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After sorting the herbs I foraged this morning and carrying them to the compounding room, we had a slightly early lunch. The lunch consisted of sloppily made Corn Soup and Pan Fried Butter Pumpkin, both of which used homegrown ingredients from my experimental garden that I harvested this fall. I wouldn’t exactly say they reach my standards… emphasis on wouldn’t, and I.

“Why is the corn so sweet?! The grains are so tender and full! And the pumpkin, it’s so sweet! Even the skin is melting in my mouth!”

The moment she took a sip, Ms. Christy’s eyes opened wide in bewilderment before she showered me in strides of compliments. Being praised so openly like this made the process of making the fertilizer from scratch worth all the hard work.

“Hmph.”

On the other hand, Regina only snorted. Not a hint of a smile was seen on her as she picked the tender parts of the pumpkins on the pan, piled them on her small plate, and popped one of them into her mouth. No comment coming from her either.

“Aah, Mentor! You’re hogging them. You took seven, seven! While I’ve only had four!”
“Did I? You didn’t look like you’re eating them much, so I thought to help you with them.”

Regina, with her trademarked cruel smirk, covered her small plate with both hands to prevent her pumpkins from being taken. From all the things she said, not one of them was a complaint… It led me to believe that perhaps she took a liking to this vegetable dish.

“I’m the type to save delicious treats for last so I can savor them later!”
“Ka ka ka. That’s why all of your precious things slipped you by. You know, like your marriageable age.”
“M-, my marriage is not part of the conversation! If anything, it was all because you went missing in the first place, Mentor.”
“Aah, how wretched, old maids and their prejudices. Don’t follow her example, Jill!”
“…haah.”

I don’t understand, why are they making a fuss over a slice or two of pumpkin? I went to the kitchen to fetch more.

In the end, the two witches showed how gluttonous they could be and were finally sated after a large pot of soup, two whole pumpkins, and four cobs of boiled corn in their stomachs, and this was supposed to be a light lunch.

As for me, I only had a bowl of soup and a slice of pumpkin. I’d rather not relapse after the diet, mind you.

♢♦♢♦♢

“Welcome to the western pioneer village, Madam Governor. I am Aroldo Baresi, the village chief. This is my wife, Karina Baresi.”

Eren’s parents rushed out to the door and greeted Ms. Christy with a bow.

“Pleased to meet you, Chief Aroldo. I’m Christiane Rita Brandmüller, currently a teacher at the Imperial Academy of Magic. Although I have been conferred a baronetcy by His Majesty the Emperor, I am still unworthy of the title, as I’m yet to become the governor. For this reason, I’ve come here today as a private civilian, detached from my official duties, to confirm the area with my own eyes. I would be grateful for your cooperation.”
“I… I see. Uh… I understand, Lady Brandmüller.”

Being barraged by eloquent words, Chief Aroldo could only nod his head, shrinking in embarrassment. Well, an Independent and Literary Woman like Ms. Christy must’ve been a little bit too much for a simple, backwater village chief. He looked quite overwhelmed.

(She’s actually quite the immature grown-up who got into a squabble with her mentor over pumpkin slices under all that elegance though.)

Watching that exchange from a step away, I chuckled under my hood and rubbed the backs of Maya and Vier with my hands each.

Obviously, I can’t have Ms. Christy walk on her own two feet from the forest to the pioneer village —She was riding Fubuki the Wyvern with Mr. Eilmer the Dragon Knight when she first came here— so the solution was to have Ms. Christy ride Maya while I would ride Vier as we traveled. Meanwhile, the one to guard the hermitage was Bartholomew, who took the role gladly (Regina hated it though, screaming “You’re annoying!”).

“First, I want to confirm the variation and the condition of the crops in this village. Can you tell me about them?”
“Ah, yes. We grow mainly grains… rice, wheat, corn, as well as pumpkins, beans, tubers, and various other vegetables that are relatively easy to grow. As for harvest, we had a poor harvest 5 years ago due to cold weather, but since then things have been going well.”
“Hm. What do you do if there’s crop failure?”
“Then we let the fields rest and wait for them to recover naturally, that’s basically all we can do. Well, cultivating new fields is difficult, and the village can’t survive if we keep increasing the amount of idled plot, so we’re using every trick in the book to stay afloat.”
“I see. Securing idled plots in case of emergency seems to be imperative from now on. We need some kind of leverage, perhaps we can consider tax exemptions for a certain period of time, or import and distribute provisions according to the situation in each town or village.”
“Is that true?! I can’t tell you how much that would help us… Thank you!”

Despite her matter-of-fact, intelligent tone, what Ms. Christy said was positive, putting herself on the side of the villagers. Chief Aroldo’s once taut shoulders even relaxed as relief spread through his face.

“Oh, forgive me. This is hardly the place to talk. Please, come inside.”

Led by the chief, Ms. Christy and I were about to follow him inside when someone called my name, “Jill!” Hearing the familiar voice, I looked over and saw Eren coming at us with her two brothers, they’re all bringing baskets full of grains and vegetables.

“Kids. Why are you bringing these things to Lady Baroness?”

Chief Aroldo looked bewildered, reprimanding his children, when his wife gently tugged at his sleeve.

“I’m the one who told them to, dear. I’m sure the lady will understand it better if she sees our crops herself.”
“I see. Thank you for your consideration, Mrs. Baresi.”

The Chief looked unconvinced, but Ms. Christy interrupted and thanked his wife before he could complain, leaving him chewing his words back.

“Let me see them.”

Ms. Christy stepped forward. She was tall and had a good body carriage, and her every movement was precise and sharp like a knife even in her rest posture —A captivating woman even if you ask me. Because of that, the two boys were a little bit intimidated by her. Eren, though, after glancing a disappointed look at her brothers, stepped forward and lowered the basket she was carrying.

“Here you go, Lady Baroness.”
“Thank you. And you are?”
“Eren.”

When I answered that for her, Ms. Christy glanced back at me and asked “Are you friends?” To which Eren and I nodded at the same time.

“We are.”
“Best of friends!”

Eren’s enthusiastic answer invited Ms. Christy’s gaze back at her, and a happy squint from the witch.

“Now, let’s see.”

After which, Ms. Christy bent down and began to inspect the produce in the basket with her hand.

The witch was examining the crops with some interest at first before her expression started to darken —like she was colored by bafflement and doubt— which consequently raised the tension within the group, as the rest of us waited with bated breath.