Ikuru and I are relaxing under the shade of the magical mangrove, probably because of a sense of accomplishment. The wind feels very pleasant.
Oh, that’s right! I totally forgot about the princess fruit. I can smell the two princess fruits laying on a low branch and they smell somewhat sweet…it smells like…the sweets being sold in department stores…?
No…my vocabulary is just too small.
“Oh, you can eat the princess fruit.”
“Really!? Then let’s eat!”
The princess fruits are washed with the water of the magical mangrove. I take one for myself and the other one is handed to Ikuru. I would try making tea out of it sometime.
The princess fruit sparkles like a jewel. Well then, should I eat it as is or without the skin? I don’t see any skin so is it fine as is?
“You can eat the skin.”
“Oh, so there is skin after all?”
“Yeah. It’s just a thin film so there’s no problem.”
It’s as I thought, Ikuru can read my mind.
I mean, why do you even know that much? I wonder if he’s a mind reader…
I take a bite of the princess fruit as Ikuru said. As I bite in, the sweetness of the fruit spreads throughout my mouth.
“Sweet…!”
What is this?
The sweetness of the fruit made me fill up with happiness as if I am a beloved princess. It tastes slightly different taste than honey and sugar, but it makes my heart pound (***doki-doki). Although it is very sweet, it’s not excessive, so I feel like I can eat an unlimited amount of them.
“…It’s sweet, but the sweetness melts right away so it’s easy to eat.”
“Yeah…I can eat it unlimited amount of them.”
“Yes, certainly…”
Ikuru seems to like eating the fruit. As I am eating, I am giving some of the fruit to Maro as well.
“Mii~!!”
“Ehehe, it’s delicious isn’t it”
“Mi! Mii!”
“More? It can’t be helped.”
It seems like Maro likes it too. The princess fruit can fit into my palm, and when I put some in my hand, it nibbles away at it.
Eat a lot and grow big.
Oh, by the way, I wonder what the princess potion tastes like?
“Sips…huh?”
Doesn’t it taste like normal flavorless carbonated water?
Did it fail? It’s a shame if it does, because the potions have all tasted very good so far. Is the princess potion supposed to be like that, or was my skill just bad?
“The princess potion doesn’t really have a taste.”
“That’s right…so did I fail?”
“No, it’s not a failure because the effect is working properly.”
“Oh, what’s the effect?”
“Try checking your status.”
——
< Kusonoki Hinami >
15 Years old
Lvl. 1
HP 30/30
MP 45/67 (45+22)
ATK 10
DEF 10
AGI 13
MAG 20
LUK 50
<Skills>
God’s Miniature Garden
Rhapsody of Light
Angel’s Sanctuary
<Title>
The God Ligris’s Divine Protection
——
“Oh, my MP increased…!”
“Yes, the effect of a princess potion is to increase your MP maximum by about 1/5 to 1/2 of the amount.”
“Oh, since my MP has increased by half, does that mean it’s a good potion?”
“Yes, the ones in town that are being sold only increase your MP by one third.”
I see.
It seems that I did not fail in making the potion, so that means the taste is supposed to be like that….? I wonder if it usually tastes like carbonated water? If I wash my face with this every day, would it be like those actresses in those commercials who do it for beauty?
“……”
Although I didn’t say anything, I seem to feel that Ikuru’s gaze is weird? It must be my imagination.
“You’re thinking that it’s as great as it actually is.”
“…That’s not true. It’s good for beauty…”
“…So”
I can still see Ikuru’s amazed face.
“… If you put the princess fruit into the potion itself, won’t it taste better?”
“Eh!?”
Put the princess fruit into the princess potion? It would taste much better that way since it would be like carbonated water with fruit, right? When I think of it that way, isn’t the princess potion a great success…?
Is Ikuru a genius for noticing such a thing? No, he must be. He’s an intelligent, strong and handsome person…why would he normally enter a contract with me…?
“How will you insert the fruit? The mouth of the bottle is not that large…will you pour it into a cup and then put it in?”
“That’s right…since it’s small, I can’t just put the fruit in.”
“Mi!”
“Hmm? What’s wrong Maro?”
“Mimimii~!!”
“!?”
Suddenly, Maro jumped at the princess fruit as he screamed “Mii!” .
Wait a minute, wait wait wait Maro! Is the fruit poisonous? No, but it seems like it doesn’t affect him…so why?
As I was worried about Maro, I started to stroke him, but I pulled my hand away right away. He started to emit this cold air around him that was as cold as ice.
“No way…!”
“Mi! Mii~!!”
“Eh, wait, what’s wrong? Ikuru do you know what’s happening?”
Paakin!
In that moment, the princess fruit on my knee was wrapped in light and shattered.
“Eh?”
As I touched the shattered princess fruit, I saw that it was extremely cold and that it had been frozen.
I wonder if Maro did this…? I looked at Maro who had a proud gaze. It threw out its chest proudly.
“Mii!”
“Snow rabbits can use ‘snow magic,’ although it’s extremely difficult for humans to use, so not many people can use it.”
“Wow! Maro is amazing!”
“Mii~!”
“You can put these into the princess potions, can’t you?”
“Oh I see…!”
The crushed pieces of the princess fruit tree certainly smaller than the bottle openings.
When I collect the scattered fragments and place them into the bottle, it makes a bubbling sound and melts into the princess potion.
‘What happens when the snow melts?’ I remembered that this was asked in my Japanese class in elementary school. As if spring had come, the princess fruit melted and shined beautifully. Isn’t this the phenomenon you see when the snow thaws? (***I guess this is something like a Japanese riddle for elementary students: What happens when snow melts?—Spring comes. Any ‘Fruits Basket’ fans out here?)
“Why don’t you try drinking it?”
“Yes…….!”
Th-this is…!
I drink the princess potion vigorously and it hydrates my throat. The sweet fruit combined with the carbonated water created a perfect harmony that leaves me speechless.
As I was drinking, the soft fruit passes through my throat, and although it was sweet, it was refreshing and I could drink it no problem.
“It’s really delicious!”
“Indeed…it’s better than I had expected.”
“Mii!”
Ikuru and I praise Maro by petting him. Petting him makes him feel good doesn’t it?
Maro is a very fluffy and cute pet.
***
“Is it safe here for now?”
On the rooftop, Ikuru and I were planting the poisonous grass and then decided to take a break. If Maro or the chicken ate them, it would be a huge problem. So I decided to plant them on the roof where animals can’t reach and raise them with with the other herbs.
By the way, I’m too scared to make poison so I haven’t made it yet. I’m afraid…of making any mistakes!
However, when I think of the future…will my level ever increase? Currently I’m at the weakest level—level 1. Furthermore, it seems like my status is much lower than the average person.
I think that the strategy that Ikuru came up where I ‘apply poison to a weapon and defeat the enemy’ seems like the best option for me. That’s right, it’s like a game where the monster is in a poisonous state and weakens gradually…It kind of makes me feel like cheap, but…
- Save points to get the door of the miniature garden.
- Get a house in town.
- Level up.
…For the time being, I’m still scared, so I’ll think about leveling up later. If I set up the equipment properly, will I be less scared? Wait a minute? I…I only bought weapons for Ikuru! Doesn’t he also need armor? Because no one said anything, I did not notice at all. But, is it normal to have no armor…? I will check properly later.
For now, I just need money and points. How should I sell the potions…? Ah, but Alfred-san said that he would introduce me to a shop. All of my potions were bought last time, so it might be better to sell more and introduce different types this time.
“Fuu…”
The sun is setting and the forest is dyed orange as I look around.
The birds that are flapping their wings…are they returning to their nests? Or are they dancing to express gratitude for first day of month?
“Hinami-sama, I can make dinner today.”
“Thank you very much Ikuru!”
“But it’s just going to be roasted meat with soup and rice.”
“That’s more than enough!”
I was reminded that he really only knew how to cook soup. The seasonings were only sugar, salt, pepper, and olive oil, so it is difficult to season things well. But even having just salt would make things taste much better. Next time I go into town, I will look for soy sauce.
I gaze at the sunset for a while with Ikuru, and then we go back down into the living room. Oh, it smells good! I was quite hungry.
As we were eating, Ikuru and I were talking about the day.
I thought it would be peaceful, but the contents of the talk were not.
“There were a couple of hard wolves, then slimes and snakes. There isn’t anything worth mentioning…”
“Slimes…I get that somehow…As for snake…is it just a snake?”
“Yes, it’s a snake monster. I left the items that they dropped in the basement. I’m not sure if they dropped anything special.”
“Is that so? Well, I’m glad that you are safe…!”
It seems like there are different types of monsters in this forest. I did not know that at all…! Apparently, there are three different types of monsters here, and it seems that the hard wolf is the strongest?
When Ikuru explained it to me, he had said “ Because the other two types of monsters are weaker than hard wolves, it was no problem.”
I had thought this before, but are slimes the weakest monster in every world? (***Hehehe, any ‘Tensura’ fans out there? It’s one of my favorite LNs)
“I’ll try looking for the Kukuri tree a little more tomorrow.”
“Yes. And I’ll earn more points.”
“Well, don’t overdo it.”
It’s all right leave it to me!—Is what my smile is saying.
Yes, I think it’s a great feeling.
“Oh, I almost forgot!”
“What?”
“I didn’t prepare armor for Ikuru!”
“Oh, that. Well, because I focus on speed, I don’t need to have a lot of armor. Besides, there are only small fry in this forest, so it’s not really needed.”
“Is that so…?”
“If I go to a more dangerous place, it would be nice to have some light equipment. For now, this is good enough.”
I see…as expected of Ikuru.
I would need to have heavy armor…! Then, I’ll save money and give him some good light armor. It seems like extra protection isn’t needed for the monsters here…amazing.
“I got it! Next time I’ll buy you some excellent armor!”
“Just normal armor is fine…”
“Well, you shouldn’t hold back on armor!”
“Yes yes…”
As expected, he gave me an amazed look.
There is nothing more important than protection!
“Oh yeah, have you decided on what kind of house you want to buy in town?”
“Can’t I just get an ordinary house?”
“You need to pick its purpose and location. If it’s just to go into town, you can get a cheap place in the back alleys, but if you want to sell potions, you’ll want to pick a good place where you can sell them.”
I see!
I guess Ikuru was thinking about it more than I was…! Or it’s just me who’s not as mature…
“I haven’t really thought much about it, but I would love to open up a shop!”
This is it. I think that having a “shop” is like a girl’s dream. When I was small, I had wanted to have a flower shop or a cake shop. I had a lot of dreams like that.
So I would love to fulfill my dream in this world. My dream, of course, was to raise plants beautifully, but because I had already fulfilled this dream, I needed a new one.
“What kind of store would you like?”
“Hmm…a pretty and cute store?”
“……”
“Ah, well…I’ll have cute items, and the interior of the store would be cute and pretty too! I’ll talk to customers a little and…”
“So you want a normal shop?”
“Yeah!”
Ikuru seems to a little troubled with my answer. Did I say something strange? No, well I guess…it’s impossible to think of opening a store normally in the first place.
“Because Hinami-sama’s potions are so effective, you can probably sell them to nobles and countries directly without bothering with a store, right?”
“Eh…”
“You can also have a store and sell them yourself while making connections. That’s more of Hinami-sama’s style.”
“I see…”
In the form of marketing…!
As expected. Ikuru is way ahead of me.
But sales…? Should it be a store or direct delivery…? But wholesale doesn’t seem as interesting for a shop. That might just be my own opinion though. If anything, it’s because I would like to interact with customers. It would be nice if it had a calm and relaxing atmosphere, like a café.
I nodded in confirmation as if I were alone, but Ikuru joined in.
“Hinami-sama is silent, but your face is shining…”
“Well, I am smiling happily!”
But it’s true.
I want to interact with various people in this world! I want to live a happy and enjoyable life.
There is only one form of marketing that I would like. A shop where I could interact with people! It’s been a dream of mine since I was little to have this kind of shop!
“I’ll open a shop where I can interact with customers!”
KizunaTLs 