“I’ve lived to see all sorts of things.”
Pelerian, who was already dead, marveled.
Honestly, I felt the same way.
There’s a perception that dwarves love nature.
From a fairy’s perspective, dwarves are seen as awful nature destroyers.
Dwarves clear forests and burn trees to fuel their furnaces.
It’s also common for them to damage the earth’s veins while mining.
That’s why nature-loving fairies are said to dislike dwarves.
This is what humans have speculated about the poor relationship between fairies and dwarves, but it’s only partially correct.
Humans seem to think that fairies have beautiful hearts because of their appearance.
But fairies weren’t that committed to nature conservation.
They just live in the forest, eat meat, and cut down trees to build houses.
However, it’s true that dwarves don’t care much about nature conservation.
In that sense, Dunkel, who decorated indoor gardens and was knowledgeable about botany, was a dwarf heretic.
Thanks to meeting this heretic, the Chimera Snake’s seed didn’t rot.
If this isn’t a heaven-sent connection, what is?
I stared at Pelerian.
“…What!”
My gaze must not have been pleasant.
Pelerian hadn’t even guessed why the Chimera Snake’s seed couldn’t sprout.
“I know more than I don’t know. You could say I’m well-versed in countless fields of the world.”
‘Then why didn’t you know?’
“Isn’t it too much to expect a grand magician to have the knowledge of a mere gardener?”
I snorted at him.
Pelerian, who was pretending to be confident, seemed quite hurt in his pride.
Dunkel was wearing a very cool monocle and examining the Chimera Snake’s seed under a light.
He was carefully dismantling the outer shell and applying a germination-promoting elixir with a brush.
It’s totally cool.
And he brought a very pretty clay pot instead of a stew bowl.
The clay pot with heart patterns was filled with high-quality black soil.
He planted the Chimera Snake’s seed there and finally wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“It’s done.”
‘Shouldn’t it be placed in the sunlight?’
“It doesn’t seem to be a photoblastic seed. Rather, it should be kept in the shade.”
It would be right to listen to the expert.
‘I’ll repay you by repairing your garden.’
“Oh…!”
If there can be a gardener dwarf, there can also be a fairy well-versed in dungeons and their architecture.
Pelerian was such a fairy.
“The ventilation isn’t good. To prevent bats, you could block the vertical cave with wire, but I have a simpler solution in mind.”
The vertical cave was open to the ground above, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t completely vertical.
It was slightly slanted.
Because of this, when it rained, the water didn’t fall straight from the sky but dripped along the cave wall.
‘I can solve your problem with a very simple method.’
Dunkel’s concern was the mold growing here and there due to moisture and ventilation issues.
“There was such a method?”
A dwarf well-versed in architecture would have known this already.
The garden was Dunkel’s secret place, and it seemed he had no friends to advise him.
I used my invisible hand to plant a pole nearby.
It was right below the vertical cave.
After setting up a few poles crosswise, I could place a round cauldron on top.
I put a few pieces of firewood in the cauldron.
Dunkel had an expression of wondering what I was trying to do.
I slapped the ground with my tail.
It wasn’t a necessary action, just for dramatic effect.
「Using Basic Elemental Magic: Fire lv6.」
The firewood caught fire.
Whoosh!
A makeshift bonfire was complete.
It wasn’t for lighting.
There was another reason…
Dunkel’s eyebrows fluttered in the cool breeze.
Where did this breeze come from in a place that was always filled with stagnant, damp air?
“Ah…!”
Dunkel, being a dwarf, could understand immediately.
“You’ve created a ventilation system using fire.”
‘You don’t need to keep it burning all the time, just occasionally to control the humidity.’
“How clever! And simple!”
Dunkel was very pleased when I spoke as if it was my own knowledge, though Pelerian had taught me.
Then he said confidently,
“Alright, shall we make it sprout now?”
‘Right now?’
I was surprised by Dunkel’s words.
Doesn’t it take time for a seed to sprout?
“This is definitely a magic herb. You said it came from the roots of the World Tree, right?”
‘That’s right?’
“It will need magic to germinate. It would be good if we had a magic stone, a high-grade one would be best, but for now, even with the 1st grade magic stone I have…”
‘Would it be good if we had a high-grade magic stone?’
“The quality of a magic herb is determined by how pure the magic it absorbs is.”
Hearing that, I looked at Pelerian.
Pelerian tried to say something with a pale face.
But realizing it wouldn’t work, he closed his eyes tightly.
Alright, then I have permission!
‘I have a magic stone!’
I took out a magic stone from my subspace.
It was a 9th grade magic stone.
It was the highest grade magic stone I had.
Dunkel’s eyes widened.
“What, what grade is this magic stone?”
‘9th grade.’
“How did you get such a high-grade magic stone…!”
I wiped my nose with my tail.
I just happened to get it somehow.
There were only a few magic stones left from what I got from Pelerian’s dungeon.
It seemed like it would last a lifetime, but I guess I gave quite a bit to my father.
Well, it’s better than dying without using it all.
Pelerian breathed roughly.
It was the breathing method I taught him to manage stress.
“I think it would be better if you do it yourself.”
Dunkel said with a serious expression.
By that method, he meant to place the magic stone together with the Chimera Snake’s seed and directly infuse more magic.
“You’re the owner. You should do it yourself.”
‘Okay.’
Somehow my heart was pounding.
I slightly buried the Chimera Snake’s seed and placed the ruby-like 9th grade magic stone on top of it.
Then I lightly placed my tail on top.
What should I do with the magic stone, just infuse magic?
“Think of yourself as a channel. Don’t just blow in magic recklessly, think of it as slightly opening a door.”
Pelerian, who had calmed down unexpectedly quickly, gave advice.
I thought he would be very reluctant to part with the magic stone.
“Strictly speaking, isn’t that also a seed of the World Tree? A 9th grade magic stone, compared to its value, is no different from a stone rolling on the street.”
Is the Chimera Snake that amazing?
I did as Pelerian advised.
It wasn’t difficult.
Soon, the magic stone started to melt.
“Ooh!”
The melted magic stone was nothing but the essence of magic.
Light burst forth from there.
And the Chimera Snake’s seed started to greedily absorb that enormous magic.
The amount of magic contained in a 9th grade magic stone is tremendous.
Even this body would probably have difficulty digesting it if eaten.
But that massive amount of magic was absorbed into the seed in an instant.
Plop-
And germination began.
The inner shell of the seed split, and a sprout emerged.