CH 388

Cowards Win Through Numbers

“For such a short period of time, this is some really excellent work.” commented Mia. Mia set out to look at the nearby fields that had recently been tilled for farming, accompanied by Arshia and Cyril. But not before requesting and changing into a set of Arshia’s working clothes. Mia didn’t cut corners when it came to safeguarding herself.

These feel a little stuffy, but I suppose that comes with the territory. They certainly appear to be able to withstand some deterioration. In all honesty, it would be best to wear these when entering the forest…

She looked across the fields, discreetly evaluating the quality of her clothes.

“The soil in Tearmoon was already suitable for farming, so it only required a small amount of effort to prepare it for usage,” according to Arshia. “Some of the Lulus were persuaded to assist us by Headmaster Galv.”

“Oh? The Lulus? That was incredibly kind of them to do it.” Mia raised a thoughtful finger to her chin, “I guess I’ll have to think of a way to repay them in some way.”

Cyril gave her a smile. “I don’t think you need to be concerned about it. The Lulus are a hunting tribe that primarily relies on the forest for food, but recently, with the assistance of my family, they have begun using the crops. The tribe’s members are becoming more interested in farming, therefore they are beginning to have high hopes for Wagul.”

“I see. If that’s the case, then…”

Geographically, Saint Mia Academy was adjacent to the Lulus’ village, making the tribe’s support for the endeavor crucial. Mia was awestruck by the fields’ beauty after taking a guided tour of them. The plots were organized nicely and the ground had been well-tilled. There was a lot of it as well. It was clear how carefully their nurturing had been done. She took in the amazing scene, her confidence rising.

See how many fields there are? There are countless! We won’t have any trouble addressing the famine with this much cropland!

She questioned Arshia, “So, how’s the cold-resistant wheat research going? Have you recently made any breakthroughs?”

The query caused Arshia to stiffen up. “We still don’t truly know. We investigated a lot of alternatives last fall and planted several seed varieties that appeared promising, but we won’t know for sure until they can be harvested, which won’t be for a little while. We’re still investigating in the interim, looking through literature and things, but…”

“I see. I assume there are no surprises there. After all, it is how farming operates.”

It took a long time for wheat to grow. Mia was undoubtedly conscious of this reality. She simply hadn’t given the ramifications any thought up until this point.

Wait a second. Does this imply that we’ll all be in big trouble even with one bad attempt?

Despite being overdue, her worry was justified. Trial and error was a key component of research, but there were very few trials in farming. There was only one cycle of seasons per year, and every attempt had to go through each one. Her inner chicken started to stir right away. The huge expanses of agriculture that had up to that point seemed nearly excessive suddenly felt worrisomely insufficient.

Much more land will be required if we can only do one trial annually. Much more. So that we can continually test more!

The coward in her was speaking at the time. The perception of the scenario by said coward was also…exactly right! Only one attempt. One shot. No excuses, no retries. To put it another way, it was comparable to taking a test at Saint-Noel.

Which suggests that we ought to use the same strategy.

Mia, the proud princess of Tearmoon, handled challenges in a way that belied the grandeur and scope of her empire—by outnumbering the adversary. In this instance, the sheer volume of remembered answers. She memorized the entirety of the testable material before to each exam. She would then be prepared for everything the exam would throw at her. It was a foolproof strategy for passing the exam!

This similar idea may undoubtedly be used to create new wheat strains.

They had to jam as many experiments into it as they could if they only had one shot to get it properly. The key word here was breadth. How would you identify the one cake that was tasty if there were 100 and only one was? Mia’s response was to consume each one.

She would triumph simply because of numbers.

For that, we’ll require much more acreage. This is far from sufficient. I must look for folks who can assist me. Outcount Rudolvon without a doubt. The central nobility will very likely decline. Then, hmm. Can anyone else help me? Ah!

A memory from her summer vacation came to mind. She had made a brief halt there while en route home from Ganudos.

“Perhaps I can ask him for assistance. Outcount Gilden.”

Her lips were pursed. In terms of location, Outcount Gilden’s jurisdiction was on the northern edge of the empire, opposite that of Outcount Rudolvon. He might quickly consent to loaning her his farmland, in contrast to the central nobles.

“Hm? Is there a problem?” questioned Arshia. She frowned at Mia, who was muttering to herself.

“Huh? Oh, I just had the thought that perhaps I knew someone who could assist us with our wheat issue. The territory of Outcount Gilden is in the north.”

Mia didn’t want to wait, even though they could certainly create cold-resistant wheat if they spent a few years doing experiments on the academy’s farms. Their stash would diminish with each unsuccessful year, as would her mental stability.

Even though Ludwig said we should be alright, still…

In general, Mia trusted what Ludwig told her, but the idea of a continuously dwindling food supply made her think of the guillotine. If she had to be reminded of that on a daily basis…

I don’t have to be a prophet to know that I don’t want to be in that kind of circumstance. This stress is way too much!

Cold-resistant wheat was what she needed. Yes, to feed the empire, but also to keep her from going insane. She needed to acquire more land in order to carry out bigger experiments, so she did.

Having said that, I have no idea how the trials are actually carried out, therefore I ought to send them there personally so they can see the terrain for themselves.

She nodded to herself and remarked, “It’s a place with some good farmland.” having made up her mind. “I would appreciate it if you could visit and look around.”

That is how Arshia Tafrif Perujin and Cyril Rudolvon first saw a variety of farming practices that were strange to what they were used to in the southern heat and were developed by those who cultivated the hard northern terrain.