Chapter 53 – #13_Latifundium(2)
#52
One.
Youngsan.
As we knew earlier, a magical crop cultivation plant jointly owned by Count Zemanai and Duke Keter.
To explain in more detail, the place where magic crops are produced is not in Yeongsan itself, but in ‘Latifundium’, where the foothills of Yeongsan meet in a U shape to form a gorge.
To grow magic crops, fog that atomizes magic water is essential, and the best place to confine this fog is the canyon across the mountain.
In other words, Yeongsan seemed to be holding Latifundium.
“Wow….”
Siu could not hide his admiration.
He only came in through words, but I didn’t think it would be such a magnificent view from the entrance.
It is not the rocky image that often comes to mind when you think of a canyon.
The gorge, which seemed to be 100M wide, was densely forested with trees of extraordinary majesty from the entrance.
“Isn’t it amazing? It’s off-season these days, so there are no other administrators. It’s only now that I can look around like this leisurely.”
Odile became proud of the golden calf in his house.
It’s a very proud expression, but it’s worth it.
“Wouldn’t it be more surprising to go inside?”
The road started to turn bumpy, so the trio stopped the wagon and started walking together.
Even if you look at the sky, it is difficult to put the tip of the tree in your field of vision.
Each tree that filled Latifundium was an old tree that had lived for hundreds of years.
It is as if there are several World Trees.
“What is the fall period?”
“Yeongsan is located in a place where the fertility is very strong, but if you grow too many magic crops, the land gets tired quickly. After six years of cultivation, you take a break for a year. You can’t spray chemical fertilizers.”
As I walked into the gorge with Odette’s kind explanation, it became dark as if it was night, even though it was midday.
It is only natural that both sides of the mountain are cliffs, and the lush branches and leaves become the ceiling, covering every inch of the sky.
Odette and Odile made three or four decorative lights as if it was natural and walked in front of the rifles.
Siwoo follows while looking around with a lunch basket.
I’ve been to a cave before on a school trip, but it’s dark and humid everywhere, so I feel like I’m in a large-scale cave.
And did it move about 30M?
What welcomed Siwoo and his party was a vine plant that hung like a curtain from afar to the floor.
It was obviously artificially created.
It was because they were lined up in a straight line like a curtain in a theater, covering the entire canyon.
“What is this?”
“This is the full-fledged production area. A screen was put up to prevent the fog created by the magic water from escaping.”
“Assistant, you must stick to us. There is only one pass.”
“Yes.”
Siu was led by the hand of Odette, who was much more cheerful than before, and stood close to him.
Odile rolls up his sleeves, revealing a rosary that appears to be made from tree seeds.
The pale light emitted from the rosary beads illuminated the vines, and the vines that had been draped over them broke away like dominoes and opened the way.
And Siwoo could understand right away why Yeongsan was praised for being so beautiful.
In a word, it is a fairy forest.
It is a dreamy landscape and atmosphere that seems to be inhabited by fairies.
A narrow river flows through a large forest road.
The foggy mist invigorates every breath, and huge trees stand upright everywhere like pillars supporting latifundium.
Up to this point, you might have thought that there could be enough of them somewhere on Earth.
“I’ll even put my fist in your assistant’s mouth.”
“It was just like this when we first came.”
Even the giggling twins’ laughter just passed by my ears.
Siu was preoccupied with admiring the remaining scenery.
A large glass bottle hanging from each branch like a fruit contained colorful liquids, and light emanated from it.
It seemed to have been fixed as it was by taking a picture of a scene from the lantern festival.
Thanks to that, even though I walked to the middle of the gorge, I could see quite a few places clearly as if a streetlight was lit.
“What is that?”
If you look closely, the hose extending from the glass bottle is pointing to the root of the tree, like intravenous drip.
“It’s a kind of nutritional supplement. By injecting various reagents into the tree, it creates a good environment for growing magic crops. It shines so brightly that it doubles as a light.”
“Then what about that?”
What Siwoo moved his finger to were sparks that rose from the ground like fireflies and then disappeared.
In a way, it looks like a goblin’s fire, but the difference is that it rises slowly at a very slow pace.
“The concentration of magical power is very high here. Magical reflected light is generated naturally from time to time.”
“It’s amazing.”
A landscape you never get tired of looking at.
It may not have been intended for aesthetic beauty in a commercial plant, but it was a place where you could feel awe of mother nature and great magic at once.
“You did a great job following along. It’s the first time I’ve been to such a strange place.”
“Right?”
“Assistant, if there is anything you want to ask, feel free to ask.”
Odette, who was proud of being with Odile, smiled innocently and circled around Siwoo.
It felt like we were closer than before because the distance was gone.
“First of all, we can’t rest here, so we’re going to move to the production management building. Watch your feet and follow us. It’s humid here all year round, so it’s slippery.”
Odile jumped from the root of the tree he was stepping on.
Siwoo was a little surprised because the roots of the tree exposed to the road were almost the size of a truck, befitting the majesty of a giant tree.
Walk along the path beside the river through the trees.
Judging from the fact that the surface of the water shimmers regardless of the light, it seems that the magic water that creates this fog is probably this river.
The temperature itself was cooler than expected.
Judging by the humidity, it’s hard to believe that it’s a tropical rain forest.
“Do you know anything about magic crops, assistant?”
“No, I don’t know much about pensions. I don’t have enough time to study that far.”
“Then, are you only studying chanting magic and magic circles? It’s not the most interesting…”
“It did require a lot of selection and concentration.”
“Then I need some explanation.”
Odile’s view of the world began in this way.
“Plants that can be cultivated by mutating through magic are quite limited.”
“We usually grow a lot of moss plants or mushrooms. It’s easy to breed and much easier to manage.”
Come to think of it, most of the things attached to trees and rocks are moss or mushrooms.
It was so unique that it caught my eye.
Something like soft pink moss or a mushroom that radiates bright fluorescence like a stand.
“Is that button mushroom?”
Among them, Siwoo points to a mushroom that looks very appetizing and asks.
It was blooming huddled in knots of trees, and what appeared was button pine that comes out of a pork belly restaurant without fail.
“Would you like to try it? Wow!”
Odile hit Odette’s butt as hard as he could.
“Sounds like a big deal!”
“Uh, sister… You’re kidding…!”
“Never do that. Most magic crops are harmful if eaten raw. It’s not like they go through detoxification for at least three or three days, or at most years, when preparing the ingredients.”
“Uh, that’s right…”
Not only the scenery, but also the various crops grown here were of interest to Siu.
Items that were only seen in text and illustrations in books are actually unfolding in front of your eyes, so it feels like you are in a different world.
“What is that?”
“It’s ‘red root moss.’ It has strong neutralizing properties, so it’s often used as a neutralizer.”
“Then what about that?”
“It’s a white mushroom. It’s one of the few mushrooms that can be eaten raw. It acts on the cerebral cortex and accelerates thinking and calculation.”
“It’s kind of overclocking.”
“It’s like that. But Jemonai-sama told me not to touch that. Depending on that mushroom temporarily improves my efficiency and makes me feel great, but in the end, that’s not my skill.
Well, actually, the higher you go up the hierarchy, the less useful it is.”
Odile and Odette tirelessly taught Siwoo crops.
It felt like I was in a botanical garden with two pretty guides.
The river of magic water, which became narrower as you went deeper, became shallow enough to be called a stream before you knew it.
“Laugh!”
Odile and Odette took the lead by jumping over the stepping stones, and Siwoo carefully crossed over to the other side holding a basket.
As I climbed the low, sloping moss hill, a fairly wide flat area appeared.
The sap that was hanging from the branch is now stuck in a bottle on the ground.
Light purple, light green, light pink.
In any case, something like a group of light-colored mist was rolling over and rising.
“This is where we grow root crops. Have you heard of mendrakes?”
“Is that the one that screams when you pull it out?”
Odette smiled brightly at Siu’s awkward reaction.
“In the past, there were a lot of people stealing, so witches put hallucination magic all over the fields. It was a popular plant because it was used as a hallucinogen or aphrodisiac.”
“That’s screwed up.”
“It’s almost here now. Let’s rest a little.”
By the way, no matter how fallow, no one is to be seen.
To be able to almost monopolize such a wonderful sight.
My heart raced because I felt like I was playing while chartering an amusement park.
“This way!”
The place we finally arrived at was a huge oak like all the other trees.
The only difference is that there is a tree house hanging from the middle of the tree like the one I saw in Border Town before.
Compared to then, though, it was at a much farther height.
“This is the production management building.”
Climb the stairs that spiral around the tree and enter the management building.
It was higher than what I was watching from below, and the stairs looked sloppy, so I was dizzy and had a hard time.
Whether witches like high places or tree houses are popular in Gehenna, they have a lot of ties.
“What are you doing here now?”
“It’s just drinking tea and chatting while looking at the beautiful scenery outside the window.”
The tree house arrived with trembling legs.
The room was very dark compared to its width.
Like Amelia’s research building, it’s full of papers and papers with something written on it, and the only place to rest is the sofa in the middle.
Still, the scenery outside the window was spectacular.
I wondered why it was built at such an unnecessarily high place.
I knew it only after looking outside.
This treehouse overlooks the entire latifundium.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
Odile intervened next to Shiwu, who was admiring it blankly.
A mysterious bird’s eye seemed to tickle her heart.
It was a bit out of the way, but I felt like I was sitting in a nice hotel and watching the night view with my pretty girlfriend.
“I’m glad my assistant liked it. I was worried because I thought my sister had dragged it by force. What is it?”
As a result, Odette came out from the other side.
Siwoo smiled bitterly and stepped back.
In fact, both Odil and Odette are difficult girls to handle.
Especially when the two are together.
“Shall we open the basket soon?”
“I just wanted to eat something.”
“Like!”
“Wait, I have something prepared for today.”
While she was opening the basket she had set down on the table in front of the sofa, Odile, who was rummaging through the cabinets in the corner of her room, brought in a large bottle.
Only the length of her bottle is almost as long as Odile’s upper body.
When she saw Odile’s mischievous expression, she was wine.
“Sister! When did you hide that?”
“I told my assistant the other day. I’ll try the red wine from the Mendel Hills.”
“Did you still remember that?”
“Then~ I won’t forget my promise.”
Wine?
She’s slightly uneasy, but still very appetizing.
It would be very romantic to have a drink while watching this scenery.
“Uh?”
At that time, Odette, who was running amok with the alcohol she secretly had, tilted her head.
Her gaze was carefully examining a corner outside her window.
“What’s up?”
“Sister, didn’t you just see me passing outside?”
“What?”
“The black and big one… I think it passed between the branches over there…”
Odile and Siu also stood close to the window and watched Odette beckon…
There was nothing.
There are just clusters of sparkling magic sap hanging from the thick branches.
“Do you have anything?”
“Stop playing around and eat a sandwich.”
“I’m not joking!”
“Who else is here besides us?”
“That’s true… But I’ve seen it…”
“You must have had a bad sleep yesterday and saw something wrong. Let’s quickly eat or drink.”
Odile brings Odette, who keeps glancing out of the window.
Thus, the full-fledged picnic began.
