Chapter 51

This story is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names are all fictitious and have no relation to any real entities.

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049 - The Power of the Spirit

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After the lecture by Gandarban and Annelise, it was decided that the two would oversee a test to see what the spirit could do.

A detailed appraisal of the spirit revealed the following:

▼ Detailed Appraisal Results ▼

- Lower Rank Thorn Spirit Level 20: No proper name. The contracted spirit of Toi = Futsishick. Can be summoned and returned. When returned, it stays in its original habitat. Abilities: Manipulate and promote the growth of plants. Can possess the user to enhance their abilities.

It seems the spirit was also a plant spirit. Seeing those vines, it makes sense that it's related to roses.

To test its abilities, we decided to have it grow some plants.

However, the Lower Rank Thorn Spirit can only produce thorns on its own, so I decided to buy various plant seeds.

For such occasions, the Gorteo Store, which has everything, is very convenient!

"Welcome, Lord Toi. It's a pleasure to have you here."

"Mr. Gorteo. It's been a while."

After becoming a noble, I've purchased many things from Mr. Gorteo, including servants' uniforms, armor, and weapons for Gandarban and the others.

According to Montalque, they also buy alcohol, food, and other items here. We've become regular customers.

"I'm here to look at plant seeds and seedlings."

"Plant seeds, you say? I heard that you were awarded a medal for your outstanding performance in the recent demon incident. Has the land been granted to you as well?"

As expected of a great merchant. His ears are always tuned in.

"No, no, no. I'm just thinking about starting a home garden."

"A home garden...?"

I told him not to think too deeply about it and asked him to show me where the seeds were.

"I've heard about Annelise."

As we walked, Mr. Gorteo brought up the topic.

"Annelise did a great job repelling the demon. The Duke said it was a reward for her efforts."

"That's wonderful. This is the area where we handle plant-related items. Please take your time looking around."

The shelves were divided, with seeds and bulbs displayed. There were no seedlings, though.

"Oh, that's right. Have you heard the story, Lord Toi?"

What story? I'm not particularly sensitive to rumors.

"No, what story is it?"

I left Gandarban and the others to do the shopping while I listened to Mr. Gorteo's story. I wonder what kind of rumor it is.

"It's about the hero."

Speaking of which, they were in this country too.

I heard from the knights and soldiers while being trained by Vulcan that they were summoned in the capital of this country.

"Did you do business with the hero?"

"Hehehe. It was the opposite. The hero came to our capital and demanded that we hand over the magic sword."

"Huh?"

The magic sword costs several million grils. To demand it? Are they crazy? No, they were just idiots. At least they were scum.

"Did you hand over the magic sword?"

"Of course not. We politely refused."

Mr. Gorteo was smiling, but his eyes weren't.

"Mr. Shinji's party has been exploring the dungeon for over a month and a half, but they haven't made any progress. Apparently, the party of 14 people split into four groups after a week of entering the dungeon."

In this world, a week is 6 days, a month is 5 weeks (30 days), and a year is 12 months.

In any case, they split up.

Originally, everyone was assertive and lacked teamwork. After coming to this world and obtaining their jobs, they probably fell apart due to their inability to match Shinji's strength.

"Mr. Shinji and the former party members are said to be frustrated because the dungeon exploration isn't progressing. As a result, they came to our store demanding the magic sword."

Heroes should be able to use the skill 'Holy Sword Summoning.' Maybe they're just imposters.

"What do you mean by not progressing?"

"Mr. Shinji's party reached the third floor of the dungeon soon after starting the exploration, but they haven't progressed beyond that."

They're stuck on the third floor. Given their personalities, they must be frustrated.

"The other parties, not associated with Mr. Shinji, seem to be doing well. They trained thoroughly before entering the dungeon and are now exploring the fifth floor."

They're a group of people who weren't part of Shinji's entourage. They didn't try to stop me when I was being beaten by Shinji and his group, so I don't care about them. But I don't intend to support them either.

"By the way, the people with production jobs are showing remarkable growth. Although they're not yet experts, they've recently been producing good items."

I think there were six people with production jobs. I don't know who has combat jobs and who has production jobs, but I hope they do their best. I won't support them, but the people of this country must be wishing for their success.

Speaking of which, she must be here too. Only Itsukushima cared about me. I hope she's doing well. The others don't matter to me.

"Thank you for the interesting story."

"Not at all. You can hear such rumors anywhere."

It seems Gandarban and the others have finished shopping, so I'll take my leave.

They bought everything. The amount that four soldiers can carry will be taken back, and the rest will be delivered to the mansion by the Gorteo Company.

I could carry everything using the Item Box, but I can't use it here.

"Thank you very much today. Congratulations on your recent achievements."

When I left the store, Mr. Gorteo politely saw me off. I'll come back to buy more, so please take care of me.

Back at the mansion, I immediately started testing the Lower Rank Thorn Spirit's abilities.

"Should I plant these seeds?"

The Lower Rank Thorn Spirit gestured to plant the seeds in an empty spot in the garden.

I took about ten seeds, which I thought were some kind of beans, to plant, but the spirit indicated that I should scatter them.

"Really, just scatter them?"

It bobbed up and down.

"Master, let me."

Annelise offered to do it, so I let her.

She scattered the seeds with graceful movements. She looks good doing anything.

"Alright. Lower Rank Thorn Spirit, make the beans grow."

It bobbed up and down to indicate agreement.

It flew around the area where the seeds were planted, and a powder like scales fell to the ground, coating the seeds.

Hmm? This... I felt something being drawn out from inside me. Checking my status, I saw that my MP was decreasing.

It seems that making plants grow consumes my MP.

Sprouts began to emerge from the seeds and grow rapidly.

"Wow."

"Amazing."

They grew quickly, with lush green leaves, and then began to wither.

"Go-gopp."

It seems to be a type of bean, similar to soybeans but slightly smaller.

I grew about 20 seeds, but the MP consumption wasn't significant. I could easily grow 10 times as many. This should easily cover the food needs of the mansion.

"I'll harvest them."

Annelise rolled up her sleeves and picked up the farming tools.

"How do you do it?"

I'm from the city and don't know much about farming. I've only seen rice planting on TV.

"Leave it to me. I helped my parents with farming when I was young."

Annelise's parents were farmers. She harvested the Go-gopp efficiently.

But can you really harvest Go-gopp in such cold weather from unplowed ground? This is a food cheat.

"Can Go-gopp be harvested in winter?"

"Usually, it's harvested from the second half of the ninth month to the tenth month. There are few vegetables or grains that can be harvested in winter."

That matches my common sense. With the power of the spirit, you can do things that are normally impossible. Even a Lower Rank Spirit can do this much.

My MP, with my main job as an Enchanter and my sub-job as an Assassin, is 460 points. It only took 20 points to grow 20 Go-gopp until harvest.

From one seed, you can harvest dozens or hundreds of Go-gopp, but it only costs 1 MP. Spirits are amazing.

Gandarban and Annelise were right to lecture me. As they said, it's not something to show in public.

"By the way, 'Lower Rank Thorn Spirit' is a bit hard to say. Can I give you a name?"

It seems to be okay.

"Then, let's call you Rose."

Since thorns are also called roses, Rose is fine.

It moved excitedly, seeming to like the name. I'm glad it likes it.

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