Master Inventor from Hunter x Hunter, Section 4

With the expression of a toad seeing the sky outside the well for the first time, he stared at the machine, full of shock and uncertainty.

Machi, standing nearby, didn't speak but also fixed her gaze straight on the machine.

Chapter 005 [Mochi Maker]!

"This is a [Mochi Maker]."

Mog, who had invented it, couldn't help clapping his hands and said softly:

"You wanted to eat mochi, right? So I invented this machine."

Invention: [Mochi Maker]

Source: Doraemon World—Future Technology Company.

Many of the gadgets in Doraemon were invented by the Future Technology Company and famous professors.

And as everyone knows, anything sold on the open market falls within controllable limits.

"Invention? You call this machine suddenly appearing an invention?!"

Uvogin's eyes bulged. He wasn't someone who knew nothing.

He understood the meaning of the word [invention].

But~~~

He had no idea that so-called [invention] was like this!!

"Don't sweat the details."

Mog waved his hand. "The important thing is that we get to eat mochi, right?"

"You're right..."

Uvogin nodded subconsciously, then froze.

The other party's sudden [invention] behavior was beyond his ability to process, leaving him unsure how to judge it.

Uvogin instinctively looked at Machi, only to find her still staring straight at this [Mochi Maker].

Well, since he'd pulled out this machine, there was no need to worry about any other intentions.

Because Uvogin could sense that after this machine appeared, the kid seemed to have weakened a bit.

"So how does this thing make mochi?"

Uvogin's big hand patted the maker, producing a dull thud.

"Mochi, of course, is made from glutinous rice."

Mog gave him a strange look.

"So this piece of junk can't just conjure mochi out of thin air, huh?"

The [Mochi Maker]'s usefulness instantly dropped to scrap metal level in Uvogin's eyes.

"I don't know what kind of machine it is out there, but if it still needs glutinous rice..."

Uvogin looked the machine up and down. "Let alone glutinous rice, we don't even have the rotten husks of coarse rice."

"But if this thing gets taken apart, these metal sheets might fetch a decent price."

There was clear eagerness in Uvogin's eyes. This unexpected gain had directly lifted his mood.

So much so that he turned around with interest: "How about it, after we sell it, I'll share a cut with you... Huh??"

He stared at the thing that had appeared in Mog's hand again, momentarily stunned:

"What are those now?!"

"Stuff for planting glutinous rice."

"...Also invented by you?"

"What else?"

Mog said matter-of-factly: "Without glutinous rice, we can't make mochi, so naturally, we have to grow the glutinous rice first."

Grow... glutinous rice?!

Uvogin felt that hearing such a phrase in Meteor City was jarring no matter how you looked at it.

Since when was there such a thing as [planting] in a place like Meteor City?!

And wasn't planting something that took a long time?!!

"What are you standing there dumbfounded for? Hurry up and plant the rice!"

Mog casually tossed the long green capsule toward Uvogin.

The latter fumbled to catch it.

"This is called [Seedling in a Capsule]. Inside are the raw materials for planting rice."

Before Uvogin could ask, Mog explained first.

Then, he reached behind him again and pulled out another small green tube.

He gave a gentle tug on the pull cord below.

Whoosh—bang.

A fiery red artificial little sun soared up and burst open in the air.

Under Uvogin and Machi's wide-eyed gazes, it formed a miniature sun.

This was the [Indoor Sun], designed to help the seedlings grow.

Maybe because this was his first invention, aside from the [Mochi Maker], he'd also come up with a bunch of extra little gadgets as a bonus~!

Still under Uvogin and Machi's dazed stares, Mog pulled out the [Cloud in a Bottle] and popped the lid right off.

And then the most important part~~~

"[Cloud Scarecrow], and..."

Mog's hands spread out the damp rice field blueprint across the floor of the room:

"[Super Mini Rice Field]."

This rice field even had the fertilizer already prepared.

"Alright, that's the initial prep done~~~"

Mog wiped the sweat off his face and let out a small sigh of relief.

Hm, inventing this many items had caught him a bit off guard and drained him quite a bit.

But then he thought it over—Uvogin's request was for [food mochi].

And the stuff he'd invented wasn't a machine that just conjured mochi out of thin air.

He'd have to plant, grow, and then feed it into the machine to get the mochi.

All those extra steps in between meant he could actually afford the cost of all these inventions.

"In other words, if the invention directly achieves the goal, the cost is higher, but if I still have to do the work myself in between, the cost drops a bit~~~"

Mog gained a little more insight into his own ability.

"But even so, the cost is still high. I need to find a way to use [Restriction and Vow] to cut it down..."

Chapter 006: Bringing Uvogin and Machi to Plant Rice

Thinking this in his mind, his hands didn't slow down at all.

After laying out that big patch of fertile land, Mog glanced at Uvogin and the others, still standing there in a daze:

"What are you standing around for?! Hurry up and plant the seedlings!!"

Uvogin: "???"

Before he could react, Mog walked up to him, popped open the [Seedling in a Capsule] in his hand.

Then he split the seedlings into three portions, handing two to Uvogin and Machi.

"Just like this—stick the seedlings into the ground."

Mog demonstrated first, rolling up his pant legs, stepping into the muddy rice field, and planting a seedling.

Uvogin: "..."

They were really planting seedlings on the spot right here?!

Was this even something you could do in Meteor City?!

It clashed completely with Uvogin's lifelong survival rules in Meteor City, and for the first time, it conflicted with his thinking.

So much so that he stared at the tiny seedling in his hand—small enough to grab with one fist—and had no idea what to do.

"If you don't know what to do, just learn from her~~~"

Mog saw right through Uvogin's cluelessness and pointed at Machi beside him.

Machi?

Uvogin instinctively looked at his ever-present partner.

He saw Machi's slender frame already stepping into the rice field.

Her movements were clumsy and awkward, but she followed Mog's example and planted the seedling in her hand.

Uvogin watched this for a moment, fell silent, then bared his teeth.

What's so hard about planting seedlings?!

If that brat and Machi could do it, why couldn't he, Uvogin-sama?!

Without another thought, he strode straight into the rice field.

"You're too big—go plant over there."

"Plant them straight, don't let them lean all over the place!!"

"Leave enough space between the seedlings, or they won't grow properly!!"