CH 122

Chapter 122 – Let’s Give It A Try!

“This is outrageous.”

“This is certainly outrageous.”

A vast arable land spread out in front of us. I don’t know how big it is because I didn’t measure it exactly, but I’d say it’s about 20 meters in width and 50 meters in depth.

“I-is this the field…?”

“Eh? With just one swing? Eh…?”

The farmers who were watching Isla and me in the back were stunned. Yeah, I get it.

“Where are all the pebbles and rocks and shrubs and stuff…?”

Maybe they’ve all been plowed up.

“It was smaller before.”

“Maybe it’s because of the range enchantment.”

I then turned my attention to the brilliantly shining mithril hoe.

・Mithril Hoe +9 (Auto Repair, Efficiency Enhancement III, Range Enhancement III)

It seems that if I enchant a gathering tool with a magic sparkling stone, it will always have auto repair and efficiency enhancement. The third effect seems to have some fluctuation, but there’s no way I can make a few to test. No, I could if I wanted to, though, right? I can make mithril now, too.

But even if I made it, who would use it? If it weren’t me, it wouldn’t be possible to use it like this… No, wait? When it comes to the enchantment effect, it doesn’t have to be me, right?

“Isla, can you try to use this hoe?”

“? Okay, but I’m an amateur. I don’t have the same power as Kosuke.”

“Yes. But you see, the effect of the enchantment should be usable even if not by me. I’m curious to see how efficiency enhancement and range expansion work in this case.”

“Sure. I’ll give it a try.”

Isla nodded obediently at my words, took the hoe from my hand, and swung it at the unplowed ground.

“Hmm.”

With a light thud, the soil was tilled in an area of about one meter by one meter, along with the small stones. The slightly larger stones seemed to be left intact.

“It’s amazing. It’s working on me too.”

“I wonder what the growth rate of this soil will be compared to the soil I plowed?”

“It’s worth an experiment. I’ll plow some more.”

Perhaps she was happy to be able to wield the hoe and create the same mysterious phenomenon as I did; Isla began to wield the hoe excitedly. She seemed to be enjoying herself as she plowed. I know exactly how she feels.

In the end, after plowing an area as large as the one I plowed with one swing in about an hour, Isla was holding up the hoe and breathing heavily.

“Hah… hah… labor is hard.”

“Well done.”

Saying that, I took out a magic potion from my inventory that would restore stamina continuously and handed it to Isla. There was an accident when Isla, who thought it was water, was startled by the unpleasant taste of the potion and sprayed the contents of her mouth, but she managed to drink it down, looking at me with a resentful expression as if she had noticed the contents of the potion.

“Here you go, mouthwash.”

“I wanted this first.”

“I was thinking of Isla.”

We took a short break while we watched the farmers removing large stones from Isla’s plowed field. I’m not tired, though. I only swung the hoe once, after all.

“I want you to grow some suitable crops in this field and report back to us on how fast they grow. Report to the research and development department in general affairs.”

“I understand.”

The experimental fields were managed by farmers employed by the Liberation Army’s administrative structure. They have their own fields, but they are asked to take care of this field in their spare time. They will be paid separately for their work, and they seem to be quite enthusiastic about it.

I said goodbye to them as they began to work with enthusiasm and moved towards the forest with Isla.

“Well, that’s something, isn’t it? About 70% of the hard work of farming is gone.”

“That’s true. If that hoe were widely available, all farming villages would be prosperous.”

“That’s impossible. I heard it’s made of mithril. It also seems to have magic in it.”

The three people following us are the red demon Shumel, who has returned to adventuring after a successful break, a woman who seems to be a member of her party, a red demon, and a woman from the one-eyed demon, the cyclops.

As soon as we took over Erichburg and settled the southern part of the country, Shumel left the Liberation Army and returned to adventuring, but under the current circumstances, the Liberation Army is the one that asks adventurers to do the most work. Although her affiliation has changed, she seems to be working as a member of the Liberation Army.

After finishing the enchantment, Isla and I wanted to move immediately to check its effects, but due to the urgency, we couldn’t extract guards from the Liberation Army soldiers. So we decided to ask Shumel and her party, who had just finished a request and were free, to take over our escort.

“Even so, Kosuke is as good as ever. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that you’d tamed a dragon.”

“And it’s a grand dragon. That’s crazy.”

“I guess it’s just luck.”

“If that’s the case, you must be favored by the goddess of fate, luck, and misfortune.”

The cyclops woman shrugged her shoulders while carrying a large wooden hammer.

“And yet, what a distinctive party, huh?”

“It’s a lot easier to work with people of similar races. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“We’re big, after all.”

“When we’re camped out, we can crush each other in our sleep.”

“Crush…”

“Umu…”

My gaze and Isla’s were drawn to the three of them and their ample chest armor. Isla gave a muddy gaze, and I gave a curious scholarly gaze. Isla, in particular, is gazing at the cyclops girl’s breasts. Yeah, they’re bigger than Isla’s head. I would love to be crushed by them.

“I don’t like it when you see me like that.”

“I want to chop them up.”

“Wow, that’s bizarre. I love Isla, so don’t worry about it.”

“…Yeah.”

I managed to calm her down by gently stroking her back, which gave off a dangerous vibe. Isla’s breasts are indeed small. But that’s just it. Whether it’s a big one or a small one, there’s no such thing as a “noble” or “lowly” breast.

“Kosuke is an omnivore who eats the princess, Isla, and the harpies all at once. If you’re not careful, you’ll get eaten by him too.”

“Eh? Are you serious? Scary.”

“If he’s okay with the one-eyed girl, then I’m certainly in danger.”

“I’ve never forced myself on anyone… No, not at all.”

Aside from Sylphy and Isla, the harpies and Melty are more like predators. And then there’s Lime and the others… I haven’t touched Ellen yet, so she’s safe.

After walking for a while, we arrived at the forest.

“Now, this next one…”

“I think it’s the yield enhancement?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

・Mithril Logging Axe +9 (Auto Repair, Efficiency Enhancement III, Yield Enhancement III)

“What exactly does yield enhancement mean?”

“Will it increase the number of logs we can get?”

“That’s terrifying.”

When I slammed the ax down on a random tree with a shiver, it cut through the wood as quickly as if it were chopping tofu. It was just a single blow.

“What the hell is this…?”

“I don’t even know how that works.”

“It’s amazing…”

The tree fell with a thud, and the next moment there was a banging sound, and the log fell away. The next thing we know, the logs are multiplying. This is not a figurative expression or anything, but the moment the tree made contact with the ground, it multiplied. There were obviously a lot of logs for the size of the tree that was cut. It was probably three times… or even four times more than normal. The logs are like a mountain halfway up.

“I want to know the principle.”

“Do you think you can figure out…?”

“I have no idea.”

“Right?”

Isla had a calm expression on her face as if she had already realized something. Just cutting a tree to make a perfect log is incomprehensible, but then it increases even more — three or four times more. I feel like it is useless to even think about it.

Also, this could be dangerous depending on the direction it falls. The increased number of logs could crush someone.

“I wonder what would happen if a normal person used this?”

“Shumel.”

“You want me to do it? I don’t mind…”

Shumel took the mithril logging ax from me and began to wield it. It’s the size of an average person, so it looks strangely small when Shumel uses it.

“It’s really sharp, this thing.”

“It’s got Efficiency Enhancement III.”

“I’ve never even heard of a magic logging ax.”

“Not many freaks would make something like that out of mithril, let alone put magic into a logging ax.”

“You make me embarrassed.”

“I don’t think that’s a compliment.”

The red demon looks at me with a fierce look. That’s a pretty good way to do tsukkomi, though.

“Oops… ooh?”

It didn’t take long for the tree to fall…?

“Why are there two trees?”

“No, there’s more.”

“Eeh…”

The tree that Shumel had cut down had split into two. The branches hadn’t been removed, of course, so they were all tangled up in each other.

“It’s great that it’s multiplying, but it’s useless.”

“It’s practically for my use only, this one.”

I used the logging ax that Shumel gave me back to knock down the fallen trees, turn them into logs, and store them in my inventory. The ax is good for increasing yield, but it’s difficult to use. As for the hoe, I think it can be used by anyone other than myself.

“Let’s try the pickaxe next. I’d like to find a rocky place or a rock wall.”

“In that case, it’s that way.”

A red demon carrying a large ax started walking ahead of me, so I followed suit.

“I’m starting to get hungry.”

“Let’s have dinner when we get there. I’ll provide.”

“That’s good. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten your food.”

“Kosuke’s food is delicious.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The red demon and cyclops from Shumel party have never eaten my food before. It looks like they met up with Shumel after the liberation of Erichburg, so they probably haven’t eaten food that I’ve cooked directly. What do you want me to serve?

“Shumel, do you have any requests?”

“I had a nice intestine stuffed meat some time ago.”

“Okay. I’ll serve sausage and something else. Isla, do you have any requests?”

“…Pasta is good. With meat sauce.”

“Pasta with meat sauce and sausage. And maybe a salad.”

“We’ll eat it on the rocks, right?”

“Can you make that?”

The red demon and cyclops are tilting their heads. Normally, it’s impossible to make meat sauce on the road. But with me, it doesn’t matter. I have it stocked, and I can even craft it on the spot.

“Wow, this is pretty rocky.”

After about an hour of walking, we arrived at a rocky area with many large rocks lying around. I have no idea how this kind of terrain was formed, but it was the perfect place to test the performance of the pickaxe.

“Let’s eat first. Can we have pasta for the main course?”

“Large portion, please.”

“That’s gonna be difficult, so give it another go.”

I’m sure I could make it if I wanted to, but I don’t go out of my way to make large or extra-large portions of pasta. The only thing I have in my inventory is a standard size spaghetti with meat sauce.

I set up a dining table with random blocks of wood and chairs made from logs and handed out wet hand towels to everyone. The red demon and the cyclops are puzzled as they watch me pull things out of thin air.

“I’ve heard it a few times from big sis Shumel, but it’s really strange.”

“I’m often surprised at the magic used by mages, but yours is even stranger.”

“It’s strange to even for a mage’s eyes. I don’t understand.”

Isla nodded at the words of the red demon-san and cyclops-san. I don’t understand how this strange phenomenon is happening myself, so I can’t explain it. I’m not even trying to figure it out, which is fine. Just think of it like that, and you’ll get used to it.

After filling up on food, I started digging with the pickaxe. Once I get some rock crushed, I’ll try the shovel.