The Rainfall Princess of the Desert Country – A Former Wizard Who Was Executed Has Reincarnated as a Farmer’s Daughter

Chapter 6: Mystery of the Farm

“What on earth is this place?”

Gil, my servant, and my bodyguards are all taken aback.
I also have the impression that I am dreaming.

According to the guards, the farm is a beautiful circle about 1,500 meters in diameter.
A circle of vegetable fields, orchards, wheat fields, and pastures surrounded two small houses on the farm.

The ground was moist, and the grass and trees were sprouting new leaves.
The fields appeared to have been harvested recently.
Weeds are abundant.
The wheat hasn’t been harvested yet, but it’s already bearing a lot of grain.
Beautiful wildflowers are blooming throughout the property.

“What exactly does this mean? Such fertile land, and yet no one lives on it?”

A quick look around reveals that there is no spring.

The two houses are empty, but there is no sand or dust inside, as if they were occupied not long ago.

“Your Majesty! This is!”

My servant indicates a large barrel.

The barrel is connected to the roof by a rain gutter, and when the lid is opened, it is filled to the brim with clean water.

With trepidation, a guard smells and tastes it, but after a while, he says, “It isn’t poisonous.
Rather, it’s delicious!” and yanked the stopper from the bottom, swallowing the water that flowed from the rim.

The horses have gathered around the smell of water, eager to be given a drink.

“Didn’t they live by collecting rainwater?”

“No, of course not.
It hasn’t rained this hard in a long time to collect this much clean rainwater.”

I saw a real gutter for the first time in my life.
The U-shaped wooden gutter appeared to have been used for a long time and was blackened from water absorption.

“Is it really raining here?” But there is no well or spring water.
The people who were inspecting the farm returned.

“How is this even possible? There is so much greenery growing here.
How can there possibly be no water?”

“However, Your Highness, if they were using spring water, a channel should exist.”

Everything is strange in this place.

As they catch their first glimpse of this paradise, the guards scurry around.
One of the men who went looking for the well returned with a handful of nekta berries.
He has a large number of them under his arms.

“Your Highness! They are sweet, thin-skinned, and delicious! There were many torn-out shoot remnants, but there were also some that remained.”

It seems he has already eaten one.

Everyone, including myself, is swarming to receive nektas.

“What are you guys doing at work? How can you eat nectar under such extraordinary circumstances?!”

“Come on, Your Highness.
I saved the best for last.
Here you go.”

He hands me a bright red nekta berry, which I bite into.
I’m surprised by how thin the skin is and how delicious the flavor is.

“What exactly is this? It tastes even sweeter than the royal palace’s nektas.”

I chew it while sucking the juice so as not to spill it.
Drink the sweet and sour juice that overflows into your mouth.
It’s really delicious.

I was eating nekta when I noticed a chicken coop in the backyard.
According to the fallen feathers, Blackgold had probably caught a chicken here.

“You two! Stop eating and search for footprints.
The people who lived here may still have been present when Blackgold captured the chicken.”

“Your Highness, there are tracks that resemble camel tracks, but they have been obscured by tree branches.
In addition, the wind and sand have nearly completely erased the tracks.
We’ve dispatched a tracker, but it’ll be difficult.”

“They’re extremely cautious.”

“But, Your Highness, if there are no hidden springs or wells, is there any reason to flee?”

“Yes, there is.
“

I replied as I gazed out the window at the lush green farm.

“They had kept the secret of how they were able to grow so many plants and trees in such abundance without the use of springs or wells.
It appears that they planned to abandon this location long before they fled because we might come.”

“Why is that?””

“There’s no way the number of people who lived in that small house could have moved everything so neatly all at once.
They must have planned to leave this place for some reason a long time ago.”

“I see.
But it would be a shame to abandon such a nice place.”

“You’re right.
I’m not sure why the people here would waste so much time.”

I left three of my guards on the farm and instructed them to speak with the inhabitants if they ever returned.
They had not yet harvested the wheat, so there was a chance they would return for the harvest.

However, the residents did not return, and a week later it was reported that the farm’s plants had run out of water and were rapidly dying.

His Majesty the Emperor and the Prime Minister were informed of the story, and a small force was dispatched to investigate.
Despite extensive investigations, the mystery remains unsolved.
It was reported that any rain that had fallen only on that farm had never fallen again.

—○█○—

Who were the people who lived there?

Why was it pouring?

Or how did they make it rain?

As far as we know, there are no wizards in this country.

What happened to the people who used to live here?

I want to know so many things, but I can’t figure any of them out.
It has been a month.
The plants on that farm are dying, and the land is reverting to desert.

—○█○—

“Oto-san, Oka-san, I’m leaving.”

“Are you still interested in going?”

“Yes, Ethan also wants to accompany me.”

We’ve been to the capital’s center many times since we moved here, but this is my first time going alone.
My parents are concerned about me.

“If someone calls out to you, don’t follow them, okay?”

“I’m concerned about you, Alethea.
What about having Dad send you there?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine! Okay, I’m going!”

I enjoy working on the farm, but I needed to check something out from the library.
I hadn’t yet informed my parents that I could read, so I didn’t inform them that I was going to the library.
They’d be terrified of me, a child, suddenly learning to read and write.

The library is four kilometers away, each way.
It is not a problem for those of us who are trained in farming.

“Hey Alesia, do you know how to get there?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a map.”

My father drew me a map, but I don’t need it.
It’s been 40 years since I died in my previous life, but the path is still roughly the same.

“Everything is fine.
It’ll all work out.”