Catching a Big Fish with a Tiny Shrimp?
It’s now March, and in about a week, Brother Gerald will be leaving for the royal capital.
So, even though it’s a bit early, we decided to visit the World Tree together.
The insoles that Brother Gerald and Maria had been developing were finally completed, and everyone accompanying us this time was using them.
Honestly, they make walking so much easier.
By layering stiffened felt with a softer, springy felt, the impact that used to hit directly through the soles was completely gone.
If word about these ever got out, things could get messy.
I’d love to have every knight in our house use them, but we don’t have enough of the material yet.
Father tried on the finished pair and was delighted—but also looked troubled.
He’s probably already thinking about how to handle things if this invention gets discovered elsewhere.
He’s been saying he needs stomach medicine more often lately… but this time, I’m pretty sure it’s not my fault—it’s Brother Gerald’s.
To distribute these to all the villagers, we’ll have to find alternative materials, but that’s easier said than done.
As usual, we advanced through the forest by capturing Cocottes.
We’ve been trying to raise Cocottes in several villages, but none of the attempts have succeeded yet.
The season might be a factor, so we’ll just have to keep trying.
When we stopped to rest in the clearing, Ripka’s parents and Bianca’s family had somehow appeared without anyone noticing.
They always sneak up like that.
I’d brought some treats for them today:
Anpan (with red bean, white bean, and matcha fillings) and dorayaki (also in those three flavors).
Ripka had said those two would be best.
Our journey went smoothly, and we reached the World Tree.
It feels like we’re getting there faster every time—perhaps the tree’s power is gradually returning.
Alraune came over to me, beaming.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?” she said cheerfully.
She seemed in a good mood, so I asked if something nice had happened.
“I’ll tell you later,” she said.
“No trouble, okay? I’m really busy right now, so I can’t deal with any messes,” I warned.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a favor,” she said.
… Hard to tell if that’s true, but I decided to trust her.
At dinner, I served the anpan and dorayaki to Ripka’s parent, Bianca’s family, and Alraune.
Everyone loved them.
The next morning, I woke to find a pile of defeated monsters—including Minotaurs.
Apparently, it was a gift of thanks from Ripka’s parents and Bianca’s family.
Still, was all that really worth a few sweet buns and pancakes?
With Alraune guiding us, we hunted Skeleton Flowers.
The ones we’d planted in autumn—green, yellow, orange, and purple—had all bloomed.
Now, with eight colors available, we could probably prevent the market price from dropping.
Since we’d fought and planted new seeds in two more spots today, we decided to stay one more night at the World Tree before heading home.
The next day, Alraune handed me a small bag of seeds as a souvenir.
“Is this… rice?”
“That’s right. It’s a type of rice that yields a lot,” she said.
“How do you even know about rice?”
“Ciel told me. So I improved it. You should thank me—and let us try that ‘curry rice’ sometime,” she said.
When exactly did she even get rice to begin with?
Did Ciel swipe some from Helios Village?
I had a lot of questions, but I accepted the gift gratefully.
Honestly, between Ripka’s parent, Bianca’s family, and Alraune… it feels like I caught a big fish with a tiny shrimp.
When I got back, I caught Ciel, who was perched on a tree branch in the garden, and asked her directly.
“Be grateful! You’ll get to eat lots of rice dishes now,” she said—through Atre’s translation.
So basically, she just wanted to eat more rice herself and asked Alraune for help.
When I asked if she’d stolen the unharvested rice from Helios Village, she flapped her wings furiously and pelted me with tiny ice balls before vanishing.
Totally dodged the question and flew off.
But… I can’t be too mad. I want to eat rice too.
I asked Helios Village to try cultivating the rice Alraune gave me.
I’m really looking forward to this autumn.
Three days later, Brother Gerald left for the royal capital to prepare for school.
That left me alone again, but with the new town and the exhibition preparations keeping me busy, I didn’t have time to feel lonely like I did when Brother Chris left.
I checked with each guild about the exhibition’s registration status.
So far, there are enough applicants that we probably won’t even need to hold preliminary rounds.
Good—because that would’ve meant even more work.
However, some villagers who aren’t participating said they still want to attend the exhibition, hoping to travel to the domain capital or Eminira with the participants.
Well, if there’s a chance to travel that far safely under guard, I can’t blame them.
If we can sort out the lodging situation, I’d like to make it happen for them.
What do you think about this chapter?
