Published at 22nd of January 2024 4:54 pm

Chapter 375 Part 2

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

And on the morning of the day the flowers were scheduled to bloom. I was lying in bed and was woken up not by the sunlight that peeked through the curtains as usual, but because my sense of smell was stimulated.

(He’s gone and done it, huh, that Dangorou?)

If I were to describe it, it’s like the smell of my room when I was young. When I pulled the curtains, I can see plenty of cream-colored flowers blooming as if they were covering the green leaves.

(Are those rows of trees all chestnut trees?)

He must have aimed for this when he heard we were going to plant new trees. Dangorou, who is also a general of the evil secret organization 『Doom Squad』 wears a chestnut burr as armor.

Lately, wearing armor has become some sort of his hobby, so if there’s a chance to get more variations, he must want as many as he can get.

(But I can’t scold him, since it was my fault for failing to predict this kind of thing will happen.)

When Dangorou asked me last time, I told him to discuss it with Imosuke if there’s anything he wants.

However, what I imagined was only one or two trees at most. I didn’t expect he was going to turn the whole row of trees into an exhibit of chestnut trees.

(Well, I guess it’s better than him asking to plant a Ginkgo tree.)

A yellow-colored tunnel with leaves from Ginkgo trees raining down in the fall. And drifting in the air alongside that is a nose-stinging smell that would give you carsickness.

Please spare me from anything like that.

(Let’s hurry to see the flower tunnel and head to the medicinal tree where Imosuke usually is.)

Regardless, now that it’s finished, they’ll want to hear my feedback. I change out of my pajamas and go out to the garden.

「Wisteria trellis… no, wisteria arch, huh.」

The entrance to the flower tunnel between chestnut trees. If you look at the inside of the tunnel from the outside before entering, you can see arm-length clusters of small, pale blue flowers hanging down without any space between them.

I guess they must have remembered my comment the other day that something like Wisteria would be nice. With a surge of joy in my heart, I immediately stepped into the tunnel.

「Wow, this is amazing, really.」

Overhead and on both sides, all you can see are Wisteria flowers when you look to the side and up. And the fragrance, gorgeous and elegant, fills my nostrils.

I breathed in the air leisurely as I walked and then shifted my eyes to my feet.

「….Are these Azaleas?」

They probably wanted to cover the area close to the ground with flowers. The area below the knee of the tunnel was covered with flowers of a light vermilion color, or was it a mixture of red and orange pigments diluted with water, perhaps?

They are about the size of a small paper cup and their shape is like a starfish in the shape of a trumpet. Despite how I described it, it is a beautiful and flashy flower.

「Wisteria has a strong smell, but it’s also the case for Azalea.」

In addition, the smell of chestnut flowers drifts in from inside the tunnel, even though you can’t see the flowers.

They say that the sense of smell can stimulate memory, and it certainly does. My mind replayed the scene from my room in my mid-teens.

(A large number of fake flowers made from rolled tissue and a spray of air fresheners for the makeshift smell.)

The smell I’m feeling right now in my nose is a mixture of the two.

「Alright! Let’s call this tunnel 『Youthful Pathway』.」

Any man will undoubtedly remember their youthful days when they pass through this pathway in the spring. It’s the perfect name and there’s no better way to call it.

As I nodded my head a few times and kept walking, this time a heavy bass sound passed close to my ear, like the exhaust of a car that had not passed a vehicle inspection.

「A bee, huh.」

Tiger-patterned insect with a fluffy-looking collar poked its head into a cluster of wisteria flowers or burrowed into the trumpet of an azalea. But it soon left the flower and flew to the depths of the tunnel.

I put a wooden box to place the honey at the midpoint of the tunnel, so it might be traveling back and forth there.

(It’s not just the nectar of one type of flower, but it does sound amazing if I think of it as 『the nectar of spring flowers』.)

Or 『Honey of Youth』. The aroma was a little concerning, but this is honey from the garden forest we’re talking about here, so how could it not be good?

I swallowed down the saliva that came out of my mouth at the thought of how delicious it would be, and as I kept walking, I found a wooden box hanging from a branch, like those found at a train station during rush hour.

「How should I put it… seeing this peaceful scenery sure made me want to keep looking at it.」

I stopped to watch for a while and noticed a four-legged animal about the size of a thumb at my feet.

「Don’t start eating the flowers now, alright?」

When I crouch down and look closely, it was a flock of Capricorns. They are eating leaves with their necks outstretched.

I look around to see if there are any Heavy Lancers, but it seems that there are only the Capricorns.

「I guess different species have different likes and dislikes.」

I’m not sure if it understands what I’m saying, but I still warned the Capricorns for now.

I went through the tunnel, circled the pond halfway, and arrived at the medicinal tree.

「Thanks for your hard work, Imosuke, Dangorou, and Zaratan. It turns out much prettier than I had imagined, thank you.」

The dung beetle, which seemed to sense me approaching walked up to the medicinal tree, followed by the turtle who also swam up to the tree. Along with the caterpillar who’s already sitting there in the first place, the three of them responded with a wave of happiness.

When I turned my gaze from the medicinal tree to the flower tunnel on the other side of the pond, Imosuke followed my gaze and let out a wave of thought.

『That will be ready soon.』

I was wondering what he meant, but it was about the honey. It seems that the bee-shaped magic beasts are very fond of this place and are very enthusiastic to offer their honey to me, the landowner.

While I was chatting with my familiars under the medicinal tree, a bee flew up to Imosuke.

『It said they made a lot.』

This is also unexpected, aren’t these guys putting too much effort?

After thanking the bees via Imosuke, I parted with my familiars and collected the wooden box on my way back to the house. I took it into my kitchen and carefully removed the lid.

「They’re not lying when they said it’s a lot.」

It accumulated to just below the holes drilled into the sides of the wooden box for bees to enter and exit.

When I put a glass jar with a large mouthful on the table and tipped the box on top of it, it filled the glass jar until it was about four-fifths full.

「Since we’re here anyway, let’s see how its tastes, shall we?」

I bake the bread I bought for breakfast and drizzle it with the viscous amber-colored liquid. I take a bite of the edge of the bread, inhaling the rich, sweet, gorgeous aroma that rises from the heat of the bread.

「…..I thought the aroma would be too strong when you eat it, but that wasn’t the case.」

The result? It was very tasty, or so I thought, but when I finished drinking my coffee after eating it, my body began to shake.

(What the hell is happening to me? My head aches every time my heart beats. And it’s getting difficult to breath.)

I cast healing magic on myself in a hurry and quickly recovered. I used injury, disease, and status abnormality healing magic respectively, and the one that was most effective was the heal status abnormality magic.

(This effect… it was probably poison.)

It was cured with the lowest, F-rank magic, so it shouldn’t be something strong enough like those applied to arrowheads or used to poison people.

(The cause… I can’t think of anything other than the honey.)

This is the only reason I can think of. Then, what kind of flower’s nectar is poisonous?

Unfortunately, the only flower I know that produces nectar is the Black Locust, so I can’t tell.

(Let’s not ask Imosuke and the others. It’s not as if they know anyway.)

Even the White Lady, a highly poisonous mushroom that causes burns when touched is completely ineffective. The spirit beasts and I have different resistance to poison.

(Besides, they would definitely feel depressed once they knew they had intentionally poisoned me.)

I don’t want to make them feel that way. Then I should ask someone outside the home.

(It’s almost noon anyway, so let’s go to the royal capital.)

I washed the dishes, put them away, and sat down in the driver seat of my one-horse carriage, hold the reins in my hands, and headed to the royal capital.

***

Then, after arriving in the royal capital and having a light lunch, I headed to a high-class brothel.

(Someone who seems to know much about poison huh? I can only think of Explosive onee-san but…)

After graduating from the Royal Magic Academy with excellent grades, she is apparently training to become a full-fledged professional in the workshop of the crooked-mouthed Professor Thermano, the leading pharmacist in the Kingdom.

I might be able to meet her if I go to her part-time job at Jayanne, but she has quite a thirst for knowledge, and there is a danger that she might realize the existence of the garden forest from the smallest hint.

(What I want to know is which of these three flowers, chestnut, wisteria, and azalea, have a poisonous nectar.)

It doesn’t have to be the opinion of an expert, just someone who knows a little about the subject would do.

(This is where the high-class brothel came to play.)

A brothel is a place for social gatherings. Therefore, the women who work there are required to have skills outside of the bed.

Conversation skills are one of them.

『It’s so nice talking with you.』

To make the customers feel this way, they need to be knowledgeable enough to keep up with the conversation. And the more prestigious the store is, the more talented they are at this.

「Excuse me, I would like to choose someone who is familiar with flowers and nectar for my partner but… do you have someone in mind?」

I entered the first high-class brothel I saw, went straight to the counter at the back of the lobby, and consulted with the concierge standing there.

「We do have a girl who knows gardening, herbal tea, and pastry making. What do you think, dear customer?」

It seemed sufficient so I asked him to call her. From the platform came a woman with loose wavy hair, who looked like a nice young wife.

I immediately take her with me and we go into the playroom.

「Can you tell me which one is poisonous among these three flowers?」

It’s warm-up time before play, with drinks brought in by the apprentice. I bring it up as a topic of discussion and ask the young wife.

Not knowing the name of the flower in this world, I draw a picture on the paper on the small table and described the color to her.

「This one is poisonous. Do not ever lick it, okay?」

The young wife pointed her fingers at the picture of a flower that looks like a starfish in the shape of a trumpet and furrowed her brow. As one would expect from a high-level brothel worker, she answered quickly.

(So it’s the Azaleas, huh.)

A moment later, my own personal screen in my mind shows the Capricorns who were eating the Azalea leaves at my feet.

(Come to think of it, Capricorns likes to eat poisonous plants aren’t they?)

The nectar was probably as poisonous as the leaves. I should have noticed at that point.

I shrugged my shoulders and let out a sigh in my mind.

(I don’t want to give up on the honey after knowing how delicious it is, so I’ll have to tell them to collect honey from other plants besides Azalea.)

Judging from their feelings as conveyed by Imosuke and the number of flowers there, they will definitely say they will collect more.

At that time, I should tell them that the nectar from Azaleas is not suitable for humans and ask for their consideration. I am sure the bees will do that much for us.

「Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin right away, shall we?」

With the problem easily solved and my worries gone, I immediately started playing with the young wife.

I repeatedly penetrated her flower with the needle between my legs, and finally injected white nectar deep into the flower, trying my best to pollinate it.

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