CH 68

Episode 68 – Full Purse

I see. The power balance between the Angry Bear and Angry Wolves had crumbled, so the Angry Wolves sphere of influence expanded… Monsters also had these kinds of hegemonial conflicts just like humans, huh?

“Thank you. I understand the reason why the Angry Wolves have been attacking as of late. Then, would you be able to tell me whether or not Mount Cornello will be safe for gathering plants and herbs in the future?” (Lewin)

“Yeah. There should be no problem with the gathering of plants and herbs itself. According to the report from [Azurite], they’ve thinned out the Angry Wolves a little bit to even out the power balance. Even so, it’s probably best to wait a few weeks for things to settle down. Of course, if you employ a high-ranking adventurer party to escort you, there will be no problems with going right now.” (Guild Chief)

A few weeks, huh? I was a little unsure if I would have sufficient Magical Grass, but I should probably stay in Grezesta for the next few weeks and prioritize training and strengthening myself.

Well, I could also go to Nava Forest, which was the second-most common area to go to for gathering plants and herbs after Mount Cornello… But I’d discovered new plants like Glutamate Herb and spices, and I thought that I could still achieve a lot with them. So for now I should stay in Grezesta, and, if I felt like I needed any plants or herbs before those few weeks were up, I could just go to Nava Forest.

“It seems better for me to wait and see for now, but I understand the situation. That’s all for my questions for today. Guild Chief-san, thank you so much for everything.” (Lewin)

“Likewise. Sorry for all the time and effort you had to go through. I appreciate your continued use of the Adventurer’s Guild in the future. Then, I’ll be returning to the back room, so you can get your compensation and consolation fee from the receptionist here.” (Guild Chief)

I thanked the Guild Chief for everything he’d done for me and watched him disappear into the back room. After finishing the proceedings with the receptionist lady in her usual businesslike manner, I left the Adventurer’s Guild.

…All things considered, they worked quite fast. I wasn’t really sure if I would be able to get my bag back today, but between yesterday and today, they had already finished investigating the situation with the Angry Wolves and retrieved our items. As expected of an A-rank party, I guess?

[Azurite]… It was the party that Ahmed had been forced to withdraw from, which bothered me a bit, but I felt a little bit of gratitude towards them for this matter.

Well for now, since I had my bag back, I decided to return to the rundown inn and sort out the plants and herbs, then go to Elf’s Tears to sell off the higher quality ones. I also wanted to ask the grandma at Elf’s Tears if there was any way to use Glutamate Herb or spices to counteract the bitterness of certain plants and herbs.

After I returned to the rundown inn, I quickly began sorting the plants and herbs that I had gathered. Even though I had only been able to gather plants and herbs for two days, my bag was already 70% full, which meant there was a pretty considerable amount. In the end, a lot of this volume was thanks to the discovery of spices. I finished sorting everything in about an hour, excited to see how much I could sell these plants and herbs for.

The results of the sorting:

Medical Herb: 123 low quality, 168 medium quality, 43 high quality.

Magical Grass: 28 low quality, 33 medium quality, 9 high quality.

Excluding the Magical Grass for personal use and the high quality Angel Grass and Linrin Weed, based on the price I got last time, I calculated that I would be able to sell these medicinal herbs for about 3 gold coins and 9 silver coins. Taking into account the 7 silver coins of compensation I had received for the failed quest commission and the 5 gold coins from the consolation fee, the profit from this time’s expedition came out to a little under 10 gold coins. I didn’t really want to sell the Magical Grass, but, if I did, I could earn even more and also sell the spices that I got this time. I couldn’t help but start grinning at the prospects of money flowing in.

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Tonight, when I would be meeting with Lyra and Nina so they could introduce me to the shop, I thought that it would be a good time to hand over their additional reward as well. Yesterday, on our way back to Grezesta, even though it was officially considered a failed quest commission, they insisted on giving me some of the monster materials even though I said I didn’t need it. Plus, the members of [Iron Gear] put their lives on the line to protect me, and, since my wallet was so big right now, I wanted to give them an additional reward. They might try to turn me down out of courtesy, but I thought it was worth a shot.

With the sorting out of the way, I decided to head to Elf’s Tears. I was looking forward to seeing the grandma. She was knowledgeable and kind, and she was fun to talk to. Thanks to the total profit I calculated earlier, I was feeling much better about yesterday’s disastrous Angry Wolf attack, and I headed to Elf’s Tears in a cheerful mood.

After venturing to the outskirts of Grezesta, I arrived at the front of Elf’s Tears. Just like last time, I stopped and took a deep breath, savoring the calming, natural fragrance wafting from the store before opening the door. When I stepped inside, the pleasant ringing of the bell on the door set my heart even further at ease. This shop really was cozy. Noticing once again that the characteristically harsh odor of herbs always smelled curiously pleasant in this place, I approached the counter.

“Excuse me. I came here to sell some plants and herbs. Are you here, grandma?” (Lewin)

As usual, there was no one at the counter, so I called out. Soon, along with the rhythmic sound of a walking cane, the grandma came to the front with a gentle smile on her face.