Ch.175Happy Gourmet and the Bountiful World

‘I’m hungry.’

I woke up feeling extremely famished, having completely exhausted myself from spending too much energy during my happy time with Jessica.

Moonlight streaming through the window illuminated the dark room, where I could see Jessica sleeping soundly beside me in her nightwear.

Judging by the lack of lights outside the window or in the hallway, it must be quite late.

‘What time is it now? It seems well past dinner time. Surely everyone didn’t skip dinner just because I didn’t wake up?’

As I slowly raised myself from the bed, I realized I wasn’t wearing a single thread of clothing.

Looking around, I couldn’t see my clothes or underwear anywhere, and thinking back, I don’t recall ever getting into bed.

The last thing I remember is Jessica’s large, soap-slicked breasts in the bathroom…

‘…Did I pass out in the bathroom? How embarrassing…’

Since becoming lovers with Jessica and Seti, we’ve spent many nights together, but I had never been the first to pass out.

It seems the rapid depletion of energy in the hot bathroom was the cause of my collapse.

My momentary embarrassment quickly gave way to the loud rumbling of my empty stomach demanding food.

‘Grrrrrr’

‘Ugh… I’m seriously starving.’

Thinking I should eat some bread from my bag, I got out of bed and looked around. That’s when I noticed a dome-shaped object on the table.

It was one of those silver covers they put over food plates at fancy restaurants.

After managing to find and put on my underwear and nightwear, I sat at the table and removed the silver cover to find a ham sandwich and cherry tomatoes greeting me.

Next to the plate were neatly arranged utensils, a bottle of fruit juice, and a small note.

Using the moonlight as illumination, I could make out four different handwritings crammed onto the note.

‘We tried to wake you but you wouldn’t get up, so we had dinner with the others and came back. If you’re hungry when you wake up, eat this. If you bumped into something or feel unwell anywhere, make sure to wake me up, okay? – Jessica’

‘Sorry we ate without you. I brought you the most delicious thing. – Seti’

‘Looks like even the great Will gets drained after being sucked dry by Jessica~ Be careful not to waste away! Hehehe. – Mina’

‘I heard about it from Jessica. I’ll… try harder too – Phyllis’

Jessica and Seti’s messages were fine, but the other two were just making sex jokes.

And what exactly did Jessica tell Phyllis that made her want to “try harder”?

‘Well… I can pretty much guess how things played out.’

Jessica must have struggled to move me to the bed after I collapsed in the bathroom. When dinner time came and I showed no signs of waking, she went out to eat with the other three and came back.

They probably chose a sandwich set that would still taste good even when cold, in case I woke up in the middle of the night.

I don’t feel neglected at all. Rather, I’m grateful for how much these four care about me.

‘Thanks for the meal, Jessica, Seti, Mina, and Phyllis.’

It was a late-night snack time that made me smile, feeling loved by everyone.

The next morning.

Waking up almost simultaneously, Jessica and I embraced and shared a light kiss without either of us initiating.

“Did you sleep well? Did you eat?”

“I woke up in the middle of the night and ate. Thank you all.”

“No need to thank me… you overdid it because of me. Are you feeling okay?”

“Of course I’m fine. I feel good enough to hold Jessica right now.”

“Not today, we have work to do. Next time… okay?”

“Can’t be helped. I’ll make up for yesterday’s unfinished business all at once next time, so look forward to it.”

After getting ready and leaving the room with some regret, I found Seti, Mina, and Phyllis already waiting for us in the lobby.

Seti asked if I ate the sandwich, Phyllis worriedly inquired about my condition, and Mina handed me a suspicious-looking energy tonic with a sly smile.

I gave Seti and Phyllis a light kiss as a token of gratitude and discreetly tucked the tonic into my pouch.

After breakfast of something resembling chicken skewers from the marketplace, we headed to the elven specialty store.

It seemed too early for customers to crowd the specialty store, as Orpheus was chatting with several clerks gathered around the counter.

“You’re here. Are you ready to depart now?”

“Yes. How did the permission for the Chestnut Sanctuary go?”

“They gladly granted it, of course. If you come with me, you’ll be able to enter the Chestnut Sanctuary without getting lost.”

When we accepted the monster investigation request, we expressed our desire to visit the Chestnut Sanctuary before investigating the site.

We wanted to gather preliminary information about the monsters from the Guardian unit members who had experienced several battles with them.

“You said the Chestnut Sanctuary is about 8km away, right? Can we enter by carriage?”

“Of course. We also use carriages when transporting large quantities of goods. The forest path has been widened sufficiently, and there’s a carriage storage area inside the sanctuary, so you needn’t worry.”

“OK, then we’ll bring the carriage outside the trading post entrance and meet you there.”

“Understood.”

On the way to the Chestnut Sanctuary, Orpheus sat next to the driver’s seat to guide us.

The forest northwest of Westpoint Trading Post seemed too dense for a carriage to pass through at first glance, but following Orpheus’s directions, we soon found a wide forest path after navigating between the trees.

The feeling of traveling on a well-paved road without large stones or bumpy curves was a comfort I hadn’t experienced since purchasing the covered wagon.

“The road is remarkably well-maintained. Did the elves construct it themselves?”

“Yes. If the day comes when the sanctuary is opened to settlers, they will travel along this road.”

“Doesn’t making a road like this attract monsters? We failed to establish roads between cities because of that.”

“This forest path is also protected by Arachne’s Knot. The Guardians patrol twice daily as a precaution, so encounters with monsters or carnivores are rare.”

“I wish we could find a way to protect our roads like that…”

“You’ll find a way someday. After all, you’re the people who built multiple cities in this death-filled land.”

The settlers have found ways to purify black mana and create magic that prevents monster approaches outdoors.

I believe they can certainly find a way to secure safe transportation networks between cities.

Discussing such matters while driving the carriage, we reached our destination, the Chestnut Sanctuary, in about an hour.

The forest scenery suddenly changed, revealing a wide plaza before us.

This sight indicated we had safely passed through the elven barrier and entered the sanctuary.

“Wow… this is incredible.”

“It’s on a completely different scale from the Willow Sanctuary.”

“It’s protected by a spirit tree that has lived for nearly 400 years. It’s become even more prosperous since we began interacting with the settlers.”

What we saw immediately after passing through the barrier was a forest village rivaling the size of a western city.

A massive tree displayed overwhelming majesty in the center, surrounded by log-house style buildings arranged in an orderly fashion. There were even several large two-story buildings that couldn’t be found in the Willow Sanctuary.

Most striking were the chestnut trees planted like a barrier around the edge of the large village.

A covered walkway ran beneath the evenly spaced chestnut trees, with rows of baskets lined up on both sides.

It appeared to be a structure where fallen chestnut burrs would slide down the roof and land in one of the baskets on either side.

“Is this a system to collect chestnut burrs without human hands? Interesting.”

“Hmm~ But wouldn’t the roof make it harder to pick chestnuts?”

“True. Do the elves have some special technique?”

“We don’t bother shaking down the chestnut burrs. Since trees of the same species as the spirit tree don’t develop diseases or attract pests, we can leave them to fall naturally and still harvest quality chestnuts. Ah, the carriage storage is over there.”

Following Orpheus’s guidance, we parked the carriage in the storage area and moved toward the village center along a gravel path.

The elves visible here and there showed slight wariness at the visit of unfamiliar outsiders, but warmly welcomed us when Orpheus waved and greeted them.

While admiring the scenery of the Chestnut Sanctuary, I realized I was witnessing something that shouldn’t be possible at this time of year.

Brown chestnut burrs hung abundantly from the branches of the chestnut trees surrounding the village, and a few brown burrs that hadn’t made it into the baskets lay scattered beside the walkway.

I was seeing a sight that in Korea would only be possible during Chuseok season, yet here it was in early May.

“Come to think of it, the chestnut burrs are already ripe in May. Is this a variety that bears fruit in spring?”

At my casual remark, the four women including Jessica and even Orpheus stopped in their tracks and turned their gaze toward me.

Their faces all wore the same expression, eyes wide open as if they’d heard something strange.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… I don’t understand what Will meant. A variety that bears fruit in spring?”

“Ah, in my homeland, chestnuts are autumn fruits. I was wondering if different tree varieties have different harvest times.”

“Don’t most fruits and nuts ripen in three months? You can harvest them year-round except in the dead of winter, can’t you?”

“What… did you say!?”

Orpheus calmly uttered something unbelievable.

Jessica, Seti, Mina, and Phyllis nodded in agreement.

“Fruits ripen in just three months? So you harvest them four… no, three times a year excluding winter?”

“Yes. Trees take years to grow, but the fruits usually take about that long.”

“What about wheat or barley?”

“Hmm~ About eight weeks is usually enough?”

“Yes. That’s why farms around cities coordinate by dividing odd and even months to adjust harvest times.”

“What about soil fertility? Frequent farming in one place depletes soil nutrients and leads to desertification, doesn’t it?”

“That doesn’t happen. Even in places without mana veins, there’s always a small amount of mana circulating in the soil, so unless the land was unsuitable for cultivation from the start, like gravel or sand, it won’t become barren without special reason.”

“Is this for real…”

Crops grow more than three times faster than on Earth, and the soil doesn’t get depleted—what kind of agricultural cheat world is this?

Does the dictionary of Grantis truly not contain words like food shortage or famine?

It was an experience of being blindsided by the absurdity of this fantasy world after a long time.