The Monstrously Strong Priestess

My talk with Finn had concluded without a hitch, at least for now.

Since it was only a verbal arrangement, things would remain fluid, but just knowing she was willing to lend us her strength was enough.

Even if her motivation was just saving on lodging costs, I welcomed it.

Finn polished off the beans, announced she was going to take a nap, and left the room.

She probably wouldn't come back out until mealtime.

She'd mentioned that she couldn't sleep soundly with other people around, so perhaps naps like these were more important than they seemed.

I crossed out a line on my memo with a double strike.

Next up… activating the Earth Elemental Stone.

Right now it was near the garden that Elza had taken charge of, enshrined in a small shrine in the backyard.

According to Elza's reports, the stone was effective but limited in scope.

The scale was just too small, it seemed.

Incidentally, the potatoes grown there had been exceptionally delicious.

The flavor was noticeably better, which was surely the Earth Elemental Stone's doing.

Even a tiny fragment carried the great power of the spirits.

Though having it so close at hand made it hard to feel properly grateful.

Kassad's population and goods were both on the rise.

The number of people looking for work had grown accordingly, so if the land issue could be sorted out, we'd make major progress.

"Renting land is so expensive, though…"

I muttered to myself.

When you rented land for farming, the running costs were steep.

You had to pass those costs on to the price of your crops, which made them expensive and harder to sell.

And if bad weather or monster raids wiped out a single harvest, you'd go into debt just to cover the rental fees.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a losing proposition.

That was exactly why tenant farmers were said to have it harder than serfs.

Buying land was a different story.

One of the Kingdom's current policy priorities was promoting the primary sector. If you were buying land for crop cultivation, the Kingdom would lend you the money.

The interest rate on repayment was low, and if crop trouble left you unable to repay, they'd give you a two-year grace period.

The problem was that all the newly available land had already been bought up. There was nothing left.

When this policy was first introduced, the shop had only just gotten on its feet. I didn't have the capital, so all I could do was watch from the sidelines.

If only I'd had the funds then. Now I'd throw in everything I had and borrow on top of it to get in.

Timing never waited.

What you needed was never there when you needed it.

You had to find a way to jump on opportunities when they came.

That was how I'd acquired Azu and the others, after all.

Incidentally, no guild could be counted on when it came to land.

There's a saying: nobody shares truly profitable information. If a guild member got wind of available land, they'd snap it up themselves before anyone else heard a whisper.

Your turn would never come.

You had to find it on your own.

But the connections I'd been counting on had fallen through, and at the moment I was stuck.

I stood from my chair and headed back out to the yard.

I wanted to check whether there was room to expand the backyard.

Maintaining enough open space for Azu and the others to train was a necessity.

When I arrived at the backyard, Elza and Alexia were sparring this time.

I looked around for Azu and found her sprawled out on a bench.

It seemed Alexia had beaten her senseless during training.

It was unusual to see Elza training, so I decided to watch for a bit.

Both of them had changed into clothes suited for movement, and neither had weapons. It was bare-handed.

Alexia moved first.

A simple forward lunge to close the gap, extending her open right hand toward Elza.

Elza tried to swat the incoming hand away, but Alexia reversed the play and seized Elza's hand instead.

She yanked it upward, exposing Elza's left side, and launched a kick at the opening.

Elza tried to block with her free right hand but was a fraction too late, and her body folded in half from the impact.

As Elza's head dropped, Alexia brought her clenched left fist down in a hammerblow.

It looked like it would connect with the back of Elza's head, but Alexia's body rose into the air.

Elza's still-gripped left hand had surged upward with explosive force.

She'd just lifted Alexia's full body weight with a single arm.

Alexia let go on reflex, but she hung in the air for a few seconds.

Elza used the opening to recover her stance.

She'd taken a full-force kick to the ribs but showed absolutely no signs of damage.

"Hup!"

Before Alexia's feet touched the ground, Elza planted her right palm squarely into Alexia's stomach and shoved.

Alexia managed to guard, but without solid footing she couldn't kill the momentum and was sent flying all the way to where I stood.

"Unreal strength, as always."

Alexia murmured as she got up and brushed the dust off her clothes.

She didn't seem to be hurt either.

If I'd been on the receiving end of either of those blows, I'd have been writhing on the ground. The difference in durability was stark.

"Oh, Master. You're back again."

"Just so you know, my win rate in hand-to-hand is higher."

"Alexia-chan's martial arts are captivating no matter how many times I see them."

"And which ex-priestess is the one overpowering all that with brute force?"

Alexia said it with exasperation, then took a swig from her canteen.

"Is Azu all right?"

"She's just unconscious. She'll be fine. That girl tends to push herself too hard, but I know how to hold back, so she's okay."

"If you say so."

I went back inside briefly, prepared wet towels, and handed them to all three.

For Azu, I laid her on her back and placed one on her forehead.

She let out a groan.

"Thanks."

"Thank you. The cold feels wonderful."

"I don't really understand training, so I'll leave that to you. How are things over there?"

I pointed toward the garden beds.

It was far too grand to call a kitchen garden.

"The crops are growing fast and there's no disease or pests, so everything's coming along nicely. But as I've mentioned before…"

"There's not enough land to begin with. I know."

"Crop yields are dictated by acreage, so there's nothing to be done about it."

Alexia had apparently dealt with the same headaches back when she was an active noblewoman.

Well, she had been the heir to a lordship. It made sense.

I walked over to inspect the garden. Bright red orbs hung from the grown branches.

I picked one and bit into it. Juicy, with a nice tartness and sweetness.

Far tastier than anything you'd find at the market.

"Delicious, isn't it? I was just thinking of using some in a salad or crushing them into a pasta sauce."

"Good idea. Why don't we set some aside for today?"

While we were chatting, Kaimol, the shop manager, came around.

Apparently we had a visitor.