Pride's Agricultural Challenge
Bad premonitions never miss their mark. “This can’t be fixed, can it?”
Albert stared at the armor laid out before him—one of his father’s collection pieces. These weren’t mere decorations; they were genuinely functional.
Crafted from high-quality materials.
Item grade: S-rank.
How on earth was armor like this maintained in such a state…?
The materials and craftsmanship alone marked it as at least S-rank. To treat such an item this way…
If Kang Min saw this…
“He’d throw a fit.”
Kang Min was a blacksmith hunter—the top-tier representative of Korea. Even ordinary iron ore became high-grade equipment in his hands. His skill rivaled that of dwarves said to possess divine craftsmanship. ‘The greater the skill, the fiercer the pride in his work.’
He was notoriously picky. If something didn’t meet his standards, he wouldn’t craft it even if a blade pressed against his throat. Albert could already picture the reaction if Kang Min laid eyes on his father’s armor.
‘Which incompetent fool dared treat equipment like this?! Those bastards don’t deserve to wear gear! I’ll hack off every limb of anyone who mishandles equipment!’
Back in the other world, a hunter had actually lost an arm that way. Kang Min followed through on his threats.
You nearly suffered the same fate, didn’t you, Albert?
Your leg almost got cut off.
“Let’s drop that story.”
Anyway, restoring these armors to perfection would require skill on Kang Min’s level.
Obtaining the necessary repair materials may also prove difficult.
“Probably.” Albert sighed. If possible, he wanted to return his father’s armor to its original state. After all, ‘These are Father’s keepsakes.’
The collection had become mementos. He’d heard the family’s finances were so dire that everything sellable had been sold, yet the knights had claimed the armor and refused to part with it. ‘A silver lining, perhaps? Thanks to them, the armor survived.’
“I’ll have to find someone who can fix this. I certainly can’t.”
Unfortunately, Albert lacked the skill. Even as an EX-rank hunter hailed as the world’s strongest, his abilities leaned heavily toward combat.
You specialize in breaking things, after all.
“True.”
Buildings, people, even mental states. That’s why Min-seob and Yeseul suffered so much…
“What did you just say?”
Me? Did I say something?
“You did.”
Beep… Beep-beep. An error has occurred.
Due to an unusual error, the data of what I said moments ago has been deleted.
What was I saying again?
Was it his imagination, or had the System grown noticeably more shameless since arriving in this world?
“Haa…” Elena let out a deep sigh from her office chair.
“Please rest a little, my lady.” The nanny poured her a cup of warm tea. The fragrant aroma eased some of the accumulated fatigue. A gentle smile touched Elena’s lips.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had tea brewed by you, Nanny.”
“Hohoho, I’ll brew it for you every day from now on, so don’t worry~.”
“Mmm~ Nanny’s tea really is the best.” Whether it was the tea’s effect or something else, her mood lifted slightly.
“But why were you sighing so deeply? Is it still because of the knights…?”
“No, that no longer worries me.” Albert had assured her he would handle them thoroughly, so she had decided to stop concerning herself with it. Besides, ‘I don’t have the luxury to worry about them.’
“Then why?”
“There’s no money…”
“No money?”
“Yeah, haa… There’s nowhere left in the territory to generate funds. We can’t even collect taxes.”
The territory’s condition was dire. Even if she wanted to collect taxes, squeezing the residents would be like wringing a dry cloth—nothing would come out. Not a single gold coin.
“But there are monster corpses. Last time, the young master—”
“Those are gone.”
“Eh?”
“That slime ate them all.”
The thirty orcs that had attacked the territory could have provided some funds, but the slime Albert summoned had devoured them without leaving a single bone. Worse still—
“That slime even secretly ate the orcs I killed! When I went inside, I caught it sneaking over and gulping them down!!!”
“Ah…”
“On top of that, we’re short on food. We can manage somehow, but the residents…”
“Can’t they farm?”
“No. The soil is too depleted to grow crops.”
Another sigh escaped her, now almost habitual. In the past, one corner of the territory had been fertile farmland producing enough food to feed everyone. It had always yielded bountiful harvests, eliminating any need to import grain. Starvation had been unthinkable in Legrian Territory. It was once called the Golden Soil.
Now—
“The land is so barren that farming is impossible anymore… haa…”
“Is there no way?”
“Well…”
“Then why not consult the young master?”
“With Oppa?”
“Yes.”
“Would Oppa know about something this specialized?”
“You never know. My lady… no, you’re no longer alone. Stop trying to handle everything by yourself and rely on your family.”
“Rely…” Elena murmured softly. Until now, she had done everything alone. After suddenly inheriting the lordship, she had no one to depend on and had to manage everything by herself. She had always done so and had steeled herself to continue that way. But—
“The young master has returned. He’s your only family, so lean on him a little more.”
Her sole remaining family had come back—the one and only blood relative she could never find anywhere else in the world. Of course, ‘I still can’t fully trust the other world or any of that…’ Yet a spark of life returned to her amethyst eyes. Having a reliable ally she could depend on was truly reassuring. Still, one correction was needed.
“Nanny.”
“Yes?”
“I consider you family too. Oppa probably feels the same.”
“……”
“I don’t intend to rely only on Oppa. I’ll rely on you as well. So… please keep brewing delicious tea while staying healthy.”
The nanny’s expression shifted several times in an instant before settling into a serene smile.
“Don’t worry. I’ll live long enough to see your children marry and even care for your grandchildren.”
“Oh my, you plan to live that long?”
“That’s the level of resolve I’m talking about.”
The nanny laughed, “Hohoho.” Little did she know she would indeed live to see Elena’s children marry, their grandchildren, and even their grandchildren’s children—trapped in an endless cycle of care from which there would be no escape. The hell of caregiving awaited her.
“Is this the place?”
Albert, who had come to the former farmland at Elena’s request, couldn’t hide his dismay. “It’s changed so much.”
Ten years ago, before he disappeared, this area had been a renowned breadbasket. Dozens of farmers had managed it, supplying enough food to sustain the entire territory. But now—
“It’s a mess.”
He touched the soil. It was loose and powdery; the slightest breeze sent it scattering like dust. It had no strength left.
“What do you think?”
The cause appears to be depletion of the soil’s fertility, which is essential for crop growth.
“Fertility?”
Albert knew nothing about this subject—and had never needed to. In the other world, money could buy all the food he wanted. Convenience stores, supermarkets, even phone orders with delivery right to his doorstep. Experts handled everything, so he was completely ignorant here.
Fertility is the foundation of farming.
Think of it like mana for hunters.
Just as hunters use mana to fight monsters, the land needs abundant fertility to grow crops.
“In short, the land’s MP is depleted?”
……You could interpret it that way.
“Then how do we replenish it?”
Natural recovery is one method.
Leave the land fallow and wait for fertility to restore naturally.
That won’t work here. We’ll need external help.
“Fertilizer?”
Oh! You know about that?
“Even basic stuff like that, I know.”
Well, that’s something even elementary students know.
Sorry. I underestimated you.
“……”
Anyway.
Even if we apply fertilizer now, we won’t be able to raise the soil quality immediately.
Moreover, given the poor condition, fertilizer alone may not restore fertility…
“Has it been neglected too long?”
Yes.
The land has been left unattended for far too long. If there had been even minimal management in between, it might be different.
At this point, it’s no exaggeration to say the land has nearly turned to desert.
No matter how much fertilizer we apply, it won’t make a difference.
“Then what’s the solution?”
The method is…
The System paused, as if searching. In the other world, solutions would have existed. With advanced science combined with hunters’ magic, reviving farmland like this wouldn’t have been difficult. But here— ‘It’ll be a bit tougher.’
Normally, an answer would come immediately. The delay meant finding a method was proving difficult. In the worst case, they might have to abandon this land.
There is a way.
“There is?” Albert’s expression brightened. If there was a method, they wouldn’t have to abandon this place. Even Albert found it difficult to discard land steeped in family memories.
“What is it?”
Pride.
“Pride?”
Pride was like Gluttony—one of Albert’s summons.
“What about him?”
Don’t you see? Even though he’s fallen, Pride is still an Earth Spirit. Anything related to the land can naturally be handled by him.
“Aah, I see.” Pride was a fallen Earth Spirit. Albert had subdued and contracted with him after he rampaged inside a Gate. Fallen or not, a spirit was still a spirit. No one could match him when it came to land-related matters.
“Good. Then summon him.”
Summoning Pride.
The summoning skill activated. The ground trembled, and a man in a suit emerged from the soil. His hair was slicked back neatly, and he wore a monocle over a sharp face along with a butler’s uniform.
I still can’t understand it.
Why is an Earth Spirit wearing a butler’s uniform?
‘It’s his hobby.’
Incidentally, even this appearance was merely his hobby. The clothes he wore, too.
“Earth Spirit Pride, responding to the summons of my contractor and master, Kim Min-chul.”
“Right. First, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Yes. What is it, my liege?”
“You’ve probably heard the story—I’m returning to my homeland.”
“Of course.” Pride answered with a crisp smile.
“Is this place your homeland, my liege?”
“Yeah.”
“Oho, I see. So this is your homeland… Hmm… It feels strangely familiar. Almost as if I’ve returned home myself…”
“Enough sentiment. When I returned, I discarded the name Kim Min-chul.”
“You discarded your name…?”
“More precisely, I decided to return to my original name.”
“Oho, your original name!” Pride dramatically dropped to his knees and bowed his head before Albert. “Please, my liege, reveal your true name to me.”
Still as burdensome as ever.
‘I feel the same.’
Even if told to stop, this guy would never quit. He insisted it was a matter of pride. No matter how much he was beaten or half-killed, he refused to give up. When it came to obsession, even Grid couldn’t compare.
“Albert Legrian.”
“Oh! Albert Legrian! A name with a sweet and beautiful cadence.”
“Haa, enough. There’s something you need to do.”
“If it’s something I can do, then anything…”
Albert explained the situation with the farmland, moved by Pride’s attitude of willingness to obey any command. As an Earth Spirit by name, perhaps he could solve it. Pride listened with his characteristic crisp smile and answered.
“I cannot.”
“What?”
“I cannot do it.”
“What do you mean? You’re an Earth Spirit…”
“I am indeed an Earth Spirit. However, I have become a fallen Earth Spirit. Because of that, I cannot perform the tasks other Earth Spirits are capable of.”
Albert stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t?”
“No. I specialize in destruction. Restoring fertility to land like this is beyond my abilities.”
Like master, like summon. Specializing in destruction… haa…
“Then what can you do…?”
“Destruction. Ah, I can also detect enemies by emitting spirit power throughout my body. You’ve seen me do it a few times.”
This was troublesome. Albert had thought Pride alone would solve everything, but he hadn’t expected to be blocked like this. After all, he was a fallen spirit, and his abilities excelled in offense. The fall had apparently skewed his stats in that direction.
What a useless character.
‘There has to be a way… a way…’ Albert racked his brain. Reviving the farmland was essential for the territory’s prosperity. And, ‘If I want to live comfortably, I’ll need food. For the future, we need to be self-sufficient to some degree.’
The farmland had to be revived somehow. For a comfortable life. For rice.
“Wait a second.” A clever idea flashed through Albert’s mind.
“Pride.”
“Yes, speak, my liege.”
“Could you dig up that patch of land over there? You can do that much, right?”
“Hahahaha, of course! Such a simple command is nothing for Pride.”
With a wave of Pride’s hand, the ground exploded with a bang, creating a large hole deep enough for an adult man to stand in comfortably. Seeing this, Albert grinned. If things went according to plan, they might be able to revive the farmland after all.
Don’t tell me… Wait, there’s definitely potential.
The System seemed to have caught on as well.
Indeed, that should work. Even a fallen spirit is still a spirit… If we do it that way…
‘It’s possible?’
Theoretically, it’s entirely possible. And if it doesn’t work…
‘If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t.’
If it failed, there was nothing to be done. Still, they had to try. Albert looked at Pride with a bright, childlike smile, as if he had found the answer. Pride felt an inexplicable chill.
“……Why are you smiling like that?”
He would soon understand exactly what that sinister smile meant.