#1065 The Hero Heads to the Saint’s Farm

My encounter with the hero Momoko came as a bit of a surprise, even to me.

I hadn’t realized someone had been searching for the farm for such a long time.

So, I thought, “Well, might as well show her around,” and guided her to the farm.

“This is... this is the Saint’s Farm...?!”

As Momoko gazes upon the entire farm, she trembles from head to toe.

Is she that moved?

“There’s nothing but snow!!!”

Well, yeah.

I mean, it’s winter right now. This farm is in quite a heavy snowfall area, so when winter hits, it gets buried under snow all at once.

The whole place turns into a vast, silver world.

So the usual farm features, like fields and rice paddies, are all buried under snow this season and don’t show themselves.

So at the moment, our farm is nothing more than a snowy landscape.

“The farm I dreamed of for so long is this... ordinary?”

Sorry it’s like a disappointing tourist spot.

It’s like visiting a famous landmark you’ve been excited about, only to find it’s under renovation.

Well, since you’re here, how about a snowball fight?

A snowball fight at the Saint’s Farm is pretty special, you know?

“You can have a snowball fight pretty much anywhere!”

That’s true. In this world, snow piles up almost everywhere.

Unlike my world, there’s no global warming here.

But saying “You can have a snowball fight anywhere” is a bit harsh.

Even when it comes to snowball fights, our farm has its unique charm.

First off, the orcs throw snowballs that are as big as watermelons.

It’s more like dodgeball than a snowball fight.

And the orcs on the receiving end catch those massive snowballs and hurl them right back.

“Argh! I failed to catch it, and the snowball broke apart!”

“If your snowball breaks, you’re out! Off to the sidelines with you!!!”

Looks like they’ve developed their own set of unique rules.

Meanwhile, the goblin squad’s snowball fight is something else—they use regular-sized snowballs, but the number is insane.

We’re talking several hundred snowballs.

And they fly at speeds rivaling real bullets, so you can’t even follow them with your eyes.

From a distance, it looks just like a machine-gun battle.

“This isn’t the kind of snowball fight I know...!”

Well, that’s how things are here.

Meanwhile, others are playing with the snow in different ways.

Take Letasreit, for example.

She’s been rolling snowballs to make a snowman.

“Whew, I think this size should do!”

The snowball she’s rolling is easily ten meters in diameter.

It’s so big you have to look up to see the top.

I wonder how many tons that thing weighs.

“Letasreit, I’ve finished the head part too.”

“Okay, Holly! Put it on top, please!!!”

Flying over is the angel Horkosfon.

She’s carrying a gigantic snowball that matches the one Letasreit made.

And being an angel, she’s flying while holding that massive snowball. Impressive.

Finally, they stack Horkosfon’s huge snowball atop Letasreit’s, and voilà, a magnificent ultra-giant snowman is complete.

It brings back memories.

They once teamed up to build a snowman like this.

But back then, Letasreit was still somewhat normal, so her snowballs were of ordinary size, too.

Horkosfon’s huge snowball squished it flat, and they couldn’t complete the snowman.

But now, with Letasreit’s monstrous strength that rivals even an angel’s, they’ve successfully created a well-balanced snowman.

I can really sense how much she’s grown.

“Now, all that’s left is to give the snowman a face! Of course, we’ll use beans for that!”

They’re about to finish a snowman whose facial features are ridiculously tiny compared to its enormous size.

And it seems Letasreit has noticed me and Momoko, who are standing there, dumbfounded.

“Oh my, if it isn’t Momoko! You’ve finally made it to the farm, congrats!”

“Don’t ‘congrats’ me! You promised to lead me to the farm, didn’t you?! And you totally bailed on me!”

“Eh? Did I make such a promise?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Hey now, Letasreit.

Forgetting a promise and leaving someone hanging isn’t cool.

I thought your royal arrogance had been washed away through playing with beans, but is it making a comeback?

“Oh right, that promise was that I’d lead you if you could beat me, wasn’t it? But since you haven’t beaten me even once since then, I kinda forgot!”

“Arrghhhhhhhhh!”

Ah, I see.

So that’s how the promise got all muddled.

But why did she have to beat you first?

What does it say about a hero who can’t defeat a princess?

Isn’t the hero supposed to rescue the princess from the demon king or something?

“This princess is totally overpowered! What kind of princess is stronger than the hero?! She might as well defeat the Demon King herself!!!”

Honestly, with how Letasreit is now, she probably could, and that’s a bit scary.

Beside Letasreit, another person is casting a rather gloomy gaze at Momoko.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Holly?”

It’s the angel Horkosfon.

Her gaze toward Momoko is filled with undeniable hostility.

“...Momoko, I challenge you to a duel.”

“Why?!”

“You are my archenemy.”

For some reason, Horkosfon’s feelings toward Momoko are genuinely hostile.

What’s up with that?

Did Momoko do something to earn her resentment?

Angels and heroes seem like they’d get along if anything.

“Ah, could it be because of that?”

At this point, Letasreit—Horkosfon’s closest confidante—chimes in.

“Momoko did something at Orkubo’s Castle the other day that probably rubbed Holly the wrong way, didn’t she?”

Something that rubbed her the wrong way?

I can’t recall anything specific, but Momoko was up to all sorts of things at Orkubo’s Castle, so who knows what ticked her off.

There was so much going on, it’s hard to pinpoint.

“What you did was a great insult to natto.”

Before we could even ask, Horkosfon provides the answer.

“Erasing the stickiness of natto is an act of denying natto itself. As the guardian of natto, I must thoroughly eliminate you.”

Horkosfon is angry because Momoko used the digestive enzymes in grated daikon to remove natto’s stickiness.

Oh yeah, she did that.

During the fight with the Demon King, that is.

Who would’ve thought she’d be challenged to a duel by an angel over that?

Momoko seems baffled by this unexpected turn of events.

“Ahaha, that was just a bit of quick thinking, you know, like in a shonen manga, to get out of a tight spot...!”

“That’s right, Holly! And even without the stickiness, natto’s deliciousness doesn’t go away, does it?”

Some people can’t eat natto because they dislike the stickiness.

For those folks, natto without the slime, thanks to the enzymes in grated daikon, might be more palatable.

Plus, grated daikon is the epitome of light, refreshing flavors.

Combined with natto’s unique taste, it might make the dish even more enjoyable.

The world works in mysterious ways.

“You should embrace flavor diversity! Hey, Holly, let’s thank Momoko for opening a new door for natto!”

“Now that you mention it... you’re right.”

Horkosfon lowers the Mana Cannon she was about to fire and nods in agreement.

She was this close to starting an impromptu hero-versus-angel showdown.

Letasreit has even picked up some negotiation skills along the way...

“Even so... this is the Saint’s Farm. The place I’ve been searching for all these years...”

Momoko gazes at the farm with deep emotion.

It’s just a snowy landscape right now, though.

“But, of course, now that I’ve found it, there’s nothing for me to do here. Originally, it was the king’s order to recruit the saint, but the Human Kingdom has fallen.”

Not to mention, the princess who gave the order has already reached the farm ahead of her.

“I’ve fought the Demon King, made it to the Saint’s Farm... You could say I’ve done everything I was supposed to as a hero, but I still feel empty. What was my life as a hero even about?”

She achieved her goals but gained nothing beyond personal satisfaction.

And now, Momoko seems to be experiencing a bit of a burnout.

Maybe it’s time to get her motivated with another event.

“Well then, how about taking on a new task as a hero?”

“Huh? A task? What is it?”

Just in time, there’s an event happening here at the farm.

An event that could determine the fate of humanity—a truly significant one...