There's Something Wrong with This Village

The entrance to the village of Buena was exceptionally bustling today.

To welcome the arrival of the new Bishop, the villagers had voluntarily changed into the clean clothes they usually saved for festivals. Holding wild flowers in their hands, they stood on both sides of the road.

Father Anderson was even more excited, his face flushed red. He kept straightening his slightly faded clerical robe, terrified of leaving even a single wrinkle.

Finally, a carriage adorned with the crest of the Holy Radiance Church slowly approached and came to a halt in front of the crowd.

The carriage door opened, and a foot clad in an exquisite fine sheepskin boot stepped onto the dusty ground.

Immediately after, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the legendary war hero and the new Bishop of the Nolunt Diocese, Lady Lalavina, stepped down with grace.

The sunlight spilled over her gorgeous blonde hair, as if gilding her with a sacred halo.

She raised her head slightly, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, and a compassionate, warm smile akin to that of a holy mother graced her face.

"May the Holy Radiance bless this land."

Her voice was gentle yet solemn, moving the gathered villagers so deeply that they almost dropped to their knees on the spot.

However.

Beneath Lalavina's perfect, smiling mask, she was cursing up a storm in her mind:

"Damn it! Is this country road paved with wavy lines? The bumping almost split my ass in two!"

"And all this flying dust... Oh for crying out loud, my limited-edition robe! It's going to cost a fortune to have this washed when I get back!"

"That old geezer Anderson better be right about the wild game here being delicious, or I swear I'll banish him to the Northern Frontier to mine coal!"

Even though she had complained about this rundown village ten thousand times in her head, Lalavina still maintained a flawless demeanor on the outside. Led by Father Anderson, she waved to the villagers as she made her way deeper into the village.

"Lord Bishop, look!"

Father Anderson led the way with a fawning expression, spit flying as he introduced the area. "Although our village is remote, under the illumination of the Holy Radiance, the villagers live and work in peace and are highly productive! Especially the household up ahead, Lynch Graywhite, he's the role model of our village! His herb garden is quite magnificent!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lalavina replied absentmindedly, only wanting to rush through the formalities so she could go eat.

However, as they gradually approached the southeast corner of the village, Lalavina's previously bored gaze suddenly flickered.

She twitched her nose.

"Hmm? The air here..."

Even though she was essentially a third-rate cleric, her perception of mana was still slightly keener than that of an ordinary person.

To her surprise, she discovered that as they neared the so-called model herb garden, the concentration of mana in the air was skyrocketing! It felt like stepping out of a murky mud pit straight into a natural oxygen bar; every breath left her feeling refreshed and invigorated.

"To think there's such a pure concentration of mana?"

Lalavina was secretly astonished.

"It seems this impoverished backwater truly is a blessed land! No wonder that Anderson wanted to bring me here. If this place were developed into a Holy Radiance health resort, even if I charged by the minute, those noble lords in the royal capital would fight tooth and nail for a spot!"

"I'm going to be rich! This is absolutely a treasure trove for making a fortune!"

At this thought, Lalavina's footsteps became a bit lighter, and her favorable impression of the yet-unseen Lynch instantly shot up.

"We're here! Right up ahead!" Father Anderson pointed to a courtyard not far away.

The courtyard was surrounded by a neat circle of brand-new wooden fences. Inside the enclosure, a patch of lush, green plants swayed in the wind, radiating vibrant vitality.

Full of anticipation, Lalavina stepped forward, ready to thoroughly praise this sensible villager.

However.

When her gaze actually fell upon those plants, the saintly smile on her face froze instantly.

"Th-this is..."

The leaves of each plant were a bizarre deep purple, with dark red light that looked like flowing magma coursing through their veins.

Some of the fruits looked like miniature skulls, while some of the flowers were opening and closing, as if they were breathing.

How were these ordinary herbs?

These were clearly the things she had seen in the Church's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Heretical Creatures, plants that could only grow in high-mana environments like the Demon Continent—Demonic Mandrakes?! And Abyssal Demon Vines?!

"Where the hell am I? Isn't this the Nolunt Territory? Why are there specialties from the Demon Realm growing here?!"

Lalavina rubbed her eyes, feeling as though her entire worldview had taken a massive hit.

At this moment, Lynch, who had been waiting at the entrance for a long time, saw the VIP arrive and hurriedly came forward to greet her with an honest, good-natured smile.

"Lord Bishop, Father, welcome, welcome!"

Lynch rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat nervous. "My humble abode is quite simple, please excuse the mess. This is the new herb garden the village chief mentioned, I hope you can offer some guidance."

Even though he thought to himself that such a young Miss Bishop, who looked like she didn't do physical labor and couldn't tell one crop from another, probably knew absolutely nothing about growing herbs.

But at the very least, he had to max out his verbal etiquette.

Lalavina swallowed hard, pointing at a giant flower inside the fence that was currently trying to catch a fly, her voice trembling slightly:

"Th-these are... the herbs... you grew?"

"Yep!"

Lynch nodded with a matter-of-fact expression.

On the surface, he was cool as a cucumber, but inwardly, he was actually feeling a bit unsure.

In truth, facing these strange-looking plants, Lynch himself wasn't entirely confident.

Just three days ago, to complete the system quest "Expand the Demon Lair," he had scattered the rewarded bag of "Master-Tier Ripening Fertilizer."

Originally, he had only planted ordinary Blood-Stopping Grass and Moonlight Flowers.

But when he woke up the next morning and took a look, holy smokes, they had all mutated!

The once lush green Blood-Stopping Grass had turned purple, and the originally white Moonlight Flowers had grown teeth.

Lynch had been startled at the time, thinking he had grown poisonous weeds. However, as a rigorous pharmacist, he upheld the spirit of the Divine Farmer tasting a hundred herbs, and cut off a small piece of a leaf to feed to a passing wild rabbit.

As a result, not only did the rabbit not die, but it became a hundred times more energetic, even doing a hundred pull-ups in its cage.

"After my repeated testing," Lynch recalled in his mind, "even though this stuff looks a bit ugly, its medicinal effects are truly fierce. The bleeding-stopping effect is ten times that of ordinary herbs, and its growth rate is extremely fast. I can harvest a batch a day. It's practically a miracle drug born to deal with beast hordes!"

Since it's useful, I might as well keep it!

This was Lynch's simple philosophy of pragmatism.

Thus, facing the Lord Bishop's questioning, Lynch explained very candidly:

"My Lord, don't mind their weird appearance, these are the latest premium breeds I've cultivated! Not only are they cold-resistant, but their medicinal effects are excellent. I call them 'Buena Number One'!"

"P-premium breeds?"

Lalavina looked at the flower that was currently drooling at her, the corner of her mouth twitching madly.

"Premium breeds my ass! These are clearly plants from the Demon Realm!"

"But... seeing how sincere this villager looks, and considering there isn't the slightest trace of demonic aura here, could it really be that the rich spiritual energy of this land has caused the plants to undergo some strange atavistic mutation?"

Lalavina was utterly baffled.

As a complete slacker, her professional knowledge wasn't exactly solid, and now she was actually starting to doubt herself.

"Something just feels off... This village, this herb garden, and this man smiling so innocently... they all exude an indescribable eeriness."

"But... since I am already here, I can't just admit that I don't recognize them, right? That would bring so much shame to the Bishop!"

Thus, Lalavina took a deep breath, forcefully maintaining her crumbling image as a Holy Maiden, and forced a smile that looked worse than crying:

"Heh... hehe... it sure is... unique. Holy Light above, this world truly is... full of wonders."