As for now, Takeru didn't want to waste time, so he took Filo for a walk in the forest, hunting monsters to gain experience and level up while also increasing his collection of materials.
Although he had already collected a vast number of materials, even having an entire country help him collect them, materials were never too many.
Whether used for manifestation or experiments, they were extremely useful. Even if there were leftovers, they could be fed to slimes for splitting.
Half an hour later, Takeru had leveled up once more before returning to Ram and the others.
Seeing the delicious food already on the table, Filo was eager. However, under Takeru's education, although she craved the food, she wouldn't be rude enough to eat it secretly.
After another ten minutes of waiting, the last dish was brought to the table. Once everyone was present, Takeru announced the start of the meal. Filo, Raphtalia, and the others quickly began eating.
Although it wasn't their first time enjoying the delicious meals Rem prepared, each time they ate, they felt immense happiness.
Watching the blissful expressions of Raphtalia, Filo, and the others, Takeru also felt joy. After all, many of these ingredients were carefully cultivated by Takeru.
Seeing that his products could bring happiness to others, as the one cultivating it, Takeru naturally felt very gratified.
After enjoying the meal and cleaning up, Takeru led everyone back to the village. Upon learning that Takeru had slain the dragon, the villagers cheered with joy.
"Brave One, thank you so much!" Led by the village chief, the villagers bowed deeply to Takeru. The dragon's demise meant their village could regain its vitality.
"Chief, although the dragon's threat is completely resolved, relying solely on accommodating adventurers as a source of income is too risky. So, I can give you some of these." Looking at everyone, Takeru took out two large bamboo baskets.
As Takeru opened the baskets, the villagers saw the contents: items they didn't recognize. One basket contained corn and sweet potatoes. The other basket held a brood of chicks and ducklings.
"Brave One, what are these?" Looking at the corn and sweet potatoes in the baskets, the villagers were puzzled.
"These are corn and sweet potatoes. They taste quite good. Most importantly, these crops have very high yields and are not difficult to grow. So, if everyone just replaces some of the crops in your fields with these plants, the problem of food and hunger can be easily solved."
"These poultry are also very simple to raise. Both chicken meat and eggs are very nutritious. Every household can raise some. When you have enough, you can also sell them to improve your lives." Looking at the villagers' confused expressions, Takeru spoke directly.
"Can we really accept these?" Hearing Takeru's words, the village chief said with a trembling voice.
"Of course. These are prepared for you. I can also demonstrate them for you first." Then, Takeru took out some ordinary corn kernels and sweet potatoes and began to plant them. He used magic to speed up the process, while also explaining the necessary precautions. Finally, he showed them the actual planting and harvesting.
When the corn and sweet potatoes grew, the villagers were shocked by the yields, then overjoyed. Upon learning that sweet potato seedlings could be used to plant new sweet potatoes, everyone was amazed.
Takeru also briefly explained how to cook the sweet potatoes.
After simply cooking a few, everyone shared and tasted them, and were conquered by their flavor.
High yield, good taste, and filling... these were truly blessed foods for them.
Without much thought, each household began preparing to plant sweet potatoes and corn.
They were deeply grateful to Takeru. These ordinary things could completely lift the village out of hunger.
Although it might not make them wealthy, once the first batch of sweet potatoes and corn was trained, there would probably be no more deaths from hunger in the village.
Before leaving, Takeru called Melissa over. He modified two ordinary trees behind her house, transforming them into breadfruit trees.
He told her to seize the opportunity to go to the imperial capital to get an identity card, then bid her farewell.
Although she didn't know what an identity card was, Melissa remembered Takeru's words and promised to go as soon as she had the chance.
"Takeru-sama, thank you truly." Feeling the hope Takeru had brought, led by the village chief, everyone knelt and watched Takeru leave the village.
And not long after, when new adventurers entered this village, the villagers learned from them that the Sword Hero had long become the Emperor of the Dawn Empire, and that their village belonged to the Dawn Empire. The villagers were filled with surprise and pride.
But that's a story for later. After leaving the village, Takeru had Filo change direction and head towards this world's Hot Spring Town.
Having come out to train, Takeru was also very interested in the natural hot springs.
Three days later, while traveling and training, they approached a new village.
"Master, there are so many plants!" While pulling the carriage, Filo noticed special tree roots on the road. The edges were also lined with special vines, within which grew special red fruits.
"Takeru-sama, look over there!" Soon, Raphtalia, who was running alongside, caught up to Filo and pointed at the village surrounded by strange vines.
"Filo, let's go take a look." Seeing this situation, Takeru thought of a mess in the original work that Naofumi helped Motoyasu clean up.
The main issue was Motoyasu's good intentions leading to bad results: he had introduced a forbidden tree species to solve a village's famine.
"Yes, Master!" Hearing Takeru's words, Filo responded cheerfully and raced towards the village.
"Master, someone over there seems to be in danger!" Just as they arrived at their destination, they saw a person being bound by vines. Ordinary villagers were trying to free him with hoes, but not only were they failing, they were also knocked back by the vines.
"Save them!" Hearing Raphtalia's words, Takeru decisively ordered.
"Yes!" Hearing this, Raphtalia dashed forward. With a few slashes, the vines that had seemed incredibly tough to the villagers broke apart like tofu.
Sensing Raphtalia's difficulty, the vines retracted.
"Thank you!" The person Raphtalia saved, coming back to his senses, thanked her with lingering fear.
After Raphtalia saved the man, Filo pulled Takeru and the others into the village.
Because of the biochemical plant, the village seemed completely overrun. The villagers had moved to an open area, surrounded by wooden walls. But it didn't look like they could hold out much longer.
"Thank you for your help!" Soon, an elder, accompanied by villagers, came before Takeru and the others.
"So it is His Majesty. We pay respects to His Majesty." Soon, two villagers recognized Takeru and noticed the Holy Weapon in his hand. Seeing this, they knelt to the ground and spoke with delight.
"What? This is His Majesty?" Watching the two's actions, the surrounding villagers stared blankly at Takeru.
"Forgive us for not recognizing Your Majesty. Please pardon us!" Seeing that their neighbors, who often went to the royal capital, said so, the others quickly knelt.
Because the village wasn't too far from the royal capital, they had attended the celebration and gotten identity cards, but they hadn't seen Takeru's real face, so they didn't recognize him at first. What they did know was that the Emperor of the Dawn Empire was the Sword Hero.
"Rise. Tell me, what exactly happened?" Looking at everyone's nervous expressions, Takeru shook his head and spoke directly.
"Your Majesty, it was the Spear Hero who visited this famine-stricken village. That lord brought the seeds of a plant sealed in a nearby ruin. He called them miracle seeds."
"At first, everyone was very happy to see the plants growing fruit continuously, but then..." The village chief and a villager said this, showing pained expressions.
"Because of its endless growth, it completely overran the entire village." Looking at their dejected expressions, Takeru said calmly.
"Yes. While investigating countermeasures, we found a legend in the village. An alchemist who once established a stronghold nearby had created a certain seed, but for some reason, had sealed it. And that area had once been dominated by that plant." The village chief took over the explanation.