CH 12

Chapter 12 : Item Box

Two weeks had passed since the first harvest of magic tomatoes.

Gill seemed to be busy managing his stores for a while because it was a busy period.

After he handed me a large amount of tomato seeds and said that I could use the field as I wanted, he didn’t come to the vacant lot much.

Nicola’s tension has dropped because her snack time was gone.

Because the grumpy old man stopped coming, children in the neighborhood started to come here sometimes.

They didn’t come inside the vacant lot though, they only looked here from a distance sometimes.

They might be thinking Nicola and I were the grumpy old man’s henchmen or something.

Or perhaps they just wanted to play with us?

Well, I could have played with them, but mentally, I was a grown man.

It was kind of okay with me if they wanted me to accompany them playing, but the hurdle was high if I had to ask them first.

For now, I pretended not to notice them. Sorry fellas!

While thinking that, I just repeatedly produced sand, dug soil, and sprinkled water using magic.

「Nicola, if my mana bowl expands, my item box capacity will increase right? Is that normally how it works?」

While eating a walnut bread she brought from home, Nicola answered.

『Nope. Normally, the capacity is fixed, but onii-chan’s is rare. Let’s say, a person with small mana bowl is about the size of a handbag, and a person with large mana bowl is about a one-ton truck size』

…..She’s too lazy to speak, huh. Well, I know she’s eating.

「*Gulp* Why not? I’m eating, so it can’t be helped, right? You should be happy that your cute little sister’s voice echoes in your brain」

She read my thoughts again, huh.

Uhh, scary.

「I don’t have to read your mind, your face tells everything. By the way, onii-chan, how large is your item box now?」

「I’m not sure. I’ve never put stuff in until it’s full. In the first place, I only used it as a trash can to put in the sand when I practiced. I wonder if there’s a good way to test how large it is」

「We can put in water from the sea or river, but there’s no sea nearby, and the river is outside the town. It’s still impossible for us to go outside, and I think the gatekeeper wouldn’t let us go outside」

This is a fantasy world. A world of swords and magic.

So of course there would be monsters outside.

And it seemed goblins lived in the forests and rivers outside the town.

Because there were always patrols in this town, and a good view of the surroundings, the monsters rarely approached this town.

I also haven’t seen them yet.

「If I was a hot-blooded main protagonist from a different-world themed light novel, I would go out of town and get rid of goblins as if they’re nothing, but still, I don’t feel like doing that just to get water. Well, I guess I have to wait until I’m old enough while steadily practicing my magic」

「Oh, onii-chan, you’re a stability-oriented type of person, huh. I think it’s good」

I didn’t know how she could say that after she pushed me to grow.

But, well, I might have gotten bored of this practice method ever since my mana bowl expanded and I was able to control my magic quite a bit.

By the way, I made two small tomato fields.

I sowed tomato seeds on one field, meanwhile, I cultivated another one with magic and injected my mana to the field.

But the cultivating speed had become faster than the speed tomatoes grew, so I had to cultivate the same place again and again in order to use up all my mana, and it was useless to be honest.

I wondered if there’s a way other than this to empty my mana.

「Nicola. Is there any other way to use earth magic other than producing sand and digging soil?」

For now, I wanted to be good at earth magic first.

「Hmm, let’s see… Harden the soil, fly pebbles, create walls… something like that? And it looks like there are some craftsmen using earth magic to make stone statues」

「Stone statue, huh. It will be too complicated to imagine. If it’s soil, maybe I can do it by making a shape and then scraping it little by little. But for now, I wanna try making a wall first」

I stretched my hands forward and concentrated.

I imagined like I made the sand until now, but I gathered it and solidified it as hard as a rock.

Thudー!

A flat mass of soil about the size of a manhole appeared in front of my palm, fell, and pierced the soft field ground.

Uwaaー That was so close! It almost hit my feet.

「Well, to make the wall from nothing is cool, but onii-chan, if you use the ground underneath you, it will be easier, you know?」

Ah, that’s right!

And then, a wall with a length of 10cm, width of 5cm, and the height of about my palm, emerged from the ground.

It was easier than before, but this time, it collapsed easily when I touched it.

「The hardness can be increased by injecting your mana more. So, it depends on your training」

「I see. I wonder if I can be like Fullmetal-something, who can instantly make a wall, someday」

*/Fullmetal Alchemist reference. The main protagonist, Edward Elric, fights by manipulating various things like ground and steel using the power of alchemy. Sometimes he made a wall of concrete to defend himself from bullets or any other attacks.

「Well, it depends on how hard you….ー! Do your best! Onii-chan~!」

Hm?

When I wondered why Nicola suddenly entered the ‘good girl mode’, I heard a voice from behind.

「Hey, hey, you twoー Are you guys making this field?」

An onee-san (physical age ratio) with a red haired ponytail, and looked like she was two or three years older than me, appeared.

She approached us while smiling.