Chapter 46

The previous chapter was posted at noon yesterday. It hasn't been 24 hours yet, so just in case.

Despite being attacked by bandits on the way, we managed to return safely to the territory.

I immediately arranged for aid to the village. Since we can't build a village right away, Patrick and I decided to provide food assistance for the time being.

It's against the rules to do such a thing for another lord's subjects, but I plan to eventually take in all the villagers, so I'll proceed forcefully.

They agreed to the relocation plan, albeit with fear that there might be some hidden agenda. It was the result of a peaceful and calm discussion. Patrick says he was half-threatening, but I talked very calmly. How my words are interpreted is beyond my control.

A week later, we arrived at the site where the village was to be established. Ryu was with me, and Patrick was there too.

It was a grassland with scattered trees. Without any landmarks, I was unsure if this was the right place. I asked Patrick, who was standing next to me.

"Is this... the right place?"

"Didn't you check from the air multiple times? The position of the nearby mountains and rivers confirms it."

I sighed in relief and looked around. Upon careful observation, there were many obstacles like small hills and large rocks.

As I was thinking about where to start, Patrick spoke up.

"Why did you choose this place? The last one you picked was Yumiera, right?"

"I didn't choose it. This was the only suitable location."

When I asked Damon to select a candidate site, the only place he suggested was here.

We didn't have much time, and the impact was unknown, so we excluded places that required removing mountains or digging rivers. We also excluded areas inhabited by monsters, places far from the road, and areas where soil improvement would take too long.

As a result, the candidate sites were narrowed down, and this was the only one left.

My plan to flatten my territory from the beginning was doomed to fail.

When I told Patrick this, he said without surprise,

"Well, that's to be expected."

"Maybe we're lucky just to have a place. Shall we start?"

I raised my secret weapon, the staff. The staff, adorned with intricate carvings, had a giant magic stone at its tip.

A magic staff enhances the power of magic. I can generate enough power without a staff, and the same goes for Patrick, who uses a sword as well.

He looked at the staff, which had no connection to us, with curiosity.

"A staff? Why do you have such a thing?"

"I thought I'd try using it to save magic power. Plus, it's amazing! It can handle all attributes!"

A magic staff usually only corresponds to one attribute. Occasionally, you might see a staff that handles two attributes, but a staff that handles all attributes is something I've never even seen drop in a game. It's a very rare item.

"You can only use dark magic, right? Isn't it a waste to have such a treasure?"

"Didn't I tell you? I can use magic other than light."

While not as strong as dark magic, I can handle the four major attributes. I know it's unfair, but I'm a genius, so what can I do?

What should I use... For leveling the ground, earth magic is obvious. I imagined a towering wall of earth and thrust the staff forward. I'll make it taller than the castle walls in the capital.

Patrick, sensing my serious mode, tried to stop me as usual. But it was too late.

"Earth! Break the boundary with the sky!"

"Hey, stop! If you use magic seriously... huh?"

The earth magic worked beautifully.

A small hill formed in front of me. Its height... if I wasn't careful, I might trip over it?

When Patrick kicked it, the mound crumbled easily.

"Did you really try your best?"

"What!"

That's the third most surprising thing Patrick has never said to me. The first is, "If you don't stop, I'll start hating you."

It's unbearable to be seen as weak in magic. With all my might, I summoned a prison of flames. A small flame, about the size of a lighter, appeared in front of me.

"Starting a fire isn't a problem, is it?"

Patrick's gentle eyes are tough to handle. I can't end it like this, so I'll use dark magic with all my strength.

"Dark—"

"That's not a good idea."

Before I could finish saying "dark," he snatched the staff. He must have been prepared. I glared at him.

"I know Yumiera is strong enough. There's no need to show me again."

"Then what about Patrick's full power? Your level has gone up, so why not try it?"

I don't fully understand Patrick's magic aptitude. He's not specialized in magic, and he's not as proficient in close combat as I am. He rarely uses attack magic, which makes it even harder to gauge.

After considering my suggestion, he said,

"True, such an opportunity doesn't come often. Let's try it."

Patrick gripped the magic staff with both hands and closed his eyes. I could feel the rise in magic power. It wasn't the prickly dark magic but a gentler aura.

He opened his eyes and whispered,

"Earth."

The ground a few steps ahead rose with a deep rumble. The rumbling stopped after a few seconds, but the earth wall in front of us was so tall it made my neck hurt to look up.

Taller than the castle walls in the capital, it was also very wide, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Creating a wall that divides the world, he was speechless.

"You can't talk, can you? From now on, don't say my magic is too strong."

...Huh? I'm waiting for a comment, but Patrick says nothing.

Looking up at the earth wall, he suddenly collapsed to his knees.

"Sorry, I went too far. Are you okay?"

"...Yeah, I felt the increase in output from leveling up, but I didn't expect it to be this much."

Patrick was genuinely depressed. Why? Isn't this a time to be happy?

It took him a while to recover. When he stood up, he handed me the staff.

"This staff is amazing; the magic power fits well."

"Right? And it can enhance all attributes, so it can boost both Patrick's wind magic and my dark magic. Isn't that great?"

"Does Yumiera have such a thing?"

"...About a month ago, a merchant came to the mansion."

The family heirloom staff was bought from a door-to-door salesman. It's normal for merchants to visit noble households, and the price was reasonable considering the quality. It was just a bit expensive.

This staff is from a dungeon, so I briefly considered going to find one myself. However, I've had bad experiences with dungeon gacha in the past. Gacha is not for targeting specific items.

Patrick pointed at my treasure.

"Do you really need that? Didn't you get tricked into buying it?"

"No, I would have bought it even if I saw it in a store."

"How much did it cost?"

"...About fifty times the price of a regular staff, I think."

By "regular staff," I mean the highest quality staff that handles a single attribute. He seemed to think it was a waste of money and criticized me.

"We need various things for developing the village. I'm not saying you can't buy things for yourself, but couldn't you be a bit more frugal?"

"It's fine, I don't buy dresses or jewelry. I'm pretty cheap, right?"

"How many dresses do you think you could make with that staff?"

Probably about a hundred. Wait, am I a spendthrift?

Nobles don't seem to distinguish between personal and public funds. I pour my pocket money into the territory's budget and could even indulge in luxury with taxes.

Since my wasteful spending affects more than just me, I'll try to be more careful. The staff was a necessary expense, and I won't back down on that.

"Right, wasteful spending is bad. But we need to buy necessary things, right?"

"That's why I'm saying it's unnecessary."

How cruel. Has he never felt sorry for the staff gathering dust in the corner of my room? I can't think of any practical use for it, but it's absolutely necessary.

Anyway, let's start the work. First, we need to clear the wall someone created. It's going to be tough, cleaning up after someone's mess. Hehe, today is the day of underlings surpassing their superiors.

While thinking about whether to break it physically or with magic, Patrick placed his hand on the wall.

"Return."

The massive earth wall returned to the ground as if rewinding a few minutes. Isn't this even more impressive?

I wonder about the physics, but I won't say anything. In this world, anything goes with magic.

"Let's start. I'll level the ground roughly, and you can handle the details."

"Got it."

Removing rocks and moving soil bit by bit is inefficient. It's better for me to eliminate unnecessary things first.

I haven't used the highest-level dark magic in a while.

"Black Hole."

The massive darkness consumed trees, rocks, and even hills.

Starting from the ground, it looked like a hemisphere to me... but it was actually a sphere, swallowing the earth on the unseen side... I messed up.

Patrick, seeing the dark dome, was impressed.

"You can create shapes other than a sphere? It looks like it will be perfectly flat. Maybe I won't be needed."

"Sorry, it's a sphere."

"Hey, you didn't..."

Once a spell is cast, it can't be undone. The black sphere will disappear, but it will take everything it consumed with it.

The disappearance of the air caused a strong wind to blow from behind.

The scenery in front of us changed completely, revealing a perfectly round, large hole. The bottom was in shadow because sunlight couldn't reach it.

I've changed the terrain many times, but this is the most extreme.

"Maybe we can use it as a water reservoir for agriculture?"

Even I know that's a stretch. If this hole fills with water, it will be a lake, not a pond. I don't know the difference.

What should I do? If this happens, the village that doesn't even exist yet will be underwater. It's like a dam.

My magic is too specialized in destruction and won't help fill the hole. I thought I could level the ground because I'm good at destroying things.

Patrick, looking at the large hole with dead eyes, said in a flat, emotionless voice,

"Lend me the staff, I'll restore it."

"Sorry."

I was too careless, and I'm reflecting on it.

Using the magic-enhanced earth magic from the staff, Patrick gradually filled the hole.

The staff was a great help. My decision to buy it was right. Of course, I won't say that out loud.

Patrick cleaned up my mess in a few hours. The ground was already leveled, and we could start building houses and farming fields immediately.

Today's work is done, and I feel useless. Patrick told me I was blue.

"Well, that's part of why I like you, Yumiera. Don't worry too much about it."

"...Patrick."

Having such a kind fiancé, how lucky am I? So, Patrick likes my mess-ups.

"I'll keep working hard to mess up in various ways!"

"Don't push it, or I'll start hating you."

Yumiera's earth magic is the tragic fate of a villainous noble lady.

Finally, the book version will be released tomorrow! Thank you for your support.

It might already be on the shelves at some early-release stores.

I've shared information about store bonuses, illustrations, and Elenora's character design in my activity report.