Upon arriving at the tea room, where hot tea was served, Delia's mother could no longer contain herself and knelt down, bowing and pleading:
"My lords, I beg you, you must save Delia! Delia is so young, she shouldn't be taken to serve the goddess!"
Seeing this, Kanae quickly went over and helped Delia's mother up, saying:
"Please get up! We're here to resolve this matter, so don't worry!"
After helping Delia's mother sit down again, Kanae spoke again and asked:
Could you tell us the details?
Delia's mother nodded and began to speak, her voice trembling slightly.
"It all started about two years ago."
"We mainly grow rice here, and two years ago when it was time to harvest the rice, everyone found that the rice we planted that year had a bumper harvest."
"The rice harvest is about 40% to 50% more than in previous bumper years!"
"Nobody thought too much about it; everyone was just happy because they could sell more, and things would be much better next year!"
"Unexpectedly, the village chief suddenly called a meeting outside the village!"
Delia's mother spoke softly, seemingly lost in the memory of that day's meeting.
The village chief stood on a makeshift platform made of earth to ensure that the villagers behind him could also see him.
"Our village had a bumper rice harvest this year, and I'm very happy. I believe everyone else is just as happy as I am!"
"But have you ever wondered why our village had such a bumper rice harvest this year?"
A man shouted from below, "I know! I know! It's because I'm very hardworking!"
"Hahaha... Takuya, you have the nerve to say that! I bet you're busy in bed all the time! I live next door to you, and I often hear noises coming from your house at night!" another man shouted.
The man's words drew laughter from the others, and the man who was being talked about felt embarrassed.
"Alright! Stop laughing, stop laughing!" The village chief raised his hand to quiet the laughter, then said seriously, "I'm asking you if you're serious!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd below couldn't help but start thinking.
I hadn't thought about it this way before, so I didn't feel anything, but now that I've been guided in this direction, it really feels quite strange.
This year's rice harvest is much larger than in previous bumper years.
After a long silence, the man who had just been joking spoke up:
"It must be because of the good weather, plus we've been farming for so many years and have experience, that's why we had such a good harvest, right? It can't be that God helped us, can it?"
After saying this, the man was about to smile when, unexpectedly, the village chief immediately pointed at him and said:
" Yuuichi, you were right, it really is God helping us!!"
Yuuichi, clearly not believing what the village chief said.
"When did Inari become so generous?"
"It's not Inari, it's the Goddess of Harvest!" the village chief corrected.
" The Goddess of Harvest?" The villagers below asked, somewhat puzzled.
"That's right, the Goddess of Harvest!" The village chief nodded. "The reason we had such a bumper rice harvest this year is because the Goddess of Harvest came to our village!"
"Hey! Village Chief, stop joking around!"
A man below said, "Although they haven't been to school, they don't believe everything others say, not even if you're the village chief."
The village chief nodded; he had anticipated this situation.
Based on his prestige over the years, he could still convince the villagers of some simple, logical things.
But such vague and unrealistic things are fine to talk about with naive children, but adults who have experienced the hardships of life won't believe them so easily.
The village chief turned his head and waved to one side.
Soon, the village chief's son carried up a sapling.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the village chief and his son planted the tree directly where they were standing.
Then the village chief addressed the crowd again:
"In three days, this sapling will grow into a big tree. Do you believe it?"
"Hahahaha... Village Chief, are you here to put on a show today?" Yuuichi had just been called out, laughed.
"Hey! You know what, the village chief actually has quite a talent for acting!" a man immediately chimed in.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter again.
The village chief didn't seem to mind, raised his hand to smooth things over, and then shouted, "It's alright, everyone will see in three days!"
After saying that, the village chief turned and left with his son.
Seeing that the village chief had taken the lead and left, everyone naturally followed suit and dispersed.
However, on the way home, they would discuss what had just happened with their fellow travelers.
The occasional bursts of laughter revealed that they clearly took what the village chief had just said as a joke.
Three days passed quickly, and during those three days, naturally, curious people came to check on the condition of the saplings.
However, by the third night, the sapling was still the same size and hadn't changed at all, so everyone took it as a joke by the village chief and didn't take it to heart.
Unexpectedly, early on the fourth day, the village chief summoned everyone again to the place where the meeting had been held before.
To everyone's astonishment, the sapling planted just last night has grown into a large tree.
Although it's still far from being a towering giant tree, it has already reached the thickness of trees on the mountain, and it's worlds apart from the original sapling.
"Well? Do you believe me now?" the village chief shouted to the crowd while patting the tree trunk.
"It really has turned into a big tree!"
"But I came here specifically last night, and it was just a sapling back then!"
Could it really be a miracle?
The villagers below were buzzing with discussion.
Yuuichi, standing below, also raised his hand to rub his eyes, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.
Last night, out of boredom, he came here for a look around. Back then, it was just a small sapling!
"Hey! Village Chief, did you secretly move this big tree over and plant it here last night without sleeping?" Yuuichi asked.
The village chief laughed in exasperation, "I don't have that kind of free time! Fine, if you don't believe me, come and dig it up and see if I planted this tree last night!"
Upon hearing this, Yuuichi exchanged glances with his companions and then actually ran up and started digging.
Soon, as the layers of soil were dug away, the tree roots underneath were exposed.
The tree roots are intertwined and crisscrossed in the soil, clearly indicating that it was not planted by human hands.
"Well? Do you believe me now?" the village chief asked with a smile.
After hearing this, the group exchanged glances and nodded blankly.
"Hey! Yuuichi, is this real or fake?" a villager asked from below.
Yuuichi looked at the person who had just asked the question, and nodded blankly, "It seems it really is true!"
"Really?" The villager was still somewhat skeptical.
"Alright, everyone come up and take a look!" the village chief shouted to the crowd.
Upon hearing this, the already curious crowd gathered around.
Although they had worshipped gods since childhood, this was the first time they had ever seen something that might have been left behind by the gods!
One by one, people came up to look, and each one was deeply moved after seeing it.
The sapling that was planted really did grow into a big tree overnight!
Yuuichi back down, Yuichi seemed to have recovered his senses and asked:
"Village chief, what kind of god is this again?"
The village chief smiled and glanced at him, not replying directly. Instead, he looked around at the crowd below before spreading his arms wide and shouting:
"This is a miracle from the Goddess of Harvest!!!"