Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

At the age of ten, the people of Lordberg undergo a “blessing ceremony” at the church, it is said that only about one in twenty will receive a magical talent at a time.

Most of them have only the ability to start a fire or produce a glass of water, but there are some who are able to use powerful magic and are thus called ‘wizards’.

Perhaps it is because excellent wizards are promoted to ranks of nobility and often mix their blood with nobility, that the rate of nobles gaining abilities as a wizard is higher than that of commoners.

The ‘puppet magic talent’ that Noein was given was better than nothing, but it was not something that the nobility would be very happy about.

Perhaps, if he had been given a more well-known and powerful talent such as fire magic, water magic or healing magic, he might have been treated differently by the Count’s family.

Puppet magic is the magic of manipulating a puppet at will. It is commonly known as the magic of manipulating ‘golems’, which are large wooden dolls engraved with magical patterns.

However, one of its drawbacks is that it is extremely difficult to handle.

Normally, golems are not capable of very complicated movements. At best, they can only be used to carry heavy loads or as a shield on the battlefield.

With a great deal of training, it could be made to move as smoothly and intricately as a human, but only a puppet wizard with a lot of time on their hands would be able to do that.

And Noein had just that, ‘a lot of free time’.

At the age of ten, Noein realized his talent and saved up the allowance his father gave him to buy a golem as wooden golems are not that expensive in the financial sense of the nobility, and spent a long, long time learning to control it.

Thanks to his efforts, in front of Noein, now fifteen years old, two golems can be seen, performing complex movements that would normally be impossible, such as ‘holding a hoe like a human being, digging up the soil and plowing the field’.

“It’s as if we are in a forest untouched by humans. The soil is very fertile. This will make for a good field.”

” Noein-sama is indeed knowledgeable to see through the soil quality.”

To be honest, Noein doesn’t exactly know the quality of soil either, so he just says what he thinks is appropriate . I’m not sure what to make of it. He speaks only from the knowledge he has read in books and from the vague memory he has of it.

And Matilda praises him no matter what he says.

Even so, the two of them still enjoy the precarious development of such an amateur relationship.

・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・

“Well, Matilda. For the time being, we have got something that looks like a field.”

“Yes , Noein-sama. Next…will we be planting this crop of potatoes?”

What Matilda was staring at as she said this was a yellow-green mass that looks like the stalk of a plant that had grown fat and round.

“That’s right. It is only imported to the Kingdom of Lordberg for its use as ornamental flowers, but it’s true value lies in its usefulness as food. I found instructions on how to grow and eat it in an agricultural manual from the southern continent.”

Knowing the true value of potatoes from books, Noein stopped by a market near the port before leaving his father’s estate and went out of his way to buy some. It was a fortunate thing for Noein that the Count of Kivileft had a port facing the sea that has grown to become a hub for trade with the south.

“I see. There must be some reason I don’t understand, why you chose to grow this strange crop instead of wheat as the first cultivation.”

As Matilda said, potatoes look strange to those who don’t know what its use may be.

When I bought them at the market over a month ago, they were supposed to be more yellow and shiny looking, but now they were slightly green and had even started to sprout.

If you don’t know that this is a crop, it would look like a grotesque and a mysterious object to say the least.

“That’s right, Matilda. It’s almost unknown in this country, but in some southern countries potatoes are known as ‘the crop of salvation’. They are easy and fast to grow and are also rich in nutrition. It’s the perfect companion to develop our land.”

However, Noein knew about potatoes in terms of knowledge only.

“It’s wonderful. It’s wonderful of Noein-sama to be able to take notice of such a crop.”

Following Noein’s instructions, Matilda cut this potato crop with her knife.

Noein then planted the potatoes in evenly spaced rows that he had the golems dig up.

“If you water them along the ridge, several potatoes will grow from each fragment”, he said.

“We’ve finished planting this field for now. It’s the birth of the first farmland in our Arkvist territory.”

“It’s a memorable start for our farmland, Noein-sama.”

・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・

After finishing the planting of a small field of about five square meters, Noein immediately began with the next task. However, it is the golem that has to work.

First of all, nothing can be grown unless the farmland receives proper sunlight. So, Noein had the golem take hold of the iron axe and chop down the nearby trees.

The golem, with its massive frame of over two meters and the weight to match its frame, struck a blow with the force of its entire body. As a result, it cut deeper and deeper into the trunk of the tree, which eventually collapsed in the pre-planned direction.

Thanks to the golem, it took far less time to cut down a tree than it would have taken an ordinary person to do so.

He then split the tree into smaller pieces and cut down the branches.

“I’m glad, I’m a puppet wizard…It is much more versatile than blowing fire or water out of my hands.”

Said Noein to himself.

Only he could control two golems at the same time and have each of them perform such detailed tasks

With Noein’s dexterity, he can let his golems do everything from farming, to cutting down the forest, to processing wood, and even fighting if he wants to. It’s not as flashy as other well-known magic, but it’s the perfect power for someone in his position of ‘Lord of the frontier’.

“…!”

Suddenly Matilda’s ears perked up.

“Noein-sama, something is approaching. Most likely a monster.”

“I see. Well, if we make this much noise, it’s bound to be noticed.”

This is an uninhabited forest. Of course, there will be monsters out there.

Noein had the golem stop pruning the tree and made him stand in the direction Matilda was pointing, so that it could serve as a shield for both himself and Matilda.

“Noein-sama, if it’s not a difficult monster, may I practice my combat skills against it?”

“…Okay, but only if it’s not a tough one. I will be troubled if my dear Matilda dies.”

“!!? Certainly.”

Matilda stands in front of Noein, trying not to show her red face when she hears ‘my dear Matilda’. In front of her, the identity of the monster soon revealed itself.

It jumped out, ruffling the bushes. A Demon Rabbit, a monster less than a meter long and looked like a giant rabbit as it was.

It had slightly longer legs than normal rabbits, and its fangs were sharp, and it was giving off a hostile look, as if it wanted to eat everything from plants to human flesh.

Even so, it is weak enough to be called the weakest among monsters.

“I’ll do it.”

“All right.”

Matilda was equipped with a pair of combat boots with an iron blade attached to the end of a sandal-like footwear that is tailored to the long heel-to-toe length of a rabbit beastman’s foot.

After getting Noein’s permission from such a short exchange, Matilda took advantage of her leg strength as a rabbit beastman and jumped like a spring.

Matilda landed a spinning kick onto the demon Rabbit, which had also jumped.

The momentum of the leap and the weight of the spinning kick hit the face of the demon Rabbit, and the iron blade smashed its skull with a single blow.

The Demon Rabbit dies and drops to the ground in an effortless fatal fall.

“… I did it, Noein-sama”

She turned to the Lord with a bouncy smile on her face, which was unusual for her, as her expressions are usually indiscernible. She seemed to be very happy and proud that she had successfully finished her first actual battle against a monster.

“Yes. I was watching you closely, Matilda. That was amazing. You did a great job.”

I walked up to Matilda, who had a cute smile on her face, and stroked her head, which was taller than mine. Naderu…Naderu…Naderu. (Stroking sound)

“Ah, uh, um, Noein-sama…”

“Good job, Matilda. I’m proud of you. So very proud of you.”

Yes, she Noeins pride. A proud servant.

I’m only giving her praise as a reward for her successful completion of her first battle.

It’s not that I let my mischievous mind run wild with the idea of complimenting her until she turned red and embarrassed because her embarrassed face is so cute.

“Um, Noein-sama, I have to drain the blood and dismantle the prey…”

Said Matilda, who has turned into a naive maiden, as if her usual coolness were a lie. It was time to get back to work.

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