What For

"Did you come here to buy those unripe berries?"

The old village chief stared at the chief of Orange Fruit Village in astonishment, completely unable to figure out what the other man was trying to do.

To be honest, I don't know myself... Daby muttered to himself. He nodded and said, "That's right. The price is five copper coins per berry."

Hearing Daby's words, the old village chief nodded uncertainly. Then, as the realization hit him, he looked up at Daby in disbelief.

"Y-you said five copper coins for each... unripe berry?" the old village chief asked, his voice trembling.

"Mm, that's right."

Daby nodded again, feeling conflicted.

The old village chief felt as if he could hardly breathe. He asked twice more before finally making sure he hadn't misheard.

Daby sighed. "Don't doubt me. I've brought all the gold coins with me. If you're willing, we can pay part of the price upfront."

"Gold coins!"

"We're willing! We're willing!"

Afraid Daby might change his mind, the old village chief hurriedly agreed.

Then, moving with a speed that belied his age, he ran out of the yard and began notifying the villagers.

Before long, a large crowd had gathered outside the old village chief's house. Each person wore a mixture of doubt, confusion, and excitement.

If things really were as the old village chief had said—five copper coins for every unripe berry—then every orchard could harvest all its berries...

Some villagers had already done the math. They realized that, in the end, they might earn almost as much as they had in previous years!

Still, until they actually had the money in hand, they found it hard to believe. Was there really some fool willing to pay such a high price for unripe berries?

In their eyes, those unripe berries were worthless. If someone bought them, what could he be but a fool?

"Since everyone's agreed, we can start trading now."

"I've brought ten gold coins this time, so we can complete some trades right here. For the rest, you'll have to bring your berries to Orange Fruit Village yourselves."

Daby looked at the villagers and spoke as Aiven had instructed him. At the same time, he took ten gold coins out of his backpack.

The gold coins gleamed before them, and the villagers' eyes lit up. Yet no one stepped forward.

Daby had said he wanted unripe berries that met certain requirements. Their berries seemed to fit the bill, but no one wanted to be the first to try.

Though their berries weren't ripe yet, they still hung on the branches, giving them something to hope for. Once picked, they would have nothing left.

"As the village chief, I'll go first." The old village chief, Raul, sighed and stepped forward, ignoring his children as they tried to stop him.

Seeing their father insist, his children had no choice but to hurry back to the farm and pick the berries that were still clearly green.

They felt awful looking at the green berries piled in the cart. These were the fruits of a whole year's labor.

"Although these berries are still green, they're mostly grown, so they qualify for the trade." After inspecting them, Daby nodded, then added, "These few don't count."

The berries he pointed out had only just begun to grow. They were clearly different from the ones that were mostly mature.

Once he had finished inspecting them, Daby counted them one by one and paid the agreed amount in gold coins.

The villagers' eyes widened at the coins in the old village chief's hands. Then they scattered in every direction.

It wasn't long before villagers started pushing carts toward the house. The carts were piled high with green berries, some still attached to branches. They had clearly picked them in a hurry.

Soon, more villagers arrived with carts. Seeing the line ahead of them, they grew anxious and regretted being so slow.

Daby said nothing and continued to carefully count each green berry. Since he couldn't stop Aiven from going through with this, he had to make sure the transactions were handled properly.

Once he had finished counting, Daby paid everyone. Although he had brought ten gold coins, he quickly ran out.

The villagers at the front of the line left one by one with their money, making those still waiting grow anxious. When they heard the gold coins had run out, they froze, their regret plain on their faces. Fortunately, Daby told them to go directly to Orange Fruit Village to complete their trades. That lifted their spirits, and they hurried toward the village.

At noon that day, something strange happened in the southeastern territory of City of Ambition. Villagers could be seen driving carts toward Orange Fruit Village, each cart loaded with green berries.

"What? You're saying Orange Fruit Village is buying unripe berries?"

More and more fruit farmers heard the news. They hurried to pick the green berries from their trees and made their way to Orange Fruit Village.

Five copper coins per green berry couldn't compare to the price of ripe ones, but for unripe berries, it was an almost unbelievable offer.

Even in previous years, they could only pick some of the ripe berries. Most of the unripe ones ended up as food for monsters.

Now that they could harvest every unripe berry, they had already worked out that their earnings this year wouldn't be much lower than in previous years!

Peter was a villager from East Orange Village.

He had naturally heard the recent news that Orange Fruit Village was buying unripe berries.

Wanting to give it a try, he picked the berries in his orchard that clearly wouldn't ripen before winter arrived.

When he reached Orange Fruit Village, he saw carts loaded with berries lined up all the way from the village center to its outskirts.

While waiting in line, he saw villagers from nearby villages actually coming out with money in their hands, looking thrilled.

"So it's true," said a fellow villager standing behind him, his voice full of excitement.

There really is a fool like that... Peter, who had only come to try his luck, grew excited too.

Orange Fruit Village.

After hearing the news, the villagers came over to help.

Though they were confused by Aiven's actions, since he had given the order, they would carry it out without question!

Uncle Tessi's son Peter was also puzzled by Aiven's decision, but he knew that if Aiven had said he would do something, he would follow through.

Just like when he had asked them to look for Walking Grass, the little fellows had proved to be a great help with this harvest.

"Father, what do you think Aiven's doing?" Whenever they had a moment during the busy work, he would talk with his father.

Uncle Tessi was silent for a long while. Then he suddenly asked, "Why do you think Aiven gives us three tenths of the profits from the potions?"