The Road to the Holy City, Part 2
Yohan conducted a census of his own while distributing farming tools and other supplies. As a result, he confirmed that the village's population had barely decreased compared to right after they had subjugated the man-eating trolls. At most, one or two healthy young men had left, claiming they wanted to see the outside world. Coincidentally, the youth who had given Yohan the steamed potato last time was among them. Meanwhile, the leftover farming tools were stored in the village's communal warehouse. There was no telling when the tools might break, and though the probability was low, new outsiders might eventually join the village.
“This is the map of our village. Though we call them fields, most of them are just backyards for growing potatoes, just as you said.”
Inside Jack's house, which Billy had inherited, Yohan, Falco, and the village elders gathered around a table.
“Now, we're going to completely overturn these backyards and plant the seeds we brought. You all saw it earlier, right? A single seed growing in the blink of an eye.”
At Yohan's words as he examined the map, the elders nodded in unison. Indeed, on the table, besides the map, lay a freshly harvested fruit. It was the fruit that had grown from the seed Falco had accidentally dropped just a moment ago.
“There is no need to clear new land... at least not right now.”
“Expanding the fields for no reason will only make them harder to manage. We can clear more land later once the population grows.”
“Ever since those trolls disappeared, wild beasts have increased significantly. We should take this opportunity to repair the village's outer walls as well.”
The elders immediately began sharing their opinions. Watching their discussion, Yohan felt a strange, overwhelming emotion rising from deep within his chest. The villagers, who had lived in terror of being eaten for decades, could now enjoy a prosperous life. He couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
In truth, even though he had brought a mountain of supplies, he had secretly felt like something was missing. But the ring left behind by the Guardian Deity of the Dawn Dew Tribe had completely resolved those worries. Yohan looked at the ring on Falco's finger and secretly curled the corners of his mouth.
The ring's power wasn't just about producing crops for people to eat. Since it rapidly accelerated plant growth, if they broke off tree branches and planted them, they could surround the entire village with massive, towering trees.
Normal agriculture required careful consideration of natural environments like climate and soil fertility. And even then, it was common to ruin a year's harvest due to pests or abnormal temperatures. But this time, it was different. The ring left by the Dawn Dew Guardian Deity was literally an artifact created by a divine being, and it possessed power worthy of its origin.
This... maybe that dummy Goddess's talk about this becoming a new Holy City isn't complete nonsense after all.
Yohan imagined this shabby mountain village developing into a magnificent, fantasy-style city.
That would be pretty badass.
“Alright, then I'll leave it to you elders to decide what to plant where.”
Yohan said, grabbing one of the fruits from the table, and stepped out of the house.
In the central square of the village, the Goddess was busy healing the patients' wounds. Billy and Annie stood guard by her side. Billy quickly made eye contact with Yohan and walked over.
“Is the meeting over, Captain?”
“Pretty much. But why are you calling me Captain?” Yohan asked back.
Billy tilted his head with a puzzled look, as if wondering why he would even ask such a question.
“Well, because you're our Knight Captain, Yohan. I can't exactly call you 'Boss,' can I?”
“Pfft—”
Hearing Billy's answer, the Goddess, who was treating a patient nearby, burst into laughter. Annie, standing next to her, covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.
This punk... should I give him a good smack?
Yohan briefly considered it but quickly gave up. There were still patients waiting to be healed.
Crunch—
Yohan took a bite of the fruit he had brought out. The fruit was called a Sugar Apple. Despite having 'apple' in its name, it didn't grow on trees like a real apple; instead, it grew on vines like a tomato. Still, living up to its name, it had a texture similar to an apple from his original world, but with less acidity and a much stronger sweetness. It was so pleasant to eat that he kept reaching for more.
He leisurely chewed on the fruit while watching the Goddess heal the injured villagers.
“Let's see. You tripped over a rock while working in the fields?”
“Yes. It's a bit better now, but a few days ago, my ankle was so swollen that even touching it was pure torture.”
“I see. I shall heal you shortly. It might sting a little.”
“Thank you... Gah!”
For now, the Goddess could personally heal the patients' wounds, but they couldn't stay in the village forever.
“Now, are there any more who are unwell?”
With the man who had sprained his ankle, there were no more patients in sight. Confirming this, the Goddess stood up and stretched.
“Good work. None of those injuries were serious enough to require your personal intervention, though.”
“Even so, are they not all my precious believers? Tending to them like this when the opportunity arises is one of my greatest joys.”
The Goddess replied with a light shrug.
This kid. She really is a kind goddess.
Yohan thought to himself as he looked at her smug smile. Indeed, the Goddess seemed to genuinely enjoy the situation. It made sense, as she was mingling with a large number of believers who trusted and followed her, practicing her virtue of helping the weak.
But aside from that, Yohan felt acutely that there was another problem to solve besides food, clothing, and shelter. It was the medical issue.
The medical technology of this world was abysmal compared to the world Yohan had lived in, but in its place existed magic and Miracle Arts that far surpassed modern medicine. The problem was that even in this world, magic and Miracle Arts were treated as highly advanced techniques or religious miracles. Even Annie, who came from the Holy City of the Holy Kingdom, had lived in a slum where she couldn't even see decent magic, let alone Miracle Arts, until she joined the church.
“So, how did the discussion regarding cultivation go?”
“Ah, I decided to leave it to Falco and the village elders. I don't know anything about that stuff anyway.”
While Yohan was lost in thought, the Goddess asked, and Yohan answered casually.
“How honest of you.”
“When it comes to farming, listening to the local elders is always the best way to go.”
“Fufu. If Falco heard those words, she would surely give you a piece of her mind.”
“Heh. No matter how good those pointy ears are, there's no way she can eavesdrop on outdoor conversations from inside the house.”
Yohan chuckled at the Goddess's playful joke.
“Actually, I heard everything.”
“Holy crap! W-What the!”
But his laughter was short-lived. He suddenly felt a chilling surge of killing intent creeping up from behind him and let out an unsightly shriek. Startled, the half-eaten fruit slipped from his hand and tumbled onto the dirt floor.
“Ah, you have arrived. How did the discussion go?”
“Since the food problem is solved, we decided it would be better to focus on planting a lot of trees instead.”
“A wise decision. Blindly growing nothing but grains and fruits is not always the answer.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, right. I was thinking about something, and there's something I want to test out.”
Yohan calmed his racing heart and chimed into their conversation.
“Test out?”
“Yeah. I was wondering what would happen if we combined your ring with my Apostle's Authority.”
While fighting the demons of Pandemonium, Yohan had confirmed that he could bestow the Goddess's blessing on others using his Apostle's Authority.
“I see. You wish to see if my blessing affects the plants, and by extension, the soil of the village area.”
The Goddess quickly understood Yohan's intent, and Yohan nodded vigorously.
“Exactly. Let's use your power like some kind of miracle cure-all.”
Sowing seeds on land blessed by the Goddess, and then growing those seeds with the power of the ring left by the Guardian Deity. It was literally a grand religious unification of the agricultural world.
In fantasy stories, blessed lands with unusually high yields are pretty common, after all.
Yohan thought to himself.
“I am not a goddess who governs agriculture. However, I have witnessed phenomena similar to what you describe.”
“Oh.”
The Goddess also reacted positively to Yohan's idea.
“However, even I cannot predict what will happen if we sow seeds imbued with a Guardian Deity's power into soil permeated with my divinity.”
“Well, things could go sideways like when she fell sick last time, but there's no harm in trying it once, right?”
Saying so, Yohan slung an arm around Falco's shoulders. Falco's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and then she abruptly looked down, her face flushed.
“Okay,” she replied in an unusually quiet voice.
Night passed, and a new day dawned. Yohan and the rest of the group gathered in a corner of the village backyard early in the morning.
“Alright, from now on, we're going to do a comparative experiment with two backyards. In one, Falco will sow seeds in normal soil. In the other, she'll sow seeds in soil blessed by the dummy.”
“Do we not need a control plot with absolutely nothing done to it?” Billy asked.
Yohan nodded lightly.
“In normal soil, it would take at least a few days just for the seeds to sprout. So there's no need to waste three plots for this.”
“Ah.”
Annie then added to the explanation.
“And this experiment isn't just about growing a lot of crops for people to eat.”
Yohan chimed in.
The medical technology in this world was terrible. Especially in a remote village like this, at the absolute edge of the continent, if people got sick or injured, they just had to grit their teeth and bear it. For that reason, Yohan had spent a fortune bringing various healing potions effective against injuries and illnesses. But these potions were ultimately consumables and would eventually run out.
But a clue to solving this problem had presented itself. By combining the power of Falco's ring and Yohan's Apostle's Authority.
Of course, they couldn't put this into practice immediately. Since Yohan had brought a large supply of medicines, they had plenty of time. More than anything, once day broke, the priority was to go to the Holy Kingdom with Annie to bring back scriptures and other books from the Central Church.
So, the point of this experiment was simply to perform a basic verification.
“Alright, let's get started.”
“Very well.”
The Goddess stood in front of one of the backyards, closed her eyes gently, and extended both hands forward. Then, just like when she purified hordes of undead monsters, a warm and divine energy spread out from her.
“Mgh...”
While the others watched with indifferent faces, Annie alone let out a strange, deeply moved groan.
At this rate, if she ever sees the Goddess stuffing her face with sacred relics, she might just collapse on the spot and burst into tears.
Yohan glanced at Annie and let out a quiet sigh.
“It is done. I have bestowed my blessing upon the soil of this field.”
“Great. Thanks for the hard work, Goddess of the Backyard.”
“You insolent...!”
Yohan turned and handed the pouch of seeds to Falco.
“Alright, your turn.”
“Okay.”
Falco plunged her hand into the pouch, grabbed a handful of seeds, and walked over to the backyards.
“I'm sowing them now.”
She scattered the seeds evenly across both plots. At that moment, a bright light erupted from the ring she wore and the seeds that fell onto the soil.
Rumble—
Just like yesterday, the seeds instantly grew into thick stalks, and delicious-looking fruits formed on each branch.
“Sugar Apples again?”
“We need to eat them right away to tell the difference, so I chose something we don't have to steam or bake.”
“I see.”
Yohan answered Annie's question immediately. Meanwhile, Falco and the Goddess each plucked a fruit from their respective plots and brought them over.
“They look pretty much the same. Anyway, let's taste this one first.”
Yohan took a bite of the fruit grown in the soil without the Goddess's blessing.
“How is it?”
“Mmh... well, it's just normally delicious.”
Yohan replied to the Goddess's question in a flat tone. It was no different from the fruit that had grown in the center of the village the day before. It was the exact taste of the Sugar Apple he knew.
“Alright, now for this one...”
Next, Yohan tasted the fruit brought by the Goddess, which had grown in the soil blessed by both deities.
“How is it?” Falco asked this time.
Instead of answering immediately, Yohan chewed and swallowed the remaining pulp before speaking.
“Whoa, this is way sweeter.”
The grand agricultural unification experiment had succeeded.