don’t use magic.”
“Yay!”
I hum while washing the stew bowls.
But while drying the dishes, I remember I don’t have money.
“Um, Selina... it seems like I need ten copper pennies for a meal...”
Selina glares at me.
“I could take bread from the cabin and stuff it with meat from the stew... But it’s my first time in town, and I want to eat at a restaurant with Maggie.”
She lets out a big sigh. “If you don’t have money, there’s no point going to Carlton. You should save up money first and then go. Besides, what happened to the coins you earned over the winter?”
Oof…
I wear the boys’ old clothes normally, but when I go to Lang Village, I switch to girls’ old clothes. So Selina’s been giving me reproachful looks for spending extra money.
“Well, that’s true, but still... I bought a hoe and seeds, so... eventually I’ll be able to harvest potatoes and carrots and cabbage in the garden, and you’ll be able to eat them too, Selina!”
I guess I hadn’t reported this yet.
“Hmm, that’s good! Why don’t you skip going to Carlton tomorrow and work on making the field instead? I’ll teach you earth magic.”
“I’d like that, sure, but tomorrow’s the only day they can take me! Or will you take me instead?”
Selina furrows her brow in distaste. Maybe she doesn’t want to meet Carlton Town’s lord.
She always says getting involved with nobles is troublesome.
“I suppose it can’t be helped... Take these herbs! Since Maggie’s probably going to sell herbs anyway, you can ask her to sell them together.”
The medicinal herbs Selina pulled from her storage looked as fresh as if they’d just been picked.
“Did you pick these today, by any chance?”
She was sprawled on the sofa when I got home, though.
“I picked them a while ago. If you could improve the precision of your storage magic more, you could pick them from spring through summer, preserve them, and sell them in winter when prices are high.”
That’s so true. Right now, herbs are easy to find, so they don’t cost as much as in winter.
“Will this be enough to eat on?”
Selina laughs at my worried expression. “You have the magic stone too, don’t you?”
“Oh, right!”
Selina looks concerned and adds, “Will you really be all right?”
I think I better go sleep before she ends up forbidding the Carlton trip…