It was backing away...
Kroya stared intently at the teardrop enveloped in his mana, astonished to discover that the divine power was actually retreating. He did not even need to exert any force before it separated from the natural mana.
Wrapped in his crimson mana, the divine power was invisible to the naked eye, but he could still sense it through his mana. It shone even more brightly than it had inside the teardrop.
I was already prepared for a long, painstaking effort, and you just backed down like that?
It was utterly inconceivable. Higher-order powers exerted overwhelming suppression over lower-order ones, especially when they belonged to the Earth Mother Goddess, widely acknowledged as one of the mightiest deities.
Could it be... that the power of the Poem of Rainbow Light was similar in nature to divine power?
He narrowed his eyes but did not dwell on it. As long as he kept learning, he would eventually figure it out.
Honestly, he had only tried this because the goddess had such a gentle disposition, and the Mage Association's book Divine Might? did not describe her divine power as particularly volatile.
Had it belonged to a god of fire, thunder, or war, Kroya would have abandoned the idea without a second thought.
"But aren't you a little too easygoing?" he said, rather at a loss.
Yet that was exactly what had happened-
The divine power had been extracted, and the once golden-green crystal had turned a pure, refreshing emerald green, like a dewdrop on a leaf.
Meanwhile, the divine power itself stayed obediently inside his mana without moving.
He had originally expected the divine power to disperse or flee as soon as he forced it out and separated it. Instead, it had stayed put.
Then this divine power...
Kroya narrowed his eyes. Did the Earth Mother Goddess's divine power count as earth-aspected? Could he mix it with waterlight essence to produce some special effect?
Even if he could not, could he use the divine power itself?
The instant that thought arose, he firmly shook his head, gathered the crimson mana in his hand into a ball, and hurled it into the sea.
Whoosh-
The crimson ball traced a line through the air before falling into the sea, where the waves instantly swallowed it out of sight.
Perhaps the conspiracy theories about gods in the novels from his previous life really had influenced him. Faced with divine power, he still felt caution was best.
At present, he had no way of using divine power with absolute safety. A leftover scrap like natural mana was enough.
Once he grew stronger and learned more about the Earth Mother Goddess Church, or obtained materials capable of containing divine power, he could look into studying it.
With the Child of Harvest here, he could always get more when he wanted to research it.
Next, Kroya repeated the process, quickly separating all the divine power from the remaining twenty-six golden-green crystals and tossing it into the sea.
All that remained in his hand was a handful of lush emerald beads the size of mung beans.
Without the divine power's influence, they had lost their somewhat regal golden hue, leaving only this vibrant green. The natural mana inside was also considerably purer.
After examining them carefully, Kroya murmured to himself, "The amount of natural mana is roughly equivalent to one Vitality Potion, but its purity is at least on par with a tier-three Vitality Potion.
"Is this the power of a deity?
"She can effortlessly gather the equivalent of a tier-three Vitality Potion worth twenty magic crystals."
In fact, tier-three Vitality Potions sat right at a dividing line. Mana below tier three was relatively gentle, and even ordinary crops could grow when watered with it.
Vitality Potions above tier three, however, were more suited to Magic Plants. Their natural mana was fiercer, and watering ordinary crops with them might overwhelm the crops and kill them outright.
Many of the Elves' methods actually used natural mana to forcibly shorten plants' growing time so they could be put to use quickly, but those plants needed a long time to recover afterward.
"If that little girl can keep producing these teardrops, I'm confident I can expand the wheat fields severalfold and make the olive trees mature quickly, too."
As he considered how to use this natural mana, a plan immediately formed in his mind.
He could expand the Sea God Barley fields, though there was no need to make them too large. It would be enough to ensure they could feed themselves and still have grain left over.
Honestly, he had no intention of making money by selling grain.
Although grain would never lack buyers, it still fell short compared with Magic Plants. He only needed enough to feed Reef Island and put some into storage.
Then he would also have to accelerate the olive trees' growth.
The modified olive seeds would originally have needed about three years to bear fruit, but with a supply of natural mana to stimulate them, one year should suffice.
Finally, he would use natural mana to cultivate ordinary crops that had the potential to become Magic Plants, then sell them to buy more seeds and keep building on his gains.
Of course, all of this depended on whether the young girl named Elena could keep producing these teardrops.
He put away the emerald crystals, stood up, and tossed a fireball into the distance. Rob and Ate immediately hurried over.
"My lord mage!" The two bowed.
Kroya gave clear instructions. "Elena's power is very useful. Keep an eye on her, and ask whether she can produce these teardrops consistently.
"If she can, give her suitable rewards."
Offering a little reward to win over someone with a special talent like hers would cost him no more than a few resources slipping through his fingers.
Rob nodded in acknowledgment. "I'll assign someone to supervise her. As for the rewards..."
"Use your judgment." Kroya waved a hand. "I'll leave it to you, Rob. I'll prepare some potions for you later.
"For now, I'm going to check on the coconut trees."
It was better to leave this sort of thing to a professional. Why bother worrying about everything himself?
"As you wish." Rob lowered his head. Ate then brought the three boys over and followed Kroya to the coconut grove.
Rob himself headed to Elena's home.
It was a typical seaside wooden house beneath the shade of a tree, with salted fish, kelp, and similar things hanging outside to dry.
Two soldiers stood guard there.
He entered the house and found Elena and her family anxiously awaiting the outcome.
With a solemn expression, Rob said, "Our lord is merciful and has pardoned your wrongdoing. He has also agreed to let your elder brother and father enter the barracks as an apprentice and a guard.
"But you must provide our lord with a steady supply of teardrops. Can you do that?"
He looked Elena straight in the eye as he asked.
Elena's family was instantly overjoyed. Being allowed to become an apprentice in the barracks and a castle guard was an astonishing rise in their fortunes!
Their income, quality of life, and standing would all improve tremendously.
This was no punishment at all. It was their lord's mercy!
Had it been their former lord, he would certainly have given them a vicious whipping. He might even have made them perform hard labor until they died of exhaustion.
Elena was equally delighted. She hurriedly dropped to her knees. "I can! I can give our lord the same number of teardrops as before every week!"
Her family also knew that producing these teardrops would not harm her health, so they knelt as well and said:
"Thank you for our lord's mercy!"
"We'll serve our lord well!"
"Good."
Rob nodded. "Then it's settled. Remember, everything in this domain belongs to our lord."
With that, he turned and left, instructing the two soldiers to spread the news that Elena's father and elder brother would be entering the barracks and the castle.
This was indeed mercy on Kroya's part, an honor as well as a responsibility. Both the carrot and the stick had been applied just right.
Of course, if the two men truly performed well, they could be promoted as they deserved. The more closely they were bound to the domain, the better.
Before you continue