CH 196

I Asked About Weed Cultivation

“…We can discuss it in detail later.”

“Yes, thank you.”

And so it was decided that we should discuss Weed Cultivation at another time.

After that, we stopped Mr. Hannes, who seemed to want to hold a feast, and then we had a late dinner and got ready to sleep

Leo had played with the children and eaten some sausages that were prepared, and so she went off to the horse stables with a satisfied expression.

Thanks for everything today, Leo.

You really saved us.

“Wuff.”

I had only thanked her in my heart, but Leo barked once in reply as she left.

It really did feel like we had a connection. That made me happy.

“Excuse me. Oh, are you going to bed already?”

“Sebastian?”

Just as I had returned to my room and lay on the bed, Sebastian entered.

As for Sebastian, he would stay in another empty room in Mr. Hannes’s house.

Since there was only one room left, Sebastian, Phillip, and Johanna would share it. Though, not all at once, as Phillip and Johanna took turns keeping watch on the merchants.

It seemed that they didn’t really mind having men and women in the same room.

“What do you want at this hour?”

“I just remembered what we were talking about earlier. About Weed Cultivation.”

“Ah, I see.”

Sebastian was here to talk about Weed Cultivation, as we were unable to discuss it in front of Mr. Hannes.

I could tell by his expression that he was clearly very interested. He could not wait to hear what I had to say.

Sebastian seemed to really enjoy the acquiring of new knowledge.

“So, what is it that you wanted to ask me? I do not know a lot about the Gift…but I will tell you what I do know.”

“Well, you know a lot more than anyone else… Uh, I have a question with regards to Weed Cultivation…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“As the name implies, it’s a Gift that makes weeds grow. You put your hand on the ground…and the plant will grow from that spot.”

“…Indeed.”

Up until now, I had always placed my hand on the ground in the back garden when using Weed Cultivation.

Weeds…well, plants. So I had thought that it made sense that they should grow from the ground.

And yet something very unexpected had happened while fighting the orcs.

I was so desperate, and so I didn’t remember everything clearly. But I did my best to explain what had happened to Sebastian.

“On the orc’s body…near the chest. I placed my hand on it, and then Weed Cultivation was activated.”

“The orc… And then what happened?”

“As always, the weed I was thinking about…the herb, it began to grow. And this is that herb.”

“It looks the same as the herbs you’ve made before.”

I showed Sebastian the herbs that I had grown on the orc.

As it looked the same as any other herb, I believe the effect would also be the same.

However…I wasn’t sure I would want to eat something that came out of an orc’s body.

“…And what happened to that orc?”

“After Weed Cultivation was activated, it seemed like he died just as the plant started to grow. Though, I’m not sure about the precise moment…”

“Well, you were in the middle of a battle, so it cannot be helped. However…yes…”

“Can you tell me anything?”

Sebastian started to think about what he had heard.

Perhaps he had an idea?

“I am not sure, but… Weeds and plants absorb nutrients from the ground.”

“…Yes.”

To be precise, it was dirt, light, water and carbon dioxide, etcetera. But there was no point in saying that now.

Besides, he was right that it was from the dirt.

“Perhaps by using Weed Cultivation towards the orc, it…absorbed the nutrients…or energy…”

“From the orc… However, what about the garden that I always use Weed Cultivation in…?”

Up until now, I’ve made many herbs in the back garden with Weed Cultivation.

If it was necessary to absorb nutrients, and the equivalent energy was enough to kill an orc in an instant, then surely the soil in the garden would be barren by now.

However, there had been no signs of that. Besides, other plants and flowers that I hadn’t made were still growing there.

“I do not know how to explain that… Is it different with soil…or…hmm…maybe…”

“What is it?”

“When you used Weed Cultivation on the orc, the sun had already set?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps that was the reason then.”

“It was because it was night?”

But I had used Weed Cultivation in the garden after the sun went down before.

So I doubted there was a connection there…

“Because we know from research that plants require sunlight.”

That’s what I was thinking about earlier.

It didn’t have to be sunlight though. It could be a fluorescent light and that would be enough for photosynthesis.

In any case, that was necessary for plants to grow.

“Perhaps the orc hadn’t been under the light for long enough. While the soil in the garden is under the light all day.”

“The light…”

“Orcs generally live in the forest…and so they do not get much sun. And considering that they were brought here by carriage, they would not have had much opportunity to be bathed in sunlight.”

“…I see.”

But could something like exposure to sunlight really be related to it?

If the sunlight isn’t directly hitting the plants, then surely it has nothing to do with photosynthesis.

“The soil always absorbs light and stores its power. On the other hand, orcs do not get enough sun, and store little power. And so once the plant sucked in the nutrients after the sun had set, it lost all of its power… That is my guess.”

“I see…”

My own knowledge of plants made me disagree with Sebastian. However, this was a world of magic, and it likely had its own rules.

So perhaps in this world, plants didn’t get light directly from the sun, but sucked in the sun’s power that was stored in the ground, and that was how they grew…