The day after Lilia and Bastion's wedding, Lilia clung to Bastion like a lovesick maiden. She had often experimented with the Mage Hand spell, but once she discovered sex and Bastion's expertise, she became completely addicted. She constantly asked for him, and Bastion was more than happy to oblige every single time.
Watching Lilia and Bastion go at it like rabbits day and night, Seraphina and Elyra eventually joined in as well. Lilia's insatiable desire seemed contagious.
After spending a luxurious week at the castle, Lilia's parents prepared to leave. Bastion didn't mind if they stayed longer, but Lilia's mother insisted they go before they got too comfortable. The others followed, a bit disappointed at returning to their modest home, until Lilia gifted them a magic crystal to enjoy.
They hesitated at first, but Lilia simply tossed it to her father, who pocketed it faster than her mother could protest.
Once they departed, Bastion brought up the idea of a honeymoon and asked Seraphina if she was interested. Her response was a bit unexpected.
"No way. There isn't much to see in this kingdom. It's just a farming region. Maybe when we leave and hit a proper tourist spot," Seraphina said. "Besides, I'm still training to earn my Rank 1 stats. It'll take me another nine years to finish."
Bastion then asked Lilia, who at first didn't even know what a honeymoon was, since the concept didn't exist in this world. Once he explained, she almost ran away.
"Bastion, we've been traveling across the kingdom for over half a year. I think I just want to stay and start working on your farming project," Lilia said.
Finally, he asked Elyra if she wanted to go as well, even though they hadn't officially married. After all, they had experienced something far more binding than a wedding ceremony.
"Anywhere with Master is a vacation," she said, melting Bastion's heart.
And so, for their honeymoon, Bastion and Lilia focused on producing the farming equipment needed to build up their farm.
"I've been waiting for this project for half a year," Lilia said excitedly. "So, what are we doing?"
"Well, planting and harvesting are the most physically demanding parts of the job. If we equip every plot with a mana-powered device, we can reduce the workload for farmers and make the occupation much more appealing."
"Right, but what exactly are we making?"
"We need a plough, so we start with this," Bastion said, sketching a simple design that could be adjusted for depth.
"This will need a powerful pulling force," Lilia noted.
"Exactly. That's why it will be attached to these wheels, which rotate using the user's mana."
"I thought you didn't want it to be mana-driven?"
"I don't want it absorbing mana from the air, but drawing from the user's mana is fine. It's roughly the same thing, except regular farmers wouldn't strain the land like mages or wizards, who drain mana from the environment as fast as we currently do."
"Next, we add this bin and injector, which can deposit seeds as needed," Bastion continued, connecting the injecting arm to the engine. "You can adjust depth and spacing with these gears here."
"Finally, we have harvesting, which can be done with these scythes, catchers, and conveyor belts," he said, finishing the drawing.
"This looks kind of clunky."
"It is, but once we finish it, we can make adjustments after testing."
"What am I supposed to do?" Lilia asked.
"Your job is to make the engine."
"Isn't this just a rotation rune?"
"Yes, but it needs more force than a standard rotation rune can provide."
"Then we just add more mana?"
"Not exactly. I want you to add more runes instead."
"But the mana requirement would still go up."
"That's true, but the force will be distributed more evenly, so the runes won't be strained as much, reducing the mana drain. I want you to calculate how many we can use so that someone with only 30 mana points can still operate it for a long time."
"Hm… that's pretty complicated."
"Are you up for the task?"
"Yeah, I'll do it," she said, already drifting into thought as her mind began working on the problem.
Meanwhile, Bastion began designing the individual components of the machine. There were countless moving parts, each of which he would have to smith himself.
He couldn't just make a machine to produce them automatically; it would be pointless. He didn't intend to mass-produce the device himself. He wanted the Crafters' Guild to handle that. This way, the farming industry as a whole could benefit.
If he did everything personally, the moment he left, the farming industry would grind to a halt, erasing all the progress he was currently putting into the territory.
Instead, he wanted the territory itself to benefit, maintaining stability and eventually paying off the debt. Once it was settled, all karma connected to the duke title would be nullified, giving him a clean slate.
Bastion didn't personally believe in karma. But in a world where luck was tangible, he would be a fool not to acknowledge its existence in some form. Gaia itself seemed to keep count, if his lessons on rituals were any indication.
He plans not only to improve the farming industry but also to enhance the people's livelihoods in his territory. In doing so, he hopes to spread good karma and potentially relieve the territory's debt. He intends to contribute enough that even if his successors mismanage things, the debt will not grow uncontrollably. This way, he would never have to personally pay it off in the future.
Bastion and Lilia worked on the device while training their stats and skills. They made sure to keep a balanced schedule to maximize efficiency. Of course, there were occasional interruptions for lovemaking, but overall they remained highly productive.
A month later, they finished the device and named it the Verdant Harvester.
The Verdant Harvester is a compact, semi-portable farming machine powered entirely by mana. Resembling a very large lawn mower, its polished brass and iron frame houses rotating gears, levers, and mechanical arms that move in precise, fluid motion. At its core, the Adaptive Plough Module tills and aerates soil, while the Seeding and Fertilization Arm dispenses seeds and fertilizer evenly. A Harvesting Unit with scythes, conveyor belts, and mechanical claws collects crops and deposits them into storage bins.
Operated through simple levers, pulleys, and dials, the machine gives full control over planting patterns, fertilizer release, and harvesting cycles without electronics. Modular extensions allow it to handle orchards, vineyards, or specialty crops, making it highly versatile.
With its elegant combination of mechanical ingenuity and mana-driven power, the Verdant Harvester turns labor-intensive farming into a smooth, efficient process. As its tagline proudly states: "From seed to harvest, the Verdant Harvester turns toil into yield."
"What do you think?" Bastion asked the Crafters' Guild representative after he presented the finished product.
"It is an ingenious product, Your Grace. Unfortunately, I will have to check to make sure it doesn't violate the Rank 2 limitation of the kingdom."
"It's the engine, isn't it?"
"Yes. It seems to be quite efficient, close to the current industry standards for its size, which would pose a problem, as these engines are classified as Rank 3 technology."
"I don't suppose you can provide me with a manual that specifies what does and doesn't count as Rank 3 technology?"
The guild representative, a young woman in mage robes, smiled at Bastion's request, clearly indicating that the answer was no. He was part of the kingdom; hence, he was not allowed to know what does or doesn't count as Rank 3 and above.
"How inefficient are we talking here?" Bastion asked, getting to the point.
"You would have to lower the efficiency by at least 50%."
"The farmers wouldn't be able to supply enough mana for it."
"That is precisely the point, Your Grace. They aren't allowed to be too advanced. They could at most do half their plots, which would still be quite efficient. Unfortunately, the technology used in the engines would have to be redone, as the current model, even dumbed down, might still prevent widespread distribution in the kingdom."
"Fine. We'll work on it."
"Very good, Your Grace. Now, about these blueprints," she said, flipping through Bastion's folder of invention ideas. "I'm afraid they are strictly prohibited, given their potential for destruction."
The blueprints included vehicles that were built upon the invention of the engine: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, and other machines that could be used for destructive purposes.
Bastion took a basic inventory of the inventions he could create, and apart from the computer, there was nothing significant enough to introduce, since magical equivalents already existed.
Light was just a simple enchantment, one even apprentices could weave together using basic materials. Most home appliances relied heavily on mana to operate, which not everyone had enough of to incorporate into daily life. Television and long-distance communication were also out of reach, given the high mana requirements.
Any attempt to build the infrastructure necessary to support their operation was largely restricted, greatly limiting what Bastion could provide to the public. In essence, the kingdom had already been pushed to the peak of Rank 2 a long time ago, and he could barely contribute with the Verdant Harvester, which still needed tweaking. The result would likely be more a waste of resources than real help to the farmers.
"I give up," Bastion said, tossing his hands up. "You guys win."
"I am truly sorry, Your Grace. There is very little that can be done for this kingdom so long as the Rank 2 restriction is in place. Our hands are tied."
Bastion waved the representative away, signaling the end of the meeting. She excused herself, leaving his blueprints behind.
Fortunately, the meeting wasn't completely useless, judging by her reaction when she read through them.
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