Harvesting Long Eggplants

Having decided to let Seram live in my house as an employee, I immediately set about getting to work. However, for some reason, Seram, who was supposed to be helping with the farmwork, had brought her sword along.

The sight of her wearing a red tracksuit with a sword hanging from her waist was undeniably bizarre.

“What’s wrong, Jin-dono?”

“Why did you bring your sword?”

“I simply don’t feel at ease without it… Is that a problem?”

Seram spoke while affectionately stroking the hilt of her sword.

If I told her she couldn’t bring it, she would probably leave it behind, but I had a feeling she’d look terribly sad if I did.

She seemed to have accepted that she couldn’t return to her original world anytime soon, but she must still have been feeling lonely.

“Well, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of your work, I guess it’s fine.”

“Thank you!”

“By the way, Japan has laws regulating swords and firearms. Carrying a blade longer than six centimeters without a legitimate reason, such as needing it for work, is prohibited.”

“What?! But wouldn’t that leave people defenseless if they were attacked by monsters?!”

“Like I said, there aren’t any monsters in this world.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The fact that she instinctively asked such a question showed that Seram still hadn’t gotten used to this world.

“Incidentally, how long is six centimeters?”

The units of measurement in Seram’s world were probably different from ours.

“About this long.”

“But then wouldn’t carrying a kitchen knife be prohibited as well?!”

“No, kitchen knives are essential for cooking at home, so there’s nothing wrong with owning one. You’re just not allowed to carry one around without a legitimate reason.”

When I explained, Seram gave me an expression that suggested she both understood and didn’t understand.

She probably understood the rule itself but couldn’t quite accept the reasoning behind it.

“Anyway, this world is extremely peaceful. That’s why carrying weapons like that makes people suspicious that you might be planning something dangerous.”

“Then perhaps I should leave it behind so I don’t cause you any trouble…?”

She said something admirably considerate, but her expression was terribly sorrowful.

“Well, nobody carries real swords around here, so I doubt anyone would get angry with you for having one.”

“I-Is that so?!”

When I said that, Seram’s face brightened with happiness.

Apparently, she really did want to keep her sword with her at all times.

With Seram’s appearance making it obvious that she wasn’t Japanese, nobody would assume the sword at her waist was real.

They would probably just think she was a foreigner fascinated by Japanese culture who admired samurai or knights and carried a toy sword around.

Of course, if I explained that much, she’d probably sulk, so I kept it to myself.

“Just make absolutely sure you never draw it, all right? Even an ordinary person would realize it wasn’t a fake if you pulled it out.”

She had let me touch it briefly, and even to an amateur like me, a real sword possessed an intimidating weight and presence. If she carelessly drew it in public, she’d undoubtedly find herself in trouble for violating Japan’s weapons laws.

“Understood. I am a knight, after all. I would never draw my sword recklessly.”

“Didn’t you almost draw it on me when we first met?”

“That was your fault, Jin-dono! You insulted me so terribly!”

The female knight looked uncomfortable as she recalled our first encounter. It would be a serious problem if she started drawing her sword whenever her short temper got the better of her.

I’d have to keep a close eye on Seram’s behavior from now on.

“Anyway, enough about the sword. It’s time to work. Today, we’re harvesting eggplants.”

“Eggplants! Those are the vegetables we had for lunch yesterday!”

After explaining today’s work, I immediately led her toward the eggplant plants.

“Jin-dono, what is this transparent building?”

“It’s a greenhouse. I grow eggplants inside it.”

“What for?”

“By separating the plants from the outside environment with plastic sheeting, I can reduce the effects of external conditions. It also makes it easier to control the air and soil temperatures, among other things. Basically, it lets me adjust the growing environment so the plants are easier to cultivate.”

“I-I see. I only understood about half of what you said, Jin-dono, but agriculture in this world certainly seems remarkably advanced.”

From what I had heard, Seram’s world had a level of civilization resembling medieval Europe, supplemented by the development of magic and other supernatural techniques. It was only natural that she would find agricultural methods involving modern equipment strange.

After giving her a brief explanation of the greenhouse, we headed inside.

“Oh! Are all the plants in here eggplants?!”

Seram exclaimed in surprise when she saw the eggplant plants stretching across the greenhouse.

It was a familiar sight to me, but someone with little experience in agriculture would probably find such an enormous number of plants lined up together quite impressive.

“Yeah, they’re all eggplants. Specifically, these are a variety called long eggplants. They’re about ten centimeters longer than ordinary eggplants, and the larger ones can grow to thirty or even forty centimeters. Their flesh is tender, and they’re especially delicious when grilled or simmered.”

“…………”

As I explained, I noticed Seram staring intently at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was simply thinking that you become much more talkative and lively whenever the subject turns to vegetables, Jin-dono.”

“…Do I?”

I hadn’t been aware of it myself, but if she had noticed, perhaps it was true.

This was the first time I had talked about agriculture like this with someone outside of work. Perhaps I had been craving an opportunity to have such conversations.

“I think you look better when you wear such a gentle expression more often.”

Was she implying that I usually looked grumpy?

Well, I knew I wasn’t particularly friendly or approachable, so I couldn’t really argue.

“Anyway, I want you to harvest the eggplants with these pruning shears and put them into the containers.”

I pushed over a cart and some containers that had been sitting at the edge of the greenhouse.

“Oh! It moves forward just by pushing it! How convenient!”

Apparently fascinated by the cart, Seram excitedly pushed and pulled it back and forth. Watching her like this made me feel as though I had suddenly acquired an oversized child.

“By the way, how do I determine which eggplants are ready to harvest?”

“Pick the ones that are about as long as these pruning shears. When harvesting them, you can cut right at the base of the side shoot.”

To demonstrate, I picked up an eggplant approximately the same length as the shears and cut the side shoot at its base. Then I separated the eggplant from the unnecessary shoot and placed it in the container.

“Is it really all right to cut so close to the base?”

“If you only harvest the fruit, new side shoots will grow from that point, and the plants will become overgrown in no time. That’s why you don’t need to hesitate about cutting them.”

If I didn’t keep cutting them back, the side shoots would continue multiplying until the plants turned into something resembling a jungle.

Removing excess leaves also helped encourage healthy growth.

“Understood. Then allow me to try.”

Seram picked up the pruning shears and carefully compared their length to that of a large eggplant nearby, her expression deadly serious.

She really didn’t need to be that cautious…

Once she had confirmed that the eggplant met the required size, Seram nodded and snipped through the base of the side shoot connected to the fruit.

At that exact moment, I deliberately put on a distressed expression and cried out.

“Ahhh?!”

“W-What is it?! Was I not supposed to harvest this one?! I-I’m terribly sorry! This is my first time doing anything like this, so—”

“No, it’s fine. You did it correctly.”

The moment I revealed the truth, Seram’s expression turned menacing.

“…Jin-dono?”

“Sorry. You looked strangely nervous, so I was just teasing you. The length of the pruning shears is only a rough guideline, anyway. You don’t have to measure everything so precisely, all right?”

When I explained that I had only been trying to ease her nerves, Seram seemed to accept it for the moment and withdrew her threatening aura.

Because her facial features were so strikingly beautiful, her glare was incredibly intimidating.

Having regained her composure, Seram found another eggplant and cut it from its side shoot with much less hesitation than before.

“Was that one all right?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Just keep going like that.”

When I answered, Seram looked relieved and reached for the next eggplant with her pruning shears.

I watched as she successfully harvested her third, fourth, and fifth eggplants. Once I was satisfied that she had the hang of it, I moved to a different row to begin harvesting myself.

Pushing my cart along, I found an eggplant that met the harvesting requirements and cut the side shoot at its base.

After trimming away the unnecessary shoot, I placed only the long eggplant into the container.

I repeated the process, finding one ripe eggplant after another and harvesting them in quick succession. At the same time, I made sure to prune away any unnecessary leaves.

“S-So fast!”

Seram must have noticed me pushing my cart along and harvesting eggplants one after another.

She stared at me in astonishment.

“Well, I’ve been doing this for years.”

“Grrr… Someday, I’ll be able to harvest eggplants just as quickly as you, Jin-dono!”

When I gave her a smug little chuckle, Seram looked frustrated but devoted herself even more earnestly to harvesting.

Apparently, she was quite competitive despite her appearance.

That said, there was no way I could allow someone on their first day of farming to beat me.

As an experienced farmer and her employer, I needed to demonstrate to the newcomer just how far above her my skills were.

With even more enthusiasm than usual, I threw myself into the harvesting work.