Badlands Saga: Reincarnation in a Different World with Extreme Charisma

Chapter 4 The Wanderer 3

Currently, our castle is home to my father, my mother, my younger brother, and my younger sister.

My second older brother, Koutasma, who is five years my senior, oversees a small port within the territory, while my younger sister, Muuna, who is three years my junior, had been living safely within the castle walls, just like I was until recently.

And so, Muuna, in her role as our castle’s “captured princess,” was sobbing loudly at the breakfast table, her tears and snot soaking my father’s pants.

“Muuna wants to go tooooooo!!”

She was insisting on joining the taste-testing of the potatoes that had grown successfully in my field.

To be frank, the potatoes from our field were an extremely rare breed that, other than myself, no one would likely be able to cultivate. They were grown with an abundance of water, fertilizer, and soil enhancers.

When I suggested that my parents, who had invested in this endeavor, be the first to try the glorious potatoes, my youngest sister immediately declared she wanted to join in as well.

“Muuna, we’ll bring back your share. Let’s eat it together at dinner,” my mother, Eila, tried to reason with her.

“But I want to eat it outside too! It’s not fair, not fair, not fair!!”

Ignoring my mother’s plea, Muuna, her soft, carefully styled black hair now in disarray, clung tightly to my father’s pants, refusing to let go.

She was usually a pretty obedient child, but today, she was determined to come along.

Well, it’s true that there hadn’t been anywhere special to go before now, and we’d never gone outside the castle as a whole family before.

She was probably feeling anxious about being left behind.

Seeing this, my second older brother, Koutasma, fiddled with his long bangs and let out a small sigh.

“I guess there’s no helping it… Dad, how about letting her come along just for today? I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“…I see. Alright, I’ll leave her in your hands, Koutasma.”

“We’re having a soup kitchen at the port after the harvest, right? I’ll have our men come to the field from the start and handle security.”

As it turned out, our field had produced a lot more than expected, and there were enough potatoes to feed the children through autumn without any worries.

I had told Father that I’d create a field that could feed a hundred people, including the orphans.

To share with the townspeople, I decided to hold a soup kitchen at the port, making a stew with the potatoes.

I had asked my brother Koutasma to help by providing manpower from the port, but in the end, it seemed I had ended up involving them for an entire day.

“Sorry about this, Koutasma.”

“It’s no big deal. It’s not every day this kind of thing happens… Besides, people from the town are bound to flock to the field as well, not just the port.”

Indeed, it was rare for the entire lord’s family to be involved in such an event, so the usually idle townspeople might well come to watch.

“Well, the younger ones are eager to help too, so I don’t think anyone will be upset about it.”

Koutasma brushed away his bothersome bangs and said with a smile.

As Koutasma had predicted, people from the town, drawn by word of mouth, had gathered around the field where the whole family was working.

While the soldiers who usually managed the port were guarding the area around the field, the former orphans were diligently digging up potatoes.

Muuna, my sister, seemed fascinated by the potatoes being unearthed by the children.

“Wow! I want to try too!”

“Muuna, you’ll get your clothes all dirty.”

Despite my mother’s gentle admonishment, Muuna was completely absorbed in the potatoes.

She would likely cause another pair of my father’s trousers to be sacrificed to her tears.

“Mom, don’t worry about the dirt on her clothes. I’ll make a good detergent. Let her join in—it’s the first harvest from this field, after all.”

When I said this, my mother looked at my father, who reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“Alright, Muuna can join in. Let’s try it together.”

“Yay! Thank you, big brother!”

Muuna and I joined the children in digging up small, oddly shaped potatoes. We steamed them and ate them with salt.

As the orphans and castle staff began transporting the potatoes to the castle, my parents and sister returned to the castle, while my brother, the soldiers, and I moved to the port with the potatoes for the soup.

“We’re serving soup made from these potatoes! If you want some, bring a container and come to the port!”

When I announced this to the townspeople who had come to watch, they started following me in a large group.

“Fusha-sama, wouldn’t it be better to leave the soup to the port staff?”

“What are you talking about? This is from our own field, right?”

“Places where people are crowded are dangerous, you know.”

Isara, looking unusually tense, said this while holding the hilt of her sword with her right hand.

I wondered what she was so worried about. There’s no reason for anyone to target me, and even if they did, with so many soldiers around, there’s no place where I’d feel safer.

“Don’t worry. We’re just serving soup near the castle. Nothing will happen.”

I said this with a smile, but…

By the time we reached the sea, the number of people following us had doubled from the initial count. The amount of potatoes we had prepared was insufficient, so we had to urgently bring additional potatoes from the castle.

Well, it’s a land with no events or anything special. If free food is suddenly being handed out, people will line up regardless…

Reflecting on the shortcomings of my plan, we cooked fish and potatoes in a large pot to make soup and distributed it to the townspeople.

Everyone who received the soup was strangely quiet and kept staring at us, which made me uneasy.

But from the perspective of the townspeople, this is probably just a whim from the lord’s son who had been cooped up in the castle until recently. It’s likely that they are still observing my character.

It might also be due to Isara standing beside me with her sword unsheathed on her shoulder…

In any case, the field was now on track.

Though it’s not yet large enough to feed a hundred people, it’s something that can be expanded further in the future.

The day after the potato harvest, while I was working on preparing a field to plant turnips with the children, I thought about this.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Isara’s voice rang out from outside the field.

When I looked in surprise, I saw that there were people gathered behind Isara, holding what looked like sticks.

“What’s going on?”

“Fusha-sama, should I call the knights?”

“Can you do that? Also, you all should go back to the castle.”

After giving these instructions to Martha, who is in charge of the children, she nodded and asked, “What about you, Fusha-sama?”

“I’ll find out what’s happening.”

“It’s dangerous!”

Pointing towards the castle while looking at Martha, I slowly approached from behind Isara. As I got closer, the people who had been watching us threw down their sticks and fell to the ground.

“What’s the matter?”

“They suddenly came closer.”

“Um, Fushanklan -sama… we…”

“Don’t speak out of turn!”

I told Isara, who was yelling at a man trying to speak, to calm down. I then crouched down behind Isara.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Well… um, we… wanted to help with the Fushanklan-sama’s field…”

“Help?”

Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the sticks they were carrying were actually old and worn-out farming tools. Some of them were even holding pieces of broken ship planks or cloth bags, and it was unclear what they intended to use them for.

“You all, what kind of work do you do?”

“Well… during the fishing season, we help with fishing… and when ships arrive, we help with unloading…”

So, they don’t have regular jobs.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized some of the faces among the group as those who had been idly watching the field since spring.

It seems that these idle people were genuinely idle and, seeing the successful harvest yesterday, decided they wanted to help out.

“We’re not looking for extra workers. Go back immediately.”

“Please, just hear us out… my mother ate the food from yesterday’s soup and said she would be fine if she died… I really want to feed her that kind of food one more time…”

The jobless people continued to bow their heads persistently.

Honestly, increasing the number of workers at this stage is premature, but…

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped…”

“Fusha-sama?”

“Before we started this field… I promised my father that I would feed a hundred people. Since I made that promise, I have to bear the weight of my words, don’t you think?”

Isara is probably dismayed by having such a reckless master. However, if I were to throw these people away now, my father would likely be disappointed as well.

After all, my father carries far heavier burdens on his shoulders than these people.

If I, as his son, were to flee from this minor difficulty, it would question my worth as his child.

The cool sea breeze of summer, which never seemed to grow warm, whipped up sand and struck my cheek sharply.

…From this day on, the number of people I need to feed increased once again.

◆◆◆

The time of harvest has come to the Field of the Gods.

This is the field created by Fushanklan, the child of the gods, and the rescued orphans.

Around the field, those who have not been saved form a line, kneeling and praying to the heavens.

The children saved by Fushanklan are fortunate.

Yet, in this land without even a church, those who have found a place to offer their prayers, aside from their own hearts, are also fortunate.

And the child of the gods distributed the potatoes and fish stew that he himself had dug to the people.

In a land without gods, divine sustenance, which not even the archbishop of this world has ever held, was bestowed.