What are Dreamtears?—no, wait...

What is Hanchong Grass?

Simply put, it’s a very special cash crop. Not for food or drink, but… for brewing potions.

Right. In a world with magic, potions are a huge deal. They store powerful spell effects as portable items, and even non‑mages can use them.

From that, one of the seven major magic classes was born: Potion Masters. They give up frontline combat and specialize in crafting high‑effect potions. By the way, Rin, one of the three heroines and a certain little princess, is a Potion Master.

To brew powerful potions, a Potion Master doesn’t just need higher level and stronger brewing spells. They also need raw ingredients of excellent quality.

The problem? Potion ingredients are pricey across the board. The higher the potion tier, the rarer the materials. It burns money fast. Many essentials for high‑tier potions are “money can’t buy” items—no supply even if you’ve got cash.

Hanchong Grass is one such scarce material.

It’s required for most ice‑attribute potions, so demand isn’t small. It also grows fast and can be planted year‑round. On paper, it fits the market perfectly.

The killer is… despite the name, this “grass” is nothing like a weed. It’s absurdly delicate.

It needs extremely low temperatures, so it can only be grown on the Empire’s far northern border, far from the Imperial Capital. It’s also hard to preserve. It molds and spoils quickly after harvest. Even a relay of fast horses can’t get it to the Imperial Capital fresh. You can’t sun‑dry or pickle it either, because only fresh Hanchong Grass works for potion‑making.

Even on the northern frontier, yields are tiny. During growth, temperature, water, humidity, oxygen at the roots, even soil composition all have to track its shifting optimal ranges. Miss a single parameter and… welp, it dies on the spot.

So this pampered little thing needs highly experienced growers watching it day and night. Even then, luck matters. Most successful harvests won’t even leave seeds. Loss rates are huge. You can’t just buy one batch of seeds and scale up sustainably.

All that makes Hanchong Grass rare and expensive across the Empire. Yet it’s vital. Ice‑attribute potions are key for crafting powerful composite element potions. Miss one element and it won’t work.

Potion Masters in the Imperial Capital either hire a spatial‑teleportation powerhouse, buy ice potions ready‑made, or sub in some water potions as a shaky stand‑in. The strong don’t want to run errands. Ready‑made stock has brutal markups. Substitutes tank potion quality.

High‑level Potion Masters across the Empire have been tearing their hair out over this.

So how did Olivia even learn about this miracle crop? Yep… from the blond.

In the game’s plot, on the day after the auditorium event—meaning tomorrow—a caravan from the North arrives in the Imperial Capital. They’re carrying a batch of Hanchong Grass seeds.

In the original, the blond, Caius, buys them out. Then he grows the grass, makes a killing, has Rin brew potions for him, powers up hard, and cements a double stomp over the protagonist Gawain in both strength and wealth.

But—sorry. Not this time. Olivia’s going to snipe that windfall.

The Bluehaired Loli’s lips curled up without her noticing. Hmph. Yeah, this is the fastest way to get rich right now. If she grabs those seeds and grows Hanchong Grass, all her problems will sort themselves out.

The plan’s also very doable. Even though Hanchong Grass is pricey and basically unobtainable in the Imperial Capital, the cultivation risk is sky‑high. Gambling at least lets you rely on luck. This stuff won’t work without the right conditions, like solving a math problem. So the seeds themselves aren’t insanely expensive.

Those merchants want to offload the seeds fast. If she beats Caius there and offers the right price, it’s an easy snipe.

What about the money to buy the seeds? Uh… looks like she still has to borrow from Natasha. Not a big deal. That sum should be pocket change for her.

As for how to grow them after she gets the seeds… perfect. Doesn’t she have an automated planting system?

Olivia hurriedly opened the system inventory and read the item description carefully.

[Upon use, this item auto‑builds a fully automated farming facility controlled by a supercomputer and agri‑robots. It auto‑scans each plant and adjusts it one‑to‑one in real time, ensuring maximum quality and efficiency for planting, growth, harvesting, and collection/storage. Requirement: an open area about the size of a sports court.]

Nice! Just as she guessed. A system item, and it says “any crop.” That includes Hanchong Grass—easy mode. One‑to‑one cultivation, too… terrifying.

[All right, time to give this janky medieval game world a tiny tech shock!]

[I don’t care how aloof and delicate your crop princess is. In the streamer’s hands, she’s getting corrupted into a shameless b*tch who says yes to everything!]

[Hey hey hey, why does it sound like the streamer’s the real evil blond here? Savage.]

[Where are my pics?]

[Can we get five bucks’ worth of extra plot?]

[Skip to the noble princess ahegao, fully awakened~]

...

Hey, hey. You guys are going after a plant now? That’s too much!

Olivia was too tired to roast the chat anymore. She ran the numbers again. Her only worry now was the site. The required area was pretty big. Land in the Imperial Capital costs a fortune. If not, she’d have to head for the outskirts…

Also, she didn’t even know what time that merchant group would enter the city tomorrow. Only that they’d be selling in the south of the city. Ugh…

To beat Caius, she still had to borrow money from Natasha first. So… she’d better show up at school in the morning, then bail early and camp the south gate…

The more she thought, the drowsier she got, until morning finally came… and her mom, Fufu, shook her awake.

“Sweetie, up. Don’t you have school today?”

“Eh?!”

Olivia blinked, then smacked her forehead. She scrambled up, threw on clothes, clamped a slice of bread in her mouth, and yelled:

“Mom, I’m off—to borrow mo—no, I mean, to school!”