Meat Field

"Ah, I knew you'd notice. This is my greatest masterpiece!"

Whether he was simply happy to get a reaction or not, Al spoke with a wide smile spreading across his face.

I fought the urge to cover my ears, doing my best to act as though I hadn't noticed—as though I hadn't even touched upon that Wind.

"Heh, so you were able to make something like that. That’s impressive. Now, about this cabbage—"

"Muu... Brother, you look like you don't really care at all."

"T-That’s not true."

But the fact that there’s raw Meat sitting right here means it was harvested from the field, right? Did he actually plant it? Surely he wouldn't go that far... would he?

I looked at Al’s expression. He turned a gaze toward me that was utterly devoid of doubt. Looking into those innocent eyes, I found it impossible to believe anything other than the fact that he had actually planted it.

Is it possible that in this world, using Magic Stones as a substitute for fertilizer allows for the mass production of any food imaginable? If that’s the case, the world’s food crisis would be solved in an instant.

Driven by that flickering hope, I decided to ask him.

"By any chance... did it grow after you planted it in the field?"

"...What are you talking about, Brother? Meat doesn't grow from fields."

Al stated the obvious as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I know that because I actually tried it! There's no mistake!"

He beamed at me with a full smile.

As I suspected, Al was still Al. To think he had actually put it to the test...

"Then how did you get this Meat?"

"That's easy."

Al then began to explain the process in excruciating detail.

---

"Brother’s tools are as easy to use as always."

Al had been tilling the field. Once he had finished a certain portion, he had triumphantly planted pieces of Meat and scattered White Powder—ground-up Magic Stones—over them as fertilizer.

"With this, I'll have a huge harvest of Meat by tomorrow. I can't wait."

Looking down at the buried Meat, Al’s face had softened with happy anticipation. However, when he returned to the field the following day, he witnessed something inexplicable.

"I-It’s gone?! W-Why?!"

Despite the vegetables in the other experimental plots firmly beginning to bear fruit, not so much as a sprout had emerged from this Meat Field. It was a self-evident result, but to Al, it was a catastrophe.

"C-Could it be..."

With a grim expression, Al reached a certain conclusion.

"Does Meat just take a longer time to grow?!"

He felt as though he had grasped a fundamental truth of the universe. It was, of course, a complete delusion.

"Alright, I'm going to raise it right!!"

From that day forward, Al took meticulous care of the Meat Field every single day. Despite his devotion, the Meat Field showed... absolutely no change.

(※ Shortly after this, the Meat was deliciously consumed by the Mole Monsters (Staff Members).)

"W-Why? Is my love for the Meat insufficient? Do I need to be even more thorough in my care?!"

Al agonized over the problem. For some reason, the basic fact that Meat does not grow when planted in the Earth had completely vanished from his mind, replaced by the unwavering premise that it should work.

"The Meat Brother said it, too—that it’s better to try all sorts of things. Alright, I'll try everything!"

After that, Al attempted to grow the Meat using various patterns. He tried planting it deep, leaving it half-exposed, chopping it into pieces, and even grilling it...

(※ Shortly after this, the Meat was deliciously consumed by the Strange Bird Monsters (Staff Members).)

However, no matter what he did, no Meat ever grew from the field. Instead, for some reason, Monsters began to patrol the skies and the underground as if guarding the plot.

Their payment, of course, was the Meat planted in the field.

Baffled by his lack of success, Al eventually went to Sasha for advice.

"Hey, I can't get any Meat to grow from my field. Do you know the trick to it?"

"I don't think you can grow Meat in a field, Al. It’s something you get from Livestock or Monsters."

Al stood there with his mouth agape, stunned by this revelation. However, he immediately crossed his arms and huffed.

"I-I knew that much. I was just checking to see if you knew. That's all!"

"I understand. After all, nobody would actually make a mistake like that."

"W-Well, you never know. Maybe the Meat Brother doesn't know either."

"...I feel like my elder brother would plant the Meat even if he knew better."

When Al imagined that scene, it felt strangely plausible.

"Come to think of it, the Meat Brother might have mentioned a long time ago that Meat doesn't come from fields. If I remember right, you're supposed to plant Livestock, right?"

"You don't plant them..." Sasha replied with a weary, dry smile. "Just imagine it for a second. Imagine Cows, Pigs, or Sheep being planted in a field..."

As instructed, Al closed his eyes and visualized the scene.

He saw a Cow planted in the field singing a happy song; Pigs performing a synchronized routine with their legs sticking out of the Earth; and Sheep that, once buried, sprouted into even more Sheep.

"Yeah, that looks like fun!"

"...Don't you dare do it."

She gave him a sharp warning, sensing that Al was exactly the type to try.

"It’s fine. I can't do it anyway because I’d have to catch a Cow first."

"Even if you catch one, please don't do it."

"But the Requiem of the Sinking Cow is..."

"Give it up."

Reluctantly, Al abandoned the idea of burying a Cow and decided to bury a Pig instead. That said, if such Livestock were roaming nearby, no one would be struggling for food. They weren't exactly easy to find...

"Ah, there’s one! Wait, is that a Sheep...?"

Defying his expectations, he stumbled upon a Sheep right in the field. Or rather, could it even be called a Sheep? It was three times Al's length, looking like a massive ball of fluffy white wool. If not for the distinct, spiraling horns, he might not have recognized it at all.

Though Sheep weren't supposed to be carnivorous, this one was busy devouring the raw Meat Al had planted in his Meat Field.

"This concentrated Light Magic Power is irresistible, meee. This White Powder is the secret ingredient, meee."

The Sheep was talking—something they weren't supposed to do—but since Al had never actually seen a Pig or a Sheep up close, he didn't question it. He'd heard some Monsters could talk, so he figured this was normal.

More importantly, he was focused on his theory.

If you bury a Sheep, more Sheep will grow...

He readied his Shovel and began digging rapidly around the Pseudo-sheep's feet—the part currently touching the ground.

"W-What are you doing, meee?! S-Stop it, meee!"

The Pseudo-sheep was quickly half-buried in the hole.

"This is it... here we go..."

Al watched with bated breath, his heart racing with excitement. However, perhaps because its entire body wasn't submerged yet, no new Sheep began to sprout.

"Hurry up and let me out, meee! I can't move, meee!"

"Maybe it won't grow unless I bury the whole thing?"

"It won't grow, meee! It's not going to grow, so just stop, meee!"

The Pseudo-sheep pleaded desperately. But Al figured that if he actually finished burying it, it might just work...

"I heard you're supposed to plant and raise Livestock and Sheep..."

"You’re mixing up a bunch of different stories, meee! Besides, I'm not Livestock or a Sheep, meee!"

"...Meat."

"I-I get it, meee! In exchange... I'll catch some substitute Livestock for you, meee! J-Just please forgive me, meee!"

The creature's plea was so desperate it might have moved a normal person to mercy. Al, however, simply continued to pile Earth onto the Pseudo-sheep while it talked.

"E-Enough is enough, meee!!"