CHAPTER 41: APPRECIATION

It got quite dark when Aegon left the Royal Palace all alone. Xavier wanted to accompany him, but he had been held back by his father for a lecture.

Aegon could understand Bailish’s worries too. Xavier was too emotional for his own good, and a King shouldn’t be swayed so easily with emotions...or at least that’s what everyone said.

This was just one of the many reasons he didn’t want to accept the position of Crown Prince that Bailish had offered him. As the sole heir to the Chen Clan after Xiu, he was eligible for the throne too.

’He will come around someday,’ Aegon thought. ’Seeing his reaction, he really needs to control his emotional side. Well, Uncle will handle him.’

While they were strict, Aegon knew Sansa and Bailish loved their children a lot. It was just that they wanted to prepare Xavier for his destiny as the King of Moonrise Kingdom.

’Ah whatever. I can help, but ruling over so many people sounds like a pain in the ass. Too much responsibility and expectations.’

Currently, he was heading towards the slopes of the Moon River to do what he had promised. He had seen the condition of the farmers and felt sympathetic towards them. Although he trusted Bailish enough, he still wanted to do something for them.

’Come to think of it, it’s one of the only things I’ll accomplish without the system’s help. I’m kind of nervous,’ he talked to himself as he walked under the moonlight.

[Congratulations on taking a step forward in achieving your independence, Host.]

’Thanks, but that independence will be achieved with the things you gave me,’ Aegon smiled and replied to the system. ’Also, you don’t need to be jealous. I still need you, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me.’

One thing that always annoyed Aegon in novels where MCs had systems was the fact so many of them were always ungrateful. They would become arrogant after getting a system and then proclaim it was their hard work.

’Their bum selves wouldn’t achieve anything without the system, yet they’re so arrogant towards it. Ungrateful and hypocritical people.’

That was the reason he always appreciated the systems he had. Even without them, his life would have been very good, but they added many things into it, so he was very grateful to them — or to it, considering only one system talked for both.

[The system does not have emotions to feel jealous.]

Aegon chuckled and said, ’Yeah yeah, I know, but I still like to show my appreciation.’

Just like that, he reached the slopes which were quite far from the main city. They would work perfectly for his plan.

As he gazed at the vast flowing body of water at the base, he thought, ’This is just one of the many distributaries of the river and it’s already so big. Just how big is the main river?’

Apparently, it was big enough that no bridges could be built on it. Just the width of the main river was several kilometres, the same distance between the Human and Elf territories.

Aegon could see easily even in the darkness because of the Dark Vision he had obtained once. All he needed to do for that was wander around in the dark areas of the mansion and sign in.

’It was also the day I learned about Vampires. Those bats actually exist,’ Aegon thought before he called out, "Hecte."

The shadows around him stirred before they rose above the ground, materialising as a humanoid figure before him. He couldn’t see her features clearly, but her presence was so familiar.

"Sorry for troubling you," Aegon felt really bad for her as she had to handle Xiu if he messed up, and safe to say, it was exhausting.

"It’s really fine, Boss," Hecte’s soft voice echoed around him. "I am supposed to protect you anyway, though dealing with Chief is really taxing."

Since Aegon didn’t really like anyone calling him Master, he had them change the way they addressed him as ’Boss’ while Xiu remained the Chief.

A decade of staying together had also allowed them to grow closer, so Hecte was one of the people who understood him the most. After all, she practically accompanied him all the time.

This was why she was frank with him.

"Ha-ha, I can imagine that," Aegon could only give a dry laugh in response.

"That aside, why did you call me out, Boss?" Hecte asked. "I assume it’s related to what you talked about with King Bailish?"

"Yup. I don’t need their resources because I have you guys," he smiled and said. "I am going to make terrace farming methods, so call your colleagues who specialise in these matters."

"Terrace farming? Here?"

Although she was confused, Hecte still blew a sharp whistle which made several shadows rise around them.

None of their figures were clear, but Aegon knew it was because they were mostly comfortable in this form. They would reveal their true selves if he asked, but he never bothered with it.

A total of ten shadowy figures stood before him excluding Hecte, all on their knees awaiting his order.

"Is anyone here familiar with terrace farming?" he asked.

The shadows glanced at each other but none spoke up, making Aegon wonder if they had never even heard of it.

"We only know that terrace farming is a way farmers grow their crops in the hilly areas," Hecte answered for them. "But we don’t know the details because we never visited them."

"That’s a shame," Aegon muttered before looking down at the slope once again. Then he explained.

"Terrace farming is a method used by farmers of hilly or mountainous terrain to grow crops. They make steps on the slopes which stop soil erosion, give a flat surface, and also help in the preservation of rainwater which can be used for irrigation. I can go on to explain its advantages and disadvantages, but you only need to understand how it’s made and how it works."

That was all he needed. They were intelligent people, so he knew they would understand it quickly.

Terrace farming was the first thing that came to his mind when he looked at the long slopes that ran alongside the river. The only problem with it was irrigation since the water source was far below.

But he had a solution for that too.