Chapter 49.2. Production
After riding on shadow tiger-chan, we arrived at the field. The ground had been cleared, and the soil turned over. Small stones had piled up like a mountain, and tree stumps were being pulled out by horses. There were already furrows prepared, and many people were attempting to plant potatoes. They were using Core Store potatoes, chopping them into palm-sized pieces and placing them in baskets, fully prepared for planting.
“Alright then, Hana. Give your skill a try.”
Sakamori-san, who had dismounted Kageko-chan, received the potatoes from one of his subordinates and handed them to me. I nodded with determination and lifted my spirits. Even though the cut potato in my hand was a small fragment, it felt oddly heavy. I glanced at Toujin-san, trying to steal a look at him. His sharp, knife-like gaze remained unchanged, fixed on me with an inscrutable expression.
My heart pounded so loudly.
It’s as if to remind me that failure wasn’t an option.
Jun-chan had casually consumed skill level-up potions and stat boost potions, but I understood that the potions I received were rare. These potions weren’t meant for me to drink.
Until now, I had been observing the crowd from hiding, and I noticed that those with significant power had skill levels of 1. While there were many with skill level 0, those at level 1 were scarce. And the power of skill level 1 wasn’t something to be compared with 0. Skill level 1 allowed people to fully unleash their inherent abilities.
I had assumed that even with my knowledge in crafting, particularly in plants, I wouldn’t be much help at skill level 1. Yet, Sakimori-san choose me over others and gave me this chance. It was undoubtedly because he had high hopes for a bountiful harvest.
I carefully controlled my mana again, trying not to waste the potion.
[Plant Knowledge]
My mana activated, and I gained a partial understanding of the potato in my hand. It was a Baron Potato!
Not suitable for stew or curry, as it tends to disintegrate when cooked!
It didn’t seem very useful.
But I could vaguely comprehend how to cultivate it. The more I tried to deepen my understanding, the more I felt my mana depleting rapidly. It seemed that rather than consuming mana at a fixed rate, attempting to deepen my understanding caused it to be depleted faster.
I could now grasp that this potato was quite unusual.
“This isn’t a regular potato…”
“It’s something you can exchange at suspicious stores. Is it poisonous or something?”
He asked with his arms crossed, and I vigorously shook my head to deny that notion. It wasn’t poisonous.
“It’s filled with mana. Otherwise, it’s just a regular potato. But the sprouts are bad for the body.”
As unfamiliar knowledge flowed to me, my excitement grew, and my speech quickened. Perhaps my skill might prove to be useful after all.
“I’m glad it’s not poisonous. So, what happens when it’s filled with mana?”
“It grows exceptionally fast. When you plant and cut it before burying it, there’s a certain interval between plantings where mana interactions occur…”
I spoke aloud the knowledge that came to my head. I was enthusiastic, carried away by this remarkable discovery, and continued speaking until the next piece of knowledge made me falter.
“By planting them at regular intervals… Well, the harvest yield increases slightly. Probably by less than 10%… I’m sorry!”
The outcome wasn’t particularly impressive. I lowered my head and apologized. Even though I had leveled up my skill to skill 1, it seemed to have little significance. Tears welled up in my eyes as I felt a wave of frustration. I had been expecting a doubling of the harvest yield.
I thought I might not be useful or might get scolded, but Sakimori-san’s response surprised me.
“Well, that’s great. A 5% increase is a big deal. It means if you could harvest 100, now you can get 105, right? Or if it’s 1000, then 1050. If you use the increased portion as seed potatoes, it will grow even more. Well done, Hana.”
Sakimori-san praised me and affectionately patted my head with a kind smile.
“From 100 to 105…”
“That’s right. It could feed 5 extra people.”
Five more hungry people could eat…
“If we use them as seed potatoes, we can have even more…”
“That’s true. And the knowledge of how to cultivate them is there, right?”
Sakimori-san’s gentle words and the pat on the head filled me with a growing sense of joy. Yes, I could help feed hungry people. They might be children like us. They might be people who can’t secure food for themselves even on a day like today.
“Could I be useful?”
“Yeah, that’s right. So, teach us that planting method. You can boss those guys around for that.”
“Yes! Um, the interval for mana interaction to activate is when you’re planting it! That’s the unique feature of this magic potato.”
I enthusiastically began explaining. We had thought we might not be of much use and were just being protected by Sakimori-san, but it turned out we could make a difference.
The immediate impact might be small, but the potential for the future was significant. Smiling, I waited to explain it to the people who were eagerly waiting for us to start planting, full of hope for the future.
The result was that we both got overly enthusiastic and when we returned home exhausted and worn out, Jun-chan was in a similar state. We ended up laughing together.
But that’s a story for later in the evening.
