“Farm…?”
“No way, I really don’t want to do farming all by myself. If it’s running an inn, I can slack off… take a break, so I agreed to help, but…”
It seems like I was about to say “slack off.”
Well, asking Rigma to split himself into multiple copies to handle both farming and the inn would be too much.
But still, maybe because I keep picking those kinds of tasks, it feels like the list of options is increasing more for improving comfort rather than for repelling intruders.
“We don’t have enough hands, so maybe we should put this off for another time.”
If I just make something uselessly, it’ll only wither away.
Even if there’s some meaning to using magic power, it’d still be a waste to do that.
“Maybe when the subordinates return, we can think about it again.”
As Fiona-sama says, we’ll think about it when that time comes. Right now, we don’t have enough people.
Or, should we leave it to monsters? If they’re dexterous enough, it might work.
“How about trying to capture them, like Tokito did?”
At Primilla ‘s suggestion, Fiona-sama made an obviously displeased face.
That’s not the kind of expression you’d expect from a Demon Lord. She almost looks like a cute mascot character.
“Unlike Tokito, monsters usually don’t work for the demon race.”
“Then, wouldn’t it be better if Rigma-sama’s avatar gives the orders?”
“W-wait, Primilla -san? That’s not a good idea! I won’t allow it~!”
Rigma is completely thought to be human. This is clear from how the beastmen use the inn.
If that’s the case, would it work if Rigma gave orders as the leader of the people he captured? Maybe they’d work more seriously?
“After all, if I, a human, work for the demon race, I’d just be treated as a suspicious person and it’ll be over.”
“In that case, you could just act as a human who’s still hopeful and dreams of being freed one day.”
“Hey, isn’t that asking a bit too much of me?”
In other words, it’s like being forced into labor, and Rigma is supposed to play the part of an old-timer. If I promise that they’ll eventually be freed, maybe they’ll be a bit more motivated.
“That might be a good idea.”
“That’s not good at all!?”
Primilla looks expressionless but seems somewhat proud.
Even though Rigma seems reluctant, he hasn’t said he can’t do it, so he’s probably just thinking it’s a hassle.
“However, let’s save that idea for when we open another store or something.”
As for farming, there’s no need to deal with other races, and there’s no reason to use humans for it.
That said, I feel like we might end up expanding facilities for other races in the future, so I’ll keep Primilla ‘s suggestion in mind.
“Hmm… it doesn’t feel like the danger has passed yet.”
“One day, we’ll have you try Primilla ‘s idea, so do your best.”
“Ugh…”
“…So, should we put off the farming for now?”
“No, I’m thinking of creating a bunch of dexterous monsters and making them do the work.”
Primilla asked somewhat disappointedly, so I told her my plan.
The problem is that I don’t have any knowledge about it myself.
I don’t even have seeds or seedlings for crops, and it seems like I’ll need to buy them.
“I see… Monsters, huh. That’s an interesting idea, Rey.”
Fiona-sama seems rather enthusiastic about it.
“If it’s something that can grow in the underground demon world, should we start by trying magic fruit?”
“Huh? Not vegetables or something?”
“There’s no sunlight, so it might be difficult to grow regular vegetables.”
Indeed, it seems like the necessary nutrients might be lacking.
But magic fruit… that sounds like something straight out of a game.
“Does eating it increase your magic power?”
“Rather than increase, it restores it. Though, it doesn’t compare to magic recovery potions, so it would be more effective if these were brewed into a potion.”
So it’s an ingredient for brewing, huh.
But it might be a good idea. If we can gain a way to recover magic power, both Fiona-sama and I could do more of what we want to do.
…Well, it might not make much difference to Fiona-sama, and if I overdo it, Primilla might get mad.
“Sounds good. Can we get seeds or seedlings?”
“Yes, although the heroes destroyed them, some of those things have remained intact.”
“In that case, I’ll make sure to return what was taken from Fiona-sama.”
“…Thank you, Rey.”
Before Fiona-sama could get too negative, I made sure to encourage her.
Thanks to that, Fiona-sama smiled happily.
“Then, I’ll handle teaching the monsters about farming.”
“Primilla , can you really do something like that?”
“I’m good at handling water.”
It seems like handling the soil is more important, but if Primilla says it’s fine, it probably is.
Come to think of it, Primilla handles water, and Pilkaya handles fire.
That leaves the usual two attributes—earth and wind. I guess Rigma is considered earth, right?
“Is Rigma earth attribute?”
“What’s with the sudden question? Well, I suppose so. I’m a mercury-type slime uncle, so you could say I’m broadly earth, right?”
“Isn’t Rigma good at earth magic?”
Looks like Rigma is indeed earth attribute. In that case, the last of the Four Heavenly Kings must be wind.
If that’s the case, since he’s earth, it makes sense that Rigma should be in charge of the farm.
“What’s with that look… you’re thinking that since I’m earth attribute, I should work on the farm, right? I’ve been working hard, you know? I can’t do any more than this.”
“No, I just thought you’d be the most suitable.”
“I’m good at handling water, so I should be the one.”
Primilla is unusually persistent. Could it be that she has a hobby for working with soil?
“That’s right. Primilla likes to grow things in the fields, so it’d be bad if I got in the way.”
“I’m good at it, and I like it.”
Primilla puffed out her chest.
It’s rare for her to show such confidence. She must really like gardening and farming.
In that case, it’s probably a good thing that this option is available now. We can get the materials for items, and it doubles as Primilla ’s entertainment—two birds with one stone.
“Now then, let’s decide on a location for the farm.”
“Huh, we still don’t have enough skilled monsters to help.”
The most skilled one right now is a gargoyle, with a skill level of 47.
But there’s no way I can assign the gargoyle to farm work, so I’ll need to summon more skilled monsters.
I’ll join Fiona-sama and try my luck with the monster gacha.
“Don’t worry. Until we have enough monsters, we’ll have Rigma-sama’s avatar help us.”
“That’s not okay!”
“Ah, a farm handled by demons who are good with water and earth, huh? It’s gonna grow some really good stuff, I bet.”
“Hey, Pilkaya! You can split too, can’t you?!”
“Impossible. If I helped, I’d just burn everything down.”
That’s definitely a lie. If Pilkaya couldn’t control his flames, the dungeon would be a blazing inferno by now.
Rigma knows that, so he tries to argue but ends up giving up as Primilla grabs his arm with a lot of enthusiasm.
“Well, then… I’ll leave the location to you, Primilla .”
“Yes, leave it to me. I’ll make sure to grow some amazing fruits.”
“Rey~… Hurry up with the monster creation~. I’m going to collapse from overwork, you know?”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best. So, Rigma, you do your best too.”
Rigma’s burden is getting pretty heavy.
I’ll hurry up with the monster creation so we can reduce his load as soon as possible.
“…”
“Fiona-sama? Is something wrong?”
I wondered why Fiona-sama looked so absentminded and asked her.
“No, it’s nothing.”
However, Fiona-sama quickly answered, as if she had just snapped out of it.
Is everything okay? Maybe the treasure chest gacha didn’t go well again.
While I thought that, Primilla silently asked for the map, seemingly to decide on a location for the farm.
…Right. Sorry to interrupt the conversation. I hurriedly gave the map to Primilla and let her choose the location for the farm.
I think Fiona-sama muttered something behind me, but I couldn’t catch it, so I decided not to pay it any mind.
“…I see. So Primilla likes working with soil, huh?”
