Sword of Dawnbreaker-Chapter 56 - The Problem of God

Chapter 56: The Problem of God

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Like the vast majority of commoners of this age (referred to as lower class by the nobles), Norris had a natural fear of the nobles. Even though the current Viscount Cecil and Gawain, who had only become the new lord recently, were friendly enough, the habits that had accumulated over the decades could not be changed so easily. It took him great effort to finally be able to communicate normally with Herti, now that Gawain appeared, the farmer could not help but become nervous again.

But besides the nervousness and humbleness in his expression, Gawain saw in Norris’ eyes something different from other civilians. At first he did not realize what it was until half a minute later. He did not see the apathetic look on his face that was common among most of the civilians.

He was nervous, timid, humble, reverent, but not apathetic. There was still a lively glimmer in those pair of sunken eye sockets with wrinkles accumulated from all the years of labor.

No wonder Herti found such a farmer to discuss the cultivation of land. Norris did possess the capability to “discuss”.

“How’s this land?” Gawain asked in a gentle tone.

Norris extended three fingers like a seedling and made a gesture of prayer at his chest. “May the Goddess of Harvest, Eve, bless this place. I never thought that there could be arable land in the Dark Range. The terrain is flat. The water is easy to access. The soil is very fertile, and there aren’t many stones in the soil. There is really no better place to open up for agriculture. Now that we are halfway through Harvest Month, it is too late to grow rice, but we can plant sweet-wood roots and fire-leafs. By planting the sweet-wood roots in the soil over winter, a good harvest can be obtained in the coming spring. Fire-leafs can be planted beside the sweet-wood roots. With the fertility of the sweet-wood roots, the fire-leafs would be able to grow very quickly and we can harvest them once before Fog Month this year. Next spring, the rhizomes of the fire-leafs and the vines of sweet-wood roots will decompose and become fertilizer. With that, we can grow grains. As long as the rain can keep up, everyone could be well-fed.”

The sweet-wood roots and fire-leafs that Norris mentioned were crops of this world. In fact, most of the plants and animals that Gawain saw in this world were very different from his home world. Even if the names were the same, the real thing was completely different. He could only rely on the “memory of the ancient” stored in his mind to help him understand these things. From Norris’ answer, he confirmed that the agricultural technology of this world was not as poor as he imagined it to be. At least the farmer understood the concepts of mixing crops to increase yield, using waste such as rhizomes and leaves as fertilizers, and the proper use of fertile lands. Although this knowledge was likely to be limited to his own experience, not rigorous enough to form a body of study, it was enough evidence to indicate that people in this era were not simply casting out seeds and hoping for the best.

Unfortunately, the Gawain Cecil’s memories did not include everything. Even the fiercest pioneering heroes would not be knowledgeable in all things. In agriculture, Gawain realized that he could not simply rely on the memory stored in his brain. Thus he had to rely on the expert before him.

He roughly understood the expected yields of several crops, and Norris continued answering. At the end, the old farmer added, “These are the yields that we can obtain by using the plant fertilizers in addition to the land’s original fertility. And this way of farming would deplete the land’s fertility quickly. No matter how fertile the land is, the land should still be rested every two to three years. Actually, the yield isn’t that high… ”

Gawain frowned. He knew that the world had no concept of “artificial fertilizers”, neither did he see the possibility of local raw materials being used to produce the artificial fertilizers. The periodic table might not even be compatible. So he asked, “How do people typically increase production and maintain fertility?”

Herti responded, “It would be best if you could reach out to the Church of the Three Goddesses of Fertility, the Goddess of Harvest, Eve, the Goddess of Spring, Flora, and the Goddess of Nature and Life, Gaia. Their priests are proficient in the rituals involving nature and plants. But in the desolate southern borders, which has never been an important food-producing area, the main shrines of the fertility gods are centralized in the Plains of the Holy Spirits in the central region. And with the current state of our territory… I’m afraid it will be difficult to attract the attention of the priests. ”

Just then, Knight Philip suddenly piped up, “There is a small church for the Goddess of Nature in Tanzan Town. Perhaps the priests there could be of help? I remember we used to send someone to Tanzan Town every three to five years to request the priest to bless the land…”

“That priest will be returning to the headquarters of the Goddess of Nature at the Plains of the Holy Spirits this year to receive a ‘revelation’ and will only be back a year later.” Herti shook her head. “We can’t count on it.”

Gawain frowned slightly. He never thought that the problem would involve gods.

He knew that there were many gods and churches in this world. Even back then when he was hovering in the sky, he had seen religious wars occur several times. Although he could not hear anything, he could easily tell what was going on just by looking at all kinds of religious symbols and the many churches and temples present. Although this continent had undergone many changes, to have even experienced a disaster such as “The Dark Wave”, which was akin to as a reshuffling of civilization, religions continued to tangle themselves around mortals like vines.

The gods were a part of this world’s civilization.

However, as a transmigrator, or a transmigrator who had been hovering over the sky for many years, Gawain naturally maintained an attitude of keeping a respectful distance from gods.

It was not that he was so stubborn to the point that he would firmly reject the notion of gods in fantasy world like this. There was already magic in this world, and his two great great great great… great granddaughters could even cast huge fireballs. Moreover, there were also those priests who were proficient in real rituals. Thus, it would be futile for him to reject these gods.

It was just his instinctual response of not wanting to deal with something that transcended knowledge, experience, and logic.

Having hovered over the sky for many years, he saw countless people fighting and killing in the name of gods. Gawain Cecil had lived for 35 years. During this time, he witnessed up close priests performing rituals. It was a kind of power totally different from magic. There was no need to chant incantations or skills. Instead, it required a pious heart and a lifestyle that strictly adhered to various religious disciplines. By using these methods similar to practicing “self-restraint” and some specific “spiritual gifts”, humans would be able to use divine, supernatural power.

It was said that all the rituals in the world and all the knowledge about gods originated from the ancient “eternal stone tablet”, and that legendary stone tablet had been broken and lost after the period of the first settlement. Now, there were only a few large churches in the world called the “central sects” which keep the scattered fragments of the stone tablet in their headquarters, but even though the stone tablet was already broken, the knowledge and power of the gods were still working today.

However, Gawain had never seen a real god.

At least not in this continent. The sky… He did not know if there were any in the sky. After all, he was not able to look up then. Thus, he could not know if there might be a white-bearded old man holding a spotlight standing in space…

But no matter where the gods actually lived, Gawain maintained an attitude of three parts respect and seven parts cautiousness toward these powers that were hard to understand with logic.

Magic power could still be studied and understood through calculation and reasoning. Although it was supernatural, it was actually still a natural power that could be analyzed. However, rituals required that you devote yourself to the belief, even to the extent of aligning one’s personality and thoughts to “god’s spiritual nature” so as to only gain a little insight. This meant that if he wanted to study gods, he must first become a believer and be infinitely reverent toward gods. Once he had entered this state… how could he still study gods?

Gawain shook his head and tossed these questions aside for now. In any case, it would be very difficult to get the church’s attention on account of this inhospitable environment. He looked at Herti and continued to ask about increasing the production of crops, “If we can’t count on the three goddesses of fertility, is there any other way to solve the problem of increasing production?”

“Increasing production… To be honest, with the conditions of these lands, and the first year of food provided by the King, actually we are not short of food.” Herti frowned. “There are only about 800 people in the territory. We can feed all of them.”

“But we can’t just have 800 people forever. In fact, I have already planned to increase the population by purchasing serfs and attracting pioneers.” Gawain shook his head. Herti obviously still did not understand the value of people. “The food problem is a fundamental problem that we would have to deal with sooner or later.”

Herti did not understand the value of people, but Norris understood the importance of food. He thought about it seriously and replied boldly, “In addition to rituals, another way is to ask the druids for help. The alchemical potions made by forest druids can effectively increase food production. Although their potions are less effective than rituals, it is better at protecting the soil. In addition, they usually also have some plant-based spells, which are very helpful for crop growth.”

Hearing that, Gawain’s eyes lit up. This option sounded great!

And upon hearing that druids made alchemical potions to increase the fertility of the land… Could those alchemical potions be this world’s equivalent of artificial fertilizers? Or something of similar effect?

In any case, if it could be prepared using a fixed method (and with the potential of mass production), be easily used, produce a relatively stable gain in crop yield, regardless of the nature of the alchemical potions, Gawain decided to name them “fertilizers”!

Besides, this kind of “fertilizer” actually had a role in protecting the soil!

He asked eagerly, “Where can I find the druids?”

Norris looked at Herti awkwardly, and Herti frowned slightly. “This is another problem… There are not many druids living amongst humans. They are usually centralized in the west near Moss Woods, and in the south… you could say that they are very uncommon in these parts. The Cecil territory has almost never made any deals with druids before. I don’t know where to find them either.”

Gawain showed a disappointed expression while Knight Philip said thoughtfully, “But because of their legacies, druids and elves have been close. Almost every druid legacy can be traced back to elves, including gray elves and silver elves…”

The gazes of those present fell upon Amber, who was behind Gawain. Then Amber’s pointed ears suddenly quivered.

Gawain’s face instantly drooped. “Come on. You call this elven disgrace an elf? Which druid would care for a dishonorable…”

Before he could finish speaking, Amber’s voice rang, “Speaking of which… I think I really do know a druid!”

Gawain, “?!”