Why Does Wild Corn Grow Like This

Just as Liszt had finished settling the worm grass for the Wheat Bug, Gergil, the steward of Wheat Hamlet, suddenly approached him. "My Lord, I am not sure if I should say this."

"If you have something to say, please speak." Liszt's eyes brightened; he felt that the man might be about to reveal information regarding the Invisible Dragon.

However, Gergil said, "My Lord, I discovered three very strange plants on the wasteland in Wheat Hamlet. They grow exceptionally tall, two or three meters high, and are lush and green. The chickens we raise love to eat their leaves."

"It's corn!"

Liszt realized it immediately. The clue provided by the steward was not about the Invisible Dragon, but three stalks of wild corn. He immediately ordered the steward to lead the way—corn, the corn he had been looking forward to.

Yet, upon standing before the wild corn, Liszt fell into confusion.

"Gergil, how long have you known about these three plants?"

"It has been three months, My Lord."

"And they have always looked like this?"

"Yes, My Lord."

Liszt habitually touched the Red Blood Sword hanging at his waist.

He kept this sword with him at all times; the magic within the ruby constantly stimulated his fire-attribute battle qi, nourishing and strengthening it. In other words, as long as he carried the sword, he was training every single moment. If he consumed more magic potions in the future, it was not impossible for him to become a Sky Knight.

He stared intently at the three stalks of wild corn.

The corn before him was not a single straight stalk with a few leaves, a tassel on top, and one or two ears of corn in the middle. Instead, it had messily branched into several stalks, each topped with a cluster of flowers. As for the middle, where the ears of corn should have been, there were only a few tiny toothpicks.

The toothpicks were segmented, and each segment was a grass seed.

Don't tell me wild corn looks like this. This isn't corn; this is wheat! Liszt felt deeply wounded inside. He knew clearly that these three stalks were indeed the wild corn he had been seeking.

But he could not accept it.

What happened to the big, plump ears of corn he was promised!

"This is just grass for livestock... wait, I remember now. These three stalks of wild corn should probably be called Mexican Teosinte?"

Having farmed in his hometown, Liszt remembered that someone in the village had planted a type of pig fodder—grass meant for pigs—called Mexican Teosinte. It was said to be a highly productive forage crop that pigs, cattle, and sheep particularly loved to eat.

"That must be it. If it were true corn, there would be no need to add the word 'wild' in front of it. Corn doesn't seem to have a wild variety; it was cultivated by humans over millions of years." Once he understood this, he could only sigh in his heart and console himself, "At least I've gained a high-yield forage crop. It's not a loss."

He composed his frustrated mood.

Liszt put on his noble, reserved smile once more. "Gergil, after my assessment, this grass is called Teosinte. It is a highly productive forage crop that livestock enjoy. Chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and sheep all love to eat it. From now on, you must guard it well; I need its seeds."

"Yes, My Lord! Gergil will certainly guard the Teosinte well and not let any serfs or livestock near it!"

"That is excellent. I will notify Sir Gortai, and he will make further arrangements in due time. You just need to wait and cooperate."

"Yes, My Lord."

Taking one last look at the Mexican Teosinte, Liszt took a deep breath and raised his riding crop. "Let's go back!"

The placement of the Wheat Bug's worm grass had gone very smoothly. Thus far, the Peanut Bug, Alfalfa Bug, Tulip Bug, and Wheat Bug had all been properly settled.

It remained to be seen where the Thorn Bug would be placed, and the millet field for the Millet Bug was still in the planning stages.

Regardless, the sprites would receive the best care possible.

On the way back, Liszt ran into Marcus, who was preparing to come to the castle to see him.

"Sir Marcus, is something the matter?"

"My Lord, I heard from Sir Gortai that you were asking him about the Invisible Dragon?"

"Oh, do you know about the Invisible Dragon?"

"I have heard of it," Marcus said earnestly. "I saw it in a torn-up knight novel. I don't know the name of the novel, and I read it when I was very young."

"Is that so? How did it describe the Invisible Dragon?" Liszt knew that with the Wheat Bug mission complete, his reward had arrived.

Marcus said, "The novel stated that besides Gem Dragons, Metal Dragons, and Elemental Dragons, there is another type of dragon called the Holy Dragon. The Invisible Dragon is a type of Holy Dragon. It is transparent; no one can see its form, and wherever it goes, it brings endless disaster."

"Disaster? Then why is it called a Holy Dragon?"

"Because it can produce a very special kind of gemstone."

"A special gemstone? Then it should be classified as a Gem Dragon. By the way, what is this special gemstone, and does it have any different powers?"

"This gemstone is related to a legendary piece of equipment. My Lord, have you heard of a space ring? It is a tiny ring that can hold a great many things."

Does this world have space rings too?

Liszt searched the memories of his predecessor but found nothing, so he said, "No. So, do space rings actually exist? Or rather, can the gemstones produced by the Invisible Dragon be used to craft space rings?"

"I do not know if space rings exist. Even if they do, they must be priceless treasures that only the truly great nobles could possess," Marcus said. "The knight novel I read did indeed say that wherever the Invisible Dragon goes, besides endless disaster, it also leaves behind the gemstones it produces. Whoever finds them possesses a space ring."

"And then?"

"And then, there was nothing else."

"Did the book not write any more information about the Invisible Dragon?"

"No. And I believe this is just a story made up by people. You know, many of those novels that enlighten us on knightly honor are just written blindly by novelists." Marcus had come specifically to tell Liszt this information, but clearly, he did not believe in the existence of the Invisible Dragon himself.

Liszt remained noncommittal and continued to ask, "Then, are there any other Holy Dragons?"

"I don't know. That book was missing half its pages, and the parts I read only covered a small fraction, describing solely the Invisible Dragon among the Holy Dragons."

Once Marcus had departed.

Liszt still couldn't fathom it.

What exactly did the quest reward, "Information on the Invisible Dragon," mean?

Was it simply a way for the quest to impart knowledge about the Invisible Dragon? Or did it imply that an Invisible Dragon was nearby, waiting to be captured? Perhaps it meant an Invisible Dragon was coming to attack Flower Town, and he needed to prepare defenses? Of course, it was also possible that an Invisible Dragon was coming to deliver loot, like a spatial ring?

As he pondered, the smoke reappeared before his eyes.

"Quest completed. Reward: Information on the Invisible Dragon."

After a brief distortion, a new quest was issued: "Quest: Has the sudden appearance of Wild Corn in Wheat Hamlet caught your attention? A lord must contemplate why Wild Corn would grow in Wheat Hamlet. Perhaps there is more Wild Corn nearby. Please locate the origin of the Wild Corn. Reward: New information on the Invisible Dragon."

Liszt's attention shifted rapidly to the new quest reward.

"Information on the Invisible Dragon again? What the hell is this? Just how much information about the Invisible Dragon does it intend to tell me?"