208-Laugh the booger




 
 I quickly finish pulling weeds by soil magic and use soil magic to make an improvised chair and parasol and sit down at the edge of the field.

''Oh, so Asmo's not done with his work yet either?''

Yeah, he's in a similar situation to me. It's a good thing that he only talks about resting on his word. Dorothea's mother is punishing her for being so angry with her.

 Thor responds to my words by waving his hoe.

 There's Thor, who rests head on, but Asmo, who only talks about resting in human biographies, also has a crooked streak.

 But I don't dislike that attitude of trying to avoid the unpleasantness.

''Well, I guess I'll see how Asmo is doing next time...''

'Huh? You're just gonna leave me here? You'd rather help me than go chill out on that guy, wouldn't you?

I don't want to have to do any heavy lifting and I'm tired of hoeing.

 A seven-year-old who has never worked in the field before would never be able to touch a hoe to his satisfaction.

 I don't want to do it, because unlike weed removal, it looks pretty tedious. It's more fun to stand here in a daze and let Thor try to fit in than to do that.

It's a good idea to do it like you did earlier with magic. Can't you control a hoe or something like that like you did in the snowball fight?

 Like in the snowball fight? 

 .........Oh, you mean the psychic. If I can swing a hoe at him with a psychic, I might not be able to do that.

 I try to infuse the magic power into the hoe Thor is holding out of magical interest.

'Whoa! The hoe floats!

 The hoe, under the control of my magic, floated in the air as if in response to my will.

 I checked the rows that Thor was plowing and swung the hoe with a psychic swing, slamming it into the ground.

''........like this?''

'Whoa! You can do it, man! But that's just hitting the ground. Hold on a minute!

 Thor, excited by my magic, returns home and brings me a new hoe.

 Does this mean he's going to show me an example? Thor beckons me over to him, and I have no choice but to get up from my chair and move to the rows.

 Then Thor waves his hoe and explains how to plow.

"You have to do it more like this, like you're raking the soil around. Not just from one side like this, but all over the place!

...I see.

 Watching closely the movements of Thor's hoe as he deftly plows.

 Then he swings the hoe with a psychic to replicate it.

'You don't have to swing the hoe so much, do you?

We're moving it by magic, so we have to build up momentum like this to plow it deep.

'I see. It's a little different in feel than in real life, isn't it?

 Well, you'll get used to it.

Like that?

Yeah, yeah, we just need to mix it up to get the air in.

Huh?

Yeah, yeah.

 I will mimic the way Thor moves his hoe and plow the field with magic.

 Once I get Thor's approval on how to plow, all I need to do is repeat it.

 This might be hard for someone who actually uses it physically, but simple repetitive tasks are magic's forte.

 I use my psychic to mindlessly swing the hoe.

 It's a bit surreal to see the hoe moving and tilling the soil all by itself.

'Oh, oh, oh, oh! It's going to be a hell of a rush to get this thing plowed! The hoe moves on its own and the soil gets tilled! It's like a dream!

 I thought your dream was to become an adventurer and be recognized by your sister Elinora.

 Well, if you wield a hoe every day, everyone thinks that.......

 I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that, but I always wonder if the ground will move on its own.

 While thinking about this, I used my magic to cultivate the ground for a while. What used to be just dirt has turned into beautiful ridges.

 Thor, who plays the role of supervisor, makes a final check of the ridges.

'Okay, this should be good!

"...I don't understand why I'm working and Thor is only doing simple confirmation work.

 This is like a relationship between an exploited subordinate and a boss who takes credit for his subordinates.

 As I'm thinking with a mysterious look on my face, Thor squares his shoulders.

'Well, well, never mind! I got off work early, so we can play with this, right?

There's still Asmo left for next time, though.

 He hadn't yet come to Thor's house where they were meeting. I'm sure Asmo is working too.

'Ha! That's right! Let's chill out and watch that guy work up a sweat!

Yeah.

 I was in the exact same mood for Thor, though.



 ◆



 The field area is located a short distance away from the fields of Thor.

 Many villagers are still plowing the fields there today, sometimes planting and harvesting seedlings.

 In one of those fields, I saw Asmo dripping with sweat and wielding a hoe.

'Oh, oh, oh, there's Asmo working!

 When Thor sees Asmo's appearance, he lets out a laugh, sounding like a junior.

 This guy looks like a Yankee with a face like a Yankee, so the thug language suits him very well.



'Well, it's simply too hard to do it alone. It's a great way to punish yourself.

I see.

 It must be very hard to plow a vast area for a long time by yourself. I tried swinging the hoe just for fun, but it took a lot of strength and stuff.

 As I was thinking about this, Thor laughed as he approached Asmo.

'Yo! Asmo! Isn't it over there yet?

'Oh, come on, how come it's over faster that way? Mr. Murat said this morning that Thor has more work to do than I do, and it's going to take him a while to finish.

What's that? I heard the same thing from Dorothea this morning. He said it might take a while for Asmo to finish because of the amount of work he's doing...

 The two of them froze as they looked at each other.

 This morning they would both gloat to each other knowing that the other had more work to do, and they would feel superior to each other that they had less work to do than they did.

 It's hard work in the field, but there are other guys around who have it harder than him.

 By making them think that, he would have kept them both motivated.



 I said that with a laugh, and Thor and Asmo understood, too, "What?! He was astonished.

'd*mn it! Disgusting! Those guys!

"You're not playing with our hearts in a group, that's not fair...!

'Maybe it's a skill that worked because of Thor and Asmo's dirty mind.

"Ugh!

 I just told him the truth and he beat me.

 It's a little trick that wouldn't work if that eye shit didn't have the dirty spirit to laugh at the nose shit.

 Now they are two people who were done in by their respective mothers. It must be a bad place for a worm.

 I'm not going to say anything else.

'd*mn it, I'll get even next time. I'm going to steal enough of your royal feed so that you won't even know it's gone...

'I'll make it slightly less for my mom when we share the food.

 .............................You guys really have little to do.

'So, are you done with Thor already?' 

Hey!

 Asmo's question was answered by Thor's chest as if to say that it was his achievement.

''........Didn't Al use his nobleman's privilege to make you stop the work, or was it because Murat-san was concerned?''

I wouldn't do that.

I don't think my mom would be so nice to me.

 Well, he didn't say anything about cutting up Thor's work when I came in. But you did give me the proper consideration to give me a break at home, okay?

'That's one thing, but I'm not convinced that Thor's going to finish faster than me...'

 I guess he thought Asmo had more power and could get it over with faster. He doesn't seem a bit convinced.

''Haha, I'm faster than Asmo at getting the job done!

  It's probably just weeding to pass the time at best.

 A good friend who totally understands me. It's as if you've been watching us from afar.

 But you forget to take into account the existence of magic.

 This time my curiosity was piqued by the idea of trying to work the fields with magic, so I just had to help.

'Yes! I finished plowing a field this big before Asmo did, you know?

''........something is wrong. For Thor, who has no strength, power or guts, to be faster than me there is something wrong with him.

 These two guys are fighting on their own without the mothers having to resort to trickery.

 That's easy to use and roll.

"Heh heh heh heh heh! I'll be there with Al, watching Asmo work up a sweat!

I don't have time for this shit, so help me out!

Come on, let's go, Al. Make me a chair like you did before.

 Asmo shouts, and Thor moves to the edge with me.

 I'd rather sit down to watch anyway, so I activate my earth magic and set up a chair and parasol along with Thor's.

 In addition, I make a small clay table and a small cup.

 I fill it with ice made with ice magic and fresh water from water magic.

'Yes, water.'

Oh, yeah. Thanks.

 I hand Thor a cup, and I stir my own and drink the water.

 It's nice and warm today, so the cold water tastes good.

 It's still hot in the summer, even though the parasol is blocking the sunshine. Let's use the cold air from the ice magic to keep the air around us at the right temperature.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. I'll give you my sister and you can be my family.

'You have an amazingly ulterior motive. And also because my devotion to your sister Emma is out of respect, not love or anything.

I don't know what you're talking about. Huh I want an Al in the family.

Well, I'll take that as a compliment for being so witty.

 There is no way I would move my heart if a man told me he wanted it.

 Thor and I watch Asmo desperately wielding a hoe and drink cold water gracefully in the warm air.

 The sound of ice making a clinking sound in the cup makes us feel cooler.

'Huh ... it's great to not work, isn't it, Al?

Right? I guess Thor is starting to understand how I feel now.

 Then me and Thor laugh at each other.

 I felt like our friendship was deepened by the fact that we were cooling off like this.

'....Hey, what are you doing cooling off on our field property?

 On the other hand, the one we don't like is Asmo, who is laboring desperately.

'It's built where it won't interfere with your work, right? More importantly, shake the hoe! You ain't got the balls for it. We can't all play together until Asmo is done, right?

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 Asmo re-prepared the hoe with an expression of regret after hearing Thor's words.

 Then, he raised the hoe bigger than before and swung it down with more vigor than before.

 A small, creepy sound of gouging out the soil with a zash.

 He must be hurling his frustrated mind into the dirt. In his brain, Thor would have been destroyed by the hoe.

'Al, give me some more water!

Hey.

 Thor offers me an empty cup and I'll fill it with water magic and fill it with a refill.

 Magic is still great.

 Under normal circumstances, I'd have to head to the well to fetch water or go to the kitchen where I've stored it, but as a magician, I don't have to move a single step.

 What I need to live a comfortable, slow life is still magic.

 When I was thinking about that, Asmo, who is looking at Thor with a quizzical eye out of the corner of my eye.......

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.

No, it's not.

Bingo.

 I put it on Thor, who tries to deny it in dismay.

'Ha! Hey, you're ahead of me! What do you have to say to me that I don't have to say!

 And I'm not just siding with Thor. If I think it's going to be an interesting situation, I'll tell the truth as much as I can.

 Asmo, guessing from my answer and Thor's impatience, grins at me.

'Does Murat know that too?'

Hey, you!

 I collapse the chair Thor is sitting on as he leans down to cover my mouth in a hurry.

 Then Thor flips over spectacularly from behind.

'I don't know,'

 Asmo's expression distorts when he hears my words.

 Then he approaches Thor, who rolled over.

'Thor, if you don't want Mr. Murat to talk you out of it, you can plow.

Oh, Al. You'll just magically plow the ground like I did.

 It's a punishment game that he needs to do. If it's known that he made it easy for me, a nobleman, to do that, I'm sure Murat-san will be angry at him.

 Thor, whose face turned pale at Asmo's threats, looked back at me timidly.

''Ah, I've already made a chair and put out water, and I don't have enough magic power today...''

You're lying! You would have used your magic with more flair during the snowball fight!

No, I can't. I can't do it anymore. I've been working my ass off for Thor.

Godd*mn it, you're a weed whacker and a root...

 No, no, no, no, I'm not rooted to the ground because I was made to pull weeds, right? I'm not going to complain about being forced to help with the farm work for whatever reason, okay?

You want to play Thor? You're not going to do it? Well, I don't have to do it and just sit there and watch it, right? Whatever happens later, I don't know what will happen.

 With that, Asmo held out the hoe to me.

I'll do it.

 Thor carefully carried him up.



 In the end, we didn't do anything that day but just end the day by playing around like this.

 But it's not bad to spend a day like this sometimes.