The Cornflower Witch Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Shaking Blue Sky

On the last day, Hylial let Komia and Karen have free time and no longer needed to follow her.

“Today, I plan to take a walk by the village and ask the local farmers for their experience in planting crops.”

“Aren’t you going to continue picking mushrooms today?”

“We’ve already walked through the nearby forest once; going deeper would be unsafe.” The girl shook her head slightly. She wasn’t afraid alone, but Komia and Karen might be.

“Alright,” Komia thought about it and agreed.

“Then Karen and I will go fishing.” She quickly regained her energy.

After bidding them farewell, Hylial went out with a small basket containing her books and notes, bread for lunch, and a small bottle of water.

As she told Komia, she first inquired about farming conditions from the local villagers, then knelt down and used her fingers to examine the local soil.

She remembered that on the day she first arrived in Luanshu Village, Scholar Hyde mentioned that the wheat yield here was over 60 pounds per mu, meaning about 6 pounds of wheat seeds would produce 60 pounds of wheat.

Such a yield was very good for the entire Regas Duchy. It was said that in some barren areas, planting 6 pounds of wheat seeds could only yield over 20 pounds of wheat.

The first time she heard this number, Hylial was somewhat incredulous because, in her memory, wasn’t it easy to produce hundreds or even thousands of pounds of wheat per mu?

As she talked and asked the local villagers, some situations slowly became clear.

Lack of fertilization, mandatory fallow rotation, insufficient irrigation, poor varieties, pest and disease infestations—these factors directly led to low yields.

It seemed that there was still a long way to go to improve grain yields. She briefly summarized that to fully change the current situation, villagers needed to learn and get used to fertilizing, building canals for irrigation, using improved seeds, disinfecting, and pest control, among other things.

These things couldn’t be accomplished in a day or two. She could only make a note of them for now and try to implement them when she had more resources in the future.

After understanding these things and satisfying her curiosity, Hylial carried her basket to the woods not far from the village.

The sun was bright today, and the grass was dry and refreshing. She put down her basket, then picked up a stick and practiced the swordsmanship she hadn’t practiced for several days.

First, basic swordsmanship. Recalling what she saw during the recent competition and her own summaries, her movements in certain details were more refined and fluid, achieving a wonderful balance between power and technique.

(‘Basic Swordsmanship’ proficiency +2, Basic Swordsmanship Lv.4, progress 856/1200)

Currently, her swordsmanship was gradually reaching a bottleneck. It was only after watching the competition recently that she made some breakthroughs; otherwise, it would be difficult to improve through training alone.

“Should I go for a walk in the forest?” she thought, looking at the wooden stick in her hand, then shook her head.

She at least needed a real weapon. Now, going back to get her sword, she didn’t know if there would be enough time. As Hylial was packing her things, preparing to go back, a slight rustling of leaves from the distant woods made her look up. Her eyes blinked, and she soon spotted a boy supporting himself on a tree, walking in the distance on the hillside.

It was Mick, she recognized the boy with the rather fierce eyes.

He seemed injured, with one leg incapacitated.

After a moment of consideration, Hylial walked over with her basket.

……

Huff, Mick breathed again, and seeing the village at the foot of the mountain not far away, his discomfort eased slightly.

Almost there, he silently repeated to himself, then moved his painfully injured left foot with difficulty again.

Most of the students didn’t go up the mountain today, but he still came, just to find more prey and save money to pay back Jero.

During this time, due to studying with Scholar Hyde, he had almost no income, and the money he had saved was almost spent. If it weren’t for Jero’s assistance, he probably would have dropped out of his studies long ago.

“Sorry, Brother Jero, I didn’t get a ranking.”

If he had been ranked in the last competition, he would have received a reward from the Viscount. An item like that could be sold for one Gold Coin on the market, which would have allowed him to pay back Brother Jero’s money all at once.

Money was very important, especially for the poor and common people.

Many times, injuries and illnesses weren’t incurable, but rather because there was no money to buy medicine or see a doctor, or because of a lack of funds, they ate poor quality spoiled food and fell ill.

He wanted to become a powerful adventurer so he could earn a lot of money.

The adventurer profession was truly excellent; one could earn as much in a month as an ordinary job would pay in half a year, or even a year. Mick always dreamed of becoming a powerful adventurer like Jero.

However, compared to seasoned adventurers, Mick was still too green. The successful hunting trips two days ago gave him a lot of confidence, but he didn’t expect an accident to happen today.

While chasing a fox, he misstepped and slid down the mountain slope. Although he reacted quickly and adjusted his posture, he still stepped into a crevice between rocks covered by fallen leaves, and the weight of his body pulled him down, spraining his left foot and possibly fracturing it.

The mountains were not that safe; if a person couldn’t save themselves, they might never get out.

Leaning against a moss-covered tree trunk, he struggled to lift his right foot, took another step, dragging his painful left foot. Large beads of sweat rolled down, and his palm got slight scratches on the tree bark.

One step, then another. He was almost at the village. He kept encouraging himself.

Perhaps it was exhaustion, or perhaps his vision was blurred, but he didn’t pay attention for a moment, his right foot tripped on a stone on the ground, and he fell again, his arm hitting the sharp edge of a rock, leaving a burning wound.

“At least my head’s fine,” he lay on the ground, catching his breath for a moment, then struggled to get up again and slowly moved forward.

He tried not to think about when he would arrive; Mick’s mind was only focused on reaching the village, which kept him moving.

This continued until sweat blurred his forehead and cheeks, and he saw a black-haired figure in a black dress in front of him.

“Who is this…” His consciousness was already somewhat blurry.

Hylial looked at the young man who had fallen in front of her, bending down with concern to check on him.

He seemed to have heatstroke, and his leg was also injured.

The autumn of the Aurora Wind Season still had the heat of midsummer. The previous days’ rain had been alright, but it had warmed up again these past two days. Hylial recalled the local climate and took out the small bottle of water from her basket.

The water was in a ceramic bottle, prepared by Karen that morning. She hadn’t drunk from it yet. Hylial opened the stopper and poured the water for the unconscious young man on the ground, then dragged him to the shade of a tree.

About ten minutes later, Mick slowly woke up, gradually regaining consciousness.

He looked around, then at the girl sitting under the tree reading faraway. He finally realized that he had passed out.

“Thank you,” his voice was weak.

“It’s nothing, but you’re not in a good state right now.” Hylial walked over and placed her hand near the boy’s forehead again.

Warm and hot. She didn’t know if it was a fever or residual heat from heatstroke.

It was said that during the Aurora Wind Season, long-term exposure to the scorching sun easily led to a rise in body temperature due to the influence of the ‘Blazing Sun’ phase, which would not come down, eventually leading to death by fever.

However, it was the ninth year of the Aurora Wind Season now, and the ‘Blazing Sun’ phase was weakening; its power had passed its peak and most difficult period.

Hylial blinked, then checked the young man’s condition again.

Name: Mick

Race: Human (Mortal Body)

Status: Healthy (injured, fractured bone, heatstroke)

Talent: Activated Blood [Good]: The pulse of the blood is active, making it easy to perceive and cultivate abilities related to the ‘Blood Discipline’.

Fate Card: [Mountain Youth] (Tier: None) ‘A flexible-handed and wild child of the mountains’

Ability Cards: [Breathing Method Lv.2] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot]

Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.3] [Wilderness Survival Lv.1]

————

Fortunately, it wasn’t a fever from illness, just heatstroke. Hylial lowered her hand.

Feeling the cool, tender hand on his forehead up close, and the faint floral scent emanating from the girl, Mick was momentarily stunned. It was the first time he was so immersed in something other than hunting, earning money, or training.

Watching the girl stand up and leave, he even felt a fleeting regret and reluctance, as if he wondered if she would stay a little longer if he were even sicker.

This absurd thought was quickly dismissed by his remaining sanity, but he was still surprised by his own fragility and emotional flicker.

Even when facing the striking golden-haired noble young lady among the students, he had never been so moved. Could it be that people truly become emotionally vulnerable after being injured? His head, already hazy from heatstroke, felt even dizzier.

“I can’t carry you by myself; can you wait here for a while?” Hylial’s gentle voice once again struck a chord deep within him.

“I…I’m fine…” As the last shred of his male dignity, he felt he shouldn’t show weakness in front of this girl.

“Then please wait a moment. I’ve checked around here, and no other animals are coming. I’ll go call for help immediately.” Hylial bent down to reassure him again, then stood up and ran down the hill.

Through hazy vision, he watched the figure descend the slope until she disappeared from sight. Mick’s tired eyelids finally couldn’t stay open, and he fell asleep.

Half an hour later, Solin and others, guided by Hylial, came up the mountain and found Mick unconscious. Everyone lifted him, one person holding a leg and an arm.

The bumpy ride caused Mick to open his eyes again. Seeing him awake, those around him teased him.

“Hehe, you’re lucky. If Lia hadn’t found you, we might not have come looking for you until dark tonight.”

“Something happened from acting alone, didn’t it?”

“Lone wolves don’t work, you idiot.”

“I…” Mick tried to explain something, but he didn’t have much strength at the moment.

He opened his eyes and looked at the blue sky. His body swayed like a small boat, without anchorage, and he was exhausted. It should have been an extremely uncomfortable situation, but the teasing voices in his ears and the supporting arms gave him a faint sense of peace and warmth.

Everything, it seemed, wasn’t so bad after all.

(End of chapter)