Chapter 322 – Garden of the Black Forest
The hydroponic cultivation room was dark.
Today is Saturday, a shortened work day, so the residents in charge would have returned to their accommodations around 1 o’clock.
All work lights on the ceiling are turned off, and only the plant growth light attached to the culture tank is soft.
Numerous culture vessels spread out so far that the end cannot be seen, and the stems and leaves extending from them surround us.
“Take a deep breath. There are few places with as good air as here.”
“That’s right, Manager. The residents who work here always rank first in health checks with the security forces. There is a lot of oxygen and the humidity is right, so all women who suffer from rhinitis want to work here. “My nose is completely pierced.”
As Chrollo said, this is the workplace that ranks first in popularity every time a survey is conducted.
“Was it a workplace you wanted to go to or a workplace you wanted to stay in?”
This is the phrase written on the wooden signboard hanging at the entrance to the hydroponic cultivation room.
“I don’t think it’s just because of the good work environment that makes it popular.”
Almost the size of a ping-pong ball, Yeonggeul stopped in front of Geobong.
The deliciously shiny navy blue skin is shiny and clean without any of the dirt that often attaches to grapes.
“Isn’t there a lot of soybean water going to fall? Because you are probably taking care of it without knowing it. Everyone is healthy because they eat fruit before breathing good air.”
“Hmm.”
When I looked at him askance, Chrollo avoided my gaze and whistled.
Peek puk kuk.
But it is silent. The puckering lips were cute, but there was no sound at all.
“Don’t you know how to whistle?”
“… There is no program for that.”
Even if Chrollo is an excellent computer, if it’s your first time blowing, you’re just like a human.
“Ehehe. Are you okay?”
Chrollo hugged him in his arms and showed affection.
“Okay. If you use that level of discretion, your subordinates will listen well.”
When I held a grape, it was very springy.
“Can I eat this?”
“Yes. Since it is for hydroponic cultivation, there is no need to wash it. You can eat it as is. Everything here.”
Talk.
I took one pill right away. As if to prove its freshness, it is so tightly combined that you can even taste it when you pick it.
“Oh.”
The moment you bite into it, the juice explodes.
The freshness seeps into every corner of your tongue! The flesh is not so chewy that it feels crunchy.
“How is it? Awesome, right? Everyone on the cultivation team, including me, did our best to grow it.”
“It’s the best grape I’ve ever tasted.”
Knock.
I just won two.
I wanted to give it to Artemis first, but she was watching her chives from a little distance away.
“Chrollo, do it.”
She sticks her head out cutely and closes her eyes.
“Should I open my lips?”
The pose is perfect, but the lips are still closed.
“Administrator, please open it.”
“That’s how it will come out.”
Red lips that shine as sweetly as grapes. Hold the grape between your thumb and try to open it with your index and middle fingers.
The moment the coolness felt at the tips of my fingers mixed with moisture, it suddenly turned into heat.
Naelum.
A beautiful tongue that was immediately dispatched to respond to the intruder. He tries to push my fingers away as if asking how dare he come in.
But the strength of the tongue is very weak. There are only two opponents she can control with her tongue.
He skillfully rolled the grape between her thumbs and pushed it into her lips.
“Whoop!”
A cute mouth that becomes plump after biting into a giant stick. I pushed it in with my index finger, and it passed smoothly.
“What do you think?”
“It’s delicious.”
I patted Chrollo’s head and turned to Artemis.
She was looking at another crop. Garlic is a health food with white, round flesh hanging from the root.
“Hello.”
“Huh?!”
For some reason, Artemis is so surprised.
“Now, try it.”
“…”
When a grape is suddenly thrust in front of her nose, two golden eyes gather there.
It was very cute that as she moved little by little to her left and right, her eyes followed her accordingly. Would you say it feels like shaking a toy in front of a yellow-eyed cat?
“Ah.”
Surprisingly, Artemis obediently opened her mouth.
“The last trip was definitely good.”
It’s hard to break through the first time in anything, but you get used to it after that.
Instead of making provocative temptations like Chrollo, she opens her mouth gracefully and takes the grapes and eats them.
A black grape was loaded between pure white and neat teeth.
Tododog.
Before her lips were completely closed, the juice of the crushed grape escaped magnificently out of her lips.
“Ugh!”
Artemis’ face turned red.
“When eating such popping fruit, she should close her lips first.”
As she spoke with a smile, Artemis covered her face with both hands.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everything is immature, but that could be the case. It’s a process that everyone goes through at least once when they are young.”
“I’m not a child?”
“I will say that I am young in terms of physical experience. “When it comes to eating and drinking, you’re no different from a newborn, right?”
It is Artemis who is unusually jagged in her experiences with her body. Thanks to this, various things would happen while we were together.
I won’t be able to see them again after time passes, and I don’t want to miss a single one.
“Now, let’s put your hands down.”
Artemis took her beautiful hand.
“I want to watch you eat.”
“I already ate it all.”
“I’m here!”
Before we knew it, Chrollo had picked up a bunch of giant peaks and had taken them down.
“Great!”
After kissing Chrollo’s forehead, I looked at Artemis.
“It tastes good, right? Let’s have one more.”
“… Yes.”
“Now, ah!”
Artemis’ lips spread seductively. I stopped just before reaching the grape.
She moves slightly to the left, and her cute, protruding mouth follows to the left.
“…?”
This time, I moved it a little to the right, and Artemis became a goldfish following the food.
Finally, I pulled it towards me. Then, it comes along like a girl trying to kiss her dad.
“…”
She stopped and glared at me with her anger.
I quickly pushed the grapes in before the gold caught fire.
“… It’s delicious.”
Now she is slowly learning the joy of eating, not just drinking.
I’m still mainly tasting things like fruit and pudding, but I’ll be able to gradually expand my base.
“Jinsu.”
Artemis clenching her hands together on her lower stomach.
“Huh?”
“Give me one more.”
“As much as you want.”
Artemis looks at me with great delight as I eat something, especially meat. Now I think I understand that feeling.
* * *
We continued our walk.
Wherever I walked, the plants brought by Artemis each gave off their own scent and disappeared behind me.
“Try these cherry tomatoes too. “Now is the time when it tastes the best.”
From time to time, I taste chlorine and juicy fruits.
“Jinsu, open your mouth. Because it’s good for your body.”
He also chewed the herbs that Artemis picked.
When I chewed the ginseng, which was full of white and brown roots, a spicy yet refreshing scent filled my mouth.
Is this what it would feel like to combine a vegetarian buffet and forest bathing? It is a luxurious experience that was not easily enjoyed even before the war.
My head, which had been pounding between the demands and conflicts of the commanders, suddenly cleared up.
While walking, I encountered a group of ultra-small drones working on fire and pollination.
It is so small that it looks like a flying insect at first glance. It is similar to Taketonbo, a traditional Japanese amusement ride.
They pollinate flowers by jumping from flower to flower. I think this is what grasshoppers would look like if they ran around on a planet with one-tenth the gravity.
“If you keep flying like a helicopter, it consumes a lot of power. If it’s this small, it can stay afloat for a long time with just a little bit of lift. “This method is efficient.”
Artemis, now in teacher mode, chattered.
“It’s not constantly flying, so there’s no whirring sound. That’s very important to workers.”
Even if it doesn’t sting like a bee, if a flying insect is noisy, it will cause stress.
When you enhance your vision to the maximum, you can see the pollinating drones moving among the crops in magnification.
The pinwheel-like upper wing suddenly swishes! And I closed it.
With a rotation of about 0.1 second, it flew close to 1 m and landed exactly on the flower in the culture tank on the other side.
“That’s amazing.”
As an engineer, it was sophistication and efficiency that I couldn’t help but admire.
When I left for Tanis three years ago, pollination was done by spraying cultured pollen or by hand, but each had its own drawbacks.
“Of course, it is best to use natural methods. Flowers bloom, bees buzz around, and fruit bears.”
Crouch down and watch the mecha bees working hard. I couldn’t help but smile at that oddly cute sight.
Ttogak.
Artemis’ sandals appeared in my crouching field of vision.
Black toenails, white insteps, thin ankles, and the hem of a scientist’s gown fluttering a beat late.
When I look up, she is standing next to me with her arms crossed.
A golden, arrogant gaze looking down. It contained a strong demand.
‘I can’t say it with my own mouth, but if you have any sense, let it out right away.’
As they say.
“Awesome! Artemis.”
Hug one of her legs and offer praise.
“I, Seo Jin-su, an engineering student, opened my eyes again today. The idea of creating the best effect with the least amount of energy! Accurate ballistic movement calculation formula! A mechanism that not only pursues efficiency but also considers the mental health of workers!”
I rubbed my cheek against the leg of Artemis I was hugging.
“It’s a level I can’t keep up with.”
“Now, wait a minute. There’s no need to rub your face… Don’t even knead it!”
The Queen’s voice, both happy and embarrassed, echoed in the quiet garden.
