Today, the monsters are working in the fields.
The monsters taking care of the wheat were working with very good expressions.
After all, I believe they are feeling the joy of nurturing because they know how delicious bread is.
On the other hand, at the blueberry farm…
“Ah, has anyone taken care of these blueberries?”
“No, no one has today.”
“Seriously? Well, it’s hard to harvest anyway, so I guess it can’t be helped.”
The monsters seem to have lost their motivation.
These monsters have never tasted blueberries.
That’s why, without knowing the value of blueberries, they may be judging them just because their growth is slow compared to wheat.
“Well, if we don’t take care of them, we’ll get scolded by Evilham.”
“I guess we have to take care of them.”
Reluctantly, the monsters start tending to the blueberry farm. I just want them to hang in there a little longer.
As those days passed, that moment finally arrived.
“O-Oh! There are some blue fruits growing on this tree!”
When one of the monsters said that, the surrounding monsters gathered around.
“You’re right. Can we harvest them already?”
The monsters are curiously looking at the blueberries.
“Yeah, you can eat them. Feel free to try one.”
I offered the blueberry fruit to the monsters. I let the goblin, who had worked hard despite his reluctance, be the first to taste it.
“Well then, I’ll give it a try.”
The goblin cautiously picked a fruit from the blueberry tree and brought it to his mouth.
He chewed the blueberry. His tense expression gradually softened.
“Wow, it’s delicious! What is this? At first, I thought it was sour, but the more I chew, the sweeter it gets! It’s so good! It feels like my tired body is being healed.”
Seeing the goblin’s reaction, the other monsters became interested in the blueberries too.
“Hey! That’s unfair! Let me have some too!”
“Evilham! Please let me have some as well!”
The monsters are looking at me with pleading eyes. There are still blueberries left.
“Okay, you can have a taste, but just a little.”
“Yay! Awesome! As expected of Evilham!”
The monsters plucked the blueberries and began eating them one after another. I wanted to save these blueberries for the next harvest festival, but will there be any left?
“Yum yum!”
Even though I said just a little, the monsters are gobbling them up.
Watching the monsters eat the blueberries, I started wanting some too.
“Ugh, should I eat one…”
I also picked a blueberry fruit and tried it.
“Wow, it’s amazing!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim. It had been a while since I ate anything other than bread.
The tanginess and sweetness that bread doesn’t have. This might be what I’ve been longing for.
I want to eat more. I’m still not satisfied.
Evilham’s appetite. My instincts are urging me.
I thought that I should have increased the blueberry farm more.
And so, the ripened blueberries quickly disappeared into the stomachs of the monsters, including mine.
“Ah… the blueberries are gone.”
“It takes time to harvest them…”
The monsters slumped their shoulders in disappointment.
“Don’t worry. As long as the fruit trees are left, they’ll bear fruit again soon. If we take care of them properly.”
I encouraged the monsters. When I did, their eyes sparkled, and they headed back to the blueberry farm.
“Whoa! I’ll work hard to take care of the blueberries again!”
They really are simple creatures. However, that simplicity seems somewhat cute now.
Despite complaining about taking care of the blueberries, they changed completely the moment they tasted them.
After all, whether it’s humans or monsters, no one can work hard without rewards.
“Hmm. I’m starting to want some sugar.”
Now that blueberries are available as a material, the next thing I want is sugar.
With sugar, I can craft blueberry jam. That way, I can add some variety to the flavor of the bread.
I feel bad for the monsters who are enjoying the bread, but I’m getting tired of eating the same bread all the time.
After all, my taste buds might be carrying memories from my past life. They come from a time in modern Japan filled with overindulgence.
“I need sugarcane to craft sugar.”
Sugarcane is quite handy. It can be used to craft sugar and also to make paper.
If my crafting skills improve, it can also be used for biofuel. I can’t make biofuel yet, but considering the future, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare for its production.
“Then I’ll turn part of the dungeon into farmland.”
The dungeon is becoming cramped with the increasing farmland. The living space is shrinking, and the monsters will end up living in a cramped environment.
When monsters live in tight spaces, they accumulate stress.
This, in turn, affects the rate of DP growth.
So, continuing to develop farmland is dangerous. It seems I’ll need to renovate to increase the dungeon’s area.
However, expanding the dungeon through renovation also has a high DP cost. I need to carefully consider DP management, or I might regret it later.
“I’ll plant sugarcane in the farmland.”
【Understood.】
That’s done… Now, the question is whether the monsters will take care of the sugarcane.
I hope they’ve learned something from the blueberry incident.
I called the monsters together at the farm.
“Everyone, listen up. I’ve created a new sugarcane farm. I want you all to take care of it.”
“Sugarcane, huh?”
“Do you know what that is?”
“I don’t know.”
Well, it’s not surprising that the monsters don’t know. I’m not going to blame them for it.
“If you harvest sugarcane, you’ll be able to craft sugar.”
“Sugar!? Is that the sweet stuff that humans had!?”
“Oh, if that’s the case, I’ve licked it before. It was sweeter than blueberries.”
“Seriously? There’s something sweeter than blueberries?”
Oh, right. These guys have been stealing food from humans and have been eating decently.
If sugar was among those foods, that makes things easier.
“The amount of sugar you can get depends on the yield of the sugarcane. So, please do your best to take care of it.”
“Okay!”
“Leave it to me!”
“There’s no way Evilham’s crops will be a failure!”
Some of the monsters are saying optimistic things. They were distrusting me when it came to the blueberries.
Well, if they know they can get sugar, it’s natural their motivation rises. This is a victory for my strategy.
If you can present a tangible reward, it’s easy to motivate anyone.
The monsters are diligently taking care of their assigned areas: wheat, blueberries, and sugarcane.
Everyone is genuinely looking happy. Compared to when they were stealing food from humans, they’re unrecognizable.
“Alright… I guess I should get to work too.”
I need to make plans for myself as well. Expanding the dungeon needs to be done with careful planning.
Using my knowledge from the games of my past life, I’ll make sure to expand this dungeon effectively. The expansion of the dungeon and the increase in the monster cap—timing is key for those.
So far, I’ve managed to secure enough food for the monsters, but… if I miscalculate and raise the monster cap only to find I don’t have enough food, that would be disastrous.
