Chapter 493: The One the Spirits Favor
A spirit resembling a honeybee is busy gathering nectar.
No, it’s actually a bunch of small spirits helping out while snacking along the way, but the honeybee spirit is definitely the most productive. Following closely are the butterfly spirit and the hummingbird spirit.
I’m also trying to collect nectar by plucking flowers that look like salvia, squeezing the base to gather it, but it’s inefficient and not working out. I can barely fill a glass bottle with five milliliters.
The spirits touch only what they want to touch. It’s difficult for them to interact with humans or animals, but they can usually connect with plants, water, and fire.
The tiny hands of the spirits pass through the petals, collecting only the nectar. They hold perfectly round droplets of nectar in their palms. They giggle and bump into each other, which doesn’t help with the harvest. Still, they gather more than I do!!!
The spirits that resemble honeybees, butterflies, and hummingbirds seem to retain some of their original creatures’ traits, diligently collecting nectar.
They flit around the garden of my house and through the mountains, working hard to gather nectar early in the morning before the real insects wake up and start sipping it. While I don’t mind the pests, I do need the pollinators.
There are more spirits here than insects, though.
Rishu is trotting around me, holding the Ex-Staff in his mouth. The rope given to him by the Earth Folk is lying in one spot as he chews on it with a serious expression, but when he’s got the Ex-Staff in his mouth, he playfully hops around.
For now, I’ve collected one bottle each of honey from the hundred flowers, salvia-like flowers, and white flowers resembling acacia. The nectar isn’t yellow like honey; it’s either a clear, thin liquid or a faint golden hue.
Alright, the souvenirs are ready!
I thank the spirits and have them carry my magic power. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to gather it without their help.
I pack the bottles into a basket and use Teleportation to head outside the Land of Mail. I’m coming in from the front.
“Hello!”
“Hello, Jean!”
Upon entering, I greet the first mailman I encounter. As expected, five of them are swaying and using body language. My body instinctively joins in a mysterious dance.
It’s hard to tell the mailmen apart, but it probably doesn’t matter if I can’t. They share information collectively; the mailmen are one entity.
“I came here today because I have business with a ship at the port. Here, this is a souvenir—nectar from the flowers we gathered.”
“Thank you! This is the first nectar not from the flowers of this land!”
I can feel their joy radiating.
“I’m sorry I can’t share it with everyone.”
“No, no! We’ll offer it to our father and mother. That way, we all get to taste it!”
What a curious system.
“Thank you for the wheat; it helps many people.”
“I’m glad if it’s useful for you, Jean.”
After chatting with the mailmen for a while, I feel warm and fuzzy as I move toward the human-populated port.
Now, I want to request not just one ship but several. I have enough wheat for eleven ships, but I’ve heard that the drought has been ongoing for over a year, and the area is quite extensive. I doubt it will reach everyone in need.
After all, Nakahara is rife with conflict, and many places are struggling, not just those affected by the drought. Kanum’s area is probably unaffected, though.
I want to help build Karn’s Country, but delivering aid to those suffering from famine comes first. Either way, I need to deliver the Mail Wheat to Soleil, who will sell it and buy regular wheat.
For now, I’ll have them deliver about two ships’ worth of wheat to Karn and Haulon. Since I’ve already communicated that I need two ships’ worth, I assume they’ll gather people within that range to get things started.
I’ve secured the grains. Now, I just need vegetables and protein. I can catch fish in the Es River for protein, and some vegetables can be harvested faster than grains. Yeah, it seems manageable. I should plant some bananas and mangoes while I’m at it.
When I arrive at the port, I see several ships docked. Some are quite damaged. It looks like they’re dismantling a ship that was initially wrecked and using its materials to repair others.
There aren’t any trees suitable for shipbuilding in the Land of Mail. Even if there were, I doubt they’d part with them. It seems that only the wheat the mailmen have decided to trade is available.
Alright, I should focus on observing the damaged ships. There’s a high chance they lost their “Green Stone” due to an attack by a Demon Beast. But maybe it would be quicker to ask someone who seems to have the respect of the workers at the repair site?
I take the opportunity to observe the workers nearby, knowing that if I don’t speak to them, they won’t acknowledge my presence.
Oh, I’ve spotted a spirit following the ship. Can it talk? It’s a humanoid spirit dressed in teal, with a round lower body. It looks humanoid enough; I might be able to communicate. I should prepare just in case.
“Hey, if there’s someone here you like, could you tell me?”
“Hello! My favorite is that one over there, the one with all the brown! Brown is nice, isn’t it?”
Oh no! I can talk to it, but I can’t tell if that brown person is a good one…!