WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 194: Breed (1)
──────
If you dig deeper into the argument that humanity's inequality originates from farming, you find survival and food at its core.
It may be a very fundamental point, but humanity's conflicts can be said to have begun with survival.
If you were well-fed, warm, and had everything you could want, would you really risk clashing with those around you?
When food is scarce, people go hungry. When they go hungry, they die.
When famine strikes, even the people around them die alongside them.
If the people at the top are the problem, the people rebel. If the neighboring village is doing better, they go to war. That is how conflict grows.
Humans are creatures that eat, sleep, and shit.
As long as they cannot escape that cycle, food will always be critically important.
Put bluntly, it could be called the root of every problem.
As long as agriculture remains the source of food, it is only natural for people to strive to possess good land.
When groups of people grow large enough to form nations, what happens if their land is barren?
War is highly likely to break out.
A struggle to avoid starving to death. Or a struggle to live better.
No matter how much civilization advances, it is a problem humanity will always have to face.
[Post title] Interesting Things About Elves
[Post] Land fertile enough for the World Tree to grow like crazy.
[Post] Racial traits powerful enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with demonkind.
[Post] The unity to drive out a particular ethnic group if they ever band together.
[Post] With those three things, why have they not conquered the world?
└ Didn't something weird slip in there?
└ It's true, though. No matter how bad racial discrimination gets, people don't go that far.
└ Wouldn't that be ethnic discrimination rather than racial discrimination? Though I guess it is racial discrimination now lol
└ Maybe it's because their land is too good. Everyone has plenty, so why bother?
└ Being too powerful might have held back their development too. Look at humans. They progressed by pulling every ridiculous stunt imaginable.
└ The best part is that they got stronger just to survive demonkind...
└ They've even fought among themselves plenty of times lol
[Post title] Why the Messiah Empire Is So Overpowered
[Post] There's a reason they can maintain that huge stretch of land.
[Post] First, the Karren Plains are fucking broken. They're not as fertile as the land around the World Tree, but they're still excellent.
[Post] More importantly, they're sooooooooo fucking huge. People say that once you step into the farmland, you get lost.
[Post] Thanks to that, the Messiah Empire can't help having a high population capacity. I heard they already have the largest population to begin with.
[Post] More people means more talent, which is how monsters like Ash come about.
└ Beastfolk used to win through sheer population. Is that shifting to humans now?
└ These days, beastfolk are apparently having one child per family.
└ That'll be difficult. Their birth rate can't help being high because of their mating seasons.
└ Yeah, the moment you let your guard down, you've got a kid.
└ [Suspiciously]: It's not that extreme. Their cycles have to line up too. Otherwise, both sides have a really hard time.
└ Kids aside, how do beastfolk support such a huge population? I heard their muscle mass is high by default, so they burn a lot of calories too.
└ With, the beastfolk nation, has good land too. They couldn't survive otherwise.
└ That used to be human land. Beastfolk took it through war.
└ Damn...
The so-called advantage of good land. In Earth terms, it was like playing on a rigged map where the host got every advantage.
In that sense, everyone knew how important farming was without needing it explained.
If farming failed, the country failed. So people thought.
How could they make farming easier?
What crops could they grow to make farming easier?
Over a long period, humanity improved wild crops.
So they could grow like greenhouse flowers instead of surviving in the harsh wilderness.
So they could weed out everything unnecessary and focus on flavor and yield.
[Post title] Why Crop Breeding Is Difficult
[Post] Strong survival traits, but it tastes bad. Lower its survival traits. It tastes good. Every kind of bug swarms it. Make it resistant to bugs. Its survival traits get stronger. It tastes bad. Blegh.
[Post] Repeat forever.
└ Lmao, it's more complicated than that, but that's a good explanation.
└ How did our ancestors even improve crop varieties?
└ Because all the ancestors who couldn't do it starved to death.
└ LMAOOOOOO
└ LMAOOOO
└ LMAOOOOO
Countless mistakes were unavoidable when improving wild crops.
Making corn that was once no bigger than a finger joint larger.
Removing every seed from bananas whose flesh was full of seeds.
Filling watermelons that had almost no red flesh with flesh.
After all kinds of attempts, they obtained countless crops, but there were still plenty of problems.
Food was a difficult issue for every living creature, not just humanity.
In that sense, the Messiah Empire had implemented a fairly good policy.
It offered rewards for developing excellent crop varieties, a practical policy.
Robert had led that policy as well, allowing Academy talent to focus on agricultural studies.
“You should've gone to the Academy.”
“I told you, I just scattered soil.”
“Sorry your old man couldn't afford it.”
“No, Dad. I really just scattered soil.”
Even talented people were useless unless they carried out experiments themselves.
Farming, especially, took a long time because it worked on a yearly cycle.
In other words, if crops could be grown in an instant, crop breeding would become much easier.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Roy, an ordinary young farmer, couldn't believe the sight before him.
He had only planted seeds and covered them with soil.
It just happened to be soil he had received from Grylls.
He had done it because he thought plants might grow better if he used soil from the Forest of Four Seasons.
He had also taught Grylls some farming knowledge while they were at it, so it had been a good trade for both of them.
“Wow. Look at this. The wheat ear is packed with kernels.”
“This one alone must yield three or four times as much as ordinary wheat.”
The farmers exclaimed as they examined the rapidly grown wheat.
Anyone could see that it was far bigger than ordinary wheat.
But what mattered was not the outside. It was the inside.
It could have been all show and no substance.
“But the taste is awful...”
“Blech! Why is it so bitter?! We can't sell this.”
Regardless of its yield, it failed on flavor.
In the end, they decided to discard the first wheat they harvested.
“This tastes fine, but...”
“The yield's too low. We'd only lose money.”
“This isn't any different from what we usually harvest.”
“This one's the same.”
The other wheat was not much different.
Most of it was the same as usual, and they only examined the occasional one that stood out.
Most had unusual qualities, but almost none had actual advantages.
A variety that could deliver both yield and quality. Unfortunately, they could not find one.
“I don't know what it is, but Roy seems to have done something pretty interesting.”
“Right. Scatter that soil again like earlier. Something good might come of it.”
People with farming in their blood quickly gathered around Roy.
There were already a few notable varieties. What if one appeared that had both quality and yield?
That year's harvest would be more than plentiful. The country might even give them a reward.
Just as Roy was stammering under the pressure, his father stopped the excited crowd.
“Listen here. I don't know what my son did, but why are you all being so short-sighted?”
“What do you mean?”
“It's good that the wheat grew so quickly. But shouldn't we consider the fertility of the land too?”
At the mention of soil fertility, the farmers realized their mistake.
Farming was not finished just because you planted seeds.
Sunlight, water, protection from pests and disease, and the ability to endure or avoid periodic natural disasters, all kinds of conditions had to be met for farming to remain stable.
And a good harvest was another problem altogether.
The most important thing of all was the land. The nutrients in the soil were not infinite.
If they were, the word “desertification” would never have existed.
Why else would so many countries criticize Alvenheim's tree-planting campaign?
The trees Alvenheim planted sucked up all the nutrients around them.
Native plants withered because of it, naturally causing all kinds of harm to the ecosystem.
Plants were living things too, and they survived by consuming nutrients.
Unless the land was exceptionally fertile, it was difficult to plant the same crop every year.
“For today, Roy, take a rest and learn more about that strange soil. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Come on, let's get back to work. We've got plenty to do.”
Thanks to his father's skillful handling of people, Roy escaped the commotion.
His mind was still a mess, though. He looked at the bundle in his hands.
It contained soil from the Forest of Four Seasons that he had received from Grylls.
‘Is this really because of this?’
There was much to test. He immediately headed home.
People in the Messiah Empire, where farming was a major industry, all kept vegetable patches at home.
If he experimented there, he should be able to get a rough idea.
“Hm? Roy, why are you home already?”
“I've got something to do.”
“Wow! Big brother! Did you come home to play with me?”
“No! Big brother came home to play with me!”
The house became noisy the moment he returned.
Roy forcibly pried off his two adorable but troublesome younger siblings.
He needed to experiment. His father had even given him the time, so he could not waste it.
‘If crops can grow right away, couldn't I select better varieties?’
Many people held the prejudice that people who only farmed were ignorant.
How much did those people know about farming?
Roy, whose family had farmed for generations, was well versed in agricultural studies.
He had not had the opportunity to enter the Academy, but he read steadily and had plenty of knowledge.
How his ancestors farmed, and why they chose those methods.
The wisdom of his ancestors could never be ignored. There was certainly a reason their knowledge had been passed down, and every time he put it into practice, he learned something.
‘There must be a reason wheat was improved this way... No. Before that, I should tell Mr. Grylls about the results.’
Roy put off reading and connected to the Gallery.
Because of his job, he did not visit the Gallery often, but he logged in whenever he was bored.
Besides, given the state of affairs lately, he could not help checking in frequently.
To get a single newspaper, he would have to walk to the city for an entire day.
He had even learned through the Gallery that the emperor had changed.
‘Come to think of it, I didn't take any photos. I'll have to explain it in words.’
Roy searched through the Gallery for Grylls's post.
A morning greeting announcing the start of the day was at the top.
‘Sending a private message is a little embarrassing.’
Instead of a private message, Roy left a comment.
Normally, secrecy was important for something like this, but farming was in his blood.
He was not very mindful of such details.
└ [GrowGrow]: Mr. Grylls. The soil you gave me yesterday is really good.
└ [Wild Grylls]: How is it good?
└ [GrowGrow]: The wheat grew almost immediately after I scattered the soil. Even the soil in the Forest of Four Seasons seems different.
└ [Wild Grylls]: It grew that quickly from just planting seeds?
└ [GrowGrow]: I'm not sure about where you are, but it'll probably grow well.
└ [Wild Grylls]: Ah. I should've been sowing seeds around earlier. What a huge loss.
└ Grylls, you know that sapling an elf gave you? How's that doing?
└ [Wild Grylls]: It's still growing well. I think it's grown around thirty centimeters since last time?
└ The wheat grows right away, so what the hell is that thing?;;
└ Did they seriously give you a World Tree sapling?
└ Then another World Tree is going to grow? Lmao
Roy left a word of thanks and logged out of the Gallery.
What mattered now was not the Gallery, but crop breeding.
He had to develop high-quality wheat somehow and be of great help to the village.
‘Let's see. I should start with this book.’
Roy slowly began reading the diary that had been passed down through his family for generations. But he had no idea.
He had no idea what effect that one Gallery comment would have on the village.
With farming in his blood, he could not have known.
* * *
Meanwhile, Grylls.
“Come on. Let's go. We've got plenty to do today too.”
“Understood.”
He began the day's work with Ludwig.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
