"Aaa, what the hell was that?" Huddled in a corner, breathing heavily, Inox's face reflected the sheer confusion of a man who had been utterly misunderstood. His trembling hand pressed the basket of tomatoes against his chest as he hung his head.
"What did I do wrong? I was just offering my tomatoes," Inox muttered, scuffing his foot to draw lines in the dirt. He slumped down to the ground, placed the basket in front of him, and leaned his back against the wall. "..." He closed his eyes, lamenting his miserable life.
...
"Ahem, sir? These tomatoes... are they from a well-known farmer?" A girl's pleasant voice snapped him out of his wallowing.
Still depressed, Inox lifted his head to see who it was. The first thing his eyes landed on wasn't the girl's face, but— "Holy mother of...! Are those breasts or a pair of watermelons?" His jaw hit the floor while his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
"Hmph..." The girl made a strange sound with her mouth as she noticed the man's blatant staring. She waited a moment, her face growing flush with pink as the seconds ticked by.
A grin spread across the man's face as his eyes narrowed into slits. "Hmph... pervert..." the girl whispered before her breathing became just a bit too shallow and fast.
"Eh?" Inox snapped out of it. He quickly looked up to take in the woman's face. Long, shimmering blonde hair like golden threads, a dainty, upturned nose that complemented her bright blue eyes, flawless smooth skin, and full red lips on a lively face. However, she wore a golden tunic with sparse armor over it—though the most striking thing was her figure.
"90-60-90?" Inox shook his head. "No, it's gotta be 150-60-120... My god." His mind had been blown by something unique and never-before-seen.
"What kind of woman could even reach those measurements?" he wondered, recalling his father, King Jiris. "That old bastard had over ten concubines—some younger than me, and they all had the bodies of succubi, but this girl beats them all..." He was truly stunned.
"That look... you damn vegetable vendor!! What do you plan on doing to this immaculate Paladin?!!" the girl shouted. She pointed an accusing finger at Inox, but she couldn't hide the blush and the faint smile on her face.
"Me?" Inox pointed at himself before realizing how he'd been acting. "Ahem, my apologies, young lady. My name is Inox. Would you like to try my tomato?"
Darkness was about to continue her barrage of accusations when she heard the name. Her flushed face and smile vanished in an instant. "Did you say... Inox?" She narrowed her eyes, scanning the man before stopping dead in her tracks.
"Inox Stylish, the exiled prince from the Royal Capital..." She realized it in a flash. After all, as Lalatina Dustiness Ford, she was no stranger to the news circulating among the nobles of Belzerg. She squinted as she looked at Inox's smile.
"Try your... tomato?" she repeated. No matter how she spun it, why did that phrase sound so wrong?
"Yes. You see, these are magic tomatoes with a unique flavor. Not only will they throw a party on your palate, but they're also fr..." He cut himself off mid-sentence. "Ahem, they're only 10,000 Eris per tomato. Pay for three and take two; offer valid for today only," he smiled brightly before continuing.
"Ah, I forgot to mention they also increase your strength and agility by 10%."
That last bit made Darkness raise an eyebrow. She looked at the tomatoes with genuine curiosity. In fact, it was the smell that had first drawn her in; seeing Inox sitting there with a basket, she had assumed he was just a new vegetable vendor.
"Strength and agility by 10%?" Darkness didn't believe it, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she leaned down, inhaling the scent of the tomatoes. She felt her lungs fill with a pleasant aroma that seemed to caress her very skin.
She picked up a tomato from the basket and examined it closely. The prince who called himself a Divine Farmer grew these... she concluded. After all, she had never seen a tomato like this before.
Still, she couldn't help but grimace at the price. "10,000 Eris for a single tomato? The Royal Family is definitely..." She sighed in disapproval but still pulled 10,000 Eris from a pocket in her tunic. She handed it to Inox before taking a bite.
Thump.
Thump.
Darkness's mind was hit by a thousand stimuli at once. Her eyes, slightly watery from the pain of paying 10,000 Eris for a piece of fruit, flew open in shock. An unconscious smile appeared on her pretty face before she closed her eyes.
The chewed pulp in her mouth slid down her throat, but it didn't just sit in her stomach. Instead, it began to disperse like molecules throughout her entire body.
The woman quickly felt a surge in her strength and agility. Subconsciously, she opened her mouth and finished the whole tomato in one go. The same thing happened: the paralyzing flavor and the tomato's energy spread through her body, strengthening muscles, tendons, bones—everything.
When Darkness finally stopped marvelling at the taste, she opened her eyes to see the man in front of her smiling while staring at her chest—but she didn't even care anymore.
Instead, she quickly flexed her arms and felt the power in her legs. Her body felt lighter; her strength had truly increased.
"Is this real?" she wondered. The sensation didn't lie; her body was fortified. She quickly looked at the remaining tomatoes in the basket—fourteen, exactly. What would happen if I ate the rest? she thought, before immediately shaking her head.
"Sir Inox, these tomatoes... they really have the effect of a low-grade enhancement potion," Darkness nodded seriously. "I think they're even slightly better. However, a low-grade potion costs 5,000 Eris and lasts ten minutes. Even if your tomato is delicious and the potion is disgusting to drink, the potion is more economical..."
Before Darkness could continue, Inox held up a finger. "One hour. The effect of my tomato's strength and agility boost lasts for one hour."
It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Darkness. Once again, she stood stunned for a few moments before looking Inox in the eye. Although she hadn't seen Prince Inox Stylish before, she was almost certain the Inox in front of her was the very same man.
She thought back to the rumors floating around the kingdom: "The Mad Prince," "The Divine Farmer," "The Cowardly Prince..."
"Were these the vegetables grown by a Divine Farmer?" She quickly tried to buy all the tomatoes, but Inox refused.
"One tomato per person, per day," he said without further explanation.
This puzzled Darkness, but she didn't stay to argue. Instead, she hurried off to find the adventurer group she belonged to and convinced them all to buy one.
Since Darkness's party was part of a larger alliance, twenty people, still doubtful but swayed by her persistence, arrived to try and buy a tomato each.
However, since there were only fourteen left, six people had to go without. The group Darkness brought retreated as quickly as they had arrived, and Inox ended the day with a grin.
"Tomato Party" successfully completed. 10 Grade-1 Tomato Seeds have been added to storage.
"Aqua, huh? It's a shame. I wanted to give you a tomato as a gift, but you refused and accused me of something weird..." He smiled, thinking about how Aqua would miss out on his delicious crop, and headed back to the inn.
With the new addition of tomato sales, Inox had gathered 150,000 Eris, which, combined with his savings, brought him to a total of 580,000 Eris.
Thinking about this, Inox considered forgetting that Goblin quest altogether and just dedicating himself to selling vegetables until he hit a million. Suddenly, there was a knock at his door.
Knock Knock.