CH 96

Chapter 96 – We Received Precious Beans!

Solm, who was ahead of us, went through the gate of the fortress.

Unlike the rest of the settlement that we had walked through, here, there were rows of sturdy warehouses made of stone.

Over a hundred people lived in this visible area alone.

And unlike the settlement, it seemed that the people here were mostly wounded or ill.

Upon seeing this, Melk quickly took out her staff and approached them.

It was the recovery staff that I had made. Melk would help to treat them.

One old man tilted his head with a puzzled expression when Melk walked up to him.

“What is it, little lady?”

“Leave this to me.”

Melk directed her staff at the old man’s wounded arm and unleashed her healing magic.

“Ohhh… The wound has closed up completely. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. This staff was made by Joshua.”

After that, Melk went around and healed the others as well.

Not only were the people overjoyed, but they were astonished by Melk’s healing magic. As it used a magic stone, it was very effective.

I also used my healing magic and helped treat the wounded.

As I worked, Solm began to sweat from his forehead.

“Sir Joshua… Your skill with healing magic has improved greatly.”

“Do you think so? It is just Heal. I can only use basic magic, outside of production magic.”

“…Heal? I do not know a lot about magic myself, but I thought you were using more high-ranking magic.”

Solm said as he tilted his head to the side.

Some of the people who I treated not only had their wounds healed, but their broken bones as well. Indeed, Heal was not supposed to repair broken bones.

“Well, I’m not sure. I suppose it’s because my magic energy has increased.”

“Is that so? It is astonishing. Though, I always believed you were the best production magician of your generation.”

“Stop that. It’s embarrassing…”

Solm would always say such things.

It did not feel bad to have my work praised, but he said it with such a serious expression.

On the other hand, Melk was also being praised by those around her. To me, she seemed much better at using magic than me. Part of it would be because of the staff, but she also had the right qualities as well.

Just as we finished treating everyone, the people who had been attacked by monsters earlier, arrived at the fortress gate.

They were pushing the cart that I had repaired earlier, only there was a wooden box on it now.

The girl that Iria had saved in the nick of time looked surprised when she saw us.

“Huh? You didn’t go inside yet?”

“We were treating the sick and wounded. Because Sir Joshua and Ms. Melk can use magic.”

“It’s true! Grandpa’s arm is completely healed!”

So the girl was the old man’s granddaughter.

And then the young man who guided us here said,

“You really can do anything. We wanted to give you something to show our gratitude. That being said, this is the only thing we could prepare.”

And then the man showed us what was inside of the box.

Iria looked inside with a curious expression.

“Are they…beans?”

“Aye. They look like soybeans at a glance… But this magic energy… They are magibeans!”

Magibeans were beans that were grown in the Demon King’s territories.

In terms of appearance and taste, they were similar to soybeans.

However, just like the Demon King turnips we planted in the fields of Fendel, these were crops that the Demon King had created through selective breeding. They absorbed the magic energy in the atmosphere and grew three times as fast as ordinary beans.

However, growing quickly was not the only thing that made them different.

Aside from using magic energy to grow, they were also able to store it within the beans and leaves.

And so anyone who ate the beans and leaves would be able to increase their magic energy for a short time.

They were often used as ingredients in medicine and potions.

The man nodded.

“I thought it would be useful, since you use production magic. You make potions, don’t you? I used to grow soybeans in the south, but it wasn’t enough to live off of. And so we started to grow more expensive crops.”

As they grew faster, it was cheaper than soybeans… One might assume this, but it was not the case. Because if they grew too close together, they would not be able to receive enough magic energy, and they would die. And so you actually needed ten times as much land than normal soybeans when growing them.

That made them more susceptible to insects and wild birds, and you also had to get rid of the weeds. And so it was a lot of work to grow them.

Because of this, they were sold for more than ten times the price of normal beans.

I asked the man.

“You are really going to give us something this valuable? You could make a field and plant them.”

“There is so much forest all around us. If we wait for the land to be cultivated, the beans will rot. You can use them as you like, whether it’s to eat or use as medicine.”

“Thank you… We will grow them with care in the village. And if they grow, I will give you back the same amount.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. You saved our lives, after all. And we are truly grateful.”

The men bowed their heads deeply, and then they returned to the settlement in order to eat dinner.

I looked at the box of beans we had received and said,

“This is a great gift. I heard that it’s not just the beans, but the leaves are delicious as well.”

“The Mopes will be overjoyed!”

“I will ask Ecleshia to grow them. They will surely grow quickly.”

Iria and Melk were very happy as well.

“Indeed… Hmm?”

When I put the beans into magic workshop, I noticed Solm was looking at me with a calm expression. But he also looked a little sad.

“Hmm? What is it, Solm?”

“No… I was just thinking about what a waste it was… What the captain did. In any case, let us go and eat.”

And so we followed Solm and his knights into the house.