40-Episode 40: Normal Village and Hunting

We woke up in bed at Lex's house one night after the village welcome party.

After the party was over, we tried to find a place to stay, but we were at a loss as to what to do when we were told that there were no lodgings in the village.

At that time, Lex's parents told us that in that case we should stay with them, so we decided to take advantage of their kindness.　

Good morning.

'Good morning. You've had a long journey, you can take it a little slower, okay?

Astraea, Lex's mother, was already up long ago and was preparing breakfast.

''No, we can't bother you too much,''

Oh, my God, you don't have to worry about that.

No, in fact, when I tried to pay for the lodging, I didn't accept it, saying I couldn't take money from my son's friends, and I couldn't take too much advantage of their generosity.

Is there anything I can do to help you?

Oh, I'm sorry. Can you just put the dishes out?

I'll take care of it.

As I was preparing the dishes, Norbu woke up and then Megri.

Well, Norbu is always up early to pray to God.

On the other hand, Megri seems to have been so excited about the Jewel Apple drinks at yesterday's banquet that she drank too much.

He's suffering from a hangover with his head in his hands.

'It's time for dinner, go wake up the gyro.

I understand.

Norbu quickly turns back and heads to wake up the gyros.

'Ah, that hurts ... oh, you guys are fast. That's what I'm talking about, the young ones are fine.

Mr. Ryde woke up, but he seems to be suffering from a hangover just like Megri.

'Mom, make me a cup of hangover tea.

Okay. I'll see you in a minute.

Astraea took the tea leaves from the shelf and quickly put them in the pot and poured hot water into it.

'Here you go,'

Yeah, thanks. Ah, I knew this was for a hangover.

Apparently, that tea seems to help with a hangover, and the expression on Ryde's face, who had been suffering from a hangover earlier, softened.

''Um, I want that too........''

Staggering around, Megri asks Astraea-san for tea.

I wonder how much of it I need to drink to become that dizzy.

''Yes, yes, I'll make you a cup of tea in a minute.

Astraea-san offers Megri a cup of tea that she poured into a cup.

''Thank you ... kupi.''

When I drank the tea that was brewed for me while huffing and puffing, Megri's pale complexion improved in an instant.

'Wow, this is amazing.'

I'm sure that tea must be made from some amazing herb or something.

I had a complicated feeling in my heart that I wanted to ask, but I would regret it if I did.

What kind of tea is this that works so well?

It's a tea made from the petals of Arlaunay.

"Arlaunayyyyy?

Wait, what?　Arraune, really?

Arraune is a dangerous plant-type monster that attacks people!

Arraune, that's a plant demon that looks just like a human.

At first glance, she looks like a naked beauty with green skin, but her legs are rooted and she can't walk.

If a human comes close to it, it will tangle them up with the ivy that sprouts from its body, choke them to death and bury their corpses in the ground for its own nourishment.

By the way, although it looks just like a human being, it can't communicate with you.

Because it is essentially a plant.

Oh, it's okay. It's not a problem, because Al-chan is a carefree person who loves to bask in the sun.

Al?

Why do you call him by his nickname?

Al, you were just a little seedling that Lex picked up when he was a little girl. Then he planted it in the field behind our house.

I'm here, not a kitten!

She loves the fertilizer that Lex makes. In return for giving her fertilizer, she gives me flowers and leaves for her head, so now everyone in the village takes turns sprinkling fertilizer on Al-chan.

What's with the whole neighbourhood-crawling, half-stray cat thing?

But I think I get it.

This Arlaune must have been attracted to Lex's formula.

The fertilizer is more nutritious than humans, and humans give it to him regularly, so he doesn't need to attack them.

''I didn't expect Arraune to be able to coexist with humans...''

It's a story I'm sure a wizard studying plant-based demons would be thrilled to share with you.

"Oh, I'm so sleepy.

And finally, the idiot woke up.

He told me to shang it up a bit more, since I'm indebted to him.

◆

So what are you guys going to do today?

After the meal, we were all mingling and drinking after-dinner tea when Mr. Ryde asked me about that.

''Yes, I would like to find Lex-san's textbook as planned.

And that's what I'm here for originally.

I'm going to get to see the Jewel Apple!

Megri seems to be obsessed with the Jewel Apple that was the topic of discussion at yesterday's banquet.

I hope she doesn't steal it because she is so obsessed with it.

I'm going to listen to the problems of people in the village who are in trouble. I would also like to treat the injured, if any of them are injured. I would have liked to go to the temple to pray, but I heard that there is no temple in this village.

Norbu is a priest, so he needs to do good deeds as a discipline!

I don't think I'm very capable of living in such a cramped way, though.

'I'm an ascetic, I suppose!　I feel like if I train in the village my brother grew up in, I'll be even stronger!

I don't think I'm going to be that strong.

You know what? If it makes you strong, it doesn't bother me.

Then why don't you come hunting with us?

And Mr. Ride invited Gyro to hunt.

'Hunting?'

Oh, today we're all going to the forest outside the village to hunt. There will be more than a few demons out there, so why don't you go hunting with me, if it's okay with you?

Yeah, real combat is an important part of training.

Besides, we were almost killed by a pack of forest wolves the other day.

Well, there's no better practice than actual combat!　Of course I'm in!

Gyro seemed to have come to the same idea, and he took Ryde's suggestion in stride.

''Well, I'm going to go get ready, so you can get ready too and wait in front of the house.

Oh!

You're not going to be able to do that.

So, shall we go, Mr. Gyro?

Ossss!

When I came to Lex's brother's village, I decided to hunt with his dad.

Apparently demons will appear, so hunting is a great opportunity to train and more importantly, I can show my brother's dad how cool I am.

I've got to be a disciple of my brother, and I can't be ashamed of what I've done.

"Well, let's go join the others.

Whoosh!

As I followed Ryde's father, I saw a number of people in the village square where we had our feast yesterday.

'Sorry to keep you waiting,'

Hey, late, Ryde!

The one who said that was the old man Kalio who saved us yesterday.

I see, this old man is indeed strong. It's only natural that he would join the hunt.

And then there's that little kid wandering around for some reason.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but we'd like to invite our gyro boy to join the hunt today, if that's all right with you?

Old Kalio's old man looks at me as Ryde's dad says.

'Hmm, you too?'

Yeah, do you have a problem with that?　I'm hunting all kinds of demons, okay?

Wow, you're a lively guy. That's good. You're coming with me.

Hmm, I've shown this old man that he's not cool.

Today's hunt will show you the best of both worlds.

Okay, you guys, let's go!

""Yes!"

And for some reason I heard the voice of the kids.

When I looked, I saw the kids in the square lined up behind Kalio's old man with spears and swords.

Are you going to take them with you?

I'm surprised, but Kario's old man smirks at me.

I'm sure they're pretty good at hunting, too.

Oh, come on! Seriously?　These guys will be dead in a heartbeat if they get attacked by those forest wolves from yesterday!

Didn't they ask me to babysit?

I was so disappointed that I followed along, but the moment I left the village, the atmosphere changed.

All right, then, we're going to run into those woods over there!

""Yes!"

All of a sudden, I thought that old man Kalio was running so fast, and then the kids started running so fast, too.

"Let's go, gyro.

Ryde's father urged me to rush after him.

''What's this?

I realized that I couldn't catch up with them even if I ran normally, so I immediately activated my body strengthening magic to chase after the kids.

You can't tell me they can use it too?

I'm sure you'll find a great deal of magic flowing from their bodies as you focus on them.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this and you'll be able to find out more about it.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of it.

"Seriously....

You're not going to be able to do that.

Ha-ha-ha... oh, I got it.

I ran, desperately biting into the kids running in front of me, and managed to get to the forest without being left behind.

"Oh, you're doing pretty good, boy!

The old man Kalio comes to me with a pinprick look on his face.

'What the hell is wrong with them?'

I don't have the energy to reach out to them, so I point at the kids with my chin and ask them questions.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that Lex has been teaching them a lot of things since they can remember. Isn't it a surprise?

My brother?

You mean they're my brothers?

Why don't you take a break and watch them fight?

In fact, I didn't have the energy to move, so I decided to watch the kids hunt until I regained my strength.

'Chase Wind Arrow!'

A swarm of invisible wind magic kicked the wolves away, and those with spears jumped in from the hole in the ground.

''Teriyah!''

An ordinary looking spear pierced the Forest Wolf's forehead.

There isn't an ounce of faltering in its movements, it's as deft as if it were cutting grass.

It's not a very kid's move, and in the first place, he's more adept than his seniors in the Adventurer's Guild.

''It's like looking at my brother...''

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that there was a small group of older brothers there.

'Are you surprised?'

Whoa!

I noticed that Ryde's dad was standing beside me.

His weapon was stained with blood, so it seems that his dad had been fighting until now.

''Those kids were trained by Lex from a young age, unlike us,'' he said. No wonder they're confused.''

Well, then, Dad, how about you, Mr. Ride?

The way he's talking, you think he's not so sure about that?

'When we were young, we didn't have this ridiculous fighting style. We used to set up traps near the village and appreciate the occasional bite.

With a slightly distant look in his eyes, Ryde's dad told me about the old days.

'Our life got better a while after Lex was born. As you know, he's been different in many ways. From a very young age, he was interested in many things, and he quickly learned to do many things. He was able to share his knowledge and skills that no one else knew about, and he didn't keep them to himself, but rather gave them to the rest of the village generously.

Oh, man, you were always so awesome, weren't you, Lex's brother?

In the beginning, some people were a bit weirded out by my son. But when I saw the village come more and more convenient, I began to accept that he is not doing anything wrong.

...This is my brother's hometown.

It's not easy for us adults to accept new things, and although we try our best to keep up with the growing population of children, we're still struggling to keep up. Kallio is acting as a master hunter to the children, but when it comes to a simple fight, he says that he is no match for the children.

But you're still young. You're going to be stronger than the rest of us.

...Oh, you're just encouraging me because I was surprised at how strong these kids are?

Ugh, now I've shown my brother's father how embarrassing it is to me.

"Oh, don't worry about it, sir!　I'm more than just my brother, you know!　In a minute, I'll make you stronger than those kids!　Hey!　I'm in!

Now that I've regained my strength, I'm going to join the hunt.

I'm going to join the hunt.

I'm home.

As I was studying with the textbook I found in Lex's room, I heard Ryde's voice coming from the entrance. It looks like everyone who was out hunting has returned.

'Welcome back,'

When I went to pick them up after a break, for some reason Gyro was carried back like a piece of luggage.

Did something happen to you?

Were you attacked by a monster, did you get hurt badly?

...but he didn't bleed, did he?

'Oh don't worry about it. I'm just a little tired.

Huh....

I call out to Gyro, who is laying on the bed.

'Are you okay?'

...and I'm screwed.

What?

A lot of things...

You're not making any sense.

"Those kids are insanely fast, very good at magic, very good at handling weapons...

Well, you mean, you're devastated by the disparity?

....

He was right.

'I'm home........'

And now Norbu came back.

"Welcome back, how's your training going?

Huh!

For a moment, Nolbu freaked out and shuddered and dove face-first into the bed in silence.

'What?　What?

...the only person in this village who was better at recovery magic than me.

Uh-oh.

So that's gyro number two.

I'm home!

And finally, Megri came back.

'The Jewel Apple was awesome!　That was awesome!

The only one who seemed happy was Meghri, who spoke with great excitement.