CHAPTER 8: THE PACT OF THE FIRST APPLE
After we had fulfilled the bare minimum requirements for my dungeon to be classified as one, we decided to end our work.
The first room of the floor underneath my city was set to be guarded by Mithril Golems but those said Golems were still within Marcho’s dungeon.
In the off chance that humans came to invade my dungeon, we decided to spend the night in the crystal room and set out in the following morning to pick up our companions who were still in Marcho’s dungeon.
“Oto-san, for today’s meal, I want some of those red fruits! The crunchy and delicious ones!”
“Master, I like those flaky light brown ones.”
“Oh then, I want to eat the yellow soup.”
The only food I had at the moment were hardtack biscuits and some dried meat so when I said I was going to make some food using [Creation], the girls told me each of their requests.
It seemed like Kuina wanted some apples; Elder Dwarf some potatoes; and Ancient Elf some corn soup.
Demon Lords and monsters didn’t really need to eat meals but they would do so daily for the taste. It was kind of a waste and I rarely did so but using [Creation] for our meal today should be alright.
“Okay. Kuina and Elder Dwarf, your requests can be eaten as they are but would it be better if I took out an already cooked one for you, Ancient Elf?”
“Yup, eating it freshly boiled and with salt gives it the best taste.”
She was quite the connoisseur. It seemed like this girl had her own preferences about things.
As was relayed to me, I took out each of their requests.
“Wah, thank you, Oto-san!”
Kuina immediately sunk her teeth in the delicious-looking apple and then spitted out the seeds afterwards. As I watched her, an idea came to me.
“We didn’t see any apples at the city earlier, did we?”
“No, we couldn’t have. As the [Personification of the Planet], I know everything there is to know about nature but I have no knowledge of that fruit. So, it’s either it doesn’t exist in this world or it existed once before but not anymore.”
Ancient Elf declared so.
There was no about it after she put it like that. For some reason though, the part where she said the apples existed once before but not anymore strangely bothered me. Like the phrase was the linchpin to something.
I decided to not mind the thought for the moment.
I then focused back on the seeds which shall become a nice asset for me and picked up the ones Kuina spat out.
“Ah!”
Kuina was surprised and her face her reddened.
“Can you grow these seeds at the farmlands you’ve prepared today?”
The apple was a fruit that was said nutritious enough to keep the doctor away.
It was the perfect fruit for exploring the dungeon where it was likely for an adventurer to lack right amount of vitamins. The apples were juicy too and would help quench their thirst during their exploration.
Its shelf life was quite long too. It could still be eaten a month after it was plucked from its tree.
It was one of the best food for adventurers heading toward the [Time] Demon Lord’s dungeon.
“Let’s see...... I see no problems with its compatibility with the land. And if I accelerate its growth and control the weather, after modifying it with my magic, of course, we should be able to grow it all year round.”
Such a reliable reply.
I was worried about how my city would attract its very first visitors but this had dispelled those fears away.
This shall be how I would encourage immigrants into my city:
Sell food, water, and weapons to the adventurers headed toward the dungeon.Make the adventurers spread via word of mouth about the existence of my city as well as about the fact that the city was recruiting immigrants in exchange for exceptional terms.
Should it go as planned, the immigrants and the profit-minded merchants would come.
The things that I could do would increase as more people come to the city.
To accomplish the first step above though, I needed a specialty product that had a lot of appeal. And that was the role to be carried out by the apples.
“It would all be thanks to Kuina for requesting the apples. Thank you, Kuina.”
I said so and then stroked her head.
Her fluffy hair and her soft fox-ears felt good.
“Yay ♪! I’m happy to have helped Oto-san!”
“Ah, that’s just sneaky Kuina-chan. I’m the one that can grow the apples and yet...”
“Yes, that’s right. Great job too, Ancient Elf.”
Ancient Elf unambiguously came near so I also brushed her head. Unlike with Kuina’s hair, hers felt smooth. It still felt great nonetheless.
The lonely-looking Elder Dwarf watched us as we were like that.
And then, as though she just thought up of something, her eyes sparkled and proceeded to pick up a yet-to-be-boiled potato.
“Master, the potato is also very tasty. Plus, there also wasn’t any of it in the city of Eclaba. It will certainly be useful.”
As I heard her talk, I realized that we didn’t see any potato in the city either.
I then turned my gaze toward Ancient Elf.
“Yeah, it’s also something that either never existed at all or it might have in the past but not anymore.”
“Hmm, well, potatoes could be harvested quickly and at large amounts too so it might be a good idea to make the humans who are going to move here grow these.”
The amount of potatoes that could be harvested were at least three times that of wheat.
It was a crop that often lead to continuous cropping [1] hazards but with Ancient Elf here, those shouldn’t be a concern.
Also, potatoes were used in a lot of cuisines. It could be eaten boiled, in a soup, as a bread or even as noodles. It was a food that could more than likely revolutionize this world’s eating habits.
Building and running an inn in my city had always been a part of my plans but what if I served some potatoes there and made the immigrants realize how delicious it was? And what if I then told them of how easy it was to grow the crop and of how many could be harvested in a short period of time? Surely they’d fight among themselves on who could grow it first, wouldn’t they?
“Master”
Elder Dwarf, with a sad look on her eyes, called for me as she casted her eyes downward.
Unlike Kuina and Ancient Elf, she was too shy to be able to straightforwardly tell me her requests so I decided to stroke her head without her asking me. Her face slackened as a result.
“Elder Dwarf did great too. Alright, we’ll put the apples and potatoes on sale and make them our specialty products.”
The three girls nodded their heads in assent.
And so, we had now decided what our first actions shall be.
◇
The following morning, we readied ourselves to leave our dungeon.
To that end, we came to the farmlands which was a portion of the first room we modified.
Although I said farmlands, it was still as of yet nothing but empty—albeit fertile—plots of land. To make it into fully-pledged farmlands, plowing it, removing stones and other unnecessary things, installing canals and wells, and many other things still needed to be done. Unfortunately, those things had to wait until our return.
At the moment we were at a slightly elevated hill. I wanted to first make the apple trees grow before we left.
Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf put their hands on the ground and checked the land’s status while also doing some repairs to the land.
They did so in order to make the apples grow healthy.
Ancient Elf then dug a shallow hole, put in the apple seed, and covered back the hole.
And when she clasped her hands together, rainbow-colored water sprung out and was sprinkled into the covered hole little by little.
“You’re a good kid, right? So you’ll show us your vigorous form, right?”
The moment she said that, the plant vigorously sprouted from the ground and stretched to reach the sky.
It grew thick and entangled. And before long, it was an actual tree and grew branches and leaves.
The unripe fruits attached to the tree then turned red.
I knew she was capable of doing such things but I was still amazed by her abilities.
“You did it. You’ve become the first tree to fully grow in this city!”
Ancient Elf, proud, then turned around and flashed a smile.
I looked at the apple tree and noted that it was a splendid tree teeming with vitality. It would surely become the symbol of this city.
I then gently placed my hand on the tree and felt a beat from it. At that exact moment, a red apple fell and caught me by surprise.
Was that just a coincidence? No, it couldn’t have.
I picked up the fallen apple and bit on it.
It didn’t just tasted deliciously bittersweet, it felt as though it energized me up.
I handed the apple I took a bite from to Kuina.
I looked at her and then to the other two.
It looked like what I wanted to say was properly transmitted to them.
Kuina took a bite from the fruit and passed it to Elder Dwarf. Elder Dwarf also took a bite and passed it to Ancient Elf who also took a bite.
The first tree to grow on this city; the first harvest; the special apple we all ate... Some mysterious and strong emotions welled up in my chest. I then realized that it was because I finally built my city.
“Oto-san, I won’t ever forget the taste of that apple.”
“Me too, Kuina. Me too.”
Elder Dwarf and Ancient Elf both nodded. It seemed like everyone felt it too.
Now that that was done, we were ready leave.
I made the crow monster make a magical array so that it may be used for [Transfer].
I had heard that [Transfer] could only be used from array to array when outside of one’s own dungeon.
So if we laid down an array here, our journey back would be much easier.
“I’m sorry but Kuina, can I ask you to guard the dungeon until we return?”
“Of course! El-chan and Elf-chan already did their best for the city so it’s now Kuina’s turn to do her best and protect the dungeon!”
I needed someone to remain and guard the crystal. And Kuina had volunteered herself for this task.
Maybe it was because she wanted to be of help to me and that it was her duty as the head monster.
And so, I decided to return as soon as possible and mounted the Griffon as we left toward Marcho’s dungeon.
[1] Continuous cropping: The growing of a single crop species on a field year after year. Apparently, this leads to multiple problems.
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