kscans

Chapter 245 - The Alfalfa Mimic Story

The objective for the third day of the great market was crop seeds and seedlings, with the top priority being the Alfalfa mimic. This "Alfalfa mimic" was originally a plant that grew wild around the Salt-Sour Mountain area, but like its Earth counterpart, it possessed nitrogen-fixing abilities, could grow even in nutrient-poor soil, and was well-received as pasture grass. It had now become indispensable in End Village for fallow land and pastures. Since transplanting wild stock alone was not enough, the plan was to look for seeds and seedlings at this great market. While it was treated as a weed on Salt-Sour Mountain, considering its excellence as fodder, it wouldn't be surprising if it were being cultivated somewhere.

And so, for today's tour, the knowledgeable Eto and Old Man Audel served as guides, with Katra and Dalia on guard duty.

"Well, there’s nothing particularly rare, so it might be boring for you, Yuri-kun."

"That’s not true at all."

"I hope that’s the case..."

After all, they were dealing in crop seeds and seedlings. They wouldn’t sell unless they were things that would reliably grow in this country, so inevitably, it would be all commonplace items. It probably wouldn’t be as interesting as yesterday’s hunt for curiosities... or so Old Man Audel was thinking, but Yuri himself was brimming with interest. After all, though it had been almost five years since he had been transferred from his past life on Earth, this was the first time he had seen the seeds and seedlings of crops cultivated elsewhere. What was being cultivated, what was being sold, his interest and curiosity were endless. If nothing else, they were "crops from another world." It was only natural that Yuri would be so eager.





"Hmm... Yuri-kun, isn’t that it over there?"

Looking in the direction Old Man Audel was pointing, there was indeed some hay that looked like it. They seemed to be selling seeds, but were displaying the hay as a sample. From the looks of the hay, it certainly resembled the "Alfalfa mimic" they were cultivating in End Village, but... still...

"...Doesn’t it seem a little smaller?"

"...That it does..."

He was bothered that it was slightly smaller than the Salt-Sour Mountain variety of "Alfalfa mimic," but could it be a subspecies or something? It could also be a difference in growing conditions. However, from what he could see, it didn’t seem to be significantly different from what they were attempting to cultivate in End Village. When they checked with the man at the stall, it seemed it was indeed used as pasture grass.

"For now, why don’t you buy a little bit? You’ll need to confirm whether there’s a difference or not, anyway."

"You’re right... Thanks to Yuri-kun, we have a bit more leeway with our funds now."

"Huh? Because of me?"

"That’s right. Because of that matter, the lord even exempted us from our annual tax."

In exchange for teaching other villages how to remove the bitterness from acorns, End Village had been exempted from taxes. The taxes they had already paid for the previous year had been refunded by the lord in an equivalent amount. So, they had plenty of funds for purchases. More than anything, the livestock were devouring the Alfalfa, which had become known as "Umago-yashi" in End Village because Yuri had called it that, with such vigor that replenishing it had become a pressing issue for the village.

"...The thing is, they eat it all up before it has a chance to set seed, so we can’t secure any seeds for propagation. We’re in a state where we have to search for seeds outside the village."

"I see..."

"I never thought they’d take to that grass so much..."

Since no one was foolish enough to graze livestock on the monster-infested Salt-Sour Mountain, its excellence as feed had apparently gone unnoticed.

"Anyway, if we can substitute it with this grass, there’s no problem, and even if not, if it can just distract the livestock’s voracious appetite a little..."

"...So you can grow the ‘Umago-yashi’ and collect seeds..."

"Indeed. If we plant them in different plots, they won’t get mixed up."

When Yuri secretly consulted his Appraisal master, it seemed what was being sold was indeed a slightly different variety. It was smaller than the Salt-Sour Mountain "Umago-yashi," but on the other hand, it had less fiber and was a variety that could be eaten as sprouts. Perhaps it was a type close to Earth's alfalfa, also known as purple medic.

Yuri, having learned this by appraising the sample, naturally told Old Man Audel.

...Incidentally, regarding his Appraisal, by now, no one even bothered to comment on it.