My Farming Domain Is Broken

Carlos closed the regional map before the other Lords could crowd around him again.

The gold mark beside Auxiliary Channel Five was useful information, but it was not something he could solve while standing inside Aurelian Settlement.

Rowan had to inspect it first.

Carlos had learned that lesson enough times now. A system telling him a crop existed did not tell him how to pull it from the ground without killing it. He needed to figure some stuff out on his own.

"I will be leaving now. Let us stay in contact through chat, Nora and Mara." Carlos said, surprising Mara. He had not addressed her like this for a while.

"You are leaving already?" Nora asked.

"I got what I came for," Carlos said. "This is getting very time consuming for me and my farmer, and I need to get it done as soon as possible."

Cosmic laughed at him talking so smartly, making Carlos frown. Nora chuckled at that, and Carlos looked at her for a moment.

He did not know her well enough to decide whether that meant anything. She had been practical. So had Mara and that was it.

For now, he only needed them to follow the contract they had accepted.

He looked at Nora again. "You said the eastern roads are blocked. Do not clear anything alone. If you find another system structure, send the public notice first."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "You are giving me orders now?"

"No. The three of us are the only ones we know of who are doing something. I don’t want you to die pointlessly when there is so much work to do," Carlos answered. "There is a difference."

Cosmic covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

Nora looked at Carlos for another second before she nodded.

"Fine. You do the same with your crops."

"... Fine."

Mara’s group also moved outside the hall. She was speaking with the Lords from Glasswood, likely deciding who would watch the public road. Carlos did not walk over to join them.

They had a limited agreement for now, which was enough.

Kaia moved beside Carlos as he headed back toward the gates.

"I don’t like this crowd, my lord. Let’s get back as soon as possible," she said quietly, looking around at the curious and envious eyes.

"Hmm... alright. But we need to get these people under control soon. We need to tell them who the owner of this place is," Cosmic said, making the whole group look at him with different emotions.

Sometimes his confidence came out as a little overbearing, which brought different reactions from everyone.

Brann walked behind them with his hammer resting on one shoulder.

"Many people," he said.

"Too many," Carlos agreed.

The crowd outside the authority hall had already started forming groups. Some Lords were arguing about roles they did not have. Others were trying to convince Nora that road access should belong to everyone because she had found it first.

Carlos did not wait to hear her answer. He felt her authority could be in danger soon, but he had too much to do already. Caring for someone else could be a deathwish.

But it irked Carlos that they wanted a reward because someone else had opened the door. Carlos understood why Nora had arrived first and kept quiet about it. She was smart about it.

The road back to the cultivation district was still lit gold. The system did not close it after attendance was recorded, but the glow had become weaker than before.

At the gate, a new panel appeared.

--

[Limited Restoration Contract]

[Crop Keeper task remains active]

[Time remaining: 2 days, 22 hours]

[Qualified Farmer must inspect dormant sample before removal]

--

Carlos did not react kindly to it. This was not a reward but additional work for God knew what reward.

The work was related to agriculture, which was what his territory and people understood. But there was too much on his plate already.

They traveled back through the gold road without stopping. The other Lords gave Carlos space now. Some had heard his name at the gate. Others had seen Brann, Kaia and the Rare equipment Carlos carried.

Carlos did not care which reason kept them away.

By the time the cultivation district appeared ahead of them, the sky had become orange.

The repaired channels still carried water. Workers moved between the fields. Cedric stood near a pile of loose stones with Tomas and the others, pointing toward a broken wall section.

He noticed Carlos first.

"You are back already?" Cedric asked.

"The settlement was so annoying," Carlos answered.

"That fast?"

"I will tell you about it later."

Rowan came from beside the first channel with mud on his hands. Blue floated after him, carrying a small ball of water over its head.

Carlos pulled the Crop Ledger from his inventory and held it out, making Rowan halt.

"The system says there is a dormant crop sample under Auxiliary Channel Five," Carlos said. "It also says we permanently lose it if we remove it wrong."

Rowan did not take the book immediately.

"Does it tell you what crop it is?"

"No. It says you need to inspect it."

Rowan finally took the ledger. He looked at the old leather cover, then toward the distant fifth channel.

"We can start working around it soon. The fifth channel has not been inspected by me yet," he said.

Carlos nodded in understanding.

Before anyone could move, the Domain Portal behind them flashed silver.

Mira’s face appeared through it.

"Carlos!" she called. "The daily summons have refreshed. Should I call the others?"

Carlos looked at her cheerfulness and a smile formed on his face too.

There was work here, but more important work was inside his own territory. Forgetting about it was easy when so many duties had fallen upon him in such a short period of time.

For the first time since entering the Pocket Dimension, he wanted to go home without another system stopping him.

"Tell them to get everything ready," Carlos said. "I am coming back."

He looked at Rowan next. "Do not touch Channel Five until I return. Read the ledger first. Then tell me what you need."

"I already planned to do that," Rowan said. He tucked the old book under one arm as if Carlos had handed him an ordinary tool instead of a piece of the ancient district.

Carlos almost told him to be careful with it. Then he remembered Rowan had been careful with everything since the day he was summoned.

"Kaia, Brann, Nessa, Cosmic. We go home," Carlos said.

"Carlos," Cosmic said before anyone stepped through. "Lydia and I should head back to our own territories now. It has been too long since we entered this place."

Lydia nodded. "I need to see what I can finish in my own territory too."

Carlos looked at both of them. He did not like splitting up again after everything that had happened in the Pocket Dimension, but they each had people and territory waiting for them.

"Go," he said. "Take care of your places. If either of you can get back here soon, come back. And stay in contact through chat."

Cosmic grinned. "Obviously, bro. You better answer when I message you."

"I will," Carlos said.

Lydia gave him a small nod. "I will contact you if the Clayborn find anything useful."

"Do that."

Carlos stepped into the silver doorway first.

The cold light disappeared, and Ironroot’s walls were in front of him again.

He was back home and ready to develop as fast as he could.

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