Overwhelming Efficiency (4)
Overwhelming Efficiency (4)
In a rural village, it's difficult to survive alone.
When the village was in difficulty, the residents would gather at the village hall and talk.
"Please come along too, Miroa-nim!"
It was the words of the red-haired girl who was a knight aspirant, Gwen.
She always seemed to take the lead in hard work in the village.
"Me as well?"
"It'll only be a moment."
The hesitation was brief.
'Master-nim said to gauge the public sentiment and build relationships with people.'
Recalling her master's will, Miroa headed to the village hall.
Indeed, the new lord's intentions were spreading quickly among the residents.
You can repay the money whenever. So just survive for now.
The people's reaction was, naturally, moved and grateful.
"How can this be."
"Catching this many fish all by yourself...."
"He's a wizard, isn't he!"
"Does he also use magic for fishing?"
Miroa listened like a stone statue in the village hall.
Even Miroa received a flood of thanks in between.
She is merely a maid aiding her master—praise is not something she's accustomed to.
Helping the village is also her master's command; if there is merit, it should be attributed to the master—yet, as a proxy, she can't help but feel proud.
'I've confirmed the village's reaction enough.'
Thinking that, she was about to rise and take her leave.
"Um, Miroa-nim."
"You're the village chief of this village. I believe your name is Stefan, correct?"
"Yes, I am Stefan. But there's something I'd like to ask...."
The chief carefully brought up the matter of the lord.
"Would it be permissible to ask how the lord-nim is doing?"
Only news reached them; the master-nim had never properly interacted with the villagers.
From the residents' perspective, their curiosity must have only grown.
Only then did other residents add a word or two.
"That's right. No matter how much he uses magic, fishing all day must be hard."
"Fishing means he had to go deep into those mountains and lakes, right? Climbing the mountain couldn't have been easy either."
"As a resident of the territory, I was worried, so I wanted to cautiously ask."
"And he always sends Miroa-nim to the village. Is he really doing well?"
The villagers knew.
That being a lord doesn't mean life is always abundant.
Logistics in this place are not smooth.
External support is hard to expect, and even if you have money, you can't use it properly.
If he had brought separate food supplies, that would be fortunate, but....
'I heard the lord-nim also took the hard Stone Bread.'
They said the new lord-nim also sent Miroa to receive Stone Bread.
If his diet were plentiful, he wouldn't have touched preserved bread—at the very least, it means his situation isn't entirely comfortable.
'It might be presumptuous, but still, is he really okay?'
Among the villagers, only Gwen had encountered the lord-nim.
Even then, it was just a brief brush in front of the bathhouse.
The villagers were genuinely worried about the lord-nim, whose face they hadn't even seen once.
"I'm worried the lord-nim might harm his health."
"It must be an inconvenient place incomparable to the city—how can a noble person endure...."
Even the village elders and housewives chimed in.
Gwen nodded vigorously too.
"That's right!"
Miroa also nodded internally.
'That's exactly what I'm saying!!'
If only she could, she would pour out every detail.
How much the master-nim thinks of the villagers, sacrifices, and struggles.
He always says it's comfortable for him, it's healing, it's for earning money.
Like a habit.
'No.'
She knows better than anyone that's not true.
'Master-nim!'
Rii Master-nim is a person more noble than anyone else.
It was like that during his academy days, and even before that.
Why doesn't anyone recognize it?
But Miroa maintained a blank expression externally, revealing none of her inner thoughts.
Partly because she always had, but also because she knew her master's will.
Boasting about one's achievements is not the way of a noble.
Silently taking the lead and bearing a noble duty—that is the nobility a noble should possess.
Recognizing a noble's sacrifice and elevating their name?
That is something the commoners who have received grace should do on their own.
As a proxy, Miroa couldn't speak.
But she could leave these words.
"Master-nim fished without rest so that the villagers could have proper meals."
So far, this was already known to everyone.
But they don't know.
That the master-nim has been skipping meals for days, trying to eat only hard Stone Bread.
That whenever decent food came, he handed it all to the village while devoting himself entirely to work.
"He doesn't intentionally hide his presence, so if you're truly worried. When an opportunity arises, it might be good to see for yourselves."
Miroa spoke in a calm voice, observing the villagers.
She couldn't explain everything, but she told them to find out on their own.
She could say at least this much.
"Well then, I shall return to my master now."
Miroa left her greetings and departed the village hall.
A light movement and stride. A calm tone. They were momentarily overwhelmed by her cool dignity.
The villagers left in the hall began talking among themselves.
"But 'see for yourselves'? Does that mean we can meet him if we search the fishing spots?"
"If there's a fishing spot in this village, it's only deep in the mountains. Unless we deliberately go looking for him, it'll be hard."
"Oh my! Are you suggesting we follow the lord-nim around and spy on him?"
"Ah, no. It's not like that, but still...."
"She said 'when an opportunity arises,' so it doesn't seem right for us to chase after him."
"Yes, I thought the same."
The next morning, a drizzly rain fell.
It was a spring rain that naturally weighed on the body, but today, Gwen ran out of the house.
'If I start slacking off using the weather as an excuse, I can't get stronger.'
As a knight aspirant, she must train consistently—that was her reason.
So today, she was climbing the mountain diligently to build stamina.
She had almost reached the middle of the mountain.
Sshwaaaaaa—.
But the raindrops quickly grew larger, and a thought suddenly struck her.
'At this rate, a landslide could happen again.'
It had only been a few weeks since the mountain collapsed.
If this rain continued?
The same thing could happen again.
The water pipe that the lord-nim worked so hard to fix might break again.
'I need to check at least.'
Even if it's dangerous, she must inspect near the water source.
So the village can prepare.
The hot spring bath was long passed, and just a little higher, the pond that served as the water source would appear.
Thud.
As she pushed through the trees and climbed a bit further.
"Ah...."
The knight aspirant, Gwen, stopped in her tracks.
In the distance, near the mountain peak, a small pond.
There, the lord-nim was fishing.
He showed no sign of avoiding the rain or escaping the danger of landslides.
He only stared at the water's surface where his fishing line was cast, looking simply noble.
On a rainy day like this, there's no way fish would bite properly.
'Lord-nim was already here.'
Risking the danger of a landslide, to check the condition of the water pipe heading to the village.
Lord-nim had been holding his position.
The words she heard from Miroa-nim yesterday suddenly came to mind.
'When an opportunity arises, it might be good to see for yourselves.'
The lord-nim did not show himself to people.
But that was preceded by:
'He doesn't intentionally hide his presence.'
After thinking it over, Gwen finally seemed to realize something.
The first time she encountered the lord-nim was at the hot spring.
She was able to see him when she went to fetch water early in the morning for the villagers.
And this was the second meeting.
This time too, she had climbed the mountain to check the condition of the water pipe near the peak for the villagers.
Gwen murmured quietly.
"When an opportunity to encounter arises...."
The lord-nim wasn't deliberately hiding himself.
But he didn't give just anyone the chance to meet him.
The condition was devotion to the village.
And sacrifice for others.
'There was no way I wouldn't encounter him.'
The noble always moves first.
Following silently behind and sacrificing is the way of a knight.
Lord-nim was testing one's worth.
But at the same time, she felt a little doubt.
Maybe it was all coincidence, and she was just mistaken.
That very moment.
Rummaging.
In the distance, Rii lord-nim, who was fishing, bent down and took something from the ground.
'Food? Bread?'
Looking closely, it was bread that had become soggy.
The insanely hard Stone Bread made for preservation.
Normally, you add water and boil it into bread porridge, but with this weather and strong wind, it seemed difficult to light a fire.
Then how did the bread become so soggy?
It didn't take long to realize.
"Ah...."
Lord-nim was taking out the insanely hard Stone Bread and soaking it in rainwater.
A situation where signs of a landslide could appear at any moment.
For the safety of the village, he couldn't leave his post even for a moment.
He even refrained from using magic to block the rain or light a fire.
To prepare for a great disaster, he couldn't waste a single drop of magical power.
His body was drenched in rainwater.
There was a screen to block the rain, but the wind was fierce.
His eyes clearly showed signs of exhaustion.
His complexion was pale, as if he hadn't eaten properly.
His gaze always lingered on the fishing rod.
Yet he was scooping out the soaked bread from a metal lunchbox and eating it.
It should have been a shabby sight, but in Gwen's eyes, he looked more beautiful than anyone.
Also, noble.
Truly noble ones save the capable without even trying, and even without speaking, knights find them and swear loyalty.
Miroa-nim stood beside the lord-nim, sharing the rain.
As if she would always follow her master's will and never reveal herself.
Sshwaaaaaa—.
Someday, can I become a knight like that?
Hidden behind a tree, Gwen offered a silent bow to no one watching.
In the heart of the knight aspirant returning to the village, a weighty goal had taken root.
Chwaak-!
I pulled the fishing rod with all my might and shouted.
"Another bite!"
What was on the end of the fishing line this time wasn't an ordinary bass.
It's a completely different species.
[You caught a Plain Catfish (★).]
[Acquired fishing experience points.]
A catfish, no less.
Not just any catfish—a Plain Catfish.
According to the setting, it has no fishy smell and is light.
Among the fish you can catch in spring fishing, it's one of the pricier ones.
And it's only catchable on rainy spring mornings.
Do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?
Do you know how disappointed I was that it didn't rain?
This is all consistent with the healing farming game.
The fish you catch change depending on the season, weather, region, and time of day.
'A rainy spring morning, a pond deep in the mountains.'
I can catch even more expensive fish here.
The conditions are demanding, but the harvest is so sweet.
Money is being printed here, so what's a little rain?
'Ehehe.'
I'm happy.
The rain feels so refreshing.
Of course, Miroa beside me didn't look that way at all.
She doesn't show it, but when you've been together long, you can see it.
Sulk-.
I can tell Miroa is looking very sullen.
She doesn't say it outright, but definitely.
Then Miroa finally managed a word.
"Master-nim. Wouldn't it be better to use fire-starting magic?"
Eh.
'Oh, right?'
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but whatever.
"No, I don't want to. I'm going to focus on fishing."
Using magic drains stamina, you know.