New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out! (1/3 chapters)

 

 

Food Chain

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

The barbecue ended, and everyone began heading home. Lalatoma, accompanied by Wood, returned to the Large Tree Tower. The sun was still high. She parted from Wood in front of the tower.

“Ugo-ugo, see you later then.” (Wood)

“Yes…! See you again!” (Lalatoma)

Wood waved goodbye with a “bye-bye” and turned his back.

He was also returning home. And as he gradually grew more distant… She felt a little lonely, yet fulfilled. This was the first time she had spent so much time alone with him. As his figure grew smaller, her chest tightened for some reason. More than this morning, she felt both painful and happy at the same time.

Once Wood’s figure disappeared from view, she opened the door and entered the tower.

“Oh, you’re back~” (Tetetoka)

“I’m home…!” (Lalatoma)

In the grand hall, Tetetoka, who had been kneading grass dumplings, ran over to Lalatoma with light footsteps.

“So, how did it go?” (Tetetoka)

“Uu… pshuu…” (Lalatoma)

The string of tension broke, and Lalatoma slumped down.

“Ah, Tetetoka-oneechan, a lot happened… I can’t describe it in just a few words.” (Lalatoma)

“I see~. Then, let’s eat some grass dumplings first, shall we?” (Tetetoka)

Tetetoka pulled out two grass dumplings from her pocket. Naturally, one was for herself.

She handed one to Lalatoma and immediately popped the other into her mouth.

Lalatoma also munched on the grass dumpling she received.

*Munch munch.*

*Munch munch munch.*

*Gulp.*

“How is it? Feeling a little calmer?” (Tetetoka)

“Y-Yes…!” (Lalatoma)

“Good. There’s also some orange juice over there. So, what happened?” (Tetetoka)

With a smile, Tetetoka led Lalatoma into the grand hall.

Lalatoma thought she really could not compete with her older sister. She realized that thanks to that natural flow, she had regained a lot of her composure.

“Yes, we transported boat parts to the lake and…” (Lalatoma)

There was a lot to talk about. Lalatoma decided to start with what she had seen, heard, and experienced. Yes, this was a way to sort things out. By putting them into words, she might be able to view them more objectively. That day, Lalatoma’s story did not end until evening.

There was that much to talk about. Tetetoka also sighed in relief, thinking, “That’s good.” For now, it seemed everything was alright. Tetetoka smiled gently, eating grass dumplings as she listened to the story.

 

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After returning home, I first brought some books from my study to the living room. These were books about aquatic creatures and freshwater.

“I bought them, but I had barely read any of them…” (Elt)

Still, I was glad I had bought them.

I immediately searched for Marude-Shellfish and Marude-turban Shellfish.

“Hoh, as expected of someone so eager to learn…” (Stella)

Stella had brought some of the shellfish back without grilling them. Apparently, they would be used as a side dish for dinner.

“Well… I can’t afford not to know. It might be something we can export.” (Elt)

I wanted to know at least what was written in the books right away. I did not recall any “Marude-something” shellfish appearing in any game. At the very least, they had definitely not appeared as items or enemies.

Hmph.

I quickly found it through the table of contents.

“‘Marude Creatures’ are…” (Elt)

“Delicious, piyo!” (Dia)

“I want to eat them again.” (Marcosias)

“Well, well, they’re from the lake, so we’ll eat more next time.” (Elt)

Incidentally, Marcosias was in her puppy form, lying on the sofa while Dia was petting her belly. Dia also seemed a little sleepy, as she was dozing off. We had lunch and came home. It was just the right time for a nap.

“I also only collected and ate Marude-Shellfish, so I do not know the details. What does the book say?” (Stella)

Stella sat next to me. I opened the encyclopedia and positioned it so she could see as well.

“Marude-creatures are subspecies affected by mana… it says here.” (Elt)

Marude-Shellfish were apparently scallops that had adapted to environments with mana. Their color changed, but their shape remained the same. The one in the book was also dull silver. Apparently, other colors existed too.

The Marude-Shellfish’s dull silver color was unmistakable, but its shape closely resembled scallops I had seen in my previous life. Because of the color, I had not made the connection, but once I read it, it was clearly a scallop. Marude-creatures were particularly important in dungeons. They served as food for magic beasts and were essential for long-term environmental stability. Therefore, overharvesting Marude-creatures would disrupt the ecosystem and ultimately cause losses, so it said. In the worst-case scenario, magic beasts could go berserk in search of food.

“Let’s see, taste and toxicity are unchanged from the original species. However, due to changes in diet, capturing them is difficult…” (Elt)

“I see… Speaking of which, someone at the barbecue earlier looked a bit surprised. Like, ‘It’s rare to catch Marude-Shellfish,’ or something.” (Stella)

“That must be thanks to the grass dumplings.” (Elt)

Cockatrices and rainbow fish both love grass dumplings. It would not be strange if Marude-Shellfish liked them too.

“Due to changes in diet, huh…” (Elt)

However, the encyclopedia did not go into detail on that point. It only said they consumed food containing mana, or something along those lines. Still, what did Marude-Shellfish usually eat? No, come to think of it, I had the same question about rainbow fish…

“Grass dumplings cannot be mass-produced. If I knew the ecology of Marudehotate Shellfish, we might be able to farm them…” (Elt)

“Munch. You are thinking that far ahead already?” (Stella)

“We can raise rainbow fish, but they are not laying eggs. Whether they reproduce or not makes a huge difference.” (Elt)

Creatures that could only be caught cost a lot more. That was something I knew from my previous life. Fish cost more than regular meat or vegetables. Also, we still did not know the actual population of Marude-shellfish.

If they were few in number, then we would have to limit how many we harvested. If farming them were possible, it would likely become a major industry. I wondered if there were other creatures at the bottom of the lake that served as food.

Hmm, I would need to investigate further… Should I have someone dive next? We already knew the center of the lake was safe. After all, only shellfish had been caught. If there were no magic beasts, then underwater investigation would be an option.

Hmm? Ah, could it be…?

“Is something the matter, Elt-sama?” (Stella)

“No, I was just thinking about the rainbow fish scales.” (Elt)

It came to me in a flash. So far, this is the only lead. Rainbow fish and Marude-shellfish.

Could it be that the Marude-shellfish eat the rainbow fish’s shed scales?

 

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