Chapter 40

The day after returning from church, I spent my time lounging in bed. Elenora would come today anyway, so I shouldn’t waste my energy.

Lying on my back and staring at the ceiling, I thrust my fist towards the sky. This shadow boxing had no particular meaning; it was just something I did out of habit.

Left, right, left. My punches really did make a whooshing sound. The fluorescent light cords I fought with countless times in my past life would have no chance against this.

"You do these strange things, which is why people misunderstand you."

"Everyone does it, right?"

I had forgotten, lost in my thoughts without any conversation. Patrick was in the room, sitting at the edge of the bed, watching my punches.

What is this guy thinking, entering a girl’s bed so casually? I’m a delicate young girl. I would be very concerned about such things.

But Patrick remained calm. Maybe he doesn’t even notice me?

No, no, he’s a guy too. He must be a wolf, eyeing me hungrily... Wait, he yawned. He’s relaxed.

This is the scene where I use all my charm to seduce him. A surprise attack is the key; the one who gets hit is at fault.

"Hey, Patrick, I think I’m drunk."

"Drunk from what?"

"From the boat, of course not, so it must be alcohol, right?"

"Did you drink?"

"I didn’t."

...Strange. I was planning for Patrick to become so flustered by the pounding in his chest that he would run away barefoot. What went wrong?

As I looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure out the reason for my failure, a voice came from nearby.

"What are you thinking now?"

I turned my head to the side and saw Patrick’s face right in front of me. He was lying down next to me, in a spooning position.

"Ah!"

I let out a pitiful sound and instinctively moved away from Patrick. The soft mattress was not there where I rolled, and I fell off the bed onto the floor.

A surprise attack is unfair. I was the one who ended up running away barefoot.

"Are you okay?"

"…I’m fine."

"You don’t have to be so surprised."

"I’m not surprised, but… I just felt like rolling, that’s all."

I stood up, pretending nothing had happened. Yes, I just felt like rolling. My past life was a pandemonium.

Patrick looked at me, the composed one, with a thoroughly exasperated expression.

Embarrassed, I tried to change the subject. I switched to a serious face and started a serious conversation.

"Patrick, we’re talking about the land reform, right?"

"…We’re not talking about that."

"Are you saying you don’t care about the land, the people, or the Dorkness family?"

"Well, I didn’t say that… Fine, fine, we were talking about land reform."

Patrick said with a troubled smile.

Good, I managed to naturally shift to a serious topic. I might have a talent for debate. However, for some reason, his gentle gaze hurt.

"So? Do you have any ideas, Yumiera?"

Of course not, it just came out spontaneously… If I said that, I’d probably get angry, so I tried hard to think.

But I couldn’t come up with anything. Damon and I had discussed it thoroughly, but we couldn’t come up with a strategy. A sudden, heaven-sent, game-changing idea wasn’t going to appear here.

There’s no surefire way to make land management work. If such a method existed, all the lords in the country wouldn’t be struggling. The Dorkness territory doesn’t have any notable specialties, either.

Ah, I wish someone could give me advice. Is there anyone who knows a lot about local land management?

"Right, how about the Ashbato territory? Are you doing anything special?"

"Ours? Not really. We don’t have any notable specialties, either."

"Really? Is that okay?"

"Our situation is different from the Dorkness territory. We receive support funds from the central government for border defense, and the size of the territory is different."

I see, the role of a border territory that borders another country is different. If Ashbato prioritizes national defense, then Dorkness… what should it be? The prosperity of the territory, maybe? If the territory prospers and the people become wealthy, tax revenue will increase.

And the difference in size is about the area of the territory. More precisely, the area of arable land. In our territory, which has no other industries besides agriculture, the size of the fields directly affects the population.

In other words, if there is untouched, fertile land, the production of food, the population, and tax revenue will increase….

Thinking about it, a brilliant idea came to me. For now, just one.

"Ah! We should just make the territory bigger!"

"…Invasion is not an option."

"That’s not what I mean!"

Why does he think of such violent things? I’m talking about increasing the area of arable land, not the territory.

I will present a peaceful and productive plan. And I think it’s realistic. I can do it.

"I’ll increase the arable land. Then the population and tax revenue will increase, right? Everyone will be happy."

"Ah, land reclamation, I think everyone is doing it."

"But it’s not very effective, right?"

"Well, the population and food production in the kingdom as a whole are slightly increasing, but there’s no dramatic change."

That’s what I expected. The kingdom has been around for a few hundred years, and humans have been farming this land for thousands of years. Most of the land suitable for agriculture has already been cultivated.

What’s left is barren land, mountainous areas, and places where monsters appear, which are not suitable for human habitation. It would take a lot of time and money to develop these areas, and the return would be minimal.

But what if I could change the terrain instantly? I can do that.

"I’ll use my power to flatten the territory! I’ll remove the mountains, dig rivers, and exterminate the monsters!"

It’s a flawless theory. If I wrote a paper on this, I might become a sensation in the academic world.

I’m good at land development. With my strength and magic, I don’t need dynamite or pickaxes.

Patrick said with a strained face.

"Hey, are you serious? It’s a joke, right?"

"I exaggerated a bit, but the gist is that."

Admittedly, making the territory completely flat was an exaggeration. I understand that it would mess up the environment. Without elevation, rivers wouldn’t flow, and the water volume is limited. Monsters would keep appearing in some places no matter how many you hunted.

But if I choose the right location, I can find an untouched place that can be developed into a useful granary.

But Patrick still had a troubled look on his face.

"We don’t have the budget for that. With Yumiera, the reclamation itself would go well. But there’s not enough money for village facilities, field development, and support until the new village’s harvest stabilizes."

"Don’t worry about money."

I’m not starting a new business to increase tax revenue. In fact, the tax rate has been lowered since I became the lord.

My goal is to enrich the entire territory. I’m prepared to spend whatever is necessary to achieve that.

"No, no, money is important. Yumiera can probably borrow as much as she wants from other places—"

"I won’t borrow. Listen, Patrick, money… you can get it infinitely by exploring dungeons."

"…I hate that I can’t deny it."

For me, who has maxed out my level, dungeons are like factories that produce money. Dungeons contain valuable items like the barrier magic tools in the church. The logic is unclear, but treasure chests are constantly being repositioned.

Of course, the capital of the country and the world is limited, so there will be a limit eventually. But for now, the dungeon funds can support the territory.

"See? No problem, right?"

"It’s very Yumiera-like…"

He’s right. After thinking about various things, I always end up solving problems with brute force. Straining your brain is for the weak; the strong can get by without using their brains. Hahaha.

As I was basking in my own satisfaction, Patrick seemed to have an idea.

"What about the people? Even if you start a new village, you need to gather the villagers."

"…Oh."

I can secure the land and provide the money, but I can’t provide the people.

Maybe it was a foolish idea with many holes. But I’m not one to give up easily, so I tried to think of a solution.

"Hmm, maybe we can recruit immigrants from other villages?"

"There aren’t that many extra people. I’ve also heard stories of villages splitting up because of the influx of people from different villages."

Are there any wandering people seeking a place to settle? The promised land is in our territory.

"Then, how about bringing people from other territories? There must be places where the land is insufficient, right?"

"I think there are, but the lords of those territories won’t be happy. Yumiera might not be directly criticized, but—"

"That’s a bit… It feels like a threat."

I don’t want to treat people like objects, but to a lord, the territory and the people are assets. Taking them without permission would naturally be seen as a bad thing. I don’t want to force it with my military power.

"It’s difficult. Then, the best we can do now is to expand the existing villages."

"Right, since the current villages are not at full capacity, I think that will yield sufficient results."

In the end, the plan didn’t change much. We agreed to develop and expand the areas around the existing villages.

Flattening the world will have to wait for another day.

I have published the cover illustration for the activity report.