Volume 2 Chapter 9 Royal Botanical Garden
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I’m at the Royal Botanical Garden near the courthouse, guided by Ms. Floria.
I don’t have a hobby of petting flowers, but I got a bit interested because it’s a place ordinary people can’t enter.
Plus, Ms. Floria went out of her way to introduce it, so it must be something special.
First off, the building is amazing.
It looks like an ancient Roman Colosseum or the Tower of Babel.
It’s a bit away from the center of the current capital, but this area used to be the city center.
By the way, I heard the nearby courthouse was used as the royal palace before its renovation.
The outer wall of the garden is quite dilapidated, but the security is pretty tight.
There’s a knight’s station right next to it, so it seems like an important facility.
Walking under the heavy stone arch, there was a shabby reception desk that looked recently made.
It’s just thin plywood and plaster, crammed into the original arch structure──a pretty shoddy job for a royal facility.
We’re guided into a small room one by one by a female officer.
Ms. Floria, Ms. Nina, then me──it’s like “ladies first” in this world too.
Sometimes the higher-ups get put off until last, so you shouldn’t get angry just because you were last.
I end up alone in a white room about 4 and a half tatami mats big with the female officer, a freckled redhead with pigtails.
She’s a cute, low-key type, the kind who’d be a heroine’s best friend.
She scans my whole body like she’s licking it.
She’s probably using some kind of searching skill.
Unlike my Radar Scan that specializes in scanning a wide area, this girl’s skill seems good at finding small things.
”Ah, nope, nope. Please take off your right shoe.”
As I take off my shoe, she starts scraping the sole with a wire brush.
My shoes aren’t something to be proud of, I think they smell pretty bad, but she doesn’t show any disgust at all.
”It’s wall barley seeds. It causes a big problem if even one seed gets in.”
Looking closely at the thing she showed me, it does look like a wheat grain, stuck to the sole with dirt.
I don’t think it’s treated as a dangerous item, though.
”This is amazing…”
A clear barrier made of mana stretches across the circular ceiling of the dome.
It looks like a super huge greenhouse, but the mana used here is too incredible.
Various plants grow in the spacious area, but it looks more like an experimental farm than a botanical garden.
The buzzing stingless bees fly around happily, just like in Ms. Erin’s herb garden.
Huh?
If there are stingless bees here, does that mean there are elves too?
”I am Hóa, the director.”
She was a slender elf woman in a white lab coat.
Her long, gray-green hair reached down to her waist.
She was about my eye level, maybe a bit shorter for an elf?
She looked even younger than Ms. Erin; her changing expressions made her seem like a middle school student or a college girl.
Although she had an old person’s demeanor, she felt a bit restless, almost like a mischievous child.
On top of that, she had an aura like a mad scientist.
”It’s been a while, Lady Hóa. I’m sorry for asking you suddenly.”
That Ms. Floria looks a little nervous.
Could she be someone really important?
”If it’s your request, I can agree to some difficulties. I was a little interested too, so follow me.”
Ms. Hóa walks ahead confidently, and we quickly chase after her.
”Oh, a tomato! This one!”
Bright red tomatoes are growing.
They look and smell just like tomatoes, and the leaves are clearly from a tomato plant too.
”Those fruits have an interesting tangy taste when boiled and eaten.”
Is Ms. Hóa cooking and eating the tomatoes?
There are also varieties for cooking like Italian tomatoes, but this one looks like a typical fresh-eating tomato.
Since coming to this world, I haven’t eaten any tomatoes; just imagining the taste makes my mouth water.
”Um, can I eat one of these?”
”Sure, but are you going to eat it raw?”
I quickly pick one and take a big bite.
Mmm, it’s juicy.
It has a stronger scent than the tomatoes sold in supermarkets; it really feels like I’m eating a vegetable.
”Is it delicious?”
”It’s tasty! With a little salt, I could eat as many as I want.”
Ms. Hóa also takes a bite to try it and grimaces.
”It’s a strange taste. I can’t say it’s good. Is it just me?”
Ms. Hóa hands the half-eaten tomato to Ms. Floria.
”It has a mysterious taste. It doesn’t seem like a fruit.”
Ms. Floria takes a small bite and looks unsure.
”If you don’t mind, please have this too.”
I ended up with a tomato that 2 women have already bitten.
Is this normal in this world?
I don’t feel bad about getting a half-eaten one, but it’s a bit embarrassing.
But I can’t resist my hunger.
”This fruit must be worth more than gold of the same weight, right?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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