Chapter 27: Agrarian Society

The fact that Kon Arche had already arrived here meant that quite some time had passed since Yujin's victory.

Oh, man… I got so engrossed in the civilization-building simulation that I forgot to keep up with the drama.

I could watch both simultaneously, but doing both at once might be a waste… Besides, being eternal and immortal, I should savor each one slowly.

But then again, since both are happening in real-time, there's no point in saving them for later, is there?

Hmm… Since the elves are on the verge of ushering in the agricultural era, I'll focus on this for now. Later, when things stabilize and I get bored, I can binge-watch Yujin's story.

Yeah, I still have seven years before the confrontation with the Galactic Union I saw earlier.

The Meias planetary system doesn't seem to be expanding the story further for now, so I'll let it sit for a bit longer.

I've watched up to the part where Yujin was summoned by the Meias elders, recognized by them, and started learning magic.

From now on, it's mostly about learning advanced and ultimate magic, which can be a bit dull.

"Just in case, let's get out of here. We can go to another place with a giant black hole."

Kon Arche, still shaken from our encounter, hurriedly left the area.

Fortunately, he seemed to only plan on writing about it in his book and not reporting it to the Galactic Union.

The book wouldn't be published for a while, so I didn't have to worry about sudden visits from the Galactic Union or others for the time being.

Now, I could continue observing the elves without concern.

"Their armaments look quite formidable."

Unaskula, the leader of the highland village, showed interest in the weapons carried by Muwan's scouts.

Like Lasi's village and other intelligent communities, they were armed with sharp stone spears, slings, and primitive bows, advantageous for combat.

Living in a vast forested plain, they had faced frequent beast attacks, which accelerated the development of their weapons.

In contrast, the highland village faced fewer external threats, so their weapons were still limited to stone-throwing and roughly made blunt spears.

Although weapons were less of a priority, they were still important to them.

However, since the food issue was more pressing, they focused on solving that rather than developing weapons.

From this, Unaskula came up with a good idea.

"Let's befriend them. We can learn their weapons and techniques."

By "befriend," he meant establishing an exchange between the villages, as they didn't have a specific word for it.

In return, they would send plants that could only be found in the highlands or teach them how to grow food in their village.

Even though their methods were primitive, they believed it would be helpful.

Hmm, I'm not sure if this is a good idea.

Looking at it now, in terms of geographical features, weapon technology, and village size, Muwan's village held a much higher position.

From Muwan's perspective, there was no reason to exchange or cooperate with them.

In fact, they could easily come and gather plants or herbs from the highlands themselves, given the relatively short distance.

If Muwan's village decided, they could push out the highland village and monopolize the highland resources.

And the method of growing plants was just a primitive way of planting seeds in the ground.

There wasn't much to teach.

In Muwan's village, located downstream with fertile soil, seeds would grow well just by planting them.

Knowing this, the existence of the highland village would become unnecessary.

Hmm… They might end up being devoured instead.

Although elves have a strong sense of kinship, Muwan's sharp and deep thinking made him wary even of this instinctive bond.

Given his personality, he might aim to absorb the highland village to expand his territory rather than cooperate.

Wow, expanding the village's scale through territorial expansion at the start of the agricultural era.

Knowing that there were other elf groups around, Muwan wouldn't stop here.

He would aim to dominate a larger territory and expand his influence.

The elves I created have a high sense of curiosity and a strong desire for development, just as much as their sense of kinship.

I'm really curious to see how things will unfold.

Perhaps the first large group that could be called a "nation" might start with Muwan in the southern hemisphere.

#

While significant changes were about to occur in the southern hemisphere, Lasi's village in the northern hemisphere was also on the verge of a major transformation.

"Isn't the problem that we lack labor to go outside during the cold days, resulting in fewer resources?"

"That's correct."

"Then why don't we obtain food within the village itself?"

"Food within the village?"

Oh, they've finally come up with the idea of farming here as well.

But will it work?

It's late autumn now, and winter is approaching.

If we divide the year into 12 parts, it's around mid-October.

The things they can grow now to eat during winter are limited.

But these elves, who were born just three years ago… no, less than a year by their standards, wouldn't have that knowledge.

They might consider this winter as a trial and error period.

…Or so I thought, but Lasi turned out to be a remarkably wise elf.

"Store as much as you can of what we can gather now. When the Arow comes, we can store it outside without it spoiling, so keep it in a cool place where sunlight doesn't reach. And let's focus on the foods that helped us survive the previous Arow. Let's try growing those."

Exactly.

They had already experienced one winter.

They were born in the winter, after all.

They remembered the foods that sustained them then.

Root vegetables like potatoes and bellflowers, which fed 990 elves, were among those foods.

And leafy greens that are resistant to cold, like lettuce.

If they had a way to control temperature and humidity with a greenhouse, it would be even easier, but cold-resistant plants generally have strong vitality and can grow well even in tough, hard soil.

Moreover, the elf planet maintains an average temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius, even in the coldest winter.

The nearby river keeps the ground soft and moist.

In fact, it's an environment not much different from a winter greenhouse.

I thought they would fail when winter came after planting various things.

I underestimated the natural conditions and Lasi's memory and adaptability.

Wow… They are indeed elves.

The race I created is truly exceptional.

Isn't this faster than the Lubaran race's history?

I remember it took them about five years to reach an agrarian society.

Following this, Lasi and the village elves gathered roots and seeds of plants similar to potatoes and lettuce and began planting them in the empty spaces of their village.

Lasi named the potato-like plant "Lumoru," meaning "blessing of the earth."

She named the lettuce-like plant "Arimoru," meaning "blessing of the forest."

Originally thriving in the forest, Lumoru and Arimoru grew even faster and larger when planted in the more fertile soil near the river in the village.

About a month later, as winter set in, Lasi's village had its first harvest.

Long, slightly dry potatoes and somewhat wilted lettuce.

They didn't look great, but they were proper "crops."

Though called potato-like, these were wild plants with large, swollen roots and a somewhat earthy taste.

I could have made them delicious from the start, but I wanted to leave room for scientific development through selective breeding.

"Success."

"Ha ha! They grew well even in the Arow. Now, we won't need to go outside except to hunt for meat."

"Indeed. Ha ha ha!"

The winter food problem was resolved much more easily than expected.

But it seemed that Lasi wasn't done thinking.

"Hmm, when it comes to getting meat…"

It was clear what she was contemplating.

They had discovered farming.

For now, their methods were primitive—no plowing, no fertilizing, just digging and planting.

But knowing that they could grow their own food meant they no longer had to worry about food shortages.

So, what's next?

Livestock.

Meat, labor, and some animals could even be trained for hunting.

This would be a significant advancement in their industry.

Raising dogs improved hunting efficiency, raising cattle improved agricultural efficiency, and raising chickens and pigs made meat supply much smoother.

Of course, bringing other living creatures into the village wasn't easy.

Taming them was one issue, but it also meant they needed surplus food.

Lasi understood this well.

That's why she started thinking about livestock.

'After the Arow passes and it gets warmer, we can try growing other plants besides Lumoru and Arimoru. If that succeeds, we'll have more than enough food. We won't need to go outside.'

But to get meat, they still needed to venture out.

Hunting and fishing were necessary.

But what if they could solve that within the village?

If they captured edible animals and kept them in the village, feeding them surplus crops?

'We could get meat without hunting. If we can breed them, we could have an endless supply of meat.'

With this in mind, Lasi set her next goal: capturing animals and confining them in the village.

Of course, this was only in her mind for now.

Since it's winter now, Lasi must have thought it would be difficult to start immediately.

She would likely begin after spring, once they've tried growing various crops and have an abundance of food.

Wow, Lasi is the first to think of and implement both agriculture and livestock farming.

I thought Muwan would take the lead, but it seems the agrarian society will start here first.

It seems necessity sharpens the mind.

The difference between the abundant summer and the scarce, desperate winter.