Farming

The old man that greeted us was the village chief. He acted polite and lowly, maybe too humble that it made Alaric and Barnett somewhat uncomfortable. An old man bowing so deep to you might be a good scene for some nobles, but not for everyone. Alaric, as someone who has lost his mind, is obviously not happy when people act like that around him, and Barnett is not that kind of noble to seek everyone's attention. As a result, they asked the village chief to stop whatever he was doing and just lead them to their temporary residence.

After settling down, the villagers served us dinner, something we never requested but they did anyways.

'It's actually... not really good...'

The food that was served to these two noblemen was not comparable to what we were offered in other villages and cities on our way here. It was less in quantity and lower in quality. It was prepared with dedication, but it was visible that it wasn't fit for a noble.

Barnett and Alaric said nothing and still thanked the villagers for their hospitality, however the whole time, Barnett had a frown on his face. He had the expression of someone deep in thought while eating his food and even while occasionally chattering with Alaric.

"I guess they are short in food as they have not harvested their farms yet."

As Barnett was around, I couldn't sit at the same table with Alaric and eat his food like the previous few days and had to stand away from the two of them and watch them eat. While standing near the door beside the other servants, I moved a little bit towards Ranger and said in a whisper, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"If they don't have enough savings, they must starve this year, or maybe the next! Even preparing this small meal for the young master and the young lord must've cost them a lot..."

Ranger, surprised by me suddenly starting a conversation about an unrelated topic, tilted his head and narrowed his eyes a little bit, but he still responded to me.

"Can't they buy food from the other villages or cities?"

Ignoring Alaric and Barnett's gazes, I pretended to think for a brief second before shaking my head.

"The jungle is near this village and cuts off the path from the other parts of the country. And the other villages near this place... must also be facing similar problems..." I shrugged my shoulders, "That's none of my business though!"

I turned away from Ranger, leaving the old man dazed. He cast me his suspicious gaze but said nothing in the end.

"If this goes on... There will be a widespread shortage of food..."

This time, it was Barnett who mumbled in a low voice. His hands stopped moving in the middle of eating food and he froze for a few seconds.

As it seems, the duke had done some research regarding the matter of the late harvest of wheat, and probably other similar products. He must know that in the last few years, farmers have faced strange phenomena and problems during their farming seasons. They must've thought about the problem and taken measures to resolve it, as they are the people who had been dealing with these kinds of problems for centuries.

However, they must've thought about the matter as some passing problem that would be solved in a few years and as a result, they haven't taken it seriously.

I don't think my words right now could have much effect on the problem at hand. These phenomena will continue for years and result in the Great Drought. If the problem could've been solved this easily, then thousands of people would've died from hunger in all of my previous lives. Also, the duke and his assistant must've long thought about the things that I said, but it's unknown how much this young lord knew about those matters.

After a few seconds of being frozen, Barnett resumed eating his food, however this time he would occasionally send me glances from time to time.

The group spent that night in that village and set on the road early in the morning. As it seemed, Barnett wasn't the type to get up and start his day early, and often started his trip after lunch or around that time. That was why they arrived at the place where we were attacked one day after us. That was why in the carriage, the young lord was half asleep almost the whole morning until it was lunchtime.

And after two days of traveling, we finally reached the place I was waiting for.

The jungle.