After my mother disappeared, things changed a bit. First of all, my father stopped talking to me altogether. Lunches were brought to my room, and the portions were smaller. The servants looked at me with disdain. All of this, according to my assumptions, was due to Vivian's disappearance since they couldn't rule out the possibility that I was the cause.
I, especially, believe they kidnapped her for her beauty, as it was the only thing she excelled in.
The viscount also started sending letters and people to the estate in search of information. Apparently, he either has no connections with her or he's trying to make us believe that. Currently, most people assume Vivian won't return, and my father is consoled by the maids. They probably want to take the position of baroness, but he would still believe it's love.
— Ai's Room, almost midnight.
Still, it's strange...
For starters, my mother had few relationships. She went out rarely, spent most of her time doing nothing productive, had nothing special about her, or so I think. So, why?
As Ai pondered this, she approached the slightly ajar door of her room to peek into the hallway, searching for signs of life.
"Well, it's time. I'll leave the mystery of the beautiful missing girl for another moment."
Ah. There's another phenomenon I forgot to mention. At first, I thought Miyamoto was influencing my tastes, but it wasn't the case. It seems our consciousness is 'merging' or something of the sort. I've started to have much greater agility in my body purely by instinct. If I were to put it in words, it's similar to when you feel your partner is cheating on you just by intuition, or something like that.
Ai opens the window, holding an empty bucket, wearing a hat reminiscent of a cowboy, and escapes once more, heading to her first feudal endeavor.
— In the improvised orchard Envy had set up for Ai.
I placed the orchard far away from everyone to avoid drawing attention to the plantation, about 4 titan steps from the mansion, surrounded by a grove. I didn't want any strange theories about my father, since these beets are poisonous if not processed correctly, as in my old world.
Titan steps and strides are the distance measurements in this world. One titan step is roughly equivalent to 1.3 kilometers, while a stride is approximately 0.75 meters. I made the conversion using Envy's feet as a measure.
Normally, a plantation should be surrounded by a fence to prevent pests or wild animals, but that doesn't matter. I'm not interested in losing one or two beets or finding them in bad condition; I just want to test my theory. Plus, I can gather information about cultivation time and related issues for next time.
This procedure was common in the ventures of my previous world and was called MVP. The idea of this strategy is not to spend on details that won't help prove the hypothesis at hand. It really doesn't matter if 5 or 23 beets are in good condition, as one or two will suffice. That way, it doesn't make sense to set up a fence, hire a caretaker, or act like your life depends on it.
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Ai approaches to inspect the beets, which were already ripe.
"Woah... Incredible." I suppose the increased metabolism of the plants thanks to Envy's mana, combined with the nutrient supply, significantly accelerated the plant's growth.
The magic Envy projects emits chemical signals and induces mitosis to speed up the cell reproduction of the specific plant. This system has a major problem in that the plant must absorb the nutrients for cell division, so people often say it's a prohibited method or similar things, as it damages the soil.
Clearly, this is because it takes in all the nutrients it needs so quickly that the soil doesn't have time to recover, but with fertilizer, it's not a problem for me.
Best of all, no one interferes because they're just useless beets.
"Time to start collecting my dear coins, ehehehe." Ai starts pulling out the beets one by one, until something interrupts her.
Ai hears something fall from a nearby tree in the orchard.
"Hm?" She approaches and can make out a bat, which was quite injured.
"What's a bat doing around here? I don't think this is a good area for them to live."
Ai takes a closer look and finds a very deep cut.
"Hmm..." That looks pretty bad. If I leave it like this, it'll probably die from that wound...
"I guess I can help you with that wound." Even though I don't consider myself a vigilante or a hero, this situation resulted in a symbiosis, as I'll be able to test metabolism on living beings to see if it works. I guess the little guy is in luck.
Ai shapes her hand like a spoon and starts preparing a spell.
[Molecular Exchange: Converting equivalent molecules of N2 into 300ml of H2O2...]
Soon, the area above her palm would begin to turn into liquid, which Ai would then pour onto the bat's wound.
"Eeeeik! Eeik..."
"It hurts a lot, I know... But the hydrogen peroxide will disinfect the wound to prevent any microorganisms from hindering your healing, hang in there."
Now, I'll try to increase its metabolism like Envy taught me...
Ai begins to recite a spell.
[Metabolism: Increase ⇧]
"Eeeikkkk! Eik-" The bat faints in the process, while its wound can be seen closing.
How impressive... It's like those time-lapse videos of plant growth I used to watch on TikTok in my old world.
"Alright, that should do it. The wound isn't bleeding anymore and it's almost completely closed... Now, I'll give it some sugar to boost its energy temporarily... At least this way, it can look for food so it doesn't starve."
Ai starts reciting another spell with her hands in the shape of a spoon again.
[Molecular Exchange: Converting equivalent molecules of N2 into 50g of C12H22O11....]
Ai would pour the sugar directly into the bat's mouth, which, upon mixing with its saliva, would dissolve and enter its digestive system.
"Fuah..." You were a good experimentation subject. I guess mana manipulation knows no bounds... Still, producing 50 grams of sugar cost me almost half of Envy's mana. It feels like dehydration, but of mana instead of liquid, and much faster...
Ai wipes off the sweat caused by the spell.
"Now, without further ado, COME TO ME, MY DEAR COINS!" Ai starts pulling out the remaining beets as if she were a dog digging for a bone.
"Money, money, money!" She pulls one out.
"I'll buy deodorants!" She pulls out another.
"I'll buy bras!" She pulls out another.
"I'll buy toilet paper!" She pulls out another.
"I'll buy non-scratchy clothes!" She pulls out another.
Wait... Those things...
Ai kneels down.
They don't exist in this world.
After that, Ai would continue pulling out the remaining beets and return to her room a little sad.