Harvest Season (1)
“Alright, everyone, be careful with your hands and let’s get started!”
“And don’t forget to drink water every now and then!”
Patrick looked at the short grapevines with an eager expression, basket and shears in hand. I should learn this properly so I can try making my own wine at home later.
Today was the day he was helping out at Ben’s winery. The vineyard on the northern side of the island grew several varieties of grapes, and they were harvesting the ones meant for white wine and champagne first.
“Thanks to the lime powder you taught us to spread on the ground, the grapes grew wonderfully plump. Thank you, sir.”
“Not at all. Still, as I mentioned before, once the autumn harvest is completely finished, you’ll need to spread and mix in another round of lime powder. That way next year’s crop will be even better.”
“I’ll be sure to do that. And this is a secret from the other villagers, but……”
Ben’s father leaned in and whispered into Patrick’s ear, “Once we finish making the wine this time, I’ll set aside the best barrel of oak-aged wine just for you.”
It seemed that was how he expressed his gratitude.
“In that case, do I get to choose which one?”
“Pardon? Ah! Of course! Of course you do. Hahaha. Take whichever one suits your taste.”
Aaah— Patrick felt his motivation surge.
The children were also wandering between the vines, picking grapes. Wine grapes didn’t grow on tall trellises reaching toward the sky. The blue and red clusters grew on short, bush-like vines that even the children’s small hands could easily reach.
“This is tricky. How do you tell which ones are ripe?”
But for Patrick, who was harvesting grapes for the first time, it was still impossible to distinguish between ripe and unripe fruit.
“There’s no way to know except by tasting them, right?”
Nom—
Under the excuse of checking whether the grapes were ripe, more and more berries kept disappearing into his mouth.
“Mmm!”
The land where spirits lived was supposedly rich in mana, and it seemed to be true. At first he had dismissed the small grapes, thinking, “That’s just how unrefined grapes are.” But the perfectly balanced sweetness and acidity of these top-quality wine grapes were exactly what his heat-weary palate needed.
“Stop eating and work already!”
“You said we could eat them.”
“I meant one or two while you work, not an entire bunch!”
Before he knew it, Ben had come over and scolded him. Yet even the adults passing by couldn’t help but chuckle when they saw Patrick’s basket.
“You haven’t picked any yet? Still?”
His basket remained empty, while three bunches had already gone straight into his mouth.
“I’m a beginner. Beginners aren’t supposed to be good at this. If I were good at it, would I still be a beginner?”
“How hard can it be?”
“It’s not obvious just by looking. Oh, by the way, are they supposed to be this sour? They taste good to me, but I heard somewhere that higher sugar content makes better wine.”
“Ah, those are for red wine.”
“Huh?”
“The ones for white wine and champagne need to be quite sour. That helps with fermentation and gives them a refreshing quality.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. On the other hand, red wine grapes prioritize sugar, so we pick them when they’re riper. Probably next month or so.”
“You know quite a bit.”
“I’m the winery owner’s son. This much is basic!”
The sight of him puffing up despite not even knowing the taste of wine was so cute that Patrick let out a small laugh. Aside from being a spiritist, the boy was still just a child.
“So hurry up and work!”
Cute? Cancel that.
“You’re not working either!”
“My spirits are doing several times the work for me.”
Ben shrugged and tilted his head. Nearby, three spirits were happily chattering away as they picked grapes like it was a game.
“……Cheat job……”
No matter how he thought about it, wizards seemed far less efficient than spiritists. If only I could get even one……!
Everyone from the island children to the rural lord was a spiritist, so why was he the only wizard? Patrick grumbled to himself, imagining how ridiculous he would sound to anyone listening.
“Sir, don’t you have any magic that’s useful in situations like this?”
Tommy sidled up beside him. Ever since the day Patrick had jumped into the sea without hesitation to save him, the boy had been especially affectionate.
“I only know a few spells, you know. Why ask something that’ll just make me feel bad?”
“That’s right, apologize right now!”
“Ah! Is that so? I’m sorry, sir. But your magic is still the best!”
It wasn’t comforting in the slightest. Still, the children couldn’t help but notice that Patrick’s expression looked a little strange. Almost as if his mouth was itching to brag about something.
“Don’t tell me you learned a new spell, sir?”
Ben hit the nail on the head. Patrick struck a dramatic pose, one hand on his hip and the other stretched toward the sky, as if he had been waiting for that exact question.
“Want to see?”
“What kind of magic is it?”
“We’re curious!”
“Show us!”
It wasn’t just the children. The adults who had been helping with the harvest also poked their heads out with shining eyes.
“Ooh—! Did the teacher learn a new spell?”
“Now that you mention it, I’ve never actually seen him use magic before.”
Patrick felt that the anticipation in their gazes wasn’t so much awe at magic as the excitement of finding entertainment. Half of that was true. To the villagers, Patrick wasn’t some intimidating, authoritative wizard—he was more like the village’s beloved mascot who was always stirring up fun. And once again, the village mascot lived up to their expectations.
“Wind!”
He summoned a gentle breeze with a small voice, letting it tousle his hair and clothes—an impromptu stage effect—then immediately cast his new spell.
“Bind, grasp!”
As Patrick swept his arm through the air, the nearby grapevines began to move on their own. They gently wrapped around their own fruit, then gave a firm tug and snapped the stems. One, two—
Grape clusters began piling up in Patrick’s previously empty basket.
“Normally, Bind isn’t used like this. It’s usually a spell for restraining and subduing enemies.”
Patrick even added an explanation for those unfamiliar with magic, and the children thought he finally seemed like a proper teacher.
“If you deliberately weaken the power and slow it down, it becomes usable for everyday tasks like this. After all, there’s no rule saying attack magic can only be used for attacking, right?”
After all, Waterball was also an attack spell, yet he used it far more often for watering the garden.
“But sir.”
“Yeah?”
“Couldn’t you make it a little faster?”
“Faster?”
“Yes. Isn’t this a bit too slow? It feels like just picking them by hand would be much quicker……”
“Ah! You were going slow on purpose to show us, right? I got it, didn’t I? Hehe!”
At Ben’s words, Tommy clapped as if he had figured it out, but Patrick simply stared off into the distance. He was clearly pretending not to hear.
“Sir?”
“……This is the best I can do.”
“What?”
“If I increase the speed, the power increases too.”
It was the result of his desperate research while trapped indoors during the scorching heat—his masterpiece, Bind. Among the countless spells in the grimoire Robin had sent him, he had chosen Bind because he had been envious of the ability Ben had shown during the sea accident. If only I could pull people up like that, like some kind of claw machine……!
Unfortunately, as a mere 2-circle wizard, Patrick couldn’t learn spells that summoned phantom hands or moved objects through the air with a single gesture.
—No. There has to be something similar if I look hard enough!
Robin’s miscellaneous knowledge had come to his rescue once again. His fondness for the exiled wizard he had never even met grew once more.
After several more days of hard work and spending a significant portion of his earnings on catalysts and mana stones, he finally gained a new spell he could use. With a little practice, it became second nature. Vines and tree roots moved at his command, picking peaches in his place, retrieving fallen straw hats, and even tying the goat pen gate shut.
“It’s fascinating to watch the grapevines move on their own, but at this speed, wouldn’t it be faster for a person to just do it by hand?”
Even the villagers who had peeked over to watch the magic lost interest at its mediocre performance and returned to their work.
Pat, pat—
“Sir, it was still nice to see something new.”
“……Thanks.”
The children’s consolation came once more, and Patrick resolved to one day show these people who didn’t understand the true greatness of his magic something truly impressive.
Creak!
How focused had he been on harvesting? A sudden wave of dizziness made him set down his basket and stretch, worried he might collapse again.
Through the gaps between the short grapevines, he could see people working diligently. Even as they sweated under the hot sun, their faces never lost their smiles.
“Wind.”
After watching them for a moment, he drew out as much mana as he could and scattered a strong breeze across a wide area.
Whoosh!
“Oh my, that’s refreshing!”
“Where did this wind come from all of a sudden?”
“Kyahaha! My hat’s flying away!”
The people working throughout the vineyard smiled at the cooling breeze, unaware that it had been summoned by Patrick.
“Feeling cooler now?” he asked, finally taking credit—
“Whoa, that startled me!”
Hisssss—
A snake as thick as an arm slithered past right by Patrick’s feet in an instant.
Thump, thump, thump!
“Whoa, I—seriously! There’s a snake! Everyone, be careful!”
Holding his pounding heart, Patrick warned everyone about the snake, only for the entire group to burst into laughter.
“Must be because the grapes are so sweet—there are a lot of snakes around here,” Ben’s father called out from a distance.
“Still, they’re not venomous, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Haha, the only venomous snake on our island is the Shadow Viper, so there’s no need to be concerned, sir.”
The village chief’s voice followed. Since the winery had become an important source of income for the village, he had come late to lend a hand with the harvest.
“Shadow Viper?”
“Yes. But they’re rarely seen, so you don’t need to pay them much mind, sir.”
Ding—danger. Ding—danger.
Patrick felt an overwhelming urge to cover the chief’s mouth.
“They’re black, and even fully grown they’re only about as long as an arm. They’re easy to identify because of the white spot on their head.”
The chief had gone and pressed the cliché button.
“Ah, there it is. That’s the Shadow Viper right there…… Urgh!”
The ever-kind village chief collapsed, and Patrick instinctively cast a spell as he rushed forward.
“Bind!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
Only then did the others realize what had happened, and panic erupted into screams.