The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 295

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

Chapter 295    The story is long and there’s no movement, but something unusual is expected to happen.

“So, is there anything else you want to ask?”

The Crown Prince looked troubled and slightly furrowed his brows with a worried expression as he gazed at me. However, when I posed the question, he erased that expression and opened his mouth.

“No, not particularly—oh, yes, just one more thing. The drink that was distributed before that battle. That was your ‘hand,’ wasn’t it?”

Though he initially said it would be the last question, upon hearing his subsequent words, I involuntarily grimaced.

The drink before the battle. It was indeed something we arranged and had distributed. We had concocted a beverage by roughly squeezing fruits, mixing the pulp and seeds. The idea was that if we could get them to consume it before the battle, it would make defeating them later much easier.

The reports indicated that everything went smoothly, and the seeds were indeed found in the stomachs of the enemy soldiers, producing the desired effect.

However, that mechanism shouldn’t have been noticeable.

Even if someone possessed a skill like “Crisis Perception,” at that moment, those seeds were just seeds. Perhaps they might sense danger if I were to activate the skill, but at the time of drinking the beverage, they shouldn’t have been able to detect anything. So why…

“…Did you notice?”

“Well, to some extent. After all, the timing was clearly odd. Unless one were thinking of finishing everything while I was indisposed, there’s no way it would have been distributed so smoothly.”

I instructed them to be cautious not to interfere with the Crown Prince and other officers. According to the covert team’s report, they chose the moment when the Prince was conversing with the Eight Heavens to execute the operation.

Certainly, a conversation wouldn’t have taken dozens of minutes, and he was only away from his seat for a few minutes at most. If, during that time, something unplanned had been completed without his knowledge, suspicion might have been reasonable.

However, he can only think this way now; in reality, if asked whether he could have noticed, it would have been impossible.

“But even so, you didn’t stop it, did you?”

Yet, if he noticed, why did the soldiers die so easily?

There might not have been an issue since the portion that didn’t dissolve from the previous day remained, but if the soldiers had not drunk it, perhaps the casualties would have been further reduced.

Moreover, some might have survived even if plants protruded from their stomachs.

And the Eight Heavens might not have perished.

If the Crown Prince had stopped everyone from drinking, even if it had been partway through, there could have been a significantly different outcome.

“I thought there might be something, but I didn’t have any certainty. After using purification to detoxify, there was no other suspicion. The only thing I could do was pretend to drink alone to avoid it. …Although, I didn’t expect it to turn out like that.”

The slight disturbance in the words at the end was probably because the memories of that time were vivid or intense. However, pretending to drink…

While observing the Crown Prince in that state, I checked for the reaction of the seed that should be inside his body… It was quite weak.

Maybe what I’m sensing now is the reaction from the previous day when I also made him drink. I think the weakness of this reaction is because the seed dissolved in gastric acid. Well, it happened many hours ago, and I thought there might be such a possibility, so I set up the plan persistently.

However, even though I could confirm the reaction from the previous day, I couldn’t sense anything from the ones I distributed before the battle.

In other words, he probably noticed the trap and didn’t drink it as he said.

Noticing a trick that even skills couldn’t detect…

I thought this guy might have intelligence similar to or above mine, but it’s beyond that. He’s much smarter than I am.

“Maybe that’s because you made us swallow the seeds?”

Normally, one wouldn’t arrive at such an answer, but you figured it out well.

However, the subsequent answer was different.

“And then, it was controlled by a ‘Tree Magic User,’ and such a thing happened. Normally, manipulating at that distance and scale is impossible. However, it seems there are many elves living here, so it can’t be definitively stated as impossible.”

I did inform him that I’m a ‘farmer,’ but well, it’s not something a farmer would create such a scene. Certainly, there are many tree magic users among the elves, and I’ve seen elves living in the city until I came here, so it’s not unreasonable to consider such a possibility. Actually, that would be more natural.

However, there’s no need to correct the misunderstanding intentionally, and if he’s mistaken, it’s fine to leave it as it is.

Thinking that way, I shrugged my shoulders and decided to casually let the conversation flow.

“Wow, you managed to imagine that far.”

“Well, if you calm down and think about it, the answer becomes apparent when plants are used in an attack. …Although, I didn’t come up with it immediately after that incident.”

The latter part of the statement seemed to have a somewhat bitter expression, probably recalling the actual scene.

Indeed, it’s not strange to think that a plant user is involved when you see plants growing from a person’s body. However, it’s a different story whether you can immediately recall it. Such a sight is not something you can easily forget, and it’s not unreasonable to grimace when remembering it.

“Well, if you had come up with that right away, there might be something wrong with your head.”

It might not be appropriate for me, the one who came up with it, to say that, but well, I’m aware that I also fall into the category of having something wrong with my head. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have reached the tenth rank at this age.

“Anyway, my business here is done, and there’s no need for further discussion, right? I’ll make sure someone accompanies you, so you should be able to return to your home without any problems.”

I called this person here because it was a chaotic battlefield where everyone was running away, but he was looking at me without fleeing. I understood the reason, learned what kind of person he was, and there was no particular reason to detain him further. We had talked a bit, and he knew the situation, but I thought this person wouldn’t do anything strange even if he knew the circumstances. Moreover, it might be beneficial for me, so I disclosed it and thought it was okay to let him go.

“Are you providing an escort?”

“Yeah. I’m releasing you to be useful, so it would be meaningless if you died, right?”

If I send the Crown Prince back to his country, he’ll probably act on his own and do something useful. I wouldn’t want a good person to die, especially if he’s my brother.

“Thank you. However, is it acceptable for you to make such decisions on your own?”

“Huh? Well, I’m the king, you know. Is there a problem?”

Unless it’s something significant, there shouldn’t be any complaints, basically, I should be able to decide.

“No, in our country, when we capture the Crown Prince of an enemy nation, we gather key officials to hold a meeting on how to handle the situation.”

“Ah, well, that’s probably normal. But my father and the old woman won’t complain, so it should be fine.”

The existence of a Crown Prince alone can be quite useful, so it would be a loss to let that go without considering it. Edward might say something like it would be better to handle it differently, but that would likely be the extent of it. There’s unlikely to be any unnecessary complications or hostilities.

“By father, do you mean the ‘Black Sword’? …You seem to get along well.”

He asked about this, perhaps finding it odd that someone abandoned by their father would refer to someone else as ‘father.’

I understand what he wants to say. Considering I was abandoned by my father, it would be natural to have some aversion to the concept of ‘father’ or something along those lines.

However, in this town, being abandoned by one’s birth parents or being picked up by someone else is quite common. Moreover, there’s no point in categorizing all ‘fathers’ together. Even if they share the same title of ‘father,’ the emotions one harbors can be entirely different depending on the individual. After all, the one who abandoned me is not my father.

“Mm… Ah, well, yeah. He’s also my lifesaver, and at least he’s far more preferable than my real father, by a long shot.”

But well, speaking about it openly feels embarrassing, and it’s even more so when it comes to my brother, even though our relationship isn’t that significant. It just feels really awkward.

“I see…”

The Crown Prince seemed a bit thoughtful at my response, but why did this person ask such a thing in the first place?

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“…No, I’m just glad it turned out without any misfortune,” the Crown Prince answered with a gentle smile.

Caught off guard by his words, I momentarily stopped, unsure of how to react.

“Get ready to leave. I’ll arrange a room, so wait a bit.”

In the end, without responding to those words, I decided to let the preparations for the Crown Prince’s departure proceed, arranging everything needed for his return.