Translator: P411

Editor: Shizukuku

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 081 – Please Don’t Raise That Red Flag!

Anyway, I decided to hit the library and the farm once I arrived in the desert city. 

I’ve always used Tre’s library, but this was actually my first time going to the library of the desert city. 

I wondered if I could find anything related to the ancient magic language…

Feeling excited, I stepped into the library. 

“There are no books written in the ancient magic language in this library,” said the librarian at the entrance when I asked about the book. I was totally dejected. 

The library in each town had a large collection of books, so I always asked the librarian at the entrance about the book I wanted to see. Mainly because they could easily pinpoint the book’s location. 

Looking at my shoulders slumped with disappointment, the librarian looked genuinely sorry and apologized. No, no, this isn’t your fault, librarian-san. 

“Books written in the ancient language are very valuable, and there aren’t a lot of people who can read the language these days. But if you go to Sei’s castle town library, I’m sure they’re available. If you have plans to go there, please make the best use of it. However, they are placed in a section where you can’t take them out, so you can only read them at the library.”

“Yes! Thank you! I’ll definitely go there!”

Perhaps he felt really sorry looking at my pitiful state because he gave me such great news. Wow, such a nice guy. I wondered if he had all that library information from another city in his head. Librarian-san is amazing!

I quickly asked about the books with pharmacist recipes, browsed those shelves for a while with my speed reading skill, and, after gaining a few more recipes, I left the library. My speed reading skill really came in handy here, too. 

Next stop was the farm. Actually, it was my first time here too. I had never taken the time to leisurely look around the desert city before. 

As I continued on my way to the farm, admiring the sights along the way, I finally reached the corner of the city where the farm was located.

“Hello—”

“Welcome.”

When I called out, a dark-skinned gentleman, who seemed to be the owner of this farm, came out to greet me with a bright smile. The desert city indeed. The color of his skin was impressive. 

“Do you need anything?”

“Yes, can I take a look around the farm?”

“Of course, you can.”

Enthusiastically telling me to come in, the owner who showed me around the farm had a really well-built body, no matter how I looked at it. I mean, everyone in the farming industry had a strongly built body. Such beefiness. I was sure it was because of all the physical work.

I followed him to the back of the field, where I found a plot of land filled with cacti. I wondered if they could be used for something. The cacti growing here had the same basic shape as those growing near the city, but their sizes were completely different. It might be that the ones near the city could also be used as ingredients. 

“My pride and joy are the Vinticacti growing over there. The thicker and rounder ones are Vinticacti and the ones with more branches are Cactus. Vinticactus has edible fruit at the top of its stem, and both the stem and roots can also be eaten. You can roast it or, if you boil it, the insides melt and it truly becomes a delicacy. The seeds are soft, so they can be eaten as is or squeezed to make juice. They even grow in places where there’s no water, so they are very much appreciated as emergency food. Although it’s not the season yet, the flowers that blooms are quite beautiful. There are various colors like pale pink, white, and yellow. They are also very popular as ornamental plants.”

“So they are edible.”

The owner thoroughly explained them to me. Edible for food. I have to buy them for sure. 

The size, texture, and luster of the cacti growing inside and outside the farm were completely different. I bet this one tasted better too. I had never eaten cactus before, but maybe I should try some just to compare it with the cacti growing outside. 

Feeling excited, I followed the owner. 

“The roots of this cactus are really effective against stomach ache, diarrhea, headache, and fever. You can drink it by steeping it in water, and you can squeeze either the fruit or its body to drink its juice. You can cut the stem into thin slices and apply it to injuries or bruises, and it’ll give quick, scar-free healing. Of course, you can eat this one too. The thorns are a little bit dangerous but they’ll disappear if you burn them, so just sear the surface once and they become easy to handle.”

“I see. This one is for medicinal use. I want it.”

He was smiling the whole time he was explaining, so those smiles caught me as well. 

“Is there anything else you want?”

“Both Cactus and Vinticactus, please sell them to me.”

“Thank you. From the looks of it, I’d guess you’re a pharmacist, but herbs and evening primrose don’t grow well in this climate, so I don’t have them.”

“I bought them at Kyle-san’s place so it’s fine.”

“I see, from Kyle’s place.”

He narrowed his eyes after saying that. Oh wait, I forgot that Kyle-san had told me to introduce myself. 

It’s a bit late for that now, but should I introduce myself?

All the farms were backing me up, so I should at least say thank you.

“Um, I’m Mac. I just heard from Kyle-san that all the farms are supporting me, so I want to say thank you.”

As soon as I said that, the owner had a surprised face, and then broke into an even bigger smile. All his smiles before now couldn’t compare to this one. 

“I see,” he murmured, then he took my right hand and squeezed it tight with both hands. 

“I see, so you’re Mac-kun. I really appreciated your help with Kyle’s and Tream’s farms. All of us farmers are very grateful. There’s a rule that only one farm can be built in each town, so if Tream’s farm had to shut down, even temporarily, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with herb cultivation. The herbs growing outside in the wild have become less and less effective in recent years. And the fact that one farm already had to close down once has caused healing medicine to be unavailable on the market. Not only that, but those aristocrats that were buying up the few potions that were still available and offering them to the royal palace might also be one of the reasons.”

“So that’s why Crash had to personally drive that carriage to Sette. But why are those aristocrats buying up potions and offering them to the king? Are they trying to earn his favor or something?”

“Well, it seemed like they rushed to get their hands on the healing medicine first. Moreover, they tried the same strategy in other places, so it was not only this area, but the entire region that was running out of recovery medicine.”

I didn’t know that this was happening because I had been wholesaling everything I made at Crash’s place in Tre. I guess I should keep a closer eye on what’s happening around me.

“I had delivered quite a lot of potions to Adventurers’ guild in Sette with the owner of Tre’s general store. Did they buy those up too?”

“If you delivered them to the guild, it’s likely okay. They can manage them properly. But you also helped in delivering the potions. You must be the one that makes everything run smoothly. I really appreciate all of your help.”

Well, it wasn’t me but Crash who did most of the work. I was just a simple escort for the journey. But I wasn’t very helpful as an escort, either. Just how many times have I put Crash in danger… I’m quite reflecting on myself.

I thought everything was as simple as the farm had to close and there were no herbs to make them, so there was a shortage of potions. I had never thought that the aristocrats excessively purchasing potions would be one of the causes.

That’s horrible. 

“It’s just that, you know, if the aristocrats found out that Mac was the one who delivered those potions, I feel like you might be in danger. That’s why it’s better to keep quiet about it. You’ll be resented by the ones who couldn’t gain brownie points if they found out that it was you who turned the tide on the whole situation. If you ever have to go to Sei’s castle town, stay away from the aristocrats’ district.”

Yes, Crash warned me about that too. Was this a kind of red flag or something?

“If you go to Sei’s castle town and run into any trouble with those aristocrats, run away to the farm. Sei’s farm owner, Monto-kun, is used to dealing with them, so I’m sure he’ll be of help to you in some way. Well of course, if something happens while you’re here, I will also lend a helping hand, even if I don’t have much authority myself. So don’t hesitate to rely on me.”

“Yes, I’ll be in your care then.”

Wait a minute, I never told him that I was going to Sei. But what’s happening with all these warnings?

The backup that was supposed to be about getting a discount on goods, turned out to be more powerful than I initially thought. They’re straight up telling me that they will help me if I ever get into trouble with the aristocrats. But wouldn’t they also get into trouble? 

“To us farmers, we’re all comrades in arms. Is it that strange that we would try to protect the kid who helped us with all our might?” He told me with a bright smile on his face. 

The owner of this desert farm seemed to be quite a dependable gentleman.

The sun was already setting when I left the farm, having purchased various kinds of cacti. I thought it would be impossible to make it to Sei today, so I looked for an inn to stay in.

I quickly entered the first inn I could find and decided to spend a few hours before bed doing the homework Crash had given me. 

I drew the summoning circle without making a single mistake. I traced those beautiful characters that Crash had drawn and committed them to memory. I could read those characters, so I tried to draw with my fingers as precisely and neatly as I could. 

After focusing on it for a while, I noticed that the characters would suddenly glow in the places where I had drawn them really well. Wow, this is amazing. 

Perhaps because I was surprised, I lost my concentration. 

“Somehow, I was successful in drawing the summoning circle, even if only a little bit. Should I say this is a success?”

My MP bar had gone down. My MP was full before the characters lit up so I guess this meant these glowing characters used up my MP. 

Wow, I want to memorize it all! I don’t know what kind of summoning circle this is, but I want to try to remember all of it. I want to draw and learn how to use it!

Just as I was getting excited, my hunger gauge alarm turned on. Ah, I totally forgot to eat. 

I stored the paper in my inventory and walked downstairs to the dining hall.