I Grow Crops with a System

Ethan looked at the kobold.

"If you can help me find something similar, I’ll make you one too."

"Hehe, I can find even better things!"

"Meow, didn’t you come to deliver the Vitality Cabbage seeds, meow?"

"Ah, right! Actually, I have a favor to ask!"

"Did something break? Or do you need me to craft something?"

Ethan was remembering his last visit to the Minotaur village — but Vargan shook his head.

"Some conflict has come up between our tribe and another beastman tribe!"

"What kind of conflict?"

"A territorial issue. Some guys keep trespassing into our territory without permission, and we nearly came to blows. Could you help us talk to them?"

"Why don’t you talk to them yourselves?"

"They’re Ape Beastmen. We don’t speak their language."

"Beastman tribes have different languages?"

"That’s very common, meow! Your language skill lets you communicate with the other races, but it basically only works for humans, meow! Of course, an outstanding and special cat like me has the skill too, meow!" Pearl explained.

"So that’s how it is..."

Then it made perfect sense that they’d come to him. And solving problems through dialogue always beat solving them through fighting.

"In that case, I’ll give you a hand."

"Thank you so much! Let’s head to our village right now!"

"Ah — I still have to prep the field today. Can you wait a bit?"

"No problem! Do you need my help?!"

All that remained was weeding, and a kobold wouldn’t be much use there. Ethan shook his head.

Vargan turned and leapt straight into the river.

"Then I’ll go catch a few fish first!"

"See you in a bit."

Ethan and Pearl headed for the field. Perhaps thanks to the good weather, it had grown thick with weeds, and they spent a long while pulling and clearing.

"What are the Ape Beastmen like?" Ethan asked as they worked.

"Meow? What do you mean, meow?"

"Are they ferocious? That sort of thing."

"Meow... they’re alright. As long as you can communicate, you should be able to talk things out, meow!"

"That’s good."

If the other side had been a pack of unreasonable brutes, a shared language wouldn’t have solved much.

Ethan surveyed the mostly cleared field. "That should do it. Shall we go?"

Back at the shelter, they found Vargan lounging at his leisure, several bright Red Trout laid out beside him.

"Not a bad haul."

"I caught a few extra on purpose, so we can eat our fill!"

"Hand them over. I’ll grill them."

Ethan set to prepping the fish at once. Vargan watched from the side, unable to hold back his praise.

"You have such nimble hands! The guys in our tribe who used to be close with humans were apparently just as clever and deft!"

"Did humans and beastmen have a good relationship?"

"Canine Beastmen used to be very close to humans, meow."

"We just want to get along well with everyone," Vargan said.

’Dogs are man’s best friend — so that saying holds true even here, huh.’

Ethan reached out and affectionately patted Vargan’s head. The kobold sat there with drooping ears, big tail wagging happily. Seeing this, Pearl flopped down beside Ethan too, curled up like a freshly baked loaf of bread.

"This is a Canine Beastman trait, meow. Looking at them like this, shouldn’t they be able to get along with the Ape Beastmen? Why can’t they, meow?"

"Humans and Ape Beastmen are different!" Vargan retorted.

Ethan didn’t dwell on it and focused on the fish. Oil sizzled, the trout turned a crispy golden brown, and he sprinkled salt over the top.

"Smells so good!"

"Even though we eat it every day, it’s still delicious, meow!"

"I’m so jealous you get to eat like this every day!"

"Here. Eat up."

He handed over the three grilled trout, and Vargan and Pearl fell upon them at once.

"Have things with the Ape Beastmen actually turned bloody?"

"Not yet, but we’re close. Before that happens, we need someone to properly mediate," Vargan said through a mouthful of fish.

Ethan let out a small breath of relief. If the fighting had already started, a translator would be of little use. Since it hadn’t, there was still room to negotiate.

Once they’d eaten, Vargan sprang up. "Let’s go!"

Their destination lay downstream of Ethan’s shelter, where the river ran much wider and a vast plain spread along the banks. On the plain stood a village ringed by wooden palisades, its architecture much like the Minotaur village — except that here, weapons and animal hides could be seen everywhere.

A Canine Beastman sat processing monster hides. He smiled at the sight of Ethan.

"I heard beastmen aren’t good at manual labor. I didn’t expect hides processed this well," Ethan remarked.

"You mean Uncle? His family has made their living processing hides for generations!" Vargan explained.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Mhm! I heard Uncle’s grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather... anyway, some very distant ancestor learned the technique from humans, and the family has passed it down ever since. He’s the pride of our village!"

The craftsmanship really was proficient. Noticing Ethan’s surprised gaze, the middle-aged beastman greeted him without pausing, trimming a hide with his sharp claws.

"Does it feel strange, seeing me work hides?"

"Yes — your craftsmanship is truly excellent."

"Hahaha! Praised by a human — what an honor! If you ever need animal hides, come find me. I can teach you."

"Thank you."

"By the way, Vargan — is this the human you mentioned? Hurry and take him to the Chief. He’s been waiting."

"Got it!"

Vargan led him deep into the village, to a large house where an elderly Canine Beastman sat out front.

"Are you that human?"

"Hello. My name is Ethan."

"Hello, my name is Allen. I’ve heard all about you. You made a spear for Vargan, I hear?"

"It was just something I made in passing."

"No, no, no. Ever since the humans disappeared, I haven’t seen a weapon like that in a very long time. Thank you. You humans can communicate with the other races — so you can as well, yes?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful. Vargan should have told you everything?"

"I heard your relationship with the Ape Beastmen isn’t good..."

"Sigh. Those Ape Beastmen keep trespassing into our hunting grounds without permission. They seem to be searching for something, but we can’t understand their language... They’ve made it impossible for us to hunt in peace."

"That is a problem."

"Isn’t it? Our hot-blooded young lads even want to treat the Ape Beastmen as prey — but those fellows are not to be trifled with..."

Allen clicked his tongue and patted Ethan’s shoulder, looking thoroughly helpless.

"So — could you ask them why they keep coming into our territory?"

"No problem. When should we go?"

"The sooner the better. There are Ape Beastmen in the hunting ground right now."

No reason to delay, then.

They hurried to the hunting ground and found three massive Ape Beastmen there. At the sight of Ethan, all three froze in surprise.

"A human? There are actually still humans in the Great Forest?!"

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