Kays Translations

Chapter 89 – A Sweet, Bitter, and Strange-Tasting Drink

Back at the cabin, I discussed things with Mimi and Kirara.

“I’ll have to do a lot of plowing and cleaning up after the harvest, right?”

Mimi offered cheerfully.

She says she really enjoys tilling the soil.

“Promoting the growth of Yogimogi-Sashimo won’t be a problem. But when it comes to bearing fruit… hmm, it’s not impossible, but…”

Kirara cast her eyes down toward her chest.

Ah, I see.

The reason the fruit ripened so quickly and had such incredible effects was probably because of the chemical fertilizer I used—Yesponex.

And due to the Yesponex, Kirara’s body had… blossomed quite a bit.

Yeah, it’s understandable she’d be hesitant to grow any more than she already has.

She can’t even see her feet anymore. Stairs must be a nightmare.

Apparently, the plant usually only bears fruit once a year, So under normal conditions, the next harvest would be next year.

That’s right.

So, after discussing it, we decided we’d do our best to increase the production of Yogimogi-Sashimo aas much as possible and supply it to the Alchemy Guild. Also, the vegetables we’ve been distributing through Kaen-san seem to be doing well, So we’ll keep up a reasonable effort on that front too.

I’d like to be a bit careful about asking Luna for help. If Jude-san’s with her, it’ll probably be fine—but still.

“I’ll till it for the medicinal herbs!”

Mimi said enthusiastically, and prepared neat rows of beds. We divided and transplanted the Yogimogi-Sashimo plants into them.

What I bought here using my 1,000 yen repeat purchase was a plant revitalizer in a yellow package that promised to unleash the natural power of the plants. It supposedly contains a variety of beneficial ingredients, including fulvic acid and amino acids. It’s basically an energy drink for plants.

Since it needed to be diluted with water, I used a weaker dilution than recommended and sprayed it over the whole area.

I feel that it’s better to use liquid fertilizer in a diluted form more frequently than in a concentrated form.

Once the plants take root, I’ll start giving them small amounts of Yesponex too.

All that’s left is for Kirara to amplify their growth while we monitor how they’re coming along.

 After finishing the fieldwork…we returned to the shed.

Now that I had a moment, I remembered the tonic Matilda had given me—

It had been on my mind.

I opened the small container—just large enough to fit in my palm—and took a sniff.

Hmm. Smells… herbal?

This complex, slightly sweet smell stirs memories. It smells like vanilla or almond jelly…but also kind of like a medicinal patch. Suddenly, the vending machine near where I used to live back in my boarding house came to mind. That weird old vending machine that sold odd drinks. This smell reminded me of one of the carbonated drinks,  with a history older than that cola with a name like a spice doctor smelled like this.

When I first tried it, I remember thinking, Is it really okay to sell something this strong so openly?”

The scent gently wafted through the air, catching Kirara’s attention.

“What is that?”

“It’s a tonic Matilda-san gave me.”

I tilted the container and poured a tiny bit into my palm.

It wasn’t thin and watery—it had a slightly thick, milky consistency.

I gave it a quick taste.

“Whoa—sweet!”

A sticky sweetness clung to the inside of my mouth.

Since this is supposed to be a nutritional supplement, I wonder if it’s just packed with sugar and oil to boost the calories.

But beneath the sweetness was a bitterness or unique taste—herbal, maybe even medicinal.

It was like an overly sweet herbal remedy…

Mimi and Kirara both reached out their hands, intrigued.

I gave each of them a little drop.

Mimi licked hers, and tears welled up in her eyes as she stuck out her tongue.

Guess it didn’t agree with her.

Can’t blame her. This is definitely a flavor that not everyone will like.

Kirara, on the other hand, closed her eyes and swirled it around in her mouth.

She had the serious look, like a sommelier tasting wine.

Then she suddenly opened her eyes wide and said:

“You know… this has miasma mixed in it.”

“Miasma?”

That word… it sounded familiar.

Ah, right. That came up during the God’s explanation about the Demon King.

“It certainly has medicinal properties in it, so it won’t be an issue in small doses. I actually find it tasty.”

Now that she mentions it, I recall hearing something about the sacred tree absorbing small amounts of miasma.

　

I try to recall more, but it’s not so clear… I really should’ve listened more carefully.

Was it that the miasma would increase and the Demon King would be born from it.

It seems like monsters are commonplace in this world. I’ve been ignoring how the Demon King’s appearance puts the world in danger, but maybe I should look into it a bit more.

I mean, even back in Japan—The world had wars going on. Prices were rising gradually, and you could feel the tension in the air. But even so, my daily life hadn’t changed that drastically. I was keenly aware of the effects of inflation and the recession, though.

So in this world too, even if people say the Demon King is a looming threat, It never really hit me.

“If it’s miasma… can it be ‘sealed’?”

I muttered, struck by the idea.

As I recall, Sealing was supposed to be an ability that can seal away both the Demon Lord and miasma. I don’t really know how to use it so I never use it—But supposedly, it’s one of the skills I was granted.

Wait a second—

I have used “Sealing” before. I remember trying it on the Rock Turtle.

But… it felt different from how God explained it. Sure, sealing the Demon Lord might be the final goal, but I feel like that’s probably not the only use for the sealing skill.

Just like the “Translation” and “Adaptation” skills—Now that I think about it, the God’s explanations were quite vague, maybe even incomplete.

Did that god seriously half-ass the tutorial?

Or maybe I’m just using my skills incorrectly?

From the God’s perspective, he gave me a “rice cooker” and expected me to cook rice, But instead I’m out here making cakes and fermented black garlic or something.

And I can’t help but feel my own comprehension might have been lacking. There were times I brushed things off, assuming, “Oh, it’s probably something like this.”

Anyway—the point is: Miasma.

For some reason, the nutritional supplements contain miasma, which seems to be harmful to the body. So maybe this weird illness spreading around town—Maybe that’s being caused by this miasma?

However, this nutritional supplement seems a bit expensive. No matter how popular it is in the royal capital, I doubt everyone’s drinking it, regardless of age or gender. And I don’t think it’s widespread enough in this town to explain everything.

I’m starting to suspect that one of the ingredients in this tonic is the culprit. Perhaps it’s the alcohol used to extract the herbal extract?

It also seems to coincide with the wine season that Regal-san mentioned.

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