The Carrots I Tasted as a Child (2)

Five days after the carrot seeds had been sown, the sprouts began, shyly, to lift their heads from the earth.

Raised on the nutrient-rich remains of the Moomoocar, the seedlings were of a quality that, even at a glance, set them apart from ordinary carrots.

"Damn, that's incredible."

Rian surveyed the field with genuine admiration. The sprouts, planted in neat, dense rows across the broad plot, were an impossibly vivid green, practically overflowing with luster. For something that had only just been born, the stems were already as plump as prizewinning infants.

The start, at least, was as good as it could get. If they could just hold this quality through the roughly three months until harvest, he might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well be selling the finest Special Grade carrots in the world.

The first week after planting the carrots, Rian was in excellent spirits.

Three weeks in, the germinated sprouts had shot up so vigorously that the stems threatened to grow dense, so Rian left the strongest ones standing and boldly pulled everything that looked relatively small or inferior. The heart of carrot cultivation was thinning. Neglect it, and the stems would never grow properly, and the carrots themselves would stay small.

Three weeks after planting. The voyage was smooth.

By the sixth week, he could tell their growth had accelerated. Whatever these little guys were eating, they were shooting up day after day. Rian smiled with satisfaction at the carrot leaves radiating a deep, lush green.

"Grow nice and big, now."

But from this point on, problems began to arise.

Word of a gourmet restaurant must have gotten out, because the pests came swarming in. When he went out to the field in the morning, he would find one or two carrots with their leaves gnawed away, or stems bored through like tunnels.

The Moomoocar's corpse had brought a blessing to the field — but Rian and the villagers were not the only ones enjoying the benefits. On fertile land, bugs breed well too. With so much to eat, every day was a festival. They copulated with gusto, mixing freely, and multiplied their numbers at a blistering pace. No matter how many he caught, another one would pop up the next day and nibble away at the leaves.

"I was hoping not to use pesticide, but I've got no choice."

Rian privately dropped the carrots' grade by one rank. What had been Special Grade was now A+. And since he had anticipated pest attacks to some degree, he immediately manufactured a natural pesticide and sprayed the field.

But perhaps the Moomoocar's blessing was simply too powerful. The pest assault showed no sign of stopping. Their reproductive power was stronger than the natural pesticide.

Truth be told, the insecticidal potency of natural pesticide was not that impressive to begin with. First, its duration of effect was shorter than chemical pesticide. Second, the materials available around the village were limited, so he did not have the conditions to produce a variety of types. As a result, there were pests that treated Rian's homemade brew as a joke.

"You little bastards, where do you get off throwing a chewing party? Is this your hotel?"

The ones that would not die even after being sprayed had to be picked off by hand, turning over every leaf.

"It was never like this when I was with the princess..."

The soil laid down at the King and Queen's Sanctuary Farm was of such exceptional quality that this place could not even begin to compare. And yet pests there had been vanishingly rare — and he had not even sprayed pesticide. After turning the reason over in his mind again and again, Rian realized it belatedly. Audria is a dragon at the very apex of the food chain. Maybe the insects caught her scent, grew terrified, and never approached the farm.

Anyway, that was that, and Rian had no choice but to accept the reality of a pest infestation. He dropped the carrots' grade another rank — from A+ to A.

The cause had been his overzealous experiment: manufacturing an untested natural pesticide in a bid to wipe out every last bug, then spraying it too aggressively. As a side effect, the oily residue from the brew clogged the carrot stems' respiration and hindered their growth.

"That was a mistake. Tsk."

Rian had learned a great deal about farming from Audria, but he was still an agriculturalist with plenty left to learn. His knowledge was not perfect. Because he always approached farming with a researcher's mindset, always striving, it was common enough for him to make mistakes while experimenting. Like today.

Before he knew it, the day had ended. Rian, who had been glued to the field from dawn, finally wrapped up his work and returned to the barn.

"Hah... I'm beat."

He let out a weary sigh and stretched out on the straw, his mind occupied entirely with thoughts of pest control. The interior of the barn, scattered with the various experimental materials he had used to concoct all kinds of natural pesticides, told the story of what had been weighing on him lately.

"If this were a city and I just had the moneymoney, this would've been an easy fix..."

Looking at the situation, it might have seemed as though the pests had ruined Rian's carrot farming, but that was not actually the case. The quality of ordinary carrots circulating on the market was B-grade — inferior to Rian's current A-grade crop. Even so, Rian was not satisfied with what he had grown. He was a man who had witnessed the Special Grade vegetables cultivated by Audria, an outstanding agriculturalist. Having tasted produce of the highest quality, his standards had naturally risen, and rather than growing arrogant about his own skill, he more often found himself whipping himself onward, never quite content.

This was one of those times.

"Just grow them like this and harvest. Not much else I can do."

After long deliberation, he finally gave up and settled for a reasonable compromise. Fine. I'll live with the pests. As long as complete eradication was impossible, he would just have to suppress outbreaks as much as possible while growing the carrots. Keep worrying and he would only give himself a headache.

Having reached that conclusion, he was staring blankly at the ceiling when something caught his eye. The colorful egg sitting on the wooden crate drifted into his field of vision.

"I wonder when that thing's gonna hatch..."

It was the fairy egg he had received from Lacazette a few weeks ago. To be precise, he had received it the day after spending a passionate night with the dancer Middlelen.

A sinister air coiled around his body, and the objects hanging on the walls rattled and shook. Then Lacazette and the Uma Girl surged up from the floor.

"A most pleasant evening to you, Master Rian."

Lacazette stood with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling. The Uma Girl, who carried a massive backpack in place of a carriage, regarded Rian with the same expressionless face as always.

"......"

She looked as if she were not thinking anything at all.

"Didn't think you'd actually show. I'm surprised."

"You honor me."

Rian shook hands with Lacazette. The merchant glanced around the interior, then grinned.

"I take it you passed a most rapturous night. Allow me to offer my congratulations."

Rian ignored the remark and changed the subject.

"Did you get those farming-related items I asked for last time?"

"I do most humbly beg your pardon, but I am still in the process of procuring them. I would ask that you kindly take into account that a mere week has passed since our previous meeting. Placing an order and taking delivery, you see, requires a considerable amount of time."

"Yeah, just thought I'd ask. Anyway, the ring works fine."

"The ring has been robustly designed so as not to fail even under the most adverse conditions. After all, that is how I make my living."

Rian nodded and glanced once at the ring on his finger.

"Got it. Sorry for calling you out of nowhere. You can head back."

"I shall look forward to seeing you again before long."

Lacazette had been about to leave when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something seemed to occur to him, and he paused.

"Ah, how forgetful of me."

He spoke with a smile.

"Just before I arrived, I was preparing to make Fairy Fry. In my haste to come here, I seem to have brought the egg along without realizing it. Since it has turned out this way, what would you say? Might I interest you in a serving of Fairy Fry? It is quite the delicacy. Shall I offer it to you?"

Lacazette held out his hand.

Upon his dark palm lay a vividly colored egg, about the size of a hen's egg. Rian regarded it with interest.

"What's a fairy? Don't tell me you mean those little flying ones?"

"Yes, those very children. They are livestock that we of the demonkin are rather fond of eating."

Cruel bastards.

Rian asked without letting it show on his face.

"You're giving it to me? For free?"

"I received a great many as a gift from an acquaintance. If it would please you, do try one."

"Thanks."

Rian accepted it without any fuss.

"You sure know how to do business."

Lacazette bowed with impeccable courtesy.

"I always strive to approach my valued customers with a sincere heart. I am simply grateful that you would accept such a humble gift."

After that, Lacazette and the Uma Girl sank into the floor and vanished. Once the two of them had gone, the barn, which had been overflowing with a gloomy aura, returned to normal.

And so, back to the present.

"Fairies, huh..."

Rian stared blankly at the egg nestled in a bed of straw. Lacazette had given it to him to fry and eat, but Rian had no intention of eating it whatsoever. He was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tending it with painstaking care, wondering instead what might happen if he hatched it. His expectations ran high as to what kind of fairy would be born.

He was letting his imagination roam, pondering what he would even feed it once it hatched, when a fine idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Come to think of it, putting a fairy on pest duty would be perfect, wouldn't it?"

The image of a fairy gripping a sword and shield, standing watch over the field, rose before his eyes. Rian could not help but laugh.

"That'd be fun."

But there was not even a hint of hatching yet — when would that even be possible? If luck was against him, it might just rot where it sat...

For now, that was still a long way off.