The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 264

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

Chapter 264   Treant seed

“More importantly! What about the matter of the Treant? Flora is amazing, but if we can’t cultivate it, isn’t that a problem?”

Cornered by his sister, Kyle shouted this in order to escape, but what he was saying was not wrong.

“Well, that’s true. I wanted to grow Treant because I needed its materials, and if possible, I was thinking of using it around the borders and towns.”

“Around the borders and towns? Treant, you mean?”

Sofia asked while questioning, but even as she asked, she draped her own apron over Flora.

Come to think of it, she was still naked. I had gotten so used to it that I unconsciously accepted it.

But even if she received an apron from Sofia, it didn’t mean she could completely conceal it. Flora was currently in a state of wearing only an apron. If someone saw her like this and thought I was the one who made her wear it, I wouldn’t like it. So, I took off my coat and handed it to Sofia. She accepted it and dressed Flora with it.

“Oh, I see. With Flora, we can gather information from plants around the world to some extent. If it’s originally a sentient being, we can gather information more clearly. Besides, if someone were thinking of invading, would they want to enter a forest of Treants?”

There are probably many people who want to enter the territory of this city, or the future nation of Karakas. In order to prevent them, it’s necessary to have guards at the borders, but there are few people who would seriously do that. It’s not that there are none, there are plenty in this city. But when it comes to border security, it’s a different story.

However, if I scatter Treants and create a border line, that alone would suffice for security. The Treants can handle the rest by reporting to us.

Well, even now, there are plants everywhere, but those random weeds won’t tell us anything unless we ask.

But with Treants, they not only monitor but also provide security.

Imagine someone entering what they thought was just a forest, only to be suddenly attacked by Treants when they let their guard down. It transforms from a mere forest into a danger zone attacked with intent.

If rumors spread, no one would dare to enter, and in that case, Treants’s role as a guardian of the border would be fulfilled.

“It’s not that simple. Ordinary Treants are monsters that can be defeated, as there’s only one in the forest. But if they gather, it could become troublesome.”

“If we place Treants in villages within our territory, we can quickly detect any anomalies and they could become a guardian-like presence in case of trouble.”

Ordinary plants won’t tell us anything unless we ask, but Treants seem to have a clear will, so they might report to us without using any skills.

Moreover, if planted in a village, they could handle minor external threats. It’s cost-effective and requires minimal effort. You might need to take care of them a bit, but it’s cheaper and more reliable than hiring people. I think they make good guardians.

“Like a sacred tree for elves. However, if a cooperative Treants were born, safety would significantly increase if it were deployed.”

“But the Treant has already become Flora, and securing the seeds isn’t that simple.”

That’s right. It’s good that Flora has a body she can move freely, but Treant seeds are already gone. To grow them, you need seeds, but how do we get them?

…It’s irrelevant, but when you think about it, the fact that the Treant became Flora is quite an amazing development.

“Maybe Flora can produce Treant seeds?”

But there, Lilia, who seemed uninterested or perhaps bored, spoke up, saying so.

“Huh?”

“It’s possible.”

“Possible, as in, seeds?”

“Seeds!”

Going along with Lilia’s words, Flora confirmed, “Seeds.” Even though she said it, it’s hard to believe when you look at her current human-like appearance. She looks exactly like a human.

“Make Flora bigger!”

“… You mean using Growth again? On you.”

“Yeah.”

Using “Growth” on Flora in her human form feels quite awkward, but considering her origin as Treant, I convince myself that it’s just how things are. I take Flora’s hand and use the skill.

Flora’s hair starts to grow, but at some point, it gradually shrinks… No, it curls up?

“Okay, that’s enough!”

I stop the skill as per her request and release her hand.

“Here goes!”

Suddenly, the curled-up mass of hair snaps and falls to the ground.

“Fruit?”

However, the mass that was hair just a moment ago has inexplicably transformed into a fruit.

Well, since Flora’s entire body is currently a plant, using a skill to stimulate growth could potentially produce fruit. It’s not surprising, but… I feel like I’ve just witnessed a strangely mysterious scene.

“I’ll give it to you.”

“…Is it edible?”

“Yeah.”

It looks like an apple, but the color is orange rather than red.

I decided to cut it open and tried to insert a knife, but it stopped midway.

“There’s a seed.”

Like peaches or plums, there seems to be a seed at the center of the fruit. When I cut it while turning the fruit, there was indeed a large seed inside. It has a similar shape to the seeds I received from Edward, but is this really a Treant seed?

“But is this really a Treant seed? Couldn’t it just be a regular fruit seed?”

I’ve heard that Treant seeds are challenging to obtain. Can they be gathered so easily?

“It’s okay. Treant seeds are like condensed magical energy. Treants originally turned into monsters due to receiving a lot of magical energy from plants, but since they were originally plants, it’s an unnatural state. So, sometimes, magical energy accumulates abnormally. Leaving it like that would harm them, so they gather and discard the abnormally generated magical energy in one place. Treant seeds are the seeds into which this magical energy from Treants is sealed.”

I see. If Trento seeds are created due to the abnormal accumulation of magical energy, intentionally infusing more magical energy would allow us to create Treant seeds at any time.

And with my Growth skill, that’s possible.

Hmm, I wonder how much Treant seeds could sell for?

Well, joking about selling them aside, having a plan to obtain Treant seeds whenever we want is significant. It’s all thanks to Lilia, who was knowledgeable about plants, and we probably wouldn’t have figured it out on our own.

“…Hey, Lilia.”

“What?”

“…Were you secretly amazing all along?”

“Secretly, what!? I’m always amazing, aren’t I!?”

“Just especially with plants.”

“Just!? I worked hard the other day too!”

Certainly, she worked hard during the war, but in my mind, she’s still a bit of a hopeless case. A troublesome little sister… even worse than that. Yeah, definitely falls into the category of a pet. I wonder if she’ll imitate along if I mimic a cat?

“…”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

She must have found it strange that I was silently looking at myself. Lilia tilted her head and asked.

To that, I responded…

“…Nya-nya.”

“Huh? What, what? Why all of a sudden? Has your head gone crazy?”

No, my head hasn’t gone crazy, and even if it had, it would still be better than yours. Probably.

As embarrassing as it is for me, I’m doing this because there’s something I want to try.

“Nya-nya.”

“Nya, nya-nya?”

Continuing to imitate a cat, undeterred by Lilia’s puzzled gaze, I persist. She looked at me with confusion and, perhaps feeling pressured by my actions, Lilia also started imitating a cat. That’s right, that’s the way.

“Nya-nya!”

“Nya-nya!”

And then, perhaps finding it enjoyable after the first attempt, she started mimicking with even higher enthusiasm than before.

“Nyan-nyan♪”

Continuing the mimicry several times, she eventually raised her hands, started dancing, and shouted while having fun on her own.

“Nya!”

Watching Lilia like that, I took out the large seed that was stored in ” Storage ” and held it out to her. While still mimicking a cat, I lightly tossed it so that Lilia could catch it.

“Nya! Nya-nya!”

She chased after it.

“…”

Thrown and rolling, Lilia pounced on the seed, but she continued rolling along with it.

Yep, she definitely falls into the pet category.

“…Well then, if that’s the case, the solution is to have Flora create the seeds for us.”

“That’s right.”

Ignoring Lilia, we decided to resume our conversation.

Huh? …Come to think of it, Kyle was criticized for saying something about wanting seeds earlier, but what was all that commotion about? …Well, never mind.

“Well, with this, we don’t have to worry about accidentally withering Treants, so we can raise them without any concerns.”

“That’s right. However, before that, we need to inspect the surrounding villages.”

“Oh, right. Somehow, the shock of Flora’s transformation made me completely forget about it.”

I never expected Treants to change shape like that, let alone become Flora’s physical body. Well, the result is satisfying, so it’s not a problem.

“When will we depart?”

“Ah, the sooner, the better. How about tomorrow… is that too early? What about the day after tomorrow?”

“Understood. I will make the necessary preparations accordingly.”

And so, we decided to visit the villages we recently acquired as part of our new territory.