57 Norm Forest

Is that... is that an olive grove over there?

Olives? What? Are they good?

They're good when they're salted. But olives are for oil. Oil.

Are they good? Why don't we just take some home?

No, I just told you. It's an olive grove. The olives here are well-kept, so someone must be growing them. Yes.

Yes, olives are very easy to grow, but if you want to have a lot of big olives, you have to prune them. The olive trees here have been pruned properly and it is obvious that someone has been growing them.

"Oh, you know this tree. You know this tree?

Suddenly a voice came from nearby, so Masaru and Adelina stood back to back and looked around, but there was no one there. ....

Adelina... did you see anyone?

I can't find anyone either. I can't find anyone either.

They both tense up and gasp. They were so engrossed in the olives that they kept looking up, but the olives themselves weren't so high up that they didn't pay enough attention to their surroundings to see if anyone was coming.

"Hey! Don't do your standard routine, look at me! Down here!

I followed the voice and looked down to see a small man standing there. He was about six feet tall, with his arms crossed in a pompous manner, but there was no sense of dignity.

"Dwarf? ...No, a gnome?

"Oh, you know us, too. We're gnomes, and we don't get to meet other races very often, but you know us. "Masaru...

"Masaru... what are gnomes?

A gnome is a dwarf who rules the earth. They're sometimes called spirits, but I think they're about the same as the difference between a man and a beast.

"Well... you seem like an interesting little fellow, only about as different as a man and a beast. You're right, it's not that different, just a little different in body structure. A little...

"A little... Well, that's what it is, isn't it? It's true.

Let it be that way for now, I don't want any trouble or conflict over racism or whatever.

"Your daughter's changing for the better. "Your daughter is changing nicely.

The old gnome laughs.

"I'm sorry I'm late in greeting you, but I'm Masaru of the race. My companion here is Miss Adelina. Adelina.

Adelina bows as she is introduced. You're probably a superior, right? She called me a boy. ....

"Don't be so formal. I'm just an old bot who likes to tend to the trees here at the Gnome. As I was saying, do you know how to eat the fruit of this tree?

"Yes, I do, sort of. I'm not sure if you know how to eat them or not. What are you doing to consume the fruit?

If you use your map skills, you can see that olives are planted all over a 3km square area of land that looks like Japan's Shikoku Island. It's absurdly large.

"It's a total hobby, and recently some strange bees have been living on the edge of the land to eat the fruit, but I've tried everything and the fruit is inedible. It's a hobby, and I've been planting a lot of them, and the next thing I know, they're all over the place. What?

I'm not sure how many trees I'm growing if I don't know how to use them. ....

I'm not sure what to make of it. You can take all the fruit you want if you want. I don't know.

"I only know how to salt them. First, you wash the olives and put them in water with caustic soda...oh, caustic soda ....

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you missing something?

I need a chemical called caustic soda... don't you have any?

I've never heard of it. Never heard of it.

I don't think so... Adelina is shaking her head, of course.

I'm sure it was made from sodium chloride solution by electrolysis... I'll look it up later on my phone, maybe it's in some app dictionary or something. "Hey, Masaru...

"Hey, hey, Masaru... you might want to stop mumbling.

"Leave me alone... at times like this, it's better to talk to yourself so it sticks in your head. So, what was it?

The part about adding soda somehow?

Yeah, you put in a little less than 2% caustic soda to remove the astringency, and they say it takes about 12 to 16 hours. You have to replace the brown water with clean water for two days, changing the water every now and then because it will get dirty again as time goes by.

What, two days?

Then soak it in 4% salt water for another two days!

Two days again?

Adelina and old man Botts are overreacting to every single thing that happens in two days. ....

"After that, rinse them and soak them in 4% brine again if you want to eat them right away, or in 6-10% brine if you want to store them. When it's time to eat it, you can eat it as is or remove the salt, as you like... and what happened?

What do you mean, "percent? What's the percentages? And salt water is easy to say, but salt is a precious commodity around here.

Oh, salt is a precious commodity just a short distance away from the ocean. ....

"Well, we're building a city now. "Well, we're building a city now, so why don't we leave the processing to you and make it a trading post? You don't live here by yourself, do you?

"Well, there are about 50 gnomes living in the village. .... How about that?

Wouldn't it be great if they could get salt and other things from the olives that they had no use for?

That would be a great help. .... That would be great.

Well, why don't you talk to the villagers about it? I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. ...

"You're building a city with beastmen? Are you building a city with beastmen?

We'll be fine. Don't worry. I've already talked to the human city leaders. By the way, Miss Adelina is the niece of the city's top knight commander. I've been laying the groundwork.

"So you've been laying the groundwork, that'll make it easier to convince the hard-headed people in the village. Then you guys go get all the fruit you want. Take all the fruit you want.

Not only the fruit, but also the signs of trade... that's quite an accomplishment, I'd say. I pull out two items from the item box to give to old Botts, who is about to turn his back on me.

"Grandpa Bots! Hold on a second! Please take this vat back with you! It contains salt and dried sea fish!

These two items were salt and dried fish given to Masaru in a fishing village, which he did not like. Both of them were poorly made.

"They're a little rough, but take them as a sign of friendship. "Oh!

"Oh! It's been a long time since I ate fish! I'll take it gratefully. I'll take it.

See you later! They greeted each other and Masaru went back to Adelina to pick olives.

"Hey, can't we grow olives in town?

"Yes, you can, and quite easily too. You can.

You can. No.

No, it's not going to improve the living conditions of the Nome people. No, it won't improve the living conditions of the Nome people. It's not sincere to old Botts, who trusted me, talked to me, and even shared his fruit with me. If you threaten other people's lives for profit, you'll get a grudge. I know.

"That's right... coexistence and co-prosperity, right?

I'm glad you're such a good student.

I'm glad you're such a good student. "Besides, if the beasts don't go for the berries, it'll change the lifestyle of the beastmen who are good at hunting, and I don't want to do something that's not difficult to grow myself... Let's leave it to someone else. Why?

I don't know why I can't be a good person until the end. .... I don't know.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.