CHAPTER 57 — The Familiar Scent
📅 30 July, S.C. 1510
👦 Ren — Age 7
📍 Ren's Workshop → Dawn Island Forest Edge
Ren checked the small clay pots lined neatly along his workshop window.
Most of them were normal.
Dry soil,
Sleeping seeds,
No sign of change.
Except for Pot #11.
Ren frowned.
That pot had grown twice as fast as expected.
Its soil gave off a faint greenish tint, and the small herb shoot was thicker than normal.
He leaned forward and sniffed the pot.
A mild, sweet, grassy smell floated upward—
Ren froze.
"…Wait."
He grabbed the small pouch where he kept the strange residue he found weeks earlier — the faint green residue he believed came from the odd forest patch.
He opened the pouch and sniffed.
The same smell.
Exactly the same.
A sweet, grassy scent.
Ren's heart skipped.
"…No way."
He sniffed the pot again.
Then the pouch.
Then the pot.
Again the pouch.
Zemo watched with the expression of: My human has lost his mind.
Ren whispered:
"The residue…
It came from this grass?"
PART 1 — CONNECTING THE DOTS
Ren sat down hard, completely stunned.
He wrote quickly:
Residue Scent Match:
Strange residue from forest = identical scent to the fast-growing grass.
Hypothesis:
The residue wasn't from the creature.
It wasn't from the soil.
It was from…
the grass itself.
Zemo barked once, as if saying Finally.
Ren groaned.
"This whole time…
I thought it was something mysterious…"
He grabbed the grass he collected earlier — the one herbivores loved.
He crushed a blade gently between his fingers.
Thick green juice dripped out, stronger and richer than ordinary grass.
Ren sniffed it.
Same smell.
Same feel.
His eyes widened.
"…So the catalyst wasn't soil at all."
It was the grass juice that had accidentally dripped onto his soil sample when he analyzed herbs weeks ago.
His earlier "soil anomaly" was actually a grass extract effect.
Ren buried his face in his hands.
"I misinterpreted the entire thing."
Zemo licked his arm gently.
Ren sighed.
"…But that means I'm closer than I thought."
PART 2 — TESTING THE GRASS EXTRACT
Ren quickly set up a new experiment.
He took:
a bowl,
a stone roller,
the fast-growing grass,
and a clay cup.
He crushed the grass thoroughly, squeezing out as much juice as possible.
The juice was thick and vibrant green.
He filtered it twice — Through cloth, then through sand.
The filtered juice glowed slightly in the sunlight.
Ren placed it beside Pot #11.
They smelled identical.
"This juice… is the real growth booster."
Zemo sneezed loudly.
Ren giggled.
"Don't worry, I won't make you drink it."
Zemo glared suspiciously.
PART 3 — REPEAT EXPERIMENT (CONTROLLED)
Ren prepared five new pots:
Pot A: No extract
Pot B: 1 drop
Pot C: 3 drops
Pot D: 5 drops
Pot E: 10 drops
He planted the same type of herb seed in each.
Zemo observed solemnly, like a furry assistant.
Ren watered each pot carefully, arranging them on the window sill.
"This time…
it'll be real data."
Zemo barked once.
Ren, eyes glowing with excitement, whispered:
"This grass…
is special."
PART 4 — RETURN TO THE FOREST PATCH
Ren and Zemo returned to the forest patch the residue originally came from.
Ren crouched immediately.
"…I knew it."
The same grass filled this area.
But here, it grew:
taller,
faster,
and richer in color.
Herbivores gathered around, feeding eagerly.
Ren collected a fresh sample and compared it to the village grass.
The forest grass was:
thicker
juicier
and slightly warm to the touch
"It wasn't the creature…"
"It wasn't magic…"
Zemo stood alert, but calm.
Ren whispered:
"It was this grass all along.
It leaves residue when crushed…
Mixes with soil…
Accelerates growth…"
He felt silly for his earlier fear.
But also thrilled.
A mystery had become science.
PART 5 — OBSERVATION AND DANGER
As Ren collected more grass, Zemo suddenly stiffened.
Not fearful.
Just alert.
Ren froze.
"…Is it here again?"
No scent.
No sound.
No movement.
Nothing.
But Zemo never reacted without reason.
Ren whispered:
"…Not now, Zemo. We're going."
They backed away slowly.
Ren's heartbeat was fast — not in terror, but in growing respect.
Something watched them from the forest.
And whatever it was…
It seemed more interested in the grass than in Ren.
PART 6 — FIRST SIGNS OF SUCCESS
Back at the workshop, Ren checked the new pots before sunset.
His eyes widened.
Pot C—
the one with three drops of grass extract—
already had a tiny green sprout.
It was identical to the earlier Pot #11 behavior.
Zemo barked in surprise.
Ren whispered, voice trembling:
"It's real."
He wrote quickly:
Conclusion:
Grass juice = natural catalyst for plant growth.
This grass contains a powerful biological component.
Working Name: Compound X
A concentrated extract derived from fast-growing grass.
Ren leaned back, holding the pot gently.
"…Nature hides power in the simplest things."
Zemo bumped his head into Ren's arm, proud.
Ren smiled.
"We'll refine it slowly.
Quietly.
No one needs to know."
Zemo barked gently.
Ren nodded.
"…This is the start."
END OF CHAPTER 57