Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 21. How much does it cost to rent a farm plot?
”I want to speak to someone named Regel.”
After finishing my report at the Adventurers’ Guild, I immediately went to the reception of the Agricultural Guild and made a request. The Agricultural Guild is basically a big farming cooperative. The main building is a huge warehouse, and the office is small.
From the back seat, a sturdy, sun-tanned man was called over.
“I’m Regel,”
“ I’m coming from Nia Farm. My name is Saki. I have a few questions I’d like to ask,”
“Dawn sent you? What do you want to know?” he asked.
”I heard there’s a plan to lease out divided farmland. Is that happening?”
Regel raised one eyebrow and crossed his arms when I asked.
”That. I thought it was doable, but problems came up, and now it’s stuck,”
”Problems?”
”Originally, it was about trying to make use of abandoned farmland. It would’ve been great if there was a farmer who would take it over as is, but no one did. Instead of letting it go to ruin, we thought about dividing it into small plots and renting it out to people in town who might want to try farming on a trial basis,” he explained.
“ I think that’s a great plan.”
”Right? But here’s the catch. When we actually checked the land, it turns out that green magic doesn’t work well on it,”
he said, his eyebrows creasing in a worried manner this time. His very animated, expressive eyebrows made me fixate on them.
”Green magic doesn’t work on the land?”
”Yeah. Without green magic, the soil’s poor quality makes it hard to grow anything. That’s why it was abandoned. It’s why The plan fell through. The plan is to keep the land under the guild’s management and turn it into pastureland for now,”
Hmm, I don’t really understand what green magic is, but from the flow of the conversation, it seems to be some kind of fertilizer or growth-enhancing magic. It might also have pesticide-like effects.
As someone who grew vegetables in a world without green magic, I don’t understand how it would be a problem if it wasn’t there. I don’t think it’s necessary
”By the way, where exactly is this farmland, how big is it, and what’s the rent?”
”Huh? Are you interested? The location is good—just past the west gate. It’s three sheets. I can’t rent it out as a farmland anymore, so I’m not sure what the rent would be,”
”What if I don need a whole one, can I rent just a one-tenth of a plot or something like that?”
If we assume that one piece of land is 1 acre, it would be about 300 hectares (roughly 1,000 square meters). I wouldn’t be able to manage that much.
”I see. So that’s where we come back to. We’ve been talking about it for a while, so I guess it’s not impossible.”
It seems like he can’t give an immediate answer.*I see, so that’s where we’re back to.
Since it’s just an idea right now, I also don’t know if I could rent it depending on the price. In the countryside, farmland is usually free to use; people just want others to use it, so I don’t know the going rate. I remember community gardens being cheap, costing just a few thousand yen a year.
There are probably many rules for renting, and I’d like to see the place first. For now, just having a lead is good enough.
”I’ll come back again. Just tell me a little more about the location.”
”Alright. Over here, there’s a shed, and around here are loquat and persimmon trees,” he said, showing me a ledger and giving me a rough idea of the place. Having a shed is nice.
I’ll go see it tomorrow or later.
”Grandpa Jill, are you there?”
Well, he’s usually around, but I decided to call out anyway.
”I’m here~,” came the reply.
”I got some vegetables. Can I borrow it again?”
”Sure, go ahead.”
Now that the kitchen is clean, my attention turned to other places. Jill-san has asked me to do some cleaning a few times, and his house has become quite tidy.
One time I helped prepare a simple meal, and when I mentioned that I didn’t have a place to cook the meat I got, he kindly offered to let me use his kitchen.
He said it was fine to share what I made with him, and that would cover the usage fee. I’ve been taking advantage of that kindness.
I seriously considered buying a portable stove again—spending about 9,800 yen on one with a grilling plate—but that’s expensive.
It would have been around 1,980 yen if it was sold alone, I think…
Dawn-san and Milia-san tried to give me a ton of vegetables on my way out, but there’s only so much I can consume, and I can’t carry more than I already do, so…
I managed to get it down to a reasonable amount, but still, it’s quite a lot.
It’s times like these that I wish I’d left the time stop setting on the storage. But I chose not to, so I have no one but myself to blame.
Since I want to use up the vegetables quickly, I’m thinking of making soup or stir-fry. Soup might be easier to eat for Jill-san.
I bought bacon and consommé with my 1,000-yen repeat, chopped the vegetables up, and simmered everything together. I used less consommé than usual, but it still smelled wonderful.
Finally, I sprinkled a bit of spices and it’s done.
The bowl I used was a nice one I found while cleaning up. At first, Jill-san hesitated, thinking it was too good for everyday use, but once he started using it he seemed to like it.
It’s something I had forgotten I even owned, so I think I should use it while I can.
“I don’t know why, but everything Saki makes is delicious.”
It’s nice to hear that someone enjoys my cooking.
Since one serving isn’t enough, Jill-san tried to get seconds, but she stumbled a bit.
”Are you feeling alright? Is your leg hurting?”
I’ve been thinking about it, and if he’s in pain, maybe painkillers could help. But I was afraid of recommending medicine to an elderly person, so I kept quiet.
“No, it doesn’t usually hurt. It’s just hard to bend and stretch. On rainy days, it hurts a little,”
”I see,”
”It’s just old age,”
If the pain isn’t that bad, painkillers probably won’t help. If the joints are worn down, maybe chondroitin might help?
But then, by that kind of logic—it’s a question of whether will eating hair make hair grow? I’ve never bought chondroitin anyway.
I’ve tried collagen drinks before, and since collagen is basically gelatin, I’ve also bought gelatin for making jelly.
It may be just a temporary relief, but I think I’ll try adding gelatin next time I make soup. I think people will be surprised when it cools down and hardens
If your muscles are stiff, stretching or massage might help, but I don’t know much about that.
I just want her to stay healthy.
When I finished cleaning up the second floor, Jill-san jokingly told me that I could live there if I wanted, so I told him that I might rent a field. I asked if he knew the going rate for renting farmland.
”I don’t know anything about farming. I’ve always been a craftsman,”
He’s a stubborn craftsman—perfectly suited for the role—but I wonder what kind of craft he was good at?
—
Notes:
*Correction of Jill-sans gender- he is male