My Farming Domain Is Broken

Lydia stopped after hearing that.

She looked at Carlos again, this time without examining his equipment or the district behind him.

"You are right. I overstepped my boundaries."

Carlos had expected another argument, so the admission surprised him.

"I walked for six hours following the resonance and became frustrated after finding someone else had already claimed the district," Lydia continued. "That isn’t your fault."

Her apology was not warm, but it was direct.

"But I didn’t come here to work for free," Lydia added.

She opened a system panel and turned it toward Carlos.

--

[Restoration Resonance response recorded]

[Compatible Domain: Claycraft]

[Potential district role: Soil Mason]

[Requirement: Earn recognized structural restoration contribution]

[Current obstacle: Restoration work requires permission from Partial Owner Carlos Goldwin]

--

That explained why she had followed the signal for six hours even after learning someone else had claimed the district.

The system had offered her a path to recognized authority, but she could not earn it without working inside Carlos’s claim.

"I want the Soil Mason role and access to whatever ancient construction knowledge comes with it," Lydia said. "You need permanent repairs. We can both gain something."

Carlos understood that much better than a stranger offering help for no reason.

"Then ask before touching anything," Carlos said.

Lydia pointed toward the first repaired channel.

"May I inspect that wall? I believe the support is weakening. I will not change it without permission."

Carlos opened supervised access for the small section only.

"Inspect it."

Lydia crouched beside the channel and pushed one finger against the wet wall. A small piece loosened and fell into the water.

She stood without looking satisfied about being correct.

"The repair worked, but the soil is already softening. My workers can reinforce it if you allow us."

Carlos looked at Rowan. The farmer checked the exposed roots before nodding.

"Do it."

Lydia’s two Clay Workers opened their baskets. They mixed pale soil with channel water and pressed it against the damaged section. The material hardened into smooth stone within seconds.

The workers were shorter than ordinary humans but nearly twice as wide. Neither spoke. They communicated with Lydia by tapping their tools against the ground in different patterns.

"What are they?" Carlos asked.

"Clayborn Masons. Uncommon production troops."

"Both?"

"The same barrack only summons one type..."

"How many conquests?"

She looked at him. "Two on Normal. Why?"

"I ask people."

"How many did you do?"

Cosmic answered before Carlos could speak. "Hell. Every time."

Lydia stopped working for a moment.

"That explains how you developed enough to claim this district first."

Carlos had expected her to call him insane like everyone else. Her answer was better than that.

Carlos used Inspect.

--

[Temporary Aqueduct Support reinforced]

[Estimated stability increased]

--

"You can help," Carlos said. "But don’t expect any ownership here, that will get you in some big trouble"

Lydia studied the contribution panel before accepting. She noticed supervised workers could earn recorded contribution without receiving control.

"You designed this well."

"The system did."

"You still chose the permissions. Most Lords either refuse everyone or hand out access without reading."

Her Clayborn Masons required wet mineral soil for their hardening ability. Carlos provided ordinary channel sediment but refused Spirit Soil or Mana Water. Lydia accepted without asking for resources she had never earned.

"I am not asking you to give me ownership," Lydia said. "I want the chance to earn the role the system offered me."

She opened the public district interface but did not select anything.

"The fourth channel has the same structural damage. May I work on it under supervision?"

That was very different from ordering Carlos to open it.

"You repair only what Rowan approves," Carlos said. "You don’t activate the channel or remove anything from the fields."

"Agreed."

Carlos granted supervised work access.

Lydia inspected the channel walls while Rowan checked its roots. Neither pretended to understand the other’s work. That alone made Carlos listen.

Rowan rejected Lydia’s first repair mixture because it released too much mineral dust near the exposed roots.

Lydia did not become offended. She changed the mixture twice until Rowan accepted it.

Carlos noticed that. She was difficult when arguing about her own work, but she listened when someone proved the problem belonged to a different specialty.

That made her easier to trust than a person who agreed with everything.

But she had only just joined them a moment ago, things needed to observed before he could make any judgement. Not always will his luck be so good that he gets people like Cedric by his side.

The fourth channel had three broken wall sections but only one root obstruction. Lydia’s workers repaired the walls while Brann lifted collapsed stones.

Carlos and Lydia both received contribution notices.

Their numbers changed after every repair. Carlos’s ownership kept him ahead, but Lydia gained more from specialized structural work than Cedric’s group gained through labour.

Cedric noticed.

"Specialized work is worth more."

"Because fewer people can do it," Cosmic answered.

Cedric sent one Axeman to carry prepared clay. His contribution increased slightly, and he smiled at the notification.

He had begun searching for ways to become useful instead of asking what he would receive.

--

[Restoration contribution recorded]

[Carlos Goldwin: Root protection, labour and authority access]

[Lydia Veyra: Structural restoration]

--

"So the district can divide contribution," Lydia said.

"It can record it. That doesn’t mean it divides ownership."

"You keep returning to ownership," Lydia said.

"Because I worked for this claim," Carlos answered. "I am not losing it because I stopped paying attention."

Lydia considered his answer before nodding. She did not agree with every boundary, but she respected that he had reasons for them.

They worked until the final wall hardened. When Carlos activated the channel, water moved east before turning through a buried junction.

Lydia stood beside Carlos at the regulator but remained away from the activation handle.

"Your authority, so you activate it," she said after stepping back.

Carlos had expected another argument. Instead, she respected the boundary without being reminded.

"You repaired most of this channel."

"And you control the water. If it fails, I would rather blame you."

There it was. Carlos pulled the handle while Lydia watched the channel.

Half entered Lydia’s chosen crop beds.

The other half flowed toward Carlos’s third channel and increased its pressure.

--

[Cooperative Channel Junction restored]

[Independent operation unavailable]

[Compatible restoration roles detected: 2]

--

Lydia stared at the divided water.

"It connected our work."

"Looks like it."

She glanced at Carlos and then quickly returned her attention to the channel.

"Do not misunderstand. I still want recognition for my contribution."

"And I still intend to control the district," Carlos answered.

"Then we have a problem."

Carlos smiled. The expression made Lydia tighten her grip on the stone tool.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because you came here demanding recognition, and now the district refuses to let either of us work alone."

"That is not funny."

"It is a little funny."

Lydia remained annoyed and turned toward the water.

"We have work right now, lets get to it"

Lydia looked at him for another second before nodding.

Cosmic walked between them and examined the divided flow.

"I am going to enjoy watching this arrangement," he said with a smile.

"It is not a partnership," Carlos and Lydia answered at the same time.

They looked at each other after speaking together.

Lydia turned toward the restored channel first, but Carlos noticed the small smile she tried to hide.

He said nothing about it.

The water continued flowing through both sides of the junction, making the system’s decision clearer than either of their arguments.

Whatever they chose to call the arrangement, the district now expected them to continue working together.