How to Use the Lord’s Future Diary

Chapter 126

Chapter 126

A world ruled by monsters and beasts.

From the monster called the Silk Spider, people drew out threads, and they even used slime membranes as rubber.

Even the herbs we often used were ones I’d never seen before.

And that wasn’t all. The sight of giant fish flying in from the coast was horrifying in itself.

This world was a completely different realm from Earth.

But, there were still some things that weren’t so different.

Like chili peppers, cabbages, and garlic.

Some were familiar but looked different—white pepper berries that grew on trees, or fruits shaped like loofahs used for oil extraction.

So, seeing potatoes here wasn’t something shocking enough to make me faint.

‘Well, that’s how it is.’

—What’s the problem, Master?

‘No, I just feel... a bit empty, maybe? If potatoes exist, then why did we ever have…’

Why had Johnson Territory struggled so badly with food shortages?

If they’d just planted some potatoes properly, they wouldn’t have gone hungry.

Potatoes were the very definition of a famine-resisting crop.

‘What’s even more ridiculous is that these were found in the Lion Tribe’s domain.’

The Lion Tribe’s domain was quite close to Johnson Territory.

If they had enough to store separately like this, they must have known about potatoes for a long time. In that case, couldn’t they have shared some, just out of decency?

—The Lion Beastmen seem to absolutely hate potatoes though?

‘Ah, that so? Guess that’s the level they’re at.’

I looked down at the potato again.

It was slightly larger than a child’s fist.

For a wild, unrefined potato, it was pretty plump.

Maybe it was the difference in worlds?

Or perhaps because of mana.

Either way, it looked good enough to plant right away and eat later.

Suppressing a sigh, I asked Rudelrof,

“So, these potatoes grow in this area?”

“Potatoes? Ah, so that’s what they’re called? Yeah, they’re relatively common around here.”

“You don’t eat them often though.”

“The texture’s rough, and the taste is worse. Plus, if you eat them wrong, they upset your stomach. Why would anyone enjoy eating these?”

“Rough, huh? How do you eat them then?”

“The skin’s too tough to chew, so we peel it a bit and eat it raw. Is there some other way to eat it?”

So, they just… ate them raw?

They cooked meat but ate this raw? What kind of logic was that?

‘Right, I get it now. This is your level.’

—…It would be unfair to think the Lion Tribe represents the average Beastman, Master. They’re actually among the weakest of—

‘Aren’t they one of the strongest tribes though?’

—Strength and wisdom are not the same.

‘Says the one whose chieftain, Rudelrof, is considered one of the wisest Beastmen.’

—Still not the same thing.

I had people bring in more potatoes.

Then I cooked them myself.

Some were boiled, some baked, and some fried.

When they were done, I handed one well-baked potato to Rudelrof.

“This... actually...”

“Tastes decent, right?”

“Yes. This is... truly unexpected.”

I took a bite of the baked potato.

It wasn’t anything particularly special—it tasted exactly like the potatoes I knew.

A bit bland, probably because it hadn’t been improved through cultivation, but still edible enough.

‘Yeah, fried is the best way to go.’

Especially the ones fried in oil—those were a hit even among the Lion Tribe.

They’d go perfectly with Fried Rabbit, the dish that became popular once peanut oil began being mass-produced.

It was the kind of taste that made me crave a glass of cola to go with it.

Of course, even without that, the fries alone made a fine snack.

‘Well, that’s in the past. What matters is how we’ll make use of this now.’

Potatoes were an excellent source of carbohydrates—

A perfect staple food.

Even Ireland had managed to survive long on potatoes despite its grain shortages.

For Johnson Territory, which constantly suffered from chronic grain scarcity, this could be a huge help.

“Do you have a lot of these potatoes?”

“Fairly common, yeah. Last year’s harvest was good, so the warehouses should still be full.”

“Is that so?”

Rudelrof and I headed for the storage facility.

In the cool corner of the warehouse, piles of root vegetables—including plenty of potatoes—were stacked high.

The Lion Tribe had traded with us twice last year, hadn’t they?

With all the meat they’d gained, it looked like they had plenty of substitute food left over.

‘So, the farming schedule for the Territory is…’

Autumn wheat, planted in late fall, would be harvested in early summer.

And it was just about harvest season now, so the Rabbit Tribe, who’d been working on tunnel construction, were sent back to the fields.

With them working, the harvest would be over soon enough.

The farmland wasn’t all that large anyway.

After harvesting the wheat, the next plan was to plant beans for a fall harvest.

‘But now, we’ve found an even better option. When exactly do you plant potatoes again?’

I didn’t know much about farming.

Same went for potato farming.

But I did recall hearing that you could plant sprouted potatoes by cutting them up.

In the southern regions, they planted in spring; in highlands, they even planted in early summer.

‘There are a lot of sprouted ones here.’

Maybe from poor storage, or maybe that was just natural—but there were plenty with sprouts.

Wouldn’t it be fine to just cut those and plant them?

The timing might be a little late, but considering the climate here, perhaps not too late.

And even if I was wrong, we could plant first and figure things out later.

‘Still, it’s not just our Territory that needs these potatoes, huh?’

First, the Hawrun Territory.

They had no farming plans at all.

They should at least be sowing wheat this fall, but everyone there was mentally shattered.

Even if they tried planting wheat, could they really manage to raise it properly?

Then wouldn’t it be better to at least plant potatoes?

‘Yeah, these grow underground. Better than wheat, surely.’

If a monster trampled through a wheat field, it’d be completely ruined. But with potatoes, at least we’d still salvage something.

Of course, the best outcome would be that the farmland remains unharmed—but we still had to be prepared for the worst.

If Hawrun Territory were to recover quickly, then it was worth the attempt.

‘And then, Haken Territory.’

This was the real one.

If there was a red light flashing for food supplies in Haken Territory, then potatoes would be a tremendous help.

The land there was mostly mountainous and hilly—unsuitable for regular crops—but perfect for growing potatoes.

If they could harvest them in large quantities, managing the territory would become much easier.

—Truly, the son-in-law who loves his father-in-law. You really know how to earn points.

‘Well, if Haken collapses, it’ll make life harder for us too.’

Since the most friendly Great Territory to us was Haken, its stability directly affected ours.

It also helped that Haken was the most hostile toward the Imperial bastards.

And though it couldn’t be ignored that it was the homeland of Irene, who always dedicated herself to the territory, that was only a small part of it.

“Lord Iron, this is revolutionary. Haken’s food self-sufficiency rate will soar.”

“Of course. Please explain it well to Lord of Haken.”

“Yes, I will.”

Smart as ever, Sir Irene seemed to have immediately grasped the potential of the potato.

She could be a bit intense, but she was a knight with real talent in domestic affairs too.

Her eyes softened as she looked at me, and she smiled meaningfully.

“Lord Iron, you truly care deeply for Haken. You even gave us a large number of Mana Crystals in the last trade.”

“Well, they’re our ally, after all. It’s also your homeland, and the Lord of Haken is your father in private.”

“Thank you so much. Truly, Lord Iron, you are…”

—Are you sure that was a small part?

Well, maybe. Let’s just leave it at that.

Sir Irene was the commander I trusted most.

Honestly, without her, I’d be reluctant to travel anywhere on my own.

All the other commanders were troublemakers in one way or another.

‘At times like this, I really miss Sir Dominic.’

No one could match that man in terms of stability.

He wasn’t dead, so if the territory ever faced danger, he’d surely move to help—but it still felt wrong to assign work to a retired knight.

I pushed away those thoughts and sent the visibly elated Irene off.

Of course, her arms were full of potatoes.

I hoped those potatoes would become the new symbol of hope for Haken.

After harvesting the wheat in the territory’s farmland, we planted beans and potatoes.

No matter how great potatoes were, we couldn’t plant them in every field.

We still didn’t know exactly how things would turn out.

And since I wasn’t even sure if this was the right planting season, I avoided taking unnecessary risks.

Hawrun Territory also decided to plant a large number of potatoes.

There were plenty stored in Rotsy’s warehouse, including many that could serve as seed potatoes.

A considerable portion of those seed potatoes had been sent to Hawrun, so they would likely make their own preparations too.

—Hmm, potatoes. So they can even grow in mountainous or hilly areas?

“Yes, please trust me on this.”

—All right. We’ll study it ourselves first.

“I’d appreciate it if you shared the results once you have them.”

—Of course. If we can harvest as you say, it will be a great help to our territory.

Potatoes were also sent to Haken.

They had an active agricultural research effort, so they would probably investigate and decide for themselves whether to plant them or not.

For a territory like Haken, it would be rather silly for us to meddle too much.

Our role was done once we delivered the potatoes and explained what kind of crop they were.

“So, it begins.”

And around that time—

The Horned Rabbit Ranch of the Lion Tribe was completed.

Fences and barriers were installed to protect the Horned Rabbits, along with a slaughterhouse and storage buildings.

—This! body! has! arrived! Dun-dun-duuun!

‘Yeah, sure.’

I was now standing before the Horned Rabbit Ranch of the territory.

Before me, the manifested Black Rabbit was striking a proud pose, acting all majestic.

A black, bipedal rabbit shaking its hips as if performing a live show.

This attention-seeking rabbit always did this every time it manifested.

A truly annoying sight.

‘Fine, whatever—just get it done.’

—Very well, Master. Leave it to me.

But this time, I had high expectations for the creature.

It was the only one who could relocate the large herd of Horned Rabbits safely and quickly.

—Let’s go! Go! Go!!

The Black Rabbit dashed across the Horned Rabbit Ranch.

Behind it, countless Horned Rabbits followed in formation, charging northward.

Thousands of Horned Rabbits were moving through the tunnels toward Rotsy.

It was a magnificent sight.

Even as the owner of this massive ranch, I’d never seen such an amazing spectacle.

‘This is like the Pied Piper, for real.’

What was even more absurd was how orderly it all was.

There wasn’t a single straggler or injured rabbit—they all arrived safely at their new home.

—This is me!

“So this is the Spirit of the Rabbit.”

“Incredible.”

“Is this... the power of the Guide?”

The Lion Beastmen watching near the ranch couldn’t hide their astonishment.

At this point in time, only the Dog Tribe and Rabbit Tribe had a Guide.

Since the Dog Tribe had migrated south more than a decade ago, none of the Lion Tribe members here had ever seen one in action.

Whether it was a black rabbit suddenly appearing in midair or leading a massive group of its kind through tunnels, every bit of it was new and wondrous to them.

‘At least the residents of Johnson Territory seem somewhat used to it by now.’

Even Rudelrof, who helped me prepare the Horned Rabbit Ranch, was stunned.

He kept exclaiming in awe as he watched the historic spectacle unfold.

And once the Horned Rabbits had all settled safely in their new ranch, he cautiously brought something out.

“Oh, this is…”

“There’s a temple of Lord Bestia in your territory, isn’t there? The Rabbit Tribe said so. I heard sacred relics are kept there.”

“Well, yes, that’s true.”

“I’ll entrust our tribe’s relic to that temple. Lord Bestia would want that too.”

“…Really?”

Rudelrof handed me the sacred relic of the Lion Tribe.

He said he would entrust it to the Temple of Bestia, along with the other relics.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exclusively Bestia’s temple, but it was true that the other sacred relics were kept there.

I quietly accepted the sacred relic of the Lion Tribe.

‘A gesture of gratitude for building the Horned Rabbit Ranch, huh?’

To entrust a sacred relic to the temple—

There was no stronger sign of trust among Beastmen.

Since we were cooperating with the Lion Tribe, there was no reason to refuse their goodwill.

And so, another animal statue was added to the temple of the territory.