Plow! O' Great Hero

The sun was already hung up, in its perfect station to shone the whole world bright with its brilliant radiance. By the time Shirou plowed the land, heavy sweat glistening down his ivory toned skin.

Why did he plow the land you said?

Preposterous, for he had skills of the blade and thousand armaments for a thousand millennia, what a shovel compared the legendary blade he always wielded.

Nothing.

But indeed, a great question. Why the great Shirou Emiya plowing the land, with nonetheless a shovel indeed.

Gone was his red wrapping on the left hand, and the cape that draped majestically fluttered in the wind just in a shade hut in the corner. Barring his body to the whole world, some gossiping aunty had to hide their blush away off the field, in a hushed tone and giggling as they made their way to the town ahead.

Whatever they said, were blown by the wind.

A river reflected the sky and the light, just beside the field they worked on. it's shallow enough to dip a knee, as the critters swim merrily beneath the water.

The girl beside him was happily planted sapling after sapling. Though she's the same state as Shirou, only happiness radiated, matched only by the sun.

She planted with a determination, none caring with the passerby look of her partner who currently busy plowing the land, may the flower bloom happily, or such a prayer ran inside her.

Shara, her name is. Enveloped in a soft, honeyed hair that made the tangerine blush in envy of the color.

"Shirou, how about it?"

She asked after all the sapling had been planted.

Shirou stopped his work, at the same time finishing a plot of the field. Wiping his sweat with a handkerchief Shara offered to him.

Stabilizing his chest, the been puffing and inhaling air at a fast rate into a rhythmic one.

"It's fine…I guess, never I thought an introduction to the town would be something like this."

Shara just gave him a smile, her eyes closed like hiding the slyness within. Her supple pink lip turned into mischief one and grinned happily.

"Ehehe, I'm sorry to make you work, Shirou. Some wooly, or wild buffamoo perhaps, been passing this land and trample the ground, though luckily, we haven't planted flowers yet. And grandpa fell sick in the morning, when I see, a young man it just passed in my mind, I guess?" She tilted her head as asking for confirmation, rather cutesy Shirou thought. It seems natural for her.

Ah, he has been roped into the play of her. When Shirou asked a girl the direction of the town as it seems very far away and she offered to lead him, only found himself being handed a shovel and a request, driven by tears between the eyes. How powerless of him, facing such brunt damage that EA won't even able to match the output.

Nevertheless, Shirou being a good Samaritan he is, accepted the request and plowed the land.

"Don't worry, Shirou you're rather natural with plowing the land, I almost mistook you for an earth mate!"

He merely raised his eyebrows, being praised with his blade works was an ordinary thing for him, being worshipped of his cooking was another day for him.

But being praised over the same action, digging and filling a hole called as tilling? He never heard offer it. Granted maybe there's some heroic spirit, that been praised for their farming prowess, and they have some ridiculous noble phantasm that fired beam off their shovel. He shuddered how realistic it is.

Maybe being lived in here was such a blessing, that he could never have the chance no more, and to experience new things. The world offered him in a mere week, of what he never accomplished or felt in his old life.

Nonetheless, he just accepted the praise.

"Thank you, Shara," He raised a point, "What's an earth mate?"

"Oh, that one. I only heard them through tale grandpa told me and the book of course! I'm rather good with the book you know." She's sweating the small detail, before adding, "If I'm not mistaken, in the old-time they are the force of balance that restored the world and flourishing the land."

"You mean?"

"Ah, you know the stuff, they have some flashy magical thingy and transformed even the bleakest land into an oasis, and fertile land, I heard they got blessed with the rune or was it, Heavenly dragon?"

She tilted her head again, lost in her thought.

"So, they are a sort of magical farmer or something?"

Shara frowned, a finger touching her temple in deep thought, "Calling them with such is a bit…" Then her smile returned, with another giggling, "But I guess it doesn't matter, I think you're correct if being blunt. Although they're rare nowadays, since…since…" She fell in the same pattern again.

So, they are basically, the agent of Gaia or at least the planet? She mentioned, their duty was to safeguard the land, and flourish it. Shirou thought.

It could be they are just wizards that had a great affinity with nature, or the earth that is and had a contract with the planet itself. But then again this is a different world.

Magic was still magecraft here, albeit with more safer procedures and less side effect than his old counterparts. The land was flourishing with mana everywhere, they called it as rune here, the manifestation of nature.

Only the gifted few could utilize them, witches, elves, monsters, few extra ordinaries scholar, and these earth mates. Dwarves are not a great magician, but they channel the mana through their craftmanship instead, imbuing weapons and tools with magical property, although it's not exclusively to dwarf only.

He still didn't search deeper, not enough information or sources to reach a conclusion and agreement. This was his nature, being combat-ready was like a second function for him after breathing.

Though their muse was broken by a growl, they tilted their head, searching the sources until it could be heard again.

Shara for the first time, smeared in a pink hue as she lightly clutched her stomach.

"…Let's go, Shirou…I have prepared lunch for us."

She awkwardly tried to walk after him to the shaded hut, hiding her pink hues. Shirou could only smile behind her.

"Oh, before that, here's your reward, thanks for helping. If you wanted to help people or put a request you can use the request board in the center of the town, they are rather handy."

He grew to like this town more, and more.

Shara handed him a seed, a rather big seed, it fitted his two fingers. It was painted like an Easter egg, with a rune marking sprayed the surface.

Shirou raised his eyebrow at her, receiving the seed.

"Oh, you don't know that." Sensing his questioning gaze, share further to explain, "It's a magical seed, though this one was not for be planted to grow but to fight."

His eyebrows were raised again that it could fall off his temple.

"This particular seed, if you throw it to the ground, it'll become a shield, a sentient one and it will follow you and protect you of course. As a pet, but it doesn't need maintenance, be wary though if you lost them, you need to pay for a new one." Shara finished with her brand of giggling.

"I see," Shirou merely staring at the seed, in curiosity.

It could be handy, he didn't have many noble phantasms of the shield, even if there's one, they are prana exhausting and the impenetrable one required great sacrifice to expend or plain impossible if its divine in origin.

He could test the seed later.

"Here's Shirou, your share of lunch. Eat them before they got cold."

Shara handed a box of lunch when he opened it only to found a salad of…flowers, yes, flowers. A lot of colorful flowers were dressed in Yogurt he presumed. How could this be cold, is it a mere figure of speech, he couldn't comprehend.

Yes, flowers are in fact are edible, and he ate a fair share of them when wondering the world as 'justice' but he never to go for the main staple.

He glanced a bit to his companion, she's rather happy with the flower she ate. Squirming in delight of her salad, "Hurry up Shirou, or I will eat your share!" She teased him with a giggle.

A new world, peculiar people, peculiar food, new experience indeed.

He dug in his container, as they stared together at the bright horizon, the Sharance Great tree towering the town with cloud playing and sometimes touching its highest peak.

And a pink, ripe, fleshy flower soon started to grow faintly on it.