The Delriat Revival Project began immediately.
Fortunately, the local cordyceps here weren’t particularly seasonal.
The problem was that they were absurdly rare.
“It’s basically like picking up gold nuggets off the street. Should we call it ‘wild bug booze plant’ instead of cordyceps?”
It was the kind of thing where, like in the Tibetan Himalayas, dozens of people had to crawl on the ground to find even one.
They were that scarce, and from a distance they were nearly impossible to distinguish.
After wandering all day, I had managed to find exactly two.
That wasn’t even enough for experimental samples.
I’d need at least several hundred to figure out the growth conditions.
First, confirm the efficacy.
I immediately summoned the locals.
Not just anyone; these were officials working at the governor-general’s office.
The moment they saw the cordyceps, they started drooling.
Even to the people here, it was apparently a precious item.
“W-where on earth did you find those?”
“Just picked them up while wandering around that desert over there.”
“What? That dangerous place?”
When the officials turned toward the spot I pointed at, their eyes nearly popped out.
From the outside it looked like an ordinary desert; I couldn’t understand why they called it dangerous.
But once they explained, I couldn’t help nodding.
“Delriat scorpions have a leaping habit. No matter how big the opponent is, they’ll sting without hesitation.”
“Ah, they were pretty fast, yeah.”
“To enter a scorpion colony, you have to wrap yourself head to toe. That’s the only way to stay alive.”
They meant full protective gear, like when removing a wasp nest.
But I didn’t need that.
Thanks to my superhuman senses, I could block the scorpions’ attacks.
Either step on them before they jumped, or dodge and pin them down with a stick.
I had methods to spare.
But that was only possible for someone like me.
Normal people couldn’t even dream of it.
And I obviously couldn’t order highly skilled experts to do this kind of work.
“Could you get me some of those protective suits?”
“Why do you suddenly need them?”
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”
“Huh?”
“You’re the ones who have to go into the scorpion habitats, so if you don’t need them… well, we’ll just go in bare-skinned.”
The officials stood speechless.
I had suddenly issued a bizarre order; of course their heads were spinning.
But they ended up running like their feet were on fire.
The amount of money at stake was far greater than they had imagined.
“I’ll give one whole cordyceps to the first person who enters. Plus 20% of everything harvested.”
Normally, work mobilized by the governor-general’s office came with no extra reward.
No matter the task, they only received their salary.
Which, of course, had been delayed for half a year.
But now I was offering a full 20%.
An unprecedented reward.
A strange fervor ignited in the officials’ eyes.
Then the man standing at the very back suddenly raised his hand high.
“I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“May we bring our families?”
The economy of the Delriat Autonomous Territory was in utter ruins.
Jobs were nearly nonexistent, and many families had idle members at home.
That kind of question was only natural.
I answered with a wide smile.
“Use any means and methods you like. As long as it isn’t a crime.”
In an instant, the officials vanished.
I had merely blinked.
When a family head has mouths to feed, he becomes superhuman.
For some reason, the scene felt strangely touching.
***
A few days later, enough cordyceps for experiments had been gathered.
The efficacy was certain.
I consumed some prepared the traditional Delriat way, and I didn’t sleep a wink that night.
Yet there were virtually no side effects.
Of course, I’d have to observe long-term effects.
“This thing surpasses even the little blue pill. If I took it back to the modern world, it would sell like wildfire.”
But mass production was the problem.
The traditional method required far too much manual labor.
And there weren’t enough skilled craftsmen.
Because the number of naturally occurring cordyceps was so small.
No matter how profitable, how many people would risk their lives entering scorpion territory?
They were so poor they couldn’t even afford proper protective gear.
So that’s why only nobles could make money from this.
But from now on, everything would be different.
Now that I was governor-general, every old practice would be shattered.
And soon there would be no need to risk lives entering scorpion zones.
Once we knew the growth conditions, we could cultivate and mass-produce them.
I wasn’t planning to sell them cheap, though.
“We’ll refine it further and extend the shelf life.”
I intended to ship it all the way to nobles on the opposite side of the continent.
It was already something people couldn’t get even if they wanted it; there was no need for a low-price strategy.
Add shipping costs and sell it at a premium.
I immediately summoned every pill-maker in Delriat.
I wanted to buy their know-how.
Only by learning how they made it could I simplify the process and work the magic of division of labor.
But from the very start I met resistance.
“Even with a knife to my throat, I won’t hand over my techniques.”
“Cut useless steps? What nonsense is that? Every single step is absolutely necessary.”
“That’s right! Simplifying it will weaken the medicine.”
From the type who would never reveal secrets to stubbornly old-fashioned craftsmen.
A colorful assortment of crotchety old men.
But I had countless ways to motivate them.
“I will officially select Delriat’s greatest pill-maker in the name of the governor-general. The one who creates the most effective medicine will receive an honorary plaque and a prize of 100 gold coins.”
..!
The impact of 100 gold coins was enormous.
The country was in ruins.
In such chaotic times, who could ever touch that much money?
No matter how many pills they made, only the nobles’ bellies grew fat.
Because the nobles supplied most of the raw cordyceps to begin with.
“I-is that true?”
“Of course. Second place gets 50 gold coins. So please do your best.”
“Ah…”
The craftsmen glanced at one another.
Even the one who had been raging about never leaking techniques licked his lips.
The reward was simply too tempting.
And rivalry has a way of shaking human hearts.
Every one of them has believed at least once that they’re the best.
Now the governor-general sent from the Empire would officially recognize it.
How many craftsmen could resist that?
It was a chance to be reborn as a true master.
In the midst of the confusion, I quickly added the fine print.
“Winners must disclose their techniques to me and cooperate in improvement. Only those who accept this condition should sign the participation form.”
Of course, no one properly heard that part.
They were too busy whispering with their disciples.
It felt like terms and conditions scrolling past at lightning speed, but whatever.
I wasn’t going to abuse their techniques; the goal was for everyone to prosper together.
“Ahem! I’ll think about it and decide later.”
“W-we’ll send our intention later as well.”
Their words were lukewarm, but there didn’t seem to be anyone who wouldn’t participate.
I sent the craftsmen out with a satisfied smile.
Then I entered the inner room of the office.
Dozens of isolated bowls were placed inside.
Everything else isn’t that hard. The problem is how to cultivate them.
I had exposed the fruiting bodies taken from scorpions to various environments.
To discover the optimal feed and growth conditions.
I couldn’t keep inoculating those jumping bugs forever.
They were far too dangerous for that.
But the experiment didn’t finish easily.
If it had been simple, there would have been no reason to risk life collecting wild cordyceps in the first place.
“Ugh! I’m not even a grad student, yet here I am doing experiments I was never meant to do.”
It might be better to hand this off to someone else.
The method itself was simple.
It just required brutal amounts of repetitive work.
Knock knock.
Right on cue, someone knocked.
I tidied up the room that had become a makeshift lab and stepped out.
“Who is it?”
“Hello! Are you busy?”
The visitor was none other than Princess Eustia.
She was twisting her body and smiling bashfully; her intention was obvious.
Perfect timing. If I make her participate in the experiment, her affection will plummet.
It felt a little cold-hearted, but what could I do?
I had used the handsome-guy strategy to secure the loan; I couldn’t exactly draw a hard line now.
I had to walk the tightrope and slowly push her away.
Hoping she’d go back to her fiancé.
“I was busy, but it would actually be great if the princess helped.”
“Oh! What is it?”
“Come this way first.”
I led her into the inner room.
Eustia’s face instantly turned crimson, as if she had imagined something erotic.
Not a chance!
When she heard what the experiment actually was, she let out a hollow laugh.
“…This is what you were preparing?”
“Yes. This mushroom will save Delriat.”
“Pfft! Fine. What should I start with?”
“Just continue from number 188 as written in the plan here.”
“I’ll take over from now, so please rest.”
“Thank you.”
Princess Eustia adapted to the experiment astonishingly fast.
It wasn’t because of higher education; she simply had a sharp mind for work.
I lay down on the office sofa with a pleased smile.
Let’s rest a bit. I feel like I’ve been working even more since coming to this world.
Just as I was drifting off, a sharp sound came from the inner room.
CRASH!
“Kyaa!”
It seemed Princess Eustia had broken something while working.
Sure enough, two of the experimental bowls lay shattered.
“It’s all right. Just continue with the numbers written on the bowls. Please step back so you don’t get hurt.”
I spoke as gently as possible in case she was startled.
Yet she didn’t look particularly shocked.
Instead, she calmly pointed between the broken pieces.
“No, that’s not it. Could you look at this?”
“Hm? What… wait?”
Shockingly, cordyceps had bloomed luxuriantly there.
Far more abundant than anything I had ever seen growing from a scorpion’s body.
In other words, the experiment had succeeded.
She’s only been in there a few minutes; how did this happen already?
Unable to hide my bewilderment, I looked at Princess Eustia.
Then a hologram suddenly appeared.
I had unconsciously opened her status window.
Name: Eustia Crawford
Status: Princess
<Character Information>
Position: Heir-presumptive to the Prince
Relationship: Intimate
State: Strange feelings toward ??, ?? feelings toward ???
Skill: One Followed by Heavenly Fortune
Overall Ability: SS
Heavenly… fortune?
Someone with such a monstrous ability had been this close the whole time.
It looked like this woman…
“I really need to hire her as an employee.”
Welp, say goodbye to “push that girl away so she won’t fall for me” plan 🤣🤣🤣