“Ah, so you managed to find something you can convert into farmland,” Gnome said. He seemed as pleased as if it had been a discovery he had made himself. His interest made sense, considering that he was an earth spirit.
“We did!” I said. “It receives plenty of sunlight, and the soil seems to be of excellent quality. It’s accessible from my chambers too, so it really is perfect.”
The new cave entrance we had found earlier led to the rear of the area I had adopted as my bedroom. The bones and ashes from burning sacrifices might have been thrown out via that opening, which would explain why the soil there had become so fertile after all these years.
I concluded my report of my findings at just about the same time I finished the tea I had ordered to quench our thirst.
The other spirits had been eating the leftover snacks while I’d been sneaking around, but then, they jumped on me! It was as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“What about the tour?” Undine demanded. “Were there any other cool places?”
“You didn’t run into any dangers, did you?” Sylph pressed. “Oh, well, I suppose it wouldn’t matter if you had, given the dragon was there to protect you...”
The wind spirit had landed on my shoulder while the water spirit clung to my arm. They were staring at me from so close that I could feel their breath. And...although I am aware of how uncouth this is—there was something soft pressing against my arm... Yes, we were both ladies, but even then, the sensation of a gorgeous woman’s chest against me was difficult to ignore!
If there was someone who could calm this chaos, surely it was Alk?! I shot him a pleading glance...but he was too engrossed in his cold brew tea! With a sigh, I realized that wandering around outside must have left him parched. Still, I would really have appreciated his assistance here. I cried deeply inside.
But then, Gnome came to my rescue! “While I can understand that you are eager to hear from Fran, I wonder whether you might see fit to let go of her...?”
“Yeah, listen to the hermit! Ya gotta give her some room to speak!” Salamander urged.
“Huh?! It’s not like it’s a big deal!” Undine shot back.
Salamander wasn’t having it. “She’s uncomfortable! So it is a big deal!”
For a split second, I could’ve sworn that I saw literal sparks flying between them...
“Come now, settle down, you two. You are only making things more uncomfortable for Fran,” Gnome said. There was a troubled smile on his face.
Sylph gave an exasperated sigh. “It is only natural that there should be strife between you two, given your attributes, but you mustn’t drag a human child into your squabble.”
Undine whimpered.
“Uh, I guess you’re right...” Salamander said, conceding as well.
Fortunately, the more levelheaded spirits had intervened before all hell had broken loose. I had yet to hear about the specific power dynamics between the four of them, but Gnome and Sylph seemed to possess more authority than the other two. It reminded me of the kind of relationship between parents and children, though I wasn’t sure how accurate an analogy that was.
While Undine continued to cling to me, Salamander hopped into my lap.
“So ya found yourself a field, huh? Decided what you’re gonna grow there?” he asked, rapping his red feet on my lap.
It was like I had been struck by lightning. “Oh my! I forgot to even consider it!” I had been so excited by the idea of gardening that such specifics had eluded me. “Oh dear... Oh my! And I don’t think I’m able to order anything beyond food and tableware...”
“Huh? Really?” he asked. “And here was me, thinkin’ ya were gonna order the stuff ya wanted to grow.”
“That would have been convenient... Oh!”
Panicking, I summoned my tablet to search through it. But, as I suspected, there were no seeds or saplings available. What was the use of having a perfect field if I had nothing to grow there?
Suddenly, Undine pointed at something on the screen. “There are some potatoes there. Couldn’t you grow them?”
She had pointed out a limited-time potato promotion. There were potatoes for baking, sweet potatoes, and several other types I had never seen before. It was a lot of fun imagining how they might taste! The problem, however, was that they were all meant to be eaten as is.
I voiced these concerns out loud. “...and it seems that trying to use them as seed potatoes will run the risk of cultivating disease or pests.”
“Oh, really? This all sounds like too much effort if you ask me.” Undine sighed.
Sylph didn’t say anything, but she did look slightly disappointed.
Apparently, potatoes sold for growing purposes would be inspected several times to ensure they hadn’t been infected by any viruses. Only safe ones made the cut. However, people could eat an infected potato without the virus having any effect, so such inspections weren’t necessary for plants meant for human consumption. This explained why Teiren had heard of potatoes meant for food becoming diseased after being planted.
Alk was pretending that he wasn’t listening to our exchange, but I knew he was keeping an ear out. It felt terrible knowing that I couldn’t fulfill his expectations!
Smiling at me, Gnome extended a helping hand. “I think I might be able to help, Fran. Everything that grows in the soil is within a gnome’s purview.”
“Gnome!” I cried. “Oh, but you were already going to help with cultivating the meadow itself...”
“Come, don’t worry about that. I am as interested in these potential crops as I am in the crafting techniques belonging to that other world. I hope you will share several samples with me in exchange for my assistance.”