I Raised the Northern Grand Duke as a Farmer Behind My Father’s Back Chapter 48

Chapter 48

“Hm?”

Duke Rowain was startled when he received the letter.

It contained bad news from the North.

“What a disaster! The entire warehouse burned down?”

The letter went on to ask whether it might be possible to purchase some rye seed.

“……Hmm.”

What should he do?

He had already distributed all of his rye seed to the residents of his territory.

But he couldn’t simply pretend not to know about the North’s hardship.

Right.

Since things had come to this……

he would ask the Temple for a little more seed.

I’ll make it sound like the East is still short…… and maybe add just a tiny hint of blame while I’m at it……

His pen began moving furiously.

The next day.

“It’s the riveeeeeer!”

The Veil River!

“It’s snoooooowing!”

Snow was falling!

“Contaminaaaaaation!”

Black contamination over theeeere……!

“What are you—!”

My collar was suddenly grabbed, and I was lifted off the ground.

“Where do you think you’re charging off to?”

“Huh? I’m fine!”

I whispered to His Grace, who looked thoroughly alarmed.

“I’m super, super holy right now!”

[Earmuffs Faintly Flowing with Divine Power (x1)]

• Divine power flows through them.

• Very reassuring when worn in contaminated areas!

That was right.

Right now……

I was outside Bethel Village!

We had finally come to survey the Veil River.

Outside the village, the bitter cold still struck at our bodies, and black contamination lurked everywhere.

Of course, we had prepared thoroughly.

Items infused with divine power!

If I attached a Divine Power Sticker to an object instead of a person, the effect remained for as long as the item’s durability lasted.

Maybe because objects don’t have life force?

They weren’t particularly affected by surrounding mana either.

Almost like sacred relics.

When I put Divine Power Stickers directly on my body, the “divine-power duration” was limited. So unless I actually need to use purification power, it’s better to wear sacred objects instead!

Especially when I was beside Grand Duke Basil, whose mana was ridiculously strong.

This was much more efficient.

Hehe. It feels like I’m wearing protective armor!

Naturally, I wasn’t the only one wearing protective gear.

I had secretly attached stickers to the belongings of Grand Duke Basil, Butler Camilla, and Sir Felix, who had all come with me to the Veil River.

Of course, Sir Felix thought they were sacred relics His Grace had brought up from beneath the Grand Duke’s castle.

[Cloak Faintly Flowing with Divine Power (x1)]

[Gloves Faintly Flowing with Divine Power (x1)]

[Straw Hat Faintly Flowing with Divine Power (x1)]

“……”

“……”

“Why does it feel like I’m the only one dressed completely wrong for the damn season?”

His Grace muttered.

A straw hat hung down behind his thick winter cloak.

“It’s just your imagination……”

Maybe because he was wearing a massive black cloak made of animal fur, Basil looked as huge as a mountain.

Exactly like the ruler of the North.

Of course……

me too!

“Mm.”

……That was what I wanted.

In reality, I looked like a fat little snowman.

“I think I’m wearing too many clothes!”

Red earmuffs.

A scarf.

Gloves.

Two coats.

Five layers underneath.

And furry boots from who knew where!

“Look!!! My arms are so fat I can’t even stand straight!”

Basil made a strangled sound as he tried not to laugh.

“Yeah. If anything happens, I’ll just roll you all the way back to the village. Prepare yourself, pig hippo.”

“Your Grace! I found the path!”

Sir Felix called out just then.

Basil easily picked me up and placed me on the black horse snorting nearby.

“So…… you want to survey the area around the river.”

“Yes!”

Basil settled securely behind me and hummed thoughtfully.

“Fair enough. I was thinking I should inspect it myself eventually.”

Nod, nod!

“When we purify the pillar connected to the Veil River, we can’t let it cause damage to the village.”

The horse moved slowly forward.

I scanned the surroundings.

The Veil River.

A river running through the center of the North.

Bethel Village sat along its upper reaches.

Which meant the downstream area of the Veil River was still surrounded by black contaminated land.

So even if we restore the river’s dragon vein, people probably still won’t be able to live near the lower reaches.

But at least—

people should be able to fish and travel around the upper reaches!

And as proof……

Pop! Pop!

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

[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 Rivers and Seas has arrived!]

[Catch Giant Silver Salmon (0/5)]

[“Think you can meet them~?”]

[Reward: 500 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

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

[Gather Striped Silk Clams (0/5)]

[“Think you can find them~?”]

[Reward: 400 Pure, Pollution-Free Divine Power Stickers]

.

.

.

There are so many errands coming in!

And fish were precious food that could fill our bellies with protein during the freezing winter.

In other words—

they were exactly the resource the North desperately needed right now.

But purifying the pillar immediately would be reckless.

Because……

we could accidentally cause a flood.

The reason was simple.

If the frozen river thawed all at once, the sudden increase in water volume could make it overflow.

The downstream area might flood for sure.

And even the upper reaches weren’t necessarily safe.

Because of the condition the river had been left in.

A river untouched by human hands for two full years.

Inside it……

“There!”

I pointed toward a massive dead tree blocking the middle of the river.

“There’s a huuuge fallen tree!”

……all kinds of naturally accumulated debris had piled up.

“If we leave that there, it’ll block the current and the river could overflow toward the village!”

“We’ll need to make a note of it. Felix.”

“Yes, yes. Already writing it down~”

Sir Felix carefully marked the location and continued upstream.

We had decided not to do any actual work today.

For now, this was just an inspection.

At the moment, fallen trees and all kinds of debris were frozen solid together, making them difficult to remove.

We would need more manpower.

“Looks like we’ll need quite a few strong men! Right, little squirt?”

Uncle Fel cheerfully patted my head and rode ahead again.

Before long, we reached the middle of the mountain.

“Looks like the horses can’t go any farther…… What would you like to do?”

“I want to inspect farther upstream. We’ll walk from here.”

His Grace and I dismounted.

While Basil tied the horse nearby, Sir Felix looked around and came over.

“Little squirt, want to race your uncle to that point over there?”

Naturally, I shot my hand into the air.

“I’m definitely gonna win!”

That was when—

Hup.

The world spun.

Just like yesterday in the library.

……

But it only lasted a moment.

Soon, I felt normal again.

I crumpled the edge of my clothes in one hand.

I think…… I really don’t feel very well.

My heart thumped uneasily.

This couldn’t be a symptom of core-deficiency disease, could it?

No. I don’t want to spend all my time lying in bed.

Fortunately—or maybe not—it felt different from the symptoms of core-deficiency disease that I knew.

After calmly checking my condition, I let out a relieved breath.

I had already felt a little off since yesterday.

And after going through the warehouse fire……

maybe I had simply gotten weaker from exhaustion.

I patted my cheeks.

We’re going back to the manor soon anyway. Just hang on a little longer!

Everyone was pretending to be fine.

But in truth—

the fire yesterday had drained all of us.

Everyone was barely soothing their sadness by focusing on the rye planting and the plan to catch fish.

I didn’t want to ruin the mood by causing another problem.

“Why did you suddenly stiffen up like that?”

His Grace’s deep voice came from behind me.

I shook my head rapidly.

The little pom-poms under my chin bounced with it.

“It’s nothing!”

The village was already having a hard time.

I couldn’t become another burden.

Besides, I was the one who had begged to come on this survey.

I had to finish it bravely!

“Ah! Uncle Fel! Wait for meee!”

“Come on~”

“Hani, don’t run. Walk slowly.”

“Okaaaaaay!”

Patpatpat!

“Didn’t I just say not to run and to walk slowly?”

“You did indeed.”

“She doesn’t even pretend to listen to me anymore.”

Leaving their murmured conversation behind, I fluttered over and crouched beside Sir Felix.

He stared at the river and muttered,

“But seriously, I can’t see so much as one fish scale…… Will fish really come back to this river?”

Just like he said—

the river was completely empty.

“It looks like an empty fish tank.”

“They’ll come back! It’ll be full, full, full again!”

“Really?”

If the dragon vein here began flowing again!

And……

if that was still here upstream!

“Well, if our little cutie says so, then it must be true! More importantly, aren’t you cold?”

“Nope! I’m fat right now!”

Sir Felix laughed and lifted me onto his shoulders.

Then he climbed the mountain in no time.

The uppermost reaches, where the Veil River’s largest branch began—

the terrain there was brutally steep and rugged.

Far worse than the mountain where the Mad Dragon had been.

“I want down here!”

“All right.”

I hopped onto the ground and looked around for a moment.

Then I peeked beneath a rock that seemed promising.

……Hmm.

Blink.

Blink.

There it is!

Covered beneath white snow and ice, sleeping peacefully—

a tiny……

droplet-shaped……

To Be Continued…