Chapter 5 - Impediment to Reform
"Phew, it looks like the first full cycle succeeded."
Ben's experimental crop rotation farm finally completed the four-year cycle, and I am now 7 years old.
Compared to the terrible harvest from four years earlier, there was an 80% improvement in the amount of wheat. It's not quite as good as when the king's protection is active, but this is still a huge success.
Apparently, the news of bean-planting and mulch also spread by word of mouth to quite a few farms.
If it keeps going like this it'll take several years before we are able to reach everyone in Kuvork. That's to be expected for a world without telephones or internet.
And that's why I--.
"--Denied."
I went in as if I was a manga artist trying to get her manga approved, and this person rejects me without a fraction of kindness.
On the table before us is the 'Crop Rotation For Dummies' presentation documents that I took over a half-month to write.
The first page has a concise and easily understood summary, and it contains all the experimental data and evidence that we've collected for the past four years. But it seems like all of that had no effect on him.
"I only came here because Citam asked, but it looks like it was just a waste of time. Don't get so cocky just because things are going your way for now."
This person, First Prince Alyus, looks down on me with callous eyes. This guy is supposed to be my brother. The first queen is mother to both of us, so it's not like we're half-siblings either.
"Don't underestimate the King's Power. The monster stampedes have been going on for a few years, but the King's Power will restore the land as soon as they end. This country will be plentiful again, without the help of a failure like you."
--Failure?
Is he talking about my cursed purple hair?
That pisses me off a little, but there's something that pisses me off even more.
"When will it end?"
"What?"
The First Prince squints his eyes at me, unable to understand my question.
"I'm asking you when the monster stampedes will end."
There's been a few lulls, but the current situation has been going on for five straight years.
"Hmph, soon."
--Are you kidding me?
"How soon?"
"Soon means soon."
"In other words, you can't be sure that it will end this year."
"Obviously! No man has the power to predict the monsters!"
It's no use.
I feel the anger building up in me from the first prince's incompetence.
"Meanwhile, the people of Kuvork will die from famine, correct?"
"That's why we have opened the national treasury!"
The first prince is shouting in anger now.
According to Ben and Citam-niisama, the support from the government only reaches the areas around the capital. The frontier regions are already in a state of famine that just keeps getting worse, and entire villages are leaving the country.
"Alyus-niisama, have you visited the frontier villages like Citam-niisama?"
"Of course. I went there with Father four years ago. Don't put me together with someone who has never left the castle like you!"
Four years ago?
That was just when the crop failures started.
The villages still had a stock of food supplies back then.
"In that case--"
"I tire of your pointless drivel."
Is that really something you can say to your own sister...? I feel like this guy hates me for some reason.
I don't know why since this should be the first time we've actually met in person.
"By my authority as the crown prince, I order you to cease these reforms at once."
The prince makes that declaration while arrogantly flapping his cape and making an exaggerated pose.
"I forbid you from leaving this building. Reflect on your actions, you've done nothing but bring unhappiness to Mother."
"--Eh?"
Rather than being told to stop my reforms, or being confined to my home, I'm more surprised at the statement about my mom. Did I really do something to make her sad?
I've only seen my mom once, but I somehow still feel emotionally attached to her.
◆
"Ugh, that was a huge failure."
I lay my upper body flat against the table.
I heard from Citam that the first prince was a pretty conservative guy, but I didn't know that he hated me so much over the issue with my mom.
Next time I'll be more careful with the information gathering.
"Arisa-sama, mind your manners."
"Yeah."
Lulu pours a cup of herb tea for me.
These herbs are grown by Lili in the back garden, so they don't cost me anything.
"What can I even do now?"
If he denied me based on logic, then I could just prove him wrong with evidence. But there's nothing I can do if he's acting purely on emotion.
"--Arisa? Arisa? Are you listening?"
"Huh? Eluus-niisama?"
Before I realized it, the Fifth Prince Eluus was standing in my room and looking down at me.
It feels like he comes here every time he's bored.
Does he really like honey that much?
"Come on Arisa."
"Sorry, sorry. Did you need something?"
He was pouting a little bit, but he quickly calms down.
"Belitz-niisama has just finished up his study abroad in the Saga Empire. He should be arriving soon, so I came to invite you to the parade."
I rack my brain to remember all the details about Second Prince Belitz.
His mother is the second queen, the same as Fourth Prince Dyude, and he should be 9 years older than me.
Also, the second queen is sister to the king of a neighboring country, the Yowork Kingdom.
Even since the new king of Yowork took the throne five years ago, I haven't heard any good things about them. To be fair, our country isn't much better off with all this famine.
"Sorry Eluus-niisama, Alyus-niisama has forbidden me from going outside."
"Don't worry about that, no one has to know."
Without any other excuse, I ended up agreeing to go see the second prince's return parade.
Of course, I cover up my distinctive purple hair. I also put on a cloak and veil to hide my face. These are same kind that the castle maids usually use when they go outside.
There's a crowd of people gathered at the castle gate, and all of them seem excited.
I wonder if the second prince is really popular or something.
"Belitz-niisama!"
Eluus catches a glimpse of the redhead second prince, and runs off toward the parade without me.
You'd expect half-brothers to not get along well, but it looks like Eluus really likes him.
"He's a bit more handsome than I expected."
He seems pretty mature and relaxed for a 16-year old. His slender cheeks and narrow eyes make him look like some kind of sly trickster.
That's a type that wasn't among my other brothers.
Well, if the usually reserved Eluus likes him, then he's probably not as bad as he looks.
I use [Status Check], and see that he's level 20. He must have been doing work during his time in the Saga Empire.
"--Hmm?"
Right behind the second prince are some horse-mounted knights, along with one small-looking person whose entire body is covered by a cloak.
I get curious and try to use my [Status Check] on the cloaked guy, but I was unable to see their level or name. I guess it doesn't work too well if their body is completely covered up like that.
"""Kyaa! It's Nisnark-sama!"""
The women start screaming when they see a handsome-looking clerk.
That breaks my focus, and I get distracted from the cloaked guy.
Either way, their skills were listed as 'None', so they were probably just the second prince's concubine or servant.
"I see, this Nisnark guy would be pretty popular if he was in a classic shoujo manga."
He has long black hair like Lulu despite being a man.
When our eyes meet, he makes a wink at me for some reason.
I wonder if he's a lolicon.
"Nah, looks like he's just a womanizer."
He is rapid firing those winks out to every maid that he sees.
He also waves back when he sees the women waving at him. Seems like the type that I don't get along well with.
"--Yowork knights?"
"Why are they in His Highness's parade?"
A few servants and maids start murmuring to each other after seeing the back end of the parade line.
Just like they say, there's quite a few knights wearing a uniform I've never seen before.
I was a bit interested, so I use [Status Check] to view the information of the Yowork knights.
It looks like those are the knights that serve the house of the second prince's mother, the second queen.
After the knights pass, I continue watching over the rest of the carriages in the parade.
"What the heck?"
There's someone whose status information is fading in and out.
He's thin and tall, with disproportionately long arms. His affiliation says 'Kuvork Kingdom: Lesser Servant', but it's blurry and hard to see.
I rub my eyes and use the [Status Check] skill again, and his affiliation has changed to 'Yowork Kingdom: Intelligence Division'.
It looks like he was sent here as a spy.
He must have some sort of item or skill that interferes against analyze-type skills.
I continue looking at the other people in the parade and see two other spies mixed in. Sending in spies to a neighboring country may be pretty normal here, but I was honestly surprised to bump into them so suddenly.
Just in case, I should set up some detection-type Psychic Magic around my building as a precaution.
◆
"All's right with the world..."
It's been a month since I discovered those spies, but the days have been passing without any significant events. No assassinations or other weird incidents.
I have already warned Lili, Lulu, and Ben to be careful around the second prince's men just in case.
According to Ben, a suspicious looking guy already visited his farm and tried to probe his secrets.
Ben managed to dodge his questions by saying that his fields were specially blessed by the king's power.
"Arisa, is that farm the one?"
For a change of pace, Citam is taking me on horseback to Ben's trial crop rotation farm. Eluus and Lili are coming along too.
"Wow, this is amazing Arisa. That farm is so much greener than the others!"
Eluus raises his voice in surprise.
"--Wow."
I've already seen the numbers, but it has much more impact when seeing it in person.
The neighboring farms have started the agricultural reforms as well, but the difference is still clear.
Of course, I can't take full credit for this. These results are greater than I had ever imagined.
Ben and his family must have worked their butts off to get this far.
"Huh? Nisnark is here?"
Citam turns his gaze to Nisnark, the overfriendly handsome clerk with long black hair.
Nisnark notices us and starts waving at us to come over.
Based on my information, Nisnark isn't actually part of the second prince's faction. He is the son of a cabinet minister, and political enemies with the greedy nobles that have been giving me so much trouble.
He's apparently good at his job, but has a bit of an issue with women. It's only been one month since his return, but I've heard that he is already in relationships with several different women.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Citam-sama and Eluus-sama. Could that person behind you perhaps be--"
"Don't worry about it, that's my attendant."
Nisnark tries to get a look at my face, but gets interrupted by Citam.
Since First Prince Alyus's stay-home order is still in effect, it would be pretty bad if my identity gets revealed here.
"I see, your attendant..."
Nisnark makes a suggestive statement as he nods his head a few times.
--Has he figured it out already?
"Ben-dono was just about to show me the compost. Would you care to join us, your Highness?"
"Sure, we came to see that too."
--Ah, you idiot.
Eluus said something dumb before Citam and I could stop him.
"That is indeed great timing."
"Yeah! ...Huh? What's wrong Brother?"
Eluus gives Citam a confused look.
"Whatever, let's go."
Citam looks a bit angry as he leads the way.
He's still too childish to hide his displeasure, so it always shows up like that.
Well, that kind of immaturity is just one of the reasons why little boys are so cute and lovely.
"Ugh, it stinks!"
"Hahaha, that's the smell of the compost."
Ben's family laughs at us clenching our noses as they shovel the compost around.
It's my first time visiting this place, but the composting looks like it's going well.
"What are you doing right now?"
"Right now we're shoveling the compost pile to aerate it. That makes it so that the entire pile composts evenly."
One of the men answers Nisnark's question.
"Did you come up with that?"
"No, a princess from the castle taught us about that."
"Was growing beans and turnips also Arisa-sama's idea?"
"Yeah, the princess even came up with the wheelbarrow over there."
After hearing the man's answer, Nisnark squints his eyes and gives me a suggestive sideways glance.
--Yeah, he knows.
He must have somehow figured out my identity.
Nisnark continued questioning Ben's family for a while, and I was able to see all their cheaty agricultural progress with my own eyes.
These guys are really something.
It must have been rough doing all the experimentation and manual labor to put my half-baked knowledge into practice.
I'll have to praise Ben a bunch the next time he comes to visit.
He said he was expecting a child soon, so maybe I'll plagiarize some fairy tales and give him a picture book.
Since he's a gardener and farmer, maybe 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Ant and the Grasshopper'.
◆
"Arisa-sama, my apologies for being unable to greet you the other day."
The day after I went to Ben's farm, the handsome clerk Nisnark paid a visit to my room.
That was fast. I didn't think he would be coming so soon.
"I believe this is the first time we've met. It's nice to meet you, may I ask for your name?"
I tilt my head at him slightly.
Haha, did you really think Arisa-chan would fall for such a cheap trick like that?
"Very well. I am Nisnark Tolues, a clerk working under Minister Tolues."
He accepts my request without hesitation and introduces himself.
I feel like I'll bite my tongue if I try to say his full name.
"What business did you have with me?"
"I believe I could be of use to your agricultural reforms. Please allow me to assist."
So that's why you went to scout out Ben's farm.
This guy is well distanced from the Yowork Kingdom faction as well as the greedy nobles faction, so he would make the ideal partner... ignoring his problem with women. Unfortunately, this is the worst possible timing.
"Tolues-dono, are you aware of the fact that Alyus-niisama has forbidden me from continuing the reforms?"
Even if he's the son of a minister, he can't just ignore the crown prince's words.
"Indeed, I am aware."
Nisnark nods at me without a second thought.
I somehow get the feeling that glasses would match well with that scheming face of his.
"After I obtain permission from Alyus-sama, you would be willing to work with me to solve this country's food supply issue then?"
"Very well, if you can get his permission peacefully."
"--Then please wait for the good news."
Nisnark gives the bow of a retainer and leaves, beaming with confidence.
He started off asking to help me, but that somehow changed to me helping him. Well, I'll have no complaints if he can manage to help fix my family issues.
Chapter 6
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