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Chapter 43
“If my guess is correct, I’m probably the only one with this ability.”
Nana let out a short sigh.
“Even if the crops aren’t anything special, if people knew there was someone in a world crawling with zombie monsters who could both enrich the soil and control the zombies? At first, they’d treat you even better than the High Priestess of the temple.”
She paused for a moment, lost in thought, then furrowed her brow.
“But nothing in this world comes for free. Even if they act like they’re praising you, eventually they’ll demand payment. You won’t know where kindness ends and calculation begins, and you’ll constantly be expected to give something. I don’t want to step into that kind of mud by myself.”
Ishanka nodded, clearly understanding Nana’s words.
Sam, on the other hand, looked like he was thinking, “Is that really such a stretch?”
‘The funny thing is, this counts as the hope side.’
She understood that people could try to use her. If handled well, she could live almost like a queen of a nation.
If we assume that Nana is the only person possessing this “farmer” ability in this world, then she’s the only one who could manage the farmland.
Now, let’s look at the despair side.
A person appears in this desolate world with the ability to revive land and control zombies. On the surface, this could look like a hero who will save humanity.
But others might say:
“She’s the one who caused this disaster.”
“She’s the one controlling the zombies to attack humans.”
Of course, these are absurd claims.
But in this world, reason doesn’t work. Can you expect people who have lost their family or whose friends have turned into zombies to calmly discern the truth with logic?
Nana’s answer was simple: No.
People react to anger more than truth and choose the easiest target to blame over complex causes.
And there’s no better scapegoat than a farmer who has power but no combat ability.
Neither the hope side nor the despair side was appealing.
‘This is why the greater the power, the more you need to hide it. Great power inevitably brings great trouble.’
That’s why being a “hidden-power prodigy” isn’t just a fancy term.
“So the conclusion is, I won’t tell these three visitors about my ability. The more people who know a secret, the harder it is to keep.”
“Then at least we’ll have to manage the farmland ourselves until they leave.”
Ishanka nodded calmly, as if it were no big deal, but Sam nearly screamed.
“What?! I don’t know how to farm!”
“Well, what can we do? We have to do it anyway.”
It seemed impossible, but Ishanka’s gaze said, If we just try, we’ll make it work. I’ll make sure of it.
“No, no, no! You can scold me all you want. I’ve never done labor like this in my life! It just won’t work!”
Growing up pampered and declaring he couldn’t do physical work so bluntly… impressive. Well, he is a prince.
“Then we’ll make it work, right? One of the abilities God gave me is to command workers…”
The moment those words hinted at their meaning, Sam jumped up from his seat.
“I’ll come up with a method!”
He dashed out of the parlor, and a pop-up appeared in front of Nana’s eyes:
<Random Trait for Sam Lindberg (Samuel Lowell) activated: “Mad Scientist” (temporary).>
A mad scientist because he’s being asked to do some manual labor. Nana’s chest swelled with disbelief.
Would he really make explosives to destroy half the farmland? Something like, “If I have to do manual labor, I’ll blow it up!”
Haha. Surely, even a mad scientist wouldn’t destroy the farm entirely. Considering this is a game with a Victorian vibe, maybe it would just be some simple farming machinery?
But Nana had underestimated him. She had completely ignored how far the game’s disregard for historical accuracy could go.
So when the rain stopped after several days, and Sam appeared at just the right timing, she couldn’t contain her astonishment.
“Wow… what the…?”
A giant robot? In this era?
“Ta-da! Surprised?”
Sam peeked from the hatch and winked cheerfully.
Yes, surprising indeed. You don’t want to work, so you make a robot.
“But how did you even make this robot?”
Nana asked, genuinely curious. In this era, making a robot was impossible.
Even if Sam was a mechanical engineering prodigy from the Duchy of Greenwich, this made no sense.
“Oh, so in your world, this is called a robot? Nice ring to it. I didn’t know what to call it, but anyway… the parts kit you gave me last time included blueprints for building a robot like this. I didn’t think it could be made with current tech, but the design was interesting, so I kept it. And recently, I remembered the blueprints, thought I’d give it a try, and here it is!”
Nana took her eyes off the cheerful Sam and stared at the colossal robot in front of the farmland, her expression drained.
The robot was simple in design. Its body was a large iron box with rounded corners. Its legs were long and flexible, but its center of gravity looked seriously unstable.
Every time it walked, the grinding of the gears sounded terrifying.
Sam had received multiple parts kits when recruited as a worker. Everything useless to Nana had been given to Sam—but who could have imagined it would turn into a robot?
Right. In a healing-game-turned-zombie-apocalypse scenario, what’s the use of historical accuracy anyway? Fantasy had already taken over the game.
Seeing the thin legs under the massive body, Nana couldn’t help but sigh. Could it even take a single step without toppling? Just not falling would be lucky.
As her expression darkened, everyone quietly gathered beside her.
“Your Highness… what is this…?”
“Oh, Mr. Lindberg is here? Actually, this farm is managed by the machines I built.”
Sam emphasized each word of “machines,” clearly trying to highlight his significant contribution to Nana’s farm.
Bring such an amazing creation, and now I don’t have to make you do the hard labor—clear enough, right?
“Your Highness, who used to make nothing but useless scrap, has grown so much…”
Brody quietly commented, proud yet teasing.
Brody’s eyes glistened, as if witnessing a child he once thought incapable now grown capable.
“I’m truly glad that His Highness is helping you.”
So Nana couldn’t bring herself to say, No, that’s not true. And beyond farm work, it was true—this robot could genuinely be useful.
“Sam’s invention has helped me a lot. Haha.”
Not wrong, but why did it feel like a lie? Strange.
“Alright, then, let’s try using this for today’s work.”
Sam ducked back into the robot and began moving it. Slowly, the giant robot stepped forward.
Creak!
Directly above the crops.
As a giant robot, its footprints were massive. Half of the nearly-harvested crops were instantly ruined.
“Oh… oh no, this isn’t right!”
Sam fumbled with the controls. Trying to back up, he accidentally nudged the robot forward a step.
Creak!
“Hey, you! Get down right now!”
A roar mixed with an active command skill resounded.
Sam, unable to control the robot, mumbled foolishly and climbed down, only to have Nana grab him by the collar.
“Be honest! You stepped on the field because you didn’t want to work, didn’t you?!”
“No! During the test it was fine… why now…?”
“C-calm down, Nana. You could be accused of insulting royalty!”
“This world’s ruined! Royalty means nothing!”
To Nana, whose precious crops had just been destroyed, royalty didn’t matter. Unless the prince could reverse time and restore the crops…
“Uh… sister? Look at that.”
She followed Wina’s pointing finger and saw her worst fears come true.
One of the robot’s legs broke, screws snapping, and the giant robot, previously balanced on two legs, lost its center of gravity and toppled into the field.
“Aaaaah! No!”
Crash! Bang!
Half of the crops she had painstakingly grown instantly turned to compost.
