Hangover Relief Lettuce

"Mi-suk, are you feeling all right?"

Late morning, and the sound of broth bubbling away drifted in from the kitchen. Grandfather was making hangover soup, his voice gentle as he asked.

"Come have a sip of soup now."

"Uuugh……"

Mother, who had dragged herself up from her spot, couldn't even manage an answer. She took one sip of the soup and promptly collapsed again.

Yesterday…… was truly something else.

It wasn't as if a bear had wandered in, yet the house had nearly come apart at the seams.

Apparently, after single-handedly demolishing five bottles of makgeolli, Mother had gone on a rampage, pounding the wooden bench set up in the backyard and wailing her laments to the heavens. The result: the bench split clean in two, and the terrace shook as if an earthquake had struck. So explained Seo Bong-gu, who had witnessed the whole scene and turned so pale with fright that his black fur looked white.

"Uuurgh—"

"I brought you some water."

"Aah……"

The moment Mother mumbled something, Father understood her perfectly and appointed himself her errand boy. But that didn't last long either. Yesterday's business wasn't finished, so he and Grandfather would have to head back out soon.

"Are you coming with us, Ji-on?"

Today was a school holiday—the school's founding anniversary—so I had the day off.

Normally I would have happily accepted Grandfather's offer and gone out myself to inspect the fields. But today, something else mattered more.

Namely, comforting my flustered mother.

Imagine getting blackout drunk, then waking up to find the bench on your balcony smashed to pieces. How mortified would you be?

I shook my head and said, "I'll stay with Mother today."

"Aah, good. That's the right call. That puts this old man's mind at ease."

Grandfather nodded, his expression noticeably lighter.

Mother's mood clearly wasn't great, so I figured ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I ought to do something for her. I racked my brain for a suitable task, but nothing came to me right away.

Well then, new crop development it is.

I saw the two of them off at the front gate and headed for the front yard.

Developing a new crop required inscribing the field first, and as luck would have it, the front-yard plot already had a proper fence around it.

"Nice looking fence, too."

Which made it perfect for the mana inscription as well.

I channeled my mana and carried out the inscription work.

Oh, so I'd get to see the name Mana Land Plot 2 again—I thought I'd never see it twice.

Seeing it like this, it actually brings back fond memories.

When I came back inside after finishing the work, Mother was still sprawled out exactly where she'd been. The hangover was brutal; it was nearly three in the afternoon and all she'd managed so far was regaining consciousness. She looked like she might manage a little movement now, but anything vigorous—jostling, shaking, sudden motions—was out of the question.

Kim Mi-suk lay limp on the floor, sighing at the sorry sight of herself.

"Mother!"

"……Hm?"

Someone tugged at the arm of Kim Mi-suk, who was sprawled on the floor clutching her head. Her son. Ji-on.

"Mother, come get some fresh air with me."

"Fresh air?"

"Yes! You know the front yard we saw when we moved in? I've been wanting to grow a new crop there, and it'd be absolutely perfect for it. Want to plant some together?"

Kim Mi-suk mulled it over for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Right. I should at least get out for a change of scenery.

Nothing beat moving your body for lifting one's spirits, as the saying went. The hangover had settled down a bit, so she could manage some light activity.

I headed for the front yard.

I'd bought some seeds in advance on the way home from school a few days ago and had them stored in the storage shed; the plan was to pick out something suitable from there and plant it.

"Now, what would grow well in a front yard?"

Ah, found it.

Lettuce seeds.

As expected, this was exactly the kind of crop suited to a home garden.

I gathered the seeds and a hand trowel and the other tools from the shed and stepped outside.

In the front yard, Mother was gazing at the plot and letting out little exclamations of admiration.

"Maybe it's because it's a new field, but it's so neat and tidy."

A new field to go with a new house. And we'd be planting seeds in its pristine soil for the very first time.

The weather was lovely, too—a gentle breeze drifting by now and then, just right for a day of fieldwork.

I handed Mother the lettuce seeds from my pocket along with one of the hand trowels. The two of us could divide the plot between us and plant the lettuce as we liked.

Lettuce grows far faster than sweet potatoes, so it would be good for seeing results quickly, too.

And what special attribute might I be able to grant this time?

We left a spacing of about thirty centimeters and began digging the furrows one by one.

"Mother, drop the seeds into the spots I dig and cover them back up with soil."

At my words, Mother hurriedly crouched down and began scattering seeds.

Plop— flick—

"Is this how I plant them?"

"Yes, that's right. You're doing a lovely job of it."

Just as I answered Mother's question and covered the last furrow with soil and gave it a watering—

The work went smoothly. But after crouching and working for a good while, Mother looked thoroughly worn out.

"How do you feel? Are you feeling a bit better?"

"Better, or worse, I honestly can't tell……"

Then Mother stopped mid-sentence, turned deathly pale, and cried out.

"Ji-on…… uurp. S-sweetie, Mommy's stomach isn't feeling so good, I'm going inside first……!"

Bending at the waist, her face a ghastly shade of green, Mother bolted and vanished from sight.

Before I could even answer, with Mother's retreating back fading into the distance, a system window popped up.

"Aah…… yes, sure."

Mother had scurried off indoors in a flash. And the system, it seemed, had taken my answer as its confirmation.

"……So this chapter's new crop is officially the Hangover Relief Lettuce, then."

Hangover relief, huh.

South Korea ranks among the top ten nations in alcohol consumption worldwide. Which is to say, people here are every bit as sensitive about the hangovers that follow all that drinking.

This was a crop I'd planted on a whim, just to lift Mother's spirits. But this, I suspect, might turn out to be a far bigger harvest than I bargained for.

Lettuce already has a short growing period, so it would come in even faster than usual.

"The sooner I can harvest it, the better. I wonder how effective it'll really be."

The lettuce's special effect was important, sure—but there was something I was looking forward to even more.

The stat granted to me the first time I harvested a special crop.

It would be hard to tie anything to hangover relief, I'll admit. Still, I hoped I'd get something that would help me reach the 3rd Circle.

The day of the lettuce harvest arrived ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sooner than expected.

It had already been three days since I planted the seeds. And since yesterday, the rain had begun to fall.

Sshaaaaaa—

And it was absolutely pouring.

Mother, gazing out the window, asked with a trace of worry in her voice, "Is the lettuce going to be okay in this much rain?"

"Hmm……"

It was a fair concern. If heavy rain flooded the field, lettuce could quite literally rot away. She'd planted this crop with her own hands, so of course she was anxious.

I got up from my seat and put on a rain poncho.

"Ji-on? Where are you going?"

"To harvest the front-yard lettuce. If the rain keeps up, the field really might flood."

The rain showed no sign of stopping, all day long. This was a potential emergency.

If the lettuce wasn't in a harvestable state, my plan was to at least take measures to keep it from drowning.

Next time I grow lettuce, I should do it inside a vinyl greenhouse. I'd also need to set up proper drainage channels and grade the ground so the soil wouldn't flood so easily……

Sorting through these various thoughts, I made my way out to the front yard.

Good—it's harvestable.

I'd need to gather everything up quickly and get back inside.

The raindrops beating down on me stung like needles.

If I left the roots intact, I could harvest the lettuce leaves multiple times, but the situation didn't allow for that now. With rain coming down this hard, the roots would rot regardless. So this time, I'd be harvesting by pulling the lettuce up whole.

I stole a glance at the window.

Mother had opened it and was watching me.

"Are you all right out there?"

"Yes. But if the rain gets any heavier, it'll all go bad. I'm going to pull the lettuce now and bring it in."

"Want me to help?"

"No, it's fine. Ah—actually, could you make me some green onion pancakes instead?"

"Pajeon, out of nowhere? Hmm, well, I have all the ingredients, so I'll make it. Don't push yourself—come in quickly."

"Yes, ma'am!"

That took care of diverting Mother's attention. Now the harvest would go that much smoother.

Thanks to the generous spacing we'd used when planting across the roughly twenty-pyeong front-yard plot, there were five hundred heads of harvestable lettuce in total.

I could use Aer Manus for this, too, but with the rain coming down, interference was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠likely. And there was a far more suitable spell for the occasion.

Eradiico.

A spell that uprooted designated targets entirely—down to the very root. Weeds, ore stones, anything.

Of course, as a low-tier spell it was normally limited to small-scale work or small targets, but…… applied cleverly, it could be used to extract large numbers of identical targets all at once.

Back on the continent, I'd pulled exactly that kind of trick whenever a large-scale mana ore excavation was needed.

Mana was scarce back then—what choice did I have?

Now it isn't mana I lack, but the range of spells available to me, so it's a similar predicament, really.

Whatever works, works. That's all that matters, isn't it?

I raised both arms toward the field.

Eradiico Magna.

I braided the flow of mana used to cast a normal Eradiico into multiple strands. I wove the threads of mana together, one after another, until they formed a single whole dense enough to blanket an area the size of the front yard.

Once the formation had spread far enough to cover the entire field, I would cast it all at once.

There were two drawbacks to this technique: it took a long time, and it demanded sustained concentration throughout. The upshot being that it tired you out fast.

Vuuuum—

As the mana condensed, the raindrops falling from the sky began to shiver and tremble.

Now—!

Grruk, gruk—

The lettuce began uprooting all at once. Clumps of soil that had stuck to the roots, dampened by the rain, came pattering down in a scattered shower.

It worked.

"Phew. First, I should stack everything in the storage shed."

I'd bring in just a few heads to keep in the house—maybe three or so. They'd be great tucked away in the fridge for later eating.

And I'd have to give some leaves to Bong-gu, too. The little glutton could never resist magical crops.

I was just about to move the harvested lettuce into the cold storage when—

My heart skipped.

What on earth would I receive as a portion of the Hangover Relief Lettuce's power?

Something useful, please—!

"Huaaak!"

Just by breathing, I could now absorb nothing but pure mana.

……This is truly—

absolutely insane!