Chapter 509: How to Use the Bamboo-Like Plant

Water began to flow through the canal. By that time, it seemed the villagers had realized what I had been doing, and many of them gathered near the waterway.

“Oh, looks like it’s flowing properly.”

“It seems so, doesn’t it? How about asking the knights to inspect the waterway?”

“Good idea. Let’s do that.”

Honestly, I wanted to check it with my own eyes—but when I saw Fabienne looking at me with pleading eyes, I decided to leave it to the knights instead. She seemed quite worried about me. There was no way I could refuse.

When I told Lionel about it, he immediately began giving instructions, as if to say “Understood.”

The water that reached the village flowed without issue, making a U-turn near the settlement before circling back. Then it branched off into the small channels we had prepared earlier, each one leading water close to the fields.

“I think this will make watering a lot easier. It’d be nice if we could put up some fences too, just to make sure no kids fall in…”

“Please leave that to us,” the village chief said, arriving with several villagers in tow.

Everyone’s faces were bright. They must have realized that fetching water every day would finally be easier. The waterway wasn’t very deep, so drowning wasn’t much of a concern—but still, better safe than sorry.

With this canal and the ridges I had explained to the chief earlier, I figured the harvest yield should increase quite a bit. Once they had a little more money to spare, I hoped they could buy a few magic sprinklers to make things even easier.

After confirming that the water had successfully spread throughout the village, we decided to relax and play for a while. Truth be told, there were still things I wanted to do—but if I kept working, everyone would only worry more.

We rarely got the chance to come to a place like this, so we made the most of it, climbing trees and running around. I was glad I’d chosen to wear townsperson clothes—they were easy to move in.

Fabienne and Rosalia were wearing pants-style outfits too, so there was no danger of anything showing.

“Oniisan, what is this?”

“This? It’s called a taketombo—a bamboo-copter. You fly it like this. Watch—!”

“Wow! It flew! That’s amazing!”

To my surprise, there was bamboo growing near this village—or, more accurately, something like bamboo. It wasn’t quite the same as the kind I knew; this one grew much more slowly. Because of that, bamboo groves didn’t overrun the land here. Incidentally, no one here seemed to eat bamboo shoots either.

“Can I make one too?”

“Of course, Rosalia. Just be careful when handling the knife, all right?”

Not only Rosalia, but Fabienne and Nero also joined in to try making their own taketombo. Before long, several children from the village gathered around as well.

Since it was a good opportunity, I decided to teach the children how to make them too. They were delighted. It seemed that entertainment from the provincial capital hadn’t reached this area yet. That was something we might have to work on. Maybe if we improved the roads, goods and information would travel more easily.

Next, I decided to make bamboo stilts. They were just two bamboo poles with footrests attached at a reasonable height—kept low for safety, of course.

“Oniisan, what is this one called?”

“This? It’s called takeuma—bamboo stilts.”

“Bamboo… stilts?”

“Right. You ride on them like this.”

Saying that, I demonstrated by stepping onto the stilts and walking around, pokopoko, one step at a time. The others stared at me as if I were doing something strange. Well, that was to be expected at first. Once they tried it themselves, they’d soon be hooked on the challenge.

“It looks easy, doesn’t it? But it’s actually quite tricky.”

“I want to try it too!”

Rosalia gave it a go, but couldn’t manage to balance at first. As I coached her, she grew determined—and before long, she managed to take a few steps.

“I did it! I can walk now!”

She looked so happy. That feeling of achievement when you try something difficult and finally succeed—it’s the best.

Then the other children wanted to try too, so Rosalia and I made a few more sets. Of course, Fabienne and Nero joined in as well.

As expected of Nero—he got the hang of it almost immediately. Fabienne, on the other hand, didn’t seem particularly athletic, and couldn’t balance without me holding her steady. But she was having fun, so that was good enough.

I left the taketombo and takeuma as gifts for the village children. Who knows—maybe someday, this village will produce a Taketombo Champion or a Takeuma Champion.

“It seems you were quite busy playing children’s games,” Lionel remarked when we returned to the village chief’s house.

He brought us damp towels. He must have been watching from afar so as not to disturb us. Still, calling it “children’s games” felt a bit rude. I am still a child, after all.

“It looks like entertainment hasn’t really reached this area yet,” I said. “I just wanted to make their days a little more fun.”

“A most admirable sentiment, if I may say so,” Lionel replied.

“Do you think it’s because the roads aren’t well maintained? Maybe we should expand the trade routes—”

“Julius-sama.”

Lionel looked straight at me, his expression utterly serious. Had I said something wrong?

“That is a matter for the Lord or for Alex-sama to consider,” he said. “It is not something you should burden yourself with. You have already done much for the Heine Territory. Please—don’t take on too much.”

So he was worried about me.

Lionel was right. Just because I can do many things doesn’t mean I have to handle everything myself. I need to trust Father and Alex-niisan—and everyone else—more. I really should reflect on that.

“Thank you, Lionel. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yes, I think that would be best.”

Lionel smiled gently—a warm, familial smile. Maybe, to him, I really was like a son. We’d known each other for a long time, after all, and I’d caused him no small amount of trouble. He probably thought of me as a rather troublesome child indeed.