The Sharecroppers

When the snow had fully melted, I traveled to Luido again with Alexia.

I sent the others on extermination quests.

This time of year, hungry monsters venture out onto the highways, so adventurers whose work slowed during winter typically clear them out as their first job of the season.

How thoroughly this is done affects the damage to caravans and traveling merchants, and word spreads.

It's essential work for the city's vitalization.

The rewards come from volume.

That said, this side of things also needed attention soon or we'd fall behind, so I brought only Alexia.

"The scenery is quite different from winter."

"Yeah. There's a lot more green."

Even in Luido, no snow remained, and grass was peeking up from the ground.

When I went to meet the sharecropper from before, I was brought to the city's guest house to meet the sharecroppers' representatives.

The guest house was basically just a large house, probably used to entertain visitors when they came.

So last time, I hadn't even been treated as a guest.

The representatives of the sharecroppers managing the land I'd been put in charge of had assembled, so I shook hands with everyone.

Everyone had thick, calloused hands. You could tell they'd spent years doing hard farm work.

I felt genuine respect for that.

We all sat down.

The rugs were well-woven, the kind that would work well as interior decor.

Alexia remained standing behind me, keeping a sharp eye on things.

She was fearsome when it came down to it.

"Hello, Yohane-san. I'm Maruki. I've heard about you."

The oldest of the middle-aged group began speaking.

He seemed to be their coordinator.

Maruki glanced at Alexia, then turned back to me.

"We were shocked when the city's representatives suddenly disappeared. They left everything to us, but they were still the landowners, still our employers."

The other sharecroppers nodded.

"I hear the new manager is a merchant. If so, you must know about Luido. There's mainly just livestock and agriculture here. Monsters are weak, adventurers few. There's nothing else you could really call work…"

"I've heard about a fifth of the Kingdom's food comes from this city's vicinity."

"That may be a bit exaggerated. But we do take pride in supporting the surrounding cities."

"I see."

Maruki seemed like a decent person.

He came across as more solid than the sharecropper I'd met the other day.

"What I'm trying to say is, we want you to guarantee our jobs so everyone can focus on their work. If our jobs are suddenly taken away, we'll have no choice but to leave the city."

All of them assembled just for this? I see, a preemptive negotiation.

If you reduce headcount, we won't work. That was the message.

The farmland was vast and the work had few breaks. It wasn't particularly profitable either, so replacements were actually scarce. Still, the sudden government intervention and change in leadership had made them anxious.

"I understand. I'm a merchant, not a farmer, so I don't have specialized knowledge. Your cooperation is essential."

When I said that, everyone except Maruki visibly relaxed, some even cracking smiles.

"We're relieved to hear that."

"However."

The air in the room grew tense.

"Not everything will stay the same as before. Of course, I don't want to cause confusion by meddling recklessly either, but I will be making some changes. Especially regarding the numbers."

"Numbers?"

"When I stopped by Luido the other day, it seemed like accurate figures for agricultural output weren't being maintained."

"That's…"

Maruki shot a glare at the sharecropper I'd spoken with before.

As if to say, you didn't tell me about this.

They'd surely decided what to discuss beforehand to some extent.

For my purposes, this was the most important point.

Efficiency improvements could only happen with baseline figures to work from.

Besides, even if Maruki seemed decent in conversation, I couldn't be sure he wasn't skimming on the side.

We were both in the dark about each other.

"It's true that those aspects may not have been perfectly maintained, however…"

"Under the previous lax administrators, that may have been fine."

I cut him off.

This was the time to make clear who held the higher position.

"I want to trust you all, given your years of experience. I'd also like to avoid ruining the farmland by bringing in serfs and desperate types. This is necessary to prevent that."

"… Let us discuss this among ourselves…"

"Decide here. This is non-negotiable. In exchange, if you agree to implement this, I'll guarantee current employment for three years."

"Mmm…"

Several tried to intimidate me with glares, but Alexia glared back and they looked away.

Alexia was a military noble through and through, former though she was, and was active as an adventurer.

She wasn't carrying weapons, but she apparently still exuded considerable presence.

"Understood. It may take some time, but you have our word."

"Good. Please do. And don't forget that I've been appointed by Second Princess Tianis."

"… Of course."

Dropping a royal name for emphasis carried weight.

I'd made it clear that cheating meant defying the royal family.

In reality, Princess Tianis hadn't provided any real support, taking more of a wait-and-see approach. But they didn't know that.

With Alexia as my guard, I was able to proceed without tension despite being outnumbered.

As thanks, I touched her bottom and got my foot stomped hard.

Afterward, they showed me the actual farmland.

With snowmelt providing abundant water, they'd already begun sowing spring wheat.

Apparently, many areas still remained untouched.

That would be a challenge. To bring in more workers, we'd need to increase the returns.

While looking around, I spotted a cave that seemed like a good location for placing the Earth Elemental Stone.

It was close to the center, too.

"What do you think of this place?"

"I think it's good. The flow of magical energy isn't bad here."

According to Alexia, it was a place where magical energy gathered easily.

If Elza and Alexia set up a barrier, the effect would continue indefinitely, apparently.

After that, we parted with Maruki and the others.

They would continue working as before, and we would develop the untouched areas on our end.

"Looks like I'll be put to work after all."

"Give up. You're too capable."

I said that in response to Alexia's sigh.