An Unexpected Harvest

“Um, Woody-sama… are you sure those are safe?”

Shekuri-san pointed at the grapes that radiated an aura far too strange to be considered food, each infused with an element.

“Strangely enough, nothing happens to me. Which somehow makes it scarier.”

For some inexplicable reason, even when I held the burning grape, I didn’t feel any heat at all.

When Nadja and Aira tried, however, they felt heat normally.

And when I tossed one into the firewood, it burned just like regular fuel, and the flame hadn’t gone out once since last night.

I figured it had something to do with being a tree planted through my aptitude, so maybe it didn’t affect me. But even so, I didn’t have the guts to eat it.

So, I decided to have Simurg-san, who seemed like he could handle whatever happened, try it.

“Mm… well, a rare delicacy now and then is not unwelcome.”

Without much hesitation, Simurg-san popped the burning grape into his beak.

“Hmm… stimulating, but not bad. It has about the heat of a basic fire spell, so ordinary people wouldn’t be able to eat it.”

“C-calm as always, truly Divine Beast-sama…”

Shekuri-san looked on with reverence.

Having confirmed that one was safe, Simurg-san began eating the other three grapes as well.

But when he ate the third—the wind grape, the Wind Muscat—his demeanor suddenly changed.

“Mm! Mmm… this—!?”

“Simurg-san, are you alr—”

“—Delicious! Exquisite beyond words!”

Basa!

As if to express the flavor, Simurg-san spread his wings wide.

He truly seemed moved, nearly as thrilled as when he had tasted the World Tree fruit.

“Woody, you must make this Wind Muscat for me regularly!”

“Eh? …Well, sure, I don’t mind.”

Though Element Muscat fruits tended to burn or gust wind and could be troublesome nearby, planting them on the outskirts of the village shouldn’t be a problem.

“Much obliged! Though, it would be poor form to take without giving… how about this—let us make a pact: in exchange, I shall carry out aptitude bestowals until a priest-type aptitude holder arrives here.”

“—Eh, really!?”

“Indeed. To me, this Wind Muscat tastes like a gift straight from heaven, perfectly suited for one skilled in wind magic. I suspect that if Lady Aira were to eat a Water Muscat, she would feel the same.”

I see. So these Element Muscats seemed to be fruits that resonated deeply with magicians.

For now, only Aira and Simurg-san seemed like candidates to eat them, so I wasn’t sure if making more varieties was worth it.

But since they had been useful for catching bandits, perhaps there were other ways to make use of them.

At any rate, with this, we had gained another way to draw upon the Sanctuary’s power.

So for the moment, the issue was resolved.

I’d heard that even among commoners there were a few who carried aptitudes—hopefully, there would be someone like that among our villagers too.