Ch.258258. Becoming the God of Farming

Agriculture, also known as farming or cultivation, is the foundation of all industries, providing the food that forms the basis of human civilization. Its importance is beyond words.

Especially in modern times when importing food from abroad is a considerable burden, it’s natural that agriculture accounts for at least half of every nation’s industrial output, but…

“Kyaaaah!! D-darling! There’s a Purple Wyrm in our wheat field!”

“What?! …Damn it! Curse it! Haa, haaa… Eeeek──!!”

Particularly in this fantasy world, the act of farming was no ordinary challenge.

It’s not uncommon for large herbivorous monsters or mole-type creatures to appear in carefully tended farmland, or for large predators to show up and slaughter farm oxen or horses in devastating incidents.

The lives of farmers themselves weren’t particularly safe either.

It wasn’t impossible for wild magical beasts to snatch them away while they were out tending their fields.

Moreover, this world has countless disasters that interfere with farming.

The land becomes contaminated with necromantic energy from undead that appear during the new moon, or demon cultists release Demon-Poison upstream, causing crops to mutate into otherworldly varieties.

Sometimes earthquakes occur during battles between nearby monsters, and attacks on farms by feral, barbaric goblin or orc tribes are quite common.

Occasionally, a mad wizard’s experiment might cause snow in summer, or professional plunderers—tax collectors—might appear and strip away even the seeds as supposed “taxes.”

The countless incidents occurring in agricultural areas were practically established academic theory.

But among all these calamities, the worst was the appearance of the giant worm-dragon monster known as the Wyrm.

And among them, the omnivorous Purple Wyrm appearing on a farm was the most dreaded scenario.

Though smaller than other Wyrms and barely reaching Grade 7 at best, the problem is that they move close to the surface and primarily feed on crops.

Thanks to their small size, they commonly sneak into farms, devour crops and small livestock, and flee. Older, larger specimens form groups and can completely devastate farmland.

The only consolation is that they cannot burrow through rock, making them relatively easier to exterminate.

With so many monsters frequently targeting farms like they’re all-you-can-eat buffets, farms operated by independent farmers rather than lords typically hire adventurers to exterminate these monsters.

One might wonder where mere farmers get such money, but free citizen farmers, not serfs, firmly belong to the middle class in this world.

Due to these difficulties, crop prices are generally quite high, meaning that if they succeed in harvesting, farmers can earn substantial rewards for their hardships.

Anyway, while the Frankish Kingdom and the Human Empire typically maintain such medieval agricultural societies…

“Please, Sage of Nature.”

“Yes. 《Greater Growth of Nature》!!”

The magic-proficient Elves actively use such magic for farming.

Wood Elves, with their greater affinity for nature than High Elves, utilize their insanely numerous druids.

Their specialty is the crazy agricultural method of growing crops as needed and consuming them immediately.

High Elves, with fewer druids than Wood Elves, also use druids for farming, but they compensate for their shortcomings by employing wizards.

“We need assistance here, Sorcerer.”

“Yes. 《Thunderbolt》! 《Thunderbolt》! 《Thunderbolt》!”

They strike farmland with lightning multiple times to fix nitrogen in the soil, making it fertile, and maintain this fertility by regularly supplying alchemically produced fertilizer.

“…《Control Weather: Rain》.”

During droughts, they summon druids to make it rain, or they intercept rain clouds heading toward the Frankish Kingdom.

Additionally, any monsters threatening agriculture on the Albion Island have their heads thoroughly smashed, and in desperate situations, High Elves quickly dispatch fleets to “voluntarily collect” crops from neighboring regions (the Frankish Kingdom).

…Though the Dark Elves of the southern continent, essentially a pirate warlord group, focus on food supply through “voluntary donations,” following the tradition of their High Elf ancestors.

This might raise a question.

What kind of magical agriculture does the Dawn Empire practice?

※ ※ ※

The Dawn Empire, considered the most successful among nations advocating multi-racialism, has farms that incorporate technologies from all races that have joined the empire, creating their own unique style.

Their most distinctive feature would be grain fruit and meat fruit.

These two crops, which grow in any environment with just water, are the empire’s main food sources.

Ordinary people typically eat grain fruit as their staple and meat fruit as a side dish.

However, because these two fruits are so easy to grow anywhere, they’re too inexpensive for farms to specialize in their cultivation.

Therefore, typical Dawn Empire farms grow other crops, with various fruits being their most representative commercial crops.

They mainly cultivate fruits that thrive in Mediterranean climates like grapes, figs, and oranges, as well as olives (though somewhat ambiguous as a fruit) in enormous quantities.

Since olive oil replaces almost all cooking oils in the Dawn Empire, most of their agriculture involves growing trees.

Of course, they don’t cultivate only these crops.

Sugar beet or sugarcane plantations for sugar production are common, and New World crops—potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, etc.—have become everyday staples.

Additionally, grains like wheat and barley are grown to some extent, primarily for export, and some of their crops are quite unique.

For example, Dwarf Mushrooms and Mine Roots. These two crops, introduced from the Dwarven underground kingdoms, are excellent for underground production.

Unlike other mushrooms with terrible nutritional value, Dwarf Mushrooms grow quickly in the right environment, are nutritionally rich, and grow as large as dwarves themselves, making them a staple food in the empire’s underground cities.

Mine Roots, on the other hand, are sweet potato-like root vegetables that grow deep in the ground, providing the carbohydrates essential for dwarves and growing reasonably well even in barren conditions.

With empire farms cultivating such diverse crops for food, it’s natural that in such labor-intensive industries, the Dawn Empire uses—dolls.

These semi-automated dolls, recently employed for simple labor throughout the empire, feature operation-assist computing devices usable by ordinary people and boast enough efficiency to be controlled for several hours with average magical power.

Furthermore, Dawn Empire farms tame unimaginable magical beasts for protection…

“Grrrr…?”

“Hmm? Ah. Sleep well, Storm Claw?”

“Grrrk! Kik! Kiruruk!!”

These insane imperial madmen have distributed Owlbears, legitimate mid-tier (Grade 6) monsters, to each farm as guard dogs.

These magical beasts, with owl heads and bodies partially exhibiting owl characteristics in bear form, cannot fly due to lack of wings but are powerful predators with all abilities concentrated in physical strength.

Uniquely, for apex predators, they have relatively gentle temperaments, allowing the empire to tame them.

Naturally, as carnivorous predators, Owlbears consume large amounts of meat daily, but with meat fruit making meat abundant in the empire, this food supply is simple.

Consequently, the relationship between farm-raised Owlbears and farms today is close to very dear friendship.

Owlbears benefit from steady, reliable meat supplies unlike in the wild, and can raise their young in safe, stable environments.

Farms benefit from the protection of these mid-tier monsters while growing crops.

The relationship between them exceeds mere cordiality, fostering genuine friendship between the two species.

It’s not like a protection racket with gangsters, but a true partnership based on bonds between two species.