“In any case, we need to efficiently get the fields up to working condition... But what do we do in the meantime? Farming alone won’t be enough to push the settlement forward... We’ll need to start working on other stuff too.”
It wasn’t wrong to have everyone pitch in with the farmwork, but feeding the Bunownies wasn’t the only pressing matter at hand. On Cal Mira, I’d single-handedly handled the fish procurement until we got to the point where the Pekkles could take care of it themselves on fishing boats. It was only when we reached that point that we began making huge strides in the island’s development.
“Ultimately, we’re aiming for castle construction. Emoji, has Santa Hat Bunowny said anything about that?”
“Nay! Not a peep!”
So...that probably means they haven’t gotten far enough for a castle to even be in consideration.
Based on the data Cray read out from the Buno-no-meter, the Bunownies weren’t just low on food, but on numbers as well. They’d only just found the entrance to the human-sized dungeon, cleared it quickly, and unlocked Brave Bunowny. That was where progress seemed to have stalled.
In my case...calling on Romina as our third member had probably been the right choice.
“Right now, we need to secure more Bunownies and set up a farming system to put them to work.”
That said...I couldn’t see any dramatic solutions to any of the issues at hand.
All the supplies left behind at the settlement were pretty much scraps that were deemed worthless and abandoned in the storehouses by those so-called frontliners. You could’ve at least stored some of your drops and materials before you disappeared...
Even Shouko and Tsumugi would put all their drops in storage after their dungeon expeditions.
The human factors are making this way harder than it has to be.
“I’m guessing your Bunowny population grows if you till the soil?”
“They pop up when you get a good harvest—like they’re lured in by the vibes,” Emoji explained. “We haven’t had any show up lately.”
Up to a point, I only had to fish for more Pekkles to show up. Then one day, they just stopped biting. I guess you need to try new things, take on new challenges to get their numbers up.
“Ultimately, we won’t get anywhere if we can’t secure a good harvest...”
“As for our other options... Aye, if you want a field you could use right away, you’ll have to turn to the one in the dungeon.”
“A field in the dungeon...?”
That reminds me of the fishing area in Cal Mira’s dungeon.
“Did you just start tilling in the dungeon or something?”
Come to think of it, I’d never actually tried digging up the dungeon floor on Cal Mira. By the sound of things, Emoji got Brave Bunowny from randomly digging around, so maybe this was a part of that.
“In most areas of the dungeon, the ground reverts as soon as you dig into it. But there are certain floors where you are allowed to farm.”
“Time still flows differently in there, I take it?”
“Of course. Oh, and I managed to barely repair the elevator, you know. They wouldn’t stop pestering me otherwise.”
As it turned out, Emoji even dabbled in a bit of Machinery.
Hmm...just like how I managed to nab a huge haul of fish at the lake, you can use certain dungeon floors as fields.
“Also, it seems each floor has its own season,” Emoji went on. “Island lord, as you seem to love fishing, I would recommend the Crystal Lake on floor fifty. The crystals glow and dim with the hours, so it’s easy to tell the passage of time. It is a beautiful place. Should you leave the dungeon, you cannot tend to the crops, you see... The harvest period slips away before you realize, and they are left to wither and die.”
On Cal Mira, five days would pass in the dungeon for every day outside.
“Hmm... So if we do some thorough planting in the dungeon fields, we can raise enough crops to get the Bunownies working?”
And I’d be able to fish while we waited. It sounded like a perfect way to fill the time while the failing aboveground fields were being purified.
“There isn’t so much space for fields, mind you.”
I should think of the dungeon floors as greenhouses, then. In farming sims, they’re convenient places where you can grow crops year-round regardless of season.
“Still better than nothing.”
It felt like we’d found a place that met our needs. And more than anything...I was incredibly curious to see what sort of lord was lurking in that Crystal Lake.
“All righty, then! We’re running a boot camp to get some resources!” I boldly declared once everyone had gathered up.
“Sure.”
“Aye.”
Reactions were mixed. L’Arc stayed silent, and the one giving me the sourest look was definitely my sister.
“Now who’s with me? You’ll dive in for around fifteen days, tend to the fields, and keep me company while I fish. It’ll be a super fun escape from all the hustle and bustle.”
Kanade turned away silently. It was almost like she was waiting for the storm to pass.
With all the nagging she’d been doing lately, I thought she’d at least get in a retort, but clearly she didn’t want to have anything to do with this boot camp.
“I’ve got the purification work you requested from me!” she suddenly proclaimed. “We’ll need to do another dungeon run for other supplies later, so I’ll step down from this one.”
“Ah, no fair, Kanade! I’m with her on this one!”
So sis and L’Arc are out. I hadn’t been counting on either of them anyway. It’d be safer if I handled most of it myself.
“Me! Me! I’ll go with!”
Emoji’s hand shot straight up.
Ooh...so someone’s actually willing to live the dungeon life with me? Then I should definitely teach her some proper farming. It feels like she’s really motivated.
“I think I’ll have to pass. I have to focus on compounding pesticides and coordinating the Bunownies and Pekkles.”
“Yes...and I’d like to prioritize developing the settlement. There are a few facilities I’d like to build.”
Cray and Millie opted for constructing and maintaining our base of operations—it was pretty much what Alto had been handling back on the island.
“I’ll meet you halfway! I want to do some mining in the dungeon, and I sooo want to see the Crystal Lake!”
And Therese is in too? You don’t get these development events every day. Whoever enjoys it the most is the winner.
“Got it. Then it’s me, Emoji, and Therese heading down to Crystal Lake.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Let’s do this!”
It was a slightly concerning pair, but I planned to stick with them until they hit their limits.
“By the way,” said Emoji, “the season for the Crystal Lake is spring.”
“Then we’ll need some spring crops... What do you have?”
“Aye, well...we’ve secured strawberry, potato, and carrot seeds. Also, the hoe comes with turnip seeds by default.”
“Secured...from where?”
“Bunownies sometimes bring things back when you send them out to explore. Apart from that, monsters drop them in the dungeon—they grow there naturally too.”
Huh... So even stuff like that is set to drop.
“The workshop came preinstalled with something called a Seed Maker,” Cray added. “If you insert a ripe crop, it will churn out the seeds for it.”
So harvested produce still has plenty of uses... That’s actually kind of interesting.
With farming this fleshed out, she could’ve likely accomplished some amazing things if she’d had proper coordination with her comrades. Too bad Emoji’s former combat-focused allies didn’t get it.
“There are even Machinery recipes that can only be learned here. I’ll use whatever materials we have here to raise my skills.”
Yeah, it’s better to leave that to Cray. If Sheryl were here, we’d be blessed with her expertise, but...she’s not. Not much we can do about that.
“Anyway, grab every usable seed you can, and head out.”
“Aye aye!”
“Yay! I’ll bring back loads of goodies to craft with!”
And with two merry comrades in tow, I set off for the dungeon’s Crystal Lake.