Chapter 209

Ｒ​ｅａｄ ｏｎ ​Ｋａ​ｔＲ​ｅａｄ​ｉｎｇＣａｆ​ｅ

Back to square one. (8)

“ Huh?”

When I got back after splashing myself with cold water, the place was absolutely packed.

I figured people would trickle in soon, but I didn’t expect the head‑count to jump into a whole new digit.

“So many people showed up…”

‑Kon‑Natsu~
‑Did you wash your face properly, Nacchan?
‑Looks like you’re wiped out—guess you were singing all day, lol
‑Since we’ve got this many folks, maybe Nacchan can just sit back and watch?
‑But Nacchan’s not the type who can sit still and only watch, ww
‑True that, lol

Just like the listeners said, I’m the sort who can’t stand only watching other people play a game.

If someone else is doing it, I have to jump in too.

Of course, if I literally couldn’t play I was happy enough to watch, but…

Anyway, with all these people the orchard had grown huge.

They’d even put up a fence to keep out wild animals.

“…They built all of this already?”

‑Natsumin are top‑tier laborers, ww
‑We’re like dads working hard for their beloved daughter, lol
‑Nacchan… let’s do that Budokan live for sure…!
‑Dads farming apples diligently for their daughter, ww
‑Honestly, if I had a daughter like Nacchan I’d farm my heart out, www

I was honestly amazed.

I’d been gone maybe five minutes to the bathroom.

In that five‑minute span they’d finished expanding the orchard and putting up the fence.

“At this rate, finding a house by the end of the day might really be possible…”

‑They were all veterans to begin with, so of course it’s quick, ww
‑Everyone’s holding a golden seed‑shovel; must be 100+ hours on record each, lol
‑Weren’t married guys supposed to have no gaming time?
‑My Farm is something you can play with the kids or your wife, so the hours add up.
‑Farming skills honed while playing with the kiddos—respect, ww
‑Looks like Nacchan’s the biggest newbie here, lol

They moved so flawlessly in sync that I had no idea which rhythm to match.

I could get used to it quickly if I tried, but who knew what would happen if I plunged clumsily into this clock‑work crew.

Mmm… mm‑hmm…

Still, I’ve got to do my best, right?

“So, um—what should I do?”

[natchaaaaaan] : Nacchan just cheering us on already fires us up, ww
[hansangdaisuki] : How about planting something other than apples? Tulips sell for decent money, but you can’t plant that many because space is limited.

Tulips?

Tilting my head, I checked: the minimum price was 300 gold.

Unlike apples you can’t mass‑produce them, but the unit price is high.

I’d been wanting to try raising something besides apples anyway, so I nodded at once.

‑Tulips are hard to raise, you know.
‑The seeds are cheap, but you have to nurture them lovingly.
‑People say it feels like raising *real* tulips, ww
‑Well, it’s all experience, lol
‑I still have the first tulip my daughter ever raised, growing in the garden, www
‑Nothing better than tulips for a child’s growth, lol

“…I’m not a kid, okay?”

Everyone reacted like doting parents raising their child, so I stuck out my lip.

Being treated like a kid at my age is a bit much.

Actually, maybe it felt even weirder because I never have been properly treated like a kid…

[1000 ¥]
‑Nacchan might be a perfect fit for tulips, ww

“What? It’s just one flower—what’s there to ‘fit’ or not fit—”

[Oh no, a bug’s clinging to the tulip!]

“Eh?”

Like a certain pocket monster game, the screen faded, then zoomed in to show a bug stuck to the sprout.

Uh—so I just click it?

I pressed with the mouse, and the bugs fell off one by one, eyes turning into X‑marks.

…And this is supposed to fit me?

“Nothing to it.”

‑It’s only easy at the beginning—just wait, lol
‑Ignore bugs and you’ll pay for it later, Nacchan ww
‑They pop up easily now because it’s just a sprout, ww
‑Later even Nacchan won’t clear it so easily, lol
‑lol

The listeners giggled at me.

I couldn’t tell if they were serious or teasing, but even if it got harder I doubted it would spike that much…

—or so I was thinking right before:

[100 points! The Tulip (Sprout) thanks you!]

“…Harder than I— ahem, that was an easy win.”

‑You were about to say “hard,” weren’t you? www
‑Still, nailed 100 points pretty smoothly.
‑It’s tuned so even kids can clear it, ww
‑Next one might be tough for Nacchan.
‑Might be too hard for someone who’s already lost their childlike heart, ww

Too hard for someone who’s lost their childlike heart?

I cocked my head in confusion; just then the tulip zoomed in, and a tiny fairy popped out of the bud with a boing.

She looked at me with pleading eyes as if wanting something; if I didn’t say the right thing, disaster felt imminent.

Uh, let’s see…

[Please give the Tulip Fairy a heartfelt compliment!]

“G‑grow up pretty… okay?”

[Well done!]

‑She’s already grown, but after hearing Nacchan’s whisper it feels like she could grow even taller, lol
‑She might shoot past 200 cm at this rate, WW
‑Your “daughter” is hopping around because she’ll grow up pretty, lol
‑So the verdict is Nacchan actually does have some innocence left… ww
‑Nacchan’s model is literally childlike, isn’t it?
‑There’s that, ww

Honestly that was way harder than the earlier bug‑catching.

Even though it was an NPC—no, because it was an NPC, maybe the right words stuck in my throat.

In hindsight I wondered if they’d suggested tulips just to mess with me.

If you knew, you could’ve at least tipped me off—tsk.

I clicked my tongue while watching the Natsumin and the other members farming apples so earnestly.

They were working so hard I couldn’t even complain.

[Why are Hanboong‑i* people THIS cracked?]
[(Hanboong‑i build a fully optimized apple farm in under an hour.MVI)
And why are apple prices peaking so often? Wasn’t it random?]

ㄴ[Prices are random, lol]
ㄴ[True, but if the harvest amount is lower than the previous sale, the chance of a price spike goes up.]
ㄴ[Wait, for real? That’s a thing?]
ㄴ[Yeah, but if your harvest is bigger than last time the chance of a price drop goes up.]
ㄴ[So that’s why they kept selling small batches, lol]
ㄴ[Apple coin confirmed to be a scam coin.]
ㄴ[We made a profit so it’s not a scam, though?]
ㄴ[It’s scary how many of those guys over there are married dads…]
ㄴ[My Farm’s about the level even wives okay, lol]
ㄴ[Some couples might be playing together, lol]
ㄴ[Can’t even argue because that actually makes sense, lol]

*Hanboong‑i = Korean nickname for hard‑core Natsumin viewers

[Tulip‑raising Gal-master.]
[(Gal-master carefully raising a precious tulip.MVI)

Which Hanboong‑i told Gal-master to raise tulips?
She smiles when the bud sprouts, whispers “grow well” while fertilizing it, even laughs when it buds—felt like watching my own daughter, lol
Papa‑smile generator: definitely the tulip.]

ㄴ[Tulips have tons of little minigames, kinda tedious but rewarding, lol]
ㄴ[Glad the minigames suit Gal-master’s taste.]
ㄴ[She blushed when she said “grow well” —so cute…]
ㄴ[For real, what?]
ㄴ[For real, cute;;]
ㄴ[(Natsu “Hmph, I’ll overlook it this time” kon)]
ㄴ[(Inari “Phew, saved” kon)]
ㄴ[Getting a perfect score on the bug‑chasing minigame was huge.]
ㄴ[Why were there cockroaches in the bug‑chasing game anyway? Do roaches eat tulips?]
ㄴ[Who needs a reason to chase away roaches?]
ㄴ[(Nagisa “Just looking at them is revolting” kon)]
ㄴ[lol]

[Looks like a bourgeois Gal-master commanding her slaves, lol]
[(While VSPE members and Natsumin farm away, Natsu raises a single tulip.MVI)

Slaves sweating as they plant seeds, pick fruit, haul produce to market, while Gal-master dotes on one tulip, lol]

ㄴ[VTuber exploiting listeners like slave labor, yikes]
ㄴ[And unpaid, too, lol]
ㄴ[But in return they get to serve Gal-master—huge reward, no?]
ㄴ[(Natsu fragile‑young‑lady smile kon)]
ㄴ[(Nagisa “Attend to her, peasants” kon)]
ㄴ[Isn’t that just a dad working on the farm while his daughter watches?]
ㄴ[Several dads, so lucky huh.]
ㄴ[Uh, I was talking about Gal-master…;;]
ㄴ[Gal-master’s an orphan, what are you on about.]
ㄴ[Seriously?]
ㄴ[Someone made a parent joke before and she said flat‑out she really has none, yeah.]
ㄴ[(Han Yeoreum not a Talulah… kon)]
ㄴ[That’s when this kon got created, lol]

\*Talulah = Korean slang for “I have a parent” meme

Fables