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

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

Chapter 572 Evil God Fruit

“Yeah, you’re right. But wasn’t it dried up before? I don’t remember seeing any leaves on it…”

If my memory serves me right, that divine tree didn’t have any leaves; it felt more like a withered giant tree. Well, its size was abnormal, and it occasionally writhed, so it wasn’t a normal plant, but it definitely seemed “dried up.”

Well, maybe it wasn’t dried up but just shedding leaves like a deciduous tree, but the fact remains that it had “no leaves.”

“Hey, Vesnar. That’s no ordinary leaves.”

It was clearly abnormal. However, without knowing the details and how to deal with it, Kyle, who was also looking at the divine tree, expressed a sense of urgency in his voice.

The reason Kyle can see it while I can’t is probably because of the difference in our physical abilities. Even though there’s a gap between our ranks, there’s a difference in the enhancement ratio between non-combat professions and combat professions. Moreover, if he’s using body enhancement skills, there’s no comparison. Kyle is probably using body strengthening skills right now.

“It’s not leaves? It’s not fruit either, seems like there’s no story about it being fruit.”

“Yeah. Well, in a way, you could say it’s like fruit. It’s fruit-like, but in a… ‘tree-ish’ way.”

Kyle’s manner of speaking is oddly circumspect, but it’s clear he’s not joking around.

Despite not wanting to hear it, I can’t just ignore it, so I urge Kyle to spit it out.

Realizing this, Kyle hesitated for a moment in response to my words, but soon his mouth opened. And the words that came out were…

“A monster is being born.”

As Kyle uttered those words, his expression contorted in a way that made it clear this was no joke.

“…Huh? A monster?”

However, even though I understood what he was saying, I couldn’t fully comprehend or accept the situation of a monster being born, and involuntarily let out that kind of response.

“That’s right. Those mutants we’ve been fighting against. They may look different, but the ones growing there have a similar vibe to them.”

Mutants. They refer to the transformed appearance people take after being cursed.

The strength of mutants increases several times over before and after the transformation, making them much more troublesome to defeat, but that’s only when there are people around.

Mutants only occur because there are people accumulating curses, so now that we’ve distanced ourselves from the holy city where residents presumed to have been cursed were, mutants shouldn’t be occurring anymore. Even if they do occur, it should be limited to the holy city, which we thought had nothing to do with us.

But now they’re being born from that goddamn tree? And those fruit-like things on its branches are all mutants?

“…Seriously? What the hell.”

I couldn’t find any other words to describe the situation, it’s just too damn crazy.

Because, you know, those fruits are still increasing in number.

…Oh. One just fell.

The subsequent change was dramatic. But it wasn’t a change in the tree itself, it was a change in our situation, in our response.

Well, no kidding, right? I mean, mutants are being churned out left and right.

Fortunately, although a few of them have attacked us, the majority are just wandering around the tree without coming towards us.

But we don’t know when they’ll come at us.

“Hey, you guys! Move it!”

Upon Granny’s instructions, the subordinates began bustling about.

We didn’t intend to attack, but with something like that being produced, we couldn’t just stand by and observe forever.

As the deivine tree moved, it sprouted plants at its feet, some of which transformed into mutated plants due to the curse.

But that wasn’t all.

We defeated several creatures that had attacked earlier, and while they had a mutated appearance, their bodies were entirely made of plants.

Their bodies, limbs, even their eyes, were all made of vegetation. Whether such entities could be called legitimate life forms is uncertain, but regardless, they were the true identity of those “fruits” produced by the devine tree.

Moreover, those creatures, unlike the mutants we’d fought before, weren’t limited to human forms.

To clarify, while some of them resembled humans, others took the forms of birds, beasts, and even fish. Among the mutants we’d defeated earlier, there were also shapes that weren’t human.

However, despite some taking the forms of birds or fish, peculiarly, they all moved across the ground.

Even the birds didn’t fly, and the fish crawled along the ground.

Presumably, it’s because they originated from plants. While they could mimic forms, they couldn’t mimic their functions.

But those birds and fish aren’t the issue. Or rather, they’re irrelevant. Birds flopping around on land or fish wriggling don’t pose much of a threat.

The problem lies with those that were originally terrestrial or subterranean beings. Creatures with the hardness and flexibility of plants are nothing short of menacing. In a world where even a boar’s charge can shatter rocks, you can imagine how dangerous they are. It’s futile to hide within houses or behind city walls.

They’re not attacking now, but if their numbers continue to increase and they launch a simultaneous assault, there’s no way we’ll all make it out unscathed.

I might survive, but I reckon a fair percentage of my comrades won’t.

To prevent that outcome, we have to thin their numbers now.

Sure, we might attract the divine tree’s attention and come under attack, but leaving things as they are is just as perilous. So, we have to take action to improve our situation, even if only slightly.

“…Sigh. Isn’t there some good way to deal with this? Something like wiping them all out in one go?”

“If there was, I would’ve suggested it ages ago.”

Kyle shrugged in response to my lackluster words about fighting ahead. I get it. We’ve discussed this thoroughly.

But knowing we have no choice, and everyone is moving for that reason, still doesn’t ease the sigh that escapes me at the thought of facing those swarms of mutant creatures.

“Yeah, I know… Ideally, it would’ve been better to wait for reinforcements… But there’s still no report of them being nearby, right?”

“Yes. They’re heading in our direction, but it’ll take a few more days. However, if we leave things as they are, the numbers will continue to increase, and we’ll suffer unnecessary losses when we eventually launch a full-scale assault as planned. Considering the progression of our plans, it’s necessary to reduce their numbers here.”

“That’s true, but… sigh.”

The reinforcements have been requested, and we’ve heard they’re on their way. But they haven’t arrived yet, so we’ll have to get through this upcoming battle on our own. Hearing it reiterated by Sofia, another sigh escapes me involuntarily.

“Speaking of which, isn’t that your domain? Can’t you communicate with it as usual and convince it to stop?”

“No chance. Whether it’s because it’s under the control of the divine tree or because it’s cursed, my voice doesn’t reach it. Neither does theirs to me.”

Persuading it to defect would increase our forces and decrease the enemy’s, which would be ideal. But my voice couldn’t reach the plants on their side. And I heard nothing from them either.

It’s not because there’s no intermediary point like the sacred tree; even when they approached right in front of us, it was futile. Maybe that’s just how it is.

Although whether they’re simply plants is also doubtful. They look like ordinary animals at first glance.

“Can’t Flora and Lilia do something about it?”

“Eh, impossible! There’s no way we can deal with something like that. I’d rather have an hour of study time every day.”

Lilia fluttered her hands in response to Bell’s question… Don’t equate studying with dealing with something like that.

But well, it’s Lilia, so that reaction is typical of her.

…Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her studying lately. She used to study quite diligently before. Sometimes it was just reading, but even that I haven’t seen her doing lately.

Well, she’s in a foreign country now. With Leireine not around, there’s no one to report to. She probably thinks she’ll be fine since there’s no one to scold her if she doesn’t study.

…Maybe I’ll make her study when she gets back. That way, she might grow up a bit and become more respectable.

“All right, after this, you’re studying for an hour every day.”

“Huh?! You’re kidding, right?!”

Lilia’s eyes widen in surprise at my words, but I ignore her and turn to Flora.

“What about you, Flora?”

“Hey, are you listening?! You’re kidding, right?! I can’t study for an hour every day!”

Annoying.

“Flora says it’s impossible too. No one’s listening to me!”

It seems that Flora’s voice doesn’t reach them either, not just my skills. Well, even if it does reach them and they’re ignoring it, it’s unavoidable if the other party is the divine tree.

“I see. Well, if even your skills can’t hear anything, then that’s probably the case.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, are you feeling okay? Having that thing nearby, isn’t it tough?”

“Yeah. I’m okay for now.”

“I see. But if it gets tough, come back inside me. It might be a little better that way, right?”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Son, we’re almost done preparing. Are you ready?”

“Ready…?”

What kind of readiness is he talking about?

The readiness to die. The readiness to survive. The readiness for someone to die. The readiness to carry the life of someone who has died.

There could be many interpretations, but… well, the answer is already decided.

“Those kinds of things, I had when I declared myself king.”