The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 25 – Conspiring for the future

When they were on the road again, Ronald was at the reins, seated at the carriage driver’s seat, while Taly was talking to Ari inside the carriage: “You have a serious look… Careful, or you will get some ugly wrinkles.”

Ari gave a slight smile. “Yeah… I was thinking. We just started this voyage, and we already faced two very dangerous situations. Do you think I should summon more Magical Beings for extra protection? Or would it be better if you stopped pretending to be a normal young Noble and used those twin swords of yours? I bet Miss Duza wouldn’t mind having you near her, ready to fight alongside them.”

“No, let’s just trust in them. Remember, we are a normal Noble couple travelling to the South. You have already shown your power a little too much. You are worse than Ronald, pretending to be a normal person.”

“Yeah, I need to lower it down a notch… It’s difficult, you know? I normally use Magic without even thinking, and having to pretend to be a useless Noble girl is kind of difficult. And annoying! And why the need for Magical Cards? That is so strange! Who was the crazy Good to think of such a thing? Oops… Sorry for my blasphemy… but you must agree with me, Magical Cards and Points of Attributes? What kind of World is this? A game?”

“Hey, it was not my fault if things turned out like this! I know that in the beginning, it worked better, but then Humans corrupted some things. Well, let’s drop this subject and enjoy the ride.”

Ari leaned her head on Taly’s right shoulder. “Or better yet, cuddle me…”

Taly kissed her head and caressed her left cheek. She giggled. “Yes, just like that, you can continue… Or better yet, grab my breasts and kiss me… Hihihi!”

“You are too demanding; didn’t I tell you this yesterday? Easy, woman, you are too eager! What, you want me to take out your clothes and pound you while we are travelling?”

Ari’s eyes brightened. “Such a great idea! Yeah, I would like that!”

Taly went to the windows of the carriage and closed the curtains. When he locked them, Ari pulled him to her. “Finally! You were taking forever to attack me!”

Taly complained, pretending to be angry: “Woman, I took care of you last night! Can’t you be quiet for an entire day?”

“Shut up and kiss me, stupid!”

Ronald was peacefully driving the carriage, but after a while, he sensed a rhythmic shake of the carriage, and the entire carriage was bouncing a little to the sides. “That’s weird… The road doesn’t have so many holes to do this.”

Riattus answered with a smile: “It’s those two in there; they are having fun. What do you say? Do you want to stop the carriage and complain about the shaking? It would be funny to see their faces!”

“No, let them be. They deserve to have some privacy. You would do better if you kept one eye around us to see if there’s any danger around.”

Riattus made a military salute by placing his right palm above his eyebrow. “On it, boss!”

Ronald shook his head and concentrated on his thoughts to keep his mind away from the shaking.

…

By the end of the afternoon, they stopped near a bunch of rocks. There was an empty field all around, so they left the road and went there to pass the night.

Ronald was taking care of starting a fire to prepare dinner. The others tied the horses to some sticks that they struck in the soil, and Sonja was seated on the floor next to Conan.

While he was polishing their swords, she called Duza to sit next to her. “So, I saw you kissing Lord Ronald in front of everyone. I thought you wanted to continue hiding your feelings for him. I guess those Harpies made you change your mind, no?”

“Yeah… I thought he was going to die… and I kind of forgot to keep my feelings for him away from my job. It’s difficult to work near him without wanting to be cuddled and kissed. Maybe I should focus more on my job; I can’t be distracted.”

“Sure, you can; we can take care of worrying about danger instead of you. Enjoy your voyage with Lord Ronald; we can keep on scouting ahead. Remember, we don’t need his Level to be here; we rely on our Level for that. When it’s time for us to disappear, he can summon us again.”

“Well, I guess it would be better if tomorrow or after tomorrow you both went away. You guys are supposed to be with us for a while because you were travelling in the same direction. The others will find it too suspicious if you keep travelling with us until the end of the voyage.”

Sonja nodded. “Yes, I see your point. Very well, before lunch tomorrow, we will pretend to go away and vanish. Lord Ronald will find our Cards when he gets to where we disappeared. I hope he summons us very soon. I like to be alive like this.”

Duza stopped to think for a while, and then she asked, “What is it like when you disappear and become a Magical Card again?”

“I guess it’s the same as when you go to sleep. With the difference that you wake up the next morning and the last time I woke up, four hundred years have passed. It’s not so bad if I am summoned regularly or if I stay near my Summoner every day, but Lord Ronald can’t afford to have us near him all the time; it would be too suspicious because of your group. Maybe when he stops playing with being a Farmer, he can truly embrace the Summoner job.”

“Yeah… I still don’t get why he remains a Farmer. For him to summon you guys and two Rats, or even use that powerful Special Spell. For sure he has a lot of Mana.”

Sonja gave a small smile. “He may have his reasons. Or maybe it’s just because he thinks he is still too weak and pretending to be a Farmer is a good way to keep a low profile. Or he just wants to mess with you. I don’t care, as long as he summons me and lets me remain right here, in the open air. I would prefer to be on a battlefield, killing some enemies, but he doesn’t seem to like that.”

“Yeah…”

Duza remained next to Sonja, looking at Ronald and thinking he was indeed very interesting but also very mysterious. And that mysteriousness of his was very attractive to her. She was used to reading a person at first sight, but with him, she couldn’t quite understand some things he did or said. Sometimes he was gentle; other times, he was extremely violent.

Like what happened at the Guild when he protected Mira and what happened in Durant when he protected her from those City Guards. And then she realized: he was normally gentle; he only changed when other people were in danger. If he changed like that because of others, she wondered how he would be when he was the one in danger.

…

When they finished their meal and Ronald was tidying the campsite and cleaning the pots and dishes, Duza went to sleep. Ini convinced her to take the last guard shift with Sonja, and Ronald would take the first one with Conan.

Since Sonja and Conan were there, they arranged their schedule so that two people could stand guard. With Woof, the Giant Spider, the Big Rat, and the Fast Bird, they all felt safer.

Duza went to sleep near the campfire, and Ronald and the others went to a nearby rock. Sonja refused to go to sleep so soon; she was not tired, and she would prefer to be with them for a while longer.

Ini looked at Reylom and, after getting a slight nod, asked Ronald: “So, Mister Ronald, since when are you so familiar with Duza? Because that kiss she gave you was rather suspicious.”

“Well… It more or less started in Durant. But I think she wasn’t sure about how she felt. Lately, things are getting clearer for her. And to me.”

“Well, you do know you can’t be a Farmer and be at her side, right?”

Ronald frowned. That was weird to hear. “Why not? I don’t see a problem with that.”

“You, maybe not, but everyone she knows or meets won’t be too happy if the mighty Duza Sonanji has, for a partner, a mere Farmer. It would sound and be too ridiculous.”

“I continue to not see a problem with that. I couldn’t care less about what other people could think of me.”

“Even if those other people are Mira and Haje Sonanji? Because being with Duza means you must have good relations with them. And if everyone knew that a mere Farmer was with Duza Sonanji, you could stain the reputation of their family’s name. A reputation they had a lot of work to gather.”

Ronald turned to face where Duza was sleeping. He remained silent for a while, thinking. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke: “No, I will remain a Farmer for the time being. It’s too dangerous for her if I change, while I am not powerful enough to protect her. I think it will be better if I keep a low profile with a lower job so that other people don’t think of me as a target. That way, I can protect her and surprise her enemies. No one will ever think that a Farmer can be as dangerous as I can.”

Ini nodded. “I understand that, but I would advise you to refrain from your demonstrations of affection towards her when other people are around. It would attract too many questions. It didn’t happen in Tannery, but I know that some Cities require that, upon entering, everyone be submitted to a Status Sphere so that their Stats can be recorded and used if they do anything criminal while in those Cities. And that would make other people know your job, and they would think it’s very weird that the famous Duza Sonanji is your partner.”

“I see. I didn’t know that.”

Ini continued with a smile: “I would like it if you become a Summoner, considering the ease with which you use your Magical Cards and the fact that you have some that are very special and rare. You would be a great addition to our Party. Not that you aren’t already, as a Carrier and a very good Cook, but completing those tasks with the Summoner job would be amazing.”

Ronald winked an eye. “One could say that I am already a Summoner in training, you know?”

“Indeed, one could… Does that mean we can count on you if the need for a Summoner arises? Because until now, you were faster with your Cards than I was with my arrows. And I always considered myself to be very fast! I won’t insult you by asking what Magical Cards you have, but do you have some Cards that can summon Magical Beings that can fight? Because you are still learning how to use a sword.”

Sonja and Conan remained silent and immobile as statues. Ronald made a slight nod. “I have some, besides the Spider and the Rat. Several gigantic animals and some nightmarish creatures that look more like Monsters than Magical Beings. I don’t like the drawing on their Cards, and I don’t know what my reaction will be when I see them in front of me. Some are really… Blargh!“

Ronald made a throw-up face. Ini was hearing him very attentively, and that last sentence made his ears twitch. “Do you mean you didn’t summon them yet? Interesting… Maybe you could summon one of those tomorrow; I wouldn’t mind seeing something as disturbing as you sound like it to be. Maybe we could find some good use for them, like that Spider that makes such expensive balls of web or the Rat, that has such a good hearing and sense of smell for danger.”

“Yeah, I guess I could. That reminds me, Miss Ari, I need your help on a subject. I have some doubts, and I think you could enlighten me.”

Ari winked an eye. “Sure, step into my office!”

She happily got up and pulled his hand, guiding him to the carriage. Ini thought it was suspicious that the two of them were leaving so suddenly, but Taly noticed his look and reassured him. “I bet it has something to do with the ‘Sabertooth Tiger’. I noticed the way he was so surprised the first time he saw it.”

Ini agreed with him; he too was surprised to see right in front of him such a powerful and fast Magical Being. Ari made him disappear before dinner, even when Sonja was complaining that she wanted to ride him again.

While the others were talking about him, Ronald and Ari entered the carriage. She immediately opened a hidden door underneath one bench and took the status sphere from there.

She placed the Sphere on the ground in front of him on top of a three-leg stand, smiled, and exited the carriage from the opposite door so that the others couldn’t see her leaving. She walked into the darkness for a while, and when Ronald couldn’t see her anymore, he put his hand over the sphere after removing the ring from his right hand.

His stats appeared, followed by letters warning him about his points. It said, “Each XP gives 5 points to spend on Attributes. You have 1.550 points. Choose the Attributes and the number of points to allocate”.

Following Riattus’ advice, he placed 700 points on Intelligence and 750 on Wisdom. He then took a last look at his stats.

Race – Human

Name – Ronald O’Sullivan

Age – 25

Job – World Traveller

LV – 162

ATK – 24.360

HP – 16.240

Skills – none

HP Armour – 500

ATK Weapon – 0

Equip Intelligence – 0

Equip Wisdom – 0

Physical attributes:

Strength – 110

Quickness – 100

Body – 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence – 1.850

Wisdom – 1.900

Special Attributes:

Willpower – 1.850

Mana – 1.900

XP (x2) – 0

Riattus was smiling, and he pointed at the Mana number. “Looking more and more like a Summoner. Well, you have more Mana at your disposal than a normal Summoner. Any other would only have 900 Mana and would need to kill twice as many people. It’s not too bad being a summoned person in this World, right?”

“I guess… I need to make some changes to my pile of Cards, considering that I can now use more Mana. It’s better to do it when my shift starts. Let me warn Miss Ari that I am ready.”

Ronald signalled Ari, or at least he signalled where she went. He could hardly see her outside in the dark, with only the stars giving off a dim light all around. But she saw his arm moving and quietly entered the carriage. “Well, all done? I do hope you were smart enough to place a good amount of your points in Wisdom so that you could use a lot of Mana.”

“Yes, and also on Intelligence, to have more Willpower to spend on Special Cards, and to make my Magical Beings smarter and easier to handle.”

“Perfect. It seems someone taught you well. It will be good to have another Mage around. I was getting worried. But then I saw you using that Fast Bird so easily, and you even summoned a very smart Big Rat.”

“I still have a lot to learn to deserve to be called a Mage. I just go with the flow and try to use my Cards the best I can.”

Ari smiled. “If you need any pointers, I won’t mind helping you out. I am still learning this, but the Cards that I can use, I use them flawlessly.”

“Thank you; I will do that if needed. Well, it’s better if I get back; I don’t want the others to get any kind of suspicion.”