Where the intangible blade had swept through, wheat stalks lay rustlingly fallen, rolling around on the ground.
I picked up a stalk rolling around at my feet.
A clean cut surface, as if sliced off the stem with a blade.
Yet, the wheat grains inside the husk were not damaged at all.
'I didn't know I'd end up using this in such a way.'
Originally, 'One gust of fierce wind' was a magic I developed for long-range sniping on the battlefield. Focusing solely on the blade's cutting power, it's relatively weak compared to other magic of the same tier, but its basic range is incredibly long, making it good for killing distant enemies.
"Waaaaah!"
"Amazing!"
"Incredible!"
Meanwhile, the residents who had been watching me cast magic from behind cheered joyfully. It felt somewhat like receiving undeserved praise, but it didn't feel particularly bad.
"Then, residents, please pick up the fallen stalks and gather them in one place."
As I said that and stepped aside, the residents, as if they had been waiting, all entered the field and started picking up the stalks.
Vanessa, looking at the wheat field where most of the stalks had been cut off by a single spell with an exasperated expression, came up beside me and casually remarked.
"You're a much greater mage than I thought."
"My reputation as an Archmage wasn't earned by telling jokes."
In the first place, being a Mage is a title granted only to mages of the 4th tier or higher. Reaching around the 6th tier, it wouldn't be strange to say one was almost the best within the elemental field they chose as their specialty.
Because the number of residents who had gathered to watch the magic was so large, the task of picking up the fallen stalks didn't take long. The residents brought the stalks they gathered, armfuls at a time, and piled them in one place; the scale was quite large, appearing like a mountain.
Once the rough cleanup was finished, Violet, who had been leading the residents by example in place of the Village Chief, who had difficulty moving, asked while wiping the sweat droplets on her forehead.
"Then, Mage-nim, what should we do now?"
"You can all rest now. I'll take care of the rest."
As I said that, I urged the residents to move further away. Then, perhaps realizing I was about to cast magic again, the residents gleefully returned to where they had been sitting earlier.
I stretched both arms forward.
Controlling fluid with mana was my specialty. The wind flowing in the air slowly began to envelop the wheat stalks. Once the transparent sphere created like that completely seals off the outside and inside, it's time to create turbulence within the barrier. What was merely a weak breeze at first began to become entangled with winds blowing from other directions, creating strong gusts. Those gusts gathered to become a vortex, and the vortex soon became a small storm. The mountain of stalks trapped inside the sphere began to spin violently, as if put into a washing machine. Due to the resulting centrifugal force, the whole wheat grains, falling out of the stalks with a rustle, began to slowly separate.
I, having maintained the storm inside the sphere for a long time, confirmed the whole wheat grains spinning inside were completely separated into husk and grain, and then brought large sacks. As soon as I cut off the mana supply, the sphere of wind disappeared, the stalks, now only husks, fell rustlingly to the ground, and I carefully collected only the clean grains and put them into the sacks. Seeing it all handled automatically without needing to take them to a mill, the village residents, mouths agape, stared blankly before belatedly starting to clap.
'Hmm. Simple enough.'
As I puffed up my chest with a strange sense of pride, Vanessa, who had been watching this whole scene from behind, muttered incredulously.
"Maybe I should have learned magic too."
Afterwards, I repeated the same process as before.
"'One gust of fierce wind! One gust of fierce wind! One gust of fierce wind!'"
Instead of cutting the stalks one by one with a sickle, I cut them off in large chunks at once with powerful magic-
"'I'll separate the grain from the chaff!'"
The wheat stalks the residents gathered from the field went through threshing and milling using the improvised 'washing machine magic' (tentative name). Working together with the residents efficiently like this, even though less than 3 hours had passed since we started, we were able to harvest all 10,000 pyeong of land. We could have finished it all today if we pushed ourselves a bit, but I was struggling with mana depletion, and the residents were starting to run out of stamina, so we decided to call it a day.
The sacks piled high with grains were loaded onto a cart pulled from the village. In times like these, a large Bicorn was helpful. Because its stamina is much better than a normal horse, it could walk briskly no matter how much cargo it carried. The Bicorn, due to its magnificent appearance, was especially popular among young people. But due to its very firm preferences, it would panic and shy away if children or virgins approached. However, when surrounded by the village women, it docilely accepted their petting as if nothing had happened.
As I watched that scene from afar, the little beastkin named Roto, whom I saw at the village entrance yesterday, came up to me and asked.
"Mage-nim! What's that horse's name?"
"Name?"
I casually glanced up at the Bicorn. A Bicorn is a Bicorn. I didn't have a hobby of giving specific nicknames to mounts. But since I couldn't break the pure heart of a child, I gently patted Roto's head and just said whatever came to mind.
"That guy really likes used stuff, so you can call him Joonggonara."
"Wow! Joonggonara!"
After the first day's harvest ended, Camilla and I returned to the Village Chief's house. We had decided to stay here for the time being, until the farming work is finished. Vanessa, the Demon King's Guard Captain, said she couldn't be away from her post for long and returned to the Demon King's Castle first. Thanks to that, Camilla and I were left alone, but perhaps because we had already stayed one night, staying in someone else's house didn't feel too awkward.
"What about the Village Chief?"
"My father finished his meal first and went to his room."
Although the menu was simpler than yesterday, the table filled with still delicious home-style cooking was satisfying. Violet's cooking skills are top-notch. I've traveled here and there following the Hero, but if the taste is this good, it would rank within the top ten among the home-style meals I've eaten. Impressed by the taste of the vegetable stew, I praised her sincerely.
"Your husband must be lucky. To be able to eat such good food every day."
Violet blushed shyly and shook her head.
"Oh my, no. I haven't seen my husband's face in half a year already. Father doesn't have much appetite and only eats what he likes, so it makes me proud as the cook when you eat so deliciously, Mage-nim."
Chatting happily like that, exchanging pleasantries, we continued the meal enjoyably.
"…I ate well."
Meanwhile, just like yesterday, even though it hadn't been long since we started eating, Camilla wiped her mouth with a napkin and got up first. As she went to her room first, Violet cupped her cheeks with her hands and said worriedly.
"Does Camilla-ssi not like my cooking?"
I waved my hands dismissively at Violet.
"Don't worry. Objectively speaking, your cooking is excellent. Rather, if there's a problem, it's likely with her."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Perhaps it's a matter of constitution."
As I said that and shrugged, Violet let out a soft gasp of "Ah…" It's a well-known fact that Succubi primarily subsist on a man's essence. But yesterday and today, I hadn't seen Camilla meet any men separately. Besides, she was certified as a pure virgin by the Bicorn.
Anyway, since the person in question wasn't present and it felt awkward to keep talking about this, I changed the subject of the conversation. Fortunately, Violet was perceptive and played along well. Perhaps, if Violet had appeared as a normal human, I might have been slightly tempted by the attribute of being a considerate married woman.
After the meal for just the two of us ended like that, I said I was going to bed first and entered my room. I heard it was the room Violet's son used before joining the army, so for whatever reason, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable for me to use. Since the Village Chief is a fox beastkin and Violet is also a fox beastkin, their husband and children are probably the same fox beastkin too.
I mentally thanked her son, whom I'd never met, and took off the green robe I'd worn all day.
Pang! Pang!
I roughly dusted off the dirt on the outside with my palms and hung it on a hanger so it wouldn't wrinkle. If nothing else, I always took meticulous care of the robe, which was practically a mage's uniform.
Feeling much lighter like that, just as I was about to lie down on the bed.
Knock- knock-
At the sound of the door suddenly being knocked on, I stopped all my actions.
"Are you already asleep?"
My tension was unfounded; it was Violet's voice coming from outside the door. Wondering what was going on, I slightly opened the door.
"No, what is it…"
"Huh?"
Violet, standing at the door, was holding a wine bottle and a plate with simple snacks. Actually, this much wasn't particularly surprising, but what truly surprised me was that she was in her half-human, half-beast form. Normally, she had the appearance of a full beastkin, swaying her purple tail, but she suddenly, capriciously, took on a human form. Excluding her ears and tail, she looked no different from a human.
She shook the wine bottle in her right hand and smiled wryly.
"If you don't mind, would you like a drink? It feels a bit lonely drinking alone."
I stared intently at Violet's face, trying to figure out her intentions, as she spoke in a tone no different from usual. A beauty with neat features, typical of a fox beastkin with eyes that slanted slightly upwards and a charming beauty mark by her mouth. As if she had no ulterior motives other than drinking, she blinked her eyes innocently. At that infuriatingly innocent act, I chuckled and opened the door wider.
"If that's the reason, there's no reason to refuse. Come in."
"Oh my, then excuse me."
"But is the soundproofing here good?"
"My father is a heavy sleeper."
Click-
I locked the door after she came inside. Maybe getting enchanted by a fox wouldn't be so bad sometimes.