I Struck Potatoes
EX-rank merchant Elia has returned.
Not long after he had finished putting the cucumber patch in perfect order—
"I'm baaack!"
"Huh? Already?"
Elia, who had set off for the Free Market, was back on the deserted island. Minhyuk stared, thrown.
"The goods? What happened to the cucumbers?"
"Sold 'em all!"
"What?"
She'd sold every last one? How long had she even been gone? Granted, they were special cucumbers—more than a little special—but sold out within the hour was pushing it…….
◈ EX-rank merchant Elia has delivered the proceeds.
Oh. So it was real.
Thanks to her, the Safe Zone's level had gone up as well.
"Some mister bought all of 'em!"
"That many, all at once?"
"Uh-huh!"
Minhyuk nodded, conceding the point. Yeah. There'd definitely be demand. Any proper middle-aged man was bound to have at least one kid hitting puberty, and a middle or high schooler would be right in the thick of it—suffering through acne, that famous flower of adolescence. Mm. Thinking they went to a good cause leaves me feeling rather proud. The little elf standing right in front of him was plenty commendable, too.
"Haaah, for real? You sold all ten?"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh!"
"Wow. Elia, you're incredible. A straight-up number-one merchant."
"Hehe, right? Right?"
The moment he cooed over her the way one might a kindergartner, a smile bloomed across Elia's face. Minhyuk, however, was not a man who showed his appreciation in words alone.
"Then our number-one merchant ought to get a special prize, shouldn't she?"
"A prize?"
"That's right. A splendid prize for a splendid merchant."
"What is it?"
"Ta-da—right this second—"
Minhyuk produced the cucumber he'd been hiding.
"A cucumber grown by the boss himself."
Not one of the wild cucumbers littering the deserted island. This was a two-coin cucumber Minhyuk had sweated to harvest, skin-care effect included. He'd tried one earlier, and it had been far tastier than the wild kind—a different dimension entirely, in crispness and flavor.
"Uuuu…… cucumber……."
But Elia turned her face away and edged backward. Oh? Look at this kid.
"Just try a bite. It's good."
"……Don't wanna. I'm not eating it."
"I'm telling you, the taste is on another level."
"Uuuu…… don't wanna."
This was the Safe Zone's flagship product, the thing he couldn't keep in stock—and she was refusing it? Even when he was giving it away for free? In that case…… There was always a way.
"Yeah? If you don't want it, nothing I can do. Kkureung, let's eat it ourselves."
Kkureung—!
Minhyuk split the cucumber in half and shared it with Kkureung.
"Whoa. The juiciness is insane. This is seriously good, huh, Kkureung?"
Kkureung-kkureung—!
"What? So good that if one of us dropped dead mid-bite, the other wouldn't even notice?"
Kku, kkureuung……
"H-hey, no. Don't die, Kkureung."
Kkurung-kkurung!
Watching the two of them openly savor it right in front of her, Elia's sulky expression shifted into something complicated. Any moment now, she'd take the bait.
"M-me too."
Elia pouted and sidled closer.
"Hm? Didn't you say you weren't eating it?"
"……Wanna eat it."
"Really? Think you can handle it? Something this difficult?"
"Mm……."
Minhyuk grinned and held out half a cucumber.
"Uuuu……."
Elia scrunched her brow, then took a tiny bite. Crunch, crunch— Ugh. She hated cucumbers. They were the worst-tasting thing in the world. What was supposed to be good about something like this……. Crunch, crunch— ……Huh? Little by little, Elia's face brightened.
"Mmm. It's yummy!"
The imperial princess of the elves had fallen in love with cucumber.
"See? Good, right?"
"Yeah! Super-duper!"
"Then, since you've had your prize, how about one more little job?"
Minhyuk said it while watching Elia munch away at her cucumber.
"Just a simple errand."
"What is it?"
"Head down below and fetch me one small kni—"
That was when it happened.
The EX-rank merchant's privilege has activated!
Emergency Purchase (C)
Once per day, you may swiftly purchase an item of D-rank or below.
A message window rose above Elia's head.
No reason to send her on a separate errand, then.
"……Oh. Never mind."
Minhyuk gave Elia's head a light pat, then bought what he needed from the temporary shop.
◈ 5 coins deducted from holdings.
An absolute necessity for life on a deserted island.
"There. That's really the end. You worked hard."
"Hm? It's over?"
"Yup. You did so well that everything I needed help with today finished early."
"Hnnn……."
He'd told her she could head back, but Elia scuffed at the blameless sand with her toes.
"Don't wanna go……."
"Hm? You've got to go home. Everyone will worry."
"It's boring there. I wanna stay here longer……."
Well. He didn't know the details, but an imperial princess's home was bound to be a place that prized formality and dignity. No six-year-old would enjoy an atmosphere that stiff. Children, as a rule, grew up healthy and strong when they could run wild in nature—and for that, there was no better place than this deserted island.
"Fine. You can stay longer. But I've got work to do, so you have to play nicely with Kkureung. Okay?"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh! Okay!"
Minhyuk stepped into the Safe Zone and set to the real work.
Fwump— fwump— fwump— He scooped the sand out of the cucumber patch, now a full six pyeong—about twenty square meters—larger, with his bare hands. Then he planted, at decent intervals, the ten cucumber seeds harvested from Wilson's overripe cucumbers, and finished by sprinkling water evenly from a basket made of an enormous leaf.
The groundwork was laid for a harvest of three hundred cucumbers.
Clap, clap, clap— Applause rolled in at once from Elia and Kkureung, crouched side by side to watch.
"I'm going to use a knife now. It's dangerous, so go play over by the beach. Got it?"
"Yeah!"
Kkureung!
Elia and Kkureung bobbed their heads, then ran off to play tag on the nearby sand.
"Hehe, freeze right there!"
Kkureung-kkureung!
Minhyuk watched them for a moment, thoroughly pleased. He hadn't expected adding a single employee to liven the place up this much. It warmed something in his chest, for no particular reason.
"Nice, not being lonely."
Murmuring it under his breath, he took up the carving knife he'd just bought, sat down on the ground, and laid across his knee a branch he'd picked up a little earlier at the jungle's edge.
A thick branch, bent into a clean L. He meant to turn it into a wooden hoe.
Scritch, scritch— Minhyuk set the carving knife to the surface and shaved slowly. He'd whittled plenty of soft 4B pencils with a box cutter back in his school days, so his hands knew the work well enough. Scritch, scritch— A pleasant sound, almost ASMR. Oddly satisfying. The smoother the wood became, the more a strange little pleasure crept in. This is secretly kind of fun. A quiet, healing feeling. Maybe it was because he'd spent every day crushed under complicated company work. This simple, repetitive labor was unreasonably enjoyable, and for a good long while he forgot the time entirely and just kept shaving the branch. Make the handle thick and blunt, and shave the edge as sharp as it'll go…….
And so, how much time had passed?
"Kraaah!"
Minhyuk looked at the finished wooden hoe with a deeply satisfied face. It didn't have the flawless, tidy shape of something store-bought. Functionally, though, he doubted it had any real flaw. And that wasn't all.
Trait Versatile has activated.
You have acquired the skill Crafting (LV. 1).
He'd even gained a new skill.
"Heheh. That's the stuff."
A usable tool, and a skill to go with it. Two birds with one stone. On top of that, it seemed to suit his aptitude rather well. If it was going to be like this, should I have majored in civil engineering instead of business? Tsk— a pointless regret welled up. Anyway. He intended to make tools now and then from here on. Gazing at the sea and healing at his leisure was nice, but having a hobby like this wasn't bad either.
"First I ought to test it, though…… heh."
Rising to his feet, Minhyuk broke into a dad-smile before he knew it. He'd thought it had gotten awfully quiet.
Koooo……
Elia lay neat as anything, sunk in a deep sleep. Beside her, Kkureung dozed, head bobbing. The more I look, the cuter this combination gets.
Afraid he might wake her, Minhyuk called Kkureung in the smallest voice he could manage.
"Come here. Let's make a quick trip to the jungle's edge."
Kkureung……?
Kkureung tilted his head, wondering what was going on, but followed along obediently. It was a simple matter. Now that it had reached level 6, the Safe Zone had drawn considerably closer to the jungle's edge. Even by a conservative estimate, at level 8 the far end of that entrance would be Minhyuk's land. In short, before long it would become hallowed farmland for growing crops. Better to get a head start. He figured he'd test the wooden hoe's performance while he was at it, and try turning over his future field.
You have entered the jungle's edge.
"If anything comes close, you tell me. Got it?"
Kkureung-kkureung!
The baby meerkat has entered Watch Mode.
Preparations against any unforeseen danger: complete. Kkureung climbed onto a rock and scanned the surroundings, keeping watch, and in the meantime—
Thock, thock, thwump, thwump!
Minhyuk tilled with the wooden hoe.
Heh. Well now. Whoever had made this thing, he couldn't say, but its performance was outrageous. The wooden hoe bit into the earth without hesitation. The soil was nothing like the beach—packed firm as it was—and yet it turned over smooth and easy. Hoo…… It's been a while since I used any real strength, and this is tougher than I thought. Maybe it was because he'd eaten nothing but cucumbers since arriving on the island. His skin had been reborn unfairly handsome for it, but he felt strangely short on power. He ought to start exercising one of these days.
That was when it happened.
Thuk—!
Something caught on the wooden hoe. Minhyuk stopped digging and stared hard at the ground.
"Hm?"
Looking closer, he found a long stem rooted deep in the earth.
"What is this? It's heavy."
He tried to yank it out lightly, but the stem wouldn't tear free. Gritting his teeth and putting his strength into it changed nothing. The fight in his hands was no joke.
"Why is this so tough…… nngh……!"
Minhyuk threw his weight into it like a tug-of-war and hauled on the stem with everything he had.
And in that instant—
"Gah!"
The long stem buried in the ground ripped free all at once, and Minhyuk's body flopped backward, flat on his back. At the same time, the round tubers clinging to the stem came showering down over him.
"Aigoo…… my back. What kind of bolt from the blue is this…… hm?"
Wait a second. Tubers?
Minhyuk stared at the stem wound all around his body.
You have discovered potatoes.
Good heavens.
◈ Effect: Upon consumption, permanently increases Strength by 0.01.
◈ Description: A potato grown under the blessing of a special land. Quite salty—and quite lucrative.
What slipped out of Minhyuk, dazed, was the old cry of a man who had just dug up wild ginseng.
"I— I struck it……!"
No. He'd struck potatoes.