Ohanabatake No Maousama Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Floracion."

Kuders chanted, and two yellow flowers appeared in his hands.

Each flower had five petals, and yet they were oddly different from each other.

One of the flowers had a small sphere with a striped pattern near the roots.

"What are you going to do?"

"Pollinate. With watermelons, there are male and female flowers and you need both to make fruit."

He explained as Zanatoria looked at him suspiciously. Kuders then tore off the petals of one flower, exposing the yellow stamen within.

And then, with the flower with the sphere on the roots…he spread open the petals and inserted the stamen in and rubbed them together.

"I would have like to have water and fertilizer as well, but it cannot be helped. Now, I just need to send my magic into it…"

As Kuders did so, the female flower began to swell up and grow.

It would likely turn into an impressive watermelon in just a few minutes.

"Really, your magic is quite unique. I know a few others who use magic, but none of them use it for such things."

"Well, of course, they don't."

Kuders replied cooly as Zanatoria watched the watermelon grow.

In fact, this wasn't actually magic, but he hadn't told anyone yet.

Yes, they would likely find out eventually, but he had no intention of becoming some kind of tourist attraction anytime soon.

"It should be ready right about now. Would you like to try some?"

"Uh…no. I'd rather not."

Kuders asked as he held the great watermelon, but Zanatoria shook his head to the side.

Apparently, he was suspicious of food that had been created entirely by magic, and could not eat it.

"Oh, well. It is wasteful, but I just need the seeds."

Kuders cracked the watermelon open with his fist and then scooped out the red flesh and pulled out the black seeds.

"Watermelons require a germination temperature of 25 to 30 degrees celsius…which means it cannot be done here."

He muttered as if he were reciting some book in his head. Then he went to the back garden of the merchant house and planted four seeds in a corner.

Then he muttered another spell and put his hand down where he had planted the seeds.

And then, as if to push aside Kuders's long, thick fingers, green sprouts began to show.

Kuders sent even more magic to them and then leaves started to appear.

"Yes, yes. Very good. I'm going to raise this one and that one."

"…What are you doing?"

"Selecting seedlings. Not just watermelons, but all plants have different seedlings, you know. And so I just leave the best ones and raise them… In the end, only the very best one will remain."

In other words, it was only a small portation that got raised.

The world of crops was very harsh indeed.

"And what about the ones that don't get chosen?"

"I throw them away."

Kuders answered cooly.

"…That is quite cruel."

"You're surprisingly gentle to think so."

Kuders said with a smile.

"What? Me? Gentle? You sound like you're sleep-talking."

…But his face was very red, regardless.

It was obvious to everyone watching that he was only saying that to save face.

Perhaps he really was a surprisingly compa.s.sionate person.

"Just as a warning, I wouldn't recommend trying to raise the remaining seedlings. These are not ordinary watermelons, after all."

Kuders said, then he picked up a fallen branch and drew a circle around the seedlings. And then he added some strange markings around the circle.

This caused the soil in that area alone to turn black and the air around the seedlings started to get warmer.

Apparently, it was a barrier that used the light and warmth of the sun to efficiently create a good environment for the seedlings.

"The rest can be left to nature. Reckless forcing culture will only rob the seedlings of energy. Besides, you shouldn't mess with them too much, or your bad habits might affect it."

Kuders said as he stood up and started to walk somewhere.

Zanatoria followed after him.

"And where are you going now?"

"…Why are you following me, Mister Zanato?"

Zanatoria had only called after him because Kuders was trying to leave the property.

"How dare you call me that! And…as if I could do such a horrible thing as unleashing you into the world! I may not be able to stop you completely, but I can at least follow you! You should be thankful!"

In the first place, Kuders was a slave and therefore not even allowed to leave the premises.

So in a way, Zanatoria was being very kind by not bashing him over the head without warning.

…Of course, this was partially because he knew that doing such a thing would mean nothing to Kuders.

"Ahahahaha! Thank you very much. By the way, Mister Zanato. Do you know how I can become an Adventurer?"

"…Do you even realize that you're a slave? There is no way such a thing will be allowed!!"

"But I'm really more of a loafer, since I'm not being sold. I know, what if I promise to give you a small percentage of my earnings as an Adventurer?"

Zanatoria was at a loss for words.

But it was true. One of the biggest problems that plagued the lord of the merchant house was that Kuders was costing them money.

"Tsk…where did you get such an idea? Hmph. Very well. I will negotiate for you. Now, wait here until I return."

So saying, he turned on his heels. But then he paused as if suddenly remembering something.

"Hey, why…why are you doing this all of a sudden? What do you want money for?"

Kuders didn't even use money.

As for food…he used magic to make fruits and vegetables. And at night, he slept in a pile of flowers and leaves, so he didn't need blankets.

So, why did he want money now? It was so strange that Zanatoria felt a chill go up his spine.

"Well, it's obvious. I want some information. You always need information, no matter what you are doing. And you need funds in order to get information. Didn't you know?"

"That…yes, of course, I knew that."

What was this guy thinking?

Zanatoria looked at Kuders so hard that he might have drilled a hole right through him. And yet, he was ultimately unable to read anything in that smile.