Preparations for the Bazaar and First Day of the Experiment

After the incident, Elaina started to prepare a separate area on her farm so she could dedicate the experimental crops to grow. Because nothing will be happening just yet, her official observation will only start tomorrow. The day finally ended with Elaina and Julia spending the night at the pub to eat there before going home to sleep.

The next day, after overcoming her morning sickness for a few minutes, Elaina started to make plans on what to do for the day. There are many things that she will have to start working with so that she can potentially use them once the date of the festival arrives.

"First, I need to secure crops I will be needing to display for the bazaar. I don't know how large the crowd is going to be so I will have to prepare a hefty amount of supplies that I can sell to the crowd. Not too many, but not too small either. Considering this is a city event and not just in this town, it might be much bigger than I think. Still, an average amount of supplies should do the trick. That way, I won't lose a lot in case the crowd that flocks to my stall would be small, which is unlikely but possible."

She already has a few crops she can use and plant that will be possible to be harvested before the big day and that is thanks to the ledger crops. Using the Almanac, she estimated each of the vegetables' growth rates before she started to gather the needed seeds to plant and with the fertilizer, it will also help boost the quality of the crops and the speed of the growth of what she was growing.

Next, would be to sell the Hencluckle eggs. Although she is a bit reluctant to sell some on the bazaar, she ultimately decides to just not do it. Not only is the supply she has not enough, but the bazaar might be strictly for crops only so she decided to hold off on selling them as well.

Another matter she will have to do is to go to the Town Hall and ask Mayor Marigold about this bazaar and how she can sign up on this matter. It is also a good way for her to ask for the details about this event as well as she should be pretty much well versed about this matter. More information would totally help Elaina succeed in what she was aiming to do.

The last task she is thinking about is the experimental plants that she planted yesterday. Although this doesn't concern her plans regarding the upcoming bazaar, she needs to do this as a way to pay back for all of the blessings and help that the gods have given to her, especially on how fast she managed to settle down.

Before she was about to go out, Julia walked out from the little room that she had decided to convert as her workshop room while carrying a scarecrow that somehow looked like Alfred but was beaten up and tied up on a stick. She even dressed it up in a similar fashion that Alfred wears casually around the palace.

"Sis! I finally managed to finish the scarecrow that you tasked me with creating. I don't know if it works but this should make those crows and other birds pecking on your plants go away or be wary to approach them."

"Thanks, Julia...but...why does this scarecrow look like Alfred for some reason?" Elaina asked as she looked at the scarecrow closer.

"You noticed, Sis? Because I made it in his likeness!" Julia looks proud of herself.

"Uh...why though?" Elaina frowned.

"With how sh*tty he did to you for cheating with your sister, making him a scarecrow and becoming something to drive away the crows while keeping him outside night and day, rain or shine, stormy or cloudy, would be a better way to torment him...even though this is not him. You can say that this scarecrow is something that you can vent your anger, Sis."

Elaina chuckled after hearing Julia's reason for making the scarecrow the likeness of the emperor. Although Elaina does not like that she can see the face of the man who cheated on her, she can say that imagining the scarecrow as the actual person himself makes her a bit ecstatic to at least pour her frustrations into it.

Julia helped Elaina install the scarecrow and just that alone scared most of the birds that were hanging around the area. It made Elaina a bit surprised at how effective the scarecrow was.

"I can see in your face Sis on how the scarecrow was somewhat effective. Well, I put a little crystal inside the scarecrow that releases an interruption wave that causes distress to any birds that come close to the area. Not all birds though as there are some birds that can be considered beneficial to the plants, just restricted to crows and sparrows which are always the main culprits in crop destruction. Other than that, you don't have to worry about most of them at all."

"I see. Thanks for the help, Julia."

"No worries, Sis. Do you need some help around the farm? I am free and I don't think I have any work right now."

"Ah, then could you please help me water the crops? I will check up on some of these plants over here myself."

"Got it." Julia nodded and happily grabbed the watering can.

As for Elaina, she took a final glance at the scarecrow before lightly slapping its face. She doesn't want to destroy the scarecrow if she punches it so she just decided to slap it instead. It's not really a good and satisfactory slap, but it works.

Elaina began her records on the new crops. EX01 has already sprouted. It has weird sharp-looking leaves that are shaped like a diamond with spikes. Based on how it is growing, it seems to be some kind of vine crop. She needed to see it a few more days to see if it needed a pole to support itself, or if it was just like that from the beginning but would stand tall later. Elaina recorded what she did yesterday, how much water she put on it, and other observations.

The EX02 has not yet sprouted so Elaina has no other observation to do with it just yet so she just put some small observations on it before moving on to the third one. The EX03 has sprouted as well but compared to the EX01, EX03 just started to grow. It hasn't shown any leaves yet so Elaina added this as well to the observations.

The EX04 has also sprouted but this one has brown color. It was like it had withered already but because Elaina is not sure if it withered or not, she decided to make further observations first before making the final verdict that it has died.

After the little observations, Elaina makes final notes on the 4 crops.

"EX01 and EX03 have high promise and they are already sprouting. EX02 is still undecided and uncertain so not sure what to say about it for now. As for the EX04, it is a bit worrying seeing it look like it is about to die. Further observations are needed to learn about it."

Elaina smiled and closed the Almanac. She only needed to finish her final tasks before she headed to the town hall. She needed to secure a spot for the bazaar and to also learn more about the festival.