Volume 6: An Onslaught of Visitors 

Chapter 40. I Want You to camouflage yourself 

Author Note: This time there is a very very disturbing description.

Also, this content may be difficult for those who dislike worms.

Please consider your reading time or prepare your mindset accordingly.

It might be best to refrain from reading before, during, or immediately after a meal…

The next day, at the edge of the plowed field, a small, sparkling tree stood.

And huge earthworms were appearing in the field.

What is this? Where should I start?  

For now, I want to turn my eyes away from the wriggling.

So, this field is divided into three sections. It kind of looks like the character for “eye” (目).  

I want you to try drawing the character for “eye” in the sky.  

The hut is located near the first stroke of the character, and the area that was plowed is between the fourth and fifth strokes— in other words, the bottommost plot.

The sparkling tree grew roughly in the middle of the fourth stroke.

This tree is definitely not normal. No matter how I look at it, it feels like something seriously dangerous is about to happen.  

Because it’s sparkling. The leaves are metallic green, turning yellowish as they approach the edges, like they’re sprinkled with gold powder, and the edges are shiny and golden.  

The trunk is silver with a glossy finish. Is it silver? Or platinum? It has a high-class feel to it.

The only saving grace is that it’s still short, about knee-high, so it’s not too big of a deal, but it still stands out… shining and glowing

”Um, so. What are you? You seem really extraordinary. Why are you glowing? Could you calm down a bit?”

Talking to plants is a common thing for people who grow flowers, I think.

If you see a strange person talking to flower seedlings at a home improvement store, its safe to assume it’s me or one of my friends.

I especially find myself talking to the poor battered seedling that were put on sale.

“Want to come to my place?” I might even flirt with them.

So, out of habit, I started talking to this sparkling tree…

And then—

The sparkle disappeared.

It stopped glowing.

Huh???

Is this thing able to understand me???

“Well, um, even if you stop glowing you still look quite special, so I wonder if maybe you could become a bit more like a normal tree. For example, a plum, peach, or cherry tree.”

The first thing that immediately came to my mind was plums, probably because they are familiar to me. I love Nanko plums.

But, Nanko plums don’t produce fruit easily on their own—they need to be pollinated. A single pollination tree would be ideal, something with beautiful flowers and fragrant fruit, like “Hanakami” 

While I was thinking this,  

The sparkling tree transformed into a Hanakami seedling, a variety I’ve seen at the home improvement store.

No, I don’t think it’s not necessary to also recreate the label or anything that detailed.

I don’t quite understand what’s happening, but I guess it’s less conspicuous now, so that’s at least a good thing.

Although I’m not sure what’s causing it,  I have a vague feeling it might have been the chicken manure I sowed yesterday or the mushroom spawn bed I used.

eeek, I was avoiding eye contact, but it’s probably why the fields have been ripped apart and turned into a party ground for giant, wriggling earthworms.

Big earthworms can be quite scary.

When I was a kid, I used to easily pick up earthworms with my bare hands, and even collect them in jars.

We kept chickens at home, and chickens love worms, so I collected them as presents for them…

I feel a bit sad as the memory comes back to me.

I’m going to say something a little meta now, but I’m about to describe some pretty gruesome memories, so if you’re sensitive, please skip this paragraph or section below.

And since I’ll keep describing earthworms in the story, so if you don’t like earthworms, you might want to just skip ahead.

When I was a child, I would kindly, truly kindly, let the earthworms I had collected in a jar bask in the sun.

I put the earthworms packed tightly into an empty instant coffee jar and left them outside to sunbathe, forgetting about them as I played.

I forgot about them…

When I found them later, well, it was quite a mess. The state, the smell, it was an indescribable chaos…

Because of that memory, I have a bit of an inferiority complex about worms. I feel guilty every time I see one.

So, when I come across earthworms while working in the fields or garden, I treat them with care and move them somewhere else. I can’t stand to touch them with my bare hands now, but I can manage with gloves.

Even so, I get a little scared of the worms in this field right now.

Mountain worms are quite large and metallic-looking, and these are even bigger, more gigantic versions of those.

They are a beautiful metallic color—blue-purple with hints of green.

This shiny, flashy mountain worm, with its metallic luster, is said to be found only in western Japan.  

I thought they were common, but when I told a friend from the Kanto region about them, they didn’t understand.

“Earthworms are beautiful, you know.”

I got some strange looks when I said that. No, please search the internet and see—they really have some beautiful colors. I also recommend doing an image search for Savannah monkeys while you’re at it.

The sparkling tree from earlier was a creature that understood me, but I really don’t think these worms would be able to.

So, I’ll leave that thought aside and just go talk to the agricultural guild to talk to Regal-san.

I also want to ask for advice on what to do with the cut hay that’s piled up next to the field, next to the shed, and just leave it at that.

Author Note:

Sorry for the gross chapter on worms.

Also, from now on, updates will be irregular.

I’m happy that many people are viewing my work, but I’ve been neglecting a lot of things, and now I’m paying the price…

I wanted to reach a bit further and finish things properly, but it’s difficult.

So, from now on, I would be happy if you would remember to drop by every now and then, rather than every day.

Thank you

Tl note:

Hanakami is a variety of Miume plums. It is popular as a garden tree, offering both beautiful, ornamental flowers and fruit suitable for making pickled plums and plum wine. 

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