255 - - Episode 253 The Long-cherished Harvest

After considering the rules of the sanctuary, I headed off to store the rocks Nomos had asked for to make room for the spirits, while Nomos, Dine, and If went to the other sanctuary to recruit brewing personnel.

"Hmm?　Sounds like fun from the park. Shall we take a peek?"

"It sure is lively. Let's go.

As I was walking with Sylphy and Dolly to store the rocks, I heard lively voices coming from the park. Now that the spirits can materialize, they must have a lot of fun. I'm glad they're having fun with it since I made it.

"What?　Oh, is everything okay?　Huh?　Belle, Flair, it's dangerous!

"Oh, it's just... Belle, this is fun!

"I'm smoldering. More, more, more!"

Bell and Flair are laughing and rowing on the swing, their tension rising. Their bodies are almost horizontal.

"No, no, it's not that, it's, uh, Sylphie. What should I do?　If you fall off, you'll get hurt!"

Yuta, calm down! Bell and the others can fly."

"......Oh,...... but will I be able to fly in time?"

"I'll be fine. Spirits are usually in a flying state, so they won't get hurt at that speed. Do you know how fast they usually fly?

I see, because sometimes they can move so fast that you would think they were moving at a moment's notice. That's not much of a speed.

"That makes sense. I'll warn Gina and the others not to do the same thing.

If you are pulled recklessly by Bell and his friends, you will get hurt if you are human.

"...... Yuta, those kids are already quite advanced among humans. They won't get life-threatening injuries in this place, so don't be too overprotective of them. Moon and Pulu can heal them if they are a little injured.

I was also warned about Gina and the others. You're right, they are adventurers too. We shouldn't think of them the same way we think of Japanese children.

I'll do my best to watch over them.

It's going to be extremely heart-damaging.

"That's good."

I happily take one hand off the swing, wave back at Belle and Flair who wave at me, and look around the park. Everyone is playing on the playground equipment as they please. Gina is playing fetch with Shiva, and Marco seems to be as enthusiastic as ever about the iron bars.

The most interesting activity is playing with a ball. Sara and Kikka are among the spirits, looking like they're having a great time. I would never have seen such a scene if we had not become a sanctuary. It was worth the effort.

"Well, since you seem to be enjoying yourself and we don't want to interrupt you, let's get going."

He urges Sylphy and Dolly to head out to retrieve the rock. ...... I'll hang out with Belle and the others later at the park. I was a little envious that everyone else was playing in the park. I want to play in the park with them too.

**

The next morning after retrieving the rocks and playing in the park with the others, the nomos had not yet returned after breakfast. What shall we do today?　There are some things I should do, but it's hard to prioritize.

Hmmm...if it's hard to prioritize, I guess I should follow my desires. Even if it is a desire, it would be a problem to rush into eroticism in the morning. In that case, ...... coffee is the way to go. I want to be able to drink coffee every day.

"Dolly, coffee is not a problem even if it bears fruit, right?"

"Yes. It is well adapted to the soil, and the effects of the rapid growth of the tree are gone. It should be safe to bear fruit.

"Okay, that sets our schedule for today. Attention, everyone.

My voice draws everyone's attention to me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today's schedule is set. Today we are going to finish everything from harvesting to processing coffee berries at once. Please help us.

"Beel, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best, I'll do my best..." ............"

The belles gather around me and offer to help me out in force.

"Master, I have no problem helping you, but why the honorific?"

"...... somehow?"

Gina asked me why I was using honorifics, but I wasn't really aware of it. I guess I was just reminded of the morning meeting and became respectful because I had somehow caught everyone's attention.

"Well, there's no particular reason. Well, let's move to the coffee field."

It's a bit of an awkward morning meeting, but we move on to the coffee farm.

"Okay, Dory. I'll take care of it.

"Yes, sir."

Dolly waved her right hand and the coffee tree trembled, and in no time at all, white flowers bloomed, and after the flowers withered, small green berries appeared in bells. The green berries gradually begin to turn red and ripen to a deep red with a soft shine.

It's still a strange scene, the realistic fast forwarding of the growth of the plants, it makes me feel like I'm watching TV even though the scene is actually right in front of my eyes. If you have Dolly grow morning glories, it would be a record of plant growth in an educational program.

"I'm done."

"Thank you, Dolly. Is it safe to harvest now?"

"Yes, we've adjusted and let all the berries ripen, so I think we should harvest them all."

......The way Dolly talks, the coloring of the berries is variable. The peppercorns I collected in the labyrinth were of various colors, so I guess they are of the same type. It would be quite helpful to be able to finish the harvest at once.

"Yes, sir. So, everybody, pick all the coffee berries. Also, these berries are supposed to be sweet, so you can eat them if you feel like it. But don't eat the seeds.

Hearing the word "sweet," Belle, Gina, and Huku-chan started to get visibly nervous. There are more berries than we can eat... It's okay ......, right?

"Well, let's start harvesting!"

The children charge into the coffee field all at once. They are quickly harvesting ripe coffee berries into their mouths.

"Yuta, we are going to harvest a lot of small berries, shouldn't we give them a container?　Since they're materializing, the belles can hold the baskets as normal."

"...... I could say that. But I don't have a small basket or anything ready."

"Then use this."

As Dolly pointed her hand at the ground, tendrils sprouted from it and wove a basket with more tendrils intertwining. ......It looks easy to use with the handles attached, and I think it's quite amazing.

Is this a basket that can be hung from the neck for the type of spirits who can't use their hands?　The baskets that are supposed to be for Moon and Puru have a concave bottom so that they can be worn on the head like a crown. It's a very fine trick.

I have seen many amazing scenes of plants growing all at once or giant spirit trees, but perhaps it is because they are too unrealistic, but I feel more amazed when vines grow and baskets are woven together.

"Thank you, Dolly. I'll put it to good use."

He calls everyone back in a loud voice and hands each of them a basket that Dolly made for him. But you know what, their mouths are all sticky with juice. Since their materialization, Belle and Fukuchan and the others have been getting their mouths dirty a lot.

I think about this as I wash their mouths one by one. It's cute to see Belle and Fuchu with their mouths full of food like this, but they need to learn how to eat properly or they will be embarrassed in other places. ...... elsewhere?　I wonder if there is ever an opportunity to eat while people are watching you at ...... elsewhere?

"Yuta, this is delicious!"

Belle hands me a bright red ripe coffee berry with her tiny hand.

"Thank you. I'll take some."

I've had coffee often, but this is the first time I've eaten the fruit. I put the red berry that Belle gave me in my mouth. When I bite into it, my teeth immediately hit the seeds. Hmm?　Oh, it's surprisingly tasty. The skin is a bit tough, but the little bit of flesh has a certain sweetness.

But there really aren't many edible parts. With only this much edible part, Bell and the others must have gotten their faces all messy. How much did they eat?

"Mmm, it's delicious. Thank you, Belle. Then let's start harvesting again. We're going to harvest everything today, so let's get to work. And when the baskets are full, I'll put the empty barrels on the line, so you can come and fill them."

I said, and they all replied cheerfully and reentered the coffee field. That's a lot of coffee, and I'm not going to take it easy either.

"So, Sylphy, Dolly and Vita are not going to join the harvest?"

If we participate, the harvest will be over soon. If we join in, the harvest will be over soon.

I don't know about Vita, but Sylphy and Dolly could easily finish the harvest. But we can participate in the harvest as usual. I think it would be fun to pick by hand.

We'll just relax here. Don't worry, we'll help you if you don't finish harvesting. And I need a chair and a table and some tea."

...... You're having a leisurely tea party. Tea has been enough for me so far, but now that I've materialized, I guess I'd better have a chair and a table. Well, I'm just glad I wasn't asked to serve alcohol.

I take out a chair and a table and set up a cup of tea. It is very convenient to store the freshly brewed tea in the magic bag so that it is ready to drink.

Leaving the three great spirits who have started a graceful tea party, I go into the field. Let's harvest from that tree first. Dolly has made all the berries ripe, so I don't have to sort them. They've only just ripened, so there's no bugs on them. ......, though the place itself doesn't have many bugs to begin with.

Picking the coffee berries one by one and putting them in the basket. The more berries there are, the easier it is to drink coffee. With such a large amount of coffee beans, we will be able to have coffee for a while.

If everyone except me didn't like coffee, I might not be able to drink it all by myself. With the popularity of tea, there should be room for coffee as a drink, but the color and bitterness would be the biggest obstacles.

I love coffee, but I wonder what the first coffee drinkers had in mind when they made coffee. I would like to ask them why they decided to burn the seeds to powder, drip it with hot water and drink it .......

It's hard to think that it was made by accident, like the common pattern of fermented foods. I don't understand the meaning of burning them to powder. Did it develop from medicine related like chocolate?　If only I could use the search function on my phone: .......