Inox's eyes moved across the glowing bush now planted in the dirt. He turned his head to see Rosco's smiling face and brushed the dust off himself before standing up. "Actually..."
He paused for a moment, thinking about what to say. "They're plants I bought a few days ago from a merchant. Well, I actually bought the seeds, hahaha."
The head builder didn't find anything strange in the prince's words. "The aroma is certainly tempting. I suppose it's some kind of vegetable or fruit." He nodded to himself before returning to the house's construction.
Inox continued transplanting. On the first day, he finished moving all 20 plants: ten Grade 1 tomatoes, and ten Grade 1 carrots.
Once the builders left, Inox went to his cabin for dinner. As a pot of soup began to boil, he opened the system panel.
Name: Inox Stylish Sword Belzerg.
Profession: Divine Farmer.
Profession Level: Apprentice.
Available Seeds: 10 Grade 1 papayas, 10 random Grade 1 corn cobs.
Farmland: 1 Hectare.
"It's as if every new seed I plant gives me a version of the Party quest," he muttered to himself, looking at the 10 Grade 1 papaya seeds and the 10 random corn cobs sitting in his storage.
Watching the soup boil in the pot, he couldn't help but sigh. "In the end, no one triggered a random effect when we ate the random Grade 1 corn," Inox recalled.
After all, he had mixed the boiled corn kernels from the remaining nine cobs and divided them equally into the food containers. With this, he was much more certain of one of his theories.
The random effect of the cultivated vegetables or fruits either had a very low activation percentage, or perhaps to trigger it, one had to eat the entire cob—or maybe even all the cobs from the entire plant.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter right now," he mumbled before serving himself some soup in a large bowl and starting his dinner.
At the Adventurer's Guild tavern.
A tired-looking young man was quietly drinking from a glass of wine. Despite his calm demeanor and expressionless face, there were already several empty bottles piled up on the table where he sat alone.
He closed his eyes slowly, opened them again, and sighed. He bit his lower lip, staring at the spilled wine that had made the tabletop sticky. He focused his gaze on a small gold coin almost glued to the wood and simply smiled.
He stood up, turned around, and walked toward the tavern's exit.
"Excuse me!!!" a high-pitched voice called out, but the boy didn't stop. He figured they were calling someone else and kept walking.
"Ahem... Please." It wasn't until a few moments later that the boy finally stopped. Curious, he turned around to see who was calling out so close to him.
His eyes inevitably landed on a girl with black hair, a red robe, and a rather unique hat paired with an eyepatch. She smiled brightly, showing off her red lips.
"I read the flyer you put up... you're looking for party members, right?" the girl said before taking two steps forward. "My name is Megumin. Nice to meet you, umm..." the girl made a soft noise with her mouth.
"Kazuma. My name is Kazuma." He forced a soft smile. "We actually never put up a flyer looking for teammates, sorry," he apologized before turning away, but a delicate hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Slightly annoyed, he took a closer look at the girl. She was smiling. He watched her hand retract—a hand where the skin practically clung to the bones. The hollows in her cheeks, visible upon closer inspection, along with her dirty appearance, made him frown.
"I am an archwizard... I can—" Kazuma raised a hand to interrupt her. He stepped down hard, noticing out of the corner of his eye a group of people not too far away watching him and Megumin with smirks.
"I've lived long enough to recognize bullying when I see it, but," he paused, thinking about the last team fight they had against that Berserk Rider, "why don't you just kill them?"
The Japanese teen smiled contemptuously while shaking his head. He couldn't see straight and could barely keep his balance. Megumin stood frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times before she took a step back.
"I mean those idiots. Isn't that how it should be? Shouldn't we fight and defend ourselves? Why the... fuck do you cower and hide like a coward?" he spat, his voice growing softer and thicker at the same time.
A moment later, he let out a light burp. As if someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water over him, he opened his eyes wide and looked at the frightened mage. He opened his mouth, then looked away. "I'm sorry..." he muttered.
"Here, it's not much, just ten thousand Eris. Buy something to eat and take a bath," he mumbled. He then glanced at that group of adventurers, looked down at himself, looked at the girl's sparkling eyes as she marveled at the money, and finally walked toward those guys.
The next day.
Knock Knock
A sound, a bit earlier than usual, reached his door. Inox, who had been dragging the heavy pot holding the living Grade 2 Watermelon, snapped his head up. He focused on the front door, dusted off his hands, and walked over to open it.
Once he saw the person outside, he let out an "Oh!" followed by a smile.
"Lady Aqua, it's nice to have you at the house so early." He offered a gentle greeting, extending his right hand, but the blue-haired girl simply took a step forward.
"Have you seen Kazuma?!" she asked, almost too quickly. Her bright eyes contrasted with the morning light. "I... well, he didn't come back last night. Usually, we go grab some milk at the tavern in the mornings, so..." She fiddled with her hands while staring at the floor.
The prince licked his lips, quickly patting the goddess on the head with a smile. "Actually, I just woke up and haven't seen him. How about we go look for him?"
Aqua looked at him, frowning as she tilted her head. She opened her mouth slightly to say something but then shook her thoughts away, the corners of her lips turning up as she nodded.
He quickly left his property and guided Aqua through the city. At that hour of the morning, with the sun just barely rising, the streets were almost completely deserted. The chill of the night still lingered in the air.
Inox focused his gaze on the city. Although simple, it was incredibly beautiful: cobblestone streets made of varying-sized stones that somehow formed a smooth path, a canal of clear water winding through different parts of the town, houses boasting an antique charm, and the morning sun dyeing the world in hues of yellow.
Inox blinked, a smile forming on his face. And even though Aqua didn't share his calm demeanor, she still slowed her pace to take in Axel City.
The city itself wasn't too large, so after an hour, they finally found Kazuma near a small slope not too far away.
The goddess's eyes lit up. Her left hand, which had been tightly gripping Inox's right forearm, let go. She yelled, "Kazuma, you idiot!!" before sprinting toward the boy lying in the grass.
Inox watched this calmly before quickly zeroing in on a group of people not too far from them. Although they were well hidden behind a house and only their eyes were barely visible, his high perception allowed him to spot them easily.
He made no sudden movements to give them away; instead, he simply followed Aqua at a brisk pace, without breaking into a run.
From a distance, he could see Kazuma's condition: broken bones, dislocated limbs. His clothes had been torn in a few places, there were signs of a struggle around his neck, and patches of his hair had been dyed white.
He raised an eyebrow at the scene but continued forward with a brisk, steady step. "Could this be some kind of payback?" he couldn't help but wonder.
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