SWNOVELXO Chapter 45
This time, since I’m cultivating about 4,000 roses, the land I borrowed from Grandpa Genji boasts a vast area.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
Although I was somewhat prepared because Grandpa Genji had described the land as “wasteland,” the field and its surroundings, where I was going to grow the Magic Rose, were so overgrown with vegetation that it was difficult to even walk through.
According to Akira, it would take about a week to gather the unopened Magic Roses from across the country, so in the meantime, I had to till this enormous wasteland.
“…Can I finish this in a week?”
From a novice’s perspective, cutting down the plants that had grown as tall as a person and getting the land ready to plant the roses didn’t seem like something that could be done in a week.
“I brought some farming equipment from my family’s place, so it’ll be fine in a week.”
“Really?”
“Yep, it looks pretty wild, but since this was originally farmland, it won’t be that hard.”
The one speaking so confidently was Kida-kun, who works part-time at the only convenience store in Akane Village.
Although he usually works at the store, his family runs a farm, and he helps out during the busy seasons, making him an experienced hand at farming.
He’s a reliable ally for this Magic Rose cultivation project.
“Farmland?”
“Yeah, it seems this place was used as fields until a few years ago.”
At first glance, it just looked like an unmaintained wasteland, but Kida-kun explained that although the vegetation was overgrown, the foundation of the land was still intact. So, with a bit of work, it could quickly be brought back to a usable state.
—
I realized once again how useful modern technology is, even for someone who’s lived in a world with magic like Asphial.
Within just one week, Kida-kun and I used grass cutters to clear the overgrown plants that had grown as tall as we were. Then, under the guidance of Kida-kun, the experienced farmer, we used a tiller to plow the land.
People in the world of Asphial have superior physical abilities compared to Earthlings, with even regular folks having the stamina of national athletes. However, since their technology hasn’t advanced much, their agricultural work is still done by cutting grass with sickles and plowing the soil with hoes.
I couldn’t even imagine how much time it would take to do all this farming with Asphial’s level of technology.
Earth’s technology is indeed impressive.
—
“If you had told us earlier, we could have prepared the land and everything for you.”
After a week, the land that had been so overgrown had been restored to the point where it looked like a proper field again.
Not long after that, several trucks carrying the rose buds that Akira had arranged in advance arrived at Akane Village.
Since the village is surrounded by mountains, the trucks had to traverse narrow and treacherous mountain roads to get there from Saiwa Town, the nearest city.
Large trucks couldn’t make it to Akane Village, so Akira had arranged several medium-sized trucks for the job.
“No, I would feel bad asking you to do so much…”
It’s easy to say, “Bring 4,000 rose buds,” but I knew it was quite an unreasonable request. That’s why I wanted to handle everything else myself. Though in reality, I had help from Grandpa Genji and Kida-kun, most of the work after the first day was done by me.
Several trucks lined up on the road nearest to the field, and staff carried the roses along a path that was almost like an animal trail. As I carried a container of roses to the field, the planting process had already begun.
“…Akira-san, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
Watching the rose planting from the corner of the field, I called out to Akira, who had come all the way to Akane Village.
“Shizuku Saioji—she told me before not to report anything about these Magic Roses to the Tokyo research lab. Do you know why?”
The reason I went through all the trouble of borrowing land and preparing a field was because Saioji, my employer, had strictly ordered me not to inform anyone, especially the Leaf Research Institute in Tokyo, about these Magic Roses.
Specifically, she’d named the lab doing research on Asphial, telling me not to leak any information to them. Her pinpointed warning made me curious about her intentions.
Akira frowned slightly, as if he didn’t want to talk about it.
“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to tell me. I’m not that desperate to know.”
“No, it’s fine… I’ll have to explain it at some point anyway.”
I was about to drop the topic, thinking I’d overstepped, but Akira began speaking without hesitation.
“The Leaf Research Institute is run by a branch family of the Saioji clan. That alone should give you some clues.”
“…So the main family and the branch family don’t get along?”
It sounded like something out of a samurai drama.
Akira gave a small nod to my response.
“Although it seems like they get along on the surface, given that they run the same company, the head of the main family, Ryugen-sama, and the head of the branch family, Oukai-sama, see each other as rivals.”
“If they’re rivals, why would Ryugen leave the research institute to someone from the branch family?”
If they were rivals, it seemed strange that Ryugen would entrust the research institute to someone from the branch family. If Ryugen or Akira had been in charge, Saioji wouldn’t have had to worry so much about the lab.
Akira responded as if he had tasted something bitter.
“Do you remember the man who was with me at Saiwa Town, that big guy?”
“Yes, the guy with the big build, right?”
Saiwa Town was where I first met Chairman Ryugen. I remembered that there was a huge man in the conference room at the time, who seemed to be part of Ryugen’s security team.
“Yes, his name is Oowada. To put it bluntly, he was a spy sent by the branch family. After the incident in Saiwa Town, he disappeared, and it turned out he had been leaking information to the branch family.”