I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 4 — The First Shovel

“……Straw…… no, barley stalks?”

“Yes!”

Those were the exact same round little grains I had spotted on the hem of Sir Luden’s trousers back at the warehouse.

I smiled brightly.

“Nutritious barley farming!”

A few days later.

“Grrrrrrrrrrr.”

I glanced at the time.

……3, 2, 1……

“Grrrrrrrrr……”

“Ptoo!”

I spat out the water from brushing my teeth.

Then—

Pop!

[Errand completed! (Requester: God of Fate)]

[Brush your teeth for 3 minutes every day — Morning (1/1)]

[Reward: 1 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Sticker]

I neatly held out both hands.

A single thumbs-up sticker dropped into my palms.

“Yahoo!”

I earned divine power!

The sticker disappeared with a pop and entered my Sticker Book.

[Haniel’s Sticker Book (For Children)]

Divine Power Stickers in Storage: 206

“Hehehe.”

After opening Bethel Village’s dragon vein—

errands started flooding in as though they had been waiting.

Not just farming errands, either.

[An errand from the God of Etiquette has arrived!]

[Reputation Is My Strength! Greet Your Neighbors (3/6)]

[“Greetings, child. :-] It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am the god who governs etiquette and oversees formalities, relationships, order, rules, contracts, judgments, and so forth in the mortal realm. The reason I am contacting you today is none other than…… (Message omitted because excessive formal greetings exceeded the character limit.)”]

[Reward: 20 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

[An errand from the God of Fate has arrived!]

[Brush Your Teeth for 3 Minutes, 3 Times Every Day! (0/3)]

[“If your teeth rot, they’ll hurt so much that you’ll meet your fate.”]

[“Save my baby’s teeth!”]

[Reward: 3 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

There were everyday-life errands like those……

[An errand from the God of Rivers and Seas has arrived!]

[Let’s Catch Blue Thorn Trout~ (0/3)]

[“Think you can catch them~?”]

[Reward: 300 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

[An errand from the God of □□ has arrived!]

[Visit the Underworld]

[“Come.”]

[Reward: 66666666666666]

[An errand from the God of the Forest has arrived!]

[Gather Pig-Nose Mushrooms (0/5)]

[“……I’ll give you something good……”]

[Reward: 50 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

And even gathering-type errands like these!

Hmm.

I felt like there had been something strange and staticky in the middle there……

But when I blinked and looked again, it was gone.

I must have imagined it, right?

Anyway, anyway!

I was very busy.

Independent life is busy~

I had to brush my teeth, put on socks, get dressed, eat the bread on the table, and pack my own bag.

It was a very self-reliant lifestyle.

Unfortunately, though, I was still freeloading at His Grace’s manor.

They said it can’t be helped because the village repairs aren’t finished yet.

Still—

I had a home of my own now!

Bang!

I energetically threw open the bedroom door and stepped outside.

“Oh? Haniel, you’re already awake? I was going to eat breakfast with you and help wash you~”

Familiar older knight brothers and sisters were there.

They were members of the supply team whose faces I had gotten to know over the past few days.

Perfect.

I placed my hands over my belly and bowed ninety degrees.

“Hello! My name is Haniel!”

“……? We know, we know.”

The knights laughed while straightening my clothes.

Naturally, someone also fixed my wildly messy hair.

“Haha. Baby, why are you bowing so formally today?”

“Maybe she’s telling us to get to work~? Fine, fine~ Aunties and uncles are going to work now, okay~?”

They patted my head and hoisted farming tools over their shoulders.

“Should we repair the roads today?”

“What’s the point of fixing roads when there aren’t even residents…… Let’s just shovel for now.”

“No residents? Weren’t there at least three or four?”

“Apparently they all ran off already.”

“Hey, hey~ Sir Luden already went out~ Hurry up~”

Their voices gradually faded into the distance.

For reference—

the only people who knew I could use divine power were His Grace, Butler Camilla, and Sir Luden.

Since they were keeping me here in violation of imperial law, they apparently decided it would be better if no one else learned about it.

So as for how the pillar had been purified……

“Ah. I got bored and went exploring in the basement of the Grand Duke’s castle, and there happened to be some kind of holy relic down there.”

……That was Basil’s excuse.

“Pardon? There’s a holy relic beneath the Grand Duke’s castle?”

“Apparently.”

“But isn’t the Grand Duke’s castle still heavily contaminated……?”

“Apparently that was fine too.”

“Gasp! Then perhaps you could go back and find another holy relic—!”

The Grand Duke’s red eyes slid toward me.

“Apparently it only worked once.”

It was an incredibly half-hearted explanation.

But given his personality, everyone seemed to accept it with a well, that sounds like him attitude.

I went outside.

Hmm. The Grand Duke’s castle……

I looked toward the enormous castle in the distance.

A black fortress stood on slightly elevated ground overlooking Bethel Village, west of the Mad Dragon’s corpse.

The road leading up to it was covered in thick, thorny undergrowth.

I heard Basil’s ancestors built it five hundred years ago.

But right around the time construction was completed, the Mad Dragon appeared and swallowed the entire area.

In other words, humans had built the castle—

but no human had ever actually lived in it.

There’s no telling what the Mad Dragon stashed in there over five hundred years, and native contamination still remains, so people can barely even approach it.

That was why Basil’s excuse had sounded believable.

Could we live in that castle someday?

Purification was one issue.

But restoring the whole place would require an enormous amount of manpower.

Because it was really, really huge!

We’d probably need at least a few hundred villagers……

In other words—

the territory needed to become richer.

And it needed to become much more crowded!

Hmm, but wait.

Wouldn’t it actually be inconvenient for me if the North developed too much?

I fidgeted with my fingertips.

Because if the North attracts too much attention, Dad might come visit. And I already interfered with one of his pillars……

The reason I had come here was because Vertus was the only place offering me a free house and land.

It was isolated, closed off, and most importantly—

it was ruled by Grand Duke Basil, whom Dad disliked.

It had seemed perfect for living a quiet, short life without Dad ever finding out.

But if……

the changes I caused made Dad take an interest in the North?

Should I stop doing anything from now on?

Five pillars still needed purification.

If the North were divided into six regions, then aside from Bethel, the remaining five were still cold, dark, contaminated zones.

Maybe I shouldn’t purify the other pillars……

Then—

Pop!

White letters appeared in front of me.

[Errand completed!]

[Reputation Is My Strength! Greet Your Neighbors! (6/6)]

[Would you like to receive your reward?]

“Ah! Yeeeees……!”

Apparently, greeting the knights earlier had completed the errand.

A neat scale-shaped sticker dropped into my hand and then softly disappeared.

[Haniel’s Sticker Book (For Children)]

Divine Power Stickers in Storage: 226

The moment I saw that number, my mind snapped clear.

No. Doing nothing isn’t an option.

I violently shook my head.

If I sit around doing nothing, I won’t collect any divine power!

If I purified the other pillars and unlocked new regions, there might be even more opportunities to earn divine power.

The moment I opened Bethel Village’s dragon vein, errands started pouring in!

And besides……

[Let’s Catch Blue Thorn Trout (0/3)]

[“Think you can catch them~?”]

[Reward: 300 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

An errand like this was obviously telling me to develop the area around the North’s Veil River, wasn’t it?

Hmm. What should I do?

Still deep in thought, I walked along slowly.

After passing through the village and heading down an unmaintained path, an enormous wasteland came into view.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of shoveling echoed across the area.

Among the burly men working like a hundred people each, Grand Duke Basil stood out immediately.

I suddenly stopped walking.

……Come to think of it.

I stared blankly at his broad back.

Yesterday, he thanked me.

Last night, the Grand Duke had come to see me and awkwardly ruffled my hair.

“Brat. I’m only saying this now, but…… thank you. Honestly…… you saved us.”

And not long ago, Sir Luden had said it too.

“Haniel, once again, I formally apologize for how harshly I treated you when we first met. And…… I also want to thank you.”

“……”

“Thank you for helping the North. I, Luden Price, swear on my name that I will repay this debt someday.”

They said I was helpful.

They thanked me.

They even called me their benefactor.

It was the first time.

The first time anyone had ever said something like that to me.

The first time I had been someone’s strength instead of someone’s burden.

I tightly gripped the hem of my clothes.

……Yeah. I don’t think doing nothing is right after all.

If I wanted to collect divine power, I needed to keep farming hard and continue purifying the pillars anyway.

So I shouldn’t be afraid.

It wasn’t as if Dad was definitely going to appear right away.

And if he did—

I could just hide somewhere!

If things get really bad, I’ll beg His Grace to hide me!

Whether the Grand Duke would actually protect me was another question……

What if he protected me for a little while, got annoyed and tired of it, and then threw me away?