Even if she overcomes all those hardships and bears fruit, the passing wild dogs will pluck it all before the fruit ripens.
Or perhaps before that, the Golden Realm might pass by once more, transforming the fields into something else entirely.
Nevertheless, she is plowing the field.
"This land, its earth power has declined. Then again, a field forcibly made on unsuitable land won't last long."
"…."
"The Golden Realm isn't omnipotent either, is it? Is it merely imitating after all?"
"…You."
"No, perhaps I thought wrong. Maybe the Golden Realm can do it but chooses not to? With enough consideration and time invested, even the soil quality could be changed... It seems you have no particular interest in Yeolguk?"
Crack.
The terrified horse screamed and bolted forward. Behind the running horse, steel that was once a plow scattered and fell, crumbling black like ash kicked by someone.
The steel that would have remained as it was for a thousand years if nothing happened, rusted instantly in the woman's hand. No, simply saying it rusted is insufficient.
Collapse. The very structure that made the steel recognizable as iron crumbled.
The woman who rendered the plow useless in an instant glared at me with cold eyes.
"…Creation is harder than destruction."
"Of course. I've built towers with cards too, so I know. Building is hard work, but someone just needs to tap it and it falls."
"…The Golden Realm continues that difficult work. I don't know what Gun-guk people think of Him, though."
'…Compared to me who only knows how to break things, He who creates all things is magnificent. Given enough time, He could even create the world... A supreme being.'
Sometimes there are people like this. Those who react more sensitively when something they like or respect is attacked than when they themselves are attacked.
At times like this, poking that side brings out honest reactions, which is nice.
"…I don't particularly care. Whatever you do."
'…Whether you wage war or attempt assassination. None of my business. No matter what Gun-guk does, it can't inflict even a speck of harm on the Golden Realm.'
Her words are a bit clumsy. Good thing I can read thoughts, or anyone else would have struggled with communication.
"…However, if you try to disgrace the Golden Realm."
'…I'll melt you myself.'
It wasn't an empty threat.
She merely released magical power, yet the ground sank. It's not earth magic, nor earth-type martial arts. Simply, the land that was once made into a field, the soil where seeds breathed and gravel, crumbled and collapsed. Like an antlion digging a pit, the crumbled sand flows down around her. If you stepped wrong, you'd slip right down.
An inherent magic of collapse, a troublesome ability. Even if I stole it, it would be useless. It only has the function of accelerating corrosion and collapse, so it would be of no benefit to me who relies heavily on tools.
Then let's set aside the conflict and try to build some rapport.
"It seems you're misunderstanding something right now, but I have no intention of disgracing the Golden Realm?"
"…Then?"
"It's just that they kept speaking as if they had the advantage, so I merely pointed out their disadvantages to gain the upper hand in negotiations."
The magical power that had been gnawing at the surroundings disappeared. The woman withdrew her inherent magic and asked back.
"…Negotiations?"
"Yes. We're peace envoys dispatched from the Gun-guk Supreme Command."
The woman replied with suspicious eyes.
"…Aren't you a spy?"
"If I were a spy, I wouldn't be riding around boldly on a Gun-guk mount. As the horse said, what kind of spy walks around showing off their bio-terminal?"
'…Just thought you were stupid.'
Harsh words. It's true Azi is a dog so she's stupid, but I'm not.
Hmm. I read a lot of thoughts, but couldn't read the location of the Golden Palace or how to find it. Even high-ranking officials don't know—what kind of land is this?
Still, the other person is the Lord of Yeolguk who has actually visited the Golden Palace. She seems to know more than we do. Should I try asking?
"Anyway, this works out well. We were having great difficulty finding our way in a foreign land, and here we meet someone who knows the Golden Realm. How about it, won't you help us contribute to world peace?"
"…World peace?"
"I said it grandly, but it's nothing much—just arrange a negotiation meeting for us."
"…Negotiations? With whom?"
"The Golden Realm, of course. Who else but the Golden Realm is the ruler of Yeolguk?"
"…Seriously?"
"Why are you so uneasy? Is there a problem?"
'…Seeking an audience with the Golden Realm to negotiate directly? Are they fearless? Or just reckless.'
The woman shook her head and answered.
"…Do as you please."
"Does that mean you'll help?"
"…No."
The woman, who refused as sharply as a knife, turned her body completely and looked down at her feet. Looking at the land that now seemed more suited for construction than farming, she let out a bitter sigh.
Is she planning to farm again? Tch, she lacks cooperativeness.
"Then at least tell me the location of the Golden Palace."
"…I don't know."
"Wait! Even a way to find the Golden Palace!"
"…Normally."
"No, what do you mean normally! How is a 'normal' that I don't know normal!"
'…Normally, by reading the traces of the land and asking for directions. There's no other way.'
The people of this country don't know where their own palace is! Even if it moves, at least one person should know!
If it were in a tightly hidden secret location, I would have read and found out with telepathy. But since it roams the land, no one knows. Tch, is legwork really the only option?
"Looking at you farming, it doesn't seem like you have much to do. Any inclination to guide us?"
"…Not particularly."
"No, I said we're peace envoys? Blood, fire, war! We're trying to break this chain of terrible tragedy and get along, so you should help!"
"…None of my business."
'…You call this land Yeolguk as if it's one, but in truth there are only wild dogs scavenging the byproducts left by the Golden Realm. Juggernauts move as they please and companies only pursue their own profits. No one listens to anyone else's orders... unless the Golden Realm gives the command directly.'
This person is skeptical not about 'peace' but about 'negotiations.' Rather than disliking peace, she thinks meaningful negotiations are impossible to achieve.
Ugh. That's a shame.
I need to read the Golden Realm's thoughts. But if the Golden Palace is hostile from the start, reading those thoughts won't be easy. No matter how good telepathy is, reading the past takes some time, and above all, I need an opportunity to get close. I'm not sure what I'll do at the Golden Palace, but at least I need to approach it amicably.
This woman, who is both a follower of the Golden Realm and the master of the Juggernaut, would be helpful...
If I can't persuade her right away, maybe I should lay some bait.
"Well, it's a shame but it can't be helped. As thanks for the good information you've given, shall I tell you one thing too?"
"…Not necessary."
"A method of farming well that nomads don't know. If you don't need it, then fine."
The woman stopped walking. Her face doesn't show emotion well, but her actions are honest. At her gesture telling me to speak quickly, I smiled lightly and dropped a piece of bait.
"Now, listen carefully. The most important thing in farming is—"
"…Important thing is?"
"An unbreakable heart! Don't give up and keep trying!"
"…."
"Ah, sorry. Don't glare at me like that. I can't even make a joke."
Actually it wasn't a joke and that is the most important thing. I shrugged my shoulders and added a bit more explanation.
"All crops were once wild plants without even seeds. Humans selected the relatively edible ones, and from there repeated crossbreeding to create better varieties. When humans do such things to each other, crowds come running to throw stones calling it the third taboo, but with plants it's widely practiced under the name of breed improvement."
"…Even good varieties?"
"You have to look for those! But that too can only be known through trial and error. No matter how good the variety, you don't know if it'll grow well until you plant it here and it bears fruit. You don't know if it'll fail or succeed, but you have to plant as many types of seeds as possible first."
The reason she farms probably isn't because she lacks food. As the Lord of Yeolguk, she wouldn't lack money.
To her, the fact that fruit was borne is more important than the fruit itself.
"…How do you get them?"
"Since there are no such varieties in Yeolguk, you could get them from a nearby country... for example, a country like Gun-guk! Gun-guk even has companies that specialize in breed improvement! You just need to sign a ceasefire agreement!"
When it circled back to the peace agreement talk, the woman's interest cooled.
"…In the end, the same words."
"Well, what can I say. You're not the only one planting seeds? Whether it works or not, we have to plant as many as possible first."
How's that, my build-up persuasion.
However, even such a desperate build-up didn't seem to change the woman's mind. The woman completely ignored me and made a plow again. She called the horse, tightened the reins, and slowly drove the horse from behind once more.
Tch, can't be helped. How could I change the mind of someone who's returned to farming.
"Tch. Don't if you don't want to. Azi, let's go."
Azi bounced over to me.
"Woof! Meat side dish!"
"We didn't even catch a horse, what meat side dish. No. Today it's bean porridge."
"Woof?! Liar!"
"Well, who couldn't resist and jumped down? If you'd stayed still and guarded, I would've put in at least a piece of meat. No! Don't even dream of meat from now on!"
"Mooooo!"
"Hey! I'm not meat! Don't bite me!"
The longer the journey, the more leisurely one must start. We're only at the entrance to Yeolguk. If we get the direction wrong now, the errors that arise later will be irrecoverable.
The regressor wanted to head east toward Claudia, but if the Golden Palace is in the west, we'd be set back by the distance we traveled. Even the great regressor apparently didn't want that, and mobilized every means to grasp at least a rough location. In a somewhat economic direction.
The Yeolguk camp was now suffering a happy economic retaliation from the regressor's capital investment.
Tch. Give me that money.
Anyway, people may lie but money doesn't. The regressor's massive spending seemed to have some results, but it took some time, so we ended up staying at the camp for a day.
The Yeolguk camp was not as silent as the nights in Gun-guk. Even late at night, people freely entered and left others' tents. A person on horseback galloped fiercely down the narrow road. People who screamed and fled to the side cursed and went on their way.
There are no streetlights. However, thanks to the lamps people carried, the alchemical light produced by alchemists by the roadside, and all sorts of lights twinkling from all directions, the camp was filled with a soft glow.
Right in the middle of all that, I walked through the camp alone, a stack of cards in my hand.