Chapter 576: The State of the Saplings
The following morning, while we were eating breakfast, Lionel and Nero came back with information about today’s plans.
Just as Lionel had said the previous night, it seemed they would leave the royal capital in the morning and head toward the blighted land.
We’ll have to hurry and get ready as well. Lionel should have already informed Giovanni-sama and the others that we’ll be joining them.
“Fabienne, come with me to check on the saplings. While we’re doing that, Lionel, Nero, could you load the Rapid Growth onto the wagons?”
“Understood. We shall do so.”
Though clearly reluctant, Lionel accepted. In truth, I didn’t need an escort. Even if something happened, I could deal with it without any trouble. But as the one responsible for my protection, Lionel probably couldn’t accept that so easily. I understood how he felt.
Still, if we all went to inspect the saplings together and then started loading the fertilizer, we’d probably get left behind. Or we might end up delaying the departure and causing trouble for everyone. It was a difficult choice.
And it was precisely because Lionel had realized that himself that he accepted without protest.
I’ve been putting him through a lot. Maybe I should get him some expensive alcohol next time. No… perhaps a fine horse would be better?
As soon as we finished breakfast, we headed straight for the sapling testing grounds. Good—unlike yesterday, there wasn’t a crowd gathered today. It seemed we had avoided accidentally creating a second sacred tree. For now, that was a relief.
When we approached the sapling where we had spread fertilizer yesterday, several people who looked like gardeners were gathered around it. Watching cautiously, it seemed the sapling, which had originally been about waist-high, had grown to about my height.
At this rate, in about two weeks, it should grow into a fine tree. Excellent, excellent. The amount of fertilizer we used seems about right. Now all that’s left is to hope the effect wears off at the right time.
Ideally, I would have liked to test it until the fertilizer’s effect completely faded, but waiting two weeks isn’t realistic. It’s a bit of a leap of faith, but I’ll go for it. I’m counting on you, Rapid Growth.
“The sapling seems fine. This is within expectations, right?”
“Yes… I suppose so?”
Hmm? Fabienne tilted her head slightly. Could it be that the growth wasn’t as good as she expected? If that’s the case, we could add a bit more fertilizer… but what does she mean?
“Fabienne?”
“Ah, well… I was just thinking it has grown quite a lot…”
That’s what she meant? Does that mean we actually used too much fertilizer?
Now that I think about it calmly, she might be right. It’s not bamboo—growing this much in a day is probably excessive. …No, wait. Not a full day—half a day!
“You’re right, Fabienne. Let’s cut the amount of fertilizer in half.”
“I believe that would be wise.”
That was close. At this rate, it might have fully grown within a week. I almost ended up mass-producing Big Cedar Wood. That’s not “excellent” at all. For now, we’ll monitor it, and if the growth isn’t enough, we can add more later.
After leaving the testing grounds, we headed straight to where Lionel and the others were. There, knights were loading fertilizer onto wagons.
From what I could observe, yesterday’s boost effect had already worn off.
It seemed that effect only lasted about half a day. That was a bit of a relief. If it had lasted a week or more, it could have become a serious problem. If something like that could easily create enhanced humans, it might even be misused in war.
“Lionel, I’ll help too. Fabienne, could you count the number of fertilizer loads on the wagons?”
“Understood.”
“Julius-sama, please assist Fabienne-sama in verifying the count. We can handle things here.”
“Alright.”
Even though I can use enhancement magic and am confident in my strength, they don’t seem willing to let me handle the loading. I suppose it’s not something a noble’s child should be doing, but we’re in a hurry. At times like this, I’d like to help.
Feeling slightly restless, I followed instructions and checked the numbers. The amount of fertilizer needed had decreased significantly, and with this, we should be able to restore greenery over a wide area. Once people see the land returning to green, the citizens of the Raven Kingdom should feel at least a bit reassured.
“Julius-sama, the loading is complete.”
One of the knights reported this with a bright smile. Despite being made to do heavy labor early in the morning, all of them looked surprisingly cheerful.
“Thank you. Thanks to all of you, the restoration of greenery has taken another step forward. Please look forward to the results.”
“We look forward to it. Leave things here to us—we’ll make sure to produce more Rapid Growth.”
The knights snapped into a crisp salute. Only now did it occur to me again—they were knights, not people who should be making fertilizer like this. But they all looked happy, and no one seemed upset, so I decided not to think too deeply about it. Overthinking would only complicate things.
After receiving the fertilizer, we headed straight for the castle gate. Ahead, several carriages came into view. It looked like preparations there were nearly complete as well. Good—we made it in time.
Just as I relaxed, Fabienne tugged insistently at my sleeve.
“Julius-sama, that carriage… it belongs to the royal family, doesn’t it?”
Following her gaze, I saw a luxurious carriage that stood out clearly from the others. There was no doubt—that was a royal carriage. Nearby, I could also see one belonging to the Heine Frontier Count’s Family. Could it be that someone from the royal family was coming along? Most likely Sophia-sama and Erwin-sama. If, by some chance, His Majesty the King himself decided to come… that would make things very difficult.
“It seems so. I haven’t heard anything about it… but for now, let’s head to our carriage.”