I Grow Crops with a System

The Ape Beastmen stared at Ethan in open astonishment. They had never expected a human to remain in the Great Forest.

"Hello. My name is Ethan."

"I am Magic. Have you seen a red-haired Ape Beastman?"

"I only got here today, so I’m not sure... Vargan, have you seen a red-haired Ape Beastman?"

"Red-haired? Hmm... about ten days ago! I saw an injured red-haired Ape Beastman heading that way!"

Ethan translated Vargan’s words. The moment they heard, the Ape Beastmen grew agitated — baring their fangs, stamping and leaping. Vargan’s grip tightened on his spear.

With the air turning dangerous, Ethan shouted quickly, "Wait! Wait! What exactly happened?!"

"We must catch him!"

"He committed an unforgivable crime and fled our tribe!"

"He murdered his own compatriot — he’s extremely dangerous! We must catch him as soon as possible!"

Murdered his own compatriot. At those words, Ethan finally understood why the Ape Beastmen had come.

They were hunting down a criminal from their own tribe. That was why they’d trespassed without a second thought for whose territory this was.

"So that’s how it is. Then we’ll help you catch him!"

"Canine Beastmen have great noses — they’re tracking experts, meow! They can follow a scent anywhere. With their help, you’ll find him in no time, meow!"

The Ape Beastmen saw the sense in Pearl’s words and formally asked for help. Ethan agreed — with one condition.

"However, this is the Canine Beastmen’s hunting ground. Once you catch him, do not come here again."

"This place is far from our tribe anyway! If not for the hunt, we’d never have come!"

That made things simple. Ethan relayed the situation to Vargan, who sprinted back to the village and returned with the other Canine Beastmen.

"To actually murder a compatriot!"

"Too dangerous!"

"If it’s to catch a criminal, of course we’ll help!"

Perhaps because no blood had been spilled between the two sides yet, plain communication was enough to seal the cooperation. Even so, the Ape Beastmen never fully lowered their guard.

"If you’re willing to help, we can give you some of our tribe’s specialty!"

"What is it?"

"Wind Bananas!"

"Wind Bananas are plants that raise your wind attribute resistance when eaten, meow! They only grow in tropical rainforests and are very hard to cultivate, so they’re incredibly precious, meow!"

’Wind resistance, huh... and I’ve heard the land outside the Great Forest is full of wind blades.’ "Can I grow them?"

"It’s very difficult, meow! Wind Bananas only grow in extremely hot places, meow!"

First things first — find the red-haired Ape Beastman. Ethan asked for something the fugitive had used, and the Ape Beastmen produced a leather bracelet, which he passed to the Canine Beastmen.

"Over there!" Vargan sniffed the bracelet once and pointed.

Both groups took off at a run. Before long, they found a cave tucked into a patch of woods.

The Ape Beastmen raised their stone axes, clubs, and knives.

"Come out! Regins!!"

"Did you think you could get away with murdering your own kind?!"

No matter how they shouted, nothing stirred inside. Finally, they charged in, weapons ready.

A short while later, they dragged out a red-haired Ape Beastman — covered in blood.

"He’s already dead!"

A massive wound gaped across his chest. The injury Vargan had seen ten days ago must have festered until he bled out.

The Canine Beastmen showed little interest in how he’d died; they only wanted the Ape Beastmen gone. Ethan relayed as much to Magic — who, in response, handed him a small cloth bag.

"What is this?"

"We found it on him! He claimed that to find the place where this thing grows, he had to go north — where it’s cooler!"

Ethan gave the bag a shake. A dry rustle answered, like a pouch of seeds.

"But we Ape Beastmen have lived in the south for generations! We will never leave, and we don’t allow our tribesmen to leave either! So he attacked our chief, killed the chief’s guard, and fled!"

"I see..."

"To us, that thing is an object of disaster! Burn it, throw it away — do whatever you want with it!"

An object of disaster? Ethan curiously opened the bag — and froze.

"This is..."

The bag was filled to the brim with wheat.

Wheat. The foundation of bread, noodles, alcohol, pastries — even snacks. Its uses were nearly endless. Like rice, it was a crop beloved by humans: high-yielding, grown all across the world.

"Maybe that red-haired Ape Beastman was right."

"What did you say?!"

"Nothing!"

"Anyway — to us it’s a cursed crop that brings disaster! We don’t need it!"

The Ape Beastmen cut him off rudely, turned, and left.

Once they were gone, Ethan looked down at the grains in the bag and said to Vargan, "This is wheat. It’s an incredibly useful crop."

"Then you should grow it! We can trade fertilizer for it!"

His Soil Fortification could enrich the land on its own — but with fertilizer on top, the results would be even better.

"We have a way to make fertilizer! A secret recipe passed down from our ancestors!"

Ethan glanced from Vargan to the other Canine Beastmen. They too seemed to feel he’d done them an enormous favor, and were more than willing to pay in fertilizer.

"Let’s head back to the village first!"

The chief needed to hear about this. Back in the village, Ethan recounted the whole incident to Allen, whose face turned grave as he listened. Ethan offered a wry smile.

"The Ape Beastmen are repulsed by wheat. I doubt they’ll be heading north."

"Hmm... wheat, is it. I heard that long ago, humans grew this stuff too. Do you want to try growing it?"

"Yes, I’d like to try. But wheat needs fertilizer."

"Fertilizer is no problem at all... Tell me, can you use wheat to make that food called ’bread’?"

"Of course. That part’s simple."

Allen licked his lips despite himself.

"Back when humans were still here, we often traded for bread. They say the taste was absolutely incredible... I’m truly looking forward to this. Vargan! Prepare enough fertilizer for him!"

Vargan agreed and led Ethan toward the warehouse.

As they approached, Ethan stopped dead. The ground around the warehouse was piled high with monster corpses, giving off a nauseating, putrid stench.

"What is this?"

"Monsters! They’re all dead!"

"Why are there so many monster corpses next to the warehouse?"

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