Chapter 8: Harvest

The next day.

As I rubbed my sleepy eyes and woke up, a delicious aroma tickled my nose. Sheila had already prepared breakfast and looked fully ready for the day.

“Good morning, Sheila-san. You’re up earlier than usual today.” 

“Good morning, Sato-san. Since you mentioned we could start harvesting today, I’ve been getting everything ready. Let’s eat quickly and head to the fields.” 

Sheila replied eagerly.

“Ah, that’s why you’re so prepared. I’m excited too—let’s head out soon.” 

After eating the breakfast Sheila made, we headed straight to the fields. While I had been making breakfast myself, the limited seasonings and unfamiliar ingredients often led to bland and unappetizing dishes. Sheila seemed slightly disappointed with my cooking, so I was determined to prepare something delicious for her using the vegetables we were about to harvest.

With that thought in mind, we arrived at the field together.

“Wow! The tomatoes that were green yesterday are now perfectly ripe and red! Sheila-san, it looks like we can definitely harvest them today.” 

I exclaimed in amazement.

“So that’s what a ripe tomato looks like. I’ve never seen this vegetable before—does it taste good?”

Sheila asked curiously.

It seemed Sheila wasn’t familiar with tomatoes. Judging by the unfamiliarity with Crackdraft as well, it was clear that the vegetables from Earth didn’t naturally exist in this world.

“Tomatoes are versatile. They’re delicious raw and great for cooking too. They’re a really handy vegetable.” 

I explained.

“That sounds interesting. So we just pluck them off to harvest?” 

Sheila inquired.

“Yep, that should work perfectly.” 

“Got it. I’ll start harvesting the ripe ones.” 

Sheila said cheerfully.

Each tomato plant bore about 15 ripe fruits, and since they could continuously produce, we’d likely be able to harvest again in the coming days.

Experiencing farming firsthand had made me realize how extraordinarily convenient the [Otherworld Farming] skill was. The vegetables matured incredibly fast after planting, and the NP system allowed for purchasing nearly anything I needed. While I wasn’t sure if I could defeat the Demon King—or even a single monster—this skill was undoubtedly practical in a world where food was often unappetizing.

Looking at the vibrant, ripe tomatoes, I felt confident in my farming endeavors. Next, we moved on to harvesting Crackdraff.

Crackdraff resembled a jet-black taro root, making it hard to judge whether it had fully matured. I decided to consult Sheila, who might be more familiar with it.

“Sheila, do you think these Crackdraff are ready to harvest?” 

“Ah, Crackdraff? I’ve never grown them myself, but they look just like the ones sold in the markets, so they should be fine.” 

“Alright, let’s harvest them too. By the way, what do Crackdraff taste like?” 

“Huh? I already served them on the first night—don’t you remember?” 

Sheila said, tilting her head.

Oh. I remembered. It was that thing in the soup. The one that smelled faintly of raw fish and had the bland taste of a watery potato.

“That was Crackdraff? I see.” 

I said, recalling the taste.

“Yes, it’s a common ingredient. If you take them to the royal capital, they’ll definitely sell well.” 

Sheila said confidently.

To be honest, Crackdraff wasn’t something I’d want to eat by choice. Selling them for money or converting them into NP seemed like the better option. While a trip to the royal capital sounded fun, for now, I decided it was best to convert everything into NP.

The two of us continued harvesting in silence. Despite covering only a quarter of the field, Crackdraff required digging to harvest, which took longer than expected.

“Phew! Is that all of them?” 

“Yes, I believe we’ve finished. Thank you so much for helping, Sheila-san.” 

I said gratefully.

“No need to thank me—I enjoy helping.” 

Sheila replied with a smile.

“Even so, I can’t ignore the fact that I made you help out. I’ll make sure to properly thank you, so look forward to it.” 

“Alright, I’ll look forward to it. For now, though, I’m covered in sweat and dirt. Would it be okay if I took a shower?” 

“Of course, you don’t need my permission. Feel free to use it anytime.” 

I assured her.

“Thank you. I’ll go freshen up then” 

Sheila said, heading back to the cottage.

While Sheila was showering, I decided to check how much the tomatoes and Crackdraff would sell for. Afterward, I’d need to use the NP to purchase new seeds and start planting again.

I placed one Crackdraff and one tomato into the shipping box, closed the lid, and checked the NP display on my terminal.

The numbers on the top left corner increased from 290 to 292.

One Crackdraft sold for 2 NP! Considering that one plant produced about 10 Crackdraft and the seeds only cost 3 NP, the profit margin was impressive. With roughly 100 Crackdraft in hand, converting them all would yield 200 NP—a significant gain compared to the initial 30 NP spent on seeds.

Given the price of Crackdraff, I was especially excited to see how much the tomatoes—priced at 90 NP per seed packet—would sell for.

With growing anticipation, I placed a tomato in the shipping box and checked the terminal.

“Huh… what…?”

The number on the display had only increased by 2, just like with the Crackdraff. I couldn’t help but let out a small, disheartened murmur.

This can’t just be a mistake, right?

The number had gone from 292 to 294. The NP had indeed increased, meaning the tomatoes also sold for only 2 NP each, the same as the Crackdraff.

The disappointment hit hard because my expectations had been high. However, thinking about it rationally, tomatoes weren’t exactly valuable in this world, and there were costs associated with transporting them here.

Considering the tomato seeds originally cost 3 NP, a selling price of 2 NP was reasonable.

I realized I had jumped to conclusions and gotten disappointed for no reason. Besides, I had planted the tomatoes with the intention of eating them, so it wasn’t really a loss.

As I tried to console myself, Sheila, who had just finished her shower, returned.

“Thanks for letting me use the shower. …Wait, Sato-san, are you feeling down about something?”

“No, I’m not. Actually, I’ve decided that tonight we’ll have a tomato party. So, could you let me handle dinner tonight?”

“A tomato party? I’m not sure what these tomatoes taste like, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

 Sheila replied with an excited smile.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll suit your taste.” 

I said confidently, encouraged by her cheerful response.

Tomatoes could be transformed into so many dishes. Even if Sheila didn’t like them, I was certain at least one dish would suit her palate.

Pizza, spaghetti with meat sauce, cold tomato pasta, no-water curry, tomato-braised chicken, tomato risotto—there were so many possibilities.

Even with just simple dishes, there were plenty of options. I could make ketchup and pair it with fries for a classic combo. Or I could make tomato juice and serve it as-is.

The choice of what to cook would depend on my NP budget, but even the simplest combination of potatoes and ketchup would surely taste amazing.

It hadn’t even been a week since I was reincarnated into this world, but I was already craving Japanese food.

While I wanted to cook something to make Sheila happy, I might be the one looking forward to it the most.

“I’ll be looking forward to it, then. Shall we continue with the work now? What would you like me to do next?” 

Sheila asked.

“Could you take care of the watering?” 

I requested.

“Watering, got it.” 

With Sheila handling the watering, I focused on putting all the harvested Crackdraff into the shipping box. Then, I planted new seeds in the cleared spaces.

So far, I was living the ideal countryside life I had dreamed of, and I genuinely enjoyed every moment of the farming work.

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