Translator: P411

Editor: PalenMisha

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 053 – Conditions for the Quest?

There was a paper with [ Closed Now ] pasted on the signboard of the plantation. 

I could see a glimpse of trees planted in an orchard-like arrangement on the other side of the fence.

I see. So Sette’s plantation was like an orchard. It’s the first time for me, so it’s kind of a refreshing sight to see.

“Excuse me~”

For now, I called out from outside to see if anyone was there. 

“Excuse me~”

“What? I don’t have anything for you to see!”

All of a sudden, I was yelled at by an angry voice from inside. 

When I peeked through the fence, a man with a red face was glaring at me. 

He was holding what looked like a bottle of alcohol in his hand. 

“I heard this place was closed, so I came to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“What’s the point in helping at this point in time…? You abandoned me when I was in trouble.”

He spit and babbled drunkenly. 

It was because the players ignored the quest.

Just as I expected, if someone didn’t accept the quest, it would proceed as it was. 

And also about the conditions for the quest to happen, if someone was able to clear it, they might know the conditions for it. I was curious about it, so I would search for it on the net later. 

“…I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you when you were in need of help. I live in Tre, and–”

“Tre…? What business does a foreigner from Tre have with me?”

It’s not working. He completely closed his heart. 

I didn’t think I could enter the plantation, let alone look at the situation inside. 

I wondered if I could peek inside from here. Then, I observed the trees through the fence. Would ‘Appraisal’ work?

[ Meile Tree 【Growth Inhibition Disease】: It bears sweet, round, red fruit, but the trunk is in a diseased state right now, so it can’t be harvested at the moment. ]

[ Aranne Tree 【Growth Inhibition Disease】: It bears sweet, round, orange-colored fruit, but the trunk is in a diseased state right now, so it can’t be harvested at the moment. ]

[ Piera Tree 【Growth Inhibition Disease】: It bears sweet, slender, cream-colored fruit, but the trunk is in a diseased state right now, so it can’t be harvested at the moment. ] 

Alright, I’ve somehow managed to appraise them. 

But the conditions here were different from Kyle-san’s plantation. 

Growth Inhibition Disease? What’s that? I wondered if I could find a recipe for this disease condition. 

While being glared at by the owner, I started looking for recipes that would work for this condition. There’re so many recipes, so it’s quite hard to find one. 

No matter how much I thought of it, the recipe was definitely from the pharmacist’s job. 

“Uhm, growth inhibition, growth inhibition…”

While I was talking to myself searching for the recipe, the owner with surprised eyes came to me. 

“You know what growth inhibition is…?”

“It’s a bit of a gamble whether I can make a cure for this or not, but I more or less know about it.”

“Ohh…”

The owner dropped the alcohol bottle and covered his face with his hand.

“Please save my plantation… Please.”

“I’ll do as much as I can.”

A notification alarm for the arrival of the new quest appeared in the quest column. I opened the quest column while browsing the recipe. 

[【NEW】 Save the Sette Plantation!

There was an outbreak of Growth Inhibition Disease on Sette’s plantation.

Currently in the third stage of disease progression. 

If it reaches the fourth stage, all the fruits will rot, and if you don’t burn the trees, there’s a risk that it’ll spread to the trees in the city. 

Let’s save the trees before it reaches the fourth stage. 

Time Limit: 2 days

Clear Reward: Meile fruit, Aranne fruit, Piera fruit, Recipe, ???

Quest Failure: Growth Inhibition Disease progresses to the fourth stage. Complete extinction of Sette plantation.]

This must mean that at the time the first quest appeared from this plantation, the disease progress must have been only at the initial stage. 

I wondered if there was a pharmacist who could’ve cleared this quest at that time. Let’s assume there were players who possessed abilities to clear the quest, but instead chose to ignore it, the result was the closure of the plantation and the owner here went into a rage.

Somehow, I’m starting to have a hunch that this is what’s gonna happen when the conditions for quest occurrence are met. 

And the extinction of this plantation? There was this bit about ‘if you don’t burn the trees, there’s a risk that it’ll spread to the trees in the city’ written in the quest content, so I guessed it literally meant I had to burn down all the trees to get rid of the plantation. This is really terrible. 

Even as I was thinking, my hands and eyes were desperately searching for the recipe. 

Then, when I was near the end of this huge collection of recipes, I finally found [ A Cure for Growth Inhibition Disease ] 

“…I found it. As expected of Kyle-san’s grandfather.”

I was sure it was buried underneath the piles of recipe books. To be honest, I didn’t expect there would be a recipe for fruit-type trees as there weren’t fruit trees in Tre city’s plantation. But thank goodness. 

I opened the recipe without delay and checked the materials. 

“Evening primrose, cure potion, medicinal herb, aranne fruit, sasara herb, a stem of tsutsukira herb.”¹

I didn’t have aranne fruit, sasara herb, or a stem of tsutsukira herb in my hands. How should I put it, I’d never seen or heard of them and they weren’t seen around Tre. 

I hoped they were herbs that were naturally growing around here. 

Then, I did a search at the corners of the plantation. Just inside the fence, I found tsutsukira herbs. But what’s the stem? 

“Excuse me, that tsutsukira herb over there, does it have a stem?”

“You can’t get a stem of that herb at this time of year.”

“Eh?! I can’t get it?!”

Hearing the owner’s words and knowing the information, my shoulders slumped with disappointment. What should I do now? I can’t make it without them. 

“Do you need them?”

“Yes, I need them at all costs.” 

“Then, wait a minute.”

After saying that, the owner approached the gate that was closed.

Then, the gate opened in front of me.

“Come in.”

He lifted his chin, signaling me to come inside.  

I stepped inside immediately. 

“I have them in a dried state in the warehouse. They are good nourishment to the tree when they are sprinkled on the field after drying, crushing, and mixing them with water. I’ve been harvesting them after they become stems.”

“I see. If possible, can you share them a little with me?” 

“Just how much do you need?”

“Erm, I can’t say for sure until I make them, but I need 3 of them for one potion.”

And I can’t tell just how much of one vial of potion can be used for how many trees until I actually make one. I’ve also never made it before because I didn’t have the necessary materials. 

But can I make it with a simple dispensing kit? Now, that’s the main problem. 

I followed the owner and entered a large warehouse. 

He told me to wait, so I waited, looking around the warehouse, and then, he brought a large container. 

Inside the container was a pile of cylindrical straws with a thickness of a finger, cut into 5 cm pieces. Hmm, so this was a stem of tsutsukira herb. 

“What else do you need?”

The owner, who was asking me curtly, seemed like he planned to help me. 

“The others are aranne fruit and sasara herb.”

“I’ve already harvested aranne fruit over there. For sasara herb, it grows on the banks of a lake, just outside the city, on the way to the mountain.”

“Thank you very much.”

It seemed like aranne fruit was the name of the orange-like fruit that I got from the inn lady a short while ago.

And there was a full container of them. But he regretfully said this was all he had right now even though this was time for harvest.

Certainly, looking at all the trees earlier, they were bearing lots of fruit. But because they had a disease, he said he couldn’t harvest them. 

But if we left them as it was, they would rot and end up becoming something that could harm other plants. It’s a tricky situation. 

While checking the aranne fruit, I opened the chat column. 

I send a message to Yuuta. 

[ I’ve been asked to run an errand. ]

Not long after I sent him a message, I received a reply from him. 

[ Is it for material collection? I’m with the [ Mad Ride ] party, so I’ll bring you anything you want right now. Even materials from strong monsters. ] 

“You’re a lifesaver.”

I hastily let out my voice.

Harpon-san also had ‘Appraisal’ skill, so there’s no way he would make a mistake. 

[ I want you to bring me a herb called sasara herb that is growing on the bank of a lake, towards the way to the mountain, outside the city. And I need quite a lot of them. ]

[ Alright. It’s sasara herb, right? Was there a lake around there? ]

I’m a little worried seeing his reply. 

I looked up and asked the owner that was staring at me. 

“Is there a map to the lake?”

“Wait.”

Even with a sullen face, he quickly started searching. 

He went into the back room and came out immediately. 

Then, he presented me with a map to the lake. 

I quickly took a screenshot and attached the image to the chat. 

“Thank you.”

“What else do you need now?” 

“It’s alright for now.”

“Ok.”

Then, again, the owner stood a short distance away from me and was looking at me. 

I guess he’s still wary of me. Good grief, people, don’t just ignore a request. It’s because they’re in trouble that they put out a request.  

As I was complaining in my mind, a reply came from Yuuta.

[ It was a road we never knew. But when we look at the map, suddenly we’re able to go there. Big thanks! We’ll go there right away. ] 

[ Come to the plantation when you’ve got them ASAP. ] 

[ Yes, sir! ]

Alright, with this I don’t have to worry about getting sasara herb. 

I think I have to do what I can first. 

I took a seat in front of the table, which I was allowed to use, and arranged the materials one by one. 

I’ll just use the highest-grade quality medicinal herbs and evening primrose from Kyle-san’s plantation with no regret. And of course, an S-rank cure potion.  

I should say, just as I expected, all the materials from the plantation and their conditions were superb. 

And next, I took out the simple dispensing kit that I always carry with me and assembled it on the table.  

I opened the recipe and started grinding the herbs first. 

I didn’t know how many trees there were, but I should think of them all in the diseased state, as some time had already passed. Otherwise, the owner wouldn’t get drunk and babble drunkenly in such a place.  

“How many trees are there in total?”

“67”

I thanked the owner, who immediately gave me an answer, and quickened my pace. 

While I was earnestly grinding the herbs, the owner kept staring at me without moving an inch.