Chapter 46

"Perhaps closer to the latter. It has been a long time since dragons disappeared. In human history, they are merely considered as legends of the past. But they do exist."

Medis, speaking calmly, instinctively reached for the teacup but quickly withdrew his hand with a start.

"But it's impossible for humans. Their affinity with nature is not particularly good. Although there are eccentrics, they are not to the point of being able to see nature spirits."

"That's true."

"Those with a tendency towards chaos find it twice as difficult to cultivate a natural affinity compared to us elves."

At his words, Yuria Helishana smiled without a trace of hesitation.

"I plan to leave the village for a while soon."

"Yuria, my friend. What...?"

"I think I've found a way to save the village. Of course, don't worry. I'll leave after stabilizing the village."

At her words, Medis was speechless for a long time.

* * *

The villagers performed better than expected.

They say a company thrives with more passionate priests.

It seemed there was little difference between Earth and this Tionis continent.

"Explain this. Why is the work that should take four days almost finished in half a day?"

At my words, Monmither gave a slightly awkward smile.

"That is... they are trying to repay the lord's favor..."

I know the pattern that emerges when someone who can't control their power gains excessive strength, but the work was completed at a speed that exceeded my expectations, shortening the time.

It's not bad to seize the immediate benefits, but in the long term...

'Honestly, it's a loss.'

Taking out a small pouch from my pocket and handing it to him, he looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Start planting this exactly one week from now. Don't sprinkle it like salt; plant it with appropriate spacing."

What I handed him was a small pouch.

Monmither, with a look of "Is that all?" checked the pouch and soon his eyes widened in surprise at the spatial expansion magic attached to it.

"Your... Lord, this is..."

"Moon grass, or more precisely, seedlings of the flower. They are of better quality because they were obtained from their place of origin."

"Seedlings?!"

Of course, seedlings are harder to obtain than leaves. His surprise at my nonchalant acquisition was evident.

"But... we don't know how to cultivate moon grass..."

"Here it is."

I hadn't been idly playing with mana stones for nearly a week.

"Really... will this work? This is beyond the realm of humans..."

Monmither, reading the documents I handed him, looked amazed.

The documents contained detailed instructions on how to manage moon grass.

I had to put some thought into creating this.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not doubting your words, Lord..."

"To be honest, I wouldn't easily believe it either. But since the entire fief is on the verge of collapse, let's take a chance. If the heavens are moved, they will surely help."

At my smile, he seemed to understand but didn't distrust me.

A cautious person is usually careful.

He knew that once such a person starts to trust, they give considerable trust.

* * *

When the militia began planting the seedlings of the moon flower, curious voices spread throughout the fief.

What exactly was I planting, and would it really grow?

It seemed they had their doubts.

The moon flower takes a long time to fully grow, about 4 to 5 months.

Honestly, this is my first attempt, but I had prepared thoroughly.

Fortunately, the villagers now almost blindly trusted what I did, so there was little complaint about this mysterious business venture.

I hadn't taken anything from their lives in the current situation.

Taxes would only be collected once the villagers had enough to live on.

The elements needed for the moon flower to grow, as I remembered.

I adjusted the weather, temperature, and soil conditions to the optimal state for the moon flower to grow.

Originally, I would need to apply the power of spirits to make the flowers bloom, but since the valuable part is the leaves, the spirit's power isn't strictly necessary.

Of course, external factors could cause problems, so I didn't forget to surround the area with a large fence.

"Your Highness."

"What is it?"

"Is this really okay? I don't have the skills to cultivate moon grass..."

"What are you curious about?"

"It's... the leaves are gradually drying up..."

"The heavens are moved, and it will rain soon."

Monmither's expression was stunned at my words.

However, the next day, as soon as the drizzle began, his expression changed dramatically, and his mouth opened wide in shock.

"Your Highness. The temperature is much hotter than expected..."

The next day, a cool breeze blew over the entire moon flower field from early morning.

...

Now, Monmither no longer worried and only reported the necessary parts.

Thus, the uncertain situation persisted, and before long, four months had passed.

* * *

For nearly four months, I focused most of my attention on repelling the goblins, who were likely to invade the fief again, and on developing new farmland for the villagers.

Goblins are notoriously stupid and will attack again to plunder food.

-They are commonly known as thickheads.

"Where did you learn such a term?"

-From you, of course.

"Right..."

Looking up at the boy with a wry smile, I felt a strange sense of guilt.

He has lived many times longer than I have, but his appearance remains that of a small girl, no bigger than my hand.

A barren wasteland turned into a vast garden, and a large fence surrounded it, making it a moon flower field, which is extremely rare in the eastern continent.

Although few of the moon flowers grew healthy enough to produce seedlings, the number of leaves that could be sold in the market increased significantly.

"100 gold coins for one flower."

It is an extremely rare flower.

Not only the time it takes to grow but also its rarity makes the moon grass in the eastern continent much more expensive than in the western continent.

'This will change the market in the eastern continent.'

The sight of dozens of carts filled with moon grass, which can fetch ten times its cost due to its rarity and value, was comforting.

-When it's all sold, something interesting will happen.

"Right."

But this time, I had no intention of hiding it like the mana stones.

I didn't cultivate the moon flowers for nothing. I also strongly prevented the leakage of information about the moon flower's growth process.

The rumor that I started cultivating moon flowers here had already spread.

But they all sneered.

They said it couldn't grow in the eastern continent with its distinct seasons.

They must have mocked the exiled first prince for finally losing his mind.

If it weren't for the massive curse on the fief, I wouldn't have chosen such an easy way to make money.

The rumor spread as I intended, making it known that the first prince was a fool trying to achieve the impossible.

This was good.

"Then, it's time to turn things around."

If I had quietly pushed this business without spreading the rumor, someone might have tried to interfere.

But from the moment the rumor spread that I was cultivating moon grass without any precautions or plans, I became a worthless fool in their eyes.

-This method won't work more than once.

"So, I have to make it big this time."

Saying this, I looked at the pile of documents in front of me.

The cultivation of moon grass was successfully completed, and the leaves were neatly stored and packaged in the lord's castle.

"Let's turn the continent upside down."

The smell of money.

As if my words were a switch.

In just a few days, a surprising rumor began to spread across the entire eastern continent.

From the dying wasteland, the Hains fief.

A place that was said to need 10 to 20 years to recover, even with the occasional rain.

The news that the precious moon grass leaves, which were hard to obtain, had been successfully cultivated in large quantities.

I regret not seeing the surprised expressions of those who thought I would fail.

20. Shipping! Turning the Tables!

The moon grass is greedy and can be dangerous to cultivate densely if the spirit's power is not strong.

But what does it matter, when all I have left is the land.

"The moon grass leaves stored in the warehouse total about 20,000."

Aimi, who has been learning a lot recently, reported with a slight frown, perhaps due to a headache.

I should at least provide this much assurance to someone who followed me to this remote place without complaint.

A moon flower produces 4 leaves.

A moon flower seed grows into 5 to 6 branches, each producing several flowers.

As a result, about 10,000 flowers bloomed initially, but there were mistakes.

More precisely, it was due to a lack of technology.

Even though I had heard many stories from the only elf in the corridor, Apollo, I hadn't lived a life of cultivating flowers.

Ultimately, about 5,000 flowers survived.

Even this amount is still considerable.

At the current market price, 4 leaves are worth 100 gold coins.

Out of the 20,000 leaves, about half, or 10,000, can be sold at full value.

1 leaf is worth 25 gold. If all 10,000 leaves are sold at full price, it would be 250,000 gold.

A harvest equivalent to 5,000 platinum coins.

How much is that?

1 gold coin is enough for a common family to live frugally for half a month.

For a relatively wealthy commoner, it would be about 4 to 5 gold coins a month if they lived comfortably.

'Incredible.'

The amount is truly staggering.

Moon grass leaves are available in the market about twice a year.

The quantity is not small, but it is far from enough for both the eastern and western continents.

-Magic or alchemy catalyst, also used as an ingredient for potions in temples. Those who were idly sitting on piles of money will drool.