CH 111

Episode 111 – First New Plant Species in a While

On the way to a gathering site, I brought up the matter about the mock battles with Byrne and Porta. If they accepted, I wanted to have a lighthearted mock battle competition once we returned to the base.

“Byrne, Porta. Is it alright if I ask you guys something?” (Lewin)

“Hm? What is it that you want to ask?” (Byrne)

“Actually, once we’ve finished gathering, I was hoping we could have a light bout.” (Lewin)

When I suddenly brought this up, Byrne showed a delighted expression. On the other hand, Porta’s had a somewhat sour look. Their reactions are really on both sides of the extremes, huh…

“Yeah! That sounds like fun. ‘Course I’ll take you up on that. It might be nice for the five of us to participate in a tournament style!” (Byrne)

“Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I’m against it…” (Porta)

“Hah? Why’re you opposed to it, Porta?” (Byrne)

“…Well, we are here to escort him after all… But also if everyone is distracted by the match, what will we do if something bad happens?” (Porta)

“Even during the match, we can still be on guard. Besides, aside from the Angry Wolves and the Anchor Bears, the other monsters are nothing to worry about, so it’s fine… Hey. By any chance, are you like this because you’re afraid of losing to Lewin?” (Byrne)

When Byrne said this, Porta jolted in a totally easy to understand manner. The expression on his face seemed to say, ‘how did you know?!’

“……….I m-mean… as the escorts, wouldn’t it be bad if we’re weaker than the person we’re supposed to be escorting?!!” (Porta)

“So that’s what it was, huh? It doesn’t matter as much how strong or weak an individual is, since we’re usually fighting in a party anyway. Besides, we’ve already been saved by Lewin in that last fight with the Angry Wolves.” (Byrne)

Apparently, the reason why Porta didn’t want to participate in the match was really because he didn’t want to lose to me. Well, looking at it from their perspective, I could totally see why he would think that way. If you were escorting someone and you lost to them in a one-on-one match, it would be something like establishing a clear superior versus inferior relationship.

“If that’s the case, then you don’t have to participate in the match, Porta. I can totally understand where you’re coming from, after all.” (Lewin)

“….Mmmm. If you say it like that, then I have no choice but to participate. If I refuse to participate in the match, it would be the same thing as admitting defeat, after all.” (Porta)

“As always, you’re overthinking it, Porta. Don’t worry about it, Lewin is pretty much like an honorary member of our party by now. Right, Lewin?” (Byrne)

“Yeah, pretty much. This time’s mock battle is just for fun after all. Besides, Porta plays more of a rearguard support role, so even if you lose it’s no big deal.” (Lewin)

When Byrne and I told Porta this, he slowly but reluctantly nodded his head. Alright!! I was able to get their agreement for the mock battle. Yesterday’s mock battle with Kirty was a lot of fun after all. There were definitely things you could only learn through actually fighting, so I was looking forward to the mock battle with [Iron Gear].

After that, we gathered plants and herbs as usual and then returned to the base. The results were pretty great, since I was able to get a lot of Magical Grass and even managed to find 3 Dumbbell Weeds.

Also, it had been a long time since I had found one, but I was able to find a new plant species that I hadn’t appraised before. The plant was called Curare Leaf, and it had a pretty useful effect.

[Name: Curare Leaf]

[Level: 43]

[Effect: Paralysis (Medium)]

[Fertility: Very Low]

[Origin: Mount Cornello]

The results of the appraisal were something like this. It was the first plant I found whose effects were at a Medium level. Since it had a Paralysis effect, it might be good as an ingredient to make a second batch of poisonous Slime liquid. Since the level was high, it might cost a lot of magic power to synthesize. But depending on the power of the vial of Slime liquid I could make from it, it might become good to make a lot of it.

Beaming to myself happily at the satisfying results of this gathering session, we returned to the base. As I got closer… I caught a delicious scent wafting through the air.

―This spicy, appetizing fragrance… could it be curry?

It was already a smell that I was intimately familiar with, but I was still excited about it.

“This smell… it’s the smell of Lyra and Nina’s cooking, ain’t it?” (Byrne)

“That’s probably what it is! I was feeling a little blue about the mock battle we’re going to have later, but this wonderful smell is making me really excited! I wonder what dish they made!” (Porta)

The other two had also noticed the smell and were talking about it in a delighted tone. The first reason curry was delicious was because it smelled so good after all. I had been eating curry every day for the past three months, but it still made me happy whenever I smelled it.

Also, the scent of curry suddenly reminded me about the promise I made with Lyra and Nina. Back when they introduced me to Clive’s store, they had promised me that they would let me taste and compare different kinds of curry. That was a pretty long time ago, so it had already escaped my mind. Even so, I was glad that they still remembered.

Hmm…. I had three stalks of Dumbbell Weed in my possession, and I had also managed to find some Glutamate Herb… If I still had some leftover ingredients, it might be good to serve them my specialty Dumbbell Weed curry. As I returned to the base, inhaling the wonderful aroma, I became more excited to take part in the curry comparison event.