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Chapter: 14
The sight of the tiny dragon holding a red gemstone in its mouth was pretty cute—but no, wait. Just how much was that gemstone worth…?
Sensing my hesitation, Kkamangi spoke again.
[If I eat the gemstone, I can gain new power.]
“New power? Like what?”
[For example, I could make a cup of water….]
“A cup of water….”
[I could also freeze water instantly….]
“That’d happen if you just leave it outside for an hour.”
Spring was approaching, but the weather was still freezing cold.
What was this—wasn’t it supposed to be an amazing pet? Did I end up with a dud?
Give me back my expectations.
“Isn’t there anything else you can do?”
Kkamangi fidgeted nervously, the gemstone still in its mouth.
“What did you mean earlier about knowing the weather?”
Kkamangi lifted its head sharply.
[I’m a divine beast that’s sensitive to water and cold.]
“Huh?”
[You said it yourself earlier, Master. I can tell how much rain will fall, how cold it will be. That’s my domain. But this ability is really useless right now. I still can’t control water properly or summon blizzards….]
Kkamangi drooped its head, looking dispirited.
“Useless? That’s the ability I need the most right now!”
I lifted Kkamangi up and cheered.
No more headaches from worrying!
No more fretting over whether this year’s crops would fail!
I had my own meteorological office now!
“Eat it! Kkamangi, eat!”
The moment I gave permission, Kkamangi crunched down on the red gemstone as if it were candy.
“By the way, are all divine beasts raised on gemstones?”
[No. I’m a special case. Normally, divine beasts can use all their abilities as soon as they form a contract. But I’ve only awakened—my powers are still sealed. Gemstones are a way to release those seals.]
“So if you eat a lot of gemstones, you can remove all the seals?”
[No. Only gemstones imbued with specific energies work—ones heavily stained with human desire or greed, or those that possess rare powers.]
“…Those must be ridiculously expensive, right?”
[Probably. Ordinary diamonds are useless even if I eat them, but diamonds that have seen a lot of blood because of human greed can help with growth.]
“Ugh. Capitalism.”
Great. Managing a territory wasn’t enough—now I had to raise a pet too?
I’d drawn a luxury, jackpot-level pet, but I had to start leveling it from level one.
And with paid upgrades, no less.
Patting Kkamangi’s head, I said,
“After you finish eating that, write down exactly what you can do on paper.”
I needed to get my money’s worth.
Suddenly, I became very curious about how much that gemstone had cost.
Maybe I should’ve asked Naol before feeding it to you.
…You can at least earn your keep, right?
Still, I’d succeeded in acquiring a pseudo–weather bureau.
Weather was crucial for farming.
If the harvest went well, I could probably cover the cost of the gemstone Kkamangi ate.
When I casually asked Naol about it and heard the gemstone had cost thirty million marks, I regretted it—deeply, profoundly, overwhelmingly…
But well, what’s eaten can’t be undone.
After hearing “thirty million marks,” Kkamangi checked my expression.
Then it picked up a pen and paper with its front paws and began scribbling diligently in a corner.
Please, Kkamangi—let your abilities turn into a jackpot product for me.
I immediately summoned Ron and George, the agricultural administrators.
At my call, the two came running in a hurry.
“Milady! You called for us!”
Judging by the buttons torn near their collars, they’d clearly been arguing before I summoned them.
I cleared my throat.
“Ahem. Have you both given it some thought?”
“I have nothing more to say to this man!”
“What? That’s my line! Talking to a fool like you is a waste of time!”
“What do you think, Milady?”
Just as I expected.
Honestly, it was easier to persuade them when there was no clear answer.
“Actually, I can read the weather.”
“Pardon? How?”
Yeah, I knew it sounded unbelievable.
But I shamelessly pushed on.
“By observing the sky. I can’t predict daily weather, but I can roughly tell what the whole year will be like. It’s a method used across the sea on another continent—apparently it hasn’t spread here yet.”
“Ah.”
The two nodded in understanding.
For once, it was fortunate that the Valpruga ducal house had fallen behind the times.
In the past, I’d have been chased out for spouting nonsense.
“If you two had agreed, I would’ve followed that—but….”
I looked at their disheveled appearances.
“You’re both unwilling to compromise, right?”
“Yes!”
“Of course!”
“Fine. Then I’ll decide. This year will be quite cold. And we’ll have a lot of snow and rain.”
Turning to Ron, who had insisted on the Badam tree, I said,
“So the Badam tree—which needs warmth—is out.”
George, who had argued for the Relong flower because of the cold, smiled smugly.
I expected Ron to protest, but surprisingly, he nodded quietly.
“…Understood. If that’s what you believe, Milady, I’ll follow your decision.”
Rather than fully trusting my claim about the weather, he just looked exhausted from all the arguing.
“Well, maybe this is for the best. We can’t keep clinging to this forever. Missing the farming season would be far worse. Since you say you can read the weather, Milady, I’ll trust you—for now.”
“Hahaha! Farming always comes down to faith and prayer in the end, doesn’t it? No matter how hard people try, variables always pop up.”
George, pleased, slung an arm around Ron’s shoulders.
Despite everything, the two didn’t seem to truly dislike each other.
“So, what should we plant?”
The answer came immediately.
“In that case, we recommend planting the Relong flower.”
“Relong flower? What’s that?”
“It’s a native plant of the territory. The roots are used for medicine, the flowers for magical potions—nothing goes to waste. But it must stay buried in snow, so it can only be grown in cold, snowy climates. That makes it difficult to cultivate here unless the weather’s right, but it also sells for a high price.”
“Then let’s plant that! Good—this year’s farming will center on it. Still, planting only one crop is risky, so if there’s space left, plant other cold-resistant crops too.”
“Leave it to us.”
“There’s no one in this castle who knows crops better than we do.”
Only then could I reveal why I’d originally summoned them.
“Oh, right. Since you know crops so well, there’s something I want you to find….”
When I described a crop that had been popular in the original story, the two looked puzzled.
“What would you use such a weed for?”
“Just trust me. Can you find it?”
“Don’t worry.”
“You have to find it.”
Because that item would put our territory on a pile of money.
After leaving the office, Ron and George looked at each other.
George spoke first.
“My position happened to match Milady’s decision, but are you really satisfied with it?”
“What choice do I have?”
Ron shrugged.
“And honestly, I’ve started wanting to trust Milady. When she uncovered Prug’s embezzlement, I thought it was luck—but succeeding in a deal with Marquis Reholas can’t be coincidence.”
“She looks so gentle, yet she handles matters decisively.”
“I never imagined someone from an orphanage would be like this.”
“Haha. True.”
“Since we can’t reach an answer no matter how long we debate, maybe it’s time to leave things to the heavens—or rather, to our lucky charm of a lady.”
“So you’ve finally learned some flexibility?”
Ron replied gruffly.
“What else could I do? Even this warm hallway is thanks to Milady.”
“Right, right.”
George chuckled, then stopped and gazed beyond the castle walls.
“This is a bit embarrassing to admit… but I’ve been thinking lately.”
“Thinking what?”
“That maybe Milady could put an end to this wretched poverty of our house… maybe restore the ducal family to its former glory.”
“Hey….”
Their eyes grew moist.
It wasn’t as if they were happy seeing the land they’d grown up in so poor.
“Alright, we’ve got our answer—let’s get to work! Do you know how much work piled up while we were arguing?”
“Exactly! We should grow those Relong flowers properly and at least leave our names behind for reviving the territory!”
“And fetch what Milady asked for!”
“Of course!”
The two hurried back to their workplaces, competing with each other in speed.
After dismissing the agricultural officials, I took the paper Kkamangi had written.
The handwriting was messy, but readable.
“Let’s see what our Kkamangi can do right now… Make one cup of water, instantly freeze water. Mm, we don’t need that right now, so skip….”
My Kkamangi… really needs a lot of training….
Seeing the wistful look in my eyes, Kkamangi immediately protested.
[But I can block any attack.]
“How many seals would you need to break for that?”
[…About ten?]
I smiled silently.
“What does this mean—‘knows everything about water’?”
[Exactly what it says. I know everything about water.]
I tilted my head, not quite understanding.
Kkamangi spoke haltingly.
[These things are so obvious to me that I don’t know how to explain them. I’m a water divine beast. The reason I can make it rain or know the weather is because of that. Master—did you know that the rain that falls is different every day?]
