“I’ve restricted the plant’s reproduction to a certain degree, but it should fill this garden before the night has ended. Your job is to manage this plant.”

“What . . . are we supposed to do?”

“If it grows beyond the specified area, you trim it. That said, I plan to set aside a good amount of land, so you won’t need to cut it for a while. It’s up to you to pick the fruit.”

“That fruit . . . is it edible?”

“Yeah. As far as I know, they’re still producing them in that village to the southwest.”

I had seen them being sold as a local specialty in the castle town. I’m fairly certain they were cooking with them, too.

“Feel free to eat some if you get hungry. But if you notice any kind of problem, find an adult and tell them. That’s all.”

I picked one of the huge tomato-looking fruit and tossed it to Filo. I could tell by her face that she was still hungry, and she gobbled it right up. Several of the slaves followed suit and started eating along with her.

“This is amazing!”

“Yeah!”

“I thought there was no way we were going to rebuild the village at first, but I’m starting to think that with this guy on our side, it might actually be possible!”

Was it just me or were they looking at me like I was some kind of strange being? If things went well managing this fruit, then our food supply issues would be taken care of. On the contrary, if we didn’t resolve those issues, it would be impossible to build any kind of useful combat unit in the short three and a half months we had. It was time for me to use all of the knowledge, connections, and tools that I had amassed in this world to see just how much I could accomplish.

It was finally here—the moment of truth!

The next morning came. I ignored the bioplant, which was covering most of the garden, and gave my orders for the morning.

“Oww . . .”

The slaves were complaining of aches and pains all over their bodies . . . growing pains, I was sure. Hmm . . . I checked everyone’s levels. Just as I had predicted yesterday, they’d all reached around level 20, more or less. I was excited to see how much more they would grow.

Chapter Eight: Children of the Sea

Several more days passed.

“Ahahaha!”

The slaves were climbing on the bioplant like it was a tree. They’d all reached around level 30, and their growth had begun to plateau a bit. The thing was . . . For whatever reason, almost all of them looked like they were around 14 or 15 years old. They still looked a bit younger than Raphtalia. Was this the age that they became fit for battle?

I thought they might end up being a bit more attractive, but they were all pretty average. Maybe compared to other kids . . . but none of them could hold a candle to Raphtalia. It almost made me wonder if maybe they weren’t getting enough to eat.