Helping Mahenny

Azra had already arrived at the conclusion that his thoughts affected his magic and what his divine power did when he first purified Erlo. However, he was still sure he couldn't do absolutely anything. He still had to have an image of what he wanted his divine power to accomplish. The question was what he had subconsciously imagined when he patted Erlo.

Azra's thoughts were interrupted by Nem's coughing. There wasn't anything special with the coughing, and it wasn't the first time Azra heard her cough. It wasn't heavy and noisy, just two light dry coughs, but Nem had still interrupted Azra's train of thought, and he subconsciously wished for her to stop coughing.

Unbeknownst to Azra, that wish flashed through his mana and entered the divine power flowing from him to Nem. Azra's thought vanished as quickly as it appeared, and it was the same with the effect on his divine power, so Azra didn't notice how his mana consumption spiked for less than an instant.

Nem's coughing shattered the calm atmosphere she and Azra had built up while drinking tea, and it served as the perfect opportunity for Azra to take his leave.

Azra didn't know what to do, so he walked to Mahenny's farm.

Mahenny and Tissa were up and about, getting stables, pastures, and enclosures ready.

Mahenny gratefully accepted Azra's offer to help since there was a lot to do, and he wanted it done before Lo brought back the first beast.

Although Azra couldn't do the tasks that required strength or experience, he could help complete the more menial tasks like sweeping and cleaning the stables. Or making sure the enclosures were still strong enough to contain wild beasts. Thankfully, it hadn't rained in a long time, so nothing had rotted or rusted. A few poles were a little worn, but Mahenny changed them while he put up the wires he took down when the demons dumped Rage Powder on the plane.

There hadn't been a need to maintain everything when there weren't any beasts, so Mahenny had stored away everything he could.

Azra also got put in charge of inspecting the feeding grounds to see how sustainable they were.

The village had survived the drought thanks to its close proximity to the forest and its ability to keep water in the ground. But the villagers still rationed the water and used it sparingly. The only water they used that wasn't for cooking was for the necessary fields that provided them with life-sustaining food. Since they had no idea how long the drought would last, the villagers had to plan and prepare for spending the rest of their lives with the limited amount of water.

There was no way to tell when things would get back to usual or if anything else would happen to the plane. The villagers planned to keep growing food at a moderate pace without spending all their water recklessly so they could build up their storage in case the situation worsened.

They wouldn't wastefully use their water to maintain empty fields that served no purpose.

The villagers had enough water to keep themselves satisfied but not to prevent every field in their surroundings from drying up.

Mahenny sent Azra to inspect the pastures and see if the beasts could survive there or if they had to find another solution.

Most of the ground Azra walked over was too dry for a beast to survive on nothing else. But Mahenny knew there was no way that would be enough and had already talked to the village chief about setting aside enough food for the beasts to live. Azra wasn't sure how that had gone, but he knew that the dry pastures were only meant to fill out what the beasts got from Mahenny.

Most of the ground was too dry and dead to give any meaningful nutrition to any beast, but just like when he walked to the village, Azra saw several weeds begin sprouting here and there. They were on the verge of dying and barely noticeable amongst the surrounding dead grass and plants. But even the smallest weed was a sign that things could survive in the ground.

Azra reported what he saw regarding the state of the pastures, but he neglected to mention the sprouting weeds since the knowledge that the plane was recovering was something only he knew so far. And that vital piece of knowledge was something he could potentially use in the future.

Mahenny thought for a few moments after Azra reported his findings. However, he didn't reach a conclusion, and since it was so late, he told Azra to finish up for the day and come back tomorrow if he wanted to help.

Azra said farewell and was about to walk away when he realized something.

He had practically no previous experience with agriculture or actually being in nature. He also didn't have particularly keen senses since he had just become a first level mage.

Considering Mahenny had some kind of beast type inclination, he probably had great perception, and he was also on the verge of breaking through to the fourth level.

Azra doubted he would find an opportunity to make use of his knowledge regarding the plane's recovery until someone else noticed it. When he thought about it, he realized it was considerably arrogant to think he was the only one who noticed or would be the only one to notice.

If he didn't make use of his knowledge as soon as possible, it would quickly become redundant.

Azra's thoughts flashed back and forth like lightning inside his mind as he thought about what to do. Now that he had realized his arrogance, Azra also realized how easy it would be for Mahenny to notice the sprouting weeds.

Mahenny might not have paid much attention to the ground before since it was meaningless, considering the drought and all that.

However, now that Mahenny was preparing to take care of a bunch of beasts again, he would definitely inspect the ground, even if Azra had already done so.

Although it was late, Mahenny would still probably stay outside and work on the pastures and enclosures.

If Azra waited even a single day, he might lose his chance to be the first to bring up the notion of the plane's gradual recovery.

Azra stopped turning around. His thoughts had rushed so quickly, Mahenny barely noticed Azra's hesitation.

"I had originally intended to look closer at it with a lamp, but I realized that you might know better."

Azra held out a tiny weed sprout and continued,

"I think this is some type of grass that's managed to sprout, despite nothing else having done so. What do you think about it?"

Mahenny stepped forward and grabbed the weed before looking at it closely.

"I don't know, kid. Just looks like ordinary grass to me."

"Huh. But then, why did it sprout when nothing else has? Do you think something's going on with the field?"

Azra's words made Mahenny think about it a little more. Since he had looked at grass and plants all his life, seeing another one wasn't anything special. He forgot how nothing could grow except the crops tended to by the farmers due to the drought.

Azra didn't want to outright claim the plane was on the verge of recovery, but he also didn't want Mahenny to claim credit, so he spoke up before Mahenny could draw any conclusions.

"Do you think the fields are slowly becoming fertile again?"

Mahenny didn't answer immediately, but the flash in his eyes as he turned to look at the pastures was enough for Azra. Mahenny might not immediately suspect that the entire plane would be recovering, but he would investigate the fields and probably spread word to the farmers. Hopefully, he wouldn't neglect to mention Azra's involvement in the discovery.

It wasn't as grand as Azra had planned for the reveal, and he hadn't found an opportunity to boost his reputation using the reveal, but it was better than letting someone else take credit.

Mahenny asked Azra to come back the next day and make use of those observant eyes to help him inspect the fields further. Due to the waning daylight, it would be impossible to continue today.

Azra bid farewell again, and this time he didn't turn back as he trudged back to the Thorns' house, meeting up with Lo and Erlo on the way.