CH 20

“……. Yggdrasil Forest, the Great Forest of the Tree of Life. That’s a name I’ve missed. I don’t think I’ll be going back there again, though.”

The forest fairy, wood elf girl swore and walked over to the pot on the fire and started stirring the contents. Her green hair pigtails on either side of her face swayed in time.

She looked very unhappy, but Souya couldn’t tell if it was her staring eyes that made her look that way, or if she was really unhappy because they had interrupted her camping.

“I’m sorry we took the liberty of using the fire that you prepared. Wood Elf lady, if you don’t mind, I’d like to know your name.”

Souya asked the Wood elf girl her name. The girl remained silent, stirring the pot, but eventually stopped her hand for a moment.

“Merylou.”

The Wood Elf girl gave her name and began to stir the pot again in silence.

“Merylou. That’s a pretty name. As I said earlier, my name is Souya. Despite my outfit, I go by as a Magician.”

“Magician? I see. So that’s how you were able to see through the invisibility.”

“That’s right. I’m sorry I didn’t call out to you sooner. We needed to be on the lookout too, after all.”

It was actually the special ability of the black glasses that saw through the invisibility, but Souya nodded in affirmation to Merylou’s words. He apologized for not talking to her for a while, even though he knew she was there.

“I’m Cleric Mia, Priestess of the Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela. Nice to meet you, Merylou-san.”

“You’re a Cleric of the Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela? …… Then …… no, no.”

Merylou turned to Mia and tried to say something, but stopped mid-sentence and shook her head.

“…… What’s wrong, Merylou-san?”

“It’s nothing. I’m also an adventurer, in case you were wondering. I’m also an adventurer, in case you were wondering. …… Well, I haven’t been adventuring for nearly half a year now, since I’ve been living mostly in this forest.”

Merylou went through the large backpack on the ground and took out a silver adventurer’s card, which she showed to Souya and Mia. 

“…… Oh. I’ve never thought you were a silver-class. It seems like you’re higher rank than us.”

“What, so you guys are lower than this.”

The adventurer’s rank may have given her a slight sense of superiority, but Merylou’s expression seemed to have relaxed a bit.

Mia, like Merylou, took her bronze adventurer’s card from her shoulder bag and presented it to Merylou.

“I’m a bronze-class adventurer …… Well, looking at our registration numbers, it looks like you’re quite senior, Merylou.”

“Yeah. It was about two years ago that I left the Yggdrasil Forest, the Great Forest of the Tree of Life, and began my journey in the outside world. It was a little later that I became an adventurer in Ilstadt, though.”

When Souya saw the two of them, he made a sullen face and picked up the blank-class adventurer’s card from his breast pocket with his finger, fluttering it in the air as if he didn’t want to show it. 

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“Mia-kun, if you show her yours, then I’m going to have to show her mine too.”

“…… Oh, what, that old guy over there was a rookie? Tch, that scared me unnecessarily.”

“This is my first adventure. Please go easy on me, Merylou-senpai.”

(Well, it might have been a good idea to let my guard down.)

While Souya was thinking about this, suddenly a wind blew, and the blank-class adventurer’s card he was holding was blown away. 

“Oh no!”

Souya reached out with one hand to grab the adventurer’s card, but it was flipped aside and Souya’s blank-class adventurer’s card, which had flown in the wind, disappeared in the bonfire. 

“Oh dear. I’ve done it now.”

Souya shrugged his shoulders, as if it was none of his business.

“I’m sure Louise-san will be very upset with you, Souya-san.”

“Well, she said that blank-class certificates are easy to reissue. I was told not to lose it if at all possible, though.”

Merylou, who was watching the scene, smirked.

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“Oh, old man, you’ve done it. The receptionist at the guild over there is scary, isn’t she …… Well, you know. Why don’t we have some food? I’ve got some extra.”

As the night wore on and a slight chill drifted through the air, the three of us gathered around the fire to warm ourselves.

Merylou scooped up some soup from the pot into an empty bowl and handed it to Souya and Mia.

“There you go. Don’t complain if it doesn’t suit your palate.”

Thank you very much. I’ll take it without reservation.”

“Thank you for the food, Merylou-san.”

The soup that was handed to me was made with wild grasses and poultry, and from the clarity of the broth, I could tell that it had been carefully prepared over a long period of time, with all the lye removed.

The well-cooked and tender chicken meat made a good soup stock and soaked up the flavor of the soup. As an accent, spicy wild herbs such as ginger effectively complemented the chicken.

“It’s very elaborate. I like it very much.”

“It’s very delicious, Merylou-san.”

“Hmm. …… Well, not so much.”

Merylou looked a little embarrassed by their praise.

“…… Oh, right, what are you guys doing in the Thrail Forest?”

“Oh. We’re here to collect Night grasses. A wild grass that gives off a faint magical light at night, do you know of it, Merylou-kun?”

“Souya, I’m a wood elf, you know. Of course I know about the wild grasses of the forest. I see …… So you’ve come to pick them.”

Merylou was thinking about something. With a downcast look, a somber, dark expression. 

“I guess you’re reminiscing about your hometown and feeling nostalgic.”

“You’re wrong. It’s just …… Hey, you guys, if you want…”

–The moment when Merylou was about to say something. 

“Aoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!”

The howl of a beast that seemed to cut through the space echoed. The sound of multiple footsteps continued. The sound of footsteps kicking the ground is light and getting closer and closer.

“…… Oh. I guess they’re caught by the delicious smell.”

“It’s a wolf. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s a full moon night. This might be a bit of a challenge.”

Merylou grabbed the short bow placed beside her, and muttered while looking up at the sky. The twin moons drew a full moon, eating away at the deep blue sky.

“Full moon …… Did they get affected by the age of the moon?”

“There are special wolves like that. Mia-kun, stay close to the fire.”

Souya put the plate of soup on the ground, picked up a lump of stone that had fallen nearby, and slowly stood up.

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