Idocrase, also known as the food depot of Dragon Kingdom, is a vast expanse of farmlands. There were some crops that can be harvested all year round so the area was understaffed throughout the year. As a result, it had become the main work force for immigrants, orphans, and single mothers.
Within this territory were many residents who have special circumstances. Thus, Asahi and her former classmates, Hiromi, Kodai, Toma, and Takao were sent there. Asahi, who worked in the farmland owned by the lord, greeted him first.
Asahi was welcomed into the crowd with a greeting that included thorns. The four former classmates joined too and were listening to the crowd along with her. However, probably because of the case with the fairies, the crowd shunned and glared at the group. Only Asahi did not notice the atmosphere.
"Uhm, how much work do I have to do to be freed?" -Asahi
After the Lord gave a brief explanation, such an out-of-place question made Hiromi and others jump out of their skin. The person herself was serious but the other four were nervous.
"Be freed?" -The Lord
"Ah, Asahi-san!" -Hiromi
It was as if the Lord had captured Asahi to have her work as a slave. No, that was probably the case for her.
Hiromi, who saw the 'smiling but not smiling' face of the lord in front of them, pulled the sleeves of Asahi to stop her.
Hiromi and the others knew exactly why they were brought here. There was a plan to throw them, who were innocent, away as criminals to a forest where they would likely die. It even led to a dispute with Nadasha's higher-ups which caused chaos to both kingdoms. This place was both a punishment and a surveillance, but it was also a warm consideration for people like Asahi, a foreigner from another world, to live by themselves.
However, it seems that it has been distorted and was delivered wrongly to Asahi who thought that she was being forced to work.
Among them, Touma who has the role of the leader, came out before Asahi and lowered his head to the Lord.
"I'm sorry. She just doesn't understand the situation yet. I am grateful that the dragon king and the lord have taken our hearts in consideration." -Touma
As if to agree, the other three classmates nodded.
"Oh, I see, it's a relief that there's someone like you who can speak properly. Then you tell the situation to her for me. Although there were some voices who said that you should be sent to a place with a worse working environment than here. They got rid of it because of your circumstances and how you and the 'Cherished One' came from the same place. Don't forget our generosity." -The Lord
It was hinted that if there was a single complaint, she would be sent into a harsher place.
For the Lord, trying to kill his beloved son, even if it was unintentional due to the influence of charm magic, it was not entirely acceptable. Because of that, his words became harsh by all means.
"Yes." -Hiromi and all.
The four, except Asahi, replied firmly.
This was how Asahi started her life in Idocrase.
Basically, Takao, Kodai and Touma were assigned in heavy works, while Hiromi and Asahi were given jobs that was easier than men's.
However, there was no such thing as machines in this world. Plowing the soil, planting the seeds, fertilizing and watering were all done manually.
Those who can use magic can work with magic, but the Lord's farmland alone was vast, and magical powers were limited. Magic alone could not finish everything.
If it was Ruri or Jade, they could effortlessly plow and sprinkle water all over the farmland, but there was no one here with such a great magical power.
There were also times when even women needed to carry relatively heavy objects because they were short-handed throughout the year.
For Asahi, who grew up in a city and relied on machines for many things, life here was not easy to adjust to.
In Nadasha, she was treated as a guest. But if you want to drink a glass of water here, you have to go to a well and take down a bucket and draw water.
It was a tiring task for the body since there were muscle pains gained from working in the farm.
If ones luck was good, those who can use water magic would give water on the spot, but since Asahi was assigned to a group that did not have the same people like her, magical enough to use magic, there was almost no one.
Those who can use magic can do a wide range of work at one time so they worked separately. Their salary was higher than those who couldn't use magic so Hiromi and the others felt very envious of it.'
Originally, with Asahi's magic power, just a bit of training was needed before it could be used. However, since there was the danger of unconsciously using charm, her magic has always been sealed.
Hiromi and others who were used to a convenient life also had a hard life, but none of the four complained. They knew very well that there were no parents, no siblings and no one to rely on but themselves. It wasn't a situation where they could say 'No, I don't like it, I don't want to.'
There were times of hardships, but there were also many people around who, just like them, had no relatives too. They encouraged each other, gradually got to know each other and became good friends, they were soon able to blend together and have fun.
But, there was one person who couldn't fit in… Asahi.
"It's heavy… Hey, help me." -Asahi
Asahi, who was carrying a basket of harvested crops, asked for help from the girl of her age who was nearby.
But she has her job too.
"Huh? I don't want to. Take care of it yourself." -Nearby girl
"But it's heavy …" -Asahi
"Of course it is, because the harvested crops are in it. What are you planning to do just by carrying the basket? We still have more crops to harvest before the end of the day, so please stop complaining and take them with you." -Nearby girl
A cold look was directed to Asahi.
Asahi looked around to ask for other people's help, but no one looked at Asahi when everyone heard her interaction with the girl.
Her eyes met with Hiromi who had been on her side, but she immediately turned away. Asahi had a shocked face.
It was because of the impressions of those around her, including these series of things. Asahi asked for help not just once or twice, but several times a day, so the surrounding people were already disgusted. After all, that was the task assigned to her.
As Asahi often sought help and kept complaining, she was given relatively simple tasks in consideration of causing inconvenience to others.
People around would be willing to help if it can not be done by all means, but obviously they wouldn't want to if they were told that it was a task easier than their own. Moreover, they always lend a hand, but Asahi never did. This didn't seem to benefit them.
However, Asahi didn't know that. Until now, even if Asahi didn't say anything, the people around her had been helping out without hesitation. Even in school cleaning and daily works, everyone had taken the initiative in advance if they thought it was troublesome for her. It was the same with Nadasha, so when she came to the Dragon Kingdom and suddenly got a different reaction from those around her, she could not keep up with her surroundings.
She didn't know why they were not helping. But from now on, it would be normal.
Now that the effects of charm have disappeared, Hiromi wasn't going to help Asahi. After all, she was so full of herself.
However, Asahi is …
"Hey, why didn't you help me a while ago?" -Asahi
Asahi, who was dissatisfied, complained to Hiromi when she joined Touma and the gang for lunch. Hiromi let out a deep sigh. Despite Asahi's complaints without getting any work done, Hiromi and the others still pampered her; not being able to immediately cure the reliance that has been there since their childhood, and that had made others jealous and troubled their surroundings.
She asks for help and when no one responded, she would start crying then take a break.
Asahi acting like a spoiled child had already been a normal scene here. Even those orphans who were here to earn some pocket money performed better than her.
The good news was that for Hiromi and friends who keeps cleaning after Asahi, others still eyed them warmly. However, they couldn't keep wiping her ass. Asahi needed to be independent without needing any help from the others.
"You see, Hiromi has a job assigned to her. If she didn't do it, it will cause trouble for others. You'll have to learn to do work on your own because we won't be able to help you all the time." -Touma
Touma, who frowned at Asahi's remarks, still liked Asahi and tried to teach her.
"But, you used to help me in both cleaning and daily tasks, why are you suddenly so cold? I wonder if I did something…" -Asahi
"This is not the school. In addition, the reason why people have spoiled her so far is because they have been charmed by her magic. It would be a big mistake if she thought that we, who have regained our sanity, would continue to pamper her" -Kodai
I don't want to say this, but isn't it time to apologize? It may be unintended but we still lost our sanity. " -Takao
Kodai and Takao both spoke harshly. Everybody felt the limit of patience in the repetitive behavior of the Asahi.
"Charmed. . ?" -Asahi
Astonished, Asahi tilted her head in confusion.
Hiromi and the others were confused too and thought, 'huh?'
Hiromi and her friends looked at each other.
"Huh, has she not heard of it?"
"No no, didn't you explain it to her?"
"But it's Asahi. Maybe she misinterpreted it …"
"Could be."
They turned to Asahi and explained about the charm magic with great details.
"So, everyone was kind to me because I used that charm magic? You didn't want to…? " -Asahi
"Well, that's about it. Honestly, I don't think that I would be kind to Asahi if it wasn't for that magic. No, I wouldn't even get close. " -Kodai
"Hey, that's too much." -Asahi
Hiromi liked Kodai's harsh words.
"Asahi, you wouldn't understand it unless we say it to you clearly. Don't you think so for the most part? We are desperate to protect our lives that we can't even look after those who have no motivation." -Hiromi
No one objected. Now that the charm magic has been dispelled, they could see why Ruri didn't like to be so involved with Asahi. The four did not think that it would be this troublesome.
"Everyone is harsh… I haven't done that! You don't have to blame it to my magic and lie just because you hate me!" -Asahi
Asahi ran away from the place with tears in her eyes. After hearing that all the kindness of people around her in the past was only due to magic, Hiromi and others had been expecting her to do so and decided to leave it alone. The four of them expected some change after talking about it, but her behavior remained the same until finally, there was no more meal for Asahi who wouldn't do any work.
"Hm … where's my part?" -Asahi
Voices saying "It's natural" or "She deserves it" was heard from around the dumbly standing Asahi.
Then the Lord's wife appeared.
No one marveled at this because to help the busy Lord, she often came to see what was going on in his stead.
So Asahi snapped at the Lord's wife who came before her.
"Hey, why don't I have my meal?!" -Asahi
"Shut up !!" -The Lord's Wife
She shivered at the Lord's wife's glare and was silenced.
"You are here to work. It's a reward for working so of course you won't have any if you didn't do anything. You are not a princess and if you treat non-workers the same as everyone else, it will be an insult to those who work hard." -The Lord's Wife
"But if I don't eat it I'll die!" -Asahi
"Then work, that's all to it." -The Lord's Wife
After saying her piece, the Lord's wife turned her back to Asahi. Hiromi, who felt sorry for her, tries to bring her dishes and share a meal, but the wife stops it.
"Please stop." -The Lord's Wife
"But it's not a good idea to skip a meal." -Hiromi
"This is a step to make her see reality. You no longer need to wipe her ass from now on. Let her do it herself. You can't expect growth if you'll spoil her forever." -The Lord's Wife
"…Yes." -Hiromi
"I've just been watching up until now but now I understand that she should be treated strictly. I will not throw her out as I had been asked by my beloved child to take care of her. You can leave it to me. I won't let her ludicrous behavior go." -The Lord's Wife
That afternoon, there was a figure of Asahi working honestly. However, because she skipped her meal, she lacked concentration and was unable to proceed.
"Ah, give me some food. I can't continue now 'cause I'm hungry." -Asahi
"You've just missed one meal. It doesn't matter if you did or didn't do it, it just means your dinner was gone. " -The Lord's Wife
"That…" -Asahi
Asahi distorted her face in despair due to Lord's wife's merciless words. There was no one offering help from her surroundings.
After a while, she started to work on the farm while crying. The movement of her hand may be slow, but the Lord's wife's resolute attitude from the beginning all throughout was probably good. In particular, she was now working honestly without any complaints.
"I hope this works well."
"The rest is up to her."
"We can now think about our futures."
"I would like to go to another country once I have enough money to live by myself because this is a different world. "
"Good, that's it."
"I will go with you!"
"That will be the first thing we will do."
The story was just expanding with hopes for the future.