"Ah, I see," the teenager nodded. "Is there any way for me to join their morning practice?" Luka asked innocently.
The foster mother shook her head. "Those soldiers fought against human invaders. Many of them lost loved ones in the Religious Wars, and they still harbor anger toward the human race. Therefore, they won't welcome you into their practice squad."
"I understand. I should stay away from this group," Luka realized aloud.
"Yes, that would be for the best," Ellaria agreed while giving him a guilty glance.
Chapter 26
The Good Harvest Festival (Part 1)
Three months passed since Luka left from confinement and rejoined the village as a contributing member. He was astonished to learn that the climate remained warm all-year-round on the Varlus continent. When the mage used his magic sense to trace the natural essence, he discovered vast veins of powerful energy deep underground. Luka believed this came from geothermal heat.
The elves took advantage of the perpetually warm weather by staggering crops in various stages of maturity. Supervisor Dilya arranged for workers to harvest matured produce from one lot while farmers reseeded another field simultaneously.
When Luka accepted Alectos's offer of magic apprenticeship, the boy never expected to spend time engaging in farming activities. That said, the student didn't mind getting down and dirty if his work contributed to the elvish community. Luka spent his daylight hours in the fields under the watchful eye of Ellaria. He sparred with her at home after dinner for a half-hour before Luka went to his shadow realm for magic practice.
Luka took a while to adjust to his schedule because he never spent much time with anyone (not counting Bel). Besides her parental role as a foster mother, Ellaria was his supervisor and coworker at work and his practice partner for swordsmanship. Unfortunately, the other farmworkers weren't as good as Ellaria and didn't have time to spend with Luka after work. The better swordsmen in Langerlan belonged to the militant faction, but they ignored Luka to avoid further hostilities.
Luka was very appreciative of Ellaria's willingness to spend her valuable time with him. He noticed she was quite friendly and enjoyed engaging in conversations with coworkers and neighbors. Ellaria was popular because of her warm personality. And after losing her son, the widow acted as the godmother for numerous children in the village. Through this relationship, Luka became friends with the younger elves and received invitations to their homes for evening meals while the adults talked.
Dilya required her workers to attend the fields six days a week but gave one day off for rest. Luka used these rest days to play with the children; he also engaged in archery and swordplay. Luka's skills were comparable to his peers, even though he wasn't an elf.
Aquilan and Dalyor possessed excellent archery skills, and they spent their free time teaching Luka at the archery range. At first, Luka experienced difficulty firing off arrows because his hands weren't steady enough. The human child was shocked because he couldn't steady his hands enough to take clear pictures with his smartphone in his previous life as Michael. In other words, this physical impediment transferred somehow from the old life to the next incarnation. Thus, Luka wondered if this issue was mental rather than physical.
Thankfully, his teachers were kind and patient enough to work with Luka to overcome this "habit" by making the student practice drawing the bowstring without and then with the arrow nocked. However, Luka took over a month of training to overcome this problem, and he received this new nickname, "Shaky Hands," amongst the children.
Bel was amused and chose to call Luka by this name for a few weeks before the novelty wore off.
Ellaria smiled but never used the nickname on Luka. But eight weeks into his stay, she brought up an important topic. "Luka, at the end of next month, we will have the Good Harvest Festival," she announced. "This is an annual celebration set for the third primary harvest of our soybeans, which is the main crop of Langerlan. This event occurs over two days, and the workers in the field are required to participate," she explained.
"What should I do?" Luka asked.
"How is your archery coming along?" the foster mother inquired with a smile.
The boy rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment. "It's okay. My wrists and shoulders need strengthening," Luka admitted. "I can hit ten yards with no problem. But if the target is beyond twenty yards, I might not reach it."
"That's fine. Would you be willing to join the children's division for the archery competition?" Ellaria asked.
"If you don't expect me to win against the kids, sure," he agreed.
"Also, we're trying to develop new products with tofu. Dilya wants you to help out," Ellaria continued. "She's hoping that you, as a human, would come up with new ideas for tofu products," the foster mother added.
"Does this mean that I will spend less time in the fields?" he asked while hiding his excitement at the prospect.
Ellaria chuckled. "Of course! But we'll be splitting up and won't see each other as much as before. Are you comfortable with that?" Ellaria looked directly into Luka's eyes as she asked that question. Ever since his altercation with Phraan, she stuck close to him when Luka was outside her home. But sooner or later, Ellaria must release him to live a full life without her motherly protection.
Luka became confused. "Would Dilya require me to live inside the tofu factory?"
"No."
"So I will still live in your home?"
Ellaria nodded after a moment of hesitation because the foster mother couldn't fathom why Luka thought that she would kick him out. Ellaria pondered how strict his parents were back home.
"Then there's no problem," he shrugged.
Ellaria frowned at his nonchalance because the elf believed the child was putting up a brave front for her benefit. "Unfortunately, you can't get rid of me so easily, buster! Now, here's your punishment!" She started poking his stomach playfully.
"Ack! Stop it!" he protested. However, Luka couldn't defend against her faster movements and long reach. Thus, the boy cheated and teleported to his room. He quickly locked the door.
The foster mother noticed Bel's look of disapproval; she shook her head and laughed.
The rabbit opened his mouth wide and motioned with his paw to put something inside. [Feed me!]
Ellaria giggled at Bel's cute behavior. She took out cured sausage from her pouch and carefully handed it to him.
The vicious beast snatched the food and quickly chewed on it with his sharp teeth. Bel finished the sausage with merely two bites! The animal looked at her with pitiful eyes pleading for more food.
The elf shook her head. "I can't afford to barter more meat because it's costly. I'm sorry," she apologized. Ellaria wasn't a hunter; thus, she had few opportunities to obtain meat. Moreover, most hunters belonged to the militant faction, and they blacklisted her from bartering with the close-knit group.
The elf managed to receive a small supply of sausages from close friends but had to ration a portion for Luka. Ellaria pinned her hopes on Luka for new product ideas that would prove popular with the villagers and useful to barter for meat.
Meanwhile, Luka sat on his bed and pondered her words. While he wasn't aware of the implications of her request for a new tofu product, the lad was anxious to meet her expectations because Luka felt indebted to Ellaria for her kindness in treating him like family.
Furthermore, he realized that many residents shared Phraan's attitude toward humans and were, therefore, hostile to him. Luka thought it was strange for Ellaria to stick to him like glue ever since he left confinement. He soon realized that she worried some elves might attack Luka if he was alone.
Fortunately, the teenager already zeroed in on a prospective new product. He learned that soybeans were the primary source of nutrition for Langerlan, and its residents used soybean milk as beverages and tofu, in its various incarnations, as meals. However, the elves lacked desserts -- specifically tofu pudding. This dessert was served either cold or hot and used
soft tofu coated with sugar syrup.
In Langerlan, the residents only used firm tofu; they weren't aware of soft tofu's usefulness. But making soft tofu required minor adjustments during the manufacturing process. Also, the elves grew sugar beets for sugar in select fields to sweeten their soy milk. Thus, tofu pudding ingredients were available, and Luka needed to convince Dilya to supply him with these items to create this new product and time off from working at the farm.
The next morning, Luka met with Dilya at the gatehouse. "My foster mother said you want my help to come up with new ideas for tofu products," he noted.
"Do you have one?" she asked tentatively. Dilya wasn't sure what to expect from the human child because Luka appeared to come from a noble background; therefore, he wouldn't spend time in the kitchen. But Dilya took a chance with him coming up with something exciting and unknown to the elves.
"Yes, I do," Luka nodded. "We can make tofu pudding," he announced.
"What's a pudding?" Ellaria asked. She accompanied his commute to work daily.
"It is a type of dessert. Tofu pudding uses soft tofu with sugar syrup and is served either hot or cold," Luka explained.
Dilya frowned at his answer. "We certainly have sugar available since we grow sugar beets. But we make only firm tofu. Would it require changes to our processing equipment for soft tofu?" she asked with concern. Firm tofu was the specialty product of Langerlan because it was easier to transport and retained its shape for an extended period. She knew how to make soft tofu, but there was little demand for it.
"No," the boy shook his head. "We already have the materials and equipment: soybeans, water, boiling pots, molds, sugar, and gypsum powder. But I will need time to experiment to develop the right firmness and texture for the soft tofu. As for the sweetener, I'm hoping to gain access to all types of sugar available in the village," Luka explained.
The supervisor folded her arms as she realized the implications of his words. "In other words, you don't want to work in the fields," Dilya stated grimly.
The teenager smiled innocently. "I can't be doing both farm work and kitchen work at the same time," he pointed out.
Dilya weighed the pros and cons of accepting his request for time off. With Luka's assistance in the fields for the last two months, productivity had increased by a small percentage. If he weren't available to work, the crop yield would revert to its previous amount.
On the other hand, if Luka successfully introduces tofu pudding in time for the Good Harvest Festival, her status as a village leader would rise significantly. Thus, she wouldn't lose out by giving Luka time off. "Okay, you can spend the next month in the tofu processing plant," the supervisor finally agreed. "Don't disappoint me."
"I won't!" Luka promised.
"Ellaria, go work in the field. Luka, I'll take you to the factory and tell Aien to cooperate with you," Dilya said. The two turned southwest along the path and arrived at the place within a few minutes. They passed by several storage silos, all made of wood but treated with a waterproof substance to keep out moisture. Wheelbarrows laid next to the tanks to remove crops and transport the goods elsewhere.
Luka saw a handful of workers pushing carts full of soybeans to the processing factory, a large wooden building with specified openings for entries and exits. The factory was four stories tall and the width of a city block. Space was divided into several regions to accommodate various stages of tofu production: large tanks for soaking the beans with water for half-a-day; grain mill grinders to turn the beans into pulp; boiling pots to combine the pulp with water into a puree; filtration tanks to separate the soy milk and pulp; cooling pools to add gypsum powder to thicken the soy milk; molds to turn the soft tofu into appropriate sizes for packaging; pots to make sugar syrup to add to the finished product.
The food researcher expected to spend quite some time experimenting with the amount of pressure to exert on the mold to squeeze out the water to adjust the tofu's firmness. Luka also wished to offer salted tofu pudding as an alternative for consumers who did not enjoy sweets. Moreover, he wanted to adjust the flavor by adding fruits and nuts as toppings to decorate the pudding. But these alternatives depended on what ingredients the elves had available for mass production.
Dilya located Aien Aracan and quickly explained what she wanted from the plant supervisor.
The middle-aged looking male elf examined the human child from head to toe. "It's amazing how much trouble comes in such a small package," Aien chuckled.
Luka's face turned gloomy.
"Ah, don't worry, lad!" The manager slapped the boy on the back. "In my factory, no one will dare to harass you for being human!" Aien thumped his puffed up chest.
"I'm counting on you," Dilya said with a stern voice. "If Luka's experiments are successful, you will receive a greater share of the new products as a reward," she added.
Aien's eyes lit up with delight because the boss was very stingy in giving out payments to the workers. Each employee at the factory received a share of the tofu produced; the elves used these products for barter instead of a monetary currency common with humans and the other races. The so-called tofu pudding sounded like it could be trendy and valued more highly than regular tofu. If Aien receives a more significant share of the factory output of tofu pudding, then his overall wealth would increase.
Due to greed, the plant supervisor became very eager to help Luka develop the new desserts. Aien soon delegated his typical responsibilities to trusted workers and turned into the child's research assistant. The two spent two weeks adjusting the tofu's firmness until they became satisfied with the result. Then their research turned toward the optimal sizes and shapes via molding. They finally settled on a round shape and flat top because such a surface was ideal for adding toppings.
When it came to flavors, though, the elves had a surprising take -- they preferred the salted version! Luka felt incredulous at Aien's enthusiastic response. The boy tested the product with all the factory workers and surveyed their attitudes toward the salted pudding versus sugarcoated pudding. Three-quarters of the elves preferred the salted version.
Luka promptly tabled his plans to develop other sweet-flavored puddings. Instead, he experimented with different toppings that complemented salted pudding, such as scallion, onions, carrots, peas, potatoes, and basils. In the end, the factory workers voted the creamy onion topping as their favorite for the salted pudding.
Luka reported his findings to Dilya daily, and he convinced her to set aside the onions in storage solely to make toppings for the new salted pudding. He noticed how happy the supervisor was with his research results and decided to strike while the iron was hot. "Since we finalized the new products to introduce at the festival, I would like to have some time off to prepare for the archery competition," he requested earnestly.
"Break it to me honestly, kid. How good are you with the bow?" the supervisor asked. "You DO know that Phraan's buddies are all over the martial events, right? And they like to place big bets on the winners," Dilya warned with a solemn look.
The teenager caught the glint in her eyes and frowned. "Are you saying that they fix the outcomes?" Luka asked with wide eyes in astonishment.
"Why are you surprised?" she snorted. "The militants think that we civilians owe them for their protection; therefore, we should conform to their expectations. The ex-soldiers believe that their hardcore training makes them better competitors than civilians. And they won't tolerate any deviation from their objectives of taking the top placements for the martial events. Suppose you somehow manage to take even third place in the archery competition for the children's division. In that case, the militants might react poorly and drive you out of the village," Dilya cautioned.
Luka sighed and shook his head. "Frankly, I don't think I'm good enough to compete in the competition. My hope now is to avoid losing in the first round," he replied with a shrug.
The supervisor looked at him for a moment and decided to compromise as a reward for his research results
. "Fair enough. I can't give you full days off. But you can work until lunch and then take the afternoons to practice at the archery range," Dilya offered. "And you can go to the archery range now."
"Thank you!" The teenager gladly accepted her proposal. He waved goodbye and jogged to the training grounds. Along the way, Luka encountered members of the militant faction, who gave the boy hard stares.
Luka calmly ignored them and entered the archery range. He took a practice bow and a supply of arrows. Luka warmed up by firing from a ten-foot distance, and then he gradually backpedaled to increase his range.
Thankfully, the militants left him alone, and Luka spent a few hours practicing to ingrain the motions of firing an arrow into his muscle memory. He finally stopped when darkness fell across the courtyard, and Luka couldn't see the target anymore.
Due to the darkness, Luka wasn't confident that he would find his way back to Ellaria's treehouse. Thus, the mage teleported back to the beacon he laid at her home.
Chapter 27
The Good Harvest Festival (Part 2)
When Ellaria saw Luka return to the treehouse without her assistance, the foster mother immediately realized his method to come inside. She frowned at Luka using spatial magic, but the elf remembered that he couldn't use wind magic to fly up to the treehouse. Moreover, there weren't any footholds along the oak tree's surface for the child to climb. Hence, Ellaria tolerated his use of forbidden magic because he required it to return home.
Additionally, Luka brought samples of his work and shared his prototypes to solicit Ellaria's opinion as a tester. Hence, she focused her discussion on his experimental products instead.
The lad quickly washed up before joining the elf and rabbit for their evening meal. For dessert, Luka provided salted tofu pudding with a creamy onion topping.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 21
