CH 115

Chapter 115 – The Name of the Island

“…What are you making him do?” (Bouchi)

“I was thinking of having some flowers to brighten up the place.” (Izu)

“Ah, I remember you did ask me for some flower seeds, huh?” (Bouchi)

I recalled buying them and handing them to her.

“Yes. We planted the seeds just fine, but they hadn’t grown at all since then.” (Izu)

“I see. So that’s why you asked Ior, huh?” (Bouchi)

Ior could pass for a plant professional of sorts.

“Hm, then it should be fine. Back in our hometown, Ior worked hard at making the vegetable gardens and flower beds there. He’ll definitely produce results you’ll be satisfied with.” (Yofel)

He had Yofel’s seal of approval, so there would be no problems. Then, Ior noticed us, letting out a little ‘ah’ before toddling over.

“Hiro-sama, onee-chan… What’s the matter?” (Ior)

“Yofel was worried about the sudden disappearance of her lovely younger brother.” (Bouchi)

“M-Master?!” (Yofel)

“What, it’s not a lie, you know?” (Bouchi)

“T-That’s… Wuuu…” (Yofel)

It was nice to have family bonds. Well, it was true that I was teasing her a little bit.

“Sorry… onee-chan.” (Ior)

“No, no, I know that you were trying to help Master and the others. Yeah, it’s no problem!” (Yofel)

“Is it really…?” (Ior)

“If they were normal flowers… then there wouldn’t be a problem? But all of the flowers that you’re trying to grow are very special, Izu-san.” (Ior)

“In other words, you’re saying they need the right type of soil to grow, right?” (Izu)

“Yeah. So… here.” (Ior)

Ior took a type of seed out from his pocket.

“…What is this seed?” (Izu)

It was strange for Izu to not know. It was a size larger than sunflower seeds, and it was reddish-brown all over.

“Ooh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that.” (Yofel)

It seemed that only Yofel knew what it was. Izu, who was naturally curious, asked her what she meant.

Ior told us to watch, and he went to the lakeside and dropped the seed at his feet.

“Come forth…” (Ior)

As if in response to his words, the seed burrowed into the ground by itself. Then, something budded and pierced upwards from the ground, around the size of a volleyball.

“Nyoo~!”

“W-What is that…!?” (Izu)

Even Izu didn’t seem to know what it was, and this was her first time seeing such a creature, which was surprising.

“I see, so you don’t know about it either, Izu. This is Ior’s <Plant Organism>, Plantman.” (Yofel)

“This is my first time hearing of such a thing…! If I recall correctly, Ior’s skill was unique. No wonder I don’t have any memories regarding this creature.” (Izu)

The knowledge on common skills was abundant, but the information on unique skills was scarce. There were a lot of things that even Izu didn’t know about. In fact, she didn’t know anything about my <Shop> skill either.

“Is it a… monster?” I asked in spite of myself, but Ior shook his head from side to side. But Yofel was the one who explained it to me.

“Master’s question is spot on, but it’s not a monster. In the end, it’s a moving plant created by Ior. It might look different… but they could be said to be Ior’s clone bodies, I guess.” (Yofel)

“Puuu~, it’s so cute!” (Sol)

As Sol said, it indeed looked pretty cute. It would probably be a big hit if it was sold as a stuffed animal. Ior took more seeds out of his pocket and tossed them around on the ground in the same way, causing many Plantmen to appear.

““““Nyoooo~!””””

In an instant, over 30 of these mysterious creatures had appeared. Then, Ior’s words reached them.

“Everyone, if you please.” (Ior)

““““Nyoooooo~!””””

The Plantmen all gave a salute with their short, stubby arms, then rushed towards the edge of the lake, extracting small hoes from out of their heads, of all places.

““““Nyo, nyo, nyo, nyo!!””””

With a series of shouts, they began to swing their hoes, plowing the soil.

“H-How adorable…” (Izu)

Struck by the cuteness of the Plantmen, Izu stared at them in a spellbound trance.

“Yofel, what are they doing?” (Bouchi)

“Ah, they’re developing the soil. Plantmen can freely alter the nature of the soil as they please. I’m sure they’ll transform the current state of the soil into the most optimal conditions for the flowers to bloom here.” (Yofel)

It was indeed a pretty useful ability. From the sounds of it, it should even be possible for them to revive a completely dead plot of earth.

As expected of a unique skill. There were some truly incredible abilities hidden within.

“Then let’s have Ior be in charge of the plant environment from now on.” (Bouchi)

“…! Hiro-sama… Are you sure?” (Ior)

“Yeah. I’m sure you’ll be able to make this island a greener place. Can I leave it to you?” (Bouchi)

“Yeah! I’ll do my best!” Ior replied with a motivated look on his face.

Yofel also grinned, happy to see that I had acknowledged her little brother’s efforts.

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“Alright! I need to do my best, so I don’t get outdone by Ior! Shiki-dono, let’s have another mock battle!” (Yofel)

“Yes, I’ll serve as your opponent until nightfall.” (Shiki)

“Sol won’t lose either!” (Sol)

I was busy watching over this scene when…

“Master, you seem happy, don’t you?” (Izu)

“Master, we will always be by your side. We would never turn our backs on you.” (Izu)

“Izu…” (Bouchi)

“I’m sure that you’ll be able to find the happiness that you seek here, Master. So… please be happy.” (Izu)

I was silent for a while, then I gave Izu a light flick on her forehead.

“Ah! …M-Master, what was…?” (Izu)

“Hahah, you cheeky little…” (Bouchi)

A grin gradually spread across my face as Izu returned my smile while rubbing her forehead.

I didn’t know what happiness meant to me just yet. But I knew that I was happy just being with them. At first, I bought them to be subordinates that would carry out my bidding, but now, they were more like family to me.

…Happiness, huh?

If that was really what was happening here, I didn’t want to lose it this time. I wanted to continue to protect this happiness. I wouldn’t let anyone take this away from me.

“…Ah, right. We didn’t name this island yet, did we?” (Bouchi)

“Now that you mention it, we didn’t. We’ve always been tastelessly calling it, ‘the island’.” (Izu)

“We really have, huh…” (Bouchi)

I had decided on a name for this place where we all belonged.

“…I decided. The name of this island will be Joysprout Island.” (Bouchi)

The island that will serve as the base for our sprouting happiness. I felt that it was a fitting name for this place.