Chapter 62: Tagosack
I returned to my farm to set up the incubator.
It has a sci-fi look with red as its base color. The shape is slightly rounded, like an oxygen capsule. I can't wait to see what kind of monsters will be born.
When I am looking at the incubator, Orto and Sakura approach me. They are petting the egg.
They seem to know that the egg is theirs. I left the barn, leaving Orto and Sakura with their egg.
Oh yeah, what happened to the light moss? Let's check my inventory.
The usual medicinal and poisonous herbs. I found the Light Moss name among them. Looks like it grew without any problems.
Unfortunately, I didn't see red tengu mushrooms or white variants. Well, it can't be that easy. Let's wait and see.
'Should I try mixing with Light Moss?'
Light Moss is a weed, so I don't expect much.
When I am pondering in front of the barn, I think I hear someone call out to me.
"Huh? Did someone call me?"
"Kyu?"
"Kuma?"
"---Yi! Oii!"
It wasn't my monsters.
I look out of the farm and see someone waving at me. Obviously, that person is waving at me, right?
"Eeto, what do you need from me?"
"Oh yeah. You're the owner of this place, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"I'm Tagosack. I just wanted to say hello to my neighbor."
"Neighbor?"
"Yeah. That's my farm."
Tagosack pointed to a farm next to my field. It is the farm with the mysterious crops that appeared out of nowhere.
So she is my neighbor.
"Eeto, Tagosack-san?"
"Just call me Tagosack. And no need for honorifics!"
"You're a woman, right?"
"That's right. Oh, my name makes you wonder, isn't it? Never mind. It's my hobby!"
So she is really a woman.
She is much taller than me, at least 170 centimeters. I took a step towards her and found myself having to crane my neck to look her in the eye. She has long, straight, black hair and a pretty face and wears some type of jumpsuit. Her looks and her gruff way of speaking make me want to call her Nee-san (older sister).
I am not sure if she is talking like this as some kind of role-play or if it is just her usual way of speaking, but judging from how the words rolled off her tongue, it is likely the latter. It didn't really bother me, so I set the question aside.
"Oops, sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Yuuto."
"Nice to meet you. I'm glad to meet you, because fellow farmers are very precious to me."
"I guess there aren't that many of us, right?"
"Yeah. And not many farmers can keep a farm this big."
"In my case, I'm a tamer, so it's not exactly my full-time job."
"I see. You're Shirogane-san, right?"
"Mm."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't I mention it?"
It seems that Tagosack knows about me.
"...How did you find out?"
"It’s actually a well-known fact among Farmers that this farm belongs to you. Everyone’s dying to know how you do it despite not actually a Farmer."
I supposed it made sense that people who work as Farmers would be interested in my farm. Alyssa mentioned that plant growing skill is a rare skill, and no doubt all these trees made my farm stick out a mile. Anyone who heard about me most likely can guess who owns this place by looking at Orto.
"Since you happened to be around, I thought I’d say hi and ask you a few questions. Like how you grow trees, for example."
"I don’t mind, but I doubt you’ll be able to copy me."
After all, he has to start by finding and taming a gnome.
"So it's the gnome."
"Oh, you already know the answer."
"No, there might be another reason. One of the possibilities that were mentioned on the bulletin board was that you might be hiring an NPC with plants growing skill."
"Is it possible to hire an NPC?"
"It's possible once your guild rank reaches 6."
I had only just raised my rank to 5 recently. Tagosack’s remark piqued my interest, though. I didn't know hiring NPCs was an option.
"That being said, the NPCs you can hire at the beginning only have the bare minimum skills, so they aren’t very useful."
"Then why’d you think I had an NPC working for me?"
"Come on, you’re Shirogane-san. How could I be so sure you hadn’t hired a high-level NPC through some kind of secret method? Course I don’t buy that theory anymore after observing this place for the past few days."
"What sort of person do you think I am, anyway?"
"Good question. Maybe someone who enjoys playing differently than others and makes lots of interesting discoveries along the way."
Oh? That wasn’t too bad. I’d expected something much worse, like being considered a weirdo for farming despite being a Tamer.
Upon voicing my thoughts, Tagosack burst out laughing.
"Dahahahaha! Quit being paranoid. Most Farmers have positive opinions about you."
That's nice to hear. Well, maybe they feel a sense of comradeship being in the same line of work.
"That reminds me. Can I ask you one more thing?"
"Go ahead."
"About that tree over there. Never seen it before. Is it a special type of tree?"
Tagosack pointed to the water guardian tree. I remember that appraisal doesn't work inside other people's homes. Indeed, it would be difficult to identify it without appraisal skill.
"That’s a water guardian tree."
"What? Water guardian tree as in the great water guardian tree?"
"Yup. I happened to obtain a water guardian fruit in an event a while back. Orto convert it into seed for me, so I’ve been growing it ever since."
"Th-That’s amazing, dude. You manage to harvest anything from it?"
"No, not yet."
"Gotcha. By the way, how much do you think it’ll grow?"
Tagosack asked. We are apparently thinking the same thing.
"...It won’t grow that big, right?"
"Who knows? I sure don’t. Anyway, you should continue taking good care of it and let me know how things turn out."
"Figured as much."
I hope it doesn't get too big.
"I guess I'll have to improve my farming skills to get plants growing skill."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks for the valuable information. This is as a thank-you for the information. Please take it."
"Seedlings? This is... magic power plant! And this is the antidote plant? Are you sure?"
The magic power plant is the ingredient for the mana potion I've been looking for. I am really happy to receive it.
"Yep. Those are both crops I grow on a regular basis. Is that okay? I don’t think you have them yet, do you?"
"I’m more than happy to have these! Was that information really worth it, though?"
"Consider them a sign of our new friendship. Besides, I got to see your interesting farm too."
I didn't expect a farmer like Tagosack to be interested in me.
"My farm isn't so bad, right?"
"Decent? That’s an understatement, especially for someone who’s not even a real Farmer. It’s freaking impressive, man."
Hearing that made me feel a bit unworthy. None of this was due to my own efforts.
"It is all thanks to my gnome, Orto. He has plants growing skill from the beginning. Thanks to his initial bonus. It lets him grow green peaches and walnuts too. It’s all him, not me."
That’s why I don’t deserve that kind of praise, I explained to her. To my surprise, Tagosack looked a bit annoyed.
"Bull. Sure, you have your gnome to thank for. But you’re the one who chose how to use his powers."
"Maybe, but..."
"It probably took you a lot of courage to buy a farm despite not being a Farmer, am I right?"
"You’re the one who decided to plow the fields and plant all these trees. The reason you’re the person you are today is because of your own efforts. You may have earned titles and made new discoveries along the way, but it wasn't all by chance. It’s because you took the road less traveled, and that’s something to be proud of."
She seems to know a lot about me. It is unsurprising because my name has popped up a few times on the bulletin boards. She also seems to be aware that I have more than one title.
I have to say, encouraging words from an older sister-type character like Tagosack carry a lot of weight. I am starting to feel a little more confident about myself.
Although I had failed to get a head start and got off on the wrong foot, I am now satisfied with how things have turned out. I am doing pretty well as a Farmer. Maybe not the best farmer, but certainly one-of-a-kind.
"Well, thank you. I'm feeling a little more confident now."
"Oh. You should be more proud of yourself. You may not be the best, but your play is interesting enough! We're playing a game. That's the most important thing, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Did I sound cheesy?"
"No, it was cool."
"Cool is not the right word when praising a woman, right?"
"What else can I say?"
"Hahaha. You're right."
After laughing, Tagosack sent me her friend code.
"Hey, how about we exchange friend codes? If we have any interesting information, we'll share it with each other."
"Thanks, that’d be great."
Tagosack is a far more experienced Farmer than I am and most likely more knowledgeable in every other area except trees. I now have an excellent companion to turn to for advice. She is a good person.
After Tagosack leaves, I give Orto the magic power plant and the antidote plant and ask him to convert them into seeds.
"With this I can make mana potion!"
TanboHiro - chapter 1 episode 1
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