Just as Liszt had finished settling the Wheat Bug's Bug Grass, Gergil, the steward of Wheat Hamlet, suddenly told him, "My lord, I'm not sure if I should say this."
"If you have something to say, go ahead." Liszt's eyes lit up. He thought Gergil might be about to tell him something about the Invisible Dragon.
But Gergil said, "My lord, I found three very strange plants in the wasteland at Wheat Hamlet. They're especially tall, about two or three meters high, and bright green. The chickens we raise really like eating their leaves."
"Corn!"
Liszt immediately understood that the clue the steward had brought him wasn't about the Invisible Dragon, but about three stalks of Wild Corn. He at once ordered Gergil to take him there—Corn, the Corn he'd been hoping for.
But when he reached the Wild Corn, Liszt was perplexed.
"Gergil, how long ago did you find these three plants?"
"Three months ago, my lord."
"Have they always looked like this?"
"Yes, my lord."
Liszt habitually touched the Red Blood Sword hanging at his waist.
He had kept the sword at his side without a moment's pause. The magic power of the Red Gem constantly stimulated and nourished his fire attribute battle aura, making it stronger. In other words, carrying the sword meant he was always cultivating. If he took a few more magic potions in the future, he might well become a Sky Knight.
He continued studying the three stalks of Wild Corn.
The Corn before him wasn't a single straight stalk with a few leaves, a cluster of flowers at the top, and one or two ears in the middle. Instead, it had branched into a messy tangle of stalks, each topped with a cluster of flowers. Where ears of corn should have grown in the middle, there were instead several tiny toothpicks.
The toothpicks were segmented, with each segment containing a single grass seed.
"Don't tell me this is what Wild Corn looks like. This isn't Corn; it's wheat!" Liszt felt deeply wounded. He knew full well that the three stalks of Wild Corn were the plants standing right in front of him.
But he couldn't accept it.
Where were the big, plump ears of corn he'd been promised?
"This is nothing but fodder for livestock... Wait, I remember now. These three stalks of Wild Corn must be Mexican Teosinte?"
Liszt, who had grown crops back in his hometown, remembered that someone in his village had grown a kind of pig fodder—a plant called Mexican Teosinte. He'd heard it was a highly productive forage crop that pigs, cattle, and sheep especially loved.
"That must be it. If this were real Corn, there'd be no need to call it 'wild.' As far as I know, Corn doesn't have a wild variety. It was cultivated by people over millions of years." Once he understood, all he could do was sigh to himself and console himself. "At least I've got a high-yield forage crop. It's not a loss."
He composed himself.
Liszt put on the reserved, restrained smile of a noble once more. "Gergil, I've determined that this plant is called Corn Grass. It's a highly productive forage crop that livestock love. Chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and sheep all like to eat it. From now on, keep a close watch over it. I need its seeds."
"Yes, my lord! Gergil will keep the Corn Grass under guard and make sure no serf or livestock goes near it!"
"Excellent. I'll inform Teacher Gortai. He'll make further arrangements, and you can help as needed."
"Yes, my lord."
After taking another look at the Mexican Teosinte, Liszt took a deep breath and raised his riding crop. "Let's go back!"
Settling the Wheat Bug's Bug Grass had gone smoothly. By now, the Peanut Bug, Alfalfa Bug, Tulip Bug, and Wheat Bug had all been properly settled.
He still didn't know where to plant the Thorn Bug, and the Millet Bug's millet field was still being planned.
Whatever happened, the elves would receive the best care.
On the way back, Liszt ran into Marcus, who was on his way to the castle to see him.
"Teacher Marcus, what is it?"
"My lord, I heard from Sir Gortai that you asked him about the Invisible Dragon."
"Oh? You know about the Invisible Dragon?"
"I've heard of it," Marcus said seriously. "I read about it in a knight's novel that was missing half its pages. I don't remember the title. I read it when I was very young."
"Really? How did it describe the Invisible Dragon?" Liszt knew that the Wheat Bug's mission had been completed and that its reward had arrived.
Marcus said, "The novel said that besides Gem Dragons, metal dragons, and Elemental Dragons, there was another kind of dragon called a Holy Dragon. The Invisible Dragon was one of the Holy Dragons. It was transparent, and no one could see what it looked like. Wherever it went, it brought endless disaster."
"Disaster? Then why was it called a Holy Dragon?"
"Because it could produce a very special kind of gem."
"A special gem? Then shouldn't it be classified as a Gem Dragon? By the way, what was special about the gem? Did it have some unusual power?"
"The gem was connected to a legendary piece of equipment. My lord, have you heard of a spatial ring? It's a tiny ring that can hold a great many things."
This world had spatial rings, too?
Liszt searched his predecessor's memories but found nothing, so he said, "No. Then do spatial rings really exist? Or could the gems produced by the Invisible Dragon be used to make them?"
"I don't know whether spatial rings exist. Even if they do, they'd surely be priceless treasures that only the greatest nobles could own." Marcus said, "The knight's novel I read did say that wherever the Invisible Dragon went, it left behind the gems it produced, along with endless disaster. Whoever found one would gain a spatial ring."
"And then?"
"That was all."
"Didn't the book say anything else about the Invisible Dragon?"
"No. Besides, I think it was just a story someone made up. You know how it is with those novels meant to instill knightly honor in us. Novelists make up all sorts of nonsense with a straight face." Marcus had made a special trip to share this information with Liszt, but clearly, he didn't believe the Invisible Dragon existed.
Liszt neither agreed nor disagreed. He continued, "What about other Holy Dragons?"
"I don't know. The book was missing half its pages, and I only read a small part of it. It described just one Holy Dragon: the Invisible Dragon."
After Marcus left,
Liszt still didn't understand.
What exactly did the mission reward—the information about the Invisible Dragon—mean?
Was it simply telling him what he needed to know about the Invisible Dragon? Or was it indicating that an Invisible Dragon was nearby and could be captured? Or was it warning that an Invisible Dragon was coming to attack Flower Town, so he should prepare defenses? Of course, it was also possible that the Invisible Dragon was coming to deliver a piece of equipment—a spatial ring.
As he pondered, the Smoke appeared again before him.
"Mission complete. Reward: information about the Invisible Dragon."
After a brief distortion, a new mission appeared: "Mission: The Wild Corn that suddenly appeared in Wheat Hamlet has caught your attention. As lord, you need to consider why Wild Corn is growing in Wheat Hamlet. There may be more Wild Corn nearby. Find its place of origin. Reward: new information about the Invisible Dragon."
Liszt's attention quickly shifted to the new mission reward.
"Information about the Invisible Dragon again? What the hell is this? How much information about the Invisible Dragon is it going to give me?"