The Beginning of Agriculture

Thud! Smack!

“Together! Align your rows and strike down!”

“This is quite an interesting experience!”

“Land leveling has begun!”

The villagers of Akran worked their plows in coordinated rows.

The first row roughly dug up the ground as they advanced.

The second row cleared away loose rocks scattered around the furrows.

The third row followed, flattening and compacting the soil with final strikes.

Soil and gravel flew up noisily.

[Things are progressing quite smoothly.]

“Thanks to the White Sovereign, incredible changes are happening…!”

Nadia expressed her amazement by my side.

As one of the Three Great Warriors, she was observing.

She seemed fascinated by the major reforms I was leading.

Rumble—

[White Sovereign! Delivery completed!]

[Good work.]

Tarkhan and the Death Worms returned with the ground trembling beneath them.

All sorts of desert plants were tied with ropes on their backs.

These were for planting in the land surrounding the village.

The conditions for improving soil quality required plants and water.

Together they create a cycle that allows the earth to breathe.

The more plants and water, the more fertile the soil becomes.

Cacti even possessed excellent water storage capabilities.

I’d also procured special plants for the assassins.

This was the prelude to a full-scale expansion of our territory.

[Loyalty to the White Sovereign! Loyalty!]

[Mr. White! Looking forward to working with you~!]

[Yes, each of you should do your best in your roles.]

I responded to the peculiar newcomers.

There were also changes among the groups of Death Worms and Sand Worms.

The last time I checked, there were 132, now they numbered 202.

They had increased by nearly 100 in just one night.

The desert worms were coming together in unity.

Thud! Crack!

“Dig! Plant! Grow!”

“With our own strength! We’ll cultivate our food!”

“The schemes of those corrupt merchant guilds! This is the end of them!”

The assassins dug and plowed with their shovels.

Not a single person was slacking off.

Everyone was burning with pure enthusiasm.

They had been stockpiling seeds in the village food storage.

As befitting assassins, they were naturally for emergency rations.

I had them bring these out and instructed them to sow them.

Among the Shakazad Khanate soldiers I had predated were farmers.

They were garrison soldiers who performed military service during the farming off-season.

Their agricultural knowledge was being fully utilized.

It would be difficult to immediately grow seasonal crops like rice or wheat.

With my current magic power and abilities, I couldn’t make them grow quickly.

Grain farming requires considering truly complex conditions.

However, beans, survival crops like potatoes or buckwheat, and vegetables like green onions or chives could be harvested year-round.

These were essential elements even for survival enthusiasts.

These could be grown and eaten quickly.

Besides these, various other changes continued to manifest.

The barren landscape that initially resembled a lawless western town—

Now it was beginning to look more like a place where people actually lived.

“That vegetable gardens are springing up all over this needlessly vast and desolate village… along with all kinds of equipment and facilities I’ve never seen before. I can hardly believe it.”

Nadia marveled with her hands clasped to her chest.

[We’re just starting to live like proper humans now. Your amazement is only just beginning.]

I answered with a smile at Nadia’s completely dumbfounded expression.

From her perspective, these were wondrous sights she had never seen in her lifetime.

Just then, exclamations from women echoed from within the village.

“To wash my face with cool water instead of soft, fine sand! It feels like a dream!”

“I never knew washing with water could feel this good…”

“The White Sovereign is our guardian deity! Kyaaah!”

The aftereffects of the transformation I triggered yesterday were still tremendous.

Even in different worlds, people still share an interest in beauty.

Everyone was enjoying the blessings of abundant water.

Using Cleanse to keep one’s body clean is a basic requirement for assassins.

Leaving traces through blood, dust, or smell is strictly forbidden.

Because of this, there weren’t any grimy or unclean appearances.

Nevertheless, everyone washing with water gave a different feeling.

Their skin seemed to become fairer and softer.

Though skin couldn’t actually improve in just two days—

Even if it was an optical illusion, that’s how it appeared to me.

“Overflowing drinking water… growing our own food… perhaps we can never return to how things were before…”

[Forget the ghosts of the past. This is how things should normally be.]

I lightly dismissed Nadia’s sigh.

I turned my head again to observe the assassins who had found a new interest.

“Alright! Let’s all take a break now!”

“Nothing better than a cool water shower for a sweaty body!”

“No need to conserve anymore, use it freely! We’re rich now!”

The assassins who had finished their hard labor sat down here and there.

They gulped from camel leather water bags and sprinkled water over their heads.

Water, once treated like precious gold, now flowed abundantly.

Assassins who had lived their entire lives by the sword.

The sight of them devoted to farming was quite remarkable.

Like killers who had discovered a new aptitude in ordinary life.

[There might be some real talented farmers among them.]

“Do you really think so?”

[If the opportunity arises, we should formally invite some farmers from Rabat Village to teach proper farming methods.]

“Why is that?”

[Because ultimately, the current approach is just a temporary measure. To grow crops properly, they need to be cultivated properly. In the end, a natural form without mana interference is most ideal.]

Nadia looked up at me with slightly trembling eyes, tilting her head.

Her gaze was filled with endless melancholy and admiration.

“Is there a reason you’re bestowing such… unprecedented favors upon us?”

[Though it was certainly whimsical, there are actually complex reasons.]

My motivation for deciding on farming was simple.

It was because of the climate of the Western Continent Arubian, and the special ecology of the Rashka who live here.

Though it’s said to be a distinct cultural zone from the Central Continent Allos, similar territorial wars still exist.

Here, territorial wars refer to conflicts over territories between the Sultan-ruled Imperial State equivalent to an empire, the Malik-ruled Religious State equivalent to a kingdom, and the Amir-ruled Khanates equivalent to principalities.

Roughly speaking, the Imperial State corresponds to the Central Continent’s Empire, the Religious State to a Kingdom, and the Khanate to a Principality.

The nature of these territorial wars being somewhat agreed-upon forms of conflict was very similar.

Wars naturally require many preparations including soldiers and provisions.

Mercenaries are also a form of soldier, and the Sand Tribe Rashka is the most combat-capable group among the officially recognized mercenary groups in Arubian.

Literally a group of superhumans where one can take on ten as a basic standard.

That was how the people of the Western Continent viewed them, at least.

The entire tribe is a combat group, like the Koga ninjas, Iga ninjas, or Saika Shu gunner mercenaries of Japan’s Warring States period.

Coincidentally, the positions of ninja and assassin overlap exquisitely.

The Rashka become mercenaries based on conditions presented by rulers.

Assassination, carrying out various commissioned tasks, is also their main occupation.

They simply choose their forces and clients according to the causes they believe in.

When Rashka meet each other on the battlefield, they compete with their convictions at stake.

They are essentially a tribe that makes a living through formal mercenary work and assassination.

Naturally, the side that employs more Rashka has the advantage, which goes without saying.

Without a doubt, they were the most outstanding combat group officially recognized in Arubian.

Therefore, it was only natural that the Rashka lived solely by the sword.

They couldn’t think of other means of livelihood.

As a privileged group, the Rashka are exempt from tax obligations.

The Rashka receive regular supplies of necessities from their employing forces.

Additional items are supplied from contracted merchant guilds when needed.

The local residents regularly provide food and various necessities to the nearby Rashka tribe, and in return, the Rashka are obligated to protect the lives, livestock, and property of the nearby residents.

…A group where all members, regardless of age or gender, are warriors.

They were far too dependent on external supplies.

They had no means to respond to irregular situations.

While hunting expeditions at the village level for coming-of-age ceremonies, combat training, or additional food procurement were quite active, that was the extent of it.

They relied on external supplies for essential food and ingredients.

They were literally a tribe of warriors who only fought.

This survival system had severe problems.

No matter how superhuman they all were, they still got injured and died when stabbed by swords or hit by arrows.

If surrounded by a ruler’s army and forced into a last stand, they would have no answer.

Nothing could be more ridiculous than a naturally superhuman combat group starving to death.

In fact, such a thing seemed likely to happen, though it hadn’t yet.

A tribute system made familiar over an extremely long time, under traditions that no one could question.

They hadn’t even conceived of it themselves.

They needed to establish a self-sufficient system.

That was my thought.

[…The Rashka must completely transform. They must perfectly break away from their existing constitution.]

“Even if we can change… what about the rest?”

Nadia gave a bitter smile at my words.

Ultimately, the Rashka appeared to exist in a plunder economy, only refraining from freely wielding their power due to the unique tenets and precepts of their assassination order.

Literally beings that would wither and die without targets to plunder.

A complete constitutional reform was necessary.

Since they were also relatively behind in worldly matters, they seemed easily manipulated by cunning merchant guilds or Religious States and Khanates that could threaten by controlling vital trade routes.

Only because a suitable cooperative relationship had been maintained had such things not happened yet.

Perhaps they were already being deceived and exploited like fools.

[…While the image of a combat tribe of assassins farming doesn’t quite fit, the most basic agricultural means are still essential.]

“I’m beginning to understand the White Sovereign’s intentions.”

Nadia nodded as if finally understanding my intentions.

When communication with the outside is cut off, even Samson with his great strength can’t exert power without food.

Even the Vikings of Earth in olden days all farmed when it wasn’t raiding season.

In the end, combining agriculture was indispensable.

Moreover, growing Akran Village was connected to my own benefit.

I hold the goal of returning to Earth as a human in my previous life.

The Samara clan is the first human force to establish goodwill with me.

An enormous journey may await before my objective.

I judged it good to use them as a bridgehead in the process.

“Ahem! White Sovereign! Might you have a moment?”

While I was absorbed in watching the assassins farm, Village Chief Hakan had somehow approached very close.

To deceive my extremely sensitive senses to such a degree?

He wasn’t an assassin for nothing, even in his old age.

“Father…?”

Nadia was immediately drawn to her parent.

I looked down at him.

[What business do you have?]

“Hmm hmm.”

Hakan cleared his throat with a fist to his mouth.

“I hope we might communicate in a more private location.”

Essentially requesting a private audience.

[Lead the way.]

As I had been getting bored just watching the village, I agreed.

Nadia wanted to see more, so she remained at the scene.

“This way, please.”

Hakan began guiding me outside the village.

I followed him, laying my previously upright body on the ground and moving along.

The place Hakan was heading to was a hill slightly separated from the village.

I followed him, slithering like a giant snake up the hill.

“We’ve made it up! Khah!”

Hakan, who had been showing his back the whole time, turned to me with a smile.

Then, looking down the hill, he spoke.

“This is the achievement the White Sovereign accomplished in just one day yesterday with your worms. If this isn’t a miracle, what could it be?”

Hakan praised me with expansively outspread arms.

I cast my gaze downward beyond his body.

A hill of moderate height with a full view of the village.

They say the most convenient path to the village requires crossing this hill.

Below the hill, the view of the village and surrounding land was wide open.

The achievements I had accomplished the previous day created a magnificent scene.

The worms, the best excavators of the desert, had truly worked hard.

They were even still working diligently now.

“Deciding to serve the White Sovereign certainly wasn’t a wrong choice! Ha ha ha!”

Hakan laughed heartily.

[What did you want to discuss?]

I probed his intentions.

The village chief of an assassin village wouldn’t have called me out just to make idle chatter.

Hakan stroked his bushy beard while rolling his eyes.

“Unlike worldly people, we desert assassins dislike beating around the bush and prefer directness, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

Hakan suddenly fell to his knees with a thud and bowed his head.

This was the second time I was receiving such a gesture from the village chief in the two days since settling in the village.

“Great White Sovereign… I have always dreamed of something that encompasses the entire Shahar Great Desert. A golden mirage that crumbles as futilely as desert sand… Yet, a dream of an enchanting oasis that remains captivating because anyone can fantasize about it.”

I watched to see what he was trying to say.

Hakan’s sincere and desperate voice flowed forth.

“Please… help unite all the Rashka tribes.”