I’m the Future Crazy Male Lead’s Mother Chapter 11

His eyebrows rose slightly.

“It seems our Viscountess Evanroar enjoys keeping things short. First, ‘Shake it.’ Now, ‘Eat.’ I feel like a dog being raised by a little missy.”

“Your eardrums seem to have a strange filter on them. I just said ‘Please eat’ properly.”

“Unfortunately, your tone wasn’t particularly polite.”

“Maybe it’s time you cleaned your ears. I was very polite.”

Dazar smiled kindly.

For a brief moment, the elegant and dignified Dazar I knew flashed before me.

Seeing him make that face while dressed so disheveled was quite an odd mismatch.

“I wish you were a demon.”

“…….”

“You really are a demon, aren’t you? Say you are.”

“Beep. I’m human.”

“……What a shame. If you were a demon, your head would probably be rolling around over there by now.”

I scrunched up my face as hard as I could and thrust the spoon toward him.

“Stop saying weird things and just eat first.”

He glanced at my face with a smirk, then lightly pushed the spoon away with the back of his hand.

“You eat first.”

“……What? Why me?”

“How do I know you didn’t put poison in that white-looking thing?”

“Hah.”

This guy was talented. Truly talented.

He had an innate talent for making people feel bad.

‘Is he being threatened by assassins or something?’

Given his high status and considerable fame, it did cross my mind that it might be possible.

I shrugged and tossed the rice on the spoon into my mouth without letting my lips touch it.

There was only one spoon, and I had no intention of having an indirect kiss with someone like him.

“Happy now?”

Only then did Dazar scoop up some rice with the spoon. After staring at it for quite a while as though he really didn’t want to eat it, he slowly brought the spoon toward his mouth.

Then, just as I had done, he kept it slightly away from his lips and tossed the rice into his mouth.

It was a little funny. Well, yes. When trying food for the first time, people usually watch someone else eat it and imitate them.

He slowly chewed the rice. After repeating the chewing motion leisurely, he blinked a couple of times.

Then he scooped up an even bigger spoonful and tossed it into his mouth.

He asked with a slightly dazed expression.

“……What is this called?”

“Rice.”

He tossed another mouthful in, chewed it thoroughly, and said,

“Unlike food made from Miar, it has a certain stickiness. However, since each grain remains separate, you have to use your tongue more, and it’s bothersome to chew.”

“…….”

He tossed in another mouthful and continued.

“Ahem. But the more you chew…….”

“It’s delicious?”

“…….”

He set the spoon down as though tossing it away and subtly turned his gaze aside.

“……Yes, it is delicious.”

Was I imagining it, or were the tips of that obnoxious man’s ears slightly red?

Avoiding my gaze, Dazar picked up the spoon again and busily moved his hand. He only stopped once the pile of rice that had filled the bowl was nearly gone.

Then, perhaps feeling full, he let out a “Haa…” and made a strange expression.

He looked like he couldn’t understand himself either.

‘What?’

In the meantime, I placed the rice plant I had prepared beforehand on the table. After a brief silence, he tapped the armrest with his fingers and spoke.

“How long does it take to grow this?”

His eyes were fixed on the rice plant I had placed on the table.

Apparently, he was quick enough to realize that this rice plant would become the white rice he had just eaten.

“Usually, you grow it over the course of a year. It’s harvested once a year. You sow the seeds in spring and harvest them in late summer or autumn.”

“Similar to Miar.”

“Well, yes.”

While working as a secret Agrimom under my Viscountess identity, I had learned that even commoners ate Miar as their staple food.

I wondered if they might eat something like corn instead of Miar, so I looked into it, but unfortunately, there was no corn on this continent.

“It’s also more nutritious than Miar. To turn Miar into flour, you need a windmill or mill, but this doesn’t particularly require that process. It’s a very good food source in many ways.”

“You know quite a lot.”

“……Thanks to my peculiar hobby.”

I briefly looked away before giving up and rattling off everything I knew.

He had seemed quite pleased with it earlier, but when he suddenly fell silent, I started to feel a little anxious.

“Depending on how much you mill it, you can choose whether to make white rice or brown rice. White rice is processed with taste as the top priority, while if you want to prioritize quantity, you can reduce the milling process. You can also make porridge with it, and ferment it to make alcohol.”

Dazar listened quietly.

“In short, it’s a food source with many uses.”

“You know it in considerable detail.”

“……I did a lot of research.”

“I suppose there’s a reason you were the Academy’s perennial top student.”

“…….”

I had felt it before, but this person knew surprisingly well about this body.

Well, Cilia had indeed been quite outstanding when she attended the academy.

Dazar picked up the rice plant I had placed on the table and examined it from various angles before speaking.

“So. According to you, this is a plant with nothing but advantages?”

“Hmm.”

Actually, it had a disadvantage too. A very big one.

“It’s a little more difficult to grow than Miar…….”

“A little?”

“I-It’s quite troublesome.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Miar will grow even if you just scatter the seeds roughly, but this requires plowing the soil, and it needs water…… You also need irrigation to supply the water…… Hmm, and you have to keep an eye on the amount of water at every stage……. Ah, and before that, there’s the rice-transplanting method…….”

Why does this require so much work?

As I muttered and explained, sweat began to bead on my forehead.

“Really? Then you’re saying an educational process is necessary. Good.”

What exactly was good about that? When I stared at him with narrowed eyes, he gave a small clap.

“I’ll prepare some land in the Duchy of Siastor. Go there and produce this.”

What was he talking about?

I twisted my face into an expression of complete dissatisfaction.

“Isn’t it enough if I just bring you food?”

He gave a snort of laughter.

“Do you think that if you bring it here, you can simply say ta-da, and it’ll all be distributed throughout the Empire?”

“When you said you’d grant my request, then…….”

“If you produce enough food to satisfy me. I’ll grant you anything you want.”

“……Anything?”

“Anything.”

A deep crease formed between my brows. Anything?

“You’ll really grant me anything?”

“Yes. As long as it’s something I can grant.”

Suddenly, a good idea flashed through my mind.

Come to think of it, there was something more important than money.

‘I can secure the in-law relationship in advance.’

Then Axion and Vanilla could meet from the time they were babies. Since they were still too young to know anything, wouldn’t it be possible for them to naturally develop a liking for each other even without being particularly knowledgeable yet?

‘There’s a saying, “Contract first, romance later.”’

The food problem was extremely important. Surely he’d accept even such a crazy proposal?

My thoughts raced rapidly. The realization that I had come up with such a brilliant idea made me impatient.

“Then I’ll tell you now.”

“Sure. It’s good if I know in advance, too, since I can prepare.”

Dazar gave a small nod as if telling me to go ahead.

I swallowed nervously and parted my lips.

“Enga—”

“Enga?”

I had only gotten that far before a certain scene suddenly flashed through my mind, and I quickly closed my mouth.

Come to think of it, hadn’t Axion gotten engaged to the daughter of some merchant family in the original story?

A merchant who coveted Axion’s abilities had secretly forged a contract without Axion’s knowledge.

And Axion had…….

‘You made an engagement without even asking for my consent. Since you took me in when I was dying in the past, I’ll repay you by killing you painlessly.’

“Ghk! Ahem.”

“What?”

With Dazar raising an eyebrow at me, I quickly shook my head.

‘No. Now that I think about it, Aksion wouldn’t have any free will in this. I might end up taking the same deadly route as that merchant.’

Rather than forcing this suddenly, wouldn’t it be more plausible for their feelings to naturally blossom until they had no choice but to support their love?

I furrowed my brows deeply and nodded.

Yes. That seemed better.

I quickly blurted out a different word.

“I need money.”

“Money? Weren’t you about to ask for something else?”

“Uuuum. I-I think it would be better if we took some more time to get to know each other and see how things develop…….”

“?”

Dazar tilted his head.

Then he casually said,

“Fine. Your request is rather modest. I thought you’d ask for something much more outrageous. Like my head.”

“…….”

Does he think everyone is like him?

Dazar chuckled as though he found my face, which had turned as red as a freshly dug potato, amusing.

“Well, fine. Then, first, move into the Siastor estate as soon as possible.”

“What?”

Dazar looked at me in surprise and asked incredulously,

“Then were you planning to commute from there?”

“But moving my residence would be a little…….”

The Siastor territory was quite far from our territory, so traveling back and forth would take up an entire day.

Besides, if I moved my residence, Axion would naturally have to come with me.

I was still quite reluctant to show Axion to this crazy in-law who had treated him so harshly that day.

Then he whispered with a suggestive look in his eyes.

“You must really enjoy making things difficult for yourself. Such a peculiar taste. How about I make things difficult for you?”

“I’m sorry, but my preference is for being the one who makes things difficult.”

“Oh?”

“Please prepare a room that gets as much sunlight as possible.”

At my quick reply, he gave a snort of laughter and moved his lips for a moment. Uncharacteristically, he seemed hesitant. What was this? It was giving me chills.

As I stared at him with narrowed eyes, he slightly turned his head and said,

“And I’d like you to make this ‘rice’ from time to time.”

Then he added in a mumble,

“……For testing purposes, of course.”

Hmm~?