Chapter 24
Herbalist
After helping Mikel and Rolf for two or three hours, I realized that the leather bag was packed to the brim, so I decided to head back to the village.
When Mikel and Rolf, walking lightly ahead, arrived at the village, Abel, as if by fate, had returned as well.
「Abel!」
「Look at this!」
The two ran over joyfully, and Abel frowned as he saw the bulging leather bag.
「... I did tell you to go look for herbs.」
Mikel, hearing Abel's displeasure, smirked.
「Rolf.」
「Right on!」
Hearing his name, Rolf enthusiastically lowered the leather bag and began to display the herbs they'd collected right in front of Abel. With each herb that came out, Abel's eyes widened in astonishment.
「This... is amazing.」
Abel murmured that much as he began to inspect the state of the herbs laid out on the ground. As he did, the beastmen remaining in the village gathered around.
Everyone was raising voices of surprise at the large quantity of herbs lined up on the ground.
「Did Mikel and Rolf gather all of this?」
「No, it must be the village chief.」
「Even so, it's a lot.」
Amidst such voices, Abel turned his mysterious gaze towards Mikel and Rolf.
「It's a blessing, but how did you find so many? Recently, it's been hard to find herbs nearby, so we were even considering moving the village...」
When Abel said that, I couldn't help but voice my thought.
「Wow, that would be such a waste. I still think there's plenty more...」
As soon as I said that, Abel and the village beastmen focused their gazes on me. Oops, did I say something unnecessary? I thought that, but Mikel and Rolf, smiling, pointed at me.
「Yes! There are still plenty of herbs left!」
「With Lars' sense of smell, we can find them!」
As the two started saying something that made little sense, everyone tilted their heads in confusion. They were terrible at explaining and desperately needed a translator.
「Are you saying Lars found them?」
Abel asked while looking at me, so I nodded in response.
「Well, I found them, I guess?」
As I said that, everyone blinked in disbelief. I thought they wouldn't believe me, but soon several beastmen gathered around.
「How did you!?」
「Lars, you're amazing!」
The crowd bustled with smiles and excitement. The beastmen were truly good-natured, and I worried that they might easily be tricked by any wandering merchant.
While I was fretting over unnecessary concerns, Abel, with a serious look, approached. Everyone stepped back a little to make space, and Abel stood there.
「... How did you find the herbs? Can you teach us?」
Abel asked unusually humbly. However, since he was standing and looking down at me, it resembled an interrogation.
「Y-you're scary.」
As I said that, the village women immediately started criticizing Abel.
「Hey, village chief!」
「You're scaring Lars, move away.」
「Can't you see Lars is frightened?」
Rebuked by everyone, Abel took two silent steps back. Although he looked a little sad, it was probably just my imagination.
Suddenly realizing everyone was silently waiting for my explanation, I decided to respond.
「Um, Meral grass is small and grows in hidden spots, so it's hard to find, but it tends to grow in clusters of ten or more plants. Though I'm not sure if clusters are the right term for ten plants.」
「Yeah, yeah.」
「Indeed.」
As I began explaining, especially the women in the village nodded vigorously in agreement. Confirming their reactions, I continued with a detailed explanation.
「Other herbs have different cases, but regarding Meral grass, it usually grows near water. However, if there's too much moisture, it doesn't thrive, so it often grows about fifty meters away from ponds or rivers. Also, it doesn't grow well in places exposed to long hours of sunlight, so it's better if there are obstructions like large trees or rocks to the north or south. By the way, spots where Meral grass easily grows often have clay-like soil with high humidity, so if the moisture increases after moving away from water, it's a good idea to search around there.」
After explaining like that, everyone voiced their admiration.
「Oh! So it's about hiding spots.」
「Should we look around the river then?」
「Oh, there's a pond too! That might be good.」
Using my information as a base, everyone started talking cheerfully. I was glad. It seemed I could be of some help to the village. Watching everyone rejoicing out of the corner of my eye, I turned to look at Abel, who stood behind with crossed arms.
「Oh, by the way, is there a way out of the forest?」
As I asked, Abel knitted his brows. Everyone who had been chatting stopped suddenly and looked at me.
Oh, perhaps they thought I was some kind of spy. If they suspected I was trying to sell the location of the beastmen village for money, it would make me feel terrible.
But Abel's response was different than I expected.
「The forest exit is quite far. Even if you get out of the forest, it'll take several days to walk to a human settlement. It's dangerous.」
As Abel said that, the women and children of similar age also looked worried.
「Leaving the forest is dangerous, Lars.」
「You can't hunt, can you?」
「... If Lars left, I'd be sad.」
Everyone was worried and sad about the farewell. It sincerely made my heart warm, reinforcing how kind the people were and how comfortable the village was.
While nearly crying, I shook my head and smiled.
「No, that's not it. I was just thinking we needed to get a new weapon somehow. Otherwise, we won't be able to fend off large monsters, right?」
As soon as I said that, everyone widened their eyes and froze in place.
-------------= Author's Notes -------------=
If you found yourself curious about 'what happens next,' it would make me happy if you could press the ☆ button at the bottom of the page!
It motivates the author!・:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌ )】