Chapter 201: Daily Life
I woke up early in the morning and went for a walk with Rishu, gathering various fruits along the way. We found Japanese plums and apricots ripening in the mountains.
Using my Ex-Staff, I rustled the branches to knock down the plums. Occasionally, some yellow ones would fall, but the perfectly ripe ones dropped easily. Normally, I would spread out a cloth to catch them, but I decided to cheat a little and used wind magic to catch them instead.
It was quite handy to blow away the branches and leaves that fell along with the fruit. The Spirit played along, joyfully fluttering about as it was swept up in the breeze.
“Hey, Ex-Staff, can you get that one on the right?”
“Sure thing!”
The Ex-Staff was not just for rustling branches; it was a real harvest tool. I asked it to shake down fruits like peaches and loquats from the high branches that were out of reach.
The Ex-Staff didn’t care much for the fruits, so I thought about rewarding it with a hamburger instead.
The bright red plums from last year were turned into jam, and this year, we had a bountiful harvest again. Soaking them briefly in saltwater and then biting into them was a delightful sweet and sour treat. The apricots would be made into jam and sugar preserves.
Rishu sniffed at the plums, and perhaps the sour scent tickled her nose, as she sneezed and fell on her rear.
I had planted both summer and autumn figs. The leaves could be used to wrap cheese, so I occasionally thinned out the ones overlapping to ensure they got enough sunlight while storing them away.
I decided to make a tart with the loquats. Taking a bite right there, I found the flavor rich and satisfying. Sometimes, you come across loquats that are bland, and if they’re going to be tasteless, it’s better if they’re at least sour. But these were sweet and flavorful.
The zucchinis had fruits beneath the flowers, which were the female flowers, while the male flowers had flowers directly on the stem. There wasn’t much difference in taste, but the female flowers had a crisp texture that was delicious when eaten raw in salads. The male flowers were less prone to spoilage and easier to handle, making them perfect for fritters.
Not long ago, I had harvested wheat, and I had also set up supports for the tomatoes and cucumbers. I sowed seeds for hard wheat for pasta around November, and the harvest usually came around this time. It was tough work, and I hadn’t planted much, but I couldn’t help but dream of a landscape filled with fields of wheat and rice.
Around here, after the harvest, the fields were left to rest, turning into grazing land for sheep. However, since I had only a few livestock, I planted soybeans instead. A rotation of wheat, soybeans, and rice.
I diligently tended to various crops, sometimes cheating a little with wind magic for pruning and harvesting. The Spirit seemed to have learned my routine and helped out while playing. Occasionally, I was surprised by the appearance of out-of-season fruits or flowers.
Well, it was about time for Chris and the others to head out, so I thought I’d deliver their lunch as a send-off. Since Reed was joining them, I had to be careful about what I packed.
I settled on some safe choices: ham and cheese sandwiches, meat pies, and maybe some fried White Goose.
Even though items stored away don’t age, it felt a bit odd to carry around perishables for too long. I had hunted excessively for bedding, so I still had a ridiculous stockpile. I had even sold some of it to the Guild in the midst of all the chaos.
Should I sell it through the island? It was a place to spread materials influenced by the Spirits, so mixing in a few items for sale might be acceptable—no, I’d rather keep the storage hidden.
I wondered how long it would be before the Hero started meddling again. I couldn’t predict the Hero’s strength. If he grew stronger, the Ball of Light would also become stronger, which would likely reduce the chances of him getting involved with me.
Although I had severed ties with the Ball of Light, it wasn’t just that; it was also about “not being able to remember me.”
If my power was used for protection, it would create a bond, which I refused because I didn’t want that. However, the other Gods told me there was no penalty for involving me—so I had the Ball itself cast the spell of “not being able to remember me” and “not creating situations that would remind it of involving me.”
With advice from Rudil and Kadal, I felt like I was also taking advantage of the Ball of Light’s tendency to overlook its own failures. Unfortunately, this only affected events in this world, so I couldn’t erase my existence from my sisters’ memories back in Japan.
However, the Hero, who was close to the Ball of Light, would naturally be influenced as well. I also heard from the fleeing Spirits that the Ball of Light was protecting its own retainers from Changelings and the Hero.
Before losing its power, the Ball of Light was strong enough to summon, and it still had remnants of that power—meaning it had many retainers.
The surrounding things were heavily influenced by the Ball of Light and its retainers, but among those influences were the unnoticed spells of “not being able to remember involving me” and “not creating situations that would remind it of involving me.”
Combined with the powers of the Gods who provided protection, it was a thorough approach to avoid involvement.
Let the Hero grow stronger; it’s for my peace!—But relying on others makes me anxious, so I’m also working hard to grow stronger myself. Tending to the fields and crafting would contribute to strengthening the Gods, so I diligently put in the effort.
I felt a bit frustrated, wanting to make Rishu stronger than the Ball of Light. But I also wanted her to stay cute.
I delivered the bread that Lilith had devoured to the Butler and then brought the lunch to Chris and the others.
“Good evening… Jean, did you really make this for us?”
“Yeah. I peeled everything yesterday, so I thought I’d prepare something before you left.”
I had given a tip for the laundry service to prioritize my clothes, and they returned them by evening, but I almost sent them off without a change of clothes.
“Thank you! The food you made yesterday was delicious too,” Reed complimented.
“Oh, fried goose!”
Dean opened the package and already snatched one for himself.
“Hey, isn’t Letze coming along?”
Letze was the only one without any luggage.
“I don’t have any weapons to maintain in the Fortress City, so there’s no point in tagging along.”
“I thought you were going to a shop run by a beautiful lady,” Dean and Chris averted their gazes.
So you are going, huh? To the shop run by a beautiful lady.
“I-I’m saving up money! But I also want to take a break!”
I expected him to be teased, but that was a heartfelt shout.
I had almost forgotten, but Dean still owed me for the Spirit Sword.