"What?! The farm was attacked?" Chief Ginta's voice echoes throughout the council chamber.

"Yes, my Chief," one of the elven warriors who fought alongside you and Leronil recounts the battle that took place in your homestead. "Had Leronil and the Garden Beast not been present, we would have no doubt lost the food and been overwhelmed by those slimy creatures."

"That's assuring to hear. Sounds like Leronil is quickly proving himself to be a worthy successor to Grimdal... wouldn't you say Elder Alimarc?"

The wrinkly old priest folds his arms and clicks his tongue. His chances of becoming the next village chief lessen as Leronil grows more accustomed to his role as Elder.

"So, did you replant the crops after harvesting?" the Chief asks to make sure.

The warrior shakes his head. "A-about that..."

"I stopped the Garden Beast before she could do that," Leronil steps forward.

Murmurs of confusion circulate the room. And the first person to spring on this baffling decision is of course Elder Alimarc.

"Are you daft, boy?!" he shouts at Leronil. "You're the one who pushed for our village to depend on this outsider's harvests, and now you're telling us you completely halted our only lifeline?! Have you gone mad you—?!"

"Oi, geezer," you interject. "Perhaps hear the man out before jumping to conclusions, lest you make a fool of yourself."

"G-geezer?!"

Leronil taps you on the shoulder and nods. He'll be handling the talking from this point on.

"As the Garden Beast says, I have not done this without reason," he calmly informs the council. "The infestation of slimes we saw today was a result of negligence on my part. By taking Nameless Seer away from her home, the unguarded crops served as an alluring food source for the many monsters that roam the forests beyond the vale."

"Ah... that's why the slime populations were dwindling..." Anna raises a point. "They were busy walking toward this bountiful feast out in the open to care about preserving themselves."

"Exactly. Which is why I come to you with a proposal, before we resume operations on this plot of land."

"Proposal..?"

And he details a plan that holds the chamber's attention. The Elders all look at one another at the end of his explanation, and the soldiers by your side incline their heads in silent approval.

"Build fortifications around the outsider's house?!" Alimarc can't believe what he's hearing.

"If we wall in that section of the meadow we're using and defend it from all sides with our finest soldiers, we won't have to worry about losing it all to several monster skirmishes," Leronil reasons.

"Chief Ginta," Elder Alimarc twists his bony body to face Leronil's father, "please control your son! Why should we waste time and resources on another's property?! It's absolutely ridiculous!"

"Because it's as much our land as it is hers, Elder Alimarc," a familiar voice answers the priest from the entrance. "That place makes up a majority of the meals we receive. It'd be foolish to give that up to solely spite this woman."

"E-Elder Grimdal?! What are you doing here?!"

"It's simply Grimdal, Elder Alimarc. A member of the council shouldn't be addressing a civilian in such a manner."

The former head of the Elderwood Warriors backs up its current leader. And the two men stand side-by-side, united in their desire to protect your homestead.

"Oh?" Chief Ginta raises a brow, intrigued by Grimdal's arrival. "And what does this civilian have to do with this council session?"

"As the previous authority on all matters relating to the safety of our people, I wish to lend credence to my successor's proposal," Grimdal bends his knee before the council. "And hopefully sway Elder Alimarc's misguided feelings."

The elderly priest grumbles to himself as Grimdal looks up at him.

"So, will this bulwark be useful for our people in the long run?" Chief Ginta inquires.

"That is a silly question, Chief Ginta," Grimdal smirks at the man, "for we already have the materials on standby."

"Y-you do? Why haven't I heard of this?"

"It was leftover from our failed attempt to slay the Garden Beast and usurp her land. Had we succeeded, we would have immediately built defensive barriers along the edges of the meadow. Funnily enough, it was Elder Alimarc who orchestrated the whole thing behind your back."

The priest flinches as everyone looks his way. He lets out a nervous chuckle and holds the back of his head.

"I may have taken the initiative when it came to eliminating this Spawn of Gaia, Chief Ginta," he says with a slimy grin. "I apologize if that was out of line..."

"Hm. Well, at any rate, there should be no problems in conducting this plan of yours, seeing as the resources are already available. It'd be a great insult to Gaia if we didn't make use of the lumber we stripped from her trees. Don't you agree?" Chief Ginta checks with the other members of the council.

Leronil lets out a sigh of relief upon hearing the go-ahead from the council and turns back to you.

"I-I actually got the council to agree to my plan..!" he mouths jubilantly.

"Mm! You're starting to become the leader you've always wanted to be!" you give the elf a thumbs up.

"Don't celebrate yet you two," Grimdal walks away, staring off into the distance as though he focuses on the future. "We haven't designed a blueprint for the defenses, let alone started building it. I'll help where I can, but for the most part, you'll be the one ordering the Elderwood Warriors around. After all, you are my successor, Leronil."

Hearing Grimdal acknowledging Leronil as his successor brings a smile to your face. And you are excited for the coming days, however hectic they may become.

Returning to your homestead the following day, you mark out a large octagon surrounding the hill your house sits atop.

This area is to be enclosed by walls and holds enough crops to feed the entire village for a week, which is good considering the growth period of only 3 days with Monster Fertilizer.

And when the builders arrive, Leronil's schematic takes shape.

Palisades are fixed to the ground along the line you draw, and wooden watchtowers are situated in every corner. The gate is located on the northernmost barrier. This eight-sided layout ensures that the archers overlooking the place get a clear view of the whole meadow.

Two bowmen are to guard each flank. As they work 12-hour shifts, you need 16 guards dedicated to the job.

The 4 bowmen that joined you in your initial trip back to the homestead agree to be sentries for the farm. And the remaining 12 you get on Grimdal's recommendations. As a countermeasure to the one-track mind slimes, wooden spikes are placed along the palisades.

And you gaze at this unassailable fortress upon its completion. At its heart, is your home.

"We're far from finished," Leronil saunters up to you. "There's also the issue of what crops you're growing."

"Issue?"

"Uh... you'll see what I mean."

You and the elf enter the compound and visit your storeroom. Seeds are stored here as backup, and given the parameters of your Green Thumb talent, there are a lot of back-ups. An endless variety of seeds rest in this creaky shed.

"When you farm, do you usually prioritize some crops over others?" Leronil grabs a handful of these seeds.

"No, not really," you reply. "I usually plant them at random. The monster fertilizer takes care of any problems that may arise from out-of-season crops..."

"And there's your problem. A lot of these seeds grow into inedible products. Like this one."

[Cotton Seed]

Description: The seed of a cotton plant. Yields soft white balls of fiber used primarily for sewing.

Quality: Good

Weight: 0.1

"O-oh, I guess that's true..."

"Also, a good portion of them take up a lot of space and don't produce a considerable yield, like this one."

[Coconut Seed]

Description: The seed of a coconut tree, i.e. the fruit itself. Crack this open for a quick snack or make more of those funny-looking trees.

Quality: Good

Weight: 0.1

"C-crap... I never thought about it that way..."

"Don't sweat it, it should be easily fixed once you know what to prioritize."

And Leronil guides you through the systematic method of choosing the right crops. No longer will your garden be a jumbled-up mess of arbitrarily grown plants. You settle on only farming plants in season, and you divide them based on their distinction as fruits and vegetables.

The easternmost section hosts all manner of fruits, while the westernmost section is dedicated solely to veggies. They are all neatly sowed in a long row corresponding to their respective product.

Tomatoes still greatly confuse you though.

And you use the loot you obtained from slaying all the slimes and craft bags of Monster Fertilizer. Leronil watches in awe as they materialize from thin air. It's hard to explain to him how the Crafting Tab works, so you pass it off as a magic spell of yours.

As the sun sets, you bury these seeds in this Monster Fertilizer, in the hopes that production starts again soon. For the sake of the Elderwood Village.

You take a step back and admire the place from outside its gates.

"I barely recognize it," you tell Leronil, who stands dead on his feet following a straight week of administrative duties.

"Yeah," in spite of his exhaustion, he wrenches out a crooked smile. "It's amazing what our people are capable of at such short notice."

"I suppose I'll still be seeing you even after I move back in."

"That's the kind of role you trapped yourself in. The benevolent forest guardian who feeds the village. You're practically keeping us alive."

"Weird when you put it like that. I like to think I'm the neighbor who prepares far too much food for herself and ends up giving the leftovers to the people living closest to her."

"That's... oddly specific..."

"Is it? I think it's oddly common."

"According to that human book of yours?"

"Yep."

"I don't get those guys myself..."

"Humans?"

'Yeah, with their freaky round ears and smaller bodies... how could you understand them?"

"Hmm..."

You swing around with your hands behind your back.

"Maybe you have to try understanding them, before understanding them..."

And the man scratches his head and titters. "Hah! Now it's you I don't understand!"