The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 461

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

Chapter 461   Eight Heavens (fertilizer) results

“That’s right. Flora.”

However, there was something I suddenly remembered there, so I stopped and called out to Flora.

“Hmm?”

“The fertilizer from the Eight Heavens and the giant I gave you before. How are things? Any abnormalities?”

Strong beings make good fertilizer. Knowing this, I turned the corpses of those who attacked this country into fertilizer, especially the powerful ones called ‘Eight Heavens.’ Additionally, when the kingdom was attacked, my father killed a giant, and I brought back some of its remains.

Thinking that they had particularly potent power, I consulted with Flora and spread them around the Sacred Tree, believing they would make good fertilizer. It’s been a year since then, so if something is happening, it should be showing its effects by now.

“I’m fine! Not just fine, but really good!”

To be honest, I had completely forgotten until now. I only recalled it because of the mention of abnormalities, but I hadn’t been concerned about its effects until now. There was a reporting system in place in case there were any adverse effects, so the absence of any reports assured me that everything was okay. Still, not having confirmed it until now made me a little curious.

However, judging from Flora’s demeanor, it seemed that nothing bad had happened at all.

“I see. That’s good—”

“However, you know? Just a little…”

But, interrupting my relieved words, Flora spoke, and her words seemed a bit awkward. I started to feel a bit uneasy, wondering if something had happened.

“Is there something wrong?”

“…over there.”

Flora said that and pointed in a certain direction, but that area was, if I remember correctly…

“The orchard?”

There’s an area where all sorts of monstrous plants are planted, like dancing bananas, exploding pomegranates, or apples that fall with force when someone is directly below. Well, there are various strange plants, but they don’t attack those who enter, and the taste is often better than normal. There are some with only sour citrus-like fruits inside, though.

This happened as a result of various experiments I conducted, but since they’re delicious and serve as a defense, there shouldn’t be any problems.

…Well, if a garden of wriggling trees were to be seen, it would probably be called the Demon King’s domain or be referred to as a ‘demonic realm.’

“Flora’s power increased, but when I accidentally gave everyone a little extra, they grew on their own…”

“On their own… what is that?”

As Flora said that, I looked in that direction, and it seemed that Flora had manipulated them. The plants started moving on their own.

And by their movement, what had been hidden by the plants became visible as they shifted from my field of view.

“A large… strawberry, is it?”

Sofia spoke those words, and I could sense her unease in her tone.

But that was only natural. After all, what she saw was something unimaginable. Normally, even if there were no obstacles to block the line of sight, from this distance, things should be too far away to see clearly, even with body enhancements based on rank. Yet, Sofia, with her lower body enhancement ratio due to being a non-combat occupational class, could see a fruit of such size. …Isn’t it too big?

I can’t be certain from here, but it looks like it might be close to a meter.

But… huh? Could it be that the entire orchard is like this? Dancing bananas and falling apples too? …I’m a bit confused.

“I’m sorry…”

“No, well… it’s fine, but why? It wasn’t this big before, right?”

“I’ve been getting more water recently, so I think that’s why I can distribute more nutrients. So, probably because of that…”

“I see.”

I’ve been cultivating ‘farmers’ among my subordinates, and those who have gained access to irrigation have been assigned to either the Sacred Tree’s garden or Lilia’s hometown, as long as they have no issues with their character. If assigned, they receive praise and attention from the elves, making it a relatively popular occupation. Some even devote themselves to training with the goal of marrying an elf.

By the way, the current highest rank is the fourth rank. Well, considering it’s been about a year since they started training, it’s safe to say they’re doing quite well.

Anyway, with the increased availability of magical nutrition in the form of irrigation, which is a boon for plants, their growth has become somewhat unusual — or rather, improved — more than before.

“Is there any harm?”

“As long as it’s me, it’s probably fine. Want to eat?”

“Can it be eaten?”

Asking if it can be eaten implies that it can, but with something that has grown so much, it takes a bit of courage to eat it. There’s an image that it might suddenly develop a mouth and bite back.

As I hesitated, Flora seemed to do something. The raspberry tree stretched loosely, moving towards us.

“Yes, please.”

“These are quite large.”

The offered raspberries from Flora had individual berries larger than a fist. With many of them in a row, there’s no way one could eat all of these; trying to do so would likely exceed the volume capacity of my stomach.

“…It’s delicious. In fact, it might be even better than usual.”

I reached out for the offered fruit, but Bell tasted it first as a precaution. After taking a bite, Bell opened her eyes wide and said so in surprise.

Having confirmed it was safe, I slowly reached for one and put it in my mouth. It was quite good. The specific tartness of raspberries was faint, and the sweetness was strong.

Things often become bland when they grow larger, but this one retained the delicate flavor of small ones, making it even more delicious despite its enormous size.

Following me, Kyle was also eating, but Sofia didn’t reach out. I wondered why, and quickly understood. She was probably considering the possibility of an incident a few hours later. Even if something happened and purification could handle it to some extent if it was food-related, it wouldn’t be useful if she herself fell and couldn’t use it.

However, having only one person not eating is awkward, and I wanted her to eat and share the same experience if it turned out to be okay later. If there are no issues, I’ll let Sofia eat as well.

…Huh? Come to think of it, what about Lilia? If she saw something like this, I feel like she’d be the first to reach out for it…

“Huh? Like this?”

…Apparently, she had been picking and eating them while I wasn’t paying attention. Both hands were holding raspberries, and her mouth was filled with them.

Well, we can’t eat them all by ourselves, and I’m happy she’s eating them, but… eat more gracefully. With that red-stained mouth and clothes, it looks like you’ve been sucking on blood.

“Naa won’t get mad at Flora…?”

Seeing us enjoying them, Flora asked with a somewhat hesitant look, but I had no intention of getting angry at this level. Even if this was a failure and incredibly unappetizing, it would be the same.

“Nothing to worry about, I won’t get mad at something like this. Besides, when I used Eight Heavens as fertilizer, I thought something might happen. If this is the change, I welcome it. Thank you.”

After all, using Eight Heavens as fertilizer was my idea, and I consulted with her beforehand, so even if it failed, it’s my responsibility.

Actually, it turned out quite well… well, it’s a bit eerie, but the taste is good, it’s edible, and it grew nicely, so there’s really nothing to be upset about.

“You’re welcome!”

While expressing my gratitude, I patted Flora’s head, and she seemed to understand that I wasn’t mad. Flora burst into a bright smile and danced in the air.

“But, with this much quantity, it’s a bit challenging to handle.”

With this size, we can’t consume all of it ourselves.

“Nevertheless, it would be a waste to throw it away, so we’ll have to eat as much as possible.”

Since Flora stretched her body to this extent to share the fruits with us, it feels somehow wrong to discard them. However, given the quantity that we can’t possibly eat on our own, we’ll probably end up taking some back with us.

“Alright, let me have another…!?”

“Oh!”

“Huh?”

As Kyle reached out to have another, his hand was smacked away by a swift flick of the raspberry leaves.

While she had been sharing them properly until now, why did she suddenly act this way? I looked at Flora, but there was no sign that she had done anything in particular.

However, the fact remained that Kyle’s hand was indeed swatted away. Wondering what was going on, I asked Flora to explain.

“…Hey, Flora. Can you explain?”

“Well, in simple terms… Is he being cheeky?”

“Being cheeky? Kyle, to a plant?”

Asking that, I compared Kyle to the raspberry plant, but both were staring at each other and not moving at all. It was quite comical to see them in a standoff. However, maybe Kyle was just glaring, and the raspberry plant was simply ignoring him. That would be pitiful in its own way, but also somewhat comical.

“Yeah!”

“Yeah, but…”

Flora nodded energetically, but Kyle, being told he was being cheeky to a plant, twitched and contorted his face.

Well, his reaction is natural. He probably knows that the plants here are not ordinary, but for someone who has never spoken to them, they’re just plants after all.

“…Alright, then. Flora, is it okay if I handle this a bit roughly?”

“As long as the main body doesn’t break, it’s fine, right?”

“I see. …Vesnar. Is it okay if I step away from the escort duty for a bit?”

“Well, it’s fine… but what are you planning to do?”

What he’s planning to do is quite apparent from the current exchange and his attitude, but I couldn’t help but ask anyway.

“That… I’m gonna knock it down!”

Shouting that, Kyle prepared his fist and quickly approached the raspberry plant, throwing a punch.

…Attacking a plant with full force, both in words and visuals, gives a terribly pitiful feeling.

“Finally managed to take it down.”

Kyle, who fought against the raspberry plant, finally succeeded in knocking it down after we started watching for about thirty minutes.

Well, for Kyle, avoiding breaking the plant completely while trying to knock it down was probably quite challenging. Since the opponent isn’t human, it’s hard to land attacks, and it effortlessly dodges. If he was allowed to use a sword to kill, he probably would have finished much sooner.

However, even though he managed to knock it down, the fact that Lilia approached during the battle and got some berries without any issues made Kyle seem even more pitiful. I don’t know if she was aware and intentionally did it, but it ended up being quite provocative.

“That plant is way too strong! It’s definitely transformed into a monster!”

Since it’s a creature manipulating magic power and has evolved to such an extent, it can be considered a kind of monster. Such feats would likely be impossible without the mysterious energy of magic.

“Well, being near the Sacred Tree probably played a role too. It likely gained that kind of power because it was bestowed with strength near the Sacred Tree, don’t you think?”

“Kyle, don’t approach it in that state. Lord Vesnar might get dirty.”

“Damn it!”

Kyle’s scream echoed as he took a hit from the raspberry bomb, dyeing his entire body in red.