「Are these tomatoes really from here?」
The tomatoes in question shimmered like crimson jewels. Their plump flesh seemed ready to burst, barely able to contain the juicy jelly inside. Their vibrant appearance made it hard to resist the urge to sink one’s teeth into it right away.
More than half of the field was still overgrown and disrepaired, yet amidst the mess, the tomatoes stood out, their vivid red radiance almost unnatural.
「Look at this lettuce! It’s firm as a rock!」
Grandpa, who had ended up helping with the harvest, brought over a large, perfectly grown head of lettuce.
It wasn’t just firm—it was packed so densely that for a moment, I mistook it for a cabbage.
The cucumbers, though not quite ready for harvesting yet, would soon be ripe as well.
It had been less than a month since we started tending to the field. I never imagined we’d already be harvesting crops by now.
Could it be thanks to Dori’s magic spell?
「Papa!」
Dori came running over with her arms full of flowers, all in full bloom. She was so radiant that it was hard to tell which was more beautiful—the flowers or her smile.
When I explained that we’d be making bouquets, she eagerly set about picking flowers. In no time, the flower beds were empty, reduced once more to bare soil.
「We’ll have to buy more flower seeds, won’t we?」
Perhaps it was time to expand into a proper flower garden, planting a wider variety of blooms.
By midday, we’d finished harvesting. We packed the vegetables and the small bouquets Grandma had crafted into the car and headed off to the Explorers’ Guild.
The old minivan we used had once belonged to Grandpa when he was actively farming. The interior showed its age, with grime and a musty scent clinging to it.
The bumpy ride made the car shake and sway, but Dori seemed to be enjoying it like an amusement park attraction.
After a little over an hour of driving, we arrived at the Explorers’ Guild.
This time, we used a cart to transport the large quantity of vegetables and bouquets. Dori helped by carrying some of the bouquets, but honestly, her charm outshone even the flowers she held.
When we stepped inside, the guild was bustling with activity for some reason.
「Where did this magic stone shipment come from?」
「These are from the Kansai branch!」
「And these are from the Shikoku branch!」
The staff were rushing around, clearly overwhelmed. Even the number of explorers present seemed far greater than usual.
「Naoki-san!」
The receptionist who had helped me submit my request yesterday noticed us and came rushing over.
「Ano, I apologize for the trouble we’ve caused—」
「Your promotion helped us a lot!」
「…Excuse me?」
Apparently, thanks to that request, a large number of magic stones had been delivered to this guild. It seemed that the guild earned a portion of the profits by selling them directly to companies.
The staff working at this guild, which didn’t receive much traffic, earned lower wages compared to those at other branches.
「This might even mean bigger bonuses for us.」
I had thought I was causing trouble, but knowing it had actually benefited the guild lifted some of the weight off my shoulders.
「If it’s alright, could you hand out these bouquets to the explorers who helped? Also, we harvested some vegetables, so feel free to enjoy them here in the guild.」
「Wait—are these tomatoes and lettuce?」
While it was just tomatoes and lettuce, their unusually large size caught the attention of everyone nearby, including the explorers.
「These are the first vegetables I’ve grown, so they’re not really at a level where I could sell them yet…」
Even though we’d successfully grown the vegetables, I hadn’t figured out how to sell them. Packaging, pricing—none of it had been decided. For now, it would likely start with small-scale direct sales, either from home or at a local farmer’s market.
「Excuse me, may I have some of those vegetables? I’d love to take two of each, if possible.」
The speaker was a well-dressed woman, unusually refined compared to most explorers.
Ah, she looked like one of those ageless beauties you see on TV—the so-called *beautiful witch*.
「Wait, you eat vegetables, Lady-sama!?」
「How rude! Even this “Lady.of.Decay” eats vegetables, thank you very much!」
I placed two tomatoes and two heads of lettuce into the bag she had brought.
「If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them later.」
「Thank you. I always support you.」
Hnn?
I couldn’t recall doing anything worth supporting at the Explorers’ Guild…
After that, we distributed the vegetables to the guild staff and explorers and headed home.
Oh, no—I forgot to pick up the magic stones.
♢
-Lady of Decay’s POV-
「What’s the *Iron-Walled Saintess* doing in a place like this?」
「Lady-san!」
It seemed she had been quietly hiding in the shadows, watching Papa and the dryad, Dori, as they live-streamed their “Farm Diary.”
She was an S-rank explorer like me and well-known in the field. She had earned a certain nickname in the explorers’ circles.
However, contrary to her intimidating title, she had a surprisingly shy personality.
The gap between her usual demeanor and the fierce, almost otherworldly presence she exuded in battle had earned her the moniker. The first time I saw her fight, I genuinely thought I was going to die.
「I brought your share as well.」
I handed the bag of tomatoes and lettuce to her, and she smiled with delight.
She was quite the eccentric, having come all the way to this town’s guild just to personally deliver the magic stones.
Apparently, she was quite the fan of the dryad, Dori.
As for me, I leaned more towards supporting Papa. I couldn’t help but hope he’d get along well with the male partner he’d eventually settle down with.
「Hehehe, these are Dori-chan’s veggies!」
Technically, it wasn’t the dryad, but the tamer—Papa—who had grown the vegetables.
「Still, don’t you think there’s something unusual about these vegetables?」
「The vegetables? Hmm… Oh, I see. They’re imbued with magic power.」
「A lower-ranked explorer might not notice, but you picked up on it, didn’t you?」
Typically, ingredients imbued with magic power could only be found inside dungeons.
Even as dungeon drops, such items were incredibly rare—so rare, in fact, that high magic power monster meat had once sold for enough to buy an entire house.
While there had been past experiments attempting to grow crops inside dungeons, all had ended in failure.
The idea of acquiring magically imbued food was generally considered impossible.
Yet, here in front of us were vegetables with magic power.
Even we, as S-rank explorers, couldn’t hide our astonishment at the revelation.
「Vegetables that heal injuries and illnesses when eaten… If it becomes known that such vegetables can be cultivated, it’ll change the lives of Papa and the others forever.」
The magic power within them was faint enough that most wouldn’t notice. However, eating them consistently would surely bring about some kind of change.
For a magic caster like me, who manipulates spells using magic stones, being able to store magic power in my body would revolutionize my combat abilities.
「I’ll give these to a friend of mine who’s an appraiser and have them check just how much magic power they contain.」
She said that, but her eyes kept darting to my bag.
It was clear how much she truly cared about those people.
「Fine, I’ll give you my share of lettuce.」
「Hehehe, thank you, Lady-san!」
Her straightforwardness was part of her charm. Honestly, she should just take the plunge and go visit Dori and the others directly.
「Alright then, I’ll—」
「Lady-san, please take this as a thank-you!」
She handed me two A-rank magic stones, likely prepared in advance for the dryad’s sake.
「I’ll make good use of these as a magic caster, don’t you worry.」
None of the people here likely realized that those vegetables could someday surpass the value of these magic stones.
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