Chapter 14: Friendship is Priceless

Chapter 14:
Friendship is Priceless

 

“WHAT DO YOU THINK, Noela?”

“No good.”

“Yeah.”

The two of us were in our usual forest. This had been a great spot because the more dangerous monsters and beasts didn’t come anywhere near. Lately, however, we must’ve harvested a bit too much—there weren’t nearly as many medicinal plants as usual. I had some stocked in the laboratory, so it wasn’t an immediately pressing issue, but still.

I let out a small sigh. “What do you think we should do, Noela?”

She answered so fast that it was actually sort of startling. “No clue.”

Well, if numbers are down, we just gotta get them back up. So, how do I help grow plants around here? I bet alchemy would be real useful for something like that.

Frustrated, I looked at the ground, noticing something that resembled sesame seeds around my toes.

 

Torigisou Seeds: Blossom into yellow flowers. Leaves/stems are medicinal.

 

I took a quick look around, spotting the same seeds elsewhere. Hrm. Guess it’s time to plant some of these seeds, then.

“Noela? Can you gather any seeds that look like these?”

“Seeds? All right. Noela gather.”

We spent about an hour searching for torigisou seeds before heading back home.

I’d put Mina on shop duty while we were gone. She tilted her head at us, puzzled, as we came in. “Oh, you didn’t gather any plants today? Did something happen?”

“Yup. We’ve foraged a little too much in the forest recently; there weren’t many herbs growing. We’re thinking of planting more ourselves. Look—seeds.”

“Oh, I see,” replied Mina. “Gracious, Mr. Reiji. That’s a really good idea. So many people just take and take without ever thinking about what they’re doing. But you’re going to grow herbs yourself!”

“Please, I’m not doing anything special. Growing these will help the drugstore, too.”

“Still, I think it’s wonderful that you’re letting the forest herbs grow back.”

“Master wonderful! Thoughtful.” Noela stood up straight and patted my head. It was actually kind of embarrassing, since I was usually the one dishing out pats.

“Will you grow them in pots?” Mina asked. “If so, you might have too many seeds.”

“I was just thinking about that. If we pot them, we won’t grow enough for the drugstore. I figured maybe I could rent land from someone.”

“I see,” she replied. “In that case, I believe a man named Mr. Alonzo has a large field. You might want to talk to him.”

Like Noela, Mina was one of my counter girls. The adorable beastling and cute, soothing ghost were a killer pair, if I did say so myself. I knew full well that the neighborhood housewives chatted with Mina when she worked in the drugstore, which was why she was so knowledgeable about Kalta.

“Reiji! Reiji, I need your help!”

That voice… I turned, somewhat annoyed, to find Zeral standing there. Zeral Alonzo. The Alonzo whom Mina mentioned was, in fact, him.

Since Kirio Drugs had solved Zeral’s little problem, he returned every time something happened between him and his girlfriend.

“Don’t tell me you got into another fight with Feris? This isn’t an emergency shelter.”

“Come on, don’t be like that.”

“Though I do have something to discuss with you.” I explained the herb situation to Zeral, and he immediately gave me permission to grow them.

“Of course! I owe you!”

“Are you sure? Don’t you need to ask your family?”

“Ah ha ha ha! It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m the Alonzo family’s head.”

Apparently, his family were landlords, and quite wealthy. That was why Zeral got to spend his days flirting with his girlfriend.

Argh. He has a girlfriend, and he doesn’t even have to work? He’s got it made. Man, reality kinda blows, even in another world.

“Huh? Are you all right, Reiji? You seem kinda down in the dumps.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Anyway, yeah, I can lend you a field or two.”

“That’ll be pricey, though, right?” I asked. “Landlords usually profit off farmers. You know, sucking up taxes and stuff.”

“Ah ha ha ha!” Zeral laughed loudly. “Yeah, there’re definitely folks like that out there, but I’d never do something so awful. I’m not gonna take any money from you. Use the fields however you’d like.”

“Despite all the relationship troubles, you’re a good dude.”

“Come now, we’re friends. Of course I’ll give you a hand.”

Friends, huh? I think this is the first time anyone’s ever said that to me outright—it isn’t something people usually put into words, in my experience at least. Hearing Zeral say it gave me pause, but honestly, it also made me happy.

Clap, clap, clap! Beside us, Mina applauded. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you’ve made a friend, Mr. Reiji. You’re always out in the woods, or holed up making medicine. I was worried!”

“Noela relieved!”

“We’re going to celebrate!” Mina continued. “You’ll have something delicious waiting when you finish work!”

“Oh man, we can’t celebrate that. It’s way too embarrassing! Please, I’m begging you!”

“Aw. Are you sure?” Mina looked disappointed.

Meanwhile, Zeral chuckled quietly. He stopped himself, patting my shoulder with a serious expression. “In exchange, I’ll count on you lending your ear now and then when something happens with Feris. Or…you know…being my human shield.”

“I refuse to be a human shield, but I suppose I can give you a shoulder to cry on.”

The two of us shook hands firmly. Negotiations complete, I guess. Taking Noela along, Zeral and I walked toward an area I seldom visited on the outskirts of Kalta.

We eventually came upon a field full of wheat and all kinds of vegetables. It’s way bigger than I expected. Wow. In a corner of that huge field was a meadow that looked as if it hadn’t been used for some time; that was the one Zeral was letting me occupy.

“All right,” I told Noela. “Let’s get to planting these seeds.”

“Plant, plant!”

Zeral said he was going to look around, and he left us to our sowing.

 

Fertile Soil: Perfect for agriculture.

 

According to my identification skill, it was fine to plant the seeds without modifying the soil.

As soon as I began doing so, I heard an unfamiliar electronic sound—the sort you wouldn’t expect in this world. Don’t tell me…

 

Skills: Identification, Medicine Making,
<NEW> Cultivation Ace (keeps crops from withering).

 

Whoa, I acquired a new skill! And a useful one to boot! In that case, I should sow as many seeds as I can. Cultivation Ace seemed to guarantee that none of the herbs would wilt, so I decided I should treat it as a support skill.

After I planted all the seeds I had on me, Zeral returned. “All done, Reiji?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I’ll come back tomorrow to see how things look. Hrm…something wrong?”

“Well, crops here have been damaged at an alarming rate recently. I don’t know whether we’re dealing with wild dogs, wolves, or what.”

Wolves? Oh…now that he mentions it, there were claw marks on the field wall.

“Why look at Noela, Master?”

“If crops are being damaged, the herbs we’re growing might get messed up, too.”

“Noela no eat without permission. No eat, Master.” She shook her head.

I didn’t know whether the culprit would eat our seedlings or not, but it sounded like the log walls surrounding the fields were no use at keeping anything out.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Right. I could use that on the field.”

“You have an idea?” Zeral asked.

“Yup. When I come back tomorrow, I’ll bring some good stuff along.” I hurriedly headed back to the drugstore.

“What you make, Master? What you make?”

“Noela, you should probably wait outside the lab.”

“Garoo?”

I uncorked a bottle of freshly picked utsubo flower petals.

“Arooo!”

Noela’s fur stood on end and she dashed out of the laboratory. Yup, the utsubo’s working as usual.

I heard Noela’s voice behind me. “That no good, Master. Smelly. No good.”

“That’s the whole point.”

To humans, utsubo flowers smelled like nothing, but they were incredibly potent to beasts and monsters.

Working briskly, I heard a voice outside. “Oh, my. What’s the matter, Noela?”

“Grrr…Master stinky. No good.”

“Gosh! You need to make sure to bathe, Mr. Reiji,” Mina called. “Noela can smell it when you don’t!”

I rolled my eyes at the misunderstanding. “C’mon, Noela. Explain to her what I’m doing, please.”

I’d have to clear this up with Mina later. For now, I bottled and shook the ingredients, completing the process.

 

Repellent: Releases potent aroma that beasts/monsters hate.

 

A few days later, I put a hand above my eyes and peered about thirty meters ahead. “Oh, wow. This stuff works great!”

A black dog—likely the culprit behind the destroyed crops—lay on its back, its legs twitching. The repellent’s aroma was so potent, the dog had just conked out.

Next to me, Zeral looked on. “What’d you do, Mr. Reiji?” he asked, befuddled. “What happened to that dog?”

I showed Zeral the repellent I’d made. “I spread this on the field wall.”

“Oh—the treatment you said you were gonna make? What does it do?”

“It produces a smell beasts and monsters can’t handle.”

“You sure are fast with this stuff.”

“I guess. Anyway, we won’t have to worry about wild animals sneaking into the fields now.”

I handed Zeral the bottle, and he happily spread the repellent all over the field walls. As we’d seen earlier, it worked perfectly.

The only problem was Noela. “Hate you, Master,” she’d said earlier. Frankly, I was still reeling from the shock.

The process I’d used to make the repellent lessened its effects slightly. Still, the smell was enough to upset Noela, so I’d say it was effective.

Another wild dog approached. “Yo, Zeral. Looks like we got a guest.”

“Oh, you’re right. Let’s see one more time just how effective this repellent of yours is.”

The dog casually trotted toward the field. Then, about thirty meters from the wall, it stopped in its tracks and growled. “Garrrroooo…”

Suddenly, the wind shifted, blowing toward the dog.

“Arrrrrooo…” It collapsed and fainted. Thump.

The breeze must’ve carried the awful smell with it. “Perfect. It worked.”

“R-Reiji! This is a simple magical barrier—something only mages can create! You made a gosh-darn barrier!”

“No, I made an animal repellent.”

“It’s all the same, as far as I’m concerned,” retorted Zeral. “That repellent’s a symbol of our friendship!”

“Could you please stop saying that stuff? It’s embarrassing.”

“Why?!”

“What do you mean, ‘why?!’”

“It looks like I owe you yet again,” he continued. “How much does the repellent cost?”

“Nothing. Let’s just call it a complimentary service.”

“C’mon, Reiji. Don’t be shy. Call it what it is—friendship!”

“That’s not what it is! You let me use your meadow, right? Providing the repellent is my way of thanking you.”

“Aw. How boring,” Zeral said, disappointed. Then he looked at my face and laughed a little.

By the way, the wild dogs were still alive and totally fine. They eventually woke up and fled.

I ended up selling the repellent for a pretty low price; it became a big hit among farmers dealing with wild animals. The only issue was that Noela refused to come anywhere near me when I made the stuff.

“Noela? Little Miss Noeeelaaa. Look, this is my job. I’m not doing it because I enjoy—”

“Aaarrrooo!” The more I inched toward her, the farther backward she pounced.

My tender heart can’t take this.

“Have you still not bathed, Mr. Reiji?” Mina frowned.

“I have! I was just making a product with a smell Noela hates.”

“Are you sure that you’re cleaning the hard-to-reach spots? I’d be happy to wash your back for you.”

“Jeez. It’s fine. That’d be way too embarrassing.”

Mina suddenly realized something. “Aaaaah! I completely forgot that you’re male!” She clung to the ceiling.

“Yo—wait a second! What do you mean, you ‘forgot’?! That’s a problem in and of itself, Mina!” We’re such close friends that she doesn’t even consider me a man?!

She covered her bright red face with her hands. “Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh…”

“W-well, it’s okay. But just so you know…I’m bathing, you don’t have to wash my back, and also, I’m a guy!”

And, like that, another (fun?) day passed.