I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game – Chapter 21

Author: isuzuuy

‘What? Was he just teasing me?’

I stared at him, dumbfounded, then quietly protested in a low voice so Siad wouldn’t hear.

“I was being serious when I said that…! Do you really find it fun to tease me like this?”

“Yep.”

At Kais’s immediate reply, I raised my fist at him.

He simply shrugged, looking perfectly unconcerned.

“Violence is punishable, too, Customer.”

“Ugh…!”

Fortunately, Siad finished paying for our groceries just then and interrupted us, putting an end to my argument with Kais.

“Kais. What are you doing?”

Siad let out a faint sigh.

Kais raised an eyebrow, then curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk as he looked at me.

“Building a friendship with Customer?”

“Huh?”

As I stared at him in disbelief, a notification appeared before my eyes.

Kais’s Affection +5

Hmm.

He had teased me mercilessly, but somehow, it felt as though I’d received a reward.

I decided not to argue any further and kept my mouth shut.

“Isn’t that right, Customer?”

“Yeees… I suppose you could say that.”

I nodded along in agreement. Kais turned his back to Siad and me.

“See you next time.”

“Goodbye.”

Even so, I politely bid him farewell out of habit. He was the village chief, after all.

“If you have nothing to be ashamed of, don’t be the first to act like you have something to lose.”

“Huh?”

“It makes you an easy target.”

After offering me that out-of-the-blue piece of advice, Kais leisurely walked out of the store.

At the same time, people spotted him and swarmed around him.

“Wow.”

Avoiding the suddenly crowded front entrance, Siad and I made our way out through the back door.

“Kais is really popular.”

As Siad opened the door for me, he replied matter-of-factly.

“More precisely, he’s constantly being burdened with work.”

“Oh…”

I let out a sigh of understanding.

So he was also responsible for handling the villagers’ complaints.

Suddenly, Kais’s habit of lying down wherever he could, falling asleep, and constantly looking exhausted made perfect sense.

***

After we finished shopping, Siad took me to the herb garden as promised.

“This is the herb garden.”

“Wow!”

I exclaimed in amazement the moment we stepped inside.

The greenhouse was filled with lush, green herbs.

Siad was dressed as neatly as usual, while I had changed into clothes that were more comfortable to move around in.

I was planning to learn about herbs while subtly helping him with his work.

Siad slipped a white glove onto his hand, then held out his palm toward me.

“Some of these herbs have thorns, so you may prick yourself.”

I obediently placed my hand on his palm. He helped me put on the glove as he spoke.

“I’ll explain each herb one by one, so please feel free to ask if you have any questions. If you get tired, you can head inside whenever you like. I have some work to do here, after all.”

“I’d like to try harvesting herbs, too… Would that be okay?”

When I asked hesitantly, Siad briefly raised and lowered his eyebrows.

“There’s no reason you can’t, but it might be tiring for you.”

“I’m interested in herbs, and I thought it would be good to learn how to harvest them from you in advance!”

In other words, he didn’t need to feel burdened at all about letting me help.

Siad’s Affection +10

“You’re very interested in herbalism.”

I simply nodded with a bright smile.

“Let me show you these first.”

As we approached a cluster of herbs with white leaves, a familiar, sharp, refreshing scent tickled my nose.

It was the same invigorating fragrance I often smelled whenever I took a walk outside the house.

“This is one of the most useful herbs. It has three white leaves growing from a green stem, making it easy to distinguish from other herbs.”

“What is it used for?”

I bent forward to get a closer look.

Siad held the stem and tilted the leaves toward me so I could smell them.

“It’s exceptionally effective at removing unpleasant odors and stains. That’s why it’s often used when wounds become infected or begin to produce pus.”

“Oh, I see.”

“It’s also used to clean medical instruments. It can remove even dried bloodstains completely.”

I brought my nose close to the leaves and sniffed as I listened to his explanation.

Herbalism +22

My Herbalism experience increased just from listening to Siad explain the herbs.

“It sounds useful in so many ways. Is that why you’ve planted so many of them?”

“Yes. I harvest them whenever they’re needed, and since new leaves grow back quickly, they’re easy to maintain. Would you like to try harvesting some?”

“I’d love to.”

“Don’t break off the whole stem. Just pick the leaves.”

Siad demonstrated the motion with his hands.

Pluck, pluck, pluck.

The leaves fluttered down one by one into the basket.

“This herb isn’t poisonous, so touching it shouldn’t cause any problems. However, some of the others can be dangerous, so please be careful.”

I nodded at Siad’s warning, then followed his movements and began picking the leaves from the herbs in front of me.

Pluck, pluck-pluck.

I gently twisted the point where each leaf joined the stem, and it came off easily.

“Perfect. You’re doing very well.”

I felt quietly proud when I saw the slight surprise on Siad’s face.

After finishing my first harvest, we went on to examine the other herbs one by one.

“The purple herb is an ingredient used to make potions that heal wounds.”

“Like Healing Potions?”

“Yes. However, its thorns contain a paralyzing substance, so you must always use tongs when harvesting it.”

“It really does look like a vine…”

The sharp thorns growing all over it made it easy to identify.

Herbalism +33

“And this one contains ingredients that restore stamina and have a calming effect…”

Herbalism +15

Herbalism +18

Herbalism has reached Level 2!

“Can I start harvesting now?”

“Yes. Just remember the precautions I mentioned earlier.”

“Okay!”

I picked up a harvesting basket and moved to one side of the herb garden.

Then, following what I’d just learned, I began harvesting the various herbs.

Pluck-pluck-pluck.

Herbalism +11

My experience continued to increase little by little as I harvested.

2x EXP Buff Active!

‘Huh? Double? Why?’

Unable to figure out why my experience was doubled, I stared intently at the buff window.

A cute little ding! sounded, and an explanation window appeared.

Herbalism EXP x2 Buff (30 minutes): You listened attentively to Siad’s explanation of herbalism.

‘There’s a buff like this?’

When I played the game, I could get buffs by reading herbalism books or taking related part-time jobs, but this was the first time I’d encountered one like this.

‘Now that I think about it, Siad is the village healer, so maybe this is perfectly natural.’

There was no way I could pass up a double EXP event.

With even more enthusiasm, I resumed harvesting.

Herb leaves tumbled into my basket in a steady stream.

With every step I took, the herbs were stripped bare until only their thin, bare stems remained.

Farming +10

As the herb leaves piled up in my basket, my sense of accomplishment grew along with them.

Back when I was lying in a hospital bed, I’d felt helpless in ways I hadn’t even noticed, whether I was reading books or playing games.

‘Maybe people really do need to do something productive.’

I continued harvesting in silence, completely absorbed in the task. Before I knew it, I’d finished harvesting all three rows of the herb garden.

Looking down at the basket filled to the brim with greenery, I thought,

‘I need to get another basket.’