Boundless Family Upgrades For The Deadbeat Lord

”Give me the report.”

Raymond’s voice was calm, but the moment those words left his mouth, Harlan and Gideon’s expressions changed almost immediately.

The lighthearted traces of humor from their earlier exchange faded as the two men instinctively shifted into the roles they had slowly grown accustomed to over the past month.

Harlan turned slightly toward the basin while Gideon moved closer to Raymond’s side, both of them looking out across the broad sections of farmland where hundreds of townspeople were already beginning the first stage of harvesting.

Harlan raised one hand and pointed toward the western side of the basin, where the largest stretch of golden crops moved softly beneath the morning wind.

”The wheat occupies the largest section, my Lord. We planted roughly four hectares there because it stores well and gives us the safest staple for the winter. The corn takes another three hectares farther north, close to the ridge where the wind pressure is lower. The rice occupies about two hectares around the shallow irrigation section near the lower basin, where the pump line keeps the ground consistently wet.”

Raymond followed the direction of Harlan’s finger, his eyes moving from one section to the next as the man continued.

”Another two hectares were divided between potatoes and other root crops because they’re durable, filling, and easier to preserve for long periods. We used one hectare for tomatoes, another for onions, then slightly less than a hectare for carrots. The peppers occupy roughly half a hectare, while the remaining land was divided between herbs, greens, and several of the stranger vegetables that came from the Goddess’s seed sacks.”

Gideon nodded beside him, rubbing the side of his jaw as he glanced toward the nearest vegetable plots.

”We tried to keep the crops separated according to how they need to be harvested and stored. The grain sections will take the longest because they have to be cut, bundled, dried, then moved carefully. The vegetables can be gathered faster, but they’ll spoil sooner if we leave them sitting outside too long. So we are prioritizing the most delicate crops first and moving the grain in steady batches after that.”

Raymond listened quietly, his gaze tracing the boundaries between the different plots. The organization wasn’t perfect, but considering that one month ago this place had been little more than useless grey dirt, it was already far more structured than he had expected.

He could clearly see the practical thinking behind Gideon and Harlan’s decisions. They hadn’t simply planted everything wherever there was empty space.

The crops had been grouped according to their needs, their storage life, and how easily the weakened labor force could handle them.

”Good,” Raymond said after a moment. ”At least we won’t be eating boiled wheat three times a day for the next four months. I would rather fight a magic beast with my bare hands than spend an entire winter chewing the same miserable grain.”

Gideon chuckled, but before he could respond, his attention suddenly shifted toward one of the nearby workers carrying a large woven basket filled with tomatoes. His entire expression changed almost instantly.

”Actually, my Lord, that is another matter I wanted to report.”

Raymond raised an eyebrow. ”What matter?”

Instead of answering immediately, Gideon walked several steps toward the worker and carefully reached into the basket. He lifted out a single tomato and returned with it held in both hands.

Raymond stared at the fruit.

Then he stared at Gideon.

Then back at the tomato.

It wasn’t absurdly enormous, but compared to what Raymond remembered from Earth, and compared to the small, rough produce he had seen in the castle kitchen since arriving in this world, the thing was ridiculous.

It was easily two or three times heavier than an ordinary tomato, perfectly round, with smooth deep-red skin that looked almost polished beneath the sunlight.

Gideon turned it slowly in his palms. ”My Lord... I have been farming for nearly ten years, and I have never seen crops like these. Even before this land became completely barren, when the old fields could still grow something, our produce was never remotely this large. I once traveled with a merchant caravan outside Zulor when I was younger and saw vegetables grown on fertile noble estates. Even those weren’t like this.”

He pressed his thumb carefully against the tomato’s skin. ”Look at this. It’s firm, but not hard. There are no rot spots, no insect damage, no discoloration. Every tomato coming out of that section looks almost exactly the same.”

Harlan nodded and pointed toward the wheat. ”The grain is the same. The heads are much heavier than ordinary wheat. The kernels are larger, and each stalk is carrying more than it should. Some of the workers had to change how they bundled the sheaves because the usual amount was becoming too heavy for them to lift.”

Gideon’s excitement increased as he continued, gesturing across the other sections.

”The corn ears are unusually thick too. The carrots are longer and denser than anything I’ve ever pulled from soil. Even the onions are nearly twice the size of the ones merchants usually bring from the western territories. If the quality remains consistent after storage, then this harvest is going to be far better than anything I originally estimated.”

Raymond slowly placed one hand behind his back. His expression softened into that mysterious, composed smile Harlan and Gideon had already learned to associate with matters concerning the Goddess of Life.

”Naturally,” Raymond said smoothly. ”These seeds were not ordinary agricultural stock purchased from some roadside merchant. They were bestowed upon us by the Goddess of Life herself. Something touched by divine grace cannot reasonably be compared with ordinary mortal crops.”

Harlan and Gideon both immediately became solemn.

”Of course, my Lord,” Harlan said, lowering his head slightly. ”Forgive me. I should have realized that from the beginning.”

Gideon looked back at the massive tomato in his hands as though its religious significance had suddenly increased.

Raymond maintained his serene expression.

Internally, however, his thoughts were considerably less holy.

Divine grace, my ass.

These were Tier I System seeds planted in System-transformed soil, soaked repeatedly in mana-infused rain, enriched with System compost, watered through an artifact irrigation pump, and accelerated through a literal temporal effect.

If the final crops had come out looking ordinary after all of that, Raymond would have personally tried to drag the System into customer service and demand a full refund.

He suppressed the urge to smile wider and instead turned his attention toward the workers spreading across the basin.

”Alright. Enough admiring tomatoes. How long will this take?”

Harlan and Gideon exchanged a look.

Harlan was the one who answered. ”If everything continues smoothly, perhaps twelve days at minimum. Fourteen would be safer. Fifteen if we lose time to unexpected problems.”

Raymond’s face slowly tightened.

”Two weeks?”