Final Brewing (Part 1)

Early March, the beginning of spring.

The herbs in Romon's space had finally reached harvest time again.

Though the world outside passed through the unending changes of the four seasons, the Shennong Horn Space was forever caught in the warm climate between spring and summer.

This time, Romon would harvest even more herbs than last time. With winter not yet fully over and herbs scarce on the market, this would undoubtedly bring him a large sum of money.

Leaving town, he came to a clearing in the forest. After checking that no one was around, Romon lay flat on the dry grass he had spread out beforehand.

Warm sunlight shone over him, while the great ball of light suspended in midair within the Shennong Horn Space continuously gathered power.

Romon's consciousness immediately entered the space.

By this time, the plants in the space had basically all reached harvest season. The fruit trees hung heavy with fruit, giving off wave after wave of enticing fragrance.

Plump fish constantly swam through the creek. As for that great expanse of cultivated herb fields, whenever the wind blew, medicinal fragrance filled the air.

Looking at everything before him, Romon was delighted. He wandered everywhere, looking here and touching there, maintaining an incomparably excited state from the moment he entered.

Of the five acres of land in the space, apart from the fruit trees, some plants whose uses had yet to be discovered, and plants brought from Earth, all the remaining land was planted with medicinal herbs from this world.

In this warm world, those herbs grew more vigorously than their counterparts outside.

Thanks to the constant temperature and other stable conditions, the herbs that matured here were far superior in quality to the same kinds outside.

And in the near future, these lovely herbs would all turn into gleaming silver coins and slip into his pocket.

Since Romon was now constantly building up his strength, he valued every single coin.

Wasting resources was not his style. Therefore, aside from the materials necessary for the potion shop, Romon decided to sell all the other mature herbs.

However, how to sell them was a problem.

Romon did not want to sell them himself. That would be too conspicuous. If anyone asked where the herbs had come from, he would have no way to explain.

After all, it was currently the season when herbs were in short supply. Aside from certain special people, such as Fifth-Level Druid Jefa, who had natural greenhouses for growing herbs, even the herbs within the Temple had stopped growing.

Though the Temple had constant spells maintaining them, those merely kept them from withering. Making them grow and mature on their own during winter was practically impossible.

Romon did not yet have the ability to build a greenhouse, nor did he have any other explanation to offer. Therefore, he did not plan to make things too obvious. He decided to think of a safer way to dispose of the herbs cautiously.

After leaving the space, he thought for a while, then decided to have the merchant Barnel handle this batch of herbs.

After all, Rika Town simply could not absorb such a large batch of goods. He might as well let Barnel sell them elsewhere. That would save him trouble and fetch a higher price as well.

No sooner thought than done. The moment he returned to town, Romon went straight to Barnel and told him that he had a batch of herbs on hand.

Hearing that he would not need to put up any capital and could still receive twenty percent of the profits, Barnel, being a merchant, agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"Romon, you really have this many herbs?" On the day he came to collect the goods, Barnel took only one look and was so shocked he could barely speak.

Inside Romon's room, piles upon piles of harvested herbs lay on clean animal hides, continuously giving off their fragrance.

With so many varieties and such enormous quantities, Barnel stood stunned for a long time.

However, based on their prior agreement, Barnel wisely did not ask where the herbs came from. Instead, he patted Romon on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll definitely get you a good price. With so many varieties of herbs, the profits this time certainly won't be small."

Romon responded just as tactfully. "Mr. Barnel, please rest assured as well. If this cooperation goes well, I'll come to you again next time I have business."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

And this batch of herbs truly did fetch Barnel a fine price in the end.

He sold the herbs separately to Dafa Trading Company in the small city and to several potion shops. The people in charge of those shops hardly even bargained; they simply completed the transactions at Barnel's stated prices.

After all, during this season when old growth had faded and new growth had yet to emerge, many herbs had stopped growing. Potion shops in many places faced shortages of raw materials. Being able to purchase all the ingredients they needed meant increased income for those managers. Besides, the wool came from the sheep's back; in the big cities, there were plenty of rich people to make up for their losses.

As for Barnel, though he received only twenty percent of the profits, because the selling price was so high, he still made a small fortune overall.

And Romon, the greatest beneficiary of this transaction, treated Barnel to a lavish feast.

However, though Romon believed he had handled the matter discreetly, someone in town still discovered his secret.

"So many herbs can be harvested even in winter?" In the forest, a middle-aged man looked at several herbs of different kinds in his hand, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Behind him stood a greenhouse, and this middle-aged man pondering the herbs was none other than Fifth-Level Druid Jefa.

He had happened upon the herbs in the small city. Since it was difficult to harvest a complete range of herbs during winter, the moment he discovered a full selection being sold, he immediately asked about them out of curiosity and then investigated further. The result greatly shocked him: these herbs had been sold through Barnel of Rika Town.

After another round of investigation, he finally learned the source of the herbs—they had come from Romon.

He had once suspected that Romon might have secretly built a greenhouse, but the enormous expense was not something Romon could bear, let alone the skills involved in maintaining a greenhouse. Those were possessed only by at least a Fifth-Level Druid. But if that was not the case, where exactly had Romon obtained this batch of herbs...

"Could another Druid above Fifth Level have appeared in town?" Jefa kept turning over every possible assumption in his mind.

As for the potent potions, they did not arouse his suspicions. Jefa had already concluded that their effectiveness was due to the herbs all being high quality. Good ingredients naturally produced somewhat better potions.

As he watched and waited, the end of March arrived in the blink of an eye. Spring was warm, and flowers were blooming.

Over the past month or so, through constant training, Romon had successfully consolidated his warrior strength. Druids were inherently a versatile profession, and this strength would merge into his Druid strength. Though he could not be as fiercely brave as those adventurers, he had no problem with basic self-defense.

However, aside from Fafier, no one knew about his combat ability. And though Fafier had not yet advanced to Second-Level, with his current strength, breaking through to Second-Level was just around the corner.

After discussing matters with Romon, Miss Eileen had felt that she had benefited immensely upon returning home. Over the past month, she had visited the potion shop several times to chat with Romon.

Romon could only say that this was both painful and joyful.

Though rumors about him and the second young lady were spreading through town, chatting with her made Romon feel relaxed and happy. He also gained a great deal of knowledge, replenishing his storehouse of information. After all, priests of the Goddess of Agriculture also possessed the Plant Domain, making them similar to Druids when it came to herbs.

Their relationship also gradually became closer through their constant conversations and exchanges.

That day, after Miss Eileen finished a day's work, she left the Temple and headed for the street again. At that moment, the lord, who had come looking for his second daughter on business, arrived in a carriage.

"Ellie? Ellie?" After searching the Temple without finding his daughter, the lord was deeply puzzled.

Just then, a young priest emerged from a room. Seeing the lord, he hurried over and saluted.

"Where is Eileen?" the lord asked.

The young priest answered with a complicated expression, "In reply to Lord Baron, Miss Eileen has gone to the street."

"She went to the street?" The lord froze. "What is she doing there?"

If she had gone shopping, there was practically nothing to buy on this street. Recalling what the tax officer had mentioned before, the lord's expression immediately darkened. He did not ask anything further, merely climbed into his carriage with a gloomy face.

The young priest, who had wanted to say something more, could only watch him leave.

The lord's carriage sped from the Temple straight toward the street. On the way, it unexpectedly encountered the tax officer, who claimed he was headed to the castle. Since they were of the same clan, the lord made an exception and allowed him into the carriage to sit beside him.

"Do you know that the second young lady has been going to the street often lately?" After a period of silence, the lord suddenly asked.

The tax officer thought for a moment, then said, "I have heard people mention it. There are quite a lot of rumors outside as well."

The tax officer understood the struggles among nobles very well, so he wrapped what he wanted to say in the words "I heard." That way, even if trouble arose later, it would be someone else's trouble, not his.

"Is that so? What rumors? Tell me." The lord instead asked calmly.

Thus, the tax officer recounted the recent rumors circulating around town regarding Romon and the second young lady. After hearing them, one only had to look into the lord's eyes to see the anger he was feeling.

"My lord!"

"Pick up the pace. I'll go see just how lively that potion shop really is!" the lord said calmly.

"Yes!" Receiving the command, the coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage moved forward even faster. Soon, the carriage slowed. They had arrived at Romon's potion shop.

"Lord Baron, look at how lively his shop is." Lifting one corner of the carriage curtain, the tax officer pointed it out to the baron. The lord looked and saw that, compared to the potion shop opposite, Romon's shop was indeed bustling beyond measure.

Many adventurers entered and exited the shop, carrying medicines in their hands and talking and laughing. Compared with Jefa's potion shop, where only townspeople occasionally came and went, this shop's business was truly excellent.

"Are his potions really that effective?" the lord asked. According to his servants' reports, he also knew that the shop opposite Romon's was Jefa's potion shop. Could a Fifth-Level Druid really have fallen to such a miserable state? Could he not even compare to a Second-Level Druid?

Seeing the lord's curiosity, the tax officer told him about the new potion Romon had introduced. At the end, he pointed out that the second young lady's frequent appearances lately were likely directly connected to this new potion.

Hearing this, the lord fell silent.

His gaze turned outside. Then, when he suddenly saw two people appear in the doorway, his pupils sharply contracted.

!!