BXBX NOVEL Chapter 12
On the next morning, Kazura was lead by Valetta and Valin to the surviving potato fields . Those are the potatoes that the villagers put great effort on and somehow they survived the drought . The green leaves were spread wide, the vine were slithering . The plants looked very healthy . 「Oh, if it’s this green then it’s really healthy . 」 「Yes . It all thanks to the aqueduct . With so much water, it no longer succumbed to the drought . 」 While Kazura and the others were inspecting the fields, the villagers that were tending the field came to greet them . They were pulling weeds between the gaps of potatoes leaves or transporting the drawn water from reservoir . Beside the fields was the aqueduct that goes to the reservoir, but no water was flowing in it now since the reservoir almost filled with water . From the looks of the villagers that take turn in working, it seems like that the entire village cooperated in tending the fields . 「This potato, is it about this big when it harvested?」 「Ummmm, That size can be called big . From 1 seedling we can only harvest about 5 piece of this . 」 While saying these words, Valetta made a small circle with her hand . The circle had the same size of an M-size egg that was sold in Japan’s Supermarket, it was a somewhat smallish potato . A yield of 5 pieces per one seedling was in no way would be sufficient . . 「What kind of fertilizer do you use?」 「Uumm . . . what is for-tea-lay-sir?」 「 . . . . . . . Eh?」 What did she said? Seeing Valetta’s confused expression, Kazura was immediately petrified . He was pulled back from his thoughts . This is another world so he might had given a wrong name or terminology . 「Eerrrr, It was something that you mix with the soil to give nourishment to the crop . You don’t had something that you scatter on the field?」 「Ah, the rite for abundant harvest . For asking Gre . . . . God to grant an abundant harvest, after we sow the crops’ seeds, we scattered the fine crushed Kafcu bone, that we had hunted in the mountain, in the field . 」(TL: I think that Kafcu or Kafuku カフク was a pun on 禍福 also pronounced kafuku that had meaning of ‘fortune and misfortune’ . I spent a lot of time puzzled by this) 「 . . . . . . Is there anything else that is scattered?」 「Uummm . . . . Nothing else . . . . . . A, ano, perhaps it wasn’t supposed to be bone, but meat that should be offered? It was a custom since olden days to scatter the bone, but as expected, rather than bone . . . . . . meat is . . . . . . better . . . . . . , is . . . . . . it . . . . . . . ?」 Apparently, this village had no concept of fertilizer in farming . Although some form of fertilizer was scattered as a sort of rite, their purpose was not to increase the soil’s nutrient, so the villagers didn’t scatter a large amount of it . Also, even if Kazura had heard it, he doesn’t bother about God’s preference . 「Let’s leave the God’s preference of animal bone or meat aside for now . To make the crops healthier it’s indispensable for the soil to also be healthy . 」 「The soil?」 Hearing Kazura’s words, Valetta bend her head with slightly doubtful . But, Valetta thought that the crops could grow to harvest all thanks to God’s blessing and grace . 「Yes, for that reason in the middle of forest was a humus . . . . Something that looks like soil from rotting fallen leaves or food scraps that was mixed with the soil, that then will be mixed with the soil in the field . 」 「Ano . . . . . . To mix rotting things to the field, won’t God wouldn’t become mad?」 Valetta asked with puzzled expression after hearing Kazura’s explanation . The villagers considered that the act of mixing something with the soil had the meaning of offering something to the God . 「Ah, It will be all right . On the contrary, I think that God will be delighted as the soil become healthier . The God will use them to make the soil healthier . 」 Hearing Kazura’s words, Valetta and Valin somehow could understand . Although the idea about the crops growing all thanks to God was not dismissed anyhow, since the thought of “All thanks to God” was held since a long time . If suddenly they were told 「If the soil doesn’t healthy then the crops cannot be healthy」, they would not understand . For the time being, he decided to use the nuance of "God use the humus to bless the field" . 「So, it’s important to collect the humus in the forest but . . . . . . . . . 」 「I understand . The people of the village will gather it . Everyone, let’s us gather something that is called humus . 」 Hearing Valin’s words, the villager that was working in the field called the others . The other villager then stopped their work and after listening to what the village’s chief had said, they ran to call the other villagers . 「Then, I will go to call the other villagers . Valetta go and fetch the pullcart . 」 「Un . 」(TL: Un [うん] means yes . I mean since a girl make ‘un’ sound is cute you know! So I will keep it as original . ) (ED: Cute is justice . ) (TL: Life fact No #1) 「Ah, I will also fetch it . Let’s go together . 」 Thus, the majority of the villagers were involved in gathering the humus . ✦✧✦✧ After that, 20 minutes had passed . The villagers that had gathered in the forest’s entrance threw their gazes at Kazura with a lot of expectation . The nearby soil was dug up with shovels . When the dug up soil were taken away, although somewhat dried up, very ordinary leaf molds could be seen .
「This is called humus . Please collect a lot of this and mix it with the soil on the fields . If you do so, then the God will use the humus to make the field’s soil healthier . 」 The gathered villagers saw the humus in Kazura’s hand . 「So it was like that . 」「If Kazura-sama said that, then it’s not wrong . 」 The villagers’ express their admiration with words like that . 「Then everyone, would you please piled up the humus into the pullcart? For this time, we will use 1 full pullcart for worth of humus for 1 field . 」 Hearing Kazuras instruction, the villagers simultaneously began to dig the nearby soil with the shovels in their hand . The forest soil, which comes from accumulated leaf litters for unknown many years, was soft; if you only need to dig up the superficial layer then it was easy to gather the humus . 「Well then . . . . . . . Valetta-san, can I have your time for a while?」 「Ah, yes . Is there a problem?」 Kazura stop his work and called up Valetta who was digging the humus beside him . 「I will return to my country to get another pullcart and the fertilizer for the fields . That’s why I want to ask Valetta-san and Valin-san to keep supervising the work in the mean time . 」 「A, Yes . I understand . I will convey it to my father . 」 「Thank you . 」 After saying that, Kazura leave the forest and went back to Japan . ✦✧✦✧ 「Ne, ne, Colts, like I thought, this is bad . Didn’t everyone firmly said to absolutely not follow him, right . . . . . . . . . ?」 「It’s all right . Besides, with this distance, that Nii-chan won’t noticed . 」Kazura was walking to the tree copse that led to Japan; 50 meters behind him were 2 children who hidden themselves behind tree to tree while stalking Kazura . The children was about 5 to 6 years old, the boy who called Colts had eyes that was shining with curiosity, and the other child was a timid girl who pulled his sleeve to stop him . 「B-but, if Kazura found out . . . . . . . . 」 「That’s why I said it will be all right . . . . . . Ah, he enter the tree copse!」 Colts saw the tree copse that Kazura entered, after losing sight of him, Colts hurriedly entered behind him . Seeing Colts begin to run, the girl at first was hesitant, but then she at once was run, following him .
「What? He’s not here?」 Although Colts immediately followed and entered the tree copse that Kazura entered, once he was inside, he couldn’t see Kazura’s anywhere . Even if it was called a tree copse, the tree was not that dense . It was strange that Kazura, who just walked there a moment ago, had disappeared without a trace . 「Look, just like what I had said, Kazura-sama is Graysior-sama . If that was not true then you can still see him . 」 The girl, who followed Colts, was feeling relieved and then said that to the boy, who was still looking for the missing Kazura . He look at her with an expression of disbelief, but it was true that Kazura had definitely disappeared . 「Is that so? But I can only see him as an ordinary Nii-chan . . . Myra don’t you also think like that?」 「Mou, you still talking like that? Look, let’s us just return to where everyone else is . 」(TL: Mou . An interjection to express someone exasperation . If a girl use that to you, you better listen . ) The girl, who was called Myra, took Colts’ hand, who was still looking at the inside of the tree copse while grumbling . She then pulled him toward the forest where the villagers were gathering the humus . ✦✧✦✧ Meanwhile, Kazura, who didn’t noticed the children that stalked him, as usual come out from the tree copse and arrived at a stone paved passage . Then while asking permission from the unchanging crumbled skeleton corpse at the passage, he crossed over to Japan . 「Then, should I go to Home Center again? As it will be a larger transaction than before . 」 As usual, Kazura boarded his car, the he drove to the Home Center when he had bought the farming tools previously . He looked at Japan’s scenery along the way, it was different from the another world’s scenery he just came from several minutes ago . The fields that grew vegetables can be seen spreading out to all direction without any problem . The car passed that relaxing scenery for about 10 minutes until it arrived at the Home Center . Kazura then gone to Gardening Corner inside the store and then stopped in front of huge pile of fertilizer bags . 「Umm, there is a lot of different fertilizer type . Which kind should I buy?」 In front of fertilizers that were categorized by its purposes, Kazura folded his arm and worried about which kind of fertilizer would be a good choice . Then he inspect the description that was written in each bag . 「If only they write ‘It’s for other world’s crops’ it would be nice . . . . . . . I wonder if this fertilizer is for potatoes . 」 While Kazura was mumbling and loitering by himself, an employee, that had seen him, approached him . 「Are you looking for something, Sir?」 「Yeah, I looking for a fertilizer for potatoes . Which kind would you recommended?」 「Ah, then this type is good, Sir . Although it smells bad . 」
The employee guided Kazura to bags tin which ‘Manure’ was written in it . It sure had a peculiar smell but the fertilizer’s information box said that it can be used for potatoes . 「Do you want to use the fertilizer for Potato ,Sir?」(TL Funfact!: This word for the Potato in here isガイモ Jagaimo, while the other potato [without capital] was imo芋 . Jagaimo refer to Potato [Solanum Tuberosum] while Imo refer to any kind of tuber part of a plant but also can mean potato . Should I change all potato back to tuber?) 「Well . . . Something like that . 」 That small potato that was eaten in that village had different taste than Potato . But a tuber is still a tuber, so he thought that there will be no big difference between them . 「Then, even if this was manure it’s safe to scatter it . Also, . . . . . . 」 「fumufumu . . . . . . . Then, I’d like to buy the fertilizer that you just explained . 」 Kazura heard the employee’s explanation about this and that on raising Potato, so he more or less, had some understanding about the fertilizer that he wanted to buy . 「Ah, yes, thank you very much . Do you want take one bag?」 「No, I like to buy everything that is in here . 」 「 . . . . . . Eh?」 「I wonder how many kg all this will be . . . 」Kazura was mumbling while gazing at the fertilizers and walked away . The employee that just heard ‘I will buy everything’ was still frozen in place . 「Wa-wait a moment Sir!」 The employee was half-running to Kazura . Kazura wait for a minute until the employee with 「Manager」 written on his chest reach Kazura’s place . (TL: Senior Staff? Had a better name? The kanji means person in charge, so Manager? I never work in Retailer shops . . . . ) (ED: I changed to manager, since yeah, that is the position in retail referring to those in charge of other employees) 「Sir Customer , I think that I heard you want to bought every fertilizer in the store, but . . . 」 「Yes . Everything, please . Also do you have a folding pullcart? I wonder where do you put it . 」 「Uumm, even if you intend to buy everything Sir, the manure is about 400 kg . . . . . If it is for Potato, then for a 100 tsubo field then 30kg manure is enough . 」(TL: 1 Tsubo is 3 . 31 squaremeter . So 100 tsubo is about 331 square meter or 0,331 hectare . What acre? Please, I’m a metric person, so sorry never heard of it . . . ) Hearing ‘400kg’ from the Senior Staff, Kazura groaned . The Manager thought that just like what he expected, the customer made a mistake in the amount he needed, but that expectation was terribly wrong . 「I’m sorry, I want to rent this shop’s truck . If possible, I also want a help for loading and unloading the manure . 」 The Manager flinched for a moment after hearing Kazura’s word, if he really intent to buy then it can’t be helped . The other employees that stood near them were in deep amazement before they started to calculate the total amount of fertilizer, while Kazura was led into the place where they displayed the Pullcart .