Chapter 91: New Ingredients

The skill set was interesting, but then his eyes passed over their age.

Wait, fudge. Sixteen and fifteen?!

He gaped at the two, who were looking up at him innocently. After seeing their age, it looked even more so. “You’re so young!?”

They looked very confused. “Eh? We’re adults now.”

“What?”

“Both of us are adults!”

Finn blinked, looking at the roster again. Since Ranran was only 15, this meant that adult age for goblins was 15 or below.

Well, different race, different standards?

That said, an earlier adult age…probably meant they had shorter lifespans.

Hey, he suddenly felt sad.

He decided to let them have the bed today. “Sniffle. You two sleep on my bed tonight. We just need a few hours to be fully rested in my inn, I’ll sleep later.”

“S-Sir?!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll build a new bedroom soon.”

“But…”

“We’ll build a double-decker tomorrow,” he said. “For now, rest, you’ll need to absorb quite a few things while you rest.”

“Eh? What do you m—”

[System detected that Staff #1 Tumble has development potential.]

[Would you like to grant Advanced Carpentry for 1000 Hearth Points? Yes | No]

[System detected that Staff #2 Ranran has development potential.]

[Would you like to grant Advanced Tailoring for 1000 Hearth Points? Yes | No]

YES!

[You do not have enough Hearth Points]

“…” Finn’s eyes twitched. Oh, right.

He should’ve known.

Then again, since they had innate talent for these things, it wasn’t like they couldn’t make anything! They would just need to practice and make a lot to manually grow their skills!

They must not have known their talents because they were stuck in logistics and baiting work in their old team, but it wouldn’t be like that in his Inn.

Who needed to be dependent on the system?! Ptooey!

…

The goblins reluctantly rested in his bedroom (he let them decide on their own arrangements), while Finn was left outside to handle the forages.

Now that he was alone, he finally had the time to appreciate his loot!

“Wow, you got a lot,” Pang said. “Well, you did get a lot of mules, too.”

Finn gathered his baskets and placed them on the island counter. “Hehehehe…”

“You look creepy.”

Finn ignored him. He was in too much of good a mood to care about his snark right now.

First, he needed some more money to buy a new room, and what was his fastest way to earn gold? Cooking! And, in his case, cooking a variety was most effective!

He marinated the last piece of meat he had in there to make a quick dish for selling. While that was working, he shifted his attention back to his loot.

He went out for a few hours and ended up a couple of kilometers West. He ignored the plants he already had (his plan was to get some on the way back if he still had space) and focused on the unusual ones.

The first new one was the matis fruit of the matis tree. It was a small tree like the orange, but actually tasted (and looked) a lot like a cherry tomato! It was more on the orange side, though, which meant it was less acidic than the tomato he knew.

When he tasted it, it was a bit sweeter and less tangy than the red tomato and had a smoother, gentler taste. He quite liked it, to be honest. If he wanted it more tangy, he’d mix it with other fruits.

According to [Ingredient Scan], it could help with eye health, may serve as a mild detoxifier, and its pulp was anti-inflammatory.

There were a lot more descriptions than what he was used to, so he wondered if that meant anything.

Anyway, the matis ’tree’ was practically a shrub…so he uprooted it. He transformed his basket into a mini pot with soil, so there were a number of plants planted there.

He ran out to his little farm and planted it there. It was fairly easy to grow, just requiring a certain amount of water and moisture every day, and he reckoned there were also plenty in the safe zone because it was relatively easy to plant.

He caressed its leaves. “Fruit more, my dear~”

Pang gave him a weird look.

The next one he planted was the stone bulb, which seemed to be this world’s garlic!

[Stonebulb]

[Information: Nutty root crop with hints of mineral and ash. The outer skin is stone-hard, must be roasted or cracked open. Ground raw, and is used to disinfect wounds; mildly toxic if undercooked.]

After using [Farming] skill, he knew that, like garlic, he just had to choose a healthy bulb with tight skin, point the clove’s pointy head up, and water until moist but not soggy.

Farming was an active skill, and it had similar amounts of information from plants, so he supposed it was independent of this world’s knowledge, but rather sensed what the plant needed by the nature of the skill.

This one was also fairly common in that area, so he got a lot. There were also a lot of descriptions, so a lot more was known about it.

Another was a great herb.

[Basilume Herb]

[Information: Vibrant herb prized for its dual-layered taste—bright and leafy at first, followed by grounding and mildly spiced finish. One of the most versatile cooking herbs.]

When he tasted it, it was practically the combination of basil and thyme! Some of his favorite herbs!

If he had to choose which two herbs he couldn’t live without for the rest of his cooking life, then he’d choose basil and thyme!

And most importantly: he got EGGS.

According to [Ingredient Scan], it was called Gugu Bird Egg, so there were Gugu Birds around the west of the inn, though because he showered himself with repellent, he hadn’t met one.

He checked, and they were both unfertilized, and in retrospect, beast birds shouldn’t even be domesticated. He made a mental note to ask if there was a proper source of eggs in the Safe zones. He’d run there if he had to!

For now, he’d make do with monster eggs (which were edible according to the Scan). He’d save them for a delicious breakfast tomorrow~ He was quite excited.

Anyway, before sleeping and after taking his long-awaited bath, he made quick grilled skewered meat with vegetables and a salad side. This time, he added slices of the Matis fruit~

[Hearty Matis-stew with Thornroot and Basilume (D)]

[Information: Rustic stew made of ripe matis simmered with thornroot tubers, ivara pods, and a touch of basilume, enriched with rendered brindlejaw fat. Increases stamina recovery by 15% for 15 minutes]

[New Recipe Detected! 1% Permanent increase in stamina recovery.]

Oh…

Other than the matis-based dish, he also waited for midnight to land so he could sell more of the braised brindlejaw.

With this, he could buy a room while retaining his emergency funds!

[Purchased! Basic Bedroom. -20 Gold, -20 Hearth Points]

The inn expanded on its own, and the interiors matched it perfectly as if it had been there the whole time. That said, he checked the outside, and unfortunately, some plants on that side disappeared. However, the area consumed outside was much smaller than he expected, and he wondered if there was magic involved.

Anyway, this was his new room now. He dropped down on the cushy bed and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the soft pillow.

Sigh. What a productive day~

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