Volume 2 Chapter 33 Deal with the Merchant
After helping the merchant boy Larc, we headed towards the Demon Lord kingdom.
"Hee-haw, bruhhhh."
"Oh, your master seems quite kind. But! My Zeke would win for sure."
I'm riding on the back of earth dragon Chippy, running alongside the carriage.
Chippy was happily chatting with Larc's horse.
"Why did you come to us, Larc?"
"Um...! I was wondering if I could have an audience with His Majesty..."
"You don't need to be so formal. Just call me Zeke."
"Thank you, Sir Zeke..."
"You can drop the 'Sir' too."
"Ah, what a kind person you are. Even to a small-time merchant like me, you casually speak!"
Well, I wouldn't be merciful to enemies, but Larc isn't a bad guy.
It's clear from his attitude towards his beloved horse, and more importantly, the horses trust Larc a lot.
I've never seen a bad person who respects the lives of beasts.
"So the reason I came here is that I'd like to establish friendly relations with the Demon Lord kingdom."
I see, so you want to procure what we produce.
"Sounds good."
"Huh!? Is it really okay!?"
"Yeah, I've actually been hoping to have the merchants buy what we're making."
"What are you producing in the Demon Lord kingdom?"
"Well, a variety of things. Let me show you."
I arrived at the farm riding Chippy.
"What!? What is this!?"
"It's a tomato field."
The vast tomato field was filled with juicy fruits hanging everywhere.
I've heard that the soil in the Demon Lord kingdom is poisoned with miasma, and crops shouldn't be able to grow.
"I purified it with healing magic."
"Amazing! Mr. Zeke, you're incredible! Not only are you strong, but you can purify too!"
"Thanks. Want to eat one?"
I handed Larc a tomato.
With a crunch, he took a bite and trembled with excitement.
"It's so good!!!"
Larc bit into the tomato with gusto and finished it in no time.
"This tomato is so delicious! It's the first time I've ever eaten one!"
"You're being dramatic."
"No! I may look like this, but I'm confident in my eye for quality. This is worth a fortune! So much of it! This place is a treasure trove!"
Larc cheered loudly.
"I'll give you some. For free."
"Free?! You're kidding, right?!"
"It's a token of friendship. You can take a few more."
"No, no, no! Mr. Zeke! I can't! This produce is as valuable as raw diamonds! I can't take it for free! I insist on paying a proper price!"
I admired Larc.
Since becoming the Demon Lord, several merchants had approached me with deals.
Each merchant was blinded by greed, nothing but corpses.
"I'm impressed. We could build a good relationship. I have something I'd like you to buy."
"What is it?"
"An artificial Mana Crystal."
"Huh... w-wait, what?! "
Ignoring Larc's shock, I approached the edge of the tomato field.
Holding a large, softball-sized tomato, I went back to Larc.
When I sliced it with my hand, a Mana Crystal was inside the fruit.
"N-no way!? But Mana Crystals can only be obtained from monsters or dungeons! Why is it in a tomato?!"
"Recently, I've been researching how to produce Mana Crystals with human hands. This is a prototype."
"T-this is unbelievable... it's real. That you can create it artificially, this is a historic breakthrough!"
As a result of investigating the dungeon, it was found that the minerals in the walls produce Mana Crystals.
I smashed the walls to pieces, used them as a seedbed, and grew tomatoes.
Thus, I succeeded in making crystals inside the tomatoes.
"M-Mr. Zeke... you say it so easily, but this is truly a great invention. It could potentially overturn the world."
After all, it's something that you could only obtain naturally, until now.
I can create it with alchemy as well, but if I die, the supply will cease.
So, I searched for a way that anyone could easily create.
"Mr. Zeke... who are you? To be so strong, to make such a monumental discovery, and to have such incredible healing skills..."
"I'm just a beast veterinarian."
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