Chapter 25: Forest Ranger

What is Luo De thinking?

What else could he think?

If I had the chance, I would choose to go to Liyue, to Mondstadt, to Fontaine; in short, I wouldn't stay in Sumeru.

Luo De's expression was very serious.

Dixiya's reaction was just as Luo De had expected.

She didn't say anything.

She neither agreed that Luo De's choice was correct nor said not to let him leave; she just let out a deep sigh.

The desert is not a good place to live.

Likewise.

All of Sumeru is not considered a good place.

Relatively speaking.

The free nation of Mondstadt, the trade nation of Liyue, the just nation of Fontaine.

Each of these nations is more suitable for living than Sumeru.

It's not a problem for Luo De to have such a thought.

Just that.

Dixiya now also couldn't say what exactly she was feeling.

Disappointment? Anger? Sadness? Or some other thought?

She couldn't say it.

She just felt inexplicably suffocated in her heart.

Just as Dixiya was pondering how to continue the topic, Luo De spoke again: "Don't worry, I won't leave just yet."

"Huh?"

Dixiya suddenly lifted her head.

Then I heard Luo De continue: "Anyway, my life in A Ru Cun is still pretty good; going elsewhere would mean starting over, so even if you let me go now I wouldn't go—I have to save up enough Mora for financial freedom, right?"

This should have been good news, but Dixiya bluntly said: "With your current abilities, even if you just registered as an adventurer at the Adventurers' Guild, you could earn far more than you do now."

"I don't like being an adventurer."

"I just like the kind of life where someone takes care of my three meals a day, I only need to work every few months or not at all, and then the Mora comes in huge amounts."

"Hehe."

"Isn't that also kind of lacking ambition?"

Luo De hehe-laughed and explained his ideal once again.

What he actually wants is quite simple.

It's just this kind of life where you can make money while lying down.

But there's one more thing.

Before truly enjoying this life, the Tanite Tribe must die.

This resentment that almost made him collapse couldn't dissipate, and he couldn't sleep peacefully.

Dixiya looked at Luo De, both laughing and crying.

How to put it.

Luo De's ideal truly counts as a model of lying flat.

This kind of ideal is very common in Sumeru, whether it's the scholars at the Academy who live in comfort, or the tribespeople who live precariously, they actually all have such an ideal.

"Then, when you someday want to live in another country, I will personally escort you out of Sumeru."

Dixiya had nothing else to advise Luo De; only this sentence, which counts as both a blessing and a promise, she gave him.

"Then, it's settled with a word."

Luo De smiled.

This simple agreement was thus considered established.

In the blink of an eye.

Luo De and Dixiya had already been in the rainforest area for three days.

They had been out for a while.

However, the test field at home didn't need Luo De's worry; before leaving, he had added sufficient Fertility Blessing, and just letting Atiya come help water it each day was enough.

As for the test field that had not been given Fertility Blessing,

Luo De had already given up struggling.

There's nothing to be done.

It really won't grow.

With that soil's fertility, ordinary fertilizer alone is simply not enough.

Even if the willow fence and grass grid solved part of the soil erosion problem, aside from Fertility Blessing, he had no other good way to let crops grow normally.

This is the conclusion Luo De reached after repeatedly planting three times, and it's also why he chose to catch grass slimes at this time.

After reviewing materials during this period, plus he also bought a few books from Ashier,

Luo De had already confirmed.

Juvenile grass slimes can completely be used to improve the land.

Compared to this adult form, the juvenile grass slime's internal grass element concentration is not high, and its ability to improve the environment is also considerably worse.

But it wins in being safe and reliable.

Compared to those other slimes with relatively strong aggressiveness, grass slimes only show very strong aggressiveness when the adult form encounters danger; the juvenile grass slime will simply hide underground and quickly slip away.

This kind of juvenile slime that hardly has any aggressiveness, as long as the confinement method is appropriate, using it to make a grass-element generator is completely fine.

The problem is

"How is this grass slime so hard to find?"

Along the way, Dixiya didn't know how many times she had complained about this.

Grass slimes themselves are monsters with extremely strong concealment; in a rainforest where everything is lush green, trying to find a grass slime that blends into its surroundings is even harder.

Luo De, on the other hand, wasn't that impatient.

"Take it slow, don't rush; I've asked Kantisi for a long leave, and you can also relax a bit."

I already said that before.

The Blaze Light Beast Hunters lost two people on this mission.

For Dixiya, no matter how openly she spoke, she always felt somewhat uncomfortable inside.

Luo De coming with her to the rainforest area also meant he wanted her to properly relax and ease her mind.

"It's not that I want you to hurry back and continue your research."

Dixiya pursed her lips.

Bored and idle.

She casually plucked a sprig of mint, stuffed the leaves into her mouth, and began chewing.

Mint is a plant commonly seen everywhere on the Tiwatedalu continent.

Its taste is pretty much the same as what Luo De ate in his previous life.

When first put in the mouth, there is a slight stinging stimulation; after a few chews, the whole mouth feels cool, the taste being a bit bitter, and if chewed too long it needs to be spat out.

Luo De also followed suit and chewed two leaves.

Teyvat has no chewing gum.

Using this as a substitute for chewing gum is not bad.

"By the way, do you know Tinari?"

Luo De, while chewing mint leaves, asked Dixiya.

"Tinari?"

That familiar name reminded Dixiya of a person: "You mean the forest ranger of Transformed City?"

"Yeah, that's him."

Luo De nodded.

"If it's him, I know him."

"But how did you come to know him?"

Dixiya was somewhat curious.

According to what Luo De said before, he had never come to the rainforest area, so how could he know that forest ranger who hardly ever goes to the desert?

"I don't know him."

Luo De shook his head: "I saw this name in a paper of the Biologism School; he is an excellent scholar of the Biologism School, and I have some questions I want to ask him."

"Oh, I see."

With that, Dixiya understood.

She had seen the large pile of books at Luo De's home before, and every time she saw that fully packed bookshelf, it gave her a headache.

It wasn't because Dixiya disliked reading.

but because Luo De only reads highly specialized books; to her, reading such books is pure torment.

"Let me tell you this first."

"I can only say I've met Tinari once; we're not really acquainted."

"That time he wanted to hire me as a guide to take him to the desert for investigation, but later he canceled the commission, and we didn't even exchange a few words."

"If you want me to help you make an introduction, you might end up disappointed."

Dixiya had gotten all kinds of preventive shots in advance.

Luo De didn't mind those, nodding and replying: "It's fine; what I want to ask isn't any forbidden knowledge, so he shouldn't refuse me."

"Hmm."

Luo De having said that, Dixiya also had nothing more to say, she pursed her lips toward another path and said: "Take this route; the Biologism School scholars go to Zen Garden every week for academic reports. Let's first go try our luck; if we can't find anyone, we'll go to Transformed City—if he's not here, he's definitely there."

"Okay."

(End of chapter)