Chapter 8

"W-What is that, little brother Evan?" Eins seems to be curious about the pack of yellow granules in Evan Young's hand. They don't seem like flour as it was too coarse but doesn't look like salt because of the vibrant color and hint of chicken's fragrance in it.

"I called this chicken broth granules. We called this seasoning from where I came from," replied Evan Young. The fragrant aroma from the granules quickly escaped from the zipper bag in his hand when it was fully opened.

It was an appetizing aroma. Hidden within was a hint of vegetable stock hidden behind the smell of chicken broth, making it more appealing to those with a good sense of smell.

Right before the family of four, Evan Young took a pinch from the zipper bag and added them into his bowl of gruel. Using the spoon to mix the granules evenly releases a more subtle aroma, along with the hot air escaping from within the gruel.

"Wow! Big brother Evan! Your bowl of gruel smells so appetizing out of a sudden! What is the secret behind the granules?" Elric immediately asked.

"Everyone, please add some into your gruel. It would make the food more savory. Don't worry about it, as I can make some more if needed." Evan Young said.

Although there's no need for him to make this statement, he purposely does it to allow Eins and his family to accept his offer without overthinking.

The table's atmosphere seems to be much better when it comes along to palatable food.

After the satisfying dinner, Ein invited Evan Young out for a walk around the village. As for the siblings, they had made their way to the bath.

"Little brother Evan, the yellow granule thing you had is indeed marvelous. I can't believe that something that tiny could actually make the gruel taste so much better," said Eins. Based on his words, it seems that meat or vegetable bullion wasn't something ordinary people would know.

Perhaps the noble would know one or two more about them, but it was enough for him to be on the family's good side.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you confident about planting the Golden Soil Fruit?" he asked. For once, Evan saw a worrisome expression on Eins. Perhaps it wasn't that convenient for him to speak about them when he's in the house with the kids.

"I'll be honest with you, Eins. Although I have some experience with them, I am not confident as a different place, soil, water, and weather could affect the success rate in growing the fruit."

"But if you don't mind me asking further, how long does it take for each harvest?" Evan Young asked. While the fruit looks similar to the potatoes grown all around Rook Hill, they might be a different breed as this is a fantasy world, after all.

"Two months, as the farmland I own had a very minuscule amount of Mana in it. The Swindon could grow them very well because their land had a much better amount of Mana in it." Eins answered.

'Looks like Mana is the most vital aspect in this world. If I'm not mistaken, the leather book also stated that the goblins are weak beings with a hint of sensitivity to Mana...' Evan Young guessed.

He was actually partly correct in his wild and daring assumption.

Mana is indeed a vital aspect in this world, but it was not that vital either. If the word "Mana" was converted into a synonym in his world, it would be akin to the meaning of "fuel" or "electricity."

"In that case, is there a method to enrich the soil so it could have more mana?" Evan Young asked. He had a hunch that he'd have to know about this before he recklessly tried to help using how the modern world plants them.

"There's one. Do you remember these Magicule-Stone we found from the goblins? Burying these stones in the middle of the field would make the soil healthier and more abundant with the Mana." Eins took the four tiny Magicule-Stone out from his pocket.

From the look of it, he was on his way to bury these stones into the field. The conversation between him and Evan was just to spend some time knowing more about one another.

"I see... Can it only be used on the soil? Is there another way to use them?" Evan Young continues to ask about all these basics. He sounded more ignorant than Elric, who would have known about all this when he was much younger than Elise's age.

But his words don't sound offensive at all. In fact, it made Eins feel comfortable like someone is trying to make sure that their knowledge is similar to one another. To him, what Evan did was like making sure if he had done each step correctly.

"Not only soil. You can even add it into the stove or forge to make the fire stronger. You can add it into the well to purify the water or feed it into a tree so the fruit will grow faster. We could also eat it to recover some Mana in our body or refine them using alchemy to create miraculous Mana Elixir."

"Of course, something like a Mana Elixir would cost hundred to two hundred Magicule-Stone to make, and it wasn't something plebians like us could have or seen," Eins said. It seems that they had arrived at the farm where Ein and Elric were working this morning.

It was at most a 5x5 meters wide field for growing crops.

But evidently, the crops they're growing are nothing extraordinary. And looking at the size of this farm, the output was just enough to feed one to two families daily.

Evan Young looked at how Eins made a small hole using his bare hands and tossed all the Magicule-Stone into the pit. There were about ten stones there, which means Eins had been saving them for a while.

The two made their way towards the bath after that. And once again, Evan decided to call it a night as he rested his eyes on the bed he's sharing with Elric.