Chapter 71

"Wow, what a strange forest."

"What? These thorny-leaved plants?"

Today, our adventurer party, the 'Dragon Busters,' is without our leader, Ver.

Ver is busy with various adult matters, or as Ver puts it, to eliminate the roots of future troubles, he is working on a scheme to bring down his real older brother.

It might sound cruel, but this isn't an uncommon story among nobles.

Just look at the Rukuna brothers, and you'll understand.

Moreover, I didn't approve of that older brother's attitude.

No matter how much he disliked bowing to his younger brother, if he couldn't do it, he wasn't fit to be a noble.

That's why Ver is currently using magic to bring down his older brother.

In the morning, he sends us to the entrance of the demonic forest we are exploring with magic.

He works hard on reclamation, digging irrigation ditches, improving the soil, and making fertilizer.

It doesn't really look like a scheme to bring down his older brother.

He has developed an undeveloped area that no one has ever developed before, creating beautiful rural and pastoral areas, and even opened shops for potential immigrants who are looking for new jobs.

This seems to be surprising the residents of the Baumister territory.

I heard this from Elise.

"If Lord Vendelin helps with the development of the territory, the future of this territory can be hopeful. Everyone says so."

Elise is working at the church in place of Master Meister, the only priest in the Baumister territory.

It seems that Master Meister has a bad back and can't get out of bed.

Elise tried to use healing magic, but it seems that Master Meister is too old for it to be very effective.

The symptoms are gradually improving, but it seems that natural healing is the only option.

"Healing magic becomes less effective as one gets older. It's a regrettable thing."

I remember Master Meister smiling and saying he was too old when Ver and I visited him.

Then, Elise became a temporary substitute priest, and the church is reportedly bustling with activity.

It's not that the residents suddenly became religious, but some people come to see her because she is cute.

The main reason is Elise's healing magic.

"Elise-sama, my child has a fever..."

"Last week, I cut my arm during reclamation work..."

"I fell from a tree and broke a bone..."

There are no doctors in the territory, so all injuries and illnesses were treated with folk remedies, but Elise's healing magic cures them instantly.

No one in the territory is unaware that she is called the 'Saint of the Hoehnheim Family' in the capital.

Everyone is lining up to get treated while she is here.

Elise is kind and treats everyone who comes.

Moreover, she doesn't accept any donations as payment.

She does accept a little food, though.

"Indeed, Lady Vendelin."

"Thank you, Elise-sama."

"As a token of gratitude, here are some vegetables I picked today."

Everyone regards Elise like a goddess, and Ver's reputation as her fiancé also rises.

Naturally, that older brother can't be happy.

Elise is in danger, so he has increased the number of guards besides Wilma.

However, I think even the lord, Ver's father, would find it dangerous to lay a hand on the current Elise.

Everyone thinks that Ver should inherit the lordship.

"It's really hot, isn't it?"

"It's the south, after all."

"Is that the only reason?"

Well, there's nothing we can do about Ver for now.

He sends us off in the morning and evening, and it seems he has taken a liking to civil engineering magic.

"Haha! The rice fields are expanding! The soil improvement is going well!"

He seems to be really into it, but Ina says, "Men sometimes get obsessed with things that are hard to understand."

"Wow! A huge rock blocking the beautiful square rice field! You will be forcibly removed!"

"A stump of an old giant tree! Break and become fertilizer!"

I've seen him seriously face immovable obstacles, but I couldn't really understand it.

So, Ver won't be a fighting force for a while.

Instead, Lord Blantarc is participating in the exploration.

While he has less magic power than Ver, he is an experienced and reliable magician who can use a variety of spells.

"Hmm..."

And the important Blantarc, he was looking at an old book he brought and muttering to himself.

"Hey, Blantarc?"

"Ah, sorry."

Blantarc turned to us with an apology at Ina's call.

"What's that book?"

"I borrowed it from the manor."

Lord Blantarc, Ina, and I serve the Margrave of Breihlreda, whose hobby is collecting old books.

From the erotic novel I borrowed before, it seems he doesn't care about the genre.

Anyway, he seems to have a special fondness for old and valuable books.

To be honest, I think he's a bit strange.

"What kind of book is it?"

"The title is 'Illustrated Compendium of Monsters and Products.'"

It's a very old book that introduces, with illustrations, the monsters that live in the territory of monsters and the products that can be collected.

It also includes attack patterns, weaknesses, and parts that can be eaten or used.

It is very detailed, but it is also a problematic book.

"Some of the monsters and products introduced are things no one has ever seen."

While it is detailed, it only includes monsters that no one has ever seen.

This part is why the compendium is called a 'semi-fictional compendium.'

"But, this thorny-leaved plant is in it. It's called 'Nangoku Shida.'"

This compendium also has detailed information about the unique insects, fish, and plants in the territory of monsters, and the thorny plant is on one of the pages.

"Huh? So, maybe?"

We are currently exploring the vast demonic forest that blocks the sea at the southern end of the undeveloped area, dividing it into three parts.

The central part where the expeditionary force entered didn't show much difference from other territories of monsters.

However, the forest we entered today in the west is overgrown with trees and plants we have never seen before.

Besides the Nangoku Shida, many plants are growing in layers.

"Are there undiscovered monsters?"

"They are in the compendium, so maybe ancient adventurers came here."

There was no way to confirm, but I think it's possible.

Or, there might be places with the same vegetation and monsters as this forest in other areas.

"This compendium has been proven to be non-fiction."

"Indeed. But..."

"But what?"

Blantarc looked in a certain direction in response to Ina's question.

"Everything in this forest is huge!"

"Indeed..."

Blantarc and Ina were speechless at the sight of the large, yellow crescent-shaped fruits growing in abundance on the giant trees.

After all, each one was about my height.

"Um, these are called 'bananas.'"

The compendium had an illustrated explanation of the fruit called bananas.

It says that it is a plant that grows naturally in the south, and it bears yellow fruits about twenty centimeters long in large clusters.

"First, I think the size is wrong."

"What's wrong?"

As Blantarc said, this is the first time the compendium's description has been wrong.

In other words, only the size is wrong.

"Because it's the territory of monsters. There are things that are inconceivable in other lands. But they actually exist."

The territory of monsters, like this one, is often a place with a high concentration of mana, the source of magic.

The monsters become large due to the dense mana.

"But, being big is advantageous, right?"

"Well, that's true."

We are not just conducting a survey; we also do collection and hunting.

We need to bring back souvenirs for Ver, so we started collecting these bananas.

We also collected other fruits like 'mangoes,' which are about a meter long, and 'durians.'

"Is this a coffee bean?"

"Yes."

The giant coffee beans, which I couldn't hold with one hand, were growing in abundance on the giant tree in front of me.

"With such a large size, roasting the beans would be difficult, wouldn't it?"

"It doesn't seem to be that difficult."

Blantarc bit into the flesh of the coffee bean and proved that the part to be roasted, the seed, doesn't change much in size.

On the other hand, it is also difficult to extract the seeds for coffee.

Coffee is cultivated in some southern lands of the Breihlreda territory, but due to the limited quantity, it costs nearly ten times as much as mate tea in cafes.

By the way, black tea is fermented mate tea, so it's not that expensive.

At most, it costs about twice as much as mate tea.

"A little sour, but the fruit is edible."

"Really? I didn't know that."

The coffee fruit I received from Blantarc was a little sour but sweet and delicious.

"This is also a souvenir for Ver, right?"

"Yes. That guy likes rare foods."

Indeed, his abnormal obsession with food was evident even during his stay in the capital.

"This is bad..."

"It's from a royal supplier."

"No matter who the supplier is, if it's bad, it's bad!"

Ver is clear about his likes and dislikes when it comes to food, but he always tries new foods, and if he likes them, he will spend a lot of money to get them.

In the capital, there are favorite restaurants, cafes, confectioneries, fish shops, meat shops, grain stores, and dried food shops.

The shops he favors are secretly known as 'suppliers to the hero who slayed the dragon.'

However, Ver dislikes the display of 'supplier' signs, so none of the shops do it.

Also, he occasionally cooks.

His knife skills are rough, his taste is strong, and the quantity is large.

I don't know where he learned it, but he makes unique dishes that he has never eaten before.

The biggest hits were 'karaage' and 'fried foods,' I think.

One day, Ver said, "I'm going to cook!" and went into the kitchen.

It was a common scene, but that day, he seemed more determined than usual.

When I peeked in, he first used magic to age the meat of the Holohol bird and then used another magic to make the meat tender.

Professional chefs and housewives would cut the meat with a thin blade or marinate it in fig or ginger juice, which takes time and effort.

But Ver has magic, which makes it convenient.

I think it's rare for someone to use magic for such things.

Next, he marinated the meat in a seasoning liquid made of soy sauce, sugar, and ginger juice.

Then, Ver coated the meat with a powder called 'katakuri flour' and fried it at a high temperature.

He also said things like, "The batter should be made with katakuri flour, a small amount of wheat flour, rice, eggs, and oil, and chilled in advance."

"Double frying is the way to go!" but I couldn't understand why Ver was so particular about it.

Even Elise, who tilted her head in wonder, said, "Lord Vendelin's cooking skills are not that good, but he knows unique cooking methods, which is strange."

And this 'katakuri flour' is a powder that Ver suddenly made from potatoes one day, and Elise used it to thicken soups.

He also recommended mixing it with hot water, sugar, and salt to feed to patients at churches and clinics, as it allows patients who have difficulty swallowing regular food to get nutrients.

It actually worked, and the church paid a large sum of money to Lord Vendelin to obtain the exclusive manufacturing rights to 'katakuri flour.'

Many people think that the church does not engage in economic activities other than donations, but in fact, many branches in rural areas brew and sell