Chapter 23: Cold Worm Grass

What is Dreamtear? Wait no…

What is Cold Bug Grass?

Simply put, it’s a very special kind of economic crop. It’s not mainly used for food or drinks but rather… as an ingredient

in potion-making!

That’s right—in a world where magic exists, potions are extremely important. They store powerful magical effects into

portable items that even non-magic users can use. Potions are a vital part of the entire magical system.

Because of this, one of the seven great magical professions was born: Potion Makers—those who give up direct combat

power to focus entirely on researching and creating powerful potions. Incidentally, one of the three female leads, Princess

Rinyin, is a potion maker.

For potion makers, crafting powerful potions doesn’t just depend on leveling up and mastering stronger crafting magic.

They also need… top-quality ingredients!

But the problem is, these ingredients are all incredibly rare and expensive. And the stronger the potion, the rarer the

materials. It’s a very costly profession. Many of the high-tier potion ingredients are so rare they can’t even be bought, no

matter how much money you have!

Cold Bug Grass is one of those rare ingredients.

It’s a required material for crafting most ice-element potions, which makes demand high. Plus, it grows quickly and can

be harvested year-round, which seems perfect for the market.

However… despite the name, this “grass” is anything but low maintenance.

It needs extremely low temperatures to grow, so it can only be farmed in the far northern border regions of the Empire,

far from the capital. Even worse, it spoils quickly after harvest. It starts molding or rotting almost immediately. No matter

how fast you try to transport it, by the time it reaches the capital, it’s no longer fresh.

And no, it can’t be dried or pickled. Only fresh Cold Bug Grass can be used in potion-making.

Even in the north, where it grows, the yield is very low. During its growth cycle, it requires constantly changing

environmental conditions—temperature, moisture, air humidity, oxygen levels at the roots, and even the soil composition

all need to adjust constantly to its preferences. Miss even one detail, and it withers and dies on the spot.

This delicate plant needs expert farmers with lots of experience watching over it day and night. And even then, success

depends on luck. Most Cold Bug Grass doesn’t even produce seeds, making it hard to grow sustainably. High risk, high

loss.

Because of all that, Cold Bug Grass is rare and expensive across the Empire—but still vital. That’s because ice-element

potions are essential components for advanced multi-element potions. Miss even one element, and the entire potion fails.

So what do potion makers in the capital do?

They either:

• Hire someone with spatial teleportation abilities to fetch it from the north,

• Buy pre-made ice potions (at insane prices), or

• Use weaker water-element potions as poor substitutes.

But most high-level mages can’t be bothered with courier work, pre-made potions are heavily overpriced, and substitutes

drastically lower the potion quality.

In short, the capital’s top potion makers have been struggling with this issue for a long time.

So how did Olivianne know about such a miraculous plant? That’s right… from Blondie! (a.k.a. Kaesius)

Because in the game’s plot, the day after the Hall scene (which is tomorrow), a merchant caravan from the northern

regions is scheduled to arrive in the capital. They’ll have a batch of Cold Bug Grass seeds with them.

In the original storyline, Kaesius spends money to buy the seeds, grows the Cold Bug Grass, makes a huge profit, and then

gives the potion to Rinyin to boost her strength. This gives him a massive lead over Gawain, the male lead, in both power

and wealth—he completely crushes him.

But now?

Sorry, that sudden windfall is about to be snatched by Olivianne!

The blue-haired girl smirked without realizing it. Hmph—yes, this is clearly the most efficient path to riches right now. If

she could just buy the seeds and grow the Cold Bug Grass herself, all her problems would be solved!

And it’s actually very doable. Despite its high price and rarity in the capital, the seeds themselves aren’t that ridiculously

expensive—because the success rate of growing them is so low. Even worse than gambling. So the seeds aren’t as inflated

in price as you’d expect.

The merchants carrying the seeds are in a hurry to sell them off. If Olivianne can just get there before Kaesius and offer

the right price, she can easily buy them first and block his plan.

Wait—where will she get the money to buy them?

Uh… probably has to borrow from Natasha. But no big deal. This kind of small sum should be no problem for Natasha.

As for how to grow the seeds after that…

Perfect timing! Doesn’t she still have that automated farming system from the System inventory?

Olivianne quickly opened her System storage and carefully read the item description.

[This item will automatically build a fully automated farming facility controlled by a supercomputer and

agricultural robots. It can scan each plant in real time and make one-on-one adjustments to ensure maximum

growth quality and efficiency. Includes growing, harvesting, and storage functions. Requirement: An open

space about the size of a sports field.]

Nice! Just as she thought—it’s a System-issued item, after all. If it says “any crop,” then Cold Bug Grass is no exception!

One-on-one precision farming… terrifyingly powerful.

[Let’s give this medieval backwater a little taste of real tech! ]

[Who cares how cold, aloof, and high-maintenance you are, Cold Bug Grass? Once you fall into my hands,

you’ll all get corrupted into obedient b*tches!]

[Whoa whoa whoa, why do you sound more evil than Kaesius now, streamer?! ]

[Where’s my fanart? Can someone write five more bucks worth of plot please?]

[Skip to the part where the noble princess goes ahegao and fully matures~]

 You guys are seriously messed up, even bullying Cold Bug Grass?!

Olivianne didn’t even have the strength to roast the chat anymore. She calculated things again in her head.

Right now, her only real issue is the land. That system item needs quite a big area, and in the capital, land is super

expensive and hard to find. If necessary, she might have to head out to the suburbs…

Another problem is… she doesn’t know exactly what time that caravan is arriving tomorrow. She only knows they’ll be

selling stuff in the south part of the city.

To beat Kaesius to it, she’ll have to borrow money from Natasha, then go to school early and sneak out fast to head south

and wait.

The more she thought about it, the more her mind slowed down—gradually succumbing to sleep.

Until the next morning…

Olivianne was shaken awake by her mom, Fufu.

“Sweetheart, time to get up. Don’t you have school today?”

Olivianne blinked, dazed for a second—then smacked her forehead and jumped out of bed in a panic, pulled

on her clothes, grabbed a piece of bread, and yelled:

“Mom, I’m off—to borrow money from Nat—no! I mean, I’m off to school!!!”