That night, we all settled into our houses. I carried the sleeping Torra in my arms, who got tired after playing with the others.
I settled him on his bed and watched him for a bit before I headed to my own room.
This new house feels more comfortable. Something a child like Torra should be able to live in.
The next day, I woke up before the sun had even risen. I took out the seeds and saplings and laid them next to the prepared patches, all ready for them to sort out.
I teleported back to Amlada's capital to buy some quick breakfast. Assortments of bread and desserts, tossing gold coins here and there without even batting an eye. Then teleported back and laid everything on the big table next to the Sequoia tree.
It had become the gathering table for shared meals. Since there were only twenty people here, sharing meals had become the norm.
"Good morning, Leigh." Favio greeted me as he stepped out of his home.
I only nodded and finished setting the table.
"What's this? It smells good." Favio looked at the assortments of bread on the table.
"Bread." I said clippily, then took out the meat from my item box, washed and diced it, and set it aside ready for cooking.
"Are you going to cook?"
"No." I replied instantly.
Favio looked at me, stared, and blinked. Then he just chuckled like I said something funny, patted my shoulder, and nodded.
"Thought so. I'll ask my wife to handle the cooking."
Favio left and went back to his home. Moments later the rest started emerging one by one, gathering towards the Sequoia tree with eyes sparkling at the breakfast laid out.
Celine took charge of the cooking, making a stew to pair with the bread.
While waiting, I left the group and surveyed the corners of the settlement for places to put lamp posts.
There were still magic stones left that I could use for lighting. I combined creation magic and light magic, building a lamp from both. Then I made a magic equation to absorb the surrounding mana and charge the magic stone automatically.
And finally, I overlapped a sensory equation on top of the rest.
Set it into a concrete pole.
The first lamp post in the settlement was done. I repeated the process for every corner of the settlement and along the edges of the farm fields.
When Torra came running toward me, the sun had already fully risen.
"Brother Leigh, good morning. Time to eat. Aunt Celine asked me to call you."
I followed his lead toward the gathered residents, who were happily passing bowls and forks around. Favio handed me one and I gave it to Torra. So Gringo handed me another. I accepted it and waited for everyone to have their share before I served myself.
Torra sat with the other children on the ground while I leaned on the tree.
The ground. Right. I should make benches.
But for now, we shared breakfast together. The bread was new to most of them, tasted for the first time.
It felt quite painful watching people taste bread for the first time, while back in the capital they were thrown away as leftovers piled up in the waste.
The contrast between their lives was so great that if I hadn't met Torra, I wouldn't have known this place even existed.
After breakfast, I finished the remaining lamp posts and then built the benches.
The others were now busy sorting the seeds they planned to plant. Kale, cabbage, carrot, leek, garlic, and spinach were the ones that could survive the upcoming winter.
Each of them took out the tools from the crates and headed toward the patches of land.
Seeing them doing manual labor with such enthusiasm, I offered my help.
"Gringo, how deep does it need to be to plant the seeds?"
Gringo looked up at me, then back to the patch he was working on.
"Just about two or three times the size of the seed."
I used earth magic to make holes across the patch according to what he described. Then Benneth called out from the other plot he was working on.
"Leigh. Can you do this patch here too?" He asked, waving his hand over it.
And I did. Every patch of land, I made holes in them to the depth they described.
When it was done, they started handing out seeds to everyone. Even Torra and the other children helped. I was with Torra at the carrot patch and was about to use magic again.
But this time...
"Leigh, this part, the sowing, should be done manually. No magic. Just us, the seeds and the soil."
I looked at the others, who had already started sowing by hand. Leaning forward and placing seeds into every hole in the patch. Even Elder Elka was doing it.
So I stopped myself from using magic, respecting their choice.
"Brother Leigh, here, put three seeds in each." Torra said, giggling. He was already quite ahead on his own section, though it was as much playing as it was sowing.
I looked at the pouch in my hand and started sowing manually. I caught up to Torra quickly, then moved on to the next plot.
And the next.
And the next.
I finished the entire carrot patch and walked toward Elder Elka. I took the pouch she was holding and started on the cabbage seeds. Finished the entire plot and moved to the next.
"Leigh's enjoying this too much. We weren't able to do much sowing thanks to him snatching up our pouches." Favio shrugged, wiping off his sweat.
"Look at him go." Nalvik whistled.
I was already on the spinach plot, sowing without a break. The women served cold water and took shade under the Sequoia tree.
By midday, I was the only one left in the fields. The others had rested as they got exhausted.
"Leigh, you should rest. The sun's high up and you've been at it for hours." Savina said. She was Gringo's mother.
But I didn't stop. The heat didn't faze me. I wasn't even the least bit tired.
I could fight for days without food or rest. Sowing wasn't even close to exerting.
"I'm fine." I said flatly.
They looked at each other, concern and worry on their faces. But seeing me continue without any signs of stopping, the women decided to prepare lunch instead.
After another hour, I finished sowing every seed into its designated plot and looked around.
Something inside felt the fulfillment of having done something with my own hands. Manually.
Then a few moments later, lunch was served.
We gathered around the upgraded table I had made, one that could accommodate everyone, with benches to sit on. Like usual, the meal was lively no matter how simple the food was.
"We finished sowing within just half a day, thanks to Leigh." Marin said, chuckling. He was Favio's son.
"If it was before, plowing alone would take us days with how vast the field is." Benneth chimed in.
"Leigh's truly a lifesaver. Since he arrived, the settlement has changed drastically." Favio added.
They all looked at me with grateful eyes. I just ignored it.
"It was easier to do it alone without hindrances." That came out before I could stop it.
I thought they would react badly to how dismissive and harsh that sounded.
But they just started laughing.
"Leigh is Leigh after all. I already expected he'd say something like that." Josel chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.
"He always says the harshest things but does the most unpredictable ones." Savina said while feeding Maya some stew.
That's when Torra moved from his spot and climbed onto my lap without permission. He just decided it was his to sit on.
I put my bowl down, picked him up, and placed him back beside me where he originally was.
He climbed back.
I just let him this time.
Torra was stubborn when it counted.
I continued eating and listened to the others talk.
After lunch, the chores came naturally. They just worked together, sharing responsibilities equally.
I checked the fields again and made sure everything was done properly. Then moved toward the center, setting up the remaining lamp posts.
That was when I remembered. The houses at night were dark. They were all using candles and those were about to run out.
I checked the satchel, and there's no magic stones left. I had already used them all for the lamp posts. I would need to hunt monsters for more.
Without telling anyone, I teleported to the Abyssal Forest, located in the stretch of land between Winterly and Branklore. The nests of monsters.
This place had been my playground once. When the Emperor ordered me to hunt rare monsters for their furs and heads, displayed proudly in his museum.
I never thought I'd be back here. With a different purpose.
I needed magic stone varieties. And I was going to get everything I needed from this forest.