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Chapter 57 – Medicinal Herb Cultivation in Japan
During the Obon festival in August, Wataru asked Toru at his family home to cultivate herbs from another world.
It’s now November, meaning roughly two and a half months have passed.
He’d heard that they were easy to grow as perennials, but they grew much faster than Wataru expected.
Toru sent photos taken with his smartphone showing the herbs alongside his face.
“I wish he’d stop making that ‘I grew this’ face,” Wataru thought.
Though it’s true, he’s the one actually growing them.
As long as no one besides Wataru and his group can use the gate connecting Japan to the other world, logistics through the gate will obviously become a bottleneck.
If it’s possible to cultivate medicinal herbs on Earth, the potential for potion production increases dramatically.
They just need to cultivate the herbs, succeed in making the potions, obtain approval, and sell them.
Toru’s report was the first step toward that goal.
Hearing him out took priority over everything else.
They rented a car and made their way to Wataru’s family home.
Last time, only Wataru, Mariel, and Aire were there, but this time, Cloche was with them.
They considered taking two taxis, but having Wataru drive meant less attention and easier travel.
The distance from the station to the house wasn’t far, and there wasn’t much traffic, so they were able to drive leisurely.
True to its location outside the city, the parking area was spacious.
Even Wataru, with his limited driving skills, could easily park the car.
Toru, wearing a straw hat, came to greet them as they stepped out of the car.
It seemed he had been working on the farm until just now.
Seeing Wataru’s face, Toru smiled genuinely and looked truly happy.
After so long, Wataru was also pleased to see his grandfather looking so well.
“Long time no see, Wataru. Though I suppose it’s been a while since last time.”
“I’m still working hard, you know. Give me a break.”
“Hmph, still bringing your pretty lady along…”
“Grandfather, it’s been a while.”
“It’s nice to see you, Grandpa!”
“H-hello. I am Cloche.”
Toru’s gaze swept over Mariel, Aire, and Cloche in turn, finally settling on Cloche.
Just as he turned back toward the house, he bellowed loudly.
“Heyyyyy, Granny! Wataru brought home another new girl!”
“Oh my, oh my! What a playboy you’ve become! You’re a real heartbreaker!”
“I-I… Th-that’s not… That’s embarrassing!”
“Enough with that! Seriously, give me a break!”
Wataru clutched his head.
He had a feeling this would happen. If he’d added one more over the past few months, he figured he deserved to be told off.
But isn’t that something you normally think but don’t say out loud?
The rumor had almost certainly spread throughout the neighborhood.
The casual familiarity that comes with family, along with the kind of cruel jokes only family can get away with, gave Wataru a headache.
〇〇〇
They hurried inside to avoid attracting onlookers.
The house felt too spacious for just the two of them.
The scratches on the pillars and the view of the courtyard immediately brought back memories of the past.
Toru changed into clean clothes and brewed Japanese tea for them.
Wataru’s family had always been fond of Uji tea.
Just as Wataru was particular about coffee, Toru was particular about tea. He bought varieties from Shizuoka and Chiran and collected teapots and cups.
At first glance, Toru moved with agility, showing no sign of knee pain.
“How’s your health?”
“Oh, I’ve been feeling much better since then. It’s been a huge help.”
“Ufufu, we always say we’ll end up in the coffin before the hospital.”
“Hey, hey, Grandma, what kind of thing is that to say? Isn’t the afterlife what you’re supposed to enter? Wahaha!”
“Oh, right! Fufufu!”
“You two, your ‘elderly’ jokes are way too scary. Seriously, cut it out.”
Wataru slumped his shoulders in complaint, but that was nothing new. He showed no sign of learning his lesson.
They will probably never stop.
“Let me introduce you. This is Cloche. It’s not a big deal, but she has some circumstances she can’t talk about, so I ended up vouching for her. She and Aire knew each other beforehand.”
“Nice to meet you, Cloche-chan.”
“Y-yes…”
Cloche didn’t seem like the type to get overly nervous, but she was stiff as a board in front of Toru and Mieko.
Her face was red, too. What on earth was she imagining?
“Can we get straight to the point?”
“Still the same impatient guy. Fine by me. I figured you’d come right over, so I picked out two plants ahead of time. I chose the ones that were growing the best.”
Toru handed over the herbs he’d picked.
They were in a plastic bag, pulled up by the roots.
While it isn’t impossible to make potions from just the stems, it’s said that using the entire plant, from tip to root, is best.
At first glance, the herbs looked lush and green—very healthy indeed.
Hopefully, they will produce the same effect when turned into potions.
However, there was no certainty, as mysterious nutrients unique to this world, or perhaps magic, might be involved.
Perhaps growing them in Japan requires different conditions.
“Thanks. I’ll experiment with these. You went to the trouble of growing them. How are they?”
“They won’t die unless you do something extreme, so they’re pretty low-maintenance. They grow whether you use a little or a lot of fertilizer, and they do fine with just about any amount of water.”
“Is there anything troublesome?”
“Nah, nothing really. So far, no deer have targeted them. On top of that, the fact that we old folks are suddenly getting healthy has drawn attention from the other old folks around here. All these jealous looks are a real pain.”
Even as he said this, Toru’s expression clearly showed his delight.
Anyone would be happy to regain their health.
“If this works out, we might need to grow a lot more.
“Well, my hands alone won’t be enough. You’d better rent more farmland or hire people to help grow it.”
“I see… Got it. I’ll think about it.”
“You should. You have your reasons, but you can’t rely on us forever.”
Even if he could keep the secret, he couldn’t rely on his grandparents forever.
But how much could he really trust complete strangers?
It was fine while they knew nothing.
However, if they found out that it was a potion ingredient, someone would surely try to buy it from him for a large sum of money.
At that point, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that someone who had been honest until then might be blinded by greed.
He needed time to think of countermeasures.
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Will these medical plants work? Thanks for the treat.
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