Chapter 17: Continued Clear Skies

Time flows slowly until vacation arrives, but once vacation starts, time flies by in an instant. That seems to be the same in every world. Summer vacation was soon over, and Brother returned to the Academic City in the Royal Capital.

The house feels a little lonely. Recently, although it is still hot during the day, a cool breeze blows in the mornings and evenings, and Autumn can be felt. I’m happy that the season is becoming pleasant.

But I feel like something is strange. As I was wondering why, I met Sophie in the mansion corridor. “Nii-sama, it’s another beautiful, sunny day today, isn’t it?”

Ah, that’s right! Thanks to Sophie, I realized why I felt something was strange. Usually, it rains towards the end of Summer, but the clear weather has continued, and it hasn’t rained at all.

A few days later, Father had a rare, serious look on his face at the breakfast table. He was absently moving his fork while deep in thought. “Dear, you seem to be miles away. Do you have something to worry about?”

“Ah, sorry. It’s still sunny even though Summer is about to end, isn’t it? The farmers are worried that the Wheat won’t grow properly even if they sow the seeds at this rate.” As expected, the lack of rain is having an effect. The staple food of this country is Wheat, which is sown in Autumn and harvested in early Summer. It seems to be almost the same variety as what was called Winter Wheat in my previous life.

I’ve heard that Winter Wheat requires sufficient moisture in the soil to grow strong. Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem if it started raining from now on, but anxiety is mounting. The reason is that there was little rain last year as well. Because of that, this year’s Wheat harvest was poor.

Although Father administers good governance and taxes are not high, there are still many domain residents who do not have sufficient savings. If the Wheat harvest is poor for two consecutive years, there will surely be people who starve. Enduring hunger is tough.

My memories of my past life are vague, but I recall having a difficult time with hunger. Many of our domain residents are gentle-natured and kind people. When I go out to the Town, they wave at me with a smile, and the women at the Stalls sometimes give me Fruit. I don’t want to see the good-natured domain residents, who are working hard to live, suffering from starvation.

Is there anything I can do? I kept thinking about it even after returning to my room after breakfast. If I were to use my Production Skill to counter the Drought, should I build an Irrigation Canal?

But setting up Irrigation Canals throughout the entire domain would take too much time. Moreover, since the river water level is low due to the lack of rain, if I were to build canals and increase the water taken from the river, the lower reaches would dry up even more.

While I couldn’t come up with a good idea, my eyes suddenly landed on a basket in the corner of the room. I was sure that basket contained the strange Plant that caught my attention in the Sea of Trees. Taking it out of the basket, it looked like an ordinary Wild Grass.

But when I used Appraisal, the result was: “Nameless Wild Grass: Highly Resistant to Drought.” Oh, this Plant possesses the characteristic of being resistant to Drought. What caught my attention in the Sea of Trees that time might have been a premonition.

Is there any way I can give this characteristic to Wheat? But there isn’t time for slow breed improvement. As I wondered how I could quickly create Wheat that is resistant to Drought, I suddenly realized something.

Create? That’s right, the Production Skill. I’ve never heard of creating a new species of Plant with the Production Skill, but just as I combine different Materials to make Furniture, perhaps I can combine the Seeds of different types of Plants.

Furniture and Seeds are completely different things, and this might be a reckless idea, but I’ll try it anyway. I asked a servant to bring me the Seed Wheat. I lined it up next to the Fruit of the strange Plant from the Sea of Trees and concentrated.

As I concentrated with the intention of creating a new Plant, the Production Skill activated, the tips of my hands glowed, and a Magic Circle appeared. When the warm light disappeared, the Wheat remained. Well, at least the Skill activated, and I was able to combine the two Plants.

However, when I used Appraisal, the result was: “Winter Wheat (New Species): Wild-flavored.” A new species of Wheat was created, but what does “wild-flavored” mean? Unfortunately, the Drought-resistant characteristic was not inherited.

Hmm, Erica sensei taught me that visualization is important. How should I visualize it? I tried various things, but in the end, I couldn’t create Drought-resistant Wheat that day.