44: The thing is, not everything that's a problem is bad, right?

"Damn... this really ain't funny."

"Yeah. Seeing it for real? It’s a shock."

"I didn’t expect it to be this bad."

We’d just arrived at the massive experimental farm, and we were speechless at the sight.

"Uh... is there something weird here?"

Only Jitarou, clueless as ever, tilted his head, a question mark floating above it.

"Okay, first off—this farm hasn’t been running that long."

"Yeah, I know. I helped move those rocks. Even lent out the Super Jet. Actually worked here myself."

Jitarou patted the pony’s back. The Jet was happily munching on weeds.

"So why didn’t you notice? Look closely. Take in this scene."

"Huh... looks like regular wheat fields to me?"

Something’s off! This is growing too fast!

"Yeah!"

That’s right. The wheat—normally just starting to sprout green leaves by now—was already halfway through harvest season. Not even funny.

Leifan gave me a cold stare.

No way I messed up this time!? Probably!

"Still, the soil prep hasn’t even started, and it’s already doubling the usual yield."

"Yeah. Still impressive. Never thought we’d get a decent harvest in the first year."

"All thanks to Craft-sama’s alchemical fertilizer."

"Hmm?"

Something’s off, though.

I walked along the edge of the vast field, trying to figure out what felt wrong—but nothing came to mind.

A little farther on, the farm’s overseer bowed deeply, waiting.

"Thank you so much for coming all this way! Kyle-sama! Craft-sama!"

Don’t be so formal. Please, just be yourself.

“Really?!”

“Kyle-sama doesn’t want to see you strain yourself. Just act natural. It’s fine.”

Alphard stepped in. Kyle really did wish the other would just relax.

“Then… I might be a bit forward… but…”

“Of course. No problem. The report said the crops were growing too much, causing trouble. And yeah… this is insane.”

The wheat stalks were packed tight with heavy, full heads. Not just a good harvest—this was absurd.

Problem? Sure. But in the best way possible.

“Huh? No, that’s not it.”

“Not it?”

I blurted it out without thinking. What exactly was wrong?

“Maybe it’s better if you just see for yourself. A bit farther ahead…”

“Understood. Let’s move.”

We followed at a slow pace behind the hurried pace of the overseer, riding on horses, lizards, birds, and ponies.

Sitting atop a horse, you could see far ahead—but something clearly wrong was in the distance.

"Wait—what the hell is that?!"

No need for Leifan to shout. Whatever she pointed at was impossible to miss.

"Is that... not a forest?"

"A wheat-colored forest... hehehe."

I was certain.

I knew exactly where the alchemical fertilizer I’d handed over had ended up.

In one corner of the field, there was an absurdly large wheat stalk—words don’t even do it justice—growing as tall as me.

"This is..."

No need to ask. But I couldn’t help it.

"Y-yes, sir. We received your special fertilizer, Craft-sama, and scattered it here... and now this happened..."

Probably ten times the usual wheat yield—no, definitely more than that. The ghost wheat’s origin? Looks like it’s all thanks to my alchemical fertilizer.

Leifan squinted at me.

“Nah, nah, nah! I’ll admit my alchemical fertilizer’s good, but this? This is ridiculous!?”

“Well, it seems the soil here’s unusually rich.”

“Yeah, I heard that. That’s why I sent a dragon to clear this land in the first place.”

“Exactly. So it’s likely the soil was already packed with nutrients. Then we added Craft-sama’s fertilizer.”

“Even so… I don’t really know much about farming.”

“Um, excuse me, but—has it been confirmed safe?”

“I tried it myself. Taste and quality are off the charts. No issues. Got it checked, too.”

"Craft-kun"

"Ah."

I take the harvested wheat and the milled grain, inspect them—no issues at all.

"Here, this is baked bread. Please, try it."

Me, Jitarou, and Persia are the first to taste it.

Even if we get sick, we can heal right away.

We chew on the bread, cooled from being baked early in the morning.

"Delicious!"

"Wow, this is amazing!"

"Hmm, this is impressive. At first glance, it looks tough, but it tears apart easily with your hands—springy, soft. Not hollow inside, though. It’s packed solid. Bite down, and the wheat aroma spreads through your nose. The flavor spreads across your tongue—so good, you feel happy. Unlike military rations, it goes down smooth, not light or airy. Probably fills you up well, too."

"...Persia?"

Something about Persia’s reaction… it’s off.

“I want some too.”

“Please hold off. I don’t think it’s poisoned, but it’s clearly abnormal wheat. At least wait a bit longer before trying it.”

No need to say it’s abnormal.

Alphard stiffened, stopping Kyle with a sharp look—though his eyes stayed glued to the bread. Tough life, huh.

“Just a small amount, ground by hand. Maybe the finer grind compared to market bread is part of why it tastes so good, but the quality itself is exceptional. I’ll admit, I was scared to even try it at first.”

“Delicious.”

“Ah!? Lady Maina!?!”

“Since when?”

Maina had quietly snuck a piece of bread from the pile on the table. No killing intent. No warning. Didn’t even notice.

“Meh, fine. We’ve got cure potions.”

“Hm.”

“Alphard.”

“No! At least wait until dinner time!”

Six hours is the usual limit for any delayed poison, so Alphard’s right—but still kind of pitiful, really.

Not bad, huh? You’re fine, right?

"Craft. Stop making baseless claims."

The farmhand’s been eating for how many days now?

Of course! I wouldn't serve something shoddy like that!

Given how much Kyle’s loved, the answer was obvious.

Believe me, damn it.

"Ugh..."

Alphard’s right, though. We’ve got cure potions. Worst case, we bow down to His Majesty and beg for the elixir, or find a dragon and make the medicine ourselves.

Worst case, it’s just a stomachache, I reckon.

Alphard probably knows that too. Feels more like I'm being mean to Alphard, really.

...Yeah, I suppose. Even if things go to hell, we can handle it. Besides, I don’t think this is dangerous to begin with.

You’re stuck playing it safe because of your position. I get that. But still—try it. It’s delicious.

Craft. When push comes to shove, I’ll be using you.

Yeah, yeah.

I hand the basket of bread to Kyle.

"This? I wouldn’t believe it was bread served at the royal party. Absolutely delicious."

"Y-yeah? Tastes good, right?"

"Is this flavor only from the big wheat?"

"Yeah. But this other one—well, I’m not sure what to call it, but the shorter wheat? Tastes good too."

The farmmaster brings over another basket he’d set aside.

Me, Leifan, and Persia all take a bite.

"This is good too."

"Yeah. Tastes great!"

"Fair enough. I’ll admit it’s a step down from the bread we had earlier, but it still delivers that nice, toasty wheat flavor and aroma. I can guarantee you it’s the kind of bread fit for a noble’s feast. Considering how much better it’d be with a skilled baker behind the oven, the potential in this wheat is… well…"

"Cut it out, Persia. That’s enough."

"Hmm? Oh? Really?"

Good. Alphard stopped her.

Something about Persia’s been getting… weird lately.

"I’ll take some too. Yeah. Tastes great. If this wheat grows this well, we might’ve been better off expanding the farm. Let’s plan on it by next year."

"Master Kyle, about that— if it grows like this, we could actually replant it again."

"Wait… what?"

The soil’s not weak at all, so we don’t need to rest it. Plant seeds within a month, and we’ll definitely get another harvest.

That’s incredible. Got it. Let’s expand the cleared land right away and finish harvesting what we’ve got now.

Craft-sama, if we scale up by several times the current size, can you manage the alchemical fertilizer?

One hundred times that amount? Piece of cake.

I didn’t even pull out my full strength this time.

Oh! Then let’s spread alchemical fertilizer across the whole field next!

In that case, how much harvest are we looking at? Could we stop importing wheat entirely?

Not just stop importing— we’ll be exporting in bulk. Store it, sell it, doesn’t matter. With quality like this, even factoring in transport costs, merchants will be lining up to buy it.

Really that much? Understood. I’ll arrange it right away when I get back.

And so, with the full strength of Goldendown poured into expanding the frontier lands, a grain-rich region capable of sustaining the nation was finally completed.

The wheat grown with the alchemical fertilizer we made for real? Sold like wildfire.

That’s fine. Just… please stop calling it “Craft Wheat.” I’m begging you.

Damn it. Forgot to write Jitarou’s food review.