Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 24 Alfalfa
“Buffel, the seeds inside are called ‘Alfalfa’.” Kruse’s voice carried a fervent anticipation of the future as he picked up the bag and gently pinched out a small handful of tiny brown seeds with his long, slender fingers.

"It will be the foundation of our Lion Fang Territory's future!" He looked intently at the old steward. "The wonder of this thing is beyond imagination! Its roots can penetrate deep into the ground, stabilizing the soil and preventing sandstorms, and it can also revitalize barren land, as if the land is breathing deeply! It is also a top-quality livestock feed, and the essence it contains is far superior to our lowly weeds! It can fertilize the fields and make our land more and more fertile!"

Kruze solemnly handed the bag to Buffel, his fingertips conveying a heavy weight of trust: "I want you, Buffel, to use all your connections and wisdom to plant this alfalfa on every arable piece of land in the territory—whether newly reclaimed wasteland or temporarily fallow cultivated land! This isn't just for this autumn's harvest, but for next year, the year after, for laying the foundation for a truly prosperous future for our Lion's Tooth Territory! Can you do it?"

Buffel felt the weight of the seed in his hand, and even more so, the immense expectation in the lord's words. He took a deep breath, and a long-lost glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes. He straightened his back and said, "Young Master is truly insightful! This old servant guarantees with his life that this 'grass of hope' will green every inch of Lion Fang Territory!"

After arranging everything properly and outlining a difficult but clear development path for the territory, Kruse, carrying the priceless bone china bottle, headed towards the pea garden where the pea garden sprite "Green" lived.

The garden was more lifeless than ever before.

The pea leaf that symbolized the power of the fairy insects was withered, its edges even slightly curled.

The small, translucent, green body was curled up in the center of the leaf veins. Its original jade-like luster became cloudy, and the whole insect looked weak and listless.

“You…have come…” Qingcui’s voice was as thin as a whisper, carrying the ethereal quality unique to the sprite insect, yet it could not hide its weakness. “Is my new…habitat…ready?” It did not open its eyes, as if it had exhausted even the strength to lift its eyelids.

Kruse did not answer immediately.

He carefully took out the bone china bottle and, with a specially made silver spoon, sparingly scraped out a thin layer of shimmering white powder—that was the finest jade powder.

He gently flicked the powder, worth a gold coin, onto the leaves in front of the verdant plant, his movements as tender as if he were protecting fragile morning dew.

“Not yet…” Kruse’s voice was low and honest. “But I brought you this.”

He gazed at the faint, jade-like light, as if looking at the last hope of the territory. "It's enough to sustain you for the next month or two. Once this season's peas are ripe," he said decisively, "I will immediately move you to a new pea field, twenty acres of land, enough for you to recuperate!"

The verdant antennae trembled violently!
It finally opened its pair of emerald green compound eyes with great difficulty. When it saw the pile of jade powder in front of it, which was exuding a pure life force, it let out a short and sharp buzzing sound. It was an extreme surprise!

It practically pounced on it, its tiny mouthparts greedily sucking up the precious jade powder.

Within moments, the thin layer of powder vanished without a trace.

As the jade powder entered its stomach, its listless aura seemed to solidify slightly. It raised its head, its compound eyes gleaming with satisfaction, and its voice regained some of its former harshness and arrogance:
"Give me some more! Kid, not bad! You're much better than your incompetent father who clings to the rules but can't even afford a single 'snack' for me!"

Kruze forced a forced, almost bitter smile, but didn't reply. He silently put away the jade powder bottle.

Father…Father has to consider the life and death of hundreds of people in the entire Lion Fang Territory, the armor of the soldiers, the taxes of the people, the repair of the city walls…How could he not want Qingcui to be carefree?
But this heavy burden, weighing on its shoulders, makes every step feel like a thousand pounds. How could a mere spirit insect possibly understand?

The finest jade powder, worth a gold coin, vanished without a trace as the verdant plant greedily and rapidly absorbed it.

Kruze's eyes twitched, and his heart bled. This wasn't feeding insects; it was pouring gold into a bottomless pit!
The effects of this expensive "snack" were immediate.

The emerald's originally murky and dull body now exudes a warm and restrained jade-like luster. With a slight twist of its body, it brings out a faint halo that is visible to the naked eye, and the entire insect appears refreshed and no longer as listless as before.

"Mmm~ That feels much better!" Qingcui let out a satisfied sigh, her voice becoming much clearer.

Suppressing his heartache, Kruze tentatively suggested, "Qingcui, it's safer in the castle, and it's more convenient for me to feed you every day. Why don't you... come back to the castle with me?" He needed a more secure place to settle this precious little darling, and also a place where he could easily keep an eye on her.

"Sure!" Green answered readily, showing none of the stubborn attachment that spirit insects typically have to their native habitat. As soon as it finished speaking, its translucent body glowed slightly, and it floated into the air!
It was just a small insect, yet it made a peculiar wriggling motion in the air.

The movement appears slow and elegant, but it is actually incredibly swift.

Kruse felt a weight on his head, and a few strands of hair were stirred by an invisible current. When he looked up again, Qingcui's small, glowing body was firmly perched on his head.

Kruse: "..." He subconsciously raised his hand to touch the top of his head, but was afraid of disturbing the "landlord".

"Hmph, you're smart enough to use top-quality stuff to replenish my energy." Qingcui adjusted to a comfortable position on his head, her compound eyes narrowing contentedly. "As for the rest... just use the ordinary stuff to get by, I'm full of energy right now!"

Upon hearing this, Kruse silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Top-quality jade powder is a life-saving remedy, preserving the original verdant essence.

As long as we maintain its daily needs with ordinary jade powder and cooperate with the migration plan, it should be able to fully recover its vitality.

This "investment" at least wasn't completely wasted.

“Okay,” he replied softly, as if afraid of disturbing the little tyrant above him, “Then… let’s go.”

A man and an insect, bathed in the dim light cast by the castle's dome, walked deeper into the castle.

Late at night, Wilstone was writing a letter in his room to Lord Reyes, who was far away at the front.

I'm preparing to report on what the young master has done since returning to the territory.

When he finished writing the letter, he was slightly taken aback. This time he wrote quite a lot, but unlike before, it was full of praise for Kruse.

(End of this chapter)