Chapter 32
On the same continent, far to the south of the kingdom where Izumi was currently staying, stood a kingdom belonging to the Nymph race known as Nidjfaal.
“IT HAS ALREADY BEEN SEVEN DAYS, YOU KNOW!? SEVEN DAYS OUR PRINCESS HAS BEEN MISSING! AND YOU'RE TELLING ME I SHOULD STAY CALM!?” Queen Elysa shouted with a trembling voice.
“My dear, listen to me. We will definitely find her. We have already done everything we can to search for her,” King Fredin replied, trying to calm her down.
“We have even hired hundreds of adventurers to search for her. The kingdom’s Players have not returned for seven days either. They are still searching for our princess. Right now, they are our only hope.”
The Kingdom of Nidjfaal had spent an enormous amount of money to find the princess. Nearly all of the kingdom’s Players had been mobilized for the search.
The kingdom possessed eight Players.
Seven Players were searching for Princess Tevina.
While the remaining Player stayed behind to protect the kingdom.
Fredin let out a long sigh.
“So please, my love, be patient. And let us pray that Princess Tevina is safe.”
Queen Elysa could only hold back her tears.
Slowly, she slumped weakly onto her throne.
Across various regions of the continent, the Nymph Players were scattered in every direction.
One of them ran through a dense forest at incredible speed.
“Where did Princess Tevina go? If something happens to her, our kingdom will be labeled as unsafe. We’ll even be considered negligent. I cannot allow that to happen.”
In the middle of his search, an S-Class monster appeared and blocked his path.
But with only a single attack—
Boom!
The monster died instantly.
Without slowing down for even a moment, the Player continued his search.
In another direction, another Nymph Player was also moving.
“It has already been seven days. I’ve been searching for Princess Tevina for seven days, yet I haven’t found a single trace of her. I can’t even detect her scent or magical energy.”
The Nymph race possessed a special ability.
They could smell the scent of their own race and detect each other’s magical energy.
Just like whales in Izumi’s original world could sense the presence of their own kind from extremely long distances, the Nymphs possessed a similar ability.
The Player continued thinking.
“To the west of the Kingdom of Nidjfaal lies the Dwarf Kingdom. And a little farther beyond that is the Druid Kingdom.”
“The Druids might still be willing to cooperate.”
“But the Dwarves? They wouldn’t care at all.”
“Those short creatures are incredibly arrogant.”
“Unless they are offered a good artifact, they won’t help.”
“This is truly troublesome.”
“But if I travel northwest from my kingdom... far beyond there lies the Demon Kingdom.”
“A kingdom that was founded only nine years ago.”
“Could it be...?”
He shook his head.
“No. The distance is too great.”
“Even at my maximum speed, it would still take me months to get there.”
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“And even if I did reach it, with my current strength I wouldn’t be able to do anything if they were truly the ones who kidnapped Princess Tevina.”
---
Meanwhile...
Nera, Welly, Berin, and Tom were traveling by horse carriage.
“Ahh, the air feels so refreshing,” Nera said while enjoying the gentle breeze.
“Yeah,” Welly replied. “The terrain around this forest is quite elevated. That’s why the air feels cool. Even the sunlight feels pleasantly warm, like soaking in a hot spring.”
“I could fall asleep like this,” Berin said while stretching. “It feels so comfortable.”
“You’re right.”
Berin and Nera immediately lay down inside the carriage.
Tom, seeing that, shook his head.
“Hey, why don’t you just sit properly? Lying down like that is dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?” Berin asked.
“If this carriage hits a rock, you could hit your heads.”
“Oh, I see.”
Nera and Berin immediately sat up obediently.
“By the way,” Nera said, “we’ve been traveling for almost an hour, right? But we haven’t encountered a single F-Class monster.”
“That’s why this forest is called the beginner forest of the Kingdom of Monotiz,” Welly replied.
“In the Southern Forest, monsters rarely appear.”
“It’s completely different from the western forest.”
“There are many monsters there, ranging from D-Class all the way to S-Class.”
“And it’s extremely dangerous.”
Berin nodded.
“But isn’t the Eastern Forest even scarier?”
“A lot of people have reported seeing S-Class monsters there.”
“Hm, yeah, you’re right,” Welly said.
“There have been many adventurer reports about A-Class and S-Class monsters in the Eastern Forest.”
Tom suddenly smiled.
“Ah, the Eastern Forest.”
“That’s where I first met Miss Rumi.”
“Eh?” Nera immediately became interested. “You met her in the forest?”
“Yeah.”
“At that time, I was returning from gathering herbs with my son.”
“We were attacked by bandits.”
“But fortunately, Miss Rumi arrived just in time.”
“She killed those bandits with a single attack.”
“Even the bandit leader, whom I believed was nearly as strong as a Knight, died from a single strike.”
“And that’s not all.”
“Afterward, we even encountered a Giant Mud Slime.”
“An S-Class monster.”
“But luckily, Miss Rumi possessed a Legendary-Class artifact.”
“That’s why she was able to defeat it easily.”
Tom smiled fondly as he recalled the incident.
Meanwhile...
Nera and Welly froze.
They exchanged glances.
The exact same thought appeared in both of their minds.
That story was completely different from what Rumi had told them before.
“So Rumi is really that strong...” Berin muttered in admiration.
“Yeah,” Tom replied. “And she’s also a very kind person.”
Nera fell silent.
Very kind, huh?
But she also killed two Knights without the slightest hesitation.
Even so...
Rumi had still never explained her true reason.
Nera lowered her gaze.
I hope she really is a good person.
---
Several hours passed.
After traveling for quite a while, Tom suddenly sniffed the air.
“Hm?”
Nera, Welly, and Berin also smelled something.
“What is that awful smell?” Nera complained. “Ahh, it’s so strong.”
“Yeah,” Berin added. “It smells like a monster carcass.”
Tom immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“This isn’t the smell of a monster carcass.”
“I know this scent very well.”
Before Tom could continue, Welly immediately interrupted him.
“This is the scent of a Rafflesia Flower!”
“A Unique-Class plant!”
Tom nodded.
Nera and Berin simply stared at each other in confusion.
“WE HAVE TO FIND IT!” Welly shouted excitedly.
“Yeah!” Tom replied. “We have to find it!”
“Eeeh?” Nera made a disgusted face.
“You’re seriously going to collect that thing?”
“It smells horrible even from here!”
Welly immediately turned toward her.
“Nera! This is a golden opportunity!”
“Do you know how much that herb is worth?”
“No?”
“It’s worth around two thousand gold!”
“TWO THOUSAND GOLD!?”
Nera’s eyes widened.
“Are you serious!?”
“Two thousand gold can buy two luxurious mansions!”
“That’s exactly why this plant is so valuable,” Welly explained.
“Because it’s a Unique-grade ingredient.”
“It’s used in many high-level potion recipes.”
“It’s even used in various high-class dishes.”
“A lot of people are looking for it.”
“But it’s extremely rare and appears randomly.”
Tom nodded in agreement.
“That’s right.”
“If we manage to get it, we could become rich.”
They quickly climbed down from the horse carriage.
Nera and Berin continued complaining about the smell.
Tom merely laughed.
“Hahaha... don’t worry.”
“You’ll get used to it eventually.”
The group began searching for the source of the scent.
After searching for quite a while...
“OVER HERE!”
“I FOUND IT!”
Welly shouted victoriously.
Tom, Nera, and Berin immediately ran toward him.
“Finally...” Welly said with sparkling eyes.
“One of my dreams has come true.”
Nera stared at the giant plant in front of her.
“So this is what it looks like.”
“It’s huge.”
“And it looks strange.”
Berin nodded.
“It looks more like a monster than a plant.”
“Are you sure this thing isn’t dangerous?”
“Of course not,” Tom replied.
Tom then took out a special knife designed for harvesting herbs.
Carefully, he cut away the necessary portions.
Afterward, Tom and Welly lifted the plant together.
“Waaah...” Tom muttered.
“Two thousand gold is in my hands...” Welly said.
“I really can’t believe this is happening.”
“Am I dreaming?”
“Ooh...” Nera said.
“The smell isn’t as strong anymore.”
“Yeah,” Welly replied.
“That’s because the plant is dead now.”
“Eh?”
“That plant was alive?”
“Not exactly.”
“Just like any other plant.”
“When it was alive earlier, this flower released a special scent that attracted small monsters.”
“Eh? Why would it do that?”
“Because small monsters such as Ironthorn Gnats, Glasswing Midges, Ashwing Hoppers, Mistveil Mosquitoes, and other tiny monsters are drawn to it.”
“With the intention of eating it.”
“Waaah...” Tom looked impressed.
“Your knowledge is truly extensive.”
Welly immediately put on his signature proud expression.
“Hmph. Of course it is.”
Nera giggled softly.
“So this plant’s food is small monsters.”
“No wonder it smells so strong.”