Pushing the Development Forward

When we arrived at the development site, a few people had already gathered.

We'd come considerably earlier than scheduled, so their dedication was impressive.

They had other work available, yet they'd chosen this job. They must have genuinely enjoyed working the soil.

Kwad noticed us and came over.

"You made it. How was that inn I recommended?"

"It was a good place. Especially the food."

"The breakfast, right? I go out of my way to stay there just for that sometimes."

We made small talk before the workday began.

After chatting for a bit, we moved on to the actual business.

"I've been working out the logistics. I've got some questions for that mage girl you brought along."

"Sure."

"How much ground can she actually till? Even matching what she did yesterday would be a huge help."

"I couldn't tell you off the top of my head. Alexia, come here for a moment."

I called over Alexia, who'd been resting nearby.

She noticed and walked over.

"What is it?"

"That earth magic you used yesterday for tilling, how much can you manage?"

"Hmm, let me think. If I work all day, about three times what I did yesterday. That stone helps quite a bit, after all."

She glanced toward the Earth Elemental Stone as she said it.

Having the stone nearby apparently made a real difference.

"That stone? So it really is something special?"

"Yeah, it's not just a decoration."

"Huh."

He didn't seem particularly interested. To Kwad, it probably just looked like an ordinary rock.

Even Yohane could only tell it was somewhat unusual because he'd seen the real thing. Without that experience, he'd have noticed little more than it being a slightly odd stone.

Azu and the others, though, could tell right away.

"Three times, huh. That's incredible… Honestly, the plan was for everyone to work on tilling together, but she's faster on her own. So I'm thinking she handles the tilling while everyone else moves on to the next steps in the areas she's finished. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me. I don't know the procedures, so I'll leave that to you."

"Then it's settled. I'll mark out the areas, and she takes it from there."

Kwad rolled up what appeared to be a survey map, then called everyone together and explained the day's tasks.

When they heard that the tilling work had been concentrated entirely on Alexia, there was a murmur of surprise.

Being suddenly freed from what was backbreaking labor, their reaction was understandable.

"Work safe, people! Let's get to it!"

At Kwad's signal, everyone set to their tasks.

We moved to the designated area, and Alexia immediately began working her magic.

Today she was carrying a staff instead of her usual battle-axe, which was unusual.

When focusing purely on spellcasting, a staff was clearly the better tool.

"It's been a while since I've held a staff."

"You actually look like a proper mage for once."

"I don't just look like one, I am one. You're the one who put me in the mid-range, remember."

"The party needs balance, right?"

"Alexia-san really is dependable whether she's up close or casting."

"Mm-hm. Alexia-chan is seriously strong."

"Oh, stop. You don't need to flatter me that much."

Even as she bantered, Alexia kept tilling the soil with magic.

Having spent a full day on it yesterday, she'd found her rhythm. The pace was noticeably faster.

Watching her work, a thought occurred to me: with Alexia handling the tilling, the rest of us had nothing to do.

Kwad had only told us to handle the tilling, and the other group had plenty of hands already.

They appeared to be building furrows in the freshly tilled areas.

Once that was done, the land would be ready for crops.

Work had only just started, so there was no need to prepare meals either.

"If you're free, keep me company. Maintaining the spell gets pretty boring. It's not like it requires much concentration."

"I can manage that much. Kwad won't complain."

We kept Alexia entertained with idle conversation to pass the time.

Nothing of substance, but just talking was a welcome break.

The Fire Elemental drifted out of its brooch and floated around the Earth Elemental Stone, circling idly.

"Is it curious because they're both elementals?"

"Who knows? Oh, the Water Elemental wants out too."

No sooner had Azu said that than the Water Elemental emerged as well.

Like the Fire Elemental, it drifted toward the Earth Elemental Stone.

"Oh my, this is incredible. Three elemental spirits gathered in one place. All we'd need is a Wind Elemental for the complete set."

Elza clasped her hands together and spoke with obvious delight.

Come to think of it, I recalled something about Azu's awakening as an Apostle requiring spirits.

The details had been explained to me, but honestly, much of it had gone over my head.

Through various twists of fate, we had fire and Water Elementals in our possession, but obtaining more seemed unrealistic.

The Earth Elemental Stone had sold at auction for six thousand five hundred gold coins.

Between the Anti-Magic Orb's proceeds and liquidating the shop and everything else, I could just barely afford that.

And even if I went that far, there'd be no way to recoup the investment.

Azu was plenty strong already. There was no need.

I watched Alexia work for a while.

Then I noticed that each time Alexia used earth magic, the Earth Elemental Stone reacted faintly.

Something similar had happened with the Fire Elemental, if I remembered right.

Magic and spirits had a natural affinity, it seemed.

However, Alexia's specialty was fire magic, so while the Fire Elemental's influence had been significant, the Earth Elemental Stone's effect on her earth magic was comparatively modest.

"It just feels a little easier to cast earth spells, is all. If you brought a mage who specialized in earth magic, it'd probably be a different story."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Though even a small boost helps."

By the time she said that, about half the designated area had been tilled.

Alexia was working so fast that the furrow crew couldn't keep up.

"You've made real progress. Let's take a break. Go ahead and rest."

Kwad called for a break, so we all stopped.

I had Alexia conjure some water, and we drank.

The spirits had slipped back at some point without my noticing.

Sweet pastries were passed around, and we ate them as a snack.

Sweet. They hadn't skimped on the sugar.

Kwad had mentioned having budget to spare, and it showed.