Reinhard decided to go out of his house and see Metha. Upon arriving, the two of them, Reinhard and Fraenis, saw that just outside of Metha’s house are numerous pots and planters of different herbs and leaves with varying colors and shapes. Some are placed on the ground and some hang on the walls.
“Yep, you can’t miss this.”
Reinhard thought at how “herbal” Metha’s home was.
They went in with a slight creek of the door. There, they saw Metha tending to one of her plants that are on a pot. The ones outside couldn’t even compare to the sheer number of those inside her home. It was like the walls themselves were made of pots and planters.
Metha looked at the door as it opened.
“Oh, Chief and Fraenis! What brings you here?”
Reinhard walked a bit closer to Metha while Fraenis looked at the planted herbs at the sides. There really were a lot of different kinds of plants, as if all the flora and foliage in the whole forest were gathered there. Fraenis could identify some of them at a first glance, such as dragonwyngs, which only grows at the base of Surtyr, a huge volcano at the Flaming Peninsula far south of the forest. She wondered just how Metha got a hold of this herb and even kept it growing away from the volcano, but upon closer inspection, she noticed that the soil that the dragonwyngs were planted on is darker in color compared to the rest.
Metha smiled as she looked at the curious Fraenis looking at the plants like a child. Then she looked back at the approaching Reinhard.
“Hey, sorry if you’re busy.”
Reinhard says upon reaching her.
“Oh, no! Not at all! I was just tending to my plants.”
“Hmm. Well, I was just wondering where I could get silk or cotton?”
Metha raised both of her eyebrows and her eyes glimmered.
“Oh! You’re in luck chief! I just harvested some silk from my silkleaves!”
She said while clapping once, and then immediately went inside one of the three doors inside her house, the one on the right. Loud and hasty rummaging could be heard from inside it. Not too long after, she emerged, carrying with her a medium sized box.
Upon attempting not to stumble multiple times and barely keeping herself upright, Metha placed the box down in front of Reinhard. There, inside of it are multiple bundles of gray strings, filling almost 75% of the box.
“Are these all silk?”
He asked in surprise.
“Yep!”
She said as she smiles gleefully, utterly proud of her work.
“That is a lot of silk”
“That is a lot of silk…”
Both his inner thoughts and his mouth said the same thing without him even noticing.
“He, he~ It is! I’m the only one that supplies it after all! All the sheets and blankets in whole Garden came from me.”
“But… Just to be sure, you harvest them directly from the plant right?”
“Yes…? Is something the matter?”
“Uhm, so no worms or anything?”
“Worms?”
“Like, the silk comes from the plant itself?”
“…yes?”
“How does it produce it?”
When Metha mentioned in the meeting about planting silkleaves, Reinhard thought that it was just the best plant to house the silkworms, but now he’s beginning to realize that the silk from this world comes directly from the plant, and not the worms. In fact, there’s no involvement of any worms at all.
“It grows and accumulates beneath the leaves…?”
“Uh, and how much would it take for a single plant to produce this much?”
Reinhard looked down at the box once again.
“Hmm… I’d say about a month if it’s just a single plant. I have three silkleaves so it doesn’t take that long.”
“Uh, then, what would you like to trade in exchange for ten of these silk?”
Metha was surprised.
“Trade? Oh, no need for that. If it’s for the Garden you don’t have to…”
“Ah, well, it’s not really for the Garden. I was going to use it for myself.”
“Please, just accept them. We dryads believe that for any good deeds we do, nature will return the favor…”
Metha protested.
“…and as nature gives us, we give ourselves to nature.”
Fraenis suddenly said, popping out behind Reinhard’s back.
“Indeed.”
Metha smiled.
Reinhard just stood there, between the two dryads.
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“W-well, if you insist, then… thank you.”
Then he took exactly ten silk bundles from the box.
[SYSTEM]
Obtained: [Silk x10] – Common
After refusing Metha's urges to take more than what he already took, Reinhard and Fraenis began to leave Metha’s house when Reinhard realized something and turned back towards Metha before exiting.
“Oh, by the way, since you’re not busy with the farm thing just yet, I assume that Lem’s doing the cutting for now?”
Metha looked back to them while continuing to tend to her plants.
“Ah? Ah, yes. I’m waiting for Lem to finish clearing the area.”
“Then while that’s happening, do you think it’s possible to plant a Sylpheim Tree inside the Garden?”
“Sylpheim Tree? Well, it is, but they grow incredibly long. Why?”
“I was just thinking, it would be great if the sylphs could just instantly enter Garden without having to fly outside.”
“I see. I’ll look into it, Chief.”
“Thank you.”
After leaving, Reinhard immediately set out to the newly repaired granary.
“So what are you planning to use the silk for?”
Fraenis asks while trailing behind him.
“Preparing for my journey…”
Upon hearing this, Fraenis lowered her shoulders and looked at Reinhard’s back with defeated face.
They walked at the streets for a while, greeting those that they meet along the way to the granary. When they reached the granary, there was a male dryad there, carefully checking the crates and barrels. He notices them and immediately went towards them to greet.
“Chief?”
The man says as she walks closely.
“Hey there! How’s the food situation going?”
“Ah, well the decrease in our population caused us to have a little bit of surplus food for now. Although that surplus could’ve been significantly more if the granary didn’t get looted and damaged.”
“I see. You see, I’m going to go on an important journey. I was wondering if I could take provisions enough for 3 days of travel.”
“Just 3 days’ worth of food?”
Fraenis suddenly asked as she butts in.
“The journey will take you at least a week! Not to mention how slow you’d be going if you want to stay hidden! 3 days of food won’t last you that long!”
“I’m planning to ride Ddraig on the way there so we’d be faster rather than on foot, plus he can protect me. In fact, it’d be better for both of us if some monster attacks us as we’d get free food.”
“R-ride Ddraig…”
Fraenis’ face was painted with confusion and disbelief.
“Don’t worry about it. With Ddraig we can cook and hunt anything. I’m only taking 3 days of food just for emergency. And besides, I don’t want to put that much strain in our reserves.”
“Every idea that you’ve ever had seriously makes me question your sanity…”
Fraenis said under her breath. It was silent enough for Reinhard and the other dryad not to hear it.
After taking exactly 3 days’ worth of provisions, Reinhard and Fraenis returned to his house. On the way, they passed through Lem’s workshop, where they saw him carving something made out of wood.
“Oh? What’s that?”
Reinhard asked as he approaches Lem. In response, Lem looked up to him and smirked.
“Didn’t you want a something-board placed in front of your house?”
“Ah, so that’s it. You’re already working on it?”
“Well, yeah. Not much to do while the boys are cutting the trees.”
“Wow they work fast.”
“You think the sylphs wouldn’t mind us cutting that much?”
“It should be fine if we tell them it’s for farmlands. That’s the way nature works anyway, isn’t it? Some life dies to pave the survival of the others. The sylphs only wouldn’t like it when we forsake nature altogether and exploit it to our selfish vanities.”
“I see… Ah! Be sure to make that big, alright? I have a feeling that many things are going to be posted on that in the future.”
“Sure thing.”
He was about to continue walking when he suddenly remembered something.
“Do you know how to make watermills?”
Reinhard asked Lem.
“Watermeals? Well I’m not a cook so I probably don’t…”
“Cook? Why would you bring up cooks?”
“Well you said watermeals right? Is that some kind of food made out of water?”
“Huh? How the hell did he come into that conclusion?”
Reinhard thought for a while, looking at Lem in confusion before he was finally able to realize.
“Ah.”
“No, it’s not watermeal, it’s watermill…”
He said, emphasizing the end of each word.
“You know, for grinding grains?”
“Hmm, I don’t know anything about that.”
“I should probably ask Sir Velram about this first. Maybe they just call it differently in this world…”
“I see, well, thank you for the hard work.”
Because of that recent happening, instead of going immediately to his house, he instead went to the guardhouse by the barrier to ask Sir Velram about it.
The entrance wasn’t doing anything differently. Knights could still be seen patrolling the outside while four knights are posted at the barrier, two outside and two inside. Those knights that saw him immediately saluted to him, to which he replied by saluting back. Even Fraenis was doing it too.
They entered the house, looking for Sir Velram who was sitting at a chair, discussing with one of his knights wearing the ring that Reinhard made. From what he could hear, they were talking about patrol paths and whatnot. He approached them.
“I hope I’m not disturbing.”
He said without them even noticing that he’s already there. As soon as they saw him, they immediately snapped into salutations. After an exchange of that gesture, Reinhard began his questioning.
“So, Sir Velram, about that noblegrass… how do people normally grind the grains?”
Sir Velram looked into the air, trying to remember.
“Hmm, if I remember correctly, they use two disc-shaped stones together, put the grains in the middle of those stones and spin it to grind. I’m sorry if that’s too vague as I’ve never really paid any attention to it, my Lord.”
“Ah, no, no. That’s exactly what I was expecting. That is all, thank you.”
“No problem, my Lord.”
Sir Velram said as Reinhard and Fraenis exit the guardhouse, confused as to why Reinhard would be asking those questions.
“I see, so they do it by hand. Normally that’s a very time consuming process but I guess for a nobleman they could just have their serfs do it.”
“…”
“Which means watermills are going to be a new thing and no one knows how to make them… I just wish I still remember how to make those from that random youtube video I watched at 2 in the morning.”
“Well, the future me can handle my future problems… right now I should prepare for my journey. And by prepare I mean make my hooded robes as I can’t exactly tread the forest wearing simple cloth shirt and pants to protect me.”
"Hmm... Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something that I should ask about Sir Velram? Well, whatever."
Finally, after all that walking around all the corners of the village, Reinhard and Fraenis returned to his house. As usual, Fraenis stayed outside his room.
He placed the 10 silk bundles and 10 warg fur in the table and immediately opened the crafting interface.
[SYSTEM]
[Common Cloth Hooded Robes of Physical Defese]
-[Silk – Common x10]
-[Warg Fur – Common x10]
-[100 MP]
[CRAFT]
The familiar light suddenly began to lit up the room. It shone through all the cracks and gaps outside, from the door to the window. Fortunately, Reinhard has already informed Fraenis of this so she wouldn’t do what she did last time.
*Ping!*
[SYSTEM]
[Weaving 1] leveled up to [Weaving 2]
A gray hooded robe lay folded in the table as soon as the light faded. Reinhard took it and spread it in front of him, hanging it by the shoulder part. It looked like an average robes that one would think of when imagining a wizard, although this one is not colored red or blue, but gray and one can see the occasional furs of the warg on some parts of it. He equipped it and was surprised that it didn’t unequip the cloth shirt in its place, rather, it was worn on top of the shirt.
[SYSTEM]
[Common Silk Hooded Robe of Physical Defense]
A simple silk robe that gives minor defenses against physical attacks.
Unique Effect:
[Silk]: There is a very rare chance that physical attacks that hits this clothing will slide off, cutting the damage inflicted by 25%.
“The unique effect came from the silk and not the warg fur…? I guess it was the warg fur that gave it the physical defense property anyway.”
“…”
“Phew, okay. I should be good to go tomorrow.”