『Emperor Treant? Yeah, I know about it. You can look up monster info on the internet, can’t you?』
『I figured it’d be faster to ask you, Hime』
『If you don’t make a habit of looking things up yourself, you won’t learn』
Hime offered a word of caution.
She wasn’t wrong, but logging in to the Dungeon Bureau’s website was a hassle, and most general info sites were filled with annoying ads, so looking things up on my phone was a pain.
『Around here, you’ll find one on the 45th floor of the Wakakusa Mountain Dungeon』
Wakakusa Mountain Dungeon, huh.
The Elder Treant was there too, so that makes sense.
I’m diving into a dungeon with Hime tomorrow, so if I go, it’ll have to be the day after.
『Did Mai ask you?』
『Yeah. She said she wanted some Elder Treant seeds』
『I see. In that case, let’s go together tomorrow. Invite Ayame and Milk too』
『Are you sure?』
I’d promised to spend the whole day diving into a dungeon with Hime tomorrow.
『Yes. I’ve been getting tons of comments from people wanting to see the Team Messiah’s stream again. So let’s stream from Wakakusa Mountain Dungeon. We can have our time together another day』
It was true we hadn’t streamed with all four members in a while.
Hime’s goal of becoming the world’s number one explorer wasn’t just about the exchange value on her status, but also about skill and recognition.
She couldn’t neglect streaming.
-0-
「So, after school tomorrow, I’m heading to Wakakusa Mountain Dungeon」
「‘So’….wait, were you using telepathy?」
Mizuno-san figured it out right away.
Then Mizuno-san’s younger brother and sister came home.
「Ah, donut onii-chan!」
「Donut onii-chan, hello!」
Mizuno-san’s younger siblings had come home.
「Hello. Here, donuts」
「「Thank you!」」
The two of them said their thanks in unison.
「You can only have one since we’re having dinner later. And wash your hands and gargle before eating」
「「Okaaay!」」
The two of them ran off, holding the donut box over their heads.
I was glad I’d bought them.
The Mizuno family should be well-off, but maybe they don’t buy snacks often.
「Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to give you, Ichino-kun」
「For me?」
「Yeah. Vegetables from our farm」
Mizuno-san brought out a large assortment of vegetables.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, regular cabbage… quite a variety.
Chinese cabbage and cabbage I understood, but tomatoes and cucumbers were summer vegetables, right?
Were they using greenhouse cultivation?
There were also chili peppers, pickled scallions… and, what was this?
Leaves?
Black berries?
「That’s a spice for curry. I’m growing it in the miniature farm I got from Tuna-chan」
「From Tuna?」
The miniature farm was a magic item that let you grow vegetables and such inside a miniature world.
I’d gotten it to secure curry spices for when we returned to the elf world, but why was Mizuno-san the one using it?
「Well, Tuna-chan’s busy, right? So I’m growing them for her」
Tuna might only eat curry at home, but she was actually quite busy.
She met with VIPs both in Japan and overseas, did commercial shoots, and appeared on TV.
She’d even mentioned she was going to appear on ‘Tetsu〇’s Room’.
The miniature farm cut out most of the work of tending the crops, but you still had to handle things like harvesting, so it wasn’t completely hands-off.
「Thanks to that, our home garden is looking neat again, so it works out well」
I see, they had a win-win arrangement.
「By the way, what happened to the fish tank and chicken coop?」
「Those are being used in the miniature ranch. I moved everyone inside」
The miniature ranch, huh.
At first, there’d been talk about using it for the Oshino Group’s hotels, but that plan fell through.
Apparently, the beef served at Oshino Group hotels had to have proper documentation of its origin and breed. Even if it came from a dungeon, they wanted to be able to list which dungeon and which monster it came from.
In that case, the origin of the ranch’s livestock would be complicated to certify, so Hime said she didn’t need it.
She didn’t seem very interested in hotel management anyway.
So now, Mizuno-san was the one managing it.
The miniature ranch was in the next room.
Looking closely, chickens smaller than a grain of rice roamed freely inside, and in the pond, even smaller fish swam around.
There were also blocky, Lego-like dolls tending to the animals, cows included.
So it could manage not just cattle, but also fish and chickens.
Wait, could animals from this world be brought in too?
The miniature garden farm could grow seeds from this world, so maybe the only difference was between plants and animals.
At first, I felt a little sorry for the chickens confined to such a tiny world, but thinking about it, they were probably happier roaming freely in the spacious miniature garden than being crammed into a small coop.
And next to it was the miniature garden farm.
Various vegetables were planted there.
「Is that a rice paddy?」
「Yeah. Remember how rice was expensive last year? It’s stable now, but I think the price will go up again. So I figured I should grow some here in advance…」
「Didn’t you say you applied for a year’s supply of rice through the hometown tax program?」
「Yeah. But it’s better to be prepared. If it’s brown rice, it can be stored too」
I see.
…Wait, what? Looking closely, there was a huge tree growing here.
Was it… moving?
「Mizuno-san, is this alive?」
「Yeah. It’s an Elder Treant」
Apparently, when Mizuno-san asked Kisaichi-kun to bring plant seeds into the miniature garden farm, he had also put one of his chestnuts in there.
Well, a chestnut was basically a seed, so…
It wasn’t exactly wrong, but,
Still, the detailed appraisal had said that Kisaichi-kun’s chestnuts normally didn’t germinate.
Who would have thought they would sprout in the miniature garden farm?
And not only sprout, but grow as well.
「It won’t cause any trouble since we’re raising it properly. And Kisaichi-kun told me through writing that it won’t cause trouble when it’s this small」
「I see. So… the one who needs the Emperor Treant seeds is you?」
「Yeah. I thought I might as well grow it here. Then we could mass-produce equipment and tools made from Emperor Treant wood, right?」
Oh… the crafting specialist of Tenka Musou had just come up with something outrageous.
Leave a Reply