Chapter 4

"Master Noct, is something wrong?"

"Sorry, Mea. I want to try something. Do we have any undamaged crops or vegetables?"

"If that's the case, there are a few over here."

Saying that, Mea held out a basket containing tomatoes that the villagers had grown.

The field had been damaged by a monster attack, but there were still some undamaged crops.

"I want to try out a skill, so I'll borrow these."

"Yes, please."

Mea handed over the bright red tomatoes.

At this point, even a single tomato is a precious food source. It can't be wasted.

However, if what I'm thinking is possible, it could greatly improve the food situation.

While Mea looked at me curiously, I used the Enlargement skill on the tomato in my hand.

The tomato, which had been the size of my palm, quickly grew larger.

Eventually, it became so large that it wouldn't fit in my hand, and I couldn't even hold it with both arms. The enlargement stopped at this point.

"Amazing! The tomato is so big!"

Mea's eyes widened at the size, which was completely different from what she was used to.

"Is this Master Noct's skill?"

"Yes. It's a skill called [Enlargement & Reduction], which can make things bigger or smaller."

"If Master Noct has this skill, we can live well even with a small amount of ingredients?"

"Maybe. First, let's see if it's edible."

It would be difficult to bite into a tomato of this size, so I asked Mea to fetch a knife from the mansion.

"I'm sorry, but there's no cutting board in the mansion, and only a small knife is available."

"No, a knife is fine. I can enlarge it with my skill. Let's borrow a house."

I said this to Mea, who looked apologetic, and we decided to borrow the kitchen of a house that had relatively little damage.

"Master Noct, I'll carry the tomato!"

Seeing me carrying the tomato, Mea offered to help, but the enlarged tomato was quite heavy, and it would be too much for her to carry.

"No, it's quite heavy, so I'm fine. Mea, go in first and check if there's a cutting board."

"Understood."

As Mea went into the house, I slowly carried the heavy tomato.

I hadn't realized that a tomato could become so heavy when enlarged. Even at its original size, it was quite heavy, so it makes sense that it would be heavier when enlarged.

I've been training with a sword since I was young, but even so, it was quite a strain on my body.

I should have enlarged it inside the house instead of outside.

If I struggle too much, Mea will worry, so I pretended to be fine as I carried the tomato into the house.

"Master Noct, there's a cutting board left, so we can borrow it!"

"Alright."

I felt a bit hesitant about using someone else's things, but since they were abandoned, I, as the lord, can reuse them without penalty.

Mea washed the cutting board thoroughly with water and placed it on the table.

I enlarged the cutting board so that it could hold the large tomato, and it ended up being almost the same size as the table.

It's not really a cutting board anymore, but given the size of the ingredients, it's fine.

After placing the tomato on it and taking a deep breath, I took the knife from Mea.

It's not a kitchen knife for cutting ingredients but a small, versatile knife used for cutting seals or plants.

It's not ideal for cutting a large tomato, but it should work if I enlarge it.

"Enlargement."

I imagined the blade to be about fifty centimeters long, and the knife enlarged accordingly.

"It's almost like a small sword now."

"…Yes."

Seeing the enlarged knife, which didn't look like a small knife at all, Mea and I were speechless.

But this should work.

I carefully moved the enlarged knife and cut the tomato.

The outer skin was a bit tough, but using the weight of the knife, it was easily cut.

The large tomato split in half, revealing the juice and flesh inside.

Even cut in half, it's still quite large, so I cut off a piece from the outside that would be about a mouthful.

"Let's try it."

"Yes."

It shouldn't have become poisonous just because it was enlarged.

Still, whether it's edible or not will greatly affect our future life.

Mea and I, filled with both hope and tension, put the tomato in our mouths.

"…It's just a normal tomato, right?"

"Yes, there are no negative changes in taste or anything."

That means the enlarged ingredients can be eaten normally! I almost did a victory pose, but it's too early to be certain.

Still, the excitement is hard to hide.

"Mea! Let's look for other vegetables and crops! I want to confirm if they can be eaten without problems when enlarged!"

"Understood! I'll go look for them!"

After making sure the knife was reduced in size for safety, Mea and I went outside to gather ingredients.

We found undamaged ingredients like wheat, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, carrots, my fruit, scallions, green beans, and onions. We enlarged and tasted them, and all of them could be eaten without any problems.

"It works! Enlarged ingredients can be eaten without any issues!"

"With this, we can live a rich life even with a small amount of food! Master Noct's skill is amazing!"

We were thrilled by this surprising fact.

After experiencing so much despair, it's incredibly heartening to see a clear ray of hope.

I had braced myself for a life of rationing, but with this, we can live a normal life.

After all, if we put our minds to it, one ingredient can feed several people.

While it's true that the enlarged ingredients will still rot, it's a good thing that we can now expect an improvement in the food situation.

I thought this was just a skill for making things bigger or smaller, but if we think about how to use it, it might become an all-purpose skill.

Thank you. Thanks to you, we were ranked 8th in the genre-specific rankings and 50th overall this morning.

I'm happy to be in the rankings!

I'll keep working hard on the next part!