CH 30

My Seventh Birthday, Present, and New Friend

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 

I turned seven.

As promised, His Majesty the King searched for the “centrifuge” and gave it to me as a present for my seventh birthday although some time had passed since I requested it.

Also, this year, I received “Antidote Herb” seedlings as a gift from both the Head Magician and the Knight Order Commander. According to Father’s explanation, it seems like both troops went to a place where these medicinal herbs could be found on a monster hunting expedition, and they decided to bring the herb seedlings back and give them to me as a gift to thank me for my usual potion deliveries.

Errr, I’m grateful for them, but I wonder how they knew I wanted these seedlings? Ah, I did mention that I was growing materials in my fields during the business discussion.

My birthday present was a centrifuge and Antidote Herb seedlings.

So there’s a young miss in the world who receives these sort of things as their presents, huh.

…It’s me though.

Well, but the problem is that I’m still a kid and I can’t go out and collect them. Thanks to that, I’ve been in a state where I haven’t been able to make any new potions lately, so this is a much welcomed gift. There were two stalks, so I hope that I’ll be able to use them as soon as they get used to the soil and their quality improves.

Ahh! I want to go collecting!

For the time being, I decided to write a letter of thanks to everyone who had given me gifts and deliver them with a few potions.

◆

After that, another one of my desires sprung forth. It was the “Antidote Herb” that was given to me.

Ordinary detoxification potions can be made with Antidote Herbs, Mana Grass, and Water. There are many of those potions available in the market. However, this will only cure basic poisons. Ordinary antidote potions are not effective against poisons from high-level monsters used by assassins to target the royalty and nobility, who naturally carry ordinary antidote potions on hand at all times.

In order to cure such poisons, a strong detoxification potion is needed. However, these are rarely available on the market. Rather, they are almost non-existent. …Why? Because the potion requires a “Mandrake Root” as an ingredient. If you were an alchemist, you would know the reason for the shortage, but the general public does not even know the recipes for potions.

Incidentally, a mandrake is a legendary monster that is said to be planted in the ground like a flower. However, if you uproot a mandrake from the ground to snatch away the root, it will let out a terrifying scream that will kill anyone who hears it.

However, I had a feeling that what the members of the Mage Troops and Knight Order, who have been so good to me, want is strong detoxification potions. After all, they can buy ordinary detoxification potions.

Thus, I planted the seedlings in an empty space in the fields, then sighed as I sat in a crouched position in an unladylike fashion.

“What’s wrong, Daisy?” the green fairy swooped down and perched on my shoulder.

“Well, I want the root of a mandrake. But, I’m just a kid and I can’t get permission to go and subjugate a mandrake… In the first place, do you even die when they hear them scream?”

I rested my chin on both hands and sighed.

“Wait a minute, Daisy! Mandrakes are us fairy’s friends! You can’t kill them!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” the fairy flew around me in a panic.

“Huh, the fairy’s friends? So that means they’re a friend of yours. …Now it’s even more difficult to obtain. That’s a problem, huh.”

“Hmm, wait a minute. I’ll try to take care of it!” the fairy said, then flew away high into the sky.

◆

A few days later.

Two stalks had been planted in the empty space of my fields without my permission.

One was red, the other was a blue marguerite-like flower. For some reason, both flowers had adorable human faces on them and their tiny mouths were happily singing a song.

I was so surprised that I fell flat on the ground on my bottom.

“A-A face… they’re singing…” I pointed at them with trembling fingers.

“Nice to meet you, Daisy. We heard your request and came.”

The blue flower spoke!

“This is a very nice field. The area around the previous spirit tree was nice, but this one is much more lively and pleasant!

Then, the red flower spoke up.

I was still on my bottom, overcomed with surprise.

“We brought over the mandrakes.”

Then, the usual green fairy came over to me.

“Umm, you see, they said that once they grow accustomed to the soil, their roots will become healthy, so they can split them off and share them with you.”

The marguerites nodded their heads in agreement to the fairy’s words.

“But, don’t pull me out as you please, okay! We’ll pull the root out ourselves and divide it with you!”

“If you try to uproot us forcibly, we might scream in surprise!”

“Don’t do it!”

Incidentally, when you pull them out, they scream but it seems like they only startle the puller and it doesn’t kill them (while the individual is startled, they use their roots as legs and run away). There’s no danger to my family. Thank goodness.

The legend about you dying was based on a lie that the mandrakes, who were afraid of overhunting, requested the various fairies to spread.

Thus, another strange friend was added to the fields.