Chapter 83
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Well then, thank you very much.”
With that, Charlotte left with her 2 attendants.
They didn’t mention anything about Ferris’s true identity, which is said to be someone even a princess would abandon if necessary. It seems Ferris is in a higher position, and I didn’t think I could ask Charlotte about it, so I decided not to bring it up myself.
To be honest, I didn’t care as long as she wasn’t an enemy, and I wanted to avoid any trouble by poking around unnecessarily.
As for the “Gem Snake” issue, we agreed to cooperate as much as possible.
I would go to inform her about Ferris’s puppet situation, and after that, it would be up to Ferris to decide what to do.
Well, the only thing I could really do was to stay out of the dungeon, but that would worsen the security in the city… In the end, it all depended on how Ferris would decide.
So, as “Silver Orchid,” we decided to keep an eye on the square in front of the dungeon, and I planned to join them once I returned.
When Charlotte and the others left, I was left alone with Ms. Wendy… She bowed her head and apologized.
”I’m very sorry for saying unnecessary things.”
It was probably because her suggestion led me to learn about Charlotte’s true identity, making it hard for me to back out of this situation.
However, for my own comfortable life, staying in this city where it’s easy to earn magic stones was the best option. Considering that, I couldn’t ignore the “Gem Snake” issue, so I thought I would end up cooperating anyway.
Besides, she kept her end of the contract, and she hadn’t revealed anything about my “Magic Mending,” so I wasn’t too worried about it.
’Well, it’s fine. I’m technically in a hired position.’
I replied like that, but when Ms. Wendy raised her head, she stood up and sat right next to me.
*Thud, Squish.*
I had turned off the sensory functions of my Magic Armor because of Charlotte and the others, but I figured it was safe to turn it back on now and check her softness.
When we first met, she was dressed as a shop assistant, and her figure was good enough that I didn’t find it unnatural. The chest pressed against me was quite sizable.
Moreover, her outfit had a deep neckline that revealed a significant amount of skin, so when I found myself staring, Ms. Wendy seemed to notice and pulled her top down a bit more.
*Pull.*
”…”
’Um…’
As I tried to understand her intention behind exposing more of her chest, Ms. Wendy loosened the red scarf around her neck, leaving it hanging.
”As the employer, I should create a comfortable working environment for my employees, right? So, if you don’t mind… p-please go ahead.”
With a red face and a nervous expression, she said that, but…
’No, you really don’t have to go that far.’
I hesitated, but Ms. Wendy shook her head.
”Well, about what happened earlier, it could greatly affect your future. From your past actions, it seems you didn’t want to stand out, and knowing that, I still tried to sell you to the princess…”
’So, you want me to take your body, then?’
”With your power, taking me out would be easy for you. So… it’s not strange to open my legs and beg for my life to survive.”
That power refers to “Magic Mending.”
Knowing that could threaten her life, the fact that I was sold out to Charlotte means Ms. Wendy is also taking a life-threatening approach regarding the “Gem Snake” issue.
Well, maybe she thought I would forgive her with her body… but there was no guarantee of that, and it’s true that I’m walking a dangerous path.
Considering that, I answered like this.
’Well, this matter is something I can’t ignore if I want to earn in this city, and having a connection with royalty isn’t a bad thing… so I guess it’s fine if we don’t go that far.’
Getting the attention of royalty could work in my favor, depending on how things unfold.
Either way, I was planning to interfere with the “Gem Snake,” and there might be some benefits from it as well.
I should let her know to ease her worries.
’Just so you know, I was thinking of ‘asking for a reward’ if things go well. So, in the end, it might have been good that you sold me out, so you don’t need to worry.’
Hearing that, Ms. Wendy still looked anxious.
”Something… like that?”
’Yes. I can’t tell you what it is, but you don’t need to worry about it.’
”Well… but there’s no guarantee that will go well, and it would be better if you called for me.”
*Click*
It seems my answer didn’t ease Ms. Wendy’s anxiety, as she started unbuttoning her blouse to reveal more of her chest.
Even though the sight of her underwear, which served as a substitute for a bra, was nice, being forced to offer my body as a participant is not really my preferred scenario, unlike when reading as a viewer.
So, as Ms. Wendy continued to unbutton her blouse, I took out a wooden box from my bag and showed it to her.
’Then… how about we settle this by having you check what’s inside this?’
”What’s inside, you say?”
’Yes, this.’
I placed the box on the table and opened the lid for Ms. Wendy, who had stopped to ask.
”This is… a tomato? It looks small, though.”
’Yes. I found it in the dungeon and thought I’d bring it to see if it’s something edible. I could have brought it out with monster materials, but I hadn’t seen it in this city, so I thought it might be something special.’
Considering the situation with Charlotte, it might have been better not to bring out anything too special, but I couldn’t ignore the need to confirm what this was, which had grown inside the dungeon.
Well, I could just quickly deal with it and pretend it never happened… but I was curious about how it managed to grow without being absorbed by the dungeon and how it could bear fruit overnight.
Originally, Ms. Wendy had asked me to bring her anything I found in the dungeon, so she wouldn’t have refused to investigate this mini tomato.
Plus, given the current situation, she would likely be willing to hear my request, and if I asked her to investigate it secretly, she wouldn’t be able to refuse.
To begin with… I was supposed to head to Ferris’s place after this, so I probably wouldn’t have time to deal with Ms. Wendy.
Unaware of my thoughts, Ms. Wendy reached out to the mini tomato and asked,
”Can I take a look at it?”
After confirming my nod, she picked one of them and stared at it closely.
”The texture is about the same as a regular tomato. The smell is… not much different either.”
As she examined the mini tomato, I decided to share what I had found out myself.
’Ah, the taste was just like a normal tomato too.’
”What!? You ate it!?”
She was surprisingly loud in her shock.
’Was it really not good?’
”Of course! It could be harmful to your body. It’s common sense to test it on small animals like birds or mice first, you know?”
’Yeah…’
I knew about using guinea pigs for drug experiments from my past life, but it was a hassle to find them, and I could make my own medicine if something went wrong.
Maybe I should have tried feeding it to a rabbit monster or something.
While I was thinking about that, Ms. Wendy sighed deeply and checked on her condition.
”Haah… um, did you have any unusual symptoms?”
’Not really.’
”I see… then I’ll try it too.”
’Wait? But you just said we should test it on small animals first.’
”You were fine, right? You must have the strength to withstand any toxicity?”
’That’s not exactly…’
”Then it should be fine for me to eat it. Besides, when I encouraged you to reveal your identity to Lady Charlotte, I was prepared to be killed by you, so compared to that, this is… *nom*.”
Ms. Wendy replied to me and took a bite out of half of the mini tomato.
”*Munch munch… gulp. Phew…*.”
After chewing and swallowing, she watched herself for any unusual symptoms.
”…I don’t see any particular abnormalities.”
She checked her chest, hands, and feet, saying that.
As I felt relieved, she finished the remaining half and waited a bit longer to confirm that nothing was wrong before asking about the mini tomato’s growth.
”Where in the dungeon was it found? Is there a chance we can gather more? Since it’s growing in the dungeon, does that mean it will bear fruit again after a while?”
She leaned in closely, showing a keen interest, almost as if she was excited.
Given the weak restraining power of the underwear in this world, I was also concerned about the swaying breasts, so I decided to ask Ms. Wendy about it.
’You seem to be very interested in these tomatoes, but is it that important?’
Ms. Wendy explained the circumstances of the city to me.
”Well, this city is a city for adventurers who come to the dungeon, and the dungeon’s products are restricted from being taken out by outsiders, so the city is surrounded by walls in its current form.”
’Yes.’
”So, necessary facilities have been built inside the city, but agriculture requires a large area of land, and considering the amount of sunlight, it’s impossible to do it within the city, so it’s being brought in from outside.”
Meat can be obtained from monsters in the dungeon, but for agricultural products, they rely on other lands, and because of this, the negotiation for the trade of agricultural products in “Hooters” is in a disadvantageous position against the lords of those lands.
And this is not only the case with “Hooters,” but also with merchant guilds that do not have a close relationship with the lords of the lands where the desired agricultural products are grown, they are in a similar situation.
’In other words, if these edible things can be harvested stably from the dungeon…’
”Yes! I’ve heard that if you cut the grass in the dungeon, it will grow back in a while. So, these agricultural products might also bear fruit again in a while. If a large amount can be harvested, or if various kinds of vegetables can be stably supplied, it should be a very large profit!”
Ms. Wendy, without paying attention to the fact that her lips were almost touching mine, continued to speak with her face close to mine.
It’s understandable that a merchant would be greedy for business opportunities, but for now, I decided to calm her down.
’Um, please calm down. This has only been found in a very narrow range, and I think it’s difficult to harvest more than that.’
”Oh, that’s too bad.”
I considered that if we could produce it at the base of “Silver Orchid,” it would make the company’s operations easier, but if it would bring such great profits to “Hooters,” it would be difficult to implement it lightly.
If we outsmart the other merchant guilds, we would set the price lower than when buying from outside, and of course, the source would be investigated, and it would be inferred that it was the base of “Silver Orchid.”
Well, if Ferris is safe after the “Gem Snake” incident is resolved, there should be no problem.
Having made up my mind, I closed the lid of the wooden box filled with mini tomatoes and received the purchase money for the monster materials I had appraised, and then I left “Hooters.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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