Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 3 Beginner Quest 2
For the first time, the well-trained, unchanging, respectful smile on Butler Buffet's face twisted.

His pupils contracted sharply, and an incredulous astonishment, even a hint of panic from being suddenly attacked, burst forth in his cloudy old eyes.

He subconsciously straightened his always slightly hunched back, his lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something questioning, but only a muffled breath came out of his throat.

Meanwhile, Rezal's mocking smile froze completely. The hare he was carrying on his shoulder fell to the ground with a "plop," kicking up a small cloud of dust, but he was completely unaware of it.

He suddenly widened his eyes and stared intently at Kruse, as if he were seeing this "good-for-nothing" older brother for the first time.

Shock, doubt, resentment, and a hint of panic at being excluded instantly coalesced on his young face. He cried out, "What?! Father... how could he let you..."

Kruse took in the intense reactions of the two men and sneered inwardly.

It was just as he expected!
This fabricated "father's command" was like a heavy boulder thrown into a stagnant pool, instantly creating a huge upheaval.

Ignoring Rezal's lapse in composure, he fixed his gaze on the old steward and commanded without room for argument: "So, Steward Buffel, now, immediately, take me to inspect the farmland belonging to the territory."

"I need to know the true situation of every inch of land, every serf household, and every ear of wheat in Lion's Tooth Territory." His tone was calm, yet it carried an irresistible sense of oppression, as if the order had already been given and the other party was merely the executor.

Buffel's body swayed almost imperceptibly, and the last vestige of the forced smile on his old face vanished completely.

His cloudy eyes darted around rapidly, as if he were quickly processing this earth-shattering news and weighing its truth and falsehood, as well as its advantages and disadvantages.

Finally, he bowed deeply, almost at a ninety-degree angle, his voice slightly hoarse and trembling:
"Yes...yes, young master. I...I will lead the way for you now."

These words, like an invisible shackle, instantly bound the old steward, and completely stirred up the seemingly calm waters of Lion Fang Territory.

Kruse's first move, though bold and risky, had an immediate effect!
Kruse had already thought it through on his way here.

With his father Reyes caught up in the front lines, and given his understanding of the brutal nature of war in this world, with its protracted battles that often last for months or even years and the bloody attrition, there was absolutely no way he could return to Lion's Tooth Territory in the short term.

These precious few months are his only window of opportunity to turn the tide!

He must use this gap in his father's absence to complete his transformation from a "useless" person into a true knight.

At that time, even if his father sees through his lie of "borrowing the tiger's power" today, facing a son who has already gathered the seeds of fighting spirit, demonstrated value, and may even have initially reorganized the territory, this "lion" will only choose to go with the flow and accept the outcome.

After all, a qualified heir who can carry on the family business is more important than a momentary deception.

The prerequisite is that he must condense that damned fighting spirit seed before his father returns, and truly step into the threshold of becoming a trainee knight!
This is the cornerstone of all plans; otherwise, everything falls apart.

Therefore, he must complete the system tasks first, as they might contain rewards that can help him condense his fighting spirit seed.

But after going around in circles, the reality of Lion's Tooth Territory was even more shocking than Kruze's most pessimistic predictions.

In the steward Buffet's somewhat deliberate and cautious report, the territory's assets were laid bare before him: the main grain production consisted of 300 acres of wheat fields and 200 acres of pea fields. The main problem was that the 200 acres of land were relatively barren, so peas had to be planted to sustain the land for several years.

The various vegetable fields, totaling a mere twenty acres, are insufficient even to meet the minimum requirements for the territory.

One hundred and fifty acres of pasture were planted to feed the few precious draft animals in the territory and the warhorses that my father occasionally returned with.

This is all the farmland that Lion Fang Territory relies on for its livelihood!

The cold numbers were rapidly being calculated in Kruse's mind.

His merged memories and understanding after his time travel told him that the agricultural level of this medieval fantasy world was extremely low.

"Complete the territory patrol and you will be rewarded with 5 Energy Crystals."

"Newcomer Task 2: Reclaim twenty acres of new farmland, reward with ancient and lost Elvish language."

“Ancient, lost Elvish language.” Kruze narrowed his eyes, realizing that this beginner quest was part of a series of quests.

As we all know, the rewards for chain quests are the most generous, especially for beginner quests. In the later stages, these rewards may seem insignificant, but they are the most suitable for beginners in the early stages of development.

Kruse abruptly stopped at the edge of a sparse wheat field. He turned around, his gaze fixed on the butler, Buffet, who was bowing slightly beside him.

The restraint he had shown before was gone from his eyes; only a cold scrutiny and an undeniable question remained.

"Butler Buffet!" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a heavy weight of pressure. "Throughout Lion's Tooth Territory, there are 365 registered serfs, servants, guards, and you and me—a total of 365 mouths to feed!"

He pointed to the wheat field in front of him, which represented their lifeline, and then looked around at the barren land. "With just these meager three hundred acres of wheat, two hundred acres of peas, and a pitiful amount of vegetables and pasture?"

"Tell me, based on previous years' harvests, after deducting the taxes that must be paid to the Earl and the necessary seed reserves, is the remaining grain enough to keep these 365 people alive until the next harvest season?!"

This blunt question goes straight to the core of survival!
It tore away the "barely maintained" fig leaf covering the surface of the territory, exposing the most cruel and imminent survival crisis nakedly to the sunlight.

Kruse said this for a simple reason: to put pressure on Butler Buffet so that he wouldn't secretly disobey his orders later.

For the first time, a hint of panic and embarrassment flashed in the butler's cloudy eyes. He clearly hadn't expected that this "useless" young master would grasp his most fatal weakness right from the start.

Under Kruse's piercing gaze, cold sweat beaded on Buffel's forehead. He instinctively avoided Kruse's eyes, his cloudy eyes darting nervously, his voice weak and strained, almost forced from his throat:

“Uh… well… to answer your question, young master,” he swallowed and added with difficulty, “actually… most of the time, when the territory was in a state of food shortage and taxes were piling up, it was… it was only thanks to the food and money that the master sent back from the front lines that we were able to barely survive.”

(End of this chapter)