Chapter 183: Gardening Dilemma

Words : 1220 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

Chapter 183: Gardening Dilemma A lot, apparently. And one particular human had insisted on ’monitoring’ him as the pet of some Duchy’s Lord. Hmph! What pet?! Thought the shrunken tortoise, who was now wrapped in a suspiciously comfortable silken scarf and hand-fed fruits before being gently rocked to sleep. The volunteer was Butler Gary, who had just learned about their Young Lord’s new pet. And he came at the perfect time because, frankly, they weren’t sure how they’d leave the tortoise in the space with only D-29 and Sid to monitor it. Sure, the elders would be there, but what could they really do against a guardian beast who was now capable of escaping? Surely, they didn’t create a new monster by doing this, right? Now, with Butler Gary, hopefully, they wouldn’t have to find out! But even when they do, would they have time for it? Probably not, considering the laundry list brought by the people of the Duchy. Duke Leander came not only to see his precious boy but also to report on their current findings. And to get a hug. Yeah, mostly, it was to get a hug from the son that he hadn’t seen for what felt like years. "Luca, my child!" called the Duke, who practically sniffed his son’s location. And before anyone could react, the heir to the Duchy of Kyros was scooped up into a very undignified hug. "Wha—Papa? You’re here? Are you not busy anymore?" Reacted Luca, who was smooshed as his father hugged him with gusto. "Of course! I have longed to see you!" cried the Duke dramatically as he really struggled, trying not to camp out in his son’s space. Meanwhile, the little chipmunk wriggled in his father’s hold, surprisingly not as embarrassed as Ollie thought he would be if his father did the same thing to him. But then again, why would he be embarrassed when he had been happy to receive those little messages from his father, who always attached a red envelope of Star coins? His father was truly the best. But then again, what else could a little money grubber think when he had received more than what he had given when they had first seen each other, just from those little red envelopes alone? Nothing negative, even when his father was unusually covered in what looked like dirt. This new look was unmistakable even to the young lads, but since they all loved the concept of living, everyone just stood by, choosing to smile and look normal. Well, until Luca decided to ask about it. "I missed you too, Papa." which got the Duke elated, only to fall from grace the moment his son pointed out the dirt that just stuck like glue. The Duke froze. And Butler Gary, who figured something like this was bound to happen, appeared behind him, and helpfully cleared his throat. "Apologies, Young Lord. His Grace was personally involved in the experiments. Quite... extensively." The Duke’s expression darkened as he didn’t really want to be reminded of his recent failures as both a father and gardener. They actually built facilities to experiment based on Jax’s attempts at bringing a potted plant out. And once construction had been expedited, the Duke nearly mobilized everyone he could trust to conduct experiments. But even then he could only make them do the most basic of things. It didn’t raise much suspicion because the Duke announced that they would be trying their hand at growing plants and crops from the fruits and vegetables they’d received in the Duchy. Logical. As for the experiments on the potted spiritual plants? Those were personally handled by the Duke, the Butler, and the Steward. But even with a star-studded team, they couldn’t escape the tragedy. And this time, it was Steward Han who had to report about it. "Young Lord, we’ve come with updates regarding the experiment with the spiritual plants." Duke Leander blanched at that alone, and it was easy for everyone to tell that it was likely not going too well. Steward Han cleared his throat. "As we feared, plants taken from this space struggle to survive outside. The initial stages seemed promising, but over time, they began to wilt despite receiving the same care." Luca frowned, and so did everyone else. "Even with proper soil and spiritual water?" And at this question, the Duke threw his arms up in indignation. "We drenched them in spiritual water!" "We gave them everything! The finest soil, the best sunlight, the most devoted care—" "His Grace even personally yelled at one for underperforming," Steward Han added helpfully. "I was motivating it!" countered the Duke. "It died," added Butler Gary, who felt the need to expose this. "It was weak." reasoned the Duke, who actually tried resuscitating it, but to no avail. But then he sighed. He really didn’t want his first venture to be a failure, and what’s more, they could only bring back the plants that started wilting in the hope of reviving them. Which worked, thankfully. It’s just that it cemented a crucial problem they’d have to find a solution for. "Actually, there’s one experiment that sort of worked, Young Lord." Steward Han scratched the back of his neck before continuing as if prodded by the questioning looks he was getting. "A closed terrarium design." "By containing the plants in an enclosed, energy-infused environment, we were able to maintain their stability. The Bony Elders later confirmed that spiritual plants require a constant energy source beyond water and sunlight for them to actually thrive." And this was why the Duke had to go back to consult with his son. It was one thing to build a greenhouse against world elements, but how exactly does one contain energy on a large scale? That jar they used to experiment with wasn’t an ordinary jar, to begin with, but it was usually what they used to encase the energy sources of mechas. And by virtue of the lack of resources, even if they bought it with all their Star coins, no one would be able to sell it in such quantities. Luca and one particular system listened to this dilemma. On the one hand, it was terrible that the plants couldn’t grow normally, but at least there was a method. The little money grubber almost feared having to open his space to everyone if conditions outside were really incapable of growing things for the general public. But they all knew that if they couldn’t replicate it outside, just how were they going to support planets of people? However, to one little system, this actually sounded like an opportunity of a lifetime! "Host! What about upgrading the Dungeon to Level 3?" "Huh? Why? Would there be a benefit to doing that? And to begin with, could we afford it?" If it had only been visible, then they might have seen D-29 vibrating in what seemed like excitement. "Yes, Host. Going by the upgrades we had earlier, we should have more items on the Trove and even better upgrades to the current farms to augment the current demand." "Do you think we could afford it?" Asked Luca, who thought about trying this method first before being forced to produce their own designs. "A million CP, Host." Luca’s eyes bugged out. Seriously?! Seriously.

Chapter 183: Gardening Dilemma

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