My Farming Domain Is Broken

The two new Farmers stepped out of it with simple bags over their shoulders. The human woman held a bundle of packed food, while the Dogman kept one hand on the basket strapped to his back.

Kaia stepped out behind them, then immediately moved toward the boundary again. Both Farmers looked around the old district before their eyes landed on Rowan.

Rowan walked to them immediately.

The Dogman stepped forward first. "I am a Farmer, Head Farmer. I do not have a name yet, but I know how to work."

Rowan looked at him for a moment. "Then your name is Tarin. It is simple so that we don’t waste any time."

"Tarin," the Dogman repeated, then nodded. "I will work properly, Head Farmer."

"Come here, but very carefully," he said. "Do not step near the cracked wall until I show you where."

Carlos stood and raised his voice. "Cedric, help Rowan out in cleaning up the place. He needs you to pick up the big stones and move them out of the land. But be careful, this is very important."

Cedric nodded. "Understood."

"Kaia, keep the watch. I do not care if this is a farming problem. We are too busy to get surprised by anyone walking in."

Kaia’s expression eased at once. That was the kind of work she understood.

"Done."

Carlos pointed at Blue and Two next. "You both wait for Rowan. Do not use any water until he tells you where."

Blue floated higher in agreement. Two copied the motion with a bounce, though the smaller slime nearly tipped over.

Carlos reached down and steadied Two with one hand.

"You little slowpoke."

The work began again.

This time it moved faster, but it was still not easy.

Rowan showed the new Farmers how to place the flat boards before they touched any clay. The human Farmer loosened the outer soil with a broken tile while Tarin caught each small amount in his basket. They never pulled at a root or dug deeper than Rowan allowed.

Carlos got his hands dirty with everyone else. He did not know what the roots needed, but he could lift clay, hold a board and make sure nobody started arguing when the pressure grew.

Rhea was the first one to speak when the narrow path finally reached the old water line. She had been waiting beside the board stack, keeping the supplies ready while the others worked.

"There is still no water here," she said. "Even if we finish this, what are we sending through it?"

Carlos looked toward the restored channel. A thin amount of water moved through it, but not enough to waste without asking.

Rowan had already seen the problem.

"The flow is being lost at the split above us," he said. "The old stone lip is crooked. If we guide the water with boards for a little while, some of it can enter this path."

Carlos blinked. "Boards can do that?"

Rowan gave him a tired look. "Water follows where you make room for it."

"Right.... yeah that is obvious"

Carlos moved before anyone else could comment. "Bring the longest boards. Tarin and I will hold them at the split. Rowan tells us where they go."

They worked at the upper part of Channel Five while the others kept the new path clear. The boards did not fit perfectly. One slid twice. A small stream of water spilled into the wrong side and turned the soil near Carlos’s boots into mud.

He almost swore when he sank up to his ankle.

While watching Carlos work so clumsily, Rowan laughed for the first time.

Then he pointed sharply. "THERE, hold it there and don’t move."

Carlos and Tarin held the board in place while Rowan adjusted the second one. The thin stream changed direction slowly and water reached the shallow path.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then the pale roots under the broken wall shifted.

It was scary to look at first, the roots tightening around the soil as water touched them. The dry root Carlos had seen earlier darkened a little, and a faint green line appeared along its side.

Rowan dropped to his knees.

"More," he said. "Not too much. Blue, guide a thin stream along the upper board. Slow."

Blue formed water in front of its body and guided a gentle stream into the channel. The flow widened.

"Two, same place."

Two shook, gathered itself and fired a smaller Water Shot beside Blue’s.

The water ran down the board path and soaked into the open earth around the roots. The system waited long enough to make Carlos feel sick, and only then did the panel appear.

--

[Auxiliary Channel Five restoration complete]

[Buried cultivation support organism stabilized]

[Crop Keeper verification progress: 1 of 1]

[Permanent Crop Keeper recognition pending administrator confirmation]

--

Carlos read the last line and felt his whole body go still.

Rowan looked up at him, mud on his hands and a smile he was trying to hide.

"It is alive," he said.

Carlos let out the breath he had been holding.

Around them, people began speaking at once. Rhea laughed. One of the Shield Militia actually raised his shield in the air. Blue spun in the air, scattering water across Milan’s boots. Two tried to copy the celebration and landed against Carlos’s leg.

Carlos picked the little slime up before it could fall over.

"Good job," he said.

Two made a soft watery sound.

Cedric stood beside the channel with mud on his armor and looked at the restored water path. "Does this mean the district is yours permanently now?"

Carlos looked at the system panel again.

"It says pending administration confirmation. So not yet," he said. "But we have done our part."

Just when he said that, another panel showed itself.

--

[Regional administrator has been notified]

[Crop Keeper confirmation will be issued after the authority review]

--

Carlos’s tiredness returned all at once. He had expected a reward. Maybe a title. Maybe another list of resources.

Instead, somebody he had never met was now reviewing what happened in his district.

And for the first time, Carlos wondered who exactly had the power to confirm it.