Developing a Hidden Territory (2)
Developing a Hidden Territory (2)
The first day was spent clearing weeds, stones, and underbrush all day long.
The farm looked like a complete mess.
'I can't maintain my dignity as a lord if I go around greeting the villagers looking like this.'
That was exactly the thought that came to mind.
Moreover, I hadn't even used up a full day.
It was around five in the evening when I got off the carriage.
I started working from then, and already the sun was beginning to set.
'I'll have to invest today in tidying up the front yard.'
After all, this territory had been neglected for a long time.
From the villagers' perspective, they must have grown accustomed to living without protection, whether they liked it or not.
If I suddenly appeared and declared myself the owner, it would be hard to gain their cooperation.
'At the very least, I should tidy up neatly before presenting myself to the territory's people.'
This was a plan I had established even before arriving at the territory.
As soon as I got off the carriage, I immediately started cleaning, sweeping it all clean.
And it was quite enjoyable.
This rural territory my grandfather passed down to me.
Here, the characteristics of a healing game seemed to be faithfully reflected, as every time I worked, experience piled up and my level rose.
Pabababak-!
Using gardening magic, I secured valuable alchemy ingredients.
[Gathering Level Increased. 1 >> 2]
[Gathering Skill Points Awarded.]
'This is a double benefit, isn't it?'
It was something I would have done anyway.
Selling to alchemists would net a tidy profit.
But on top of that, level and skill growth were added.
If I had to give my impression, it's very satisfying.
It feels like my weary and starved-for-affection heart is being warmly filled.
Is it okay for this world to give so generously?
Then what about everything I've been doing at the Academy all this time....
Still, I wish it had been a normal academy story rather than a healing game.
With me being like some lone genius mage-scholar.
That night, I fell asleep leaving such regrets behind.
"Indeed, you are my grandson."
In my dream, my grandfather spoke.
"I spent my life delving into the truth of magic, but what I gained in the end was only endless emptiness and unsolved questions. I couldn't even properly remove the weeds in the yard with my own magic."
That was hard to believe.
Couldn't he just adjust the magic power?
"The essence of magic lies in changing human lives."
......
"Hmm."
When I woke up, it was, as expected, a dream.
Opening my eyes and lifting my head, my surroundings gradually came into view.
The first thing that caught my eye was the Magitech Fluorescent Light attached to the ceiling.
And then.
"......!"
The face of Miroa blocking it.
When our eyes met, her surprise was brief.
Miroa calmly announced the arrival of morning.
"ju-in-nim. You must wake up."
A wake-up call as sharp as that—truly the mark of a maid.
Meanwhile, I was still half asleep.
From top to bottom. I slowly traced her appearance before me.
Miroa was on the bed, kneeling demurely and looking down at me.
The composition felt strange.
As if aware of this, Miroa supplemented the explanation.
"You told me to wake you up early no matter what."
Ah. Right.
"So I was attempting a Northern-style morning call."
"That's not allowed."
It involves waking someone up by pressing cold metal against their neck.
If done thoroughly according to tradition, it's done with a real sword.
What kind of place is the North anyway?
Rustle!
I immediately shook off the spot and got up.
Fortunately, there was no threateningly sharp sword in sight.
Even if she is from the North, that would be too much.
Bringing a sword into the master's bedroom is beyond common sense.
"You didn't actually bring a sword into the bedroom, did you?"
"These days, we usually use a spoon."
I asked just in case.
"But ju-in-nim, do you intend to wash up right away?"
"I haven't been able to bathe since yesterday, so I'd like to. But is that possible?"
Preservation magic isn't always omnipotent.
It has weaknesses in protecting facilities that are long and spread out, like water pipes.
'Because those romance fantasy bastards only researched useless magic.'
This, too, is because of that damn romanticism.
The same goes for the magic my grandfather placed.
Even though the house was intact, no water came out of the tap.
So I painfully climbed the mountain path and placed magical measures on the water pipe leading to our house.
That was yesterday afternoon.
"How are the water pipes? Did they clear?"
"Water does come out."
Was it successful?
"But only rusty water comes out."
So it was insufficient.
The performance of the magic!
"It's not ju-in-nim's fault."
"No. I also just used a magic I improvised on the spot, so I didn't expect much."
Is there any sense in no one having developed a magic to clear clogged pipes?
There's magic for shooting pretty fireworks, carbonating tea, and secretly scanning ring sizes—so why isn't there this?
I rummaged through all the life magic books, and there really wasn't any.
What kind of real-life application is this, you romance fantasy bastards?
So I hastily devised a magic on the spot, but it was lacking.
It will eventually clear, but it's clogged so firmly.
I think the landslide might also be having an effect; it seems like it will take much longer.
However, even at this story, Miroa's eyes went wide.
"You're saying you created magic of that level on the spot?"
"It's just a matter of applying similar magics and doing some mental arithmetic. And I did fail."
"Water that never came out at all started flowing. All from magic you made on the spot."
I thought it would clear in at most three or four hours, but even by morning, the work wasn't finished.
I'll have to properly improve the magic later.
But even that didn't get through to Miroa.
"I've just become certain. ju-in-nim should definitely be at the Academy."
"Now?"
It takes 15 days one way from here to the Academy?
"Please."
Even begging like that won't work.
I'm definitely not going back for a while.
"ju-in-nim's magic is clearly needed in the world! The world just hasn't accepted it properly yet!"
Miroa started to tear up again.
Usually, she acts so expressionless and cold, as if no amount of pricking could draw blood—how can she suddenly become so tearful at times like this?
I just ignored the usual scene and passed it by.
"I guess I'll have to find a hot spring."
"Don't go, ju-in-nim."
"I need to wash up."
"I won't let you! I'll beat up anyone who ignores ju-in-nim's magic! Let's go back to the Academy right now!"
Beating people up is a bit....
No, actually, if it were up to me, I'd want to beat them up too.
How satisfying would it be to punch those pathetic romance fantasy bastards in the face?
So Miroa's words are somewhat comforting, but.
I have no intention of going back right now.
"We promised. A long time ago."
"Ugh...."
There's a promise I made with Miroa long ago.
A childhood promise on a day of heavy snow.
It's a bit complicated to recall the details, but it's a cheat key I can use in the current situation.
Miroa flinched, then wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Then, as if she had never cried, she returned to her usual cool and cold maid mode.
"I understand. Since you need to wash up, I will attend to you."
Her emotional switch is very fast and clean.
It's a characteristic of Northern women—does she have a switch in her head?
"But is there a hot spring in this rural area?"
This is knowledge I pulled from the original game, but I think so.
The status window I saw yesterday also had information about the hot spring.
[Warning: HP has dropped below 10. Please rest or visit a hot spring before fainting.]
I had been working without rest from the first day, so the warning appeared immediately.
By the way, no one else can see this.
I gave Miroa a plausible excuse.
"I heard it in passing from my grandfather when I was young."
[Starting route guidance.]
[Destination: Hot Spring]
The timing of the status window appearing before me was good.
"Miroa. This way."
Thanks to the system marking directions with arrows, I could easily go up the mountain path to visit the hot spring.
It looks like an ordinary old rural bathhouse.
"It seems there's no one managing it."
"They don't charge fees, but there is a manager. Preservation magic is applied, and it seems to be maintained by regularly supplying magic power."
"You can tell just by looking?"
"From the entrance—. No. Never mind."
Sensing that familiar development coming, I quickly ran to the men's bath.
Taking off my clothes and entering, I saw a very clean bathhouse.
Plus, the warm water flowing abundantly.
Shooo-.
I scooped up a bowl of water and cleanly washed away the grimy traces of yesterday's labor.
"Phew."
Now I feel alive.
After quickly washing my body, I soaked in the bath and sank into thought.
[Hot Spring's Mysterious Power]
[In 7 minutes 56 seconds, the following status ailment will be removed: Burnout]
The status ailment I brought from the Academy.
I'll get rid of it.
'Eight minutes exactly?'
It's just the right amount of time to organize my plans.
'First, let's firmly establish the optimal route.'
Today is the real start of territory life.
Just because it's a healing game doesn't mean I plan to waste time idling.
Around this point, memories of my past life surface.
Even when I played the original game, I didn't do healing.
I remember once when I seemed a bit short on money in the game, I calculated maximum efficiency and covered the entire village with barrels of alcohol.
Because making alcohol yields the most money.
If I prepare with determination from the first day and put points into related traits, I can earn an enormous amount of gold.
It was like that in the game, and now it's even reality.
I plan to sweep up all the gold there is with thorough preparation.
If I also utilize the magic I have, things will go very smoothly.
No time to hesitate!
Splash-.
As soon as 8 minutes passed, I pulled myself out of the bath.
[Hot Spring's Mysterious Power]
[Status ailment (Burnout) has been removed.]
I feel incredibly refreshed.
It feels like the fatigue and mental strain accumulated at the Academy, along with those sickening thoughts, have all washed away.
Thanks to the setting of this world, the magic for drying hair is incredibly well-made, which I also like.
It's a case of simple optimization and distribution so that anyone can use it.
Wiiiiing-.
With a slight use of magic power, warm wind comes out of thin air and dries my hair. That's it.
I left the bathhouse with my hair dry and fluffy.
Meanwhile, my mind kept going toward the plans ahead.
I had stayed up all night last night examining the status window and honing the optimal route.
Immediately: wood.
First, I need to collect a huge amount of wood and sap.
And building rapport with the residents is also important.
Because certain residents give useful gifts.
There's an enormous amount to do, but Miroa doesn't seem ready yet.
Shall I start as soon as Miroa joins!
The burnout status ailment is cleanly gone.
For the first time in a while, I'm full of motivation and can't stay still.
With such a hopeful heart, I was lingering at the entrance of the bathhouse.
"Excuse me, who...?"
A voice tickled my ear.
I snapped out of my solitary thoughts and looked up.
"Huh?"
"A face I haven't seen; who are you?"
The scent of soap, as if freshly washed, not fitting for a rural village.
And in her hand, a large bucket.
I came face to face with a red-haired girl from the village.
Meanwhile, at the Academy, firmly established in the center of the Empire.
In the research lab, someone resembling an ice flower was biting her lips, her face shocked.
"This..."
The female protagonist of the original novel [The Villainess Does Not Tolerate Magic], and by setting, the one who is obsessed with research to the bone, both in her past life and now.
A graduate student.
And the one who possesses the special ability to perceive the structure of magic.
Ailiya von Wintervalt.
Ailiya's gaze was fixed on one spot.
It was directed at a thesis submitted by someone who was apparently an Academy alumnus.
'Liberio? Was there such a person?'
She only reluctantly gets entangled with others due to the original plot; she doesn't often encounter other people.
And she never really read others' theses either.
Because they were full of useless magic.
How does magic that turns plants pink become a thesis?
'Usually goes by Rii. That's what they call him.'
Anyway.
This is completely different from that.
'This is a magic revolution, isn't it!'
It's an idea that could be the start of a magic revolution, just like the industrial revolution.
The initial shock soon turned into ecstasy.
"Goggle! Goggle!!!"
The highly excited Ailiya urgently called the spirit Goggle-i, used for searching, and began bombarding it with questions.
"This person. Can I meet them?"
"Wait a moment. Let me look. Hmm..."
"Find them quickly. Hurry."
And she was dumbfounded by the answer that came back.
"This person dropped out?"
"Then where are they now?"
"I don't know!"
"Ah! Shit!"
The pen Ailiya threw flew and embedded itself into a pile of documents.