Military Testimony: Vampire Purge and the Miracle Rice
Seola scrolled through the comments as if entranced, then clicked the link posted by the author and jumped to the next thread.
There, it detailed how they'd solved the food crisis for a thousand people.
(Photo of a sack overflowing with rice.)
It looks like ordinary rice at first glance. But when you cook it into meals, it multiplies by nearly 10 times. No fancy side effects or anything, of course. Thanks to that, we could feed people who were starving half to death.
Dozens more comments piled up below, but they no longer registered in Seola's eyes.
If she has plants that produce results like that, she could've sent some our way too.
Is she really abandoning us? Or have we not given enough in return compared to what we've received?
All sorts of dark thoughts suddenly flooded her mind. She knew she shouldn't feel this way, but depression crept in anyway.
"…WhyDidIGoToTheArmy."
Seola stared blankly at the poster's username before setting her laptop aside and flopping onto the bed.
"……."
Still, thinking rationally, the post seemed credible enough. If the Druid had been off fighting some dangerous talking monster—that would explain why she'd only dropped off goods and bolted lately.
It made sense that she'd prioritized helping the military base first when things weren't going smoothly there. And now that she had some breathing room, it was about time she sent Mae back here.
The delay was starting to bug her, though.
"… Oh, right—that."
Something clicked in Seola's mind. She logged back into the Ark and searched around for info on that military base.
But nothing turned up about the Tree of Life.
"…Hehe."
Her mood lifted instantly, and she found herself humming without realizing it.
She's not abandoning us. She was just busy.
Realizing that lifted a weight off her chest. And that wasn't the end of it.
The building suddenly grew rowdy. Cheers erupted from outside.
"Mae's here!!!"
"What's he bringing this time?"
Survivors rushed out—not just for the usual drop-off, but to see Mae himself after so long. Seola bolted outside too, spotting the hawk descending slowly in the distance.
"Excuse me, coming through."
She weaved urgently through the crowd and reached the Tree of Life, where Mae had landed. But something was different this time.
Instead of the usual potato haul, there was a hefty white sack.
"Isn't that…."
"Rice?"
It was unmistakably rice—no question. As everyone puzzled over it, only Seola grasped its true value.
She hurried to the sack, where the trade ledger sat as expected. She flipped open the note Hayun had left.
[Long time no chat!]
[I've actually been super busy.]
[Fought a high-level talking monster, believe it or not!]
[Solved it all with my awesome skills, of course!]
[Sorry if I neglected Haven a bit during that. Hoping you'll think positively of me, I sent some helpful stuff.]
[Check the effects yourselves.]
Typical—vague as always, telling them to figure it out. But Seola already knew about the rice.
Still, if it really multiplied 10x, one slip-up in cooking could be disastrous, right?
That's when something poked its head out from between the rice sacks.
"…A turtle?"
Unlike Mae, it was an adorably tiny turtle struggling to wriggle free from the sacks.
"Another of the Druid's summons?"
The turtle nodded at the words, then slowly descended from the sacks and began to grow.
"Whoa?!"
"It's huge!"
It ballooned to a size dwarfing even Mae. The crowd gawked up at it, and it seemed pleased somehow.
Who knew what animals thought? They just watched curiously—until the turtle suddenly shot water skyward.
Whoosh!
A surprise fountain show left people flustered, but a few sharp-eyed survivors caught on.
"This water—it's pure!!"
With taps and sewers contaminated by orc blood, clean water was running critically low. This changed everything—no more risky treks for bottled water.
"But how do we even ask for more?"
"Maybe he was sent specifically to give us water?"
As they chatted and admired it, the turtle abruptly stomped the ground.
Boom!! Boom!!
Each step cracked and cratered the earth. A few survivors paled in fear, but soon the pattern emerged.
They could only stare in stunned silence.
First, it leveled the ground around the Tree of Life. Then it flooded the depression with water, forming a perfect circular pond ringing the tree.
But…
"Pretty, but we can't drink that."
"Better to fill the water tank, right?"
The turtle flinched! Was that not what it expected? It lumbered over and poured water into the massive tank beside Sam Mart.
"No more water worries for a while!"
"Who knew it'd solve this so easily?"
Now visibly thrilled, the turtle stomped happily, its expression plain as day. People crowded closer, petting it.
And it loved every second. Mae usually fled from this, but the turtle basked in it.
"Can I touch the shell?"
"It's cool!"
"Super refreshing!"
Grinning wide under the attention—until Mae swooped down and bonked its head. Snapping to, the turtle got back to work.
This time, it targeted the battlefield ahead, blasting a fierce jet that washed away contamination like a cleaning sim game.
A few survivors who'd been dreading the cleanup cheered. The turtle amped it up—whoosh!—until the blood and rot were gone, leaving a normal street. A bit battered, sure, but vintage charm.
Job done, the turtle shrank back, looking drained—like it'd poured out everything and turned ghostly pale. It crawled slowly into Mae's talons.
Mae scooped it up and flew off.
"Ah, I didn't finish the trade ledger."
Seola had wanted to catch up, write a bunch. But she wasn't disappointed. He'd be back soon enough.
She'd jot down everything that happened in the meantime and send it back. Tucking the notebook away with renewed resolve.
(Photo of white rice sack brimming.)
(Photo of a bit of rice in a huge pot.)
(Photo of the pot overflowing with cooked rice.)
It really multiplied almost 10x. Carbs sorted for a while. And get this—we saw something new?
(Photo of the circular pond around the Tree of Life.)
Compare to the last pic? New friend sprayed water and made that pretty pond. Useless beyond looks, sure. But check these:
(Photo of clean street.)
(Photo of full water tank.)
Pumped us full of clean water, scrubbed the orc battlefield spotless. Insane, right?
Comments poured in nonstop. My turtle had put on quite the show.
I glanced at the star of the performance.
"…So, how's the body holding up?"
"Th-this one feels like it's dying, milady."
The turtle lay shriveled on the bed, withered like a dried twig.
"Told you to take it easy."
"…But they cheered so wildly for this one—how could I hold back?"
"Yeah, yeah. Rest up."
"Thank you."
A little praise and it lost its pace, nearly brain-melting itself. Turtle things gonna turtle, I guess.
Leaving it be, I kept browsing the Ark. Hadn't checked properly lately with all the chaos, but batteries were stocked, power plentiful.
That's when one post caught my eye during my surf.
Mouthwatering title. I clicked like it had me hypnotized.