Chapter 19: Now’s not the time to be adventuring

Translator: Tseirp

“I’ll be going to the mountains for a bit tomorrow.”

“For medicinal grass? We still have stock though.”

“Because of the drug intoxication case, they need gray starfish grass for the medicine. We do have some stock available and we are growing them in the garden but I thought that I should increase the stock a little more.”

“All right. Would you be camping out?”

“For a night. Gray starfish grass doesn’t clump in a single location but grows in small batches under the shadows of fallen trees so it would take some time to gather them.”

“Roger~ I’ll take care of the shop so don’t worry.”

“If people come in for antidotes, pass them the medicine on the third shelf.”

“The gray starfish grass powder right?”

“Also … ah~ let’s close the Apothecary for a day after I return.”

I suddenly remembered something.

“I haven’t fulfilled my promise of helping to dry the clothes and whatnot in Lit’s item box.”

“Oh right there was that promise, it’s all right, they have been in there all this while so there’s no need to change it now.”

“That won’t do, it might grow mold if you don’t dry it once in a while.”

An item box was a magic bag that would store items in a separate dimension.

The capacity would differ according to price and Lit’s item box could store up to 500 kilograms. Its price was at an expensive 7000 Peryl but to adventurers who have to bring back all the treasure they find but can’t carry, that was a classic magic item that all adventurers aimed to purchase.

Most adventurers throw everything they get their hands on into it … so they often forget what they place inside the item box.

Although the item placed within would be taken out with just a thought, the only other function is to take everything out so everyone has experienced placing something within and completely forgetting about it.

It was necessary to organize it on a regular basis … but Lit doesn’t do it.

That’s why I asked her to organize it at the same time she dries the clothes in the garden.

“I’ll be helping out so properly organize it once. Once we’re done, we can go have a swim in the river or have a barbecue by the dry river bed.

“Just the two of us!”

“Ri-right, the two of us.”

“All right, then let’s quickly get it over and done with.”

It slightly tugged on my mind that we were taking a break and having a barbecue while the anesthetic drug case was still ongoing but I was just the owner of an Apothecary. I was not responsible for the world nor for the town.

“Let’s forget about work and relax and have fun.”

Lit also had the same thought as she laughed and said that.

☆☆

It had been a long time since I last been here and the mountain was once again in its lush summer attire.

“Just give up already, accept that it is fall now.”

While smiling bitterly at the cicada cries that could still be heard, I advanced while cutting a path through the overgrown grass and twigs with my copper sword.

Incidentally, a copper sword with a blunt edge was not a suitable choice for this use.

A proper adventurer would spend a little gold to buy a proper hatchet.

“Here it is.”

I harvested the gray starfish grass growing under the shadows of a fallen tree.

In order to harvest medicinal grass, one has to trek away for the mountain path or animal path into the heart of the mountain. It was quite a laborious task and one must constantly be on the lookout for small but deadly animals like the poison snake which might bite your feet.

Novice adventurers may look down upon medicinal herb harvesting but the Adventurers Guild was assessing whether they could endure this trial.

“Also, one might encounter monsters like this.”

The moss near my foot foamed and a tentacle covered in moss extended towards me.

I quickly retreated and evaded that slow attack.

“Giant Amoeba huh?”

Also called the lesser slime. Amoeba falsely resembles the slime race but many adventurers treat them as slimes due to their visual similarities. Unlike slimes, they are fragile monsters that can be damaged normally with a sword slash so they are known as an inferior slime and are called the disgraceful name of Lesser Slime.

I slashed down from above towards the slowly approaching Giant Amoeba and defeated it.

Naturally, there was no point hoping that something of this level could strengthen my Divine Protection.

There were various kinds of monsters and animal in the mountain.

Ones that immediately attacks, ones that stay hidden and wait for an opportunity and ones that escape for a moment and return after calling their companions. They all respond differently.

In the depths of the mountain, there was a breeding ground for Chimaeras, perhaps the product of the ancient Elf Age, stray Trolls that wandered over from the 『Wall at the End of the World』 and even giant humanoids called Gugs.

As people have not been here for a long time, there was an abundance of medicinal grass and wild plants but it was not an environment where novice adventurers could survive.

The environment tests all kinds of survival skills like collecting information on dangerous areas or how to read a map. The E-rank Adventurers could only accept requests in which the client was the Adventurers Guild precisely because the guild wanted to confirm if they possess such fundamental abilities.

There weren’t any tests to become an Adventurer but in exchange, the first request could be said to be a test.

Nevertheless, Chimeras were no longer a threat to me.

Chimeras are an absurd monster with a lion body and a dragon and goat head stuck on its shoulders so they are able to attack with all three heads simultaneously and the dragon head is capable of releasing a breath attack so it is quite a troublesome foe.

However, in terms of monster popularity, it is a different matter. It is a popular monster for Adventurers who aim to become a dragon slayer by battling against a mock dragon while on the other hand, its goat head possesses friendliness to humans so its younglings can fetch up to 5000 Peryl to be sold as pets for successful Adventurers.

It was also a strange reality in the world how they are also a classic monster in zoos placed beside the likes of Gryphons.

I heard news of injuries every year due to it spewing breath attacks onto people outside the cage so was it really okay to make it a classic monster there?

And the place I was headed to was that Chimera breeding ground.

That was the best place to harvest if I wish to obtain gray starfish grass quickly. The last time I surveyed the area, there were ancient elf buildings overgrown by vegetation, leaving lots of dark places that the gray starfish grass love to grow in.

☆☆

After coming here countless times and driving away the Chimeras that attacked me, the Chimera seemed to have found me to be a troublesome opponent and have decided to leave me alone. Although not to the extent of a dragon, the Chimera possesses decent intelligence on par with human children. As Chimera even keep wolves and dogs as their watchdogs. However, the only method they know of to discipline them is through threats so their relationship rarely lasts for long.

That’s why it would remember my face and scent and share that information with its herd such that they would not approach me.

During their last assault, about ten of them showed up and attacked me at the same time. I was shocked at that time and it was quite a tough fight as I incurred injuries in numerous places but after that incident, the Chimera would turn the opposite direction whenever they see me and never attack me again. Even to the extent that the Chimeras would chase away other Chimeras who try to approach me.

That is to say, the profound thoughts I was having at the moment was a kind of escape from reality. It was about time I gave up and recognize the situation I was in.

In front of me was a short girl who was probably a novice adventurer looking at me with glittering eyes. Perhaps she didn’t gather information; or she underestimated the Chimeras; or she lost her way, for the time being, she was being attacked by Chimeras in the Chimera breeding ground and I couldn’t leave her to her death so I approached, which was when the Chimeras hurriedly ran away, leading to the situation I was in now.

“Yo-your name please!”

“……”

“So-sorry, without even introducing myself! I am Alice!”

The girl called Alice was holding a Scythe as a weapon unbefitting of her small stature. She seemed to have quite a personality despite being a novice.

Okay. Let’s run.

“Eh?”

I activated Lightning Feet and fled from the scene in an instant.

The being that helped her was a mountain spirit. If I was asked in town, I’ll go with that reply.

Raising a flag by encountering a novice adventurer in the mountains?

Don’t make me laugh, I am aiming for a slow life without any ‘adventure’. Especially an adventurer with such strange equipment.

Either way, that novice adventurer was probably saddled with all kinds of troublesome issues and I would be stuck with expending a lot of effort to resolve them.

『Ah-』A crow above my head laughed at me. I was suddenly curious about how that crow felt as it saw how the Chimeras fled from me while I, in turn, fled from a novice adventurer.

☆☆

This was after quite some time but,

“That must have been the Tengu Demon described in the East. The demons in the East are not all evil and there apparently have been cases where they aided people who were lost in the mountains.”

“Tengu Demon-san …”

I heard that from the adventurers in town. That was unrelated to me. Definitely. Probably.

☆☆

The next day, before returning from the mountain, I stopped by the area where Bloodneedle grew.

The area that was supposed to have been completely burned down has already been covered by greenery.

The Owlbear corpse had already been consumed by other animals and monsters so there were no traces left at all.

“Yup, it will return to normal next year.”

Or perhaps I might even be able to harvest more Bloodneedle compared to previous years. I felt such vast amounts of vitality from that area that made me think so.

It looks like medicinal herb harvesting will be hectic next year.

☆☆

On the way home after descending from the mountain, I came across a single goblin wearing an expensive bridal gown singing while holding a kitchen knife.

I ignored it.

After moving further ahead, I saw a disturbance ahead with knights blockading the bridge.

I took a detour.

On the detour, there was a strange guy who shouted that he wanted me to collect his heritage he left in the magician’s mansion.

I refused and asked him to go to the Adventurers Guild.

” … I’ve been bumping into strange people excessively today.”

It would probably have been a heart-pounding moment for an adventurer seeking quests but I have plans for tomorrow.

I opened the door to my home.

I heard the pitter-patter of running footsteps.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back!”

See, now’s not the time to be adventuring.

Author’s note:

There will be no harem quest route.