"I'd like to turn most of the neighboring land into a lawn, but do you know how to do it?"
"I don't know much about lawns either… The lawn at the manor was all taken care of by the people Alex arranged, so I just left it alone, and before I knew it, it ended up looking beautiful on its own."
The day after I went to collect soil, having finished leveling the land evenly, I realized I didn't know how to proceed to the next step.
I had retrieved as much of the previous owner's lawn as I could, but it wasn't enough to cover most of the land, and I was worried it would wither if I just planted it as-is.
So I asked Grandpa, but even Grandpa didn't know how to plant a lawn. Apparently, he'd left it entirely up to the King.
I was thinking about going to the royal castle to ask Kurif, when the gates opened and a group of visitors filed in.
"Hm? It's Mark and the others."
It was Uncle Mark and Aunt Martha, among others. Uncle and Aunt (plus the people of Kukuri Village) had been granted free access to the manor, so from when they moved to the Royal Capital up until I arrived, they'd apparently been taking care of Grandpa — Grandpa denied it, of course, but from what I heard, it was nothing but caregiving.
"Tenma, Merlin, I heard you were back, so I came by."
Aunt Martha said that, but looking at Uncle Mark and the others behind her, it was obvious they hadn't *just* come by. After all, each of them was carrying ingredients and alcohol. They were clearly ready for a feast. Well, I did have souvenirs for everyone, so the timing was perfect.
"This works out perfectly. I want to plant lawn on this land — does anyone know how?"
"If I'll do, I'll take care of it."
When I brought up the lawn, a voice immediately volunteered. It was an uncle who used to raise goats back in Kukuri Village — the one who always shared goat's milk with me when I was a baby. I'm pretty sure he used to plant flowers in the Kukuri Village square and such. Incidentally, since Shiromaru was also raised on goat's milk, he still wags his tail whenever he sees goats.
The uncle picked up a handful of soil and examined it, but quickly shot it down. Apparently, the current soil was clay-heavy with poor drainage, and if I sowed seeds as-is, root rot was a real possibility. To prevent that, I'd need to mix in sand or something to improve drainage. Also, rather than keeping it flat like it was now, I was apparently better off adding a slight slope so puddles wouldn't form.
He said a friend of his dealt in seeds, so I decided to ask him. If I planted now, they'd just barely take root before the snow came. However, I apparently couldn't let Juubei and the others roam free until the grass had established itself. The slope itself could be done in about an hour, but even with the uncle's contact, gathering enough sand for this land would take time, and he told me it'd be faster to source it myself.
"Then let me try making the central area into a sort of hill. That should increase the amount of exercise too, at least."
When I say hill, I'm planning to make it less than a meter high. That should improve water flow, and a slope you could actually see would be easier to make.
I then drew a simple sketch on the ground and showed it to everyone, and for some reason, the women of Kukuri Village — starting with Aunt Martha — reacted very positively. When I asked about it, apparently the reason was that I'd planned to convert nearly a quarter of the new land into fields.
Originally in Kukuri Village, self-sufficiency was the foundation, so each household had small kitchen gardens where they grew crops. After moving to the Royal Capital, they had extremely few opportunities to touch soil, so all they could do was plant flowers in small pots, and stress had been building up. It seemed like this plan would relieve all of that at once.
As for me, my main plan had been to grow seasonings like chili peppers and pepper, with the rest being whatever happened to be in season, so I agreed to lend them the land on the condition that they'd take care of it all.
Once they had my approval, Aunt Martha and the other women dragged the men over to the planned field site and immediately started plowing to get it ready. The men wore annoyed looks on their faces, but the women were terrifying enough that they quietly
obeyed orders
without a single complaint. Not wanting to get caught up in the men's work, Grandpa and I were crushing stones with magic to make sand for mixing into the soil, but before we knew it, the field that was supposed to take up a quarter of the land had grown to one-third of the total area. When I confronted Aunt Martha about it, they said each person had calculated the space they could freely use,
the bare minimum,
and since a quarter wasn't big enough... apparently so.
Well, even if a third of the land went to fields, there was still plenty of room to let Juubei and the others roam, so I just silently went along with it like the men did... because right now, the women radiated an aura that absolutely must not be defied.
We left the field work to the men and set about rebuilding the soil. When I say rebuilding, we had the golems gather up the current soil, then mixed in the sand we'd just made along with some leaf mold. By adding extra sand, we improved drainage, so we replaced nearly half the soil with sand. The excess soil was stored in the Magic Bag for now, with plans to dump it in the forest or grassland when we got the chance.
It took about two hours from removing the old soil to putting in the new, but thanks to using a large number of golems, we were hardly tired at all.
The men working the field finished around the same time we did, but unlike us, they'd done everything by hand, so they were completely exhausted. That said, the women — who'd mostly just been giving instructions — weren't particularly tired, and were now discussing what to plant next.
"Everyone, shall we take a break soon?"
Timing it for when the work had reached a stopping point, Aina came over with wet towels. She'd brought exactly enough for everyone, all properly chilled — seeing that really drove home the maid-skill gap between her and my little sister... well, given how different their base specs were, I suppose that's only natural.
"The comparison target being"
"her"
"is the unfortunate part, but thank you."
And she smoothly reads my thoughts, too... Am I really that easy to read?
Incidentally, regarding this question, I later learned that
I had been glancing back and forth between myself and Aura several times, and on top of that, I'd made that look you give some poor, pitiful creature when I looked at Aura. I find it strange that a maid would possess skills like a martial arts master's, but apparently, for someone in service to the royal family, this kind of ability is expected to some degree or another. Well, the fact that only Aina and Kurif have reached this level of competence is probably the one saving grace. If there were people this capable running around everywhere, I wouldn't be able to casually visit the royal castle. In terms of what might get discovered...
The late lunch was apparently a barbecue so everyone could eat together. When you hear "barbecue," you might think it's just skewering meat and vegetables on sticks, but preparing enough for nearly twenty people is quite the undertaking, and the meat and vegetables all needed prep work and seasoning beforehand — as expected of our head maid (provisional)…
I'd like her to drop that "provisional" title soon, but there's no way Lady Maria would let Aina go. If I poached her, that would cut into the peace-and-quiet time for me and Aura, and I have no idea how long it would take for Jeanne and Aura to grow enough to earn Aina's recognition. When I thought about it that way, she handles everything perfectly even on a part-time basis (at least from my perspective), so I guess there's nothing wrong with keeping the provisional title.
While I was enjoying the barbecue and thinking about all that, the gate opened once more, and several more guests arrived.
"So~lo~mon—*glph!*"
The newcomers were my three younger acquaintances from the Royal Capital, along with the vice-captain of the Royal Guard serving as their escort and Aina's boss, the butler. As for why Solomon's name was never fully uttered, that was naturally Luna's doing—the reason being that the instant she started running, Tida grabbed the back of her collar and strangled her to a halt. It was a dangerous thing to do, but Tida seemed well-practiced, stopping Luna with just the right amount of force.
"Professor, pardon the intrusion."
The last member of the trio of three was Emiie. In her arms, Ii-chan and Shii-chan were being held, and Ku-chan was clinging to her back. The two birds had grown since the last time I'd seen them, and they looked like they were making things a bit tough for the arm-carrying Emiie. However, when Shiromaru came trotting over, the two fluttered their wings and hopped onto his back. Ku-chan, upon spotting Goru and Jiru, charged toward them with her front paws raised. Goru and Jiru raised their front paws in welcome as well.
"Long time no see, Emiie. Oh, and here—southern-region gifts."
I loosened up Emiie's now-lighter arms, then showed her the handkerchief I'd had Sana-san design and handed it over, explaining its meaning. Once Emiie understood what it meant, she looked troubled for a moment, but then neatly folded it and tucked it into her pocket.
"I've got gifts for Ii-chan and Shii-chan too."
Whether they understood that their names had been called, the two birds dismounted from Shiromaru's back and came waddling over to me. And since Shiromaru had also picked up on the word "gift," he tagged along...
"Here—earthworms I caught in the forest."
Once Shiromaru realized what the "gifts" really were, he immediately lost interest and went off to get some barbecue meat, but the two birds happily began pecking at the earthworms. I hadn't released any into the fields yet, but even if Ii-chan and Shii-chan ate their fill, it wouldn't amount to even a tenth of what Slarin could catch.
Even Emiie seemed to have grown unfazed by something as simple as earthworms at this point, watching the two birds busily gobbling them down with an amused smile... Well, compared to grating up caterpillars, dancing earthworms were hardly a big deal. It was a perfectly ordinary sight for feeding birds, and all she had to do was watch.
After that, the five newcomers joined in on the meal as well (though Kurif did spend most of his time acting as a waiter), turning lunch into an even livelier affair than usual.
"Come to think of it, Professor, classes at the academy feel way too easy..."
According to Emiie, what they were currently studying at the academy was stuff she'd already been taught by Agri and the others quite a while back, and frankly, it was underwhelming.
"Huh? That's strange..."
"That is likely due to a misunderstanding on Tenma-sama's part."
Kurif, who at some point had positioned himself behind me, began answering my question in a whisper right next to my ear. I nearly jumped in surprise at the sudden voice, but holding it together in front of Emiie, I somehow managed. It was an everyday occurrence, but Kurif had a habit of erasing his presence and appearing at my back, which was absolutely terrible for my heart.
"What do you mean?"
I managed to ask in a normal-sounding voice, but this mischievous butler had almost certainly clocked how startled I was. As proof, he was standing in front of me with a thoroughly satisfied look on his face.
"It's quite simple. When Maria asked Tenma about Emiie's academic performance, she was told that 'she's average.' However, Tenma had only inspected the senior high division of the academy. Emiie, on the other hand, is enrolled in the junior high division. In other words, when Maria asked about her academic level as a junior high student, Tenma gave an assessment based on senior high standards. While there may be a slight margin of error, there is naturally a clear difference in academic ability between the junior and senior high divisions."
I was quite surprised to hear that. Sure, I had only seen the lower-ranked students in the senior high division, but I never expected Emiie's academic ability to be that far above them. After all, the most I had taught her was multiplication and division, and even that I had only covered in passing while working on magic.
"If I had to guess, perhaps when Tenma taught her the fundamentals and each of the Seigen Tamers taught her their own applications, her studies gradually surpassed the junior high level without anyone noticing, and she kept advancing further and further?"
What Kurif said made a certain amount of sense. It was probably something like: "We've already covered this? Then let me teach you what comes next." "If you can do this, then I'll teach you the application as well." "It might be a little difficult, but if you can solve this problem, you can probably do this one too." ...A loop like that, most likely.
In truth, Agri being the eldest went without saying, but the other Seigen Tamers were surprisingly sharp as well. Since they each ran their own businesses or handled specialized work, they had accumulated all sorts of unusual experiences. On top of that, when they ran into trouble, they naturally relied on Agri, which meant knowledge came to them organically. And apparently, when Agri helped them, he didn't just solve the problem — he explained why they couldn't do it and shared his own experience in the process. In a way, it was like each of them had a personal tutor, the kind nobles often employed. Of course, Emiie had her own talent as well, but being taught by these Tamers, it was only natural that she had surpassed the junior high level.
"Well, being good at academics is a good thing. There's no harm in it! So just think of it as review and go over the basics again."
"Is that all it is?"
"Probably, that's all it is."
My confidence wavered by the end, but I was pretty sure I hadn't said anything wrong... Kurif and Aina were giving me icy stares, but I ignored them and repeated the important part one more time — "Review is important." In truth, the issue was simply that the academy's coursework wasn't challenging enough. There was no other problem.
"Anyway, academics aside, how about magic?"
"Magic is more fun!"
Apparently, there were all kinds of magic to observe at the academy, and just watching was enjoyable in itself. On top of that, unlike studying, there was a lot to do, so she said she hadn't felt unchallenged — at least not so far.
"However, practical training is tough..."
"You see, Tenma, the academy does include weapon-based training, and Emiie's performance in that area is rated rather low. Of course, when I say low, it's low compared to experienced combatants. If you include magic in the overall ranking, she would undoubtedly be at the top — not just of her class, but of her entire grade!"
Tida stepped in to explain on Emiie's behalf after she hesitated, but it seemed like it wasn't just the practical training that was bothering her.
"Could it be that there's someone in your class who doesn't think well of you?"
"!" "!"
"And those people are badmouthing Emiie behind her back, ignoring their own grades and focusing only on the fact that she's weak in practical training?"
"!!" "!!"
"And to top it off, they're bothered by the fact that Emiie knows members of the royal family?"
"!!!"
"Huh?"
I had rattled off what I thought was a typical scenario based on what I could piece together, and it seemed I was hitting the mark every time... Although, even Tida herself hadn't realized the last part. But that, too, was probably part of the pattern.
"Well, I can understand being jealous of a talented newcomer who just appeared out of nowhere, but for the person involved, Emiie, it must be unbearable... The quickest fix would be to improve Emiie's strength in practical training."
"If that's the case, then Tida-sama not getting involved with Emiie going forward would also be... No, never mind."
Jeanne had probably just offered that as one possible option, but she immediately retracted it after receiving a fierce glare from Tida.
"Well, it's a valid option as far as options go... but it would be a bad move."
The moment I acknowledged it as a viable option, Tida's face went completely pale, but the instant I called it a bad move, she returned to normal.
"Why?"
"If Tida distances herself from Emiie, the people harassing her will think Tida has abandoned Emiie, and they'll ramp up the harassment next time."
"Ah... That's true."
Jeanne also nodded in understanding after hearing my explanation. After all, those people (probably the female students) either had feelings for Tida or desired the political power that would come from being her future spouse, so with Emiie having fallen into the water —
Emiie —
— they would seize this golden opportunity to crush her mercilessly... They were too fixated on the present to think about what the consequences would be. If they could think that far ahead, they wouldn't be harassing Emiie in the first place — given that she's connected to both me and Grandpa, and that Tida
is
always right there nearby.
"So, the best approach would be for Emiie to get stronger on her own, and the next step would be to make them visibly understand that harassing Emiie comes at a cost."
"I get the first part... but how would you do the second?"
Since Jeanne was asking on behalf of Emiie and Tida, who both looked anxious, I flashed a grin and —
"There's someone else in the Royal Capital who has an indirect but real connection to Emiie, comes from a high-ranking noble family, is easy to work with, is well-known at the academy, and has an extremely high probability of bringing along a bonus package if you call on them."
It seemed like Emiie and Tida didn't quite catch on, but everyone who'd been eavesdropping nearby was making faces like "Oh! That guy!" That was…
"The demon brute of the Three Idiots!"
"It's Cain. What if Emiie picks up on the demon brute part from him?"
"Don't worry. She'll find out eventually!"
Amur said this with full confidence. Well, it would eventually come to light, but for starters, let's have Cain think we're counting on him. For Cain's sake, after all…
"For the record, for the record, Albert is the personality-less one, and Lion is a dumb muscle-head. All three together make the Three Idiots! Or an idol group for fujoshi!"
"H-Huh…"
Emiie looked thoroughly bewildered by Amur's onslaught of explanations. It was hard to argue with any of it, really—though as far as Albert went, "personality-less" was less accurate than saying he just didn't stand out compared to the others. His face was certainly handsome enough, but looking so much like Duke Sanga worked against him. Yeah, personality-less might be fair after all. The idol comment and the bit about Lion—no comment.
"Anyway, first we raise Emiie's fundamentals. That means focusing mainly on building her physical stamina—technique comes second."
"Wouldn't it be faster to focus on technique, even at a basic level?"
"In the short term, maybe. But since Emiie is a Tamer and a magic user, and her coordination style with us isn't locked in yet, I'd rather boost her stamina before technique. Besides, if you try to cram all sorts of combat techniques into a total amateur like Emiie, there's a high chance she'll actually get weaker."
"Well, that's fair enough."
When I answered Jeanne's question that way, she nodded in understanding—maybe something resonated with her. It was easy to forget, but Jeanne was the vice-captain of the Royal Guard, so she'd often had to look after rookies and had probably seen plenty of failed cases along the way.
"So for magic, I'm thinking we center her training on Enhancement Magic. Just being able to use that effectively will jump her strength up several levels. In other words, the long-term plan is to get stronger by building her body, and the short term is to shut up anyone who tries to hassle her with Enhancement Magic. As a bonus, practicing Enhancement Magic will also raise her baseline Magic Power. That's the strategy. The meet-and-greet with Cain and the others is more about showing off a deterrent, I guess?"
It was starting to sound like Emiie was becoming the protagonist of an otome game, but ensuring her safety was part of my job anyway. Plus, I had a reason to meet with the Three Idiots regarding the souvenir matter, and Emiie was a member of Seigen Tamerz, which Marquis Samons belonged to—I'd been planning to introduce her eventually. My only worry was whether Emiie would end up getting glared at by the trio's fans, but once they learned about the age gap and her connections to me and Marquis Samons, the chances of them making a move were slim. At the end of the day, most of that trio's fans were well-mannered young ladies… perverted ones, sure, but still!
"So with that said, I went ahead and called them over."
"What's going on?!"
As expected from a trio that had been together so long—their synchronized reaction was perfectly timed.
"Tenma, it's impressive you managed to find all three of them in such a short time."
In response to Tida's question, I pointed at a certain non-human butler.
"It was quite a challenge, but with my information network, finding the three of them was child's play... By the way, Master Tenma, pointing at people—even if it's at a butler—isn't something I can commend."
I was curious about this "information network" the butler mentioned, but something told me I'd regret asking about it, so I ignored it. On top of that, his seemingly reasonable advice probably had some ulterior motive behind it, so I ignored that too.
"Tenma, please—don't just ignore us."
Sensing that she was about to be completely forgotten, Aura pleaded with a serious voice and expression.