Manor Lord of the Elf World

Chapter 27 Building a Pond

"W-What?! Your Highness, you want to raise magical beasts?"

Upon hearing Raven's plan, the old butler, Elif, was utterly astonished.

“Don’t be so nervous, Elif, this is just an experiment.” Raven ate his breakfast slowly.

Magikarp is a very resilient Pokémon. Anyone can take care of it by simply throwing a few berries into the pond where it lives each day.

It won't take much time or resources at all.

If one of them evolves into Gyarados during this period, then they've hit the jackpot.

Although Magikarp is not very useful, the Gyarados that they evolve into is a very powerful creature.

Praying for rain can be used to irrigate farmland, and water cannons can be used to repel powerful enemies and defend territory.

It's a Pokémon that excels in both daily life and battles.

"Alright... alright." The old butler couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

At Raven's request, Erief quickly found a girl suitable for the job and brought her to Raven.

“Megan is fourteen years old this year. She has experience taking care of magical beasts when she was in the royal city,” Elif introduced Raven.

Upon hearing this, Raven was quite surprised; he didn't realize there was such a talent in his territory.
He looked the girl with freckles up and down and asked, "Have you ever taken care of magical beasts before?"

Megan nodded timidly: "That's right, Your Highness Raven. I used to be a slave in the royal city, specifically responsible for taking care of the magical beasts that worked for the royal city."

Those magical beasts were captured by the knights from outside to work. They were shackled and chained, and if they were found to be slacking off, the overseer would whip them severely.

Megan's job at the time was to take care of those magical beasts. Unlike those who were afraid of magical beasts, Megan only felt that they were very pitiful.

“Alright, in that case, I’ll leave this task to you.” With that, Raven stood up, took the Mini Dragon with him, and said to them, “Let’s go, the knights should have already dug the pond.”

"Yes!" Megan was somewhat afraid of His Highness, a person of such high status, and unconsciously used honorifics when speaking.

Raven noticed her reaction and couldn't help but laugh as he said:

"Don't be nervous, Megan. There are no slaves left in this territory. This is just an ordinary job. Once we get through this winter and things settle down, I will give you the appropriate compensation."

“I…I know!” Megan looked at Raven with eyes full of admiration. “His Highness is a good person! Everyone talks about him during breaks!”

"What are you discussing about me?" Raven asked, somewhat surprised.

“Everyone says that His Highness is the most benevolent, kindest, and most loving king they have ever met!” Megan replied.

Raven: "..." This is a bit too exaggerated.

However, seeing the girl's adoring gaze, he could only offer an elegant yet polite smile.

Soon, they arrived at their destination.

The knights had already dug a large pond by the river and diverted water from the main river.

Under Raven's command, the Dratini skillfully flew into the river and, in no time, used electromagnetic waves to electrocute dozens of fish.

Whenever I see this scene, I can't help but exclaim – the resources in the Pokémon world are truly abundant!

As always, Raven gives ordinary fish to the residents of his territory to take back and eat. If they can't finish them, he has the Snow Hat Monster freeze them and store them in the warehouse.

He then scooped up the six carp and released them into the pond.

While raising fish directly in a newly dug pond may cause a sudden death of the fry, Magikarp, being a Pokémon, is clearly not an exception.

Moreover, they can also consume the silt and microorganisms in the pond, thus purifying the water source.

The six carp were put into the pond and soon woke up.

They swam aimlessly in the water, their eyes lifeless and dull. In addition, Raven had some aquatic plants and algae dug up and put into the pond.

He looked at the cultivated field not far away.

In the future, this pond might be used to raise other water-type Pokémon that can help with watering.

"Your Highness Raven, are these red fish the magical beasts I'm supposed to take care of?" Megan asked, squatting by the pond.

“That’s right.” Raven nodded: “They’re called Magikarp. They’re a kind of magical beast with a very strong vitality. They can survive even in the dirtiest ponds.”

In the dirtiest pond… Megan paused slightly, recalling her previous life as a slave at the bottom of society, and couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “Just like me.”

At this moment, looking at these silly, dumbfounded monsters, Megan couldn't help but feel a sense of "shared suffering".

Fish, oh fish, can I live as bravely as you? Megan wondered.

The sadness was fleeting, and Megan quickly recovered.

His Highness Raven has abolished her status as a slave, and she is now a free citizen!
Moreover, the wooden houses used for warmth are almost finished, and her life will definitely get better slowly!

“Your Highness Raven, I will definitely take good care of them!” Megan promised.

Raven smiled and nodded: "Don't be so nervous. Magikarp are easy to raise. They can survive on just mud and aquatic plants. However, since we've decided to raise them, we can't just feed them that."

"So, your job is to cut the berries into small pieces and feed them to these carp every day. In short, from now on, you are their caretaker," Raven said.

If "love," "affection," or "bond" develops during the raising process, the chances of these Magikarp evolving into Gyarados will greatly increase.

“Yes, Your Highness Raven!” Megan replied.

"Keep it up!" Raven encouraged.

If he weren't so busy dealing with various affairs within his territory, he would have even considered raising a Magikarp himself.

After all, Gyarados is a very powerful Pokémon.

Unfortunately, there were no Poké Balls in this era, so he couldn't carry his Magikarp, which lived in the water, with him at all times.

*

Initially, Megan felt nothing more than a sense of sympathy for these poor, "humble" monsters when it came to helping raise them.

Every day, following Prince Raven's instructions, after completing her daily berry-gathering task, she would bring some berries and tree fruits to the pond to feed the carp kings.

The Magikarp seemed a bit dazed, but they didn't appear to be completely oblivious.

The more often she came, the more the Magikarp would appear on the surface of the water ahead of time, waiting for her arrival!

This surprised Megan greatly.

At the same time, she also felt a sense of longing because these Magikarp were waiting for her.

Gradually, Megan found the group of silly fish increasingly adorable.

Although they cannot speak, they are excellent listeners.

Megan would often sit alone by the pond and tell the Magikarp about her past in the palace.

"Fish, oh fish, what are you thinking about?"

Magikarp did not answer, nor could they answer; they remained lost in thought.

Seeing Magikarp lost in thought, Megan couldn't help but also space out her mind and drift off into a daze.

Gradually, she actually started to like this feeling.

(End of this chapter)