Chapter 28
“There’s more?”
“Yes. As time passed, the Grand Temple ended up monopolizing mandrake cultivation. They use that power to sell mandrakes only to people they want to sell to. Anyone without personal connections to the Pope can’t even get their hands on one. Same goes for me!”
“Ah…”
Heidi let out an unconscious sigh, feeling genuinely sorry for the coachman now.
Kh—so he couldn’t get mandrake because he lacked connections.
Like the coachman, Heidi herself had a very small social circle, so it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem.
The more she empathized, the more she found herself defending him. Sure, the coachman was a bit odd and eccentric—but deep down, he was a good person.
A coachman with no friends and no virility… the poor guy really was pitiful.
“…This won’t do. I’ll try growing the mandrake quickly.”
Heidi finally declared it.
“R–Really?”
“Yes. I can’t stand this kind of extortionate business, and as a farmer, I empathize with other farmers. I kind of want the Grand Temple to choke on it for once.”
“…You’ve got a rebellious streak, don’t you?”
“Ahem. Didn’t I tell you? I used to be a civil servant who blew the whistle internally and quit.”
She shrugged.
“Ahh…”
The coachman’s oddly understanding reaction irritated her for some reason.
What’s wrong with my personality, huh?!
Sensing her glare, the coachman quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, I fully support you—but realistically, how do you plan to grow it faster?”
“Research.”
Heidi answered with a resolute look in her eyes.
“I’m a farmer. Growing plants well is literally my job, so I’ve studied a lot. Fertilizer ratios, treatments for plant diseases, adjusting growth temperatures—things like that. If I apply all that to mandrakes, I’m sure I’ll find a way to grow them faster.”
“Miss…”
The coachman spoke in a voice full of emotion.
“Then I’ll cover the research costs!”
“Huh? That far? I mean, I’m mostly doing this out of personal spite.”
“Mandrake is something I absolutely, absolutely need too! And the sooner I can get it, the better!”
It seemed his virility problem was far more urgent than expected.
Well… standing next to Mr. Ber, his arms really are half the size.
Heidi looked at him with pity for a moment, then continued.
“Well, I’ll gladly accept the help! I’m not the type to let an opportunity fall into my lap and then let it slip away.”
Honestly, she’d blurted out the research idea on a wave of sympathy, but fertilizer costs and material expenses had been worrying her anyway.
So Heidi decided not to refuse the coachman’s help.
“Here, take this! It’s the research fund.”
The coachman pulled something from his pocket and handed it to her.
“This is a blank check!”
She knew the Mage Tower was wealthy, but she hadn’t expected them to casually hand over a blank check for research.
“Yes. Getting mandrake is my responsibility, but I’m busy with my actual work and can’t help directly… so think of this as an apology.”
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Trying to buy time and effort with money—sir, you came to the right person. The coachman really was a good guy after all.
“Oh my, you really didn’t have to…”
Unable to hide the upward curl of her lips, Heidi quickly accepted the blank check and slipped it into her pocket.
“Miss? Your words and actions don’t quite match.”
She decided to let that comment slide—for once.
“I look forward to working with you, dear customer!”
With a bright, professional business smile, she reached out and shook his hand.
***
That evening.
Ber leaned against the window frame, feeling a quiet sense of restlessness.
The mandrake they had gathered that day wasn’t usable yet. According to the coachman, a mandrake needed to be at least forearm-sized to treat his sister’s illness.
“I’ll try growing the mandrake quickly.”
Yet that woman had said it with such confidence.
If anyone could turn even the barren land of Lium into farmland, surely she could grow mandrake in a short time too—or so his intuition told him.
He had decided to trust her, so he tried to suppress his anxiety.
A gentle spring breeze flowed in through the open window.
Just a few days ago, the night air had still been cold—yet the change in weather had come suddenly.
Much like the change in his own state of mind.
“Nooo—stop!! Are you trying to trample the mandrake to death?!”
He had nearly had a heart attack watching her try to face an ogre and an ostrich barehanded.
His body moved before his mind, stepping in front of her to protect her.
Mandrake was something he desperately needed—but to her, it was just a plant. And yet she hadn’t even considered that risking her life for it might be foolish.
That recklessness had angered him. But the anger hadn’t lasted long.
Instead, he found himself wanting to place a steadying hand on her recklessness.
That was why he’d drawn his weapon on instinct—despite knowing that after the war, he could no longer wield it properly.
And yet, something astonishing had happened.
For a brief moment, that familiar blue light had flashed.
The power he had lost to a curse had returned—if only briefly.
It had been five years.
“To improve Your Excellency’s condition… I believe rest is the only cure.”
Ber recalled the words of the mage who had diagnosed his curse.
Rest. He’d always thought it was a vague, outdated answer.
But perhaps—for the first time in a long while—he really was enjoying true rest here in Lium.
***
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Coo-coo!
On the morning of the day they planned to visit the lower village—
Heidi woke up, as always, to Cochin’s crowing.
She chose a refreshing outfit for the day.
A bright blouse embroidered with flowers, and a light pink pleated skirt that reached her ankles.
Is this a bit too much?
She hesitated at her unusually different attire, but it was her first outing in a while—and a weekend at that.
Dressing up for a change of mood was fine, right?
With that thought settled, Heidi headed down to the kitchen.
“Burning smell! Burning smell!”
Theo, as usual, was perched on Ber’s neck, kneading away. Nearby, the hamsters lay sprawled across the table like zombies, completely drained.
“Good morning, everyone!”
Heidi greeted them cheerfully.
“Wow, Heidi! You look like a cherry blossom today!”
Theo’s eyes went wide when they met hers.
“Really? It’s been a while since I had a day off—and we’re going to town, so I thought I’d try dressing up!”
“Yeah! You’re really pretty!”
“Thank goodness. What do you think, Mr. Ber?”
“…It suits you.”
Ber only glanced at her after she spoke, answering quietly.
He immediately turned his attention back to the frying pan of potatoes—clearly looking like he wasn’t interested in her outfit at all.
What a blunt man. What was I even expecting?
Feeling awkward for no reason, Heidi changed the subject.
“Mr. Ber, we agreed yesterday to try growing mandrake faster, remember?”
“Yes.”
Ber nodded.
Since she had already told him everything about her conversation with the coachman, the discussion flowed smoothly without further explanation.
“But before trying anything new, I think it’d be good to understand existing mandrake cultivation methods first…”
Improving on existing methods would be far more efficient than inventing something from scratch.
“We’re going to Muran Village today, right? Should we look up cultivation methods at the library there?”
All farming-related books were distributed for free by the Imperial family.
Agriculture meant food, and food meant national power—so even small village libraries carried such books.
If she searched, wouldn’t there be something on mandrake cultivation too?
As if reading her thoughts, Ber spoke.
“There won’t be any mandrake cultivation books. The Grand Temple monopolizes those texts. And the rental fees for such books would likely be… exorbitant.”
His expression looked bitter. He seemed just as fed up with the Grand Temple’s tyranny.
“Wow. Those Grand Temple thugs…! Agriculture is national power! And His Majesty the Emperor just lets that slide?”
“For essential goods like grain, cultivation methods must be shared for the sake of national interest. But mandrake is closer to a luxury item.”
“Ah…”
Considering mandrake’s effects, it made sense.
Virility. Wrinkle reduction.
Without wheat, people starve—but bad skin and weak stamina won’t kill you.
And since the Grand Temple wielded divine power, even the Imperial family couldn’t easily antagonize them.
Unless it involved treason or serious harm to public welfare, monopolizing luxury goods was something the Empire likely turned a blind eye to.
Everyone ignoring each other’s dirty secrets—what a mess. Does everyone go blind the moment they grasp power?
