“Alright! Let’s get to work in the fields today!”
“Woo!”
Inside the dungeon, the monsters have begun their farming activities. They are diligently tending to the fields, and both the yield and quality of the wheat are steadily improving.
Everyone has a spark in their eyes and wears cheerful expressions. Among the dungeon monsters, no one has voiced dissatisfaction about the farming work.
The bread provided to them during distribution is their motivation. It supports the monsters as they put in their efforts.
While the monsters are working hard, I’m in my room, deep in thought.
“Well then. What should I do next?”
For now, I’ve managed to produce food through farming. This means the monsters won’t have to raid nearby villages out of hunger.
However, they might eventually get bored of a diet consisting solely of bread.
Should I consider producing different types of food in preparation for that time?
[Current DP: 1000]
Thanks to the monsters’ efforts, my DP has been accumulating reasonably well.
But compared to the initial DP of 5000, I’m still at a significant loss.
So, what can I do with this DP…?
“Expanding the farmland seems to be the way to go.”
However, for now, the workforce feels just right. If I increase the farmland, it will extend the monsters’ working hours.
That means I need to consider increasing the workforce as well.
Monsters automatically spawn based on the nature of the dungeon. I don’t know the secret behind how they spawn, but that’s just how games work.
However, there is a limit to the number of monsters that can spawn in this dungeon.
The way to raise that limit is…
[1500 DP is required to increase the maximum number of monsters.]
As expected, it can only be solved with DP, and it’s quite a hefty price.
If I increase the farmland but don’t have enough workers, it won’t make any sense. I still don’t have enough DP to increase the workforce.
That means I have no choice but to continue living together with everyone and increase the DP.
“Alright, maybe I’ll help with the farming too!”
Thus, while gathering DP, I began crafting bread and diligently working on the farming to increase efficiency.
After maintaining this lifestyle for a while, the second harvest arrived.
“Yay! It’s harvest time!”
“The stock of wheat is increasing!”
The monsters are rejoicing. Indeed, harvesting is a significant event that signifies the fruits of their labor.
It’s natural for everyone to feel excited. After all, harvest festivals exist in the real world too.
“It’s harvest time! Let’s reap the wheat!”
“The harvested wheat will be delivered to Lord Evilham!”
“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”
The monsters are enthusiastic. On harvest days, they are allowed to eat as much bread as they like.
I craft the wheat delivered by the monsters into bread one after another.
“Phew… I didn’t expect the yield to be this high. Crafting all of this is quite a chore.”
DP accumulates through the monsters’ lives. Their daily activities include eating and drinking, so if a monster gets hungry and eats something, DP increases.
Conversely, if I give nothing to the monsters, the efficiency of DP accumulation decreases. Therefore, food distribution is important.
“Alright, everyone. It looks like the bread has been distributed. Now, let’s eat. Itadakimasu!”
“Itadakimasu!”
The monsters start eating the bread.
“Yum yum. This bread is delicious!”
“When I eat bread and get thirsty, drinking water is the best combo!”
They look like they’re really enjoying it.
However, drinking spring water straight is rather bland as a beverage to accompany bread.
The monsters are satisfied with water, but coming from modern Japan, I’d prefer at least juice, if not wine.
Next, I should consider making fruit to craft juice.
Yeah. Plans are steadily forming. Next, I’ll create farmland to cultivate fruit trees.
After the harvest festival, my DP has accumulated reasonably well. It seems the increased food consumption has had an effect.
[Current DP: 3400]
“Well, well, DP is recovering nicely. With this, I can increase the maximum number of monsters while also growing fruit trees.”
What kind of fruit tree should I cultivate? How about blueberries? They are known to grow quickly among fruit trees.
Right now, I desperately need quick returns. I can’t afford to invest in long-term goals.
So, I increased the monster limit and established a blueberry farm. Fast growth is key.
“Alright, everyone gather around! Starting today, we have a new farm, the Blueberry Farm. Unlike wheat, which grows quickly, this one is a fruit tree and will take longer to mature. But if we care for it well, we’ll see a return, so please take good care of it!”
The monsters look at each other and blink in surprise.
“A crop other than wheat!”
“Blueberries. Have you heard of them?”
“No, I haven’t. Are they good?”
“But if Lord Evilham says so, it must be true.”
“Yeah. They say they grow slower than wheat, but I’ll trust Lord Evilham and do my best!”
It seems my trustworthiness among the monsters is quite high.
That’s likely due to the deliciousness of the bread.
So they’re willing to trust me to cultivate an unknown crop. That’s really helpful.
Some time passed…
“Hey, a blueberry sprout has appeared!”
“Really! We’ll take good care of this!”
The blueberry farm has begun to sprout. If it continues to grow, it will eventually mature into a tree that will bear fruit.
As time went on…
“It’s growing quite big now.”
“Can we eat it?”
“Lord Evilham says not yet.”
The blueberry plants have grown to the size of seedlings. If we continue to nurture them, they will eventually bear delicious blueberries.
Meanwhile, it was time for the third wheat harvest.
“We have wheat ready!”
“Harvest time! Take the wheat to Lord Evilham!”
“Can we eat the blueberries yet?”
“Not yet, it seems.”
“Oh, right. They said it was growing slowly.”
The monsters engage in such conversations while harvesting. For now, they will have to endure a life of bread until the blueberries bear fruit.
“Itadakimasu! Bread is delicious!”
“Bread is amazing!”
The monsters ate the bread and were satisfied, filling their bellies.
And perhaps because they were feeling energized, they took their farming tasks seriously the next day.
“Is it time to harvest the wheat yet?”
“Grandpa, we just harvested yesterday.”
“Oh, right…”
“I’d rather do something about the blueberries first.”
“Yeah, it’d be nice if they bore fruit by the next wheat harvest.”
The blueberry trees are definitely growing bigger. But it will still be a while before they bear fruit.
Before I knew it, it was time for another wheat harvest.
“It’s wheat harvesting time! Yay!”
“We get to eat bread again!”
“And what about the blueberries?”
“Not yet.”
“Isn’t that taking a while? We’ve already harvested wheat twice. Even if they grow slowly, there should be a limit.”
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we have grown wheat in this space instead of blueberries?”
The monsters are starting to express dissatisfaction with the blueberry farm. Indeed, it may not yield immediate benefits when viewed from a short-term perspective.
But if we look at it from a mid-term perspective, it should definitely turn into a positive outcome. I just need them to wait until that time comes.
