As the potato's flames that had blazed up in an instant died down, only a charred black potato remained lying there.
‘A failure.’
‘It's burnt completely black……?’
Before the scorched-black potato, Jurim and Gidan watched Geuru's mood and kept their mouths tightly shut.
A skill failure wasn't a big deal, but they could read all sorts of emotions from the child's trembling lips and welling eyes.
Gidan sent Jurim a look that said, 'Do something.'
At this, Jurim barely opened his mouth to comfort Geuru.
“The potato…… cooked up nicely.”
“……?!”
The dumbfounded Gidan turned to look at him, and-
“…….”
Glaring sharply at Jurim, Geuru took a deep breath and steadied herself.
“……Geuru, should big brother show you something fun?”
Geuru shook her head side to side and pouted.
“Geuru wants to go home…….”
“I'll take you.”
“Brother, I'll go with Geuru.”
Jurim and Gidan rose to their feet at the same time.
But Geuru shook her head again.
“I want to go with Chief Yun…….”
Geuru looked at the two of them wistfully.
“Geuru wants to be alone…….”
Leaving the two behind exchanging glances as if telling each other to say something, Geuru scampered outside and slipped into a bathroom very far from the guild master's office.
And sitting on the toilet, eyes shining, she split the steaming potato in half.
A hard, gem-like crystalline substance in the shape of a seed was embedded inside the baked potato.
Inside the crystal-clear crystal, a small mana stone blazed endlessly like the sun.
[Achievement: Unlocked!]
-You are the Heaven Beyond Heavens of Potatoes. You can harvest all potatoes, and their grade may occasionally increase upon harvest.
[You have created a new substance that does not exist in this world.]
[Please enter a name.]
[ ]
A window to name the new material appeared.
Naming things was Geuru's favorite!
It had to be pretty and cool.
[Cryteito]
As she entered the name 'Cryteito', combining the crystal-like transparent pretty gem and potato-
[Cryteito Reactor Seed Potato (S+)]
A potato containing a Cryteito power source.
The Cryteito power source draws out a mana stone's mana energy greater and more efficiently than before.
When planted in the ground, tubers grow in clusters from the roots, and the grade of harvested potatoes is affected by various environments.
-A name for the new potato variety has also been created.
‘Ooh.’
It meant that the potato itself containing the 'Cryteito Reactor' crystal became a seed potato, and when planted, it would grow like potatoes.
Squirming around, Geuru turned on a crafting assistant app for children, opened the blueprint, and checked the detailed information.
The 'Cryteito Reactor' was a combination of a mana stone and a transformation mechanism, a kind of mana stone booster that converted mana stones into a substance called 'Cryteito', repeatedly triggering runaway reactions to raise energy efficiency to 80%.
Raising a mana stone's energy efficiency to 80% meant drawing out output at the modern era's maximum.
It was output exceeding 15 times that of normally used mana stone energy.
‘Hoo……!’
Not only that, but she had obtained an achievement that could even raise the grade of harvested potatoes.
Geuru squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her hand over her mouth to stop a scream from leaking out.
“~~~!”
If she screamed here, everything would turn to bubbles!
‘Daddy will find out!’
The reason she kept her skill success a secret was none other than her father.
That look of him watching Geuru with narrowed eyes!
Father was definitely suspecting that Geuru had caused some kind of accident somewhere again.
‘Geuru, data on Daddy is now perfect!’
Geuru, with hawk eyes, pretended to push up glasses that weren't there.
If he found out the skill had succeeded, Father would surely dig into the potatoes.
Then it was only natural he would ask about the source of the transformation item.
If she said she obtained it by attacking a 'somewhat suspicious person' in the dead of night, would he really let her use that item?
If put in such a situation, Geuru's mood depending on Father's reaction would be as follows.
1. If she told him immediately
1) Praise → Happy
2) No → Upset
2. If she caused trouble first and then told him
1) Praise → Happy
2) Scolding → Frustrated but fun
If this were the case, even the Chick Class's top honor student (self-proclaimed) had no choice but to pick number 2!
Geuru bit her lip hard, swallowed her tears, and looked up at the ceiling.
‘Sorry, Daddy. But Geuru has something she absolutely must do.’
With this…… with this reactor! She would show everyone who had ignored Geuru what's what!
It was no empty boast that Geuru went around with her mouth open not just for vaccinations.
These days, whenever she turned on the internet, it was full of talk about what China had said about drones, what comments Japan had made about drones. But when she clicked them, the content was always the same.
‘Railgun drone? That was no big deal though?’
“Hoo!”
Taking a deep breath, Geuru puffed out her cheeks and calmed her boiling heart.
Geuru was also an artisan.
She couldn't just sit idly by watching her precious baby, named the 'Mephisto Series Prototype' after Mephisto, being degraded.
The problem with the Chick Drone was that the mana stone consumption to support its low energy efficiency and output was no small matter.
Though the drone hadn't been released yet so detailed specs weren't public, it was well known from responding to the flood of questions that 'For a B-grade auxiliary weapon, it had terrifyingly low energy efficiency, firing only a measly two shots with an A-grade mana stone.'
Therefore, those agreeing with China and Japan's opinions were now demeaning Geuru's drone by calling it the 'Emperor Drone'.
A sarcastic jab that it was a weapon only an emperor could use.
Geuru huffed loudly through her nose.
‘But what if the potato booster appeared here?’
Ba-bam!
If she equipped this on drones and sold them, she could deliver a counter punch to the factions slandering Geuru's baby drone and receive tremendous praise from those who had been waiting.
‘Praise↑ = Filial Piety Points↑’
The filial piety points stacking up in her piggy bank were already flickering before her eyes.
Hoohoohoo.
By the time that happened, Daddy would naturally find out too.
If she increased the numbers tremendously before they got confiscated, even Daddy couldn't do anything about it.
Potatoes that had multiplied in clusters would be everywhere.
‘Eeheehee.’
Holding the halved potato in both hands, Geuru smiled wickedly.
Then Mephisto, who knew nothing, tried to peck at the baked potato (S+) surrounding the seed.
“Nuh-uh, don't eat it~”
Geuru whispered and hurriedly pulled the reactor out from inside the potato.
[Cryteito Reactor (S)]
Single-use. Becomes exhausted once all mana stone catalyst is consumed.
‘It's single-use. If I give nutrients to seed potatoes too, will they grow better?’
It had said the grades varied depending on various environments.
Having picked out a few places with good sunlight and abundant mana, Geuru hummed a song about potatoes.
*
The first seed potato cultivation experiment site was the Forsythia Patch.
It was special soil rich in nutrients, and a place where Uju and potatoes had always been grown, so it wouldn't be particularly suspected.
Geuru planted the seed potato in the Forsythia Patch, gave it plenty of sunlight, and fed it nutrients extracted from Uju.
And the next day, after school.
Having finished horseback riding and gone to the Forsythia Patch, Geuru's mouth fell open in astonishment.
‘It grew in just one day?!’
A single long stem was growing straight up.
Geuru dug at the ground with a trowel, grabbed the stem, and pulled up hard.
But the potatoes, as if mocking her trivial Strength of 2, didn't budge an inch like hard rocks.
“H-Help!”
Then Veilark and Mephisto grabbed the stem together and pulled.
Nggh.
Thud, thud!
[Cryteito Reactor Seed Potato (F+)]
[Cryteito Reactor Seed Potato (F+)]
[Cryteito Reactor Seed Potato (F+)]
……
……
[The potato's grade increases due to the achievement 'Potato Master'!]
[Cryteito Reactor Seed Potato (E+)]
A status window popped up, and among the tubers hanging in clusters, one E-grade potato was included.
Geuru's eyes narrowed.
Only E+?
Could the initial S-grade have been nothing but a fluke?
“Hyuung…….”
Her sulking face brightened again at a thought that suddenly flashed by.
‘No.’
Since it was affected by various environments, another method might be needed.
Geuru thought of various environments.
Soil overflowing with nutrients, warm sunlight, clean water, Geuru's love, pretty words…….
The Chick Class teacher had said that if you said lots of pretty words, crops would grow healthy too.
‘Mm, this time I should say "I love you" lots and lots.’
While Geuru hummed a tune, her chubby cheeks all flushed.
“Mwuu…….”
“Ppeet…….”
Mephisto and Veilark, who had harvested potatoes together, groaned with their backs against each other. Digging potatoes with their tiny bodies seemed quite strenuous.
Geuru, who had been putting potatoes away in her bag, pouted at the unsatisfactory potatoes.
‘Hard to dispose of.’
At this rate, Geuru's bag would become an F-grade potato box!
“Hmph.”
Geuru stroked her chin.
Since F-grade reactors could only use F-grade mana stones as catalysts, they couldn't greatly affect the drones.
But they'd be useful to someone. Probably?
‘Let's just take out the reactors and sell them.’
If she left them with the agency anonymously like before, they would take care of it.
It should make for some pocket money.
Thinking lightly of it, Geuru rolled the E+ potato around in her hand with a grin.