The Damn Family Is Back Again

187 – 187. A Step Away (3)

A day has passed.

Clare didn’t come, and I, having obtained the seeds, had to spend the day resting after exhausting my energy at the Shatren Field.

◈I have obtained the Shatren strawberry seeds and Shatren grape seeds.◈

◈You can plant the seeds in the soil of the field you want and grow crops.◈

◈However, the results may vary depending on the growth conditions.◈

I obtained the soil through choices and Clue & Proof events, and some of the obtained soil was easily acquired by Trisha.

Now, all that was left was to plant the seeds in the soil and move on to the next step. I wanted to prove Shatren’s flawed farming method and trigger another Clue & Proof event.

But before that, there was one thing I needed to check.

“Still nothing, I guess.”

I felt a strange feeling, as if something was off, and I couldn’t shake it off.

So, when I returned, I carefully checked my status screen, but it seemed like I was thinking correctly.

“The soil and seeds are ready, but the plan is not progressing. Why is the choice not appearing?”

That choice is a choice to decide how to act after obtaining the seeds. It always occurred at the point where I obtained the seeds, so I thought it would appear this time as well… but it didn’t.

This is a serious problem.

“And it doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

I already had an experience that wasn’t trivial.

The feeling that the crop setting window wasn’t appearing was hard to shake off.

Oh well. If the same thing happens again, it’s not a coincidence.

“What the heck. Now that I’ve found the answer, my head is hurting.”

It’s as if the game is warning me, providing no UI or choices, and saying that I have to find the problem with Shatren’s farming method and solve it on my own. The game is saying that I have to take off the cloak of ignorance and prove everything.

It’s saying that I have to receive all the settings that I ignored by pressing the mouse and arrow keys outside the monitor.

That’s what it’s saying.

“Ah, let me think again. Can I proceed with that choice?”

Even without the UI and choice window popping up, my memories in my head are the same. I wonder if I can solve it the same way, but…

That’s just not possible.

From this point on, the direction to proceed with the plan is determined entirely by choices. The cost and return that must be paid for each have already been optimized through dozens, if not hundreds, of retries.

I was supposed to memorize and proceed with each step, just like in the game… But if the choices don’t pop up here, this optimization can’t continue as is.

Because I’ve already fast-forwarded by two weeks. That’s why there are so many more variables, and considering the environment of this game where even the slightest action or movement can lead to different outcomes, the possibility of the same progression continuing is virtually zero.

In the end, I have to solve it myself.

To put it bluntly, it’s a situation without an answer. After time has flown by and the necessary actions have been skipped, the method of ignoring the game’s settings and acting only on what’s needed is left with nothing but a skeleton, making it virtually unusable.

Because there are no choices at all.

My plan was originally to proceed by making choices, but now I can’t make any.

Moreover, considering that I have to forcibly acquire new knowledge under the game’s settings, time might get tight.

But…

“I really underestimated this. If I’m not swayed by the choices, my range of options also expands.”

The UI window with features has disappeared, but the absence of those choices also has significant meaning.

It means I can solve the problems of Chartren directly, free from the confines of the range of choices.

Incorrect farming methods? There’s more I could prove.

Not the path created by the system, but in my own way.

This freedom cannot be ignored.

“Yeah. Shall I try using what I’ve learned from the textbooks?”

From here on out, the results will be purely based on my own capabilities, not the choices and system. Since the original plan has gone to naught.

But, I think it’s worth a try.

No. It’s actually better.

Because I can finally make full use of the modern knowledge in my head that was utterly unusable before.

From noble mtl dot come

***

The first week of the symposium is generally set as the time to lay the foundation for information about the domain and for policy and planning, but from the second week on, it’s mandatory to choose a day to attend lectures.

Today was the day Claire had signed up for a lecture, and she was listening to the lectures of lords who had become exemplary cases, along with her sisters in the conference hall.

However, Claire’s ears were not filled with such useful lectures.

She was lost in her own thoughts, not just when the lecture started, but until it ended.

Finally, when the lecture was over, Flora tugged at Claire’s sleeve.

“…”

“Little sister. Little sister.”

“Uh, yes? Why?”

“The lecture’s over.”

Claire finally lifted her head at the mention that the lecture had ended.

Realizing how much time had passed, and seeing the empty notes created from wasted time, a sigh naturally escaped her.

“Little sister. Is something wrong?”

Flora asked with concern at the sound of the deep sigh.

“I’m just deep in thought.”

“About what?”

“Well. It’s a bit of a complex worry.”

She couldn’t simply say it was nothing. Especially not when it was something that could have harmed Karsein.

But during this time, she had found the answer she hadn’t been able to come up with before.

Flora had gone to Harnier. Knowing she couldn’t ask for help from anyone because of the bad rumors she had spread, she sought out her fiancée, Harnier, hoping she could be of some assistance.

Whether it actually helped, she wasn’t sure, but at least the decision was right. Their relationship wasn’t too bad, as far as she knew, and a fiancée, at least, wouldn’t stab Karsein in the back.

That was the blind spot.

“Sister, I’m planning to meet someone else for a moment, can you go back with big sister?”

“Sure. I will.”

As Claire moved, she thought.

‘Yes. As those two show, there are no allies of Karsein in the Chatren territory.’

In a land of agriculture, if you want to achieve something, it’s all about farming, and here the peasants have turned their backs. It couldn’t get any worse.

Doesn’t it mean that no matter what policy Karsein puts out, they won’t budge?

Then, she must create allies.

As Claire approached, the man who had been talking with his arms crossed felt someone approaching and turned around.

“Hmm. What brings the second princess of Bagrand to this place?”

The burly man.

This man, covered in countless scars and wounds, was a stranger to her.

But.

“I’ve heard that the House of Aipheros holds quite a position in the western side. I need your help to discuss this matter with the House of Lilpeton.”

At this moment, he was the person Claire had been searching for.

***

“Say, could you possibly lower the price a bit?”

A man who had come from the Chatren estate to trade with another estate looked at the amount and pleaded.

But the trading partner’s estate pushed back.

“Ask for a discount? Doesn’t Chatren make a lot of money?”

“Well, we’ve had a poor harvest this time too. You know that, don’t you?”

“You. How much have you earned with Chatren strawberries and Chatren grapes to say such a thing?”

“We’re well aware that our two specialties have the ardent support of the nobles!”

“Still… just a little discount. Times are really tough.”

“You know as well. It just so happens that our Chatren’s interim lord is Lord Karsein.”

“Those are dangerous words. This is the fixed price now.”

“I understand, but we need to make a living too. If we give a discount, there’ll be nothing left.”

Despite his pleas, the trading partner did not agree.

As they said, it wasn’t an unfair price. Even considering the market rate, it was a fair price, and other estates had already finished buying at that price.

Furthermore, since the lord had ordered not to accept anything less than the specified amount, Chatren had no choice but to buy at that price.

Returning to Chatren with the purchased food, they showed the trade details and expressed their difficulties. Immediately, the residents gathered in the hall to start a meeting.

“How much subsidy is left?”

“We’ve used up everything that arrived from the Bagrand ducal family.”

“…So, all that’s left is the money from selling strawberries and grapes?”

“Yes…”

The voice that weakly affirmed also drained their strength as the trade results were not good.

“It’s hopeless… With this money, we won’t have enough to buy fertilizer.”

“What if we reduce the amount of fertilizer?”

“That’s out of the question! The fertilizer is essential if we want to grow more strawberries and grapes.”

“Then won’t we starve to death?”

If they recklessly reduce the amount of fertilizer, it will impact the production of strawberries and grapes.

And if they maintain the yield of strawberries and grapes, they’ll be starving.

Even as the meeting dragged on, no solution to this problem was voiced in the hall.

“Besides, what is that Karsein doing?”

“Hey!”

“Really. He’s not even here right now. Do we honestly have to show him respect?”

“That’s right. After all, he’s just a commoner who rose to prominence out of nowhere.”

A murmur of empathy spread among the villagers.

“So, does anyone know what they’ve been up to in the second week? They took our land, they must have done something with it.”

“I saw it. They were planting something in the field.”

“Me too! It looked like Ferdi and that kid were planting strawberries, given the circumstances.”

“Huh. Pretending to farm now, are they?”

“Seems like it.”

As news of Karsein farming spread, a wave of disapproval followed.

“Surely… they’re not suggesting there’s something wrong with our farming methods?”

“What happens if higher-grade crops come from that land…?”

-Bang!

The village’s action leader, Maf, slammed the table.

“Talk sense! How could a noble who’s never farmed a day in his life produce better crops than us!”

“Don’t worry. That’ll never happen.”

“Who knows this domain better than us? It’d be a miracle if they even knew how to farm.”

Then the village chief, Brem, stepped forward.

“There’s no such thing as ‘never,’ Maf.”

“Chief…?”

“Even Ferdi proved that. The one he pointed out had been skimming festival management fees from our domain. You all said Ferdi would never reform. But what was the result?”

“…”

A heavy silence fell. But the villagers quickly retorted.

“But, this is different.”

“That’s right. It’s Chatren that ruined everything from the outside. There’s already a precedent.”

As key figures emerged and added their thoughts, the assembly hall quieted down again.

“But you know, Karsein will surely bring this up in the council. What happens when he comes back and implements policies?”

“Um…”

“Don’t worry. We received other orders before the temporary lord’s command.”

“Ah, right?”

Faces that had been fraught with complexity suddenly relaxed.

“After the trouble in Chatren, the second young lady told us not to listen to Karsein. She’s the one who’s been sending us subsidies ever since!”

“Right. That was an order given to us.”

“At least if they’re following Miss Claire’s orders, there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“Even here, in the Duchy of Bagrand, right?”

Claire, who was furious at the time.

She had shouted at the residents here.

No matter when or how Karsein returns, never listen to that liar’s commands.

If it seems like he’s trying to make you do something that will cause ruin, it’s okay to accuse him of lying and remind him of this moment.

Because of this command, the residents agreed to ignore and refute any instructions from Karsein upon his return to the council.

However, at the second week’s report, they would hear an unimaginable truth.

As Brem said, there is no such thing as ‘absolute’.