Goddess Kaleidoscope

"If you said it, then I will believe you."

Lude smiled slightly and said nothing more. Fran understood perfectly and didn't ask any more questions. Then he glanced at Shanis again.

Their conversation then returned to how to help the Goddess of Hearth spread her teachings, and Rudd suggested holding a food festival in Pine Town. It was currently harvest season, and celebrations were held annually to allow everyone to relax after a busy planting season.

The goddess of the hearth is naturally best associated with food.

Ordinary people may feel awe towards religion and subconsciously keep their distance from it, but they may not be so wary of food and can easily open their hearts and belts to accept it... and then unknowingly gain weight.

At this time last year, the Steelwhip Clan had only recently arrived. To promote the newly formed Craftswomen, Rudd commissioned the dwarves to build a huge open-air opera house in town. Then, with the help of the visiting Rainbow Dance Troupe, he put on a unique and grand theatrical performance.

For this year's autumn harvest celebrations, Lud planned to put on another performance, but unfortunately the Rainbow Circus wasn't there. Thanks to the scripts Lud had provided her, Director Servis had already made a name for herself in the arts, receiving acclaim not only within the kingdom but also becoming a sensation in the neighboring empire.

It is worth mentioning that Servis did not forget the kindness and continued to correspond with Rudd, reporting on her situation. The goddesses on Rudd's side did indeed receive the faith she collected during her tour.

Given the absence of the most professional performers, Ludwig plans to hand over the opera stage to his students this year. In addition to performing plays, they will also try to organize concerts, and the pieces will naturally be "local imports" that Ludwig has borrowed.

It doesn't matter that Ludwig can't write sheet music; he can hum the tune to someone who can, and then refine the details. There are always more solutions than problems.

Thus, the tone for this year's autumn harvest celebration was set: plays, concerts, and a food festival. Although it wasn't officially a religious event, all the relevant elements had been incorporated into the details.

End of this chapter

Because people in the countryside don't have many formalities, before Lu De came, when Songshu Town was still a pioneering village, there was no formal name for the celebrations after the autumn harvest. Basically, after everyone finished harvesting the crops, the village chief would come out and decide which day to have some fun together, and everyone would understand.

But Lude intended to promote this event as a local cultural selling point, hoping to attract tourists from other places, empty their wallets, and drain their faith.

Therefore, since last year, the celebration has been officially named the "Harvest Thanksgiving Festival" to thank the gods for their blessings on the local area, which ensures good weather and abundant harvests.

In name, the thanks are given to all the gods in the sky, but in practice, the actual activities naturally tend to favor those of their own, with other gods being included in the "etc." at the very end of the sentence.

There are too many names involved to list them all.

The event is tentatively scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday of the second week of October. Two days should be enough for the locals to enjoy. Lud hopes to gradually expand the festival in the future and try to turn it into an otherworldly version of "Golden Week".

Having finalized his plan, Ludwig first went to the Baron's house to explain the situation to the matriarch, who was acting as governor. Lady Srina, upon hearing that it was a celebration after the autumn harvest, and given this year's exceptionally good harvest, felt it wouldn't hurt to have one. The residents of the territory had toiled for months and finally welcomed the long-awaited bumper harvest; they certainly deserved a good rest.

Fortunately, Ludwig was experienced and resourceful, and he volunteered. The old lady immediately drafted a formal document, entrusting him with full authority over the celebration.

The baron's letter of appointment was essentially just a formality; Ludd's main aim was to save face for both sides. He then wrote another letter to Gulig, the chieftain of the Steelwhip clan, and Winnig, the high priest, inviting them to the Thanksgiving festival. In the letter, Ludd also mentioned that he had recently made friends with a new ally and intended to introduce them to him; the two old buddies immediately understood.

Afterwards, Lude wrote many more invitations, sending one to every prominent person he knew, inviting them to attend the festival in Pine Town, and also promoting the surrounding area in advance.

After sending out the invitations, Lude's next task was to organize the manpower to prepare for the event. He mobilized the local townspeople, telling them simply and directly that this was a great opportunity to make money. He planned to use the food streets on the other side of Earth as a model to renovate the town's main street.

In addition to temporarily renovating the streets and setting up rows of roadside stalls, Lude also gathered the culinary students who were gradually returning to school and more than half of the town's chefs to give them intensive instruction, teaching them how to make many famous snacks from other parts of the world.

Lu De was a foodie in his past life and was also very skilled with his hands. He often watched cooking videos to imitate the dishes and was already very proficient in using plenty of oil!

To eat better and to grow better vegetables, Lud will do anything!

When the village was poor, it lacked the resources. Now that life has improved, the town's agriculture and animal husbandry have become increasingly abundant, thanks to Lu De's deliberate promotion. Not only has the production of staple foods increased significantly, but large-scale poultry and livestock farming has also been established, and the town has achieved a certain level of self-sufficiency in non-staple foods such as spices and rapeseed oil.

All of this is thanks to excellent water conservancy construction, agricultural technology upgrades, and the application of fertilizers. Especially fertilizers; when developing fertilizers, Lude boldly attempted to introduce religious elements, giving them a mystical enhancement.

The specific operational process involves first explaining to religious farmers that the God of Medicine also holds the position of the God of Abundance and can produce "pesticides" for high yields. Then, a small amount of homemade nitrogen fertilizer is provided to them for comparison with traditional farmland.

To create a sufficiently significant difference between fertilized and unfertilized fields, Lud even secretly used a little trick, having Aina or Shanis use their divine power to accelerate the ripening of the crops under the cover of darkness.

Once believers see a tangible difference, they will believe the Medicine God has this ability. As more and more people believe, Aina will truly gain this ability. However, the price to pay is that Aina will be forced to bathe much more frequently, and the resulting solutions will be divided into two categories: "medicinal" and "agricultural."

Incidentally, Lude also collaborated with the mages of the Three-Person Tower last year to cultivate spice crops adapted to the cold northern climate. The mage he collaborated with was none other than Dave, Hamilton's apprentice, the unfortunate fellow who was severely injured by the enchanted chili peppers last year.

Last year, this kid was nearly killed in an explosion and lay in bed for two whole months before he could get up. Logically speaking, experiencing something so close to death should have left Dave with extremely severe psychological trauma, making him tremble at the sight of chili peppers afterward. But this kid is clearly a bit dim-witted; the explosion opened the door to a new world for him, and he's been obsessed with developing magical plants ever since.

Lude still remembered the bunch of "magical plants" that the kid showed him when he came to Pine Town, such as pumpkins that could bite and sunflowers that could run. They all looked like things that were not easy to eat.

The most terrifying of all was the enhanced version of the exploding pepper. Even though Lud was mentally prepared, he was still so frightened when he saw a giant pepper, half a meter long, explode on the ground, creating a crater with a radius of nearly twenty meters. He sat down on the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.

This thing is supposed to be chili pepper?!

Fortunately, thanks to the improvement of spice crops, this agricultural terrorist was relatively restrained. They eventually cultivated the ideal crop and planted it extensively in the area. This made Pine Town the only region in the northern part of the kingdom that could produce spices on a large scale, attracting many merchants to come and buy them. At the same time, many thieves who tried to steal the seedlings also came, but they were all defeated by the biting pumpkins.

Preparations went smoothly. The booths weren't complicated items; the two hundred modular wooden components were all completed in three days. They were stored in the warehouse and then assembled the day before the festival began.

Students who returned to school learned about the festival. Some students from professional skills departments were temporarily seconded to participate in the preparatory work for the festival, and they could earn credits and remuneration. Lu Demei called it an "internship".

In addition to various food stalls, many interesting entertainment projects have also been initiated and are being prepared by Lude.

Lude plans to hold another "Star Gathering Event" later, where all visitors can exchange for special rewards at the temple by completing a certain number of challenges during the festival.

The simple-minded people from another world will once again be tempted by the "limited-time event"!

End of this chapter

With all the students returning to school after their fall break, Brewster College officially began the new semester. In addition to the local commoners and the increasing number of international students, one new student stood out this semester: Miss Sasha, the sister of the local lord, Baron Cork.

However, Lisa was not the only aristocratic child at the school. The Mochishima siblings from Oyster Harbor had enrolled six months earlier and were children of a viscount.

On the morning of the first day of school, Lisa was woken up early by her mother, ate breakfast, and prepared to leave for school.

The family is still living in the backyard of the hotel in the town center, but the baron's mansion is more than half-built and is expected to be ready for occupancy next spring. The distance from their home to the school is only a few hundred meters, just two turns away, but the mother still specially called a carriage for her to take to school.

Lady Srina wasn't the type of noblewoman who loved luxury and extravagance, but her family was, after all, noble and local lords, so she still had to maintain a certain level of pomp and circumstance. Lisa, being a girl, was somewhat unsuitable for riding a horse, so she chose to travel by carriage.

Amid her mother's nagging instructions, Lisa hugged her younger brother Lothar, who was seeing her off, then climbed into the carriage and was escorted to school by the knight Ados.

Along the way, whenever the locals saw the baron's coat of arms on the carriage, they would all bow and salute to show their respect for the lord. But Lisa felt a tiny bit ashamed.

The journey of a few hundred meters wasn't long, and the carriage quickly arrived at the school gate. Lisa got off the carriage and looked at the tall school gate and the endless stream of students in front of her, her expression slightly bewildered.

At that moment, a demi-dragon nun with wings on her back and horns on her head came out of the school gate to greet them. Lisa recognized her; she knew she was one of the disciples of Priest Rud, and her name was Romian. She was said to be an apprentice priest who could already use divine magic, and she also taught lower-grade academic subjects at the school.

After the other party came over, they spoke to them very kindly.

"Welcome, Lisa, please come with me."

Led by Romian, Lisa and Ados entered the school together.

Lisa is literate and can play a few musical instruments. When Lude visited her home before, he had her take a so-called "test paper," saying that she had an education equivalent to that of a middle school student and that her grades were above average. However, the old lady mainly wanted her to learn skills such as cooking and tailoring, which were more in line with the status of a noble lady.

So Lude ultimately decided to let her transfer into the advanced culinary department, and also managed to recruit Ados, a knight with considerable martial arts skills, to be his "martial arts (training) teacher."

As for the Baron himself, he is still too young. Ludwig plans to wait until the child reaches school age before trying to abduct him.

Walking along the corridor leading to the classrooms, Lisa felt a sense of novelty at the clean yet lively atmosphere of the campus, which was completely different from the slightly rigid atmosphere she had experienced when she visited with her mother last time.

The three of them first went to the student affairs office to collect Lisa's school uniform, stationery, and various textbooks. They collected a whole bunch of miscellaneous items, even though Lisa didn't live on campus and therefore didn't need to collect bedding and toiletries.

Lisa was somewhat bewildered by the huge pile of stuff, while Ados, a well-traveled adult, was secretly astonished.

Ados had done a special investigation into Ludwig School. It was initially completely free, but later, as the school expanded and enrolled many international students from other places, it began to officially charge tuition fees.

According to Ados's understanding, most of the foreign students were specially assigned by local lords to study medicine. They had to pay five years' worth of tuition and room and board in one lump sum, averaging sixty silver coins per student. The lords who sent them usually did not just pay tuition; they would give some extra "sponsorship fees," which were originally intended as gifts for Rudd.

Local students, especially those from the town, generally didn't need to board at school. Tuition was paid once a semester, costing only thirty copper coins. Given the relatively affluent income level in the area, as long as there were no more than five children attending school at the same time, there were virtually no families unable to afford the tuition.

Compared to the tuition fees paid by the students, the money Ludd poured into the school was enormous! Ados conservatively estimated that it was at least twenty or thirty thousand gold coins, and possibly more.

This disproportionate exchange once puzzled Athos and many others. Was Ludd's elaborate construction of the school simply a charitable act? Moreover, besides the school, Ludd also built bridges and roads in the town and constructed various public facilities that seemed quite novel to Athos. This expenditure far exceeded the cost of building the school.

So, during one of Ludwig's visits, Ados asked about his doubts in person, and Ludwig's answer remains fresh in his memory to this day.

"My purpose in building this school is not to earn tuition fees, but to cultivate talent. I believe they will improve the world; this is an investment in the future. Besides, money hoarded in a vault is just wealth; it only brings riches when it circulates!"

The added weight of Rudd's status as a "saint" and benefactor made Ados willing to believe in Rudd and admire his noble character even more.

After receiving their textbooks and learning materials, Romian led them to the large classroom where the culinary department was located. The room was already quite full of students, both boys and girls. Upon seeing Romian enter, the previously chattering children instantly quieted down and then stood up in unison to greet her.

"Hello teacher!"

"Hello everyone, we have a new student in our class today..."

Although she is about the same age as the students, Romianne is currently the head teacher of the entire culinary department, and her work ability is beyond doubt.

Seeing that all her students had arrived, and with only a few minutes left before class started, Romian introduced Lisa, the new transfer student, to the class. Everyone was surprised to hear that she was the young lady of the lord's family.

Normally, the nobles in this world, even the lowest-ranking hereditary nobles like newly promoted barons, would avoid contact with "lower classes" in order to highlight their "noble status" that distinguishes them from the common people, and would always put on an arrogant face when they met them.

So when the students learned that the lord's daughter had condescended to be their classmate, they were all surprised and couldn't help but become reserved. A few even rested their heads on the table, feeling as if they would kneel down if the table weren't there to protect them.

This is unavoidable. For thousands of years, the noble and commoner classes have adhered to the principle of distinguishing between the noble and the lowly. Inequality is a secular rule that is deeply ingrained in the bones of almost everyone in this world. This is not something that can be easily reversed by shouting a few loud slogans.

Ludwig understood the reality, so he wanted to make changes. If things were too drastic, people wouldn't accept it, so he would take a gradual, subtle approach, starting by getting children from noble and commoner families to sit together and study.

Lisa also noticed that when Romian revealed that she was the daughter of a lord, the way the students looked at her changed, and this subtle change made her somewhat uneasy.

Because Lisa is still young, and she wasn't born a noblewoman. Her father was knighted when she was seven, making him an honorary nobleman without hereditary rights. However, their family's living conditions were not much different from those of commoners; in Earth terms, they were middle class.

This meant that Lisa remained a commoner at heart, and even today she hasn't been able to adapt to her sudden aristocratic status. Therefore, when she noticed that her classmates were looking at her differently, she didn't enjoy the sense of superiority of being looked at differently by people from the lower class; instead, she felt a sense of panic about being ostracized by the group.

Just then, the bell rang outside the classroom, signaling the start of class. Romian reminded Ados, who had been standing by the door, to hurry up and report to the administration office. As she went out to give directions to the knight who was now the new physical education teacher, Lisa sat down in the seat assigned to her.

Just as she was feeling uneasy about the new environment, the girl at the next table suddenly greeted her quietly.

"Hi! Hello, my name is Fran, nice to meet you in the future."

"Oh, oh! Hello!"

Lisa was startled when someone suddenly greeted her. She turned around and looked in the direction of the voice, only to find a blonde (beige) beauty who looked to be about her age sitting to her right. The girl was smiling and looking her over, unlike the other classmates who were nervous and didn't dare to meet her eyes.

Thanks to someone taking the initiative to greet her, Fran's warm smile made Lisa feel like she was bathed in a spring breeze. Her original tension and unease vanished, and subconsciously she had already regarded the beautiful girl in front of her as her new friend.

"(Wow! She's so cute!)"

Just as they were thinking of chatting a bit more to get to know their new friend better, Romian returned. Fran, who had been tilting his head, quickly sat up straight and opened his textbook. Lisa could only follow suit and start studying as well.

Contrary to Lisa's expectations before she arrived, she thought she was here to learn cooking and needlework, and might have to spend the whole day in the kitchen learning how to make various recipes. But in reality, she spent the entire morning sitting in a spacious and bright classroom with other students, learning from the books they had received that seemed to have nothing to do with cooking.

The first lesson was math, which Lisa wasn't very good at. The four arithmetic operations and geometric algorithms felt like they were listening to gibberish. But even with such difficult material, Fran next to her could answer fluently, which amazed Lisa!

The second lesson was history, taught by the priest Rudd himself. His lecture was somewhat related to cooking, introducing the evolution of food in the history of the continent, the differences in food styles in various regions, and the religious stories derived from them.

Lisa, who couldn't help but steal glances at Fran, noticed that when the teacher talked about the Hearth Goddess Cult, which originated from food worship, Fran actually smiled.

"(How strange! But her smile is so pretty!)"

After four classes in the morning, Lisa was surprised to find that although she had learned a lot of things, she hadn't touched the most crucial aspect of cooking at all. This made Lisa ask herself, "Did I really come here to learn how to cook?"

"Fran! Aren't we in the culinary arts department?"