Chapter 130 : Rendezvous (1)
Mandrake. It was a plant used as a hallucinogen or poison in the Middle Ages due to the alkaloid component of its root. Also, because its appearance resembled a human, it was considered a plant imbued with religious and magical mystery. However, the plant that Podrak had given as a token of gratitude was a different species of this world.
‘Mandrake, in other words, Mandragora. It’s an elixir one grade higher than the Hwayangcho and Sueumcho.’
It was the very thing that often appeared in fantasies, the one that screamed when its root was pulled, driving those who heard it mad.
“It’s a guy we found by chance during a joint external exploration. It’s been a while since we collected it, but there should be no problem with its efficacy as an elixir.”
Inside the box, a root shaped like a small person was lying with its eyes closed, its hands crossed demurely. It was a little bigger than a fist. The plant part with the fruit on the root seemed a little dry, but the main body of the mandrake was the root anyway.
Looking at it from various angles, it was presumed to be of high quality. It was an item that would have a line of people wanting to buy it as soon as the rumor spread, even without a bidding war at an auction.
“An elixir as a reward for just a few words seems excessive.”
There was no way he didn’t know that an elixir was not a cheap item. So, it was not unreasonable for me to suspect that he had other intentions.
“Well, it’s not that we’re not disappointed, but honestly, it’s just a nuisance for us to have.”
When I became wary, Podrak scratched his head and explained.
“This is a guy we all found together, so it’s ambiguous for any one of us to claim it as our own.”
“Can’t you just sell it and divide the money?”
“Phew, how can we sell this precious thing! We have to grow it!”
The opinion was to grow the elixir rather than use it. Generally, one might think, ‘What kind of nonsense is that?’, but everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
“Then you can just grow it… ah.”
“We tried. But when we planted this guy, the ground dried up. If we had left it, it would have killed all the plants we had carefully grown, so we just gave up and have been keeping it until now.”
An elixir grows by using mana as a nutrient. That’s why in a continent where the spirits have left, an elixir grows better than other plants. But although mana exists everywhere on the continent, it is not evenly distributed. In some places, mana is concentrated, while in others, it is so sparse that it can hardly be felt.
And a high-grade elixir grows in land rich in mana. This is the reason why artificial mass cultivation of elixirs is impossible. To have planted an elixir of the mandrake’s level just anywhere, the surrounding land must have all dried up.
“But you, on the other hand, have a lush backyard, so you might have a way, unlike us. I think that’s better than letting it rot in a box for ornamental purposes.”
“What if I say I’ll just eat it?”
I had no intention of doing so. It was a kind of probing.
‘If I plant it in the vegetable garden, it will bear an essence, just like the Hwayangcho and Sueumcho.’
As a druid, it was a loss for me to just consume an elixir. Even if it didn’t bear an essence, it was better to grow it a little more and maximize its medicinal effect. The World Tree’s garden was environmentally perfect, so there was no need to worry about side effects.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s literally a return gift, so how you handle it is your choice.”
“In that case.”
“But can you stand it? To be able to grow a mandrake in your vegetable garden.”
“I absolutely can’t.”
Essence or whatever, honestly, I’m dying of curiosity. To be able to grow a spiritual herb like a mandrake, which seems like it would only exist in a fantasy world…
I carefully received the box. The scent of mana, in other words, the bitter smell of medicinal herbs, wafted strongly. It was as if I had obtained an elixir for almost free. I was lucky.
‘I should attend the meetings often from now on.’
It was a much healthier and more desirable meeting than I had thought. Leaving aside the by-products, they were the most likable people I had met in this world.
“And there’s one more thing I have to tell you, this is the matter that was cut off earlier.”
“Greenwood’s request?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Podrak said.
“Greenwood entrusted us with one item and asked us to investigate it.”
Podrak took out a glass bottle.
“This is it.”
Inside the glass bottle was soil, a stone, and a light, and moss was growing. An independent ecosystem created in a small space. A bottle garden, a type of terrarium.
“A terrarium? You’re not looking for the maker, are you? It doesn’t seem to be anything special.”
“That is, Greenwood wanted a change.”
“A change?”
“Yes, a very radical change. They didn’t answer when we asked how to do it.”
The charm of a terrarium is to observe the natural changes over time. So, Greenwood’s request was as good as being unreasonable. But to me, it was not unreasonable.
‘Are they talking about rapid growth through spirits?’
As it happened, I knew the method. Greenwood had accurately tracked the whereabouts of the spirit’s cocoon. From this, it was likely that the method they had in mind was the same as my thought. In that case, the reality of this request was…
‘To find a way to hatch the spirit’s cocoon.’
As the realization flashed through my mind, the World Tree, with an excited look, opened the lid of the terrarium.
「Recovered a fragment of the spirit’s cocoon!」
The stone fragments scattered inside the terrarium. They were all finely decomposed fragments of the spirit’s cocoon.
「The fragment of the spirit’s cocoon is restored!」
Previously, I had recovered a fragment of the spirit’s cocoon from the head of Al-Raid, Jordan Crank. The fragments inside the terrarium combined with the fragments in my pocket to form a complete cocoon.
「The spirit’s cocoon hatches!」
A halo of light flickered inside the terrarium. The birth of a spirit was, as always, mysterious and majestic. As the spirit danced, the ecosystem inside the terrarium repeated growth and extinction. Flowers bloomed and withered, and leaves stretched out of the glass bottle and then wilted.
“Ooh!”
It was a sight that perfectly matched the radical change that Greenwood had requested. Familiar system messages poured down like a waterfall.
“Uh, uh…?”
It was then. The plants in the terrarium that had rapidly grown due to the spirit. Strangely, they took on a bizarre shape mixed with letters and numbers.
“This is…”
I recognized it. It was an address. Probably an address where I could rendezvous with Greenwood.
***
Vrooom!
A vehicle sped down the road. It was a sprint that made the wind howl even while running in the middle of a complicated road. Not only that, but it performed a stunt of weaving through the lanes like a motorcycle and passing between vehicles.
It was a driving style that was perfect for an accident. Even in an environment where the existence of bikers was commonplace, it was an act that couldn’t help but draw harsh words.
Although I said that, in fact, I was the one who had done it. I had been performing dangerous stunt driving for a while. However, there was no one who honked at my car. It was because this car I was driving was covered in blood.
The hood of the vehicle was damaged as if it had hit a person, and the windshield was covered in dried blood. The trunk was thumping intermittently, as if something was inside. It was an appearance that made one hold back the curses that were about to come out of their throat.
[Turn right in 300m, then you will be near your destination.]
Thanks to that, I drove through the congested road as if I had rented it, under Beta’s guidance. And so, I arrived at a warehouse in the city center.
After parking the car appropriately and getting out, a middle-aged man who had been leaning against the wall approached me.
“Are you the contractor?”
“Yes, with this, the goods have been handed over.”
“Hmm.”
The middle-aged man let out a groan as he examined the messy appearance of the vehicle.
“It may sound like an excuse, but I did my best.”
It was a request from a car company called Karsche. Their new product, which was to be released next quarter, had been stolen, and they had asked me to find it and return it. There was no condition on the state of the goods, so in fact, it wasn’t something I had to make an excuse for. However, the condition was so bad that I was a little embarrassed and added a comment.
“A fence and the gang that was backing him were involved. By the time I found the traces, the deal was about to be concluded, so I couldn’t quietly sneak it out.”
“That’s enough. In any case, you have completed the request, and if what you say is true, it must have been a failure of judgment on the part of the head office, which was late in its decision.”
“Instead, I brought a gift, so go and explain it well.”
“A gift?”
I opened the trunk of the vehicle.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
“……!”
In the trunk was a man with his hands and feet tied and his mouth gagged. The middle-aged man’s eyes widened when he confirmed the man’s face.
“He was at the scene of the deal. I thought he was the one who had stolen the goods, so I brought him… but it seems you know him.”
“He’s a company employee. One of the suspects.”
“It’s a relief that I didn’t bark up the wrong tree.”
“Yes, it was a great help.”
The face of the man trapped in the trunk was stained with despair. The leak of a company employee. It didn’t matter whether the purpose was money or whether he had infiltrated as a spy. It was that common. It was up to Karsche to decide whether to torture the man for information or to kill him.
“Since I’ve received a gift, I should give a suitable reward.”
The middle-aged man said in a friendly tone after closing the trunk.
“By any chance, how was the test drive of the vehicle?”
“It wasn’t bad.”
The vehicle, a top-of-the-line model sold only to special people, had magical engineering incorporated from the design stage. It didn’t have magic manifesting from the door like those, but it was a good car that was faithful to the basics, being sturdy and quiet.
“If you liked it, I can give it to you as a gift.”
“……It looks like it would cost a lot to fix. By any chance, do I have to use your repair shop or something?”
“Haha! You don’t have to pay for the repair costs.”
Was this kind of joke his taste? The middle-aged man laughed heartily.
“Of course, we will send you a new one.”
“Thank you, but I’ll pass. My work is a bit rough. It’s a hassle to fix it every time it breaks.”
Securing a personal means of transportation. It would certainly be helpful, given the nature of contract work that doesn’t discriminate between the districts of the city. But it was in that state after just one gunfight with a gang. The burden of repair costs was a burden, and if I were to be careful about damaging the car, there would only be more things to worry about.
“In that case, please tell us the specs you want. We will consider it, make an estimate, and if it’s okay, we will start development.”
“You’re going to develop a new product?”
What kind of trick was this? When I urged him to explain with my eyes, the middle-aged man continued.
“You don’t have to be so wary. It’s a kind of investment and promotion.”
“What do you mean?”
“To put it simply, you can understand it as a sponsorship contract.”
As my reputation as a contractor grew, the interest in Karsche products, my means of transportation, would soar. And if they succeeded in developing a product according to the conditions I had set, wouldn’t they be able to pioneer a new customer base of contractors? That was roughly the meaning.
“You explain it without a hitch, as if you’ve prepared it in advance. You must have considered the sponsorship contract in advance, but the part about developing a new product according to my conditions was added later, wasn’t it?”
“……I won’t deny it.”
A sponsorship contract. It wasn’t that there was no precedent. On the contrary, it was something that reputable contractors were often offered. In vulgar terms, a contractor is just an errand boy, but as they prove their skills, they rise to a position where they can choose their requests. In that process, it was close to a bribe to ask them to look after their convenience first.
Looking after their convenience was not something to be taken lightly. It meant that they would be bound in a deep relationship. As my purpose was my purpose, I refused to be bound. However, the conditions that the middle-aged man had set were close to a simple promotion contract, so it didn’t seem necessary to refuse it outright.
“First, I’ll accept it positively.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not saying I’ll accept it yet. You also have to go back and have a meeting with the management, don’t you? When the final coordination is over, deliver it through Cromwell.”
Seeing as he was modifying the conditions immediately, the man’s position was not low. Even so, a corporation was not a corner store. It would be more comfortable for both of us to be clear from the beginning, rather than having disagreements about the conditions later and having gossip.
“And this is not what’s important to me.”
The sponsorship contract was just a side dish that had come up additionally as I had kidnapped a corporate traitor. In reality, even if the negotiations broke down, it would just be a shame, there would be no problem. The key was the reward I was supposed to receive for completing the request.
“Of course. You will be contacted within a week, so don’t worry.”
“You’d better.”
The reward I had requested from Karsche was assistance in entering District 2. There was a rendezvous point there where I could contact Greenwood.