Chapter 29 - Soil Preparation
After getting permission from Elgis-san, Flora and I had come to the front of my house carrying tools like hoes and sickles.
"It looks like there won't be any problems here," Flora muttered while touching the soil around the house.
Apparently, the soil here was sufficient for growing vegetables and crops.
Unlike Toak's house, my house wasn't surrounded by dense trees, so it had good sunlight. Instead, some grass and weeds were growing, but it shouldn't be a problem if I pulled them out.
After checking the sunlight, the feel of the soil, and the drainage, Flora nodded with satisfaction and stood up.
"First, let's start by growing vegetables that are easy to raise and can be harvested quickly."
"In that case, would it be the Radish from earlier?"
"Yes, exactly. Other than that, carrots, snap peas, and leafy vegetables like Sheil are recommended for beginners."
Though not as fast as the Radish, these vegetables also had short times until harvest and apparently didn't require much care.
Since I could grasp the overall flow of farming in a short period, they were perfect for a beginner like me.
Above all, I thought it was wonderful that they could be harvested soon.
I didn't feel like I could grow something that took a long time and required detailed care right from the start. I had heard that crops and vegetables were often attacked by pests or withered due to temperature, humidity, and soil conditions.
"These vegetables will be fine even in this soil, so let's go with those four types."
"Yes, I'll be in your care. Teacher."
When I said that with a small bow, Flora laughed as if tickled.
"Yes, let's grow vegetables and experience the joy of harvesting."
Once the vegetables to be grown were decided, we immediately determined the area to till and set to work on weeding.
Putting on gloves and taking the sickle I borrowed from Flora, I began cutting the tall weeds.
When I applied the blade to the bottom of the grass and pulled, there was the sound of fibers being cut, and the grassy scent of plants wafted through the air.
This scent was nostalgic. When I passed through animal trails in the forest during quests, I often used a knife or sword to cut away obstructive grass and branches like this. There were even paths that grew large thanks to adventurers passing through many times.
Also, back when I was a child and couldn't buy weapons, I used them as weapons against monsters, but I didn't really want to remember that since it was bloody.
I moved my hands silently to drive away those thoughts.
Weeds with thin fibers could be cut easily, but if there were many weeds with tough fibers, they sometimes couldn't be cut in one go.
When I glanced at Flora, who held a sickle in the same way, she was humming a cute tune while lightly cutting away the weeds.
Even though they were the same tough-fibered ones I was struggling with... Was there some kind of trick?
Watching Flora's hand movements, it looked like she was using her entire arm. Without using just her hand, she swung with her whole arm... Ah, the grass got tangled.
It made me want to slash them away with the mithril sword I used to cut dragons. With that, I could probably mow down all the weeds in my sight with a single swing. No, no, what would I be doing using something like that?
Doing it like this with a normal sickle was what was good. That was out of the question.
Switching my thoughts and observing Flora again, I realized she was cutting by applying the sickle surprisingly close to the base of the grass.
...Hmm, so I should apply it to the base, let the tip of the slanted blade touch, and then pull it diagonally backward and upward as if sliding it.
When I tried imitating Flora, the weeds were cut with light force.
There was no heavy sensation of getting caught in the fibers. With this, it seemed I could mow down the weeds one after another.
As if enjoying the sensation of the sickle cutting smoothly, I mowed the weeds in front of me.
"Aldo-san, you're good at using a sickle."
"You think so?"
"Is it because you were used to it during your time as an adventurer or when hunting?"
No, I didn't use it at all. At most, I just slashed away obstructive branches or long weeds with a sword. As expected, I didn't use a sickle to clear a path by the roots.
"Well, something like that."
But since it would be uncool to admit I just desperately learned it by stealing Flora's movements now, I gave a vague reply.
In fact, since I had handled all sorts of bladed tools after becoming an adventurer, I could use them reasonably well after seeing a demonstration, so it wasn't exactly a lie.
"What kind of things did you do when you were an adventurer? Was it mostly subjugating monsters?"
Perhaps she was bored of weeding in silence, as Flora asked while keeping her hands moving.
"I did everything: monster subjugation, delivering items, cleaning the city, and guarding important people."
"I have an image of adventurers being about monster subjugation, but they even do deliveries and city cleaning."
Flora raised her voice in surprise at my words.
Since there was no branch of the Adventurer's Guild near Nordende and no large cities, it was no wonder she was surprised. Since they only called them occasionally to exterminate monsters that appeared, her image was likely strong on monster extermination and guarding important people.
Adventurers really did anything. In the populous Royal Capital, there was that much work.
"What kind of monsters did you defeat, Aldo-san?"
"Hmm, Dra—no. Mostly monsters that came to the village, like Rigles, Goblins, and Red Bears."
That was close. I almost said dragon. Well, even if I said dragon, it wouldn't be exposed—or rather, they wouldn't believe me—but there was a possibility I'd be treated as a crazy person.
By the way, a Rigle was a monster that resembled a weasel with long claws. They were omnivores and ate anything, so crops in the fields often suffered damage from them.
"...Red Bear."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
I asked back because I couldn't hear Flora's muttered voice clearly.
"No, it's nothing! That's amazing. Someone like me would be so scared I'd run away if I saw a monster."
Flora waved her hand as if it were nothing and continued weeding in silence.
I was a bit curious about Flora's reaction, but since it would be bad to pry too deeply, I also continued weeding in silence.
We were able to clear the grass from an area about ten meters square, and now the roots of the remaining stems and the brown soil were showing their faces. Since the pulled weeds could be used as livestock feed, we gathered them in one place to be carried out later.
Now that the obstructive weeds were gone, it was the hoe's turn.
"It's better to make the ridges facing east to west so the sun hits them longer, so we'll till horizontally."
It was better to follow the direction the sun moved so it would hit them for a long time.
I switched from the sickle to the hoe and stood in the place Flora indicated.
Utilizing the weight of the hoe to let the tip gouge into the soil, the crunchy sensation of the earth came back, which was a bit fun. Since I didn't know how to swing a hoe, I was careful not to swing it up too high and focused on digging it up.
I moved forward little by little, properly removing large stones and weed roots from the soil.
Swing up the hoe, and swing it down. The sound of Flora and me digging up the soil could be heard. It was a simple task, but repeating it many times made me realize it was quite heavy labor.
Perhaps because it was getting hotter as summer approached, I gradually began to sweat.
This used quite a bit of muscle. If there was wasted strength, one would tire out immediately. It would be especially tough in the summer due to the temperature.
I was worried about whether Flora, who didn't have much stamina, would be okay, but she was moving ahead of me with a good rhythm.
She must have been using her body's strength well so as not to consume stamina unnecessarily.
Though she had a slender body, the sight of Flora swinging the hoe looked practiced and powerful.
I thought I couldn't lose either, but since there was no point in competing for speed against an experienced person, I focused on tilling carefully. First, I would do what I could.
Thinking that, I pulled out the hoe I had stuck into the ground. The soil stuck to the hoe fell off in clumps. Then, I took a step forward and swung the hoe down.
As I swung down while removing stones and weed roots, I began to understand how to apply force. Following my own intuition, I swung down further and turned over the soil.
While doing that, I seemed to have reached the edge of the field before I knew it, and the row I was responsible for had its soil beautifully turned over.
A place that had been overflowing with nothing but grass and weeds had begun to show the form of a field.
I was surprised by that change myself and gazed at it with emotion.
"Aldo-san, good work."
After gazing at it for a while, I remembered my thirst. At that moment, as if she had read my thoughts, Flora offered me a water bottle.
I was surprised by the good timing, but Flora, who had finished first, must have prepared it. I was grateful.
Because I was thirsty and had sweated a lot, the cold water was very delicious.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
When I said my thanks after my throat made a gulping sound, Flora smiled happily.
Perhaps Flora had also sweated, as her silk-like blonde hair was sticking to her skin.
"Your swinging was much better toward the end. That way, you won't use unnecessary strength, so you shouldn't get tired as easily."
"It's thanks to the teacher's good teaching."
"No, no."
We laughed together during our conversation.
When I first came here, I couldn't have exchanged such light banter with Flora. That was how much she had opened her heart to me. Thinking that made me somewhat happy.
If a wonderful woman I could laugh with and support like this were by my side, I might be able to lead an even happier life...