Herbs (Seeking Recommendations)

The weather was clear, and the warm spring breeze swept through the dark Green Forest. With grass growing and orioles flying, the trees were lush, and the air was filled with the vitality of all things thriving.

The element of Crimson contains reproduction and vitality... Spring is a season very well-suited for the path of Crimson...

Two fine horses trotted one after the other across the level fields. Aaron, riding the horse in the rear, thought this to himself subconsciously.

He looked ahead at the girl wearing hunting attire, riding a small, reddish-brown mare that seemed perfectly suited to her height.

"Ginny, slow down. Grip the horse's flanks tightly; don't fall off."

The girl was Ginny, who had come to Aaron's territory to play and hunt—at least, that was the pretext.

As for the reality?

Aaron felt she was just craving the many delicacies he had "invented."

After all, she was a little foodie.

This forced Aaron to worry slightly about Ginny's future development and weight... but such concerns quickly vanished.

As the beloved daughter of the Earl who ruled the Green Forest, Ginny would be quite competitive in the future marriage market.

There would be no shortage of knights and excellent men lining up to please her, regardless of her appearance or whether she was virtuous...

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt it was all quite dull.

"The few servants and maids the Earl had hanged in the castle earlier—the rumors have finally died down..."

Ginny seemed to say this unconsciously, then looked into the distance, catching sight of the level fields.

Large stretches of flat land had been reclaimed, where several farmers were using strange plows to till the soil. Seeing the lord approach, they took off their hats to salute from afar.

"Eh? Aaron, it seems you've adopted a different farming method here?"

Ginny's eyes flickered.

"Yes, I invented a new type of farming tool called a Curved-Shaft Plow. It can effectively turn over the soil and plow deeper. It can also be adjusted for depth to meet the requirements of deep or shallow tilling, while also being easier to turn and less labor-intensive... Even without an ox, it's just as easy for a person to pull."

Aaron said with a smile, "Besides that, I've also prepared something called Fertilizer. It should effectively increase this year's crop yields. If all goes well, my territory will have a bountiful harvest by summer and autumn this year, and all the tenants will be able to eat their fill, with no shortage of grain for the winter."

Ginny looked at Aaron with a hint of admiration; this brother of hers always had such ingenious ideas, and he was not lacking in benevolence.

She couldn't help but say, "I want to use these in my future territory as well!"

Having said that, Ginny couldn't help but fall silent.

As a daughter, it was unlikely the Earl would carve out more land for her dowry. However, there was some hope for the territory of her future husband; after all, as the mistress of the house, she would have the power to make changes.

"What? Is my little sister already impatient to find someone she fancies?"

Aaron teased, then told a few more jokes, making a smile bloom on Ginny's face once again.

The two passed through the level farmland and entered the dense woods.

In reality, Ginny didn't know how to hunt. Once she dismounted, her attention was immediately captured by the wildflowers and butterflies.

Aaron, meanwhile, squatted on the ground, carefully examining some of the world's plants and identifying them one by one using his knowledge of herbalism.

The alchemical materials from the dream world are completely different from those here. I can only barely find some substitutes... and even that isn't guaranteed.

He sighed inwardly.

The most fundamental difference between the dream world and the reality was the existence of spirituality!

Therefore, even if he followed the methods of the dream world strictly, the efficacy of the resulting potions remained highly questionable.

Fortunately, Aaron had plenty of white rabbits, mice, and even criminals he could use for trial and error.

Even if I can't concoct spiritual potions, brewing some proper wound medicine and tonics to strengthen the physique would be fine...

Although the limits of this world dictate that potions also have their limits, and the peak of a normal human body is a shackle that is absolutely difficult to break, as long as the curative effect is sufficient, it's not bad. I can teach Albert... let him change his profession to become a proper doctor instead of someone who only knows bloodletting and emetics...

As Aaron thought this, he dug up a medicinal herb.

It was entirely crimson, with serrated edges, and its sap even had a slight numbing effect.

According to Albert, it was called "Blood Grass" and could be made into a hemostatic herb, though its effect was not very good.

Aaron, however, had other plans; he hoped to use it to replace a "Blood-Thirst Grass" material from the dream world to create a potion that could enhance physical constitution.

While it certainly wouldn't be as good as a spiritual potion, which could grant one an extraordinary physique, even enhancing strength and vitality by a little bit would be a great result.

Perhaps... it might even be passed down to future generations and become a so-called 'Knight's Secret Medicine'...

"Wow!"

Just then, Aaron heard Ginny let out a joyful cry: "I see a rabbit! Brother Aaron, let's have rabbit meat for dinner tonight!"

Evening.

Outside Blackstone Manor, Aaron carried the sleeping Ginny, who had played all day, into the carriage and greeted the guardian knight beside it: "Thank you for your hard work, Sir Alfred!"

As a young lady, Ginny naturally didn't travel alone and always had guards when going out.

However, the fact that her mother and brother hadn't sent her, but had instead let the old knight escort her, made Aaron feel somewhat surprised.

"This is my duty, after all."

Alfred struck his chest with a fist; he was not only a manor lord but also in the service of the Sothoth Family.

Naturally, this meant Theodore had to pay him an additional annuity every year.

For a lesser noble, serving a superior noble in exchange for compensation was nothing to be ashamed of; on the contrary, it was an honor.

"Then, I will have to trouble you to escort my sister back."

Aaron waved his hand, watching the procession flying the Dark Green Banyan Horn Flag depart and vanish into the setting sun.

A little girl like Ginny could never make such a decision on her own. It seems Lady Sonia is hinting at something... does she want to form an alliance with me to resist Colin?

He turned back and entered Blackstone Manor, a playful expression on his face. As a landed knight, it would be difficult for anyone who takes power to strip me of my title, so why should I wade into these muddy waters? Furthermore, what benefit would I gain if Sean were to take power?

As for promises of splitting the Green Forest once the deed was done, only a fool would believe that, and Sonia had not stooped to using such a scam to insult Aaron's intelligence.

So, Ginny's arrival was an emotional ploy, a subtle influence?

Aaron entered the alchemy room. On a flat, large table sat a set of equipment he had managed to assemble with great difficulty, including a balance scale, several rows of test tubes, measuring cups, and more... Glass in this era was extremely expensive and had to be imported by merchants from outside the Green Forest, which had once led Aaron to consider building his own glass workshop.

He skillfully picked up the processed Blood Grass, placed it into a mortar, ground it carefully, and began the extraction process...

He did not know how much time had passed when half a test tube was filled with a suspicious, foul-smelling black potion.

"I'll start with the first phase of testing, beginning with small animals..."

Looking at the finished product, Aaron nodded.