Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Spring of the Turnip
With Ludwig lending a hand, the task of transplanting all the seedlings was finished in an instant.
Idnia watched his skill and couldn’t help but admire it.
‘Wow, at this level, you could probably handle those vast large-scale farms in places like America or Ukraine all by yourself.
Impressive.
As expected of a great mage.’
As Idnia pumped water mixed with rapid growth potion and nutrients, the turnips began to grow rapidly right before their eyes.
But something felt off about the air.
“Ah… they’re growing too fast, the air… I’ll ventilate while we continue.”
“Continuous Rotation Magic!”
Idnia cast a sustained rotation spell.
“What did you just do?”
“Ah, I’m trying to circulate the air for ventilation. Plants grow using sunlight, atmosphere, and minerals from the soil. We’re supplying minerals through the nutrient solution, but without proper airflow, growth becomes difficult.
If we don’t supply carbon dioxide—that is, fresh air—at the right time… ah, but now we’re lacking light.”
As she spoke, Idnia turned to Lakias.
“Professor Lakias!
Can you make a mirror?
We need to reflect sunlight.”
“A mirror, you say?”
“Yes!”
“Very well. Since we’ve come this far, we might as well see it through.”
Lakias created a mirror from the soil. A metal mirror coated with aluminum and chromium was formed.
Idnia positioned it so that sunlight reflected onto the turnips.
Now the light intensity was sufficient, but the temperature began to rise.
Activating her overwhelming energy, Idnia scooped up water, held it in her mouth, and then used a wind spell to spray it out as a fine mist.
Thanks to that, the temperature dropped…
But Lakias and Ludwig, who were watching, both grimaced.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, since we concentrated too much light, the temperature went up.
I’m spraying water to lower it.”
“So you’re just spraying water from your mouth like some brute? Wouldn’t it be more fitting for a mage to regulate it with ice magic?”
“I haven’t learned ice-type magic yet.”
“I’ll make sure it’s taught in your next lesson.”
“But these turnips will die before then.”
“…Understood.”
In the end, Ludwig waved his wand and lowered the temperature of the turnips.
‘It feels like I’ve become an assistant. But I’m curious what she’s trying to do…’
‘I have no choice but to follow along.’
As Ludwig and Lakias used magic to fulfill Idnia’s various requests, they remained in the greenhouse for a while, and soon…
The turnips were fully grown.
“…This is impossible.”
“Even with a rapid growth potion, turnips that should take two months to harvest were grown in a single day—this quickly?”
“Let’s check their condition.”
Ludwig and Lakias pulled out a turnip and split it open.
A properly grown turnip would be dense and full inside.
“This is astonishing.”
“Yes. Usually, with rapid growth potions, the outside looks fine, but the inside ends up hollow like a reed.”
“Like crops damaged by frost. And yet, despite using the potion, they’ve grown perfectly.”
“Shall we taste it?”
Idnia cut the turnip into small pieces and tasted it.
“Hmm… it’s lacking a bit of sweetness.”
She said that thinking of the turnips from Earth, but at that moment, both Lakias and Ludwig were startled and waved their hands.
“No, absolutely not.”
“Aren’t you setting the bar too high?
Even at this level, it’s already an excellent crop.
You could sell this for a high price.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If this kind of farming is sustainable, it would be remarkable.”
“Then I suppose it’s time to lure the students with this.”
Idnia began harvesting the turnips.
“But after helping this much, I have to ask—would noble or gentry students really go crazy over turnips and decide to become Wizard Ball players?”
Ludwig voiced his doubt. The turnips Idnia had grown were flawless, with no insect damage and perfectly filled despite their rapid growth… but in the end, they were still just turnips.
“Didn’t we starve them quite a bit for that purpose?”
“……”
This time, Ludwig fell silent.
Judging by the fact that he didn’t deny it, it seemed he still had a conscience.
“Well, I have a plan for that too, so leave it to me. Thank you for your help.”
“Help…?”
At her words, Lakias and Ludwig looked around in surprise.
Before they knew it, a proper farm had been established.
Most of the equipment had been created by Lakias, unable to resist his curiosity.
“Honestly. Whenever I try to take initiative, you always criticize me, but you’ve gone and built an entire greenhouse yourselves.
I thought the educational philosophy of Dunaise Academy was to push and pressure students to pursue truth?
And yet you couldn’t resist and ended up favoring a student like this? Headmaster? Care to explain?”
Buremhyde sneered as he saw the various facilities set up in the field.
“Most of it was done by Lakias.”
“But you helped as well, Headmaster.”
Lakias spoke as if tattling.
“No, I didn’t really—”
“Last night, Sadia asked me to swap shifts. Something happened then, didn’t it?”
“…Yes. I have no excuse.”
“So something did happen? I thought it was noisy last night. Sadia was on duty then, right?”
Buremhyde picked one of the turnips Idnia had left behind, brushed off the dirt, and bit into it.
“As expected, everyone must really love Wizard Ball.
To cooperate this much just to create a Wizard Ball club.”
“That’s not it.
I was simply intrigued by her agricultural theory and wanted to test it.”
“Even so, while I did propose the field as a reward, I never expected her to grow and harvest crops on the same day.
The problem is that what she grew is turnips. How does the Betelgeuse duke’s daughter plan to attract students with turnips?
Do humans get addicted to turnips? Headmaster?”
Buremhyde was both amazed and puzzled by Idnia’s potential.
Lakias replied.
“There’s no way humans get addicted to turnips. But I’ve never been human, so I can’t be certain.”
“What about you, Headmaster, the only one here who has been human?
Or is it too long ago to remember?”
“Turnips aren’t addictive.
Even a master chef would struggle with just turnips.
But why are you asking me?
You’re the one who kept insisting on creating a Wizard Ball club, Buremhyde.
You’re the one who tried to lure students with the field—you should’ve thought of something.”
“If we starve them enough, won’t they eventually do it just to survive? Or perhaps if we plant crops with extremely high appeal… something like that?”
Buremhyde glanced at Ludwig.
It was easy to guess what he meant by “highly appealing crops.”
“…I’ll say this in advance. If you feed the students something strange and try to addict them, the Empire will not stay silent.
Someday, whether it’s the Pope, the Emperor, or even the Demon King, someone will try to seize control of the academy—but I’d rather not have that start because of your obsession with Wizard Ball.”
“Then we’ll have to rely on Lady Idnia’s ingenuity and ability.”
That evening, dinner was the same as breakfast.
But its condition was far worse.
If breakfast had been the threshold of hell, this felt like being thrown into its very depths.
The sailor’s emergency ration known as ship biscuits was crawling with worms, and it was served with milk tea made from tea dregs and spoiled milk.
“This looks even worse than breakfast…”
“This is the same milk tea from this morning, just reheated!
Of course it’s worse…”
The students were horrified at the condition of the food.
Gibbles, the overseer managing the meal, spoke up.
“Ah, don’t worry, students. Instructor Naily has personally cast a detoxification spell on this meal. All toxins and unsanitary bacteria have been removed.”
In other words, it wouldn’t kill them if they ate it.
Gibbles reassured them as he said so.
“There are live worms in the biscuits.”
“They’re merely weevils or moth larvae. There are no toxins, so they’re safe to eat together.
If prepared well, insect meat can taste like regular meat.”
“……”
Everyone abandoned their meals and got up from the table.
“I knew this would happen, so I ate a lot at lunch.”
“Same here, but everything I ate is already gone.”
“You too? Same here.”
Most of the students had predicted that meals would continue like this after the bakery oven broke.
So they had eaten as much as possible at lunch.
The problem was that there were too many students, and even with the baker’s entire family working together, there wasn’t enough food to fill everyone.
On top of that, growing students who had done physical labor burned through their energy far faster than expected.
“Ah, I should go to the shop.
I’ve used up all my Aka Coins—I need to recharge.”
Sendia Aspinal stood up, grumbling, but students were already lining up at the shop, and the shelves were being emptied.
Arguments broke out among the students.
“Hey, if you buy everything from the front like that, what are we supposed to do?”
“I’m paying with my own money. What’s your problem?”
“You bastard! I had money too, but because of you I couldn’t buy anything! At least leave enough for others to get by!”
“I need this much!”
“What?! You selfish jerk! What family are you from?!”
Watching this, Sendia clicked her tongue.
‘Unbelievable. People who are well-known in high society are fighting over bread and snacks… but being hungry really does make you irritable.
At this rate, even if I have money, I won’t be able to buy anything.’
She looked around carefully.
Lorenzo’s group, the Notos dorm from the south, seemed unusually calm as they talked among themselves.
‘They must have secured a smuggling route outside the dorm.
Southerners really are resourceful.
Ah, I want to get close to them somehow, but I don’t have an opportunity.
Should I just trip in front of Lord Lorenzo? He seems like a gentleman—he’d probably help me up. And then maybe we’d start dating, and I’d become the Duchess of Mazdari or something…
Ah, I’m getting carried away.’
Meanwhile, the group with Rudolf and Isolde also appeared calm.
Rudolf was talking with Isolde about something.
‘It seems His Highness the Crown Prince has come up with a plan too. Then what about the north…?’
Sendia looked toward Karl and the Boreas dorm from the north.
“Hmph! Do you think we’d be shaken by a few worms?”
Karl took a biscuit crawling with worms and bit into it without hesitation.
The other northern students, even the girls, followed suit and ate the infested biscuits without complaint.
‘As expected of northerners.
Ugh, so barbaric. But… there’s something oddly thrilling about it.
Compared to them, our Euros dorm…’
Looking at the Euros dorm students, the trio of boys—Pacifier, Athos, and Dupont—were trying to imitate the northerners by eating the worm-infested biscuits with their eyes tightly shut.
Pacifier seemed calm, but Athos and Dupont looked like boys enduring a coming-of-age trial, forcing themselves to eat something they hated.
Like a rite of passage—jumping from high places or hunting dangerous beasts—their struggle looked almost comical.
‘Now, where’s the saint candidate… huh?’
When Sendia looked for Marie, something surprising was happening.