Chapter 154

Nearly a whole day had pa.s.sed since we had been holed up in the lab, and it was past noon .

It was past noon and the interior of the laboratory was completely covered with vines . Some ivy was burying itself in the walls, while others were penetrating the chests .

Some sorcerers were bitten by Hydra and taken to a healing center, but no problem .

After many unsuccessful attempts, they finally succeeded in creating a perkin with Hydras growth potential .

The ivy hanging from the head of Ortem reached down to the floor and covered the perimeter with several bright red flowers . The stems just below the red flowers are plump and rounded, turning a reddish-purple color .

This is where the gourd comes from .

Its done, ladies and gentlemen of Alchemy Division! At last, its done! That should work for now!

If Im on hand to supply them with magical power, theyll go from seed to flower in less than five minutes .

Even if I left it to the magic power of the land, an hour would be enough time to go from seed to flower .

In any case, this territory is infested with a magic gra.s.s called the Flower Blight .

The withering of flowers has a tendency to pa.s.s through the soil and take away the magical power of the surrounding plants, causing them to die .

This had become one of the problems of poor harvests in the territory .

However, this special perkin would feed itself by eating the small insects and weeds in the vicinity, root by root .

The Hydras characteristics as a carnivorous plant were retained and adjusted .

If the characteristic perkin could be grown on a large scale, it would literally eat up all the flowering plants by the roots .

By the time the perkins food is gone, the flower killers should be gone in this area .

Even though it was finally completed, everyone was just shus.h.i.+ng and not responding well .

Eerily, I turned around and saw that the alchemy divisions sorcerers were mumbling and whispering something in a low voice as they recorded the state of Hydra, who was in charge of them, with blank eyes .

Hey Rinoa-san, are you okay? Whats going on?

For now, I grab Rinoas nearby shoulder and shake her .

I cant anymore .

Rinoa dropped the note from her hand and fell onto her back on the spot .

With a bang, her arms were opened in a large figure .

Mea, theres something strange about this . I think they had been drugged by Icarus with something

I call out to Mea, who is beside me .

Maybe They dont have enough sleep, Mea thinks

Mea says emphatically, rubbing her eyes .

Dark circles were forming under her eyes, though they were thin .

Thats funny, I gave out potions properly .

I served my homemade potion to everyone in the Alchemy Division, partly because I wasnt sure if it would be completed in time .

As long as they drink that, they shouldnt fall down in a day or so .

After researching the medicinal and magic gra.s.s allowed in this territory, and since it was prepared in a hurry, it may not have been able to show the full efficacy that was expected .

Maybe their concentration was at its limit? Sorcery is pretty nerve-wracking, isnt it?

Its true that sorcery requires a lot of concentration, and it can be suitably nerve-wracking .

I had asked Mea to help me with Ortem carving in the early part of the game, and after the middle of the game, I had asked her to organize and report on the data taken by the alchemists of the alchemy divisions magicians .

Maybe thats why I was relatively energetic because I was less tired than them .

I thought I made it so that my concentration wouldnt be limited properly . After the enhanced excitatory effects lets try to numb the fatigue, shall we?

I think its unhealthy for us to no longer reach the limits of our concentration .

Well, its done for now so lets take a break for a while . In the meantime, Ill get my report to Lark-san done .

We need to get the lords to gather the people and have them make an announcement today .

Until then, we need the Rinoas faction to rest their bodies .

Rinoa, in particular, is the nominal leader of this crop development .

Its a good idea to have Rinoa, even if its just a formality, as shes the one whos received permission from the lord, and its easier to proceed if you have Rinoa, whos been here for a long time .

When I used the Cloud Gathering Magic, Icarus had used the fact that the residents knowledge of magic was weak to fuel their distrust of Rinoa to a great extent .

If Rinoa could produce results in the same field as Icarus here, it would also confirm what Icarus had said last time about being lax .

It was because of the expectations of water rationing and crop development that the residents had come to tolerate Icarus, who was just a big man with a big valve and att.i.tude .

Now, he is just a big-mouthed, old man with a big att.i.tude .

Lets get that man out of the room .

I have a vendetta against him for saying so much, and I will return the favor .

What should we do about the name Its easier to spread the word if we have something to do with it . Icarus is developing an Icarus potato . Well be competing with this one, too, and well call it the Rinoa gourd .

This would make it obvious that this one was developing, and it would be easy to inflict mental damage on Icarus .

Im still kind of embarra.s.sed about my name .

I dont have the confidence to be as bold as Icarus .

Unlike the Abel Potion, this one is supposed to spread widely .

Its also possible that well be exporting out of the territory in the future .

And I cant take it if its Abel gourd or rather, I hate it .

Rinoa-san, can I borrow your name?

Rinoas head, which was lying on her back, shook slightly from side to side .

As I thought, she didnt want to, thats right .

Shall we make it per Ortem gourd?

With this, we can spread the gourd and promote Ortem at the same time .

Using Ortem as bait, we should be able to root out the remaining sorcerers of the Icarus faction .

Ah! Abel! Up, up!

Mea shouts, her face turning pale .

I look up as quickly as I can feel sand falls on my shoulders .

Oooh-ooh-ooh!

A bright red flower burst through the ceiling and a.s.saulted me from above my head .

Apparently, one of the Hydra, which had been developed by one of the sorcerers, had moved through the wall to the ceiling .

Wai-, wand wand!

I bend down to pick up my staff on the ground, but the vine interlocks my shoulder .

Just as the vine tries to lift me up, an arrow shoots through the vine .

The vine shreds and I fall to the floor .

I picked up my wand and waved it as I turned around .

Flower, wither .

The flowers that have been attacking me, from one end to the other, are losing their wateriness in no time .

In the blink of an eye, they were browned and pulled away .

It looked like they were trying to escape through the hole in the ceiling, but before they could pull back, they withered away and stopped moving, and were crushed .

Vines and leaf fragments fall .

Thats more dangerous than I thought, we need to let all the failed plants die . No, Mea, seriously, thats a big help .

I thanked Mea, who holds her bow up is in a cold sweat .

Mea reviews the remnants of the vines on the ground and finally lowers the bow, seemingly relieved .

Then she flaps her hands around with a glowing expression on her face .

Mea, Mea was that helpful! Im glad that Im practicing the bow

With her hand, she strokes the bow so lovingly .

You-, you dont have to be so uptight about it