Mr. Trent was utterly taken aback by the revelation. He lowered his head to scrutinize the Water Elemental Slime resting near his feet, asking with genuine curiosity: "Can they actually understand our conversation?"
Ewan nodded in confirmation: "Yes, Uncle, they certainly can."
"Oh, I was under the impression that they could only comprehend your commands."
"To be honest, ordinary Slimes wouldn't be able to grasp our language. However, because I summoned them, we share a spiritual bond that allows them to understand. It is just that they haven't learned to speak our language yet, so communication is currently a one-way street where only I can understand them through our summoning link."
Mr. Trent nodded in understanding. He then shifted his attention to the two Slimes working diligently in the fields: "These little ones are quite useful, aren't they? But why did you have them cut the grass only to burn it immediately?"
Although the grass hadn't been growing very well, it was still far from dry. Burning fresh vegetation inevitably created a thick, unpleasant smoke. It seemed that Flarie was trying its best to control the flames to prevent them from raging too high, but billows of black smoke still rose into the air.
"The ash from burnt vegetation can actually be used as fertilizer." Ewan explained with a gentle smile: "Soil that has been left fallow for a long time tends to become sour, possessing a higher acidity level than normal. This ash acts as a neutralizing agent for the pH balance of the soil, while simultaneously serving as a substitute for fertilizer. Since the land isn't ready for immediate planting anyway, I decided to let Flarie burn the weeds. Once it's done, we will till the soil again to mix the ash evenly with the dry surface. In a few days, the land will be much more fertile than it is now."
Although Ewan often joked that this place was as backward as ancient times, the locals were certainly not primitive or dim-witted. They simply hadn't thought of these specific scientific principles before. However, when the conversation turned to using ash as fertilizer or treating acidic soil, they understood the concepts immediately.
"This method sounds similar to how everyone burns the fields at the end of a harvest season to prepare for the new one." Ewan mused, nodding his head: "You're just doing it a bit earlier than usual."
Mr. Trent nodded along with the explanation, but when Ewan mentioned the concept of burning the fields, he suddenly fell silent for a moment before correcting himself: "...We don't actually burn the fields here."
"Why is that?" Ewan looked around, noting that most of the villagers' fields were planted with wheat, while some patches had corn: "Then what happens to the stalks after the harvest?"
"Usually, sweet potato vines and corn stalks are brought home to feed the livestock. As for the straw, after harvesting, it can be woven into straw mats or straw sandals. It is also commonly used to reinforce our houses."
Ewan nodded slowly. He recalled a historical period where people mixed straw with mud to build walls. However... he remembered the houses here, or at least Asher Ryder's house, being constructed from stone walls that looked incredibly sturdy. Why would they need to mix straw and mud for construction?
"But... aren't the houses here built from stone?"
"You mean Froststone? It's true that using Froststone to build a house makes it look solid, offering excellent protection against storms and wild beasts. However, that material has a significant weakness: it is extremely cold. Year-round, it radiates a chill as if it were a giant block of ice. Living in a Froststone house during the summer is pleasant, but when winter comes, it becomes unbearable."
"Typically, houses in the village use a combination of two materials. We use Froststone as the core structure and then plaster a mixture of mud and straw on the outside for insulation."
Speaking of this, Mr. Trent paused, realizing that ever since Asher's parents passed away, Asher Ryder seemingly hadn't bothered to re-plaster the mud and straw even once.
It had been years, the old layer of mud and straw must have peeled off and been cleaned away, leaving only the bare Froststone walls. Mr. Trent hurriedly added: "Asher's house probably hasn't been plastered with mud and straw for a long time. Come to think of it, he hasn't farmed in recent years, so he wouldn't have any straw to use. I'll remind him later. He's an Alpha, thick-skinned and burly, so he doesn't fear the cold. But you are an Omega, how can you possibly live in a house made solely of Froststone like that?"
Hearing Mr. Trent's explanation, Ewan silently thought, So that explains it. Every time he stepped into the room, he felt a bone-chilling cold. At the time, Ewan had found it strange. The room wasn't particularly well-ventilated, nor was there any draft, yet it remained freezing.
It turned out to be the difference in building materials.
Just as he was about to continue his conversation with Mr. Trent, Dusty and Flarie came bouncing back with great enthusiasm. They used their squishy, jiggly bodies to shove their way in, pushing Bubbly to the side, and then rubbed affectionately against Ewan's legs as if to show off their achievements.
Bubbly was not one to admit defeat and hopped right back into the fray.
Thus, the three of them began to fight again.
To call it a "fight" was perhaps an exaggeration. In their Slime forms, they were essentially sticky blobs of mochi. Without Ewan's specific command, they didn't bother shapeshifting into other forms. So, three round, potato-like lumps simply bumped and shoved one another, bouncing off and lunging back to headbutt their siblings.
It was a rather comical sight.
Mr. Trent, standing nearby, couldn't suppress a chuckle and teased Ewan: "They act just like children."
"Yes, they do." Ewan smiled shyly at him, then turned to scold the unruly trio: "No more fighting! Bubbly, come here, I have something to tell you."
Hearing its name, Bubbly knew it was about to receive a mission. It happily hopped in front of Ewan. Perhaps using a bit too much force, its blue body bounced all the way up to the height of Ewan's chest. Its mouth made non-stop "pew pew" sounds.
"Alright, it's your turn now. Bubbly, can you help me water this patch of land?" Ewan pointed towards the dry, cracked earth. "You can't just spray water or dump a torrent all at once, okay? You have to split it up into small drops, letting it soak into the soil slowly. Do you understand?"
"Pew pew?"
[Split it up?]
[Then how many pieces do I have to split into?]
[Stupid Bubbly, just flatten yourself out and let it seep down gradually.] Flarie, standing on the side, began to sneer. Flarie thought Bubbly was just a weeping fool.
[Bubbly is not stupid!] Bubbly immediately retorted. [It's this big! I can't flatten out enough to cover it all!]
Ewan guessed that what Bubbly meant was that the combined area of the two plots of land was massive. Even if it used all its strength, it couldn't possibly expand enough to cover the entire surface area.
[And you say you're not stupid?] Dusty couldn't help but chime in. [Then split yourself into parts. Who forced you to water the whole field in one go?]
[But...] Bubbly hesitated for a moment. Then it hopped over to Ewan's leg, rubbing against him, its eyes turning watery and glistening.
"Pew pew?"
Its voice was no longer excited, it sounded clearly dejected. Even an outsider like Mr. Trent, who didn't understand what it was saying, could sense that the creature was feeling aggrieved. Ewan, who understood every word, knew exactly what was wrong. Bubbly had just asked him:
[Big Brother, do I have to do it alone?]
It looked as if it were being bullied and forced to shoulder the burden alone.
Ewan felt a headache coming on. No wonder Flarie and Dusty kept calling Bubbly a crybaby. This little one was clearly prone to tears. Perhaps because it was a Water Elemental Slime, the very nature of its elemental composition made it emotional and easy to cry.
Ewan sighed and lowered his voice to coax it: "There, there, you don't have to do it alone. Bubbly, wait for me a moment."
After speaking, Ewan closed his eyes, muttered an incantation, and snapped his fingers.
This time, another Slime appeared from thin air. It was also about half a meter tall, but it bore a pale green hue.
This sequence of actions left Mr. Trent, who was standing nearby, so astonished that his jaw dropped. Although he had seen Slimes appear out of nowhere earlier, at that time, he had assumed they were low-level star beasts that had accidentally fallen through a spatial rift. Now, he realized they were star beasts summoned by Ewan, and he had witnessed the summoning with his own eyes.
He couldn't help but exclaim with admiration: "That looks incredibly cool."