After receiving Lady Mira's orders, Johnson set off again with the knights.
Behind them trailed a heavy cart loaded with gold coins—explicit instructions from the lord: the payment must be made in full.
(TN: Starting from now on I'll use lady instead of lord and it was not mentioned what rank Mira has so I'll just refer to her all the time as Lady Mira or just Lady. Too lazy to change the past chapters.)
As they approached Fruitvale Village, they saw a large crowd of villagers gathered outside the village, all wearing expectant looks on their faces.
"What's going on with these villagers?" Johnson thought to himself, puzzled. The convoy continued moving calmly toward Village Chief Mike's orchard, while the villagers followed along.
"Do you think we'll be able to sell all the potions this time?"
One villager asked another in a low voice, his tone laced with barely contained excitement.
"If we can establish a connection with the milady, we should be able to sell a lot, right?" the other villager replied uncertainly.
"Yeah, I think so too."
"Either way, we're definitely earning way more than we ever did before."
Had these villagers also participated in making the healing potions? Hearing their conversation, Johnson grew even more curious.
Soon, he was welcomed into Mike's farm. Inside the house, he saw a simply dressed young man—this must be the apothecary named Aven that the lord had mentioned.
"Apothecary Aven, milady asked me to extend her greetings," Johnson nodded and smiled.
"Please thank Lady Mira for me, and thank you as well, Tax Officer Johnson," Aven replied politely.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Johnson's gaze shifted to the wooden crates inside the room. He was momentarily stunned—compared to last time, there were now five crates.
These are all healing potions?
Johnson paused, recalling the lord's words. It seemed Her Highness had already anticipated how many potions Fruitvale Village would produce.
"Sir Johnson, may I ask how many milady would like to purchase?" Mike asked eagerly.
As soon as the question was asked, all the villagers in the room perked up their ears, their expressions equally eager.
Looks like these potions really are tied to the villagers, Johnson noted to himself again, glancing with some surprise at Aven. He still wasn't quite sure what this apothecary was up to.
Hiding his thoughts, Johnson smiled at the hopeful village chief and said, "Milady said she'll take all of them."
As soon as he said that, the entire room erupted into cheers. The knights waiting outside exchanged confused glances upon hearing the ruckus.
"When does milady Mira want them delivered?" Mike asked, swallowing hard.
"The sooner, the better. Lady Mira had us bring the gold with us. We can do the exchange right now."
Hearing this, Mike quickly agreed. The villagers also excitedly jumped in to help carry the potion crates outside for counting.
"Looks like the rural cooperative's first big deal was a huge success," Aven said as he retreated to the second floor, watching the smiling villagers below. He grinned as he clinked his nutrient juice bottle with Petilil's.
…
Texi felt like he was dreaming.
In past years, he would have still been fretting over the almost-ripe berries in his orchard.
But now, with the help of the Oddish, he had already harvested the first batch with ease. That alone would've made any fruit farmer overjoyed.
But this time was different.
With Aven's help, all those berries had been turned into healing potions, tripling their usual income.
They had been hopeful during the harvest, though still uncertain—after all, business carries risk. If the potions didn't sell, they wouldn't earn a thing.
But today, all their hopes had become reality, and every doubt had vanished like smoke.
Thanks to Aven's suggestion, they had successfully connected with Lady Mira.
When the tax officer said the lord would buy all the potions, Texi felt like he could hardly breathe.
After the transaction, his hands trembled as he accepted the gold coins.
Ah, gold—surely the most enchanting thing in this world. And now he had plenty of it.
He could already picture his new life—new furniture, meat with every meal, even a drink or two in the evenings. It felt like paradise.
The other villagers were the same. With gold in their hands, everyone smiled with renewed hope for the future.
And this was just the beginning.
Thanks to the power of that magical fertilizer, they still had hopes for a second and even a third berry harvest.
Hoo… hoo… I can already feel my heart pounding out of my chest.
Texi clutched his chest and took a few deep breaths to calm down.
He truly believed that with Village Chief Mike and Aven leading the way, Fruitvale Village would only get better.
Soon enough, even those townsfolk who used to mock him for being "just a small-time berry farmer" would be green with envy.
Ah, Aven really was a good kid.
Not only did he provide them with free fertilizer, but he also gave them 30% of the profits from the potions made using their berries. He could've just bought the berries outright and kept the rest for himself.
Nobody openly mentioned it, but they all remembered the favor in their hearts.
Still, more and more outsiders had been visiting the village recently. Word was that things weren't going well in other villages, especially with winter coming so early this year.
Without Aven, they might've been in the same miserable situation.
Hmph. That guy Pete from the neighboring village even tried to fish for information from me.
But the chief had already given strict orders—any information about the fertilizer or healing potions must be kept strictly confidential. Only villagers could know about it.
Who knows what others would do if they learned about the fertilizer!
Aven had provided it to them for free, and the chief often complained there wasn't enough to go around—he even told everyone to ration it carefully.
So, there was no way they'd share it with villagers from other places.
No matter what, Texi swore he'd never spill the secret—not even if someone offered him a cow.
Sure, a cow was worth a lot. He could eat meat every day if he had one.
But still, no way.
He believed the other villagers would feel the same!
(End of Chapter)