Miniature Garden Chemister — 1-5

Volume 1 — Different World Life, Start
Living Basis — 2

The next day after I enjoyed the pleasure of bathing.
Again, I woke to the chirping of birds.
This wake-up situation makes me feel somewhat like a young lady so it makes my heart pound.

I raised only the upper part of my body and picked up the exchange diary on the table and flipped the pages.

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– – – – – – –

Looks like you were able to successfully make the potions, congratulations!
At this rate you’ll become a world-famous chemister.

Because Hina seems happy, I feel happy too for some reason.
Smiles are important, so don’t forget them, okay?

Right.
I increased things you can exchange with points, so take a look.
I’m sure there are useful things for Hina.

P.S.
You’re troubled because there’s no seasoning, right?
Then, something good will happen if you read the last page of the book of chemistry!

– – – – – – –

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Seems like there has been some progress.
First, it seems like there are more things I can do with points, so I promptly decided to check on them.

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[Exchange Diary] = 3 points

[Current points: 130]

New! [Beginner’s adventuring set] 20
[Farming kit] 10
[Vase: small] 1
[Vegetable seeds set] 10
New! [Fruit seeds set] 10
[Herbs seeds set] 10
New! [Kitchen utensils set] 100
New! [Large pot] 300
[Bottles: x100] 3
New! [Laundry set] 30
[Room] 50
[Rooftop] 50
New! [Basement – Extension] 500

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Ah, there properly are more points from the writing the exchange diary.
Still, there’s quite a lot more… there are six more things I can swap! First, the laundry set I definitely need. Then I’d like to plant fruit trees and expand the repertoire of foodstuffs… I’d like the utensils too, but to be honest right now I’m just eating vegetables as they are without cooking, so let’s do that after I have a purpose for cooking.
Also… beginner’s adventuring set? I wonder what this is. Of course, the god said there are monsters in this world, so maybe there is a sword or a set of armour. Since I have points, so it might be good to exchange some.

“Erm, I’d like a fruit seeds set, a laundry set and a beginner’s adventuring set please!”

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[Fruit seeds set] = 10 points used. [Laundry set] = 30 points used. [Beginner’s adventuring set] = 20 points used.

[Total: 60 points used.]

[Current points: 70]

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Then, the exchange diary flashed and a bucket with soap and a washing board appeared. Looks like this is the laundry set. But there aren’t other things…? The points were subtracted so it seems like the exchange was successful, though……
Then I realised that I didn’t check what I exchanged yesterday. Right, I was so absorbed in bathing that I completely forgot.
Since there’s a basement, there might be a pile there. I got up to explore my little home.
After filling up… Let’s check the basement. Though I’m only eating vegetables.

“Oh, the basement is made with bricks, not wood… cute.”

The spiralling staircase was made with bright pastel-toned bricks. When I carefully touched it, it wasn’t as rough as I thought. I was thinking of cold inorganic bricks, but they were just as lovely as their appearances suggested. The staircase had a gentle slope, wrapping around the house and there were lights coming from cute lamps at regular intervals. I’m a bit… scared of ghosts, so I felt relieved that it was bright.
Then when I walked about half the length of my room, I saw the end point of the stairs.

When I set foot into the basement, I ended up letting out a voice of amazement.

“Wah, wah, wah, amazing…!!!”

The area was a little smaller than the living space.
I was most surprised at the lights that were illuminating the room. There were plants growing on the whole surface of the ceiling and the flowers there were washing the whole basement in a warm light. It was a warm light, as though I was being watched over by a mother.
There wasn’t any special facilities in the basement itself, empty. Soon after I went in, I saw 200 bottles and a treasure chest..? Looks like this acts as a storage, and items of those kinds are given here, I realised.

“Ah, I should store the potions I’ll be making here. Then the problem is this treasure chest…!”

As someone who didn’t play many RPG games… No, I watched my little sister Hana play it quite a few times. But there’s a treasure chest! My tension rose a bit.
Even though I know that it’s probably the beginner’s adventuring set inside!

I gently touched the chest. It was a little bigger than both my hands stretched. I opened it with some force since I thought it’d be a bit heavy, but the lid was light as a feather.

“A sword… a bow and a shield. And… a breastplate? Armour, maybe. And a rucksack!”

Yup. It certainly looks like a beginner’s set.
The weapons are a sword and a bow, and the armour are a shield and a breastplate. There were also gloves and boots.
I wonder if he’s telling me to go out into the forest and adventure. If it was someone who liked games or something like this, there wouldn’t have been problems, but unfortunately I’m a normal person without any attacking skills. Plus I’m 13 now. I’ll probably die.

“First… Food, I guess?”

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◇ ◇ ◇

“Eiya… hm!”

Like yesterday, I had ripe tomatoes from the field, did the laundry and started tilling the field.
When I exited the house, I found a small roofed area next to the well. On closer look there was a hoe and a watering can that felt like they should be from the farming kit. In addition there were small bags of vegetable, fruit and herb seeds that I also exchanged.
So I am currently ploughing the field for food.

“Haa… I wonder if did it for about two hours now..?”

Seeing the field with the soil properly done, I nodded in satisfaction.
To be honest, I don’t have any knowledge about farming. But if I plant seeds and water them, it should be alright. Yes, I’m not planning well……

I planted seeds so that they won’t be mixed up, and watered them with the watering can.
I did it gently so that they won’t flow away.
Then I cast the precious spell I received from the god.

“Grow deliciously… ‘Angel’s Voice (Sanctuary)’.”

As though to echo my voice a small sprout peeked out from the dirt.
It started growing quickly and in a blink it grew up to my chest, blossoming a beautiful flower.

“Eh…!”

I was a little bewildered at the unexpected growth… but the food problem was urgent so I decided to not mind it. Because, this is much better than starving.

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Then, I was at the garden… picking a few herbs.

I noticed during the laundry that there were plants I was seeing for the first time so I thought, Could it be! and opened the manual to look it up.
According to that, these plants could be used in place of seasoning. I discovered that on the last page that the god mentioned. I felt somewhat sorry I did it on my own even though I had the advice. You took your time to give me advice. I’m sorry, god.

“Kosho^[1] leaves can be ground to create a spice. Satoult^[2]’s flowers, when boiled and dried, turn into sweet powder, and the leaves, when boiled and dried, turn into salty powder.”

What, what, what’s this naming…! Kosho literally means pepper? Satou root is sugar and salt… salt? It’s a bit strange, but it’s easy to tell what is what so I could understand……
First, most of the things growing in the garden were koshos and satoults. With these, i’ll be able to have delicious food so it’s a relief.
By the way, koshos had cute round leaves. Satoults had a small flowers with a pink and white gradation with many thin leaves. Actually, the ratio of flowers and leaves were around 1:9. It might be a bit tough to get a lot of sugar.

“But, I want sugar! And if possible, soy sauce and miso too……”

It might be natural that they’re not here, but I miss them as a Japanese person.
Still, if I slowly go on, I’ll get something similar to that. Definitely.

“Ah, but, I have vegetables but no meat…”

Since there are vegetarians, it’s possible to live on without meat, but as I’m 13 I need a balanced diet. Also, rice, or bread.
There are no replacements since I don’t know where to get them, but if I ask god using the exchange diary I might get some advice.

“Right, first will be the utensils…!”

I’ll proceed one by one from what I can get.
I’ll open the exchange diary and swap the points for utensils. I planned that, but utensils cost 100 points. With my current points, I need 30 points more.
If so, there’s only one thing I can do. I’ll make health restoratives (high potions) to get points. Now… I need to work in the fields, eat tomatoes and study on herbs…. Should be finished before evening. Okay, then I have plenty of time.
I quickly brought the pot from the kitchen and came out to the garden.

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“Huh? I wonder what this red grass is…”

While I was desperately picking health grasses, a red grass I never saw before came into my sight. Then I remembered. The existence of ‘red grass’. One of the ingredients of the scarlet restorative (garnet potion) was this red grass, red grass.^[3] It had a fiery red colour and toothed leaves that look they would hurt.

“But to make garnet potions, I also need orange grass.”

I looked around, but there was nothing else other than the one red grass found among the health grasses, along with koshos and satoults.
I can’t make garnet potions… For now, I’ll leave the red grass here. If I don’t harvest it now it will grow bigger when I come back later.
I then picked up the pot full of health grasses and returned home for compounding. There still were many health grasses growing outside, but since I’ve been making health grasses from yesterday they were being slowly reduced. It might be good to make some simple space to grow health grasses.

I went inside, filled the pot with water and went downstairs for compounding.
I got exhausted from hauling 200 potions down here to the basement. Since I don’t have anything I can use it for now, it should be best to compound the potions here where I’ll store them.
The health grasses filling the pot turned into 130 potions. Now that I have 130 more points  I’ll still have some left after getting utensils.

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[High potions: low] 1 x 130 = 130 points added.

[Utensils set] = 100 points

[Total: 100 points used]

[Current points: 100]

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Right, I’m certain.
I headed to the kitchen to check the exchanged goods.
There were wooden utensils: A ladle, a fish slice, a spatula and 3 spoons of different sizes. There also were 5 containers with lids, which looked they were for storing seasoning. There also was a mortar and pestle.

“I can make delicious things now… I can… right?”

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Well, no use worrying!
First, let’s make some pepper, sugar and slat. Since it feels like getting sugar and salt will take a lot of work, I’ll begin with grinding kosho with the mortar and pestle.

Gorigori… Gorigori…^[4]

“It’s harder than I thought it would be…”

Gorigori… Gori…

“My hand, it hurts…”

Gori… Gori…

Clearly, compared to when I started working, my speed had dropped. I wonder how much time had passed… I feel like 30 minutes had passed, but the leaf inside the pestle had not changed much in size.
But, for tasty food, I can’t give up here.

Gorigori…

“It’d be nice if this was finished quickly with ‘Angel’s Voice (Sanctuary)’ like with compounding.”

Exhausted, I looked at my small 13-year-old’s hands. Since I hadn’t been gripping any sticks recently, there were many small blisters on my hand.
Pathetically, a small tear flowed from my eye. No, it wasn’t just from the pain, but also from the reality that I was alone in this world.

“It’s okay. I’ll do my best…”

I encouraged myself and headed for the mortar again. I’ll make you into some splendid pepper, I beamed with enthusiasm as I held up the pestle again. But in the mortar, there wasn’t an unground leaf like before, but finely ground leaves… no, pepper.

“W-What—…!”

The yell I let out echoed throughout the house.
Nn. It was the loudest voice I let out after after coming to this world <Letisreel>.

^[1]lit. pepper in Japanese
^[2]Probably a portmanteau of satou and salt, with satou meaning sugar in Japanese.
^[3]The difference between the two are ‘red grass (赤い草)’ and ‘red-colour grass(赤色草)’. For the sake of readability I used simply red grass.
^[4]Sfx for grinding sounds.

Translator:
Ligris: I told you you can use ‘Angel’s Voice (Sanctuary)’ for many things, Hina…