kscans

Chapter 431 - Let's Start a Farm

To make money, Parfait and her friends were running the beginner dungeon "Kobold Copper Mine" every day. Defeating the boss in the depths of the dungeon yielded some decent treasure, so they were repeatedly entering the dungeon to earn money.

If they didn’t have money, they couldn’t pay the land tax, and their furniture and other belongings would be confiscated. It could be said that this was because they didn’t use their money wisely, but for high school students, and in a game at that, it was probably unavoidable.

The required monthly amount was one hundred thousand G. This was quite cheap compared to other lands, but for beginners like Parfait and her friends, it was a considerable sum. So they were desperately trying to clear the dungeon, but as it was a beginner dungeon, it didn’t make much money.

They tried to clear other dungeons, but raw strength and game strength were two different things, and their party composition was extreme, so they couldn’t make it to the depths of the dungeons.

One run of the Kobold Copper Mine dungeon yielded about five thousand G. A simple calculation showed that twenty runs would reach the target amount, but the tax payment was approaching. As students, even if Parfait and her friends did their best on weekdays, they could only manage one or two runs a day. It was a close call whether they would make it in time.

"It is not a large sum, but we are also doing guild quests and selling unnecessary items, so should we not be fine?"

"Yes, I am also doing quests at my Necromancer Guild. As a result, I somehow obtained the title ‘Apprentice Gravekeeper.’ I have mixed feelings."

Chris and Natsu were also earning money by simultaneously completing their respective guild quests. Parfait was doing the same, but since she had just started the game, the quest rewards were all cheap.

The need to worry about money and work hard in a game was counterintuitive, or rather, it was meaningless if you couldn’t enjoy the game. While it couldn’t be helped this time, she wanted a means of earning money other than dungeon clearing.

"We’ll continue clearing dungeons and doing quests, but I want another way to make money. Preferably one that doesn’t take much effort."

Even if not passive income, she wanted a way to earn money with little effort. If they became better at making money in the game, it would be unnecessary, but for now, that wasn’t the case.

In the first place, this was a side effect of obtaining a base that didn’t match their player proficiency, but they had no intention of giving up this base now.

"Then how about growing something in a garden? We have the land, so the initial investment is already taken care of. I hear you can make money if you grow a lot."

While the Cultivation Skill had an effect, you basically just had to plant seeds and water them regularly for them to bear fruit. You could get ingredients cheaper than buying them at a store, so many players had the Cultivation Skill along with the Cooking Skill.

It took a fair amount of time until harvest, but as long as you had land, you could grow as much as you wanted. It wouldn’t make money right away, but ingredients always sold stably, so you could earn money regularly without much fluctuation.

"That might be a good idea. I heard there are clans that made huge fields or farms."

"I have heard of that as well. That half of the food distributed in this game is made there. I see, my friend Chris, your scheme is for us to imitate that and conquer the world?"

"No, that’s not it."

"That is right, Natsu. If you are to conquer, muscles are sufficient. Besides, I simply suggested it because we need money. Rick would probably think of more things."

"Rick-kun won’t be able to log in for a while longer, he was born late in the year."

Rick was a childhood friend, but their parents didn’t have much of a relationship. From what Parfait had heard, Hayato and Diite had been helped by his father, Ox, in the past, and Ox often came to the store with his family and work colleagues.

Also, Rick and Abel were often together at school, so they often played together through that connection.

That Rick was as smart as Natsu and liked studying, which made him an oddball in Parfait’s eyes. He had said he would start a business when he became an adult and was apparently studying various things.

Given the situation, she had wondered if it was a good idea to invite him to the game, but when she asked on the off chance, he had agreed, saying he was interested in virtual reality distribution.

As Chris said, if she told him they were in trouble for money, he seemed likely to suggest various ways to earn money other than fighting. But unfortunately, it would be a while before he could log in.

So, as Chris suggested, they decided to first make a garden and get a stable profit, and headed to the Farmer’s Guild in Azuma.

Although the Farmer’s Guild had few affiliated players, it was a guild bustling with many people.

While you could buy ingredients and seeds, selling was more common. As Chris had said, you could get a stable income by selling ingredients.

In the game, you didn’t need to eat to live, but enjoying the taste, gaining the benefit of a status increase, and other things meant that ingredients used in cooking were always in demand.

So the Farmer’s Guild was quite lively. Even in the relatively sparsely populated Eastern Country, there were a fair number of people, so Parfait was a little surprised.

"Welcome, welcome to the Farmer’s Guild!"

As Parfait and the others approached the counter, a female staff member said this with a nice smile.

"What exactly do we need to do to start cultivating?"

"Cultivation, I see. There are two methods, growing in pots or planters, and tilling the land to grow. Have you decided which one you will be doing?"

"Then the one where we till the land."

"In that case, the first step is to purchase a hoe or shovel and make furrows in the land. After that, you plant the seeds and water them, and they will grow automatically."

"I see."

"The time until harvest depends on what you are growing, but at the longest, it is about a week in real time. The fastest things take three days."

A week would be cutting it close. Then perhaps it would be better to do two harvests of something that could be harvested in three days, Parfait thought.

"Are you perhaps trying to cultivate for financial reasons?"

Parfait was surprised by the female staff member’s words, but she nodded.

"Yes, that’s right. We want to earn money in a short period of time."

"Then I recommend Mandragora."

"…Isn’t that dangerous to pull out? They scream, right?"

Mandragora was a monster-like plant that was said to let out a tremendous scream when pulled, leading to the death of the one who pulled it. So there were methods like having a dog pull it out, but Parfait vowed in her heart that she would do no such thing.

"They do scream, but it is not a loud volume. However, it is certainly dangerous. They will attack you when you pull them out. But you all are quite strong, are you not?"

Parfait and the others were beginners, but their equipment was first-class. They just lacked skills, but they were quite strong. Parfait in particular was famous for having become a ranker.

Although she had mixed feelings, Parfait nodded.

"Ingredients sell stably, but things used in alchemy can sell for quite a high price depending on the circumstances. Right now, Mandragora is at a high price, and that will continue for a while. I think you can sell it for a lot at the Apothecary Guild."

"But aren’t the seeds for things like that expensive?"

"On the contrary, recently, the number of people cultivating Mandragora has decreased."

(On the contrary?)

Parfait was a little confused by the unfamiliar phrase, but she listened to the story again.

Apparently, the large-scale agricultural clans "Tougenkyou Plant" and "Golden Fruit" had been asked for cooperation and had moved to an undeveloped land.

Since the undeveloped land had no transfer devices, travel was basically by ship, and in that land, they were self-sufficient. A large amount of seeds that they had planned to sell to the large clans had been left over.

"We have an excess of stock, so would you not buy some? I mean, please buy them… We have too many… At this rate, it will affect our salaries…"

The staff’s salary was affected by the in-game situation. To put it simply, the staff’s bonus changed slightly depending on the total funds of each guild. Since they had stocked up on a large amount of Mandragora seeds, their funds had apparently decreased.

She was worried about whether this was an okay form of real-world work, but she couldn’t bear to abandon someone in need. When she asked the price, she was told it had dropped to about one-fifth of the normal price. If they bought a large amount, they would get a hoe and shovel as a bonus.

That being the case, they decided to buy them. Another reason was the simplicity of Mandragora, which, although dangerous at harvest, could be harvested a week after the initial watering without any further effort.

Parfait and the others bought fruit seeds in addition to Mandragora and returned to their base to plant them right away.

Returning to their base, Parfait and her friends immediately used the shovel and hoe they had received along with the seeds they had bought to make furrows.

Since they had bought a large amount of Mandragora seeds, the field also became quite large. She had originally planned to make a field to grow food for the cafe, so she had bought a fairly large plot of land.

She hadn’t expected it to become a Mandragora field, but there was no problem with making a huge field. Moreover, there was a lake nearby. They could water the plants as much as they wanted with the buckets and watering cans they had bought, without having to wait for rain.

"I believe this is a time for Create Undead to shine, but it seems they will not plant the seeds for me. I am disappointed."

"Isn’t it difficult for a skeleton to plant seeds?"

Natsu had tried to get her skeletons to plant seeds with Create Undead, but they weren’t that high-performance, so she reluctantly planted them herself.

"I heard at the Farmer’s Guild that there are agricultural golems. They can till the fields, plant seeds, and even repel birds and monsters."

"Mmm, golems are not bad either. As expected, an evil organization cannot be without a giant golem…!"

"Alright, alright, the harvest date is cutting it close, so let’s plant them quickly."

"Leave it to me. I shall inject each one with the power of darkness as I plant them!"

"The posture for planting seeds is quite a good workout. If this were the real world, it might build a considerable amount of muscle. It might not be a bad idea to try a work experience at Colony ‘Farm.’"

"You two, let’s try to move away from the dark side and muscles for a bit, okay? Oh, right, should we hire a guard dog or something to keep the field from being ravaged? Should we hire a Cerberus?"

"My friend, I think you should try to move away from animals sometimes."

"I agree with Natsu."

"Isn’t that mean?"

As they talked like this, the three of them cheerfully planted the Mandragora seeds and the fruit seeds they had bought separately.