Something had been on my mind since planting the tuber-like vegetables—whether this world had four seasons like mine. If it did, then it probably meant there were optimal seasons for different crops—which, in turn, meant that I might have screwed up.
But how can I figure out if there are seasons here anyway? Well, there’s always temperature. I think it’s been slowly getting hotter ever since I came here. Getting hotter should mean we’re approaching summer, but I don’t know what “summer” feels like here. We might already be in summer, or it might just keep getting hotter, which would mean we’re probably not... This is too hard.
Well, I’d planted the tubers, but now I was a little stuck. I’d helped my dad make fertilizer for pocket money once or twice, but I’d never actually grown anything myself or even helped him weed. I’d watered the garden often enough, but sprinkling water around hadn’t taught me anything that could help me now.
Vegetables, vegetables... What do they need? Water, for sure. Pesticide—or a way to remove bugs, I guess. And fertilizer. I think that’s all? That’s all they showed on that farming documentary...I think. Yeah. Probably.
I surveyed the field.
Yep, there’s no way I can manage this alone. It’s way too big... All right, time for some more clay dolls!
Without a few helping hands, I wouldn’t be able to keep all the vegetables alive—and I was already starting to lose the motivation to do it anyway.
I quickly popped inside to grab some surplus stone and a handful of the monster stones. The new batch of clay dolls would be the ones watering the crops, and watering such a large field would be a lot easier with magic.
So if I imagine them being able to use magic and give them each a monster stone for a bit of extra power... Yeah, that should work! Yep. Actually, I don’t even know if it’s possible to make magic-wielding clay dolls, but all I can do is try my best.
I selected six of the blue stones—three sky blue, and three sapphire—as well as two green ones. Despite many attempts, I hadn’t yet been able to figure out what kind of magic the green ones strengthened. But they were green, so it probably had something to do with nature. I’d also brought two colorless stones. Like the green ones, I hadn’t figured out what the colorless ones applied to—but they were pretty, so I wanted to use them. I filled my mind with images of dolls casting spells, sandwiched between scenes I remembered from the farming documentary, and willed the malleable rock to take form. Each doll I made was finished off with one of the monster stones, carefully pressed into their respective foreheads.
I have a feeling there were a lot of “bug extermination” scenes in my mental blueprint... I just really hate finding bugs in my veggies. Shouldn’t cause any problems, though. Right— They’ll need mana to cast magic. I’ll give everyone a good dose of it... Okay, done.
“Good morning!”
A new job should always start off with a friendly greeting— Why are they all saluting? Did I accidentally add something to the mental blueprint? I can’t remember anything that would have caused saluting... Oh well. Should be fine.
I ended up christening them “the Farm Brigade” on account of the unintended, militaryesque action. The new batch of dolls could obviously move—now I just had to wait and see if they could cast magic.
Welcome to the family, guys.
The Farm Brigade was amazing.
The six blue-stone dolls could freely conjure and manipulate water. I’d wanted them to be able to use magic, so I was obviously pleased—but at the same time, I had a strange feeling that they were actually better at it than me.
Still a success—I think. And only a little irritating.
The green-stone dolls, on the other hand, were creating gusts of wind to blow around the field—
That’s weird. I’m sure I tested out wind magic with the green stones, and it didn’t do anything... Eh, it’s probably fine. I don’t know why they’re conjuring wind either, but I’ll assume they know what they’re doing.
Finally, the two colorless stone dolls seemed to have appointed themselves as the leaders, based on the way they were currently giving out orders.
Still no idea what your stones do. Oh well. Everything will probably go smoother with someone to oversee it, so I guess you’re in charge! What does that make you—generals, maybe? Looks like everything’s worked out well.
Or so I thought. Minutes later—and after a confusing game of charades—I found myself making another twenty new recruits for the Farm Brigade, as per the generals’ wishes.
I guess the field was still too big, even for ten of you. Thirty should be fine though... Hang on, why does it look like you’re making a new plot? Must be my imagination.
Later that day, I was cornered by Spider Boss and Shuri, each clutching a large white ball. Shuri’s was around twice the size of a basketball, while Spider Boss’ was slightly larger at about three times the size.
Why are you guys here, and what’s with the balls? Actually, what are the balls...and why are you putting them in front of me?
Spider Boss gently placed a leg on the larger ball, and I could feel the mana pouring out of the huge arachnid and into the strange white object. Shuri did the same. Then, each nudged their respective ball in my direction.
And you want me to do...?
Unblinking gazes burned into me as both again began pouring mana into the balls.
Um... I think they want me to add some mana too? They’ll stop me if I’m wrong.
I placed one hand on each ball and started flooding them with mana. Neither Spider Boss nor Shuri moved to stop me, so it seemed like my guess had been correct. The balls—whatever they were—were capable of absorbing a lot of mana. I wasn’t sure how much they needed me to add, so I just kept pouring it in, assuming they’d stop me at some point—but about half an hour passed, and neither of them seemed content. Until—
Crack.
“Crap.” Cracks appeared in both of the balls at the same time. Thinking I’d broken them, I started to panic—panic that intensified a moment later. I was surprised I didn’t scream.
Spider Boss and Shuri seemed to radiate with joy as the two balls shattered, revealing countless...
New friends.
One squirming mass of baby spiders and another squirming mass of baby ants had apparently joined our family. Both species were the size of my pinky nail, just like the other baby spiders had been when I’d first met them.
Eggs. I didn’t even consider that they might have been eggs. Eggs shouldn’t be that big.
That night, I dreamed of millions of tiny black insects spilling out of a hole and chasing me. It wasn’t a pleasant dream.