Overwhelming Efficiency (5)

Sswaaaaa-.

Spring rain is falling over the surface of the fishing spot.

It must be the same for the farm and the manor I left behind.

There are people who easily get depressed on rainy days, but I'm not one of them.

I'm very pleased with this.

Because the soil gets wet on its own without me having to water the crops!

I planted potatoes at the farm.

Normally, I'd have to water each sprout with a watering can, but since it's been raining since early morning, I saved myself the trouble.

Instead, I was able to rush straight to the pond deep in the mountains and go fishing.

Very efficient.

[You have caught a Plain Catfish.]

[Fishing level increases.]

I kept fishing like that for a while, when suddenly a status window appeared before my eyes.

[Village resident 'Gwen's favorability increases.]

"Huh?"

If it's Gwen, that's that red-haired girl who's an aspiring knight.

I remember she had decent talent for body reinforcement using aura.

When I tilted my head, Miroa asked.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking you've been doing a great job helping out in the village."

"As expected, you noticed."

"Huh?"

It's not like there was anything not to notice.

Because I was the one who told Miroa to help with work in the village.

It did seem like Miroa's gaze lingered behind a tree for a moment.

As if some unfamiliar person had been hiding there and then disappeared.

But even when I looked that way, there was nothing.

Must have been my imagination.

Meanwhile, the status window appeared once more.

[Village resident 'Gwen's favorability increases.]

Come to think of it, I have been finding out about how well she's doing through the status window.

Seeing it go up again just now, it seems like she's been talking about something in the village.

After all, I've been paying attention to her and sending support to help with work—there's no way she'd dislike ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that.

'I'll probably be able to receive a gift soon, too.'

Gwen is also a village resident I've had my eye on.

Saying I've been eyeing a young commoner girl sounds a bit weird, though.

[Gwen / Gift List]

It's because the gifts Gwen gives are particularly useful.

A system where if you build up enough favorability past a certain level, your level increases, and depending on your level, she occasionally gives you gifts.

In Gwen's case, the setting is that she sends items she obtains in the mountains during training.

[Favorability ♥♥ or higher]

Among these, Quartz Fragments are something I need a very, very large amount of.

They're a material used in the sprinklers for farming, so the more, the better.

"......"

As I was thinking about that for a moment, Miroa brought up another topic.

"There are many territorial residents who are showing interest in you, Master. There are many who wish to see you in person, and voices wanting to repay you somehow are also growing louder. May I ask what you intend to do?"

"Well."

It's not that I'm intentionally hiding my presence, but rather I have too much to do.

"For now, this seems like the best course, so you keep helping the villagers."

"But I am your maid, Master. If I stay too long in an unfamiliar village with other people..."

"If you stay too long?"

"I miss you."

Saying something like that so calmly with a deadpan expression.

And yet, she somehow looked like a dog who'd been left alone at home, sulking.

"The village situation seems like it'll be improving soon, so maybe I'll stop the civil support about now."

"But isn't there still a food shortage?"

"It looks like we'll be able to harvest the potatoes in a few days."

Ugh-cha. I decided to get up around now and head back to the village.

Today's harvest. A full seven Plain Catfish.

It's only just past morning, so there's still plenty of work left to do.

"The mountain is soaked with rain, so you must be especially careful when descending."

"I know."

I transformed my mana into a rough, paint-like form and applied it to the soles of my shoes.

This drastically reduces the chances of slipping.

Normally it would be inefficient enough that buying new shoes would be better, but that's a problem that can be solved using efficiency improvement magic.

And the most important thing.

Grabbing Miroa firmly right by my side.

"Let's go!"

This girl has a transcendent sense of balance, so she never falls.

That's the key reason I can climb up and down these rough mountain paths as if I'm taking a stroll through the neighborhood.

When we returned to the farm-cum-manor like that, a status window appeared.

[Lord Liberio-nim's Farm]

Wasn't it originally called Grandfather's Farm?

Thanks to diligently greeting the villagers, the name changed.

It seems I'm being properly acknowledged as the lord now.

That's only natural, given what I showed them regarding the water pipes.

'I won't have to bow to the village chief in terms of seniority.'

It feels a bit like a supply officer being pushed around by a first sergeant, but it seems I've avoided becoming that kind of water-lord.

This often happens when a young, inexperienced new lord inherits a completely rural territory.

Usually, they solve it by hiring knights and using violence, but that wouldn't have left either party feeling good. I'm relieved of that worry.

And then another status window appeared in succession.

[A new letter has arrived.]

Inside the mailbox was a letter.

It contained the village chief's greetings and words of gratitude on behalf of all the villagers.

They said they were deeply engraving the lord's dedication in their hearts.

Thank you for sending Miroa.

They were almost in trouble because of the water shortage.

They said they were about to have to break through that rough mountain path to go all the way to the lake to fetch water, and even that wouldn't have been enough to meet the water demand.

It's just barely at a self-sufficient level, but they are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠farming, after all.

"......"

I feel a warm glow.

This is the duty and nobility of an aristocrat.

It's not like I'm sacrificing myself, thinking only of the common people, like the sage kings who appear in history books.

Still, isn't this the bare minimum for an aristocrat?

Just about that level of thinking.

Well, even if I don't solve everything, I pay some attention to their situation.

And when there's a big problem, I go and fix it.

Those romance fantasy novel bastards don't even do this much.

They probably don't even know what their own territories look like?

They're busy competing in vanity and playing love games among themselves in the capital's mansions, gardens, and even the Academy, all of which are funded by money squeezed from their provincial territories.

This... is what an aristocrat is?

If that's the case, then what about what I learned?

Well, I'm lucky I learned properly, probably because I'm a country noble.

And then, there was one more letter.

[A new letter has arrived.]

I took it out of the large envelope and read the contents.

"Uuuuugh."

Looking at it, it's absolutely terrible handwriting.

Is this even Imperial language?

It's not like earthworms are crawling across it, but still.

I could barely understand what it said.

"Miroa. Can you read this by any chance?"

"I cannot read all of it, but a few sentences are familiar to me."

"What are they?"

"It is a vow used by Northern knights."

The North really is a prime location for knights.

They're strong, and I suppose you could say they have a sense of loyalty?

They say ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Northern culture had a big influence on the knighthood of the Empire today.

In Gwen's case, she probably doesn't have Northern blood, but since she's an aspiring knight, maybe there's something that resonates.

Just as I was about to tidy up the envelope.

Thud-thud-thud!

A few small white pieces fell from the envelope with a patter.

Miroa caught them with incredible reaction speed and looked at them closely.

"It appears to be pieces of stone, but I cannot discern the intention."

Miroa tilted her head, but I know exactly what those are.

Because a status window appeared shortly after.

[Gift: 3 Quartz Fragments]

"It seems like a gift sent by Gwen."

"Pretty minerals are easily imbued with dark magic. Regardless of the giver's intentions, they could be dangerous."

Oh, hey. Watch your mouth. How dare you speak that way of the great Quartz-nim, the strongest of the early resources!

I took the Quartz Fragments from Miroa's hands and carefully put them away.

"No. It's the best gift."

"......!!!"

Miroa's eyes widened for a moment, and then she immediately bowed her head deeply.

"I apologize. I spoke out of turn."

"It's fine. Let's do better from now on."

"I will keep that in mind."

I have no intention of constantly nagging Miroa, because I also feel a bit sorry.

'I need to head to the mine soon.'

Tomorrow, a new content finally unlocks.

I jokingly call it a mine, but it might actually be a much more terrifying place than that.

For one thing, monsters appear.

And you have to go endlessly underground.

That's how you can obtain more useful resources.

In the end, it's about going down endlessly to the very bottom of the bottom, fighting endlessly, and gathering resources.

'Time for the fantasy version of the Aoji Coal Mine.'

Suddenly, Miroa started to look pitiful to me.

I should treat her a bit better, at least today.

"Miroa."

"Ah. Yes."

She seems a bit down because of the scolding from earlier.

"Is there anything you want to eat?"

"Well. I..."

"Go on. Tell me."

I was even thinking of cooking it myself.

I can at least do that much.

But Miroa brought up something else entirely.

"I serve you, Master, closer than anyone else, yet I could not fully fathom your heart. The heart with which you treasure even a small gift from a territorial resident."

Huh. Those Quartz ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fragments earlier?

That's actually because they're materials for the sprinklers.

I absolutely need them to farm automatically.

"You secured an enormous amount of food using magic, and did not hesitate to fish even in the rain. It was not for your own safety, but all for your territorial residents."

That's because if I sell them at the store, I earn gold through the system.

Virtual currency.

"I am one who does not fully understand the duties of an aristocrat. This request may be selfish. However."

Miroa looked up at me with sparkling blue eyes filled with earnestness.

And underlying that was the determination unique to Northern bloodlines, full of loyalty to their master.

"It would be fine with me if only you, Master, ate your fill. My only wish is that you, Master, would have at least one proper meal."

Sigh.

I swallowed a sigh inwardly.

"......I'm sorry."

"Master."

I'm sorry for being such a master!!!

"Let's make sure I eat at least one proper meal today."

"I will prepare it immediately."

Meanwhile, at the Academy in the center of the Empire.

Goggle-i, who had been meditating with eyes closed for a moment, suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"Ail! A letter!"

A letter had just arrived.

As a spirit of information retrieval, he could immediately display the contents before his eyes.

"Is it from Kael oppa?"

"That's right."

Thanks to that, Ailiya was able to receive Kael's letter in her laboratory.

The contents weren't very hopeful.

"Who are you telling not to move on my own?"

But she couldn't leave the laboratory either.

She has work to do here in the capital.

'I have to make my presentation.'

This kind of research must not be buried.

A scholar's honor should go where it rightfully belongs.

She needs to make the world know about this, to make them realize Rii's achievements.

She had just discovered something new.

An expansion of a certain 'possibility' that Rii had left behind in his thesis.

"There's definitely a theoretical basis for this."

Ailiya began an explanation with Goggle-i in front of her.

It was an old habit; if he didn't respond, she'd get angry, so he had no choice but to listen.

"Goggle. You know magic efficiency, right? How do you calculate it?"

"The amount of work done per unit of time? That's correct, isn't it?"

"Correct."

Goggle-i breathed a sigh of relief internally.

Fortunately, that was the right answer.

If he got it wrong, she'd get angry and call him a dumbass despite being an information retrieval spirit.

"But what if you continuously improve the efficiency of magic?"

"Well.... Do I have to guess this too?"

To use an Academy analogy, it felt like a professor giving pop quizzes every single day.

'Poor me! How did I end up contracting with someone like this!'

While Goggle-i was sighing internally, Ailiya had already moved on to the next stage by herself.

"It's just a mathematical result, but, Goggle. If magic is truly perfected. Then maybe, you know."

Ailiya thought to herself.

'Has something like this ever happened?'

Whether she was really seeing something wrong.

The 'Appraisal Eye,' a cheat ability that boasts almost absolute authority in magic analysis.

Even Ailiya, with her incredible talent, couldn't be sure of this result.

[Efficiency improvement magic pushed to its limits accelerates time.]

Efficiency is calculated by dividing work by time.

Here, efficiency diverges to infinity.

The work to be done stays the same, while efficiency continues to increase magically.

If you calculate time from this?

Time = Work / Efficiency

Efficiency is infinite, and dividing by infinity gives zero.

The resulting time is zero.

'Time stop or time acceleration.'

Logically speaking, it makes sense that the time spent working becomes shorter, but that's the realm of physics.

'Magic is different.'

Up to this point, it was just basic thinking.

In fact, it doesn't align with intuition either.

After that, she verified and calculated it using formulas from other fields of magic.

Overwhelming efficiency.

It becomes clear that something magical occurs in the flow of time that sustains it.

"It's not just about doing work faster."

"Perhaps it might even accelerate time itself. Of course, it's temporary and local, but I'm saying the theoretical basis isn't completely absent. I still can't be sure myself. If something like this was really possible, well."

Time acceleration is possible, but there are some limitations.

"Time certainly has an aspect of flowing according to the subjective perception of intelligent beings, so it would be difficult to apply it carelessly to people, animals, or spirits. But look."

Ailiya's brain was spinning at an incredible speed.

"That magic. Maybe it could break the limits of other magic, or to be more practical..."

At that moment, another letter arrived.

This time, it was also information sent by Kael.

......Wouldn't it be possible to grow crops at an incredibly fast rate?

She was about to say that.