The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 108

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 108   Events in the forest

“You know, aren’t there fewer monsters than we thought?”

In order to avoid encountering the young lady, after receiving the carriage, we quickly finished what we had to do and headed out of the city. Despite advancing through the forest, we couldn’t see any signs of monsters. I remember hearing that there have been more monsters in this area recently.

“Now that you mention it, yes. I recall that this side had more monsters than the direction we came from, right?”

“That’s what I heard. However, I’m not sure how true that is, but at least those adventurers seemed serious.”

I gathered information from sources other than those adventurers. I asked the townspeople and looked at adventurers’ requests. Considering various pieces of information, it should be true that there are more monsters around here than before.

“So, could it be that something has happened to reduce the number of monsters, or someone is actively reducing them?”

“Could it be that a powerful monster suddenly arrived from somewhere?”

“Or it could be traveling adventurers, couldn’t it? If they are of a high rank, they might hunt monsters as a side task. Or perhaps the monsters sensed that presence and fled. Something like that?”

“I see. Well, in any case, it seems we need to be cautious.”

“Yes, indeed. Regardless of whether it’s good or bad for us, something abnormal or unusual is definitely happening.”

If possible, I hope that abnormality won’t be harmful to us. It would be great if a powerful individual who came from somewhere else hunted down the monsters along the way. Well, as long as that individual has a good character. At least I pray they’re not a crazy guy who enjoys killing. If they turn out to be a psycho, we’ll have to kill them.

“I’m not a big fan of using it near the forest… but I guess I can’t complain.”

I’ll have to get used to it. I’d like to be able to activate it all the time eventually. It’s definitely more convenient that way.

Saying that, I take a deep breath and activate the passive skill “Mindlink,” which I usually keep off.

The moment I do, a jumble of thoughts floods into my head, and the pain, nausea, and dizziness are almost overwhelming. Well, I can endure this much without fainting. I’ve used the skill until I’ve fainted before, that was way tougher.

“——Ah… that’s the feeling.”

However, using that skill allowed me to grasp the state of the forest.

“Do you understand anything?”

“Yeah. Remember the young lady I bumped into? It seems she came to this forest with a knight.”

“There’s no need to ask, why.”

“Well, most likely for the duel, without a doubt.”

Certainly, I never said not to use a knight, and if you compare the amounts hunted, it’s not a wrong approach.

It’s not wrong, but I’d like to ask, can your pride handle that? Well, I guess they’re not concerned about that.

And whatever she plans to do, it doesn’t matter to us. After all, we won’t meet again.

“Well, it doesn’t matter how much she hunts. Isn’t it irrelevant to us?”

“Yes, indeed. She probably won’t leave this town much.”

“That’s right.”

When we first met, she seemed to complain about traveling, and usually, she’s probably a sheltered girl who stays in the mansion or the town. Even though she’s a sheltered girl, it’s far from the image of a secluded young lady, though.

“By the way, how much did they hunt over there?”

“I don’t know. They used a knight, so I assume they hunted a decent amount… but now that you mention it, it’s a bit concerning.”

Thinking that, I asked the surrounding plants, but I couldn’t help but be astonished by the answer I received.

“…It seems like there aren’t any decent monsters left around here.”

“So, if you were to fight them seriously, it might have been challenging to win.”

“Exactly. It’s not like we couldn’t win, but it would have been quite an effort and a hassle.”

As I was about to turn off the skill, new information flowed in from the plants.

“Huh?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Well… there seem to be some guys watching the young lady from a distance… This is probably some sort of human abduction scheme.”

In addition to those hunting and guarding, it seems there are men monitoring the young lady from a distance.

“Do we even need to pay any attention? It’s not like it’s our concern. If they got caught due to their own arrogance, that’s their own fault.”

“Is that so? Then let’s continue as we are.”

I have no obligation to help that young lady, nor do I feel any desire to. There won’t be a shred of gratitude even if I were to help.

It’s not that I seek gratitude, but I can’t find any value in helping, so I’ve decided to ignore it. I don’t want to willingly plunge myself into trouble, especially after setting up this duel to escape from such hassles. I’m not about to go create more trouble for myself.

Actually, since she has guards with her, unless they’re exceedingly foolish, it should end without any problems. Well, they should be fine.

Thinking that, I turned off my passive skill.

But…

“Despite trying to avoid trouble, is this how it ends up?”

“Are they enemies?”

While I was progressing through the forest without any particular issues, I periodically turned on my passive skill to check the surroundings. After moving for a while, I received a warning from the plants.

It seems there’s an ambush ahead.

“It seems so. Probably them, right? The group that’s trying to abduct that young lady.”

“I see. Shall we fight?”

“No. We know the location, and they aren’t much of a threat. As long as they don’t attack, we can just leave them be well, that’s what I was going to say, but it’s impossible.”

It’s troublesome to go and defeat them ourselves, and these bandits might have someone they’re after or some vendetta. So, if they don’t come at us, there’s no need for us to go and get involved.

That’s what I was thinking, but it seems avoiding involvement with the bandits is unavoidable.

“Ahead, it seems there’s a fallen tree.”

“So they’ll likely ambush us there.”

“Most probably, yeah. Well, I’ll handle the bandits, so just keep moving the carriage.”

“Yes, understood.”

It’s a classic ambush, no doubt about it. Putting fallen trees or even fallen people in the middle of the road is common, and using a broken-down carriage is also standard.

We continued on the path, and when we reached the fallen tree in question, we decided to stop the carriage and get off. From the side, we probably looked like a pair of young boys and girls in distress because of the fallen tree. Well, considering Sofia’s attire, it might not look like an ordinary pair. After all, she’s in a maid outfit.

Anyway, this won’t end smoothly if we don’t handle things properly.

“Now then, this is a roadblock… ‘Sowing.’ ‘Growth.'”

“Aaaah!”

“Ouch!”

Since we already knew the enemy’s positions thanks to the plants, we had the target in mind.

We could have let them go if they didn’t aim for us, but the moment they drew their bows, it was over. They actually attacked, so there was no room for misunderstanding.

Hence, I neutralized them using my skills.

“Neutralization complete. Now, do you have anything valuable? Cough it up.”

“It’s hard to tell who’s the bandit just by your words.”

“What are you talking about? I’m an upstanding citizen.”

Sopfa seemed to have something to say, but I ignored her and proceeded to examine the belongings of the bandits who had attacked. It would be nice if they had something like magic tools or rare items.

However, upon investigating the bandits we had just defeated, they didn’t seem to possess anything significant. If I had to point something out, it would be that their swords and armor could fetch a decent price. But it’s not worth the effort to collect them. Sure, if you’re a rookie adventurer, collecting them could fetch a reasonable amount, but if I have time to do that, I’d rather gather valuable medicinal herbs for a quick and easy profit.

“Is this all they’ve got? Geez, what a disappointment.”

“Shall we head to their base?”

“Hmm… nah. It’s a hassle, and I don’t really need that much money to bother.”

“Is that so? Then, what will you do with them?”

While the bandits were riddled with seeds all over their bodies, they were still technically alive.

“I guess we bury them? There’s no point in keeping them alive, and it would be troublesome if they hold a grudge and attack later.”

The moment I said that, the bandits started screaming and attacking again.

“Aaaargh!”

As you can see, germinating all the seeds I shot into them has quite the effect. They screamed and writhed in agony.

“Earth Reversal!”

Since I had gathered the ground in advance to the edge of the road, it wouldn’t matter if the ground here was a bit rough. I lifted the ground right beneath the bandits and flipped it over. Then, I dropped the floating ground as if they were being crushed underneath.

Now, if I leave them alone, they’ll die on their own. But just to finish it off, let’s give them a bit of irrigation. With this, they should surely meet their end.

If it were their first offense, I might have let them go, but from what I heard, they’re repeat offenders. There’s no reason to let them off, so it’s fine.

“That’s that… Actually, dealing with this is more troublesome.”

As I redirected my gaze from the bandits buried under the ground toward the direction we were heading, there was still a fallen tree blocking the path. We can’t move forward unless we do something about it, but the two of us can’t handle it.

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to turn it into fertilizer?”

“Hmm, yeah, let’s go with that.”

I was contemplating what to do when Sofia came up with a suggestion.

Now that I think about it, even at this size, it’s still a tree. Can I rot it with my skill?

Well, given the current situation where I can only turn the parts I touch into fertilizer due to the size, it might take a bit of time for something this large. But since there’s no other viable option and it’s easier than moving it conventionally, I decide to put her suggestion into action.

“It might smell a bit and be a bit muddy, but it should be fine.”

Although not all the fallen trees were dealt with, we managed to clear a path wide enough for the carriage to pass through. Considering the time it took, I’d say it’s a job well done.

For now, I should wash my hands that are covered in fertilizer and emit a strange odor.

“Purification.”

“Ah, thank you.”

As I was thinking this, Sofia used her skill to clean my soiled hands. While I could have washed them with irrigation to have water, it would still leave a smell, and it would be needlessly time-consuming even then. But with purification, it’s done in an instant. Honestly, I’m glad to have Sofia around.

“Well then, shall we proceed?”

And with that, we once again boarded the carriage and began moving through the forest.