#099
With a haggard face, I went to meet Eira with Taro trailing behind me like a carp’s tail. Eira, like Seiz, showed a serious reaction to the news that the conquest area had been decided as the sea.
“It’ll probably be the most difficult of all the places we’ve been to so far. Since there are breathing and movement issues. Did you talk to Seiz? Actually, diving equipment is more his specialty than mine.”
I nodded.
“I met him yesterday. Fortunately, he already had quite a few things thought out.”
“That’s good, then. Well, I got it. I’ll also try making various useful things.”
Eira looked thoughtful.
“There’ll be poisons specialized for sea monsters too, so I should look up some materials as well.”
By the third expedition, everyone understood without me having to make specific requests. As experts, they would actually prepare more than what I requested.
“Um, and.”
Before bringing up the topic, I glanced at Taro. Taro had naturally greeted Eira and followed us in, then lay down on the sofa and was napping while we talked. Being able to fall asleep easily anywhere was also a skill. I was quite envious of that.
Envious or not, I lowered my voice. On the way here, Taro had honestly confessed that he had received orders to report my every move. I had been guessing that would be the case, so it wasn’t very surprising.
‘So if there’s something you don’t want me to report, you hide it yourself. I can’t lie to the captain.’
I didn’t want what I was about to say to reach Carlisle’s ears.
“Could you possibly make something like a Tranquility Potion?”
Eira looked puzzled.
“Tranquility Potion? What kind?”
“Well… I have something like a phobia of water.”
“…You? Apart from combat being difficult, you like water.”
I wondered how she knew this too, but thinking about it, this place was a seaside resort. Rather, people who disliked or feared it would be rare. But since coming to this world, I had been severely traumatized by shark and crocodile monsters, so I hated all water whether it was sea or river. But I couldn’t tell her that story.
“Well… since the farm was flooded and I was attacked by seaweed while swimming, it’s made me a bit…”
“Ah… that’s true. I haven’t been in the water for a long time either. It’s become too dangerous.”
Fortunately, Eira was the one who had treated me when I was poisoned by seaweed toxin, so she easily understood with a bitter expression.
“So you need a tranquilizer to ease anxiety?”
I nodded and lowered my voice further.
“Sometimes I can’t sleep either, so keep that in mind too…”
Eira stared at me intently.
“You can’t sleep?”
Is that strange? In a world like this, I think people who sleep well would be rarer. Taro’s case is the exception.
“Considering you can’t sleep, isn’t your activity level excessively high?”
Of course, I do fall asleep like fainting right after combat. But once I wake up, I can’t fall asleep again.
“So occasionally? Like the night before an expedition… especially when I need to sleep well, I get nervous and can’t fall asleep, which is the problem.”
When I gave a vague answer, Eira closed her mouth and just kept staring at me. Just when I was thinking whether I should withdraw my Tranquility Potion request because her gaze made me uncomfortable, she nodded very slightly.
“…Alright.”
I sighed with relief inwardly. Good grief. I feel like a fake patient requesting an illegal sleeping pill prescription.
“Sorry, but I have another favor to ask. They say there’s going to be a festival in the village.”
“Festival? What festival?”
Eira showed a puzzled reaction. Since she couldn’t enter the village, she seemed to have no information about the festival.
“How should I put it, morale boosting? That seems to be the purpose. Since there are signs that the land is getting even a little better, they seem to want to try planting something while they’re at it.”
“Ah… really?”
“Yeah. During the day they’ll have tree planting and seed sowing events, and in the evening they’ll share food and such. I don’t know the specifics until I join the meeting, but besides food, I’m thinking of proposing to create a place to sell daily necessities and miscellaneous items. There are quite a few small items Seiz made that would help the villagers, but people can’t buy them because they don’t have the means, right? If we can buy and sell cheaply with city support on this opportunity, it would be good for everyone. Similarly, if the potions you made could be put up as products this time…”
I was freely sharing various ideas that came to mind when I saw Eira’s expression and thought ‘oops.’ She had become dejected and was gripping and releasing her already wrinkled dress. She was definitely the type to enjoy festivals like Taro, so she must have become depressed about her situation of not being able to freely enter the village.
“Um… selling potions might need more thought, but for just watching, you could use stealth potions.”
I suggested while trying to comfort Eira, but she sighed and shook her head.
“Forget it. If I get caught again, Carlisle really won’t let me off this time.”
“Your problem has already been discussed with Carlisle…”
No, wait. I was going to say that the issue of Eira secretly coming to the village had already been agreed upon with Carlisle, but thinking about it, I wondered if it really was agreed upon. I did set conditions in exchange for becoming a human potion, but did Carlisle properly agree to that at the time? I think I never got a definitive answer and it just fizzled out into a different atmosphere… But he didn’t definitively say no either.
“Really, forget it. Honestly, Carlisle seemed more annoyed about me being involved with you than about me wandering around the village. If you two are getting back together, that makes sense. No matter how much it’s for work, Carlisle would be displeased about us meeting like this.”
Eira gestured toward Taro, who was peacefully snoring away.
“Seeing that he tolerates it enough to send Taro along with his personality, he might be restraining himself a lot.”
“No, that’s…”
It’s not because we’re dating, but because that bastard is a control freak. But thinking about it, both of them are my ex-spouses, and it’s strange for me to gossip about one to the other, so I just kept my mouth shut.
“Still, let’s try to find a way. Honestly, if we could sell your potions, it would be really good not just for you but for the villagers too. Whether purification or healing, potions are almost essential in today’s world, but getting them isn’t that easy.”
“Well… yeah. But I’m really fine, so you don’t need to worry too much. More importantly, what’s the favor?”
Eira changed the subject with a face that had shaken off her disappointment.
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you say you had a favor to ask related to the festival?”
“Ah, right, that’s right.”
Come to think of it, that was right. The conversation had briefly gone off track. I should think about ways to sell Eira’s potions at the festival later and handle urgent matters first.
“Well, the city seems to want to entrust me with planting trees or sowing seeds.”
“Well, you are an expert in that field. But you haven’t been back from the expedition for long and must be tired, so isn’t it too much to work you like that?”
Only Eira would say that. My eyes almost got moist from her precious heart worrying about me… but I couldn’t go off track again, so I continued speaking.
“So I need fertilizer that promotes plant growth or increases harvest.”
Eira nodded repeatedly.
“That’s, well. I used to make those before, so it’s not difficult. There are enough materials too… I’ll make them for you. But that’s not the problem – the soil quality is the problem, isn’t it? Is there enough water to sprinkle?”
Eira hit the nail on the head.
“That’s why I need purification potions too… can you make those?”
I asked carefully, but Eira’s reaction wasn’t very good.
“Well, I can make them, but the ones I make don’t have much effect. At most, they’d be enough to use on an area the size of my garden… and even that only worked when the contamination wasn’t severe.”
“They said it would work if I mix it with this.”
I took out the light green glass bottle I received from the Priest.
“What’s this?”
“They said it’s sap from the Sacred Tree.”
Eira’s eyes widened.
“Sacred Tree sap? Where did you get this? Don’t tell me you entered the Sacred Tree island?”
“Huh? Yeah, well… but.”
I hesitated to answer. I wasn’t sure if I should say I received it from the Priest. Actually, in the game, the Priest wasn’t someone who interacted with the villagers. I couldn’t be sure whether only I as the player could see him or if NPCs could see him normally too.
“Wow, crazy. You really have nerves of steel.”
Eira cursed in an excited tone.
“No, wait, this is a compliment. I mean you’re bold. How did you fearlessly enter there? A place contaminated so no one can enter. Did you go with Carlisle? Or did you borrow protective equipment? Well, otherwise how could you enter there? What’s it like there? There’s nothing there, right? Are you okay? You’re not contaminated, are you?”
Eira poured out questions like a waterfall. While doing so, she spun me around to examine my body. She seemed to be checking if there were any contaminated areas. When Eira asked like that, I suddenly thought of Carlisle. His body that had been stained with Sacred Tree-shaped contamination marks.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
