Both Caesar and Renee nodded their heads with absentminded expression while Caesar had a strange look on his face… 'it's quite similar to some of the religions in my past life, albeit it is a bit different. However, they share the same concept besides the fact that 'god' isn't present, perhaps both earth and this world share something in common?' Caesar quietly thought to himself as he walked in the farmer's foundation.
He shook his head and decided to stop thinking about such troublesome matters. At the very least, they figured out that Elizabeth should either be a Nymph or Valkyrie, or on the contrary, just an adorable little girl, but the former was more likely.
Caesar looked around the farmer's foundation while deep in thought. There were plants and flowers placed all over the place while quite a few older looking fox-kin were studying them and writing down notes in what seemed to be a notebook.
The old fox-kin in the shack didn't even notice the presence of both Musashi and Caesar as they just continued to scribble down words on paper.
"Juzo! I brought somebody very knowledgeable when it comes to agriculture. Perhaps, you would like to trade secrets!" Musashi roared at the top of lungs, to which all of the farmers inside the shack raised their eyes.
The corner of Caesar's lips curled, 'putting the matters of Elizabeth and the four progenitors aside. I should focus on my current problem; the trolls' Caesar thought inwardly and took a step forward.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Caesar had wanted to know more about this world's history. Alas, he decided to put those unnecessary thoughts aside and focus on the farmers in front of him.
There were about five or so fox-kin men present in the shack, they were all relatively the same height, standing at 5 feet and 10 inches, they adorned ragged looking clothes with an abundant amount of stains and had unkempt hair. It was apparent they didn't care about their personal hygiene.
One of the farmers got up from their chair and walked over. He had a strange-looking monocle covering his right eye and folded ears atop his head.
"M-Musashi, what are you doing here?" A very high pitched and shy voice escaped from the man's mouth. His long obsidian hair greasily fell over his eyes, just barely covering parts of the monocle.
"Haha, you're just how I remembered you Juzo, you haven't changed in the slightest!" Musashi replied, while roaring in laughter.
Juzo's face visibly reddened as he averted his eyes. He was acting comparable to a shy schoolgirl, which baffled both Caesar and Renee.
"Alright, alright, enough banter… this is Caesar. He had just informed me of his abundant knowledge when it comes to agriculture and farming. I figured you would enjoy conversing with him on the topic," Musashi spoke while gesturing to Caesar with his hands.
Juzo shifted some of his hair away from his face and closely examined Caesar with shining eyes, "I-I would love to talk about agriculture with you! It is my passion. I hope we can learn some things from each other," Juzo said awkwardly and put his trembling hand forward.
The corner of Caesar's lips twitched as he took Juzo's hand with his own, the man visibly shivered once they touched hands and even Caesar couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Juzo. My name is Caesar," he introduced himself with an elegant smile.
"T-t-the pleasure is all mine," Juzo replied humbly while bowing deeply, as if afraid to look Caesar in the eyes.
An awkward silence ensued as Juzo refused to let go of Caesar's hand, the other four farmers looked at this scene with a wry smile and reminded Juzo.
"It's not polite to hold on to someone's hand for too long, Juzo!" one of the farmers reminded with a teasing smile.
Juzo abruptly pulled his hand from Caesar and bowed even more in-depth, as if he wanted to kiss the ground. "I-I'm terribly sorry!" he apologized in a sincere tone to which Caesar couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
"No need to apologize, let's get down to business, shall we?" Caesar pulled up the bowing man and asked with a professional smile.
"Y-yes, of course, please follow me" Juzo replaced his previous shy smile with an eager one and led Caesar out of the shack, Renee and the rest naturally followed after them.
Juzo led Caesar to the right of the shack, and a few dozen rows of different plants, flowers, and other forms of plant life were present.
They were neatly arranged in each row, giving off a very sophisticated feeling which impressed even Caesar.
Juzo looked at the plants, trees, and other foliage with love in his eyes, as if he were looking at his own children. He turned toward Caesar with a proud smile and opened his arms up wide.
"Welcome to my garden!" he said excitedly.
Caesar nodded his head in recognition and walked past Juzo. He walked through the rows of plant life and sifted through the plants to determine which sorts of vegetables and fruits were present in the garden.
"Wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, and corn" Caesar listed off each fruit and vegetable he could visibly determine. However, this was a different world. It would appear their vegetables and fruits were relatively the same.
"Wow, I'm surprised you know what each of these plants are, just by glancing at them!" Juzo spoke in an excited tone while closely following behind Caesar.
Caesar was by no means a farmer in his past life. There was a plethora amount of people who had known more about the subject in comparison to him; however, discerning the difference between a potato and wheat was something any average person was capable of.
Caesar only knew the basic methods related to farming, such as irrigation, diversity, rotating crops, and of course, flood control. All of which were things you would learn in any basic agricultural or geographical course at a university.
"How come you haven't spread out and made the farm more abundant? The amount of wheat in this vicinity is only enough to feed at most, a couple thousand" Caesar asked curiously while delicately touching the petals of a nearby flower.
Juzo scratched the back of his head bashfully with a strange blush spread across his face, "t-that is, we get a lot of rain in this area, the amount of water is hard to control when we have a surplus amount of plants. Thus, around 50% of our crops last year died to the seasonal floods." Juzo explained with an embarrassed smile.
"Hmm," Caesar hummed mysteriously and stood up from the ground, he observed the nearby terrain and stroked his chin in contemplation.
"What are your current counter-measure for the floods and excess rain?" Caesar asked inquiringly.
"We don't have any means to stop the rampaging waters; thus, every night during the flooding season, we pray to the heavens for mercy," Juzo explained with a calm smile to which Caesar looked at him baffled.
"You mean to tell me, your only tactic to stop the floods is to pray at night?" Caesar asked with a dumbfounded expression.
Juzo shook his head with a broad smile, "no, we pray during the day sometimes as well," he revealed.
The corner of Caesar's lips twitched, he could not detect any fallacy in Juzo's words, even Renee and the kobold elder behind him open their eyes wide in surprise.
Caesar facepalmed, "you don't use any simple form of drainage or flood protection? Such as digging a ditch around the crops or forming small pathways to drain the excess water near the plants to somewhere else?" Caesar asked in exasperation.
Confusion gleamed in Juzo's eyes as Caesar continued to explain… "Similar to a moat, you can dig a relatively large ditch around your stronghold so that the waters fall inside the ditch instead of rampaging inside and killing your crops…"
"If the ditch was full of water, how would we leave our kingdom?" Juzo asked.
"You can, of course, use a drawbridge or a wooden plank to walk across. Not to mention, with the number of plants, vegetables, and starch saved, there would be a surplus amount of food compared to how much you currently have," Caesar further explained, while both Musashi and Juzo stroked their chins in contemplation.
"Sigh, it would app
ear you are quite knowledgeable about raising the plants. Alas, protecting the crops seems to be where you need to improve. Perhaps, you could lend me some of your troops, Musashi, and I can assure you that your strongholds defenses will improve alongside the protection of the crops." Caesar sighed deeply and turned around to face Musashi.
"Hmm, very well, I will send Leo and Faust to assist you on this endeavor; since it would seem you three have already gotten to know each other,"
Musashi decided after a few seconds of thought, he was an easy-going man, and with someone explaining to him a few feasible ideas, how could he refuse?
"Thank you," Caesar replied courteously and half-bowed elegantly to which Juzo at the side nodded his head with excitement.
"If what you say is true and we don't have to cripple the number of crops used, we can plant some more!" Juzo spoke with realization apparent in his tone as if he was a kid that just found a new toy.
Caesar massaged his temples, 'I can't believe they would put such an imbecile in charge of the food, one of the most important aspects in any kingdom, stronghold, or country…' he thought inwardly while glancing at Juzo skeptically.
"Well, that's enough talk about troublesome things that I don't understand. Caesar, I will let you do what you need to do tomorrow. As for now, let's duel each other in my private battlegrounds; I've been itching to test your capabilities," Musashi clapped his hands and interrupted everyone's train of thought.
Caesar ran his slender fingers through his long and elegant hair while an eager smile slowly formed on his lips. "Very well, I have also been wanting to test how strong the clan head of a medium-sized clan in the dark continent is," Caesar responded and put his hands behind his back.
The moat and irrigation would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, the duel with Musashi was more attractive to Caesar.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Seeing Caesar's eager smile, a strange gleam appeared in Musashi's eyes as he turned around and led them in the opposite direction.
Caesar, Renee, and the kobold elder followed behind him in silence. They walked by the large garden and headed directly to the large mansion in the middle of the stronghold.
Along the way, many curious gazes were cast upon them by the fox-kin. It wasn't every day they had the luxury to see the clan head.
"Oh my, is that the clan head and the empress?" an older fox-kin female nudged the shoulder of her friend and asked.
"Y-you're right! Who are they walking with, though?" the other woman asked curiously after observing Caesar's unfamiliar face for a moment.
"You don't, you know? That is the strategist that beat Faust and Leo in a duel!" the fox-kin lady replied excitedly with stars in her eyes.
"You mean THAT, Faust? The most likely person to take the mantle of clan head once Musashi steps down?" the girl asked with an astonished tone.
Caesar and the rest didn't mind the harmless gossip that surrounded them and continued moving forward. Musashi's footsteps didn't halt in the slightest as he walked through the large mansion as if he was taking a stroll in his garden.
They passed by a few long corridors and soon arrived at the most northeastern point of the mansion, they stopped in front of two large jade doors with two realistic lion sculptures on both ends of the doors, as if they were guarding it.
Musashi lifted his hand and lightly pressed on the door, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath before abruptly snapping his eyes open and sending a massive wave of mana into the door.
The jade doors blasted open, and a huge gust of wind assaulted Caesar's and the rest's faces. Caesar squinted his eyes and covered his face with his hand.
After a few seconds, Caesar dropped his hand and opened his eyes wide. Small cherry blossoms floated through the air as if they were beckoning him closer.
Musashi's lips curled once he noticed Caesar's astonished expression, 'hehe, I've finally surprised this straight-faced man' Musashi cheered inwardly and took a step forward.
"Follow me, youngster, this is my personal training grounds" Musashi spoke without glancing behind him and continued marching onward.
Caesar nodded and closely followed behind him, while both Renee and the kobold elder who had been shamelessly following them until now, looked at each other with a weird expression.
"Should we continue following them?" The kobold whispered in Renee's direction.
"That's my grandfather and boyfriend, so I don't see a problem with me following them, but, you…' Renee spoke in a strange tone as she scrutinized the kobold elder. If she was candid, she didn't even notice his presence until now!
"Hehe, it should be fine. I mean, I am their new ally after all!" The kobold elder comforted himself while striding forward.
Renee shook her head with a wry smile and didn't take too long to join the kobold elder in following both Caesar and Musashi through the jade doors.
Once they passed through the entrance, a grand arena appeared in their line of sight. Stone white pillars were placed at each corner of the stadium as well as an elegant square pattern etched on to the arena floor.
A large and thriving cherry blossom tree was just a bit south of the arena, and it's long branches only barely reached above it, perfectly shading it from the blazing sun.
A stiff breeze kicked up Caesar's hair as he observed the arena, creating a perfect scene that looked as though it was taken out of a beautiful painting.
Although Caesar's footsteps halted, Musashi's didn't, he walked into the middle of the arena and faced Caesar with a wide smile.
"This will be our training grounds for the next week, or so, I hope you can learn a lot before the tournament because you can bet that Faust will bet training with everything he has" Musashi spoke solemnly and broke Caesar out of his stupor.
Caesar loosened the collar on his suit and walked up to the arena, "don't act as though you have the right to teach me yet" Caesar said with a dangerous glint in his eyes, this wasn't Caesar's arrogance, but his pride… he wouldn't let someone weaker than him be his trainer.
"Haha, in due time," Musashi laughed loudly and walked to the top left pillar, he sent another wave of mana inside and a small compartment opened up. Two relatively large silver chains suddenly shot out from the pillar and wrapped themselves around Musashi's arms.
Caesar tore off his blazer and unbuttoned his sleeved shirt. Only a skin-tight black undershirt was left. He took out both of the swords he had acquired from the dwarven treasury and entered into a fighting stance.
"Oh, a spatial ring, huh? That's quite the rare object you got their boy," Musashi said with an impressed expression while also getting into a fighting stance, putting one fist before the other, as if he was a boxer.
Renee, who was at the side, glanced between Caesar and Musashi worriedly before trying to walk up the arena and personally referee the battle, however, as she attempted to walk up the steps, a translucent barrier stopped her from entering.
"Haha, how could we let a woman stop a battle between men, just wait out their sweetheart, I won't rough him up too much" Musashi spoke sarcastically and looked at Caesar provocatively.
Renee knew she wouldn't be able to break her grandfather's barrier, so she took a step back from the arena and held her hands tight as she observed their battle anxiously.
The corner of Musashi's lips curled as he slowly lowered his right hand and drooped the chain down by a few inches, he dragged the chain on the ground as he walked around Caesar in a circle.
Caesar matched Musashi's pace, and they slowly circled each other, Caesar's eyes radiated a deep crimson as he patiently examined all of Musashi's weaknesses, he could easily see a few blinding red dots located in his abdomen, right shoulder, and left thigh.
"Your eyes are interesting, I've never seen nor felt anything like them before, alas, your tricks won't matter in front of absolute strength!" Musashi said as he flung the chains on his right hand towards Caesar with pinpoint accuracy.
The chains moved at an incredib
le speed, and Caesar barely had enough time to raise one of his swords to block it, he didn't even have enough time to notice the strange violet mana covering the chains before it was too late.
The chain, as if it was alive, wrapped around one of Caesar's swords and quickly yanked it away. Caesar's brows furrowed once he realized he couldn't win the battle at a distance, so he immediately charged forward.
"Smart move, kid, but it's not enough!" Musashi roared and swung the chains on his left hand towards Caesar's feet, they loudly scraped the ground and created sparks as they moved.
CEO in a Fantasy World 3 Page 8