Chapter 148: Holy Cow, How Can There Be Such a Huge Watermelon?!
Chapter 148: Holy Cow, How Can There Be Such a Huge Watermelon?!
The next morning, the sun shone brightly through the windows, filling the room with light.
Butu, who was lying on the bed, rubbed his eyes and, realizing it was already late, immediately woke up.
He turned his head and saw that Naoki was still asleep, so he crawled onto his chest and meowed softly.
"Hmm..." Naoki murmured, his eyes half-open. He saw Butu on his chest and casually picked him up, holding him close.
"Meow!" Butu exclaimed in surprise.
Just then, an old-fashioned wall clock on the wall suddenly chimed.
Naoki jolted awake. He sat up in bed, remembering that it was time to prepare breakfast for his Pokemon.
He got dressed and left the room, with Butu jumping down to join him. They played a game of tag with Shuangnaixian in the room while waiting for their meal.
Naoki walked around them and took out ingredients from the refrigerator to start cooking.
Today's breakfast was simple, just sandwiches and MooMoo Milk as usual.
After the meal, Naoki prepared to milk his riding goat, as he did every day.
He stepped out of the room and into the fresh morning air, his eyes scanning the vibrant ranch.
The ranch looked thriving, and the weather was beautiful... but what was that?!
Naoki's eyes widened as he caught sight of something enormous in the corner of his eye.
He turned his head and saw, in the once ordinary fields, a massive watermelon had suddenly appeared.
To be precise, it was a gigantic watermelon.
Oliven, Yanshibabao, the riding goat, Danai Can, and the other Pokemon were all drawn to it. They surrounded the super-sized watermelon, their curiosity piqued.
Even the usually diligent Sanmi bees had forsaken honey-gathering to join the others in observing the giant watermelon.
What was going on?!
Naoki stood there, his mouth agape, stunned by the sight before him.
His first thought was that a fairy had visited the ranch last night.
Fairies, from the world of Stardew Valley, were known for randomly appearing at night to help players ripen their crops.
But then, Naoki realized this wasn't the world of Stardew Valley, and there were no fairies or sprites here.
He walked closer to the fields, drawn to the massive watermelon, and began to examine it up close.
He patted it, and the watermelon emitted a crisp sound, indicating it was fully ripe.
Staring at the watermelon, which was taller than him, Naoki fell into deep thought.
"The birth of this giant crop is most likely due to the influence of the riding goat."
After consuming the grass-attribute energy from the grass cake, there was a chance that crops cultivated by the riding goat would mutate.
And indeed, this watermelon had grown to an extraordinary size.
However, there was still a question nagging at Naoki. How did it grow so big overnight? He racked his brains, quickly brainstorming and simultaneously inspecting the nearby crops. To his observation, only this one watermelon in the entire field had undergone such a transformation.
Firstly, it was unlikely due to the riding goat's influence alone. Otherwise, why were all the other crops still immature while this single watermelon had ripened?
Secondly, it couldn't be the work of Dialga, the time deity, accelerating time for just this watermelon.
After all, he had never met or interacted with any time deity, let alone Dialga.
The answer to the mystery was becoming clear.
Naoki's thoughts turned to the empty shrine, and he knew.
It was Reiguanwang!
The deity had noticed his actions, and as a reward, it caused the watermelon to ripen early! The power of Reiguanwang, combined with the energy of the riding goat, had resulted in this colossal watermelon.
"Wow, Reiguanwang really sensed it!"
Naoki was astonished.
After all, the Patia region and the Galar region were separated by a vast ocean.
But... why had Reiguanwang only ripened this one watermelon? As these thoughts raced through Naoki's mind, he suddenly heard Keli's voice in the distance.
She stood at the entrance of the ranch, calling out, "Naoki, are you there? I've come to deliver the wooden sculpture!"
At the sound of her voice, Naoki and the Pokemon turned their heads to look.
Naoki heard her exclaim, "Holy cow! How can there be such a huge watermelon?"
Naoki: "..."
Kishi was utterly flabbergasted.
She walked over, her eyes wide with disbelief as she gazed at the watermelon. She circled it, gently patting it with her hand.
"It's really a huge watermelon!"
"In fact, I'm quite shocked myself," Naoki said from the side.
Immediately, Kishi looked as if she had just realized something. Her eyes widened as she asked,
"Is this the power of Reiguanwang that you mentioned yesterday?!”
Naoki: “...Uh, probably?"
Reiguanwang had ripened the watermelon, but it was the riding goat's power that had made it grow so large.
"I never thought that legend would turn out to be true!" Kishi muttered to herself, and then her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "As expected of the God of Abundance, this is incredible!"
Naoki looked at Kishi's expression, which seemed to say, "Reiguanwang is so awesome, I want to believe in it too."
For a moment, Naoki couldn't decide if he had taken advantage of Reiguanwang or if Reiguanwang had taken advantage of him.
Oh no, he had indeed become a missionary for Reiguanwang.
After a moment of contemplation, Naoki thought to himself: Let's just consider it as repayment for borrowing its horse later! At that time, he would definitely ride its big horse fiercely—a 135 Blizzard Horse and a 246 Spectral Horse, riding them alternately!
Kishi handed over the polished and waxed statue.
Naoki took it and respectfully placed the finished statue in the shrine, then offered two tree fruits as tribute in front of the shrine.
Kishi stood by and witnessed this scene.
Only then did Naoki have the opportunity to ask, "How did you get here?"
Kishi pointed to the large truck outside, "I received a commission to build a mill today, so I had to go out. Knowing that you wouldn't find me at the store, I took the opportunity to deliver the statue to you."
So that was it.
Naoki nodded.
The two turned to look at the enormous watermelon in the field, and Kishi asked, "What are you going to do now?"
Naoki pondered for a moment, and suddenly a great idea came to mind.
Since Reiguanwang needed believers, why not seize the opportunity and actively spread the legend of Reiguanwang in the Patia region, helping it regain its strength and increase its favorability towards him? As Naoki thought, he organized his thoughts and asked, "What do you think of me hosting a [Summer Watermelon Festival]?"
He could invite nearby farmers and some familiar faces from town to come to the ranch for a gathering and taste this huge watermelon, as he certainly couldn't finish it alone.
They would surely be amazed by the size of the watermelon.
Then he could take the opportunity to tell everyone about the legend of Reiguanwang.
Upon hearing this, Kishi's eyes lit up, and she agreed, "That's a fantastic idea! I'll definitely come and join tomorrow."
"Then it's settled." Naoki smiled and nodded, "Tomorrow then! 9 am sharp at Naoki Ranch, don't be late."
"No problem." Kishi smiled and nodded, "But I have to go now, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's watermelon festival."
After saying goodbye to Naoki, she got into her car and left.
Naoki looked up at the sky and silently apologized to the people of the Galar region.
Starting today, Reiguanwang belongs to us in the Patia region!
Naoki felt no guilt about stealing the patron deity of another region.
When two parties are fond of each other, how could it be considered stealing?
He smiled and patted Goulerton's head affectionately before getting back to work for the day.
Meanwhile, in the Galar region, in the Crown Tundra...
Reiguanwang witnessed the joy of its little believer, and a graceful smile appeared on its face.
However... How did it not know that its power could make a watermelon so big?
Reiguanwang looked at the watermelon, which was bigger than its two horses, filled with curiosity and confusion.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
