CH 10

Episode 10 – Plant Collection with Smash

“So what were you up to for the last few hours?” (Smash)

“Plant collecting. I’m thinking of collecting useful plants and selling them.” (Lewin)

When I told Smash this, his face stiffened.

“Huh? Could it be that you requested us just to collect herbs?” (Smash)

“Yeah, that’s right. There’s no way I could ever reach this mountain by myself, so I had to request for an escort…” (Lewin)

Actually, money was a problem… but there was no way I would say that out loud at this point. I was feeling some pain in my legs from walking all this time and was thinking of stopping soon for the day. But after that exchange with Smash just now, I was feeling a little more motivated in my heart.

“I think this area looks good, thanks so far!” (Lewin)

“No need to thank me. Avoiding monsters is a simple job for me. Anyway, I’ll be watching you work from here, is that okay?” (Smash)

“Hey, what’s up with that? Are you even throwing away the right ones?” (Smash)

“Yeah, I’m only sorting out the medicinal herbs and useful plants. Actually, I’ve been sorting plants like this since my time at the Healer’s Guild, so I’m used to it.” (Lewin)

“That said, you’re going at a really fast rate, aren’t you?” (Smash)

“I don’t want to miss any herbs hiding behind the weeds, so this speed is still pretty slow in my opinion. I’d like to speed up, but I think it’s better to be thorough than to make a mistake by going too fast.” (Lewin)

“Hmm… Perhaps a different kind of natural talent like Elisa?” (Smash)

While Smash was keeping watch on the area, it took me about two hours to finish. Besides needing to make a few movements to avoid any monsters, the plant collection in this area was completed without any major incidents. There weren’t any previously unidentified plants, but, in addition to a bunch of Medical Herbs and Magical Grasses, I managed to find three High-grade Medical Herbs and two Angel Grasses. In just one day, I probably made around 1 gold coin and 3 silver coins from what I collected. Considering the fact that I had been collecting since this morning, if I continued at this pace I should be able to achieve my goal of 4 gold coins by the end of this trip. It was going pretty well, but I couldn’t find anymore Dumbbell Weed even though I thoroughly searched through each and every weed so far today.

“Smash-san, I’m done with the whole area! Thanks for keeping an eye out.” (Lewin)

“No no, I got to see something good. Also, let me take back what I said earlier.” (Smash)

“What you said earlier…?” (Lewin)

“I’m referring to what I said about this being an excessive escort. I thought it would make you end up in the red when considering the escort costs, but if you can collect at this speed, our escort costs could be easily paid.” (Smash)

Continuing our warm conversation, as we approached the clearing, I suddenly started feeling an unsettling atmosphere for some reason. Rather, there was the scent of blood coming from the area we were supposed to be heading to. Furrowing my eyebrows, I suddenly became cautious, and quickly turned to look at Smash, but he was surprisingly totally unfazed.

“Listen up. Elisa’s awake. You don’t have to be wary of any monsters, but definitely be wary of Elisa.” Smash cautioned me, who was still on full alert.

…Why the hell should I be wary of Ahmed? As I thought that, I approached the open field where Ahmed was peacefully sleeping earlier, only to find it dyed completely crimson with blood.