New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out (8/10 chapters)

 

 

The Tempting Offer

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

I circled around from the house and walked in from the village entrance. By doing this, I could follow the same path as those coming from the village. I walked along at a steady pace. Since I was holding Dia, I wasn’t cold.

At the village entrance stood the Adventurer Guild building in a grand, imposing fashion It was made of wood so it didn’t shine, but it had a solid finish.

Like Yakusugi cedar, maybe?

Along the path to the plaza, stalls were being set up. Most of them dealt with vegetables and fruits cultivated in the village. By the way, it wasn’t limited to just food. Knives and kitchen blades were also being sold, advertised as being able to cut deliciously, the same ones used at the stalls.

When you think about it this way, there really are all kinds of ways to run a business.

Other than that, there were goods sourced from Zanzas. Mostly cockatrice goods and Stella merchandise.

“Nyan, nyan, nyan~” (Brown)

It was one of the stalls near the entrance. There, Brown was happily spinning a juice squeezer. It looked like one of those coffee grinders. Grapes were lined up at the storefront.

“Nyan, doing your rounds, are you, nyan?” (Brown)

“Ah, yeah. Your stall, Brown…” (Elt)

“Reliable grape juice, as always, nyan! Sweet grape juice in winter hits the spot, nyan! Here you go-nyan!” (Brown)

I was handed a wooden cup filled with grape juice.

Feels like today is more of a pre-opening. Well, maybe we’re just the test subjects…

“This is so unique to the village.” (Elt)

“Looks yummy, piyo!” (Dia)

The sweet aroma reached my nose even before taking a sip. In these dry times, it was a tempting product. Everyone drank it down in one go.

Gulp gulp… yep, it’s sweet.

“Puhhaa, it’s suuuper sweet, piyo!” (Dia)

“No bitterness, very easy to drink!” (Stella)

There wasn’t much of that astringent grape taste. The mellow sweetness was quite comforting.

“I could drink this forever!” (Marcosias)

Marcosias raised her cup, asking for seconds. Seeing that, Brown replied with a cheerful tone.

“Thank you, nyan! But there are many other stalls further in, too, nyan!” (Brown)

“Really!?” (Marcosias)

“Really-nyan!” (Brown)

“Alright, I want to go over there quickly!” (Marcosias)

“Maru-chan, calm down…!” (Stella)

Just as she was about to bolt off, Stella grabbed Maru-chan’s shoulder. Naturally, once she did that, she couldn’t move.

“Ugo ugo. No need to rush, it’s okay!” (Wood)

“Yeah, that’s true. Uh… the cup…” (Elt)

“We’ll collect them here, nyan!” (Brown)

Stalls in the village operated with a cup-return system. The dishes used were collected, washed by the Nyaff tribe, and reused at the stalls.

There are no disposable containers in this world, after all… Only now do I realize how convenient paper cups and plastic tableware really are.

“That was delicious. Thanks.” (Elt)

“Thank you, nyan! And we’re also selling this amazing fruit squeezer that can juice so well, nyan!” (Brown)

Solid marketing.

“This village serves juice with the clay baths, after all. It’s one of the easier specialties to promote.” (Stella)

“True. We should think ahead toward future exports as well.” (Elt)

Alright, next up is–… hm?

A bit further ahead, a small crowd had gathered around a stall.

“Sniff sniff… I can smell butter!” (Marcosias)

Marcosias pointed.

The sign read… “Mole Tribe’s Buttered Potatoes.”

…That looks delicious!

 

—

 

“Welcome, moguu~” (Iskamina)

“Welcome!” (Anaria)

At the stall were Iskamina and Anaria.

“Gulp, this is…” (Stella)

“It looks delicious, piyo…” (Dia)

Stella and Dia both swallowed in anticipation. I felt the same way.

At the front of the stall, stones were lined up.

*Ssshhhhh…*

They clearly looked hot. They must have magic tools embedded underneath. On top of them were roughly cut pieces of potato. Iskamina expertly moves and flips it over with wooden chopsticks. Anaria placed forks and butter in wooden cups.

Ahh, it looked so good. This is absolutely buttered potato…!

“Yummy nya~” (Nyaff)

“So good~” (Dryad)

Some Nyaff tribe members and dryads with free hands were eating with happy expressions.

“How about it? Please, have a taste!” (Iskamina)
“It’s delicious, mogu!” (Anaria)

Iskamina placed one piece of potato per cup.

“Perfectly cooked, mogu! So tasty, mogu!” (Iskamina)

“Ah, alright then… I’ll try one.” (Elt)

The moment it entered my mouth, I realized the quality. The potato was just firm enough to scoop with a fork, yet tender enough to fall apart when bitten.

Delicious…!

There was a faint saltiness to the potato… hot, but not scalding. They must’ve placed them on a cooler stone at the end. A perfect finish.

“How is it? This is the stone-baked buttered potato that had lines of people at the High Academy festival!” (Anaria)

“Whoa, amazing, piyo! It’s so good, piyo!” (Dia)

“Ugo ugo, so soft…!” (Wood)

“Not too hot either!” (Marcosias)

“…This is excellent.” (Stella)

“Yeah, it’s incredibly tasty…” (Elt)

It was a nostalgic taste.

Maybe even better than what I had at festival stalls in my past life…? True, as long as you have potatoes and butter, you can make buttered potatoes in this world too.

“Elt-sama, your cheeks are softening.” (Stella)

“Mmm…” (Elt)

Can’t help it. It’s really nostalgic… and delicious.

“During the festival, we’ll make tons more, mogu~!” (Iskamina)

“I haven’t had this flavor in so long either!” (Anaria)

Anaria patted Iskamina. They really got along well.

“What about the grass dumpling festival?” (Elt)

“That one doesn’t take much time. Tetetoka and the others get full quickly after eating a bit.” (Anaria)

“They don’t eat much, after all.” (Stella)

Well, given their body size, that makes sense… Still… this is just too good. Maybe just one more bite…

“But I want just one more bite…” (Stella)

Stella muttered softly.

That’s rare… for her to say something like that. I want another too. Would it be alright? Yeah, I want to eat more.

“Sorry, can I have one more?” (Elt)

“Sure, mogu~!” (Iskamina)

“Yay, piyo~!” (Dia)

 

—

 

After receiving one more piece of buttered potato, we left Iskamina’s stall. Other stalls were being completed as well. Some sold knives and cooking blades. Others had cups and similar goods.

Kind of like a general store… well, metallurgy isn’t common in the village. Still, they use good-quality knives.

They also sold dried tea leaves and herbs for taking home. Of course, samples were available, and the quality was guaranteed.

“Cocka, cocka, cockatrice~” (Tetetoka)

““Pippiyo~!”” (Cockatrices)

*Teketen, teketen*

Alongside the sound of drums, Tetetoka and the Cockatrices approached. There were already ten Cockatrices now. Only five were walking here, but it was quite the sight. Dryads and Nyaff tribe members surrounded the marching Cockatrices.

“They’re marching, Father!” (Marcosias)

“That’s more like a stroll… The other five should be at the plaza doing the live piyo handshake event.” (Elt)

“So, they rotate in shifts.” (Wood)

“Would be too much to stay in one place the whole time…” (Elt)

The Cockatrices might not care, but I do. They’re part of the village, so I want them to enjoy the festival atmosphere too.

I told them they could eat anything tasty they found at the stalls. Though their favorite is probably still grass dumplings… and we’re serving that during the main festival. If they eat too much now, we might run out during the real event.

“Tetetoka, things going smoothly?” (Elt)

“Elt-sama~, going super smoothly~!” (Tettetoka)

Lately, Tetetoka looked more radiant.

It’s probably because of the festival.

“Ahh, Cockatrices really are the best…” (Stella)

“Absolutely, the best!” (Lalatoma)

“Whoa!? Lalatoma…!” (Elt)

A voice suddenly called out, startling me, but it turned out Lalatoma was being carried by one of the Cockatrices further back. She was hidden by the fluffy fur and couldn’t be seen.

Wait… this is like the reverse of me carrying Dia around…

“Heh, so you’re being carried by a Cockatrice…” (Elt)

“Yup, totally~!” (Laratoma)

…Looks fun.

I always carried Dia, but I had never been carried myself. Obviously. Knowing how powerful and fluffy the Cockatrices were, it was probably extremely comfortable.

I… kind of want to be carried too…

“Elt-sama, would you like to try it~?” (Tetetoka)

Tetetoka said this while tapping the drum lightly.

“Eh, no, I mean…” (Elt)

“Piyo! Tou-sama, it’s fun to be carried, piyo! You should try it, piyo!” (Dia)

“That’s right! Getting carried is super–…mmph!” (Marcosias)

Wood quickly covered Marcosias’s mouth.

That’s only when you’re in puppy form, though… Still, don’t tempt me like that… Now I really want to be carried by one… It must feel amazing…

“Elt-sama…” (Stella)

With a firm grip, Stella grabbed my shoulder. She looked calm, but I could tell.

This is the Stella who sometimes gazes longingly at the Cockatrices. She usually gets her fill of Cockatrice contact by hugging Dia, so this is a rare moment.

“…I want to be carried too!” (Stella)

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)