Chapter 60

After returning to the town, we went back to the Veriello Trading Company.

"Miss, a messenger just arrived and arranged a meeting with the Marmore Trading Company. They said any time tomorrow morning would be fine, and they will come to us."

"Since it's our request, wouldn't it be impolite to have them come to us?"

"I don't think it's a problem. We usually handle business this way."

"Alright, then please arrange for them to come tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am."

It hadn't been long since we sent out the messenger, yet they already set up an appointment. They work efficiently.

"Do you have any available warehouses? I have some business with Akira-sama."

Cherina quickly moved the conversation along. She's a quick thinker.

"Warehouse? Numbers 2 and 6 are available."

"Got it. Please make sure no one goes near number 6."

"Yes, ma'am."

A different subordinate of Melvin's came and efficiently handled the procedures. The Veriello Trading Company has many capable people. If they had been at my previous company, they would have been a great asset. But if they were as excellent as they are, they probably wouldn't have been in a department that interacted with me, so we wouldn't have met.

"Let's go."

Cherina seemed to be speaking only to me, but of course, the elf Yarai and the idle Hag also followed.

"Um..."

Cherina started to say something, but I interrupted her.

"Ah, it's fine with Hag. Yarai...?"

I thought for a few seconds but quickly made a decision. I can trust this man. Or rather, I want to trust him.

"Yarai, I'm about to show you my secret. Can you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Akira-sama?!"

"Cherina, Yarai is fine, what do you think?"

"Hmm. Finally, Akira, you recognize me as a friend."

What, what does that mean?

"Akira, you have a secret, I noticed."

Seriously?!

Is Yarai that sharp, or was I that obvious? Either way, it's a bit disheartening.

"R-right, I'll show you, but please don't tell anyone else."

"Of course."

Yarai nodded vigorously. Next to him, Cherina muttered, "Did Lord Hag know too... It wasn't just the two of you..."

You know, even the grass knows.

"Shall we get started?"

Following Cherina, we headed to Warehouse 6. This was the warehouse where we secretly took out the potatoes needed due to the plot of the Pig King, King Pilatus II of this country.

"Here we are."

It feels strangely nostalgic, even though it was only a few days ago. It's been over ten days since I was thrown into this world. I stood there, arms crossed, thinking.

"Cherina, as I mentioned before, I want to plant corn and cassava. What's the budget?"

"Let's see... up to 50 million should be fine."

"That's reassuring."

I checked the prices of cassava and corn. Of course, the cassava is non-toxic.

[Cassava Cuttings (10) = 3,000 yen]

[Corn Seeds (500) = 1,160 yen]

"Alright, let's start with cassava. How about 10,000 cuttings?"

"Ten thousand?!"

"Yep, let's plant 5,000 immediately and stagger the planting of the remaining 5,000 over time."

"Bold, very bold."

"Normally, farming involves trial and error... I'm not naive enough to think that planting will guarantee growth, but for some reason, I can only imagine success... I wonder why."

Was I this optimistic before?

"Alright, but first, show us a sample."

"Good point. Here."

I took out a bundle of 10 cassava cuttings. They were about 30 cm long.

"! Akira, what did you do?!"

Yarai exclaimed when he saw the cuttings appear directly from my hand without using an item box.

"This is my ability. It's called SHOP. I can purchase items from the area I lived in, or under certain conditions, items from this world... from a god and bring them in and out."

I demonstrated by taking the bundle of cuttings in and out of the container... the ability similar to an item box that works with SHOP. Yarai was speechless as the cuttings disappeared when I touched them and reappeared from my hand.

"...Apostle..."

Yarai muttered softly.

Ah, of course, that typical fantasy name comes up, how annoying.

"Or, a Gift?"

Huh? I've never heard that word before.

"What's a Gift?"

Is it a New Year's gift?

"A special ability one is born with."

"Got it. What kind of abilities are there?"

"Akira-sama, Gift users usually hide their abilities. I'm not sure exactly, but some say they can see through objects or predict the future."

"Wow, that sounds unbeatable if used right."

"Yes, so Gift users are said to be kept secret."

"Sounds vague."

"Whether Gift users even exist is questionable."

"Hmm. Well, it doesn't matter. The power I got from the god is definitely real. I've even spoken to it, though only by voice."

"Apostle..."

Yarai is deep in thought. In a fantasy world, gods aren't that rare.

"Ah, right, Yarai, do you know how to cultivate cassava?"

Yarai interrupted his thoughts and took the cuttings.

"No problem."

"Will it grow in this region?"

"Watch out for drainage and flooding."

"Got it."

"Then we need to prepare drainage ditches for the rainy season and irrigation ditches for watering."

"Watering will be manual for now, drainage first."

"Understood. We can't hide this work anymore, we need to gather farmers on a large scale."

"Alright, what about this?"

I took out a bag of 500 corn seeds and handed it to Yarai.

"Corn! This is good seed."

"Do you know about it, Yarai-sama?"

"This seed is strong in barren land, resistant to continuous planting, and delicious. But it needs fertilizer before and after planting."

"..."

Cherina still seems hesitant about using fertilizer.

"Didn't you decide to use it?"

"Reflex."

I understand.

"Yarai, what happens if we don't use fertilizer?"

"The seeds will grow, but the yield will be drastically reduced, and the plants will be weak."

"Will they grow at all?"

"Along the river, the soil is not bad, but in the wilderness, fertilizer is necessary."

"Hmm..."

"It's fine, Akira-sama. I've already decided to use fertilizer."

"Alright... So, is it okay to plant cassava and corn? Wait, we haven't finished the fertilizer deal yet."

"It's fine. I can easily handle a deal of that size."

Cherina laughed. From her expression, it seems she's confident.

"Then I'll start bringing them out. Please stack them properly."

"What, should I help too?"

Hag muttered, looking bored.

"If you help, I'll treat you to dinner and drinks."

"Alright! I'll help then!"

Hag's rolling up his sleeves was the signal to start the work.

▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲

I look forward to your reviews, bookmarks, and comments (comments can be submitted through activity reports).

▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲▽▲