Kays Translations

Chapter 77: Harvest Day

Two weeks had passed since I served katsu curry.

During that time, nothing major had happened, and I had been able to enjoy farming as usual.

Well… no, there was actually one big event.

It was a happy one—Thread had undergone a racial evolution.

I had been giving him a considerable number of mana crystals, yet he showed no signs of evolving. I had started to suspect that certain races might be locked into their forms. But four days ago, Thread finally evolved.

According to Sheila, he advanced from a Wight Knight to a Wight Paladin.

I wasn’t sure how an undead monster could be a holy knight, but his new, divine-looking equipment made him look incredibly cool.

There was something about the contrast that really appealed to my inner chuunibyou. An undead being clad in sacred armor—it was totally my style.

In any case, my efforts in feeding him mana crystals had paid off, making Thread stronger.

So far, there hadn’t been any improvements in his farming abilities—he hadn’t learned new tasks or increased his speed—but hey, looking cool is its own kind of power.

Now, I was hoping for Mash to evolve as well, but there were no signs of it happening yet.

Since Lime and Thread—both of whom had been with me since the early days—had evolved, Mash seemed to be feeling a little pressured.

I personally didn’t think evolution was necessary, but since this was something Mash cared about, I wanted to support him.

The next time Ren and the others brought mana crystals, I might just give all of them to Mash.

…And well, aside from Thread’s evolution, that was about it for the past two weeks.

It seemed like a big change, but since it hadn’t actually affected much, I saw it as just a new outfit.

However, today promised to bring an even bigger change.

The crops in Lua and the others’ field were finally ready for harvest.

The crop in question was Crackdraff.

It was our first time growing anything outside of the skill-based fields, so this was a major milestone.

The Japanese crops were also growing well so far, and if Crackdraff had matured properly, that would mean even greater hope for the others.

“Good morning, Sato. It’s my turn to make breakfast today, but you’re up quite early.”

“Well, today’s the harvest day for Lua and the others’ field. I was so excited that I woke up early.”

“Oh, is it today? Normal fields really do take much longer to harvest, huh?”

“Yeah. But that just makes it all the more rewarding, so it’s not all bad.”

“I bet Lua and the others are even more excited than you.”

“I’m sure they are. They’ve been fidgeting since yesterday.”

For Lua and the others, this was their first time harvesting crops they had grown themselves.

It was bound to be a significant day for them.

After that conversation with Sheila, we had breakfast and stepped outside.

Since I had woken up early, I headed to the field earlier than usual—only to find Lua and the others already there.

Judging by their eagerness, they must have been really looking forward to this.

“Good morning, Lua, Portia, Lois. You’re up early today.”

“We heard that the crops would be ready for harvest today, so we got too excited to sleep in.”

“I thought so. We’re planning to sell today’s harvest, so you’ll also be receiving your first wages.”

“We’re getting paid too!? You’ve already given us food and a house, and now wages on top of that? Aren’t you going to go bankrupt?”

“No worries. I’m receiving plenty of support from the kingdom. More importantly, I want to make sure you have a proper working environment.”

I wasn’t exactly a CEO or anything, but since they were helping with farming, I wanted to provide decent benefits.

Not paying wages was out of the question, and I also intended to make sure they had proper breaks.

That being said, Sheila was an exception—no matter how much I told her to take breaks, she never listened. In the end, I had decided to just let her do as she pleased.

“I’ve lived through some pretty rough times, so your kindness really means a lot, Sato. Thank you for everything.”

“Lois and I feel the same way. We truly appreciate you, Sato. We enjoy our work here, and when we heard we’d be harvesting today, I genuinely felt grateful to be alive.”

“I grew up in an orphanage, and becoming an adventurer was my only option… but coming here with Lua was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Hearing their heartfelt words nearly brought me to tears.

They must have gone through hardships far beyond what I had imagined.

“What makes me happiest is hearing that from you. Anyway, let’s start harvesting. Since these are the crops you’ve grown, let’s also do a taste test.”

“Eating something I grew myself… It took longer than I expected to get to this point, but it feels really meaningful.”

“The only downside is that it’s just Crackdraff. If it were a vegetable from my world, you three would probably be moved by how delicious it is. I really wanted to see you bite into a fresh tomato!”

Sheila, recalling her own experience, was getting overly excited.

I also wanted to let them taste really delicious vegetables, but those weren’t ready yet.

Since this was truly their first self-grown crop, they’d have to make do with Crackdraff for now.

“For now, let’s start with Crackdraff. Once the other vegetables are ready, we’ll do another taste test. Alright, let’s begin harvesting. Sheila, Mash, and I will be working in the skill-based fields, so call us if you need anything.”

“Got it. We don’t want to mess this up, so we’ll ask if we’re unsure.”

With that, we all got to work in the fields.

Seeing Lua and the others happily harvesting their crops warmed my heart, making today’s farm work even more enjoyable than usual.

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