By the time we finished collecting the lost flowers, the sun was setting.
Because there were trees, it got dark early.
We decided to spend the night near this spot where the confusion flowers bloom.
Marne-san said it's safe.
No monsters would come near the lost flowers. It might be more accurate to say that they couldn't come near them.
I set up the bear house a little distance away from the confusion flowers.
"It doesn't seem like a really dangerous forest, huh?" (Marne)
Marne-san collapsed onto the sofa.
"Plus, thanks to these kids I'm not walking." (Marne)
She stroke the heads of Kumayuru and Kumakyu, who had turned into baby bears.
"I was able to collect a lot of medicinal herbs as well." (Marne)
Marne-san was kicking her legs on the sofa.
"Marne-san, don't be sloppy. You're not a child." (Yuna)
"Ugh, Yuna is younger than me." (Marne)
"If that's what you think, then do it properly." (Yuna)
Even though she's the same little girl, she's different from Kagari-san.
Although Kagari-san was a young girl, she was mature and exuded an adult air.
But Marne-san was different.
It's like a child has grown into an adult.
Besides, usually, the seat where Marne-san sit was mine.
I remembered Fina scolding me, saying, "Yuna-san, you're sloppy."
Thinking about it that way, Fina might be the most reliable little girl.
But maybe it's too firm.
"That's right. Yuna." (Marne)
"What?" (Yuna)
"The bear next door, you said that the room was used for dismantling monsters, right?" (Marne)
My bear house consisted of a big bear and a small bear attached together, the big bear was the living area and the small bear was Fina's dismantling area.
"Could I use that room for a bit?" (Marne)
"That's fine, but what are you going to use it for?" (Yuna)
"I want to process the herbs I picked today easily. If I don't process them while they're fresh, their effectiveness will decrease." (Marne)
Certainly, even an amateur like me could tell that fresh herbs were more effective than spoiled ones.
So, I gave her permission.
"Can I take a look?" (Yuna)
I'd like to see Marne-san at work.
Preparing dinner was not a problem as all you need to do was serve simple dishes and pre-made meals.
"Okay, but it's not fun to watch." (Marne)
After I prepared the bath, Marne-san and I headed to the dismantling area.
"It's so beautiful it's hard to believe it's a dismantling area, huh?" (Marne)
It's in good condition because it's barely used.
The only time Fina used it was when I first arrived in Crimonia.
Since I moved to Crimonia, the dismantling had been done in my bear house in Crimonia.
Marne-san placed the herbs she picked today on the table.
Then, she took out three rectangular boxes about 30cm in size from her item bag and placed them on the table.
"What is that?" (Yuna)
"It's a magic tool for drying herbs." (Marne)
Marne-san placed the herb leaves in a box to dry.
She reached for the next herb.
It was a medicinal herb collected from the root.
She took a knife and separated the roots, stems, and leaves.
"These have different effects and uses depending on the location, so they have to be separated." (Marne)
She explained as if she noticed my gaze.
"You can mix them together and adjust them to suit each person." (Marne)
"Just like a pharmacist, huh?" (Yuna)
"It's the same thing. But my field is broader. I make medicines to help people, but I also make poisons." (Marne)
"Poison……" (Yuna)
"By poison, I mean a numbing drug or a sleeping pill. It can be necessary depending on the time and situation." (Marne)
Marne-san explained while handing out the herbs.
"This has to be ground up and not dried." (Marne)
There were some that you could use without drying.
Next, she reached for the jar of moss that was stuck to the gator's back.
She then took out a new bottle from her item bag.
The bottle contained liquid.
"Water?" (Yuna)
"Mana water. Water that is literally infused with mana." (Marne)
"Is there such a thing?" (Yuna)
"It's made by breaking down magic stones into powder and dissolving them in a special liquid. The liquid is a secret. If someone were to discover how to make it and create it, the Ministry of Magic would stop receiving any money." (Marne)
"Doesn't the money from the goverment?" (Yuna)
"Yes, there is funding. But the government has a set budget. But research costs money. No matter how much money we have, it's never enough." (Marne)
The wages paid to researchers and the costs of research could be limitless depending on the materials used.
There was also the number of researchers and the administrative staff who supported them.
I was sure there were other costs involved that I didn't know about.
"So, we can use some of the profits from our research as research funding." (Marne)
I see.
If research funds were available without limit, it would be a problem for the country, and the public might become angry if tax money was being used for research without knowing what it would be used for.
"So basically, even if a recipe is made public, they have to pay a usage fee for anything that is restricted by the government." (Marne)
Is that like a patent?
Marne-san opened the lid of the bottle of magical water and poured it into the bottle of moss.
"Now I can save it." (Marne)
All the work was finished.
"It wouldn't have been fun to watch." (Marne)
"Well, it was fun hearing all about the Ministry of Magic and potions." (Yuna)
It's not a lie.
It was really fun to learn things I didn't know.
"Really? That's good." (Marne)
Marne-san asked if she could leave the magical items to dry overnight, and I gave her permission.
And I made a quick dinner and we ate it.
"I'm full." (Marne)
Marne-san collapsed onto the couch, rubbing her stomach.
"After you rest, take a bath." (Yuna)
"I want to sleep like this." (Marne)
"You're sweating, don't go to bed like that." (Yuna)
It's my job to wash the sheets.
I was not saying Marne-san was dirty, but I would like her to at least wash off her sweat before going to bed.
"I know. Well then, Kumayuru, Kumakyu, let's go in together." (Marne)
Marne-san took Kumayuru and Kumakyu to the bathroom.
I finished the dishes and followed her behind.
Tonight I'd switch between Kumayuru and Kumakyu when I slept.
"Kumayuru. I'll be in you care tonight." (Marne)
"Kyuu~n" (Kumayuru)
Tonight, I set my Kumayuru alarm clock and went to sleep.
The next morning, Marne-san seemed to have gone to bed early, and woke up as soon as I called her.
"Good morning. I'm going to check out yesterday's herbs." (Marne)
Marne-san came down from the second floor and headed straight to the room where the dismantling took place.
In the meantime, I prepared breakfast.
Breakfast was on the table and I went to call Marne-san.
"Marne-san, breakfast is ready." (Yuna)
"I'm going now." (Marne)
When I called out to her, Marne-san put away the drying magic tool.
"Are you okay?" (Yuna)
"Yes, there was no problem, and it dried properly." (Marne)
That's good then.
"So, what are we going to do today? The confusion flower has caused us to go astray. Shall we go back for a bit?" (Yuna)
It was possible to use the Bear Map skill to return the way we came.
"Yes, that's the problem. Even if the adventurers thought they were going in a straight line, it's possible that they ended up going in a different direction due to the influence of the lost flower." (Marne)
"So, shall we go left from where Marne-san told us to go left?" (Yuna)
"That's one possibility. It's possible that the confusion flowers weren't in bloom when the adventurers passed by." (Marne)
Apparently the confusion flowers did not bloom all year round.
If the adventurers' information was from a time when the lost flowers had not yet bloomed, then they would have been able to proceed without getting lost.
But if the stray flower had bloomed, there's a good chance we would have taken a different path.
"There was no information about the stray flowers, so they probably didn't notice. We don't know if they were in bloom. What's more, depending on the wind direction, the pollen from the stray flowers may have blown in a different direction." (Marne)
That meant, we didn't know which way to go.
"So, what are we going to do?" (Yuna)
"I don't know the route, but it seems they went through a rocky mountain and into a cave." (Marne)
Rocky mountains and caves.
This was useful information.
"So, we just need to find a rock mountain, right?" (Yuna)
"Yes, but it's hard to find one in this deep forest." (Marne)
"It's okay. We can just look at it from above." (Yuna)
"How are you supposed to see it from above? Are you planning on flying?" (Marne)
At times like these, it's really convenient to have Sanya's summoned bird. What's more, she could see what her summoned bird saw. There's nothing more effective at scouting than Sanya's summoned bird.
For now, I’d do what I could.
We went outside.
"So what are we going to do?" (Marne)
"It's dangerous, so don't leave my side." (Yuna)
Marne-san tilted her head but came and stood next to me.
I put mana into my hands and place them on the ground.
The ground rised, lifting us upwards.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa" (Marne)
Marne-san cried, clinging to my waist.
A pillar rose from the ground and we were on it.
It was about as tall as a five-storey building.
"Marne-san. Now you can see it." (Yuna)
Marne-san opened her eyes, but then closed them again immediately.
"Maybe you're afraid of high places? But your workplace is at a high altitude." (Yuna)
"But this is different. A place like this with such narrow footing and the risk of falling would be scary for anyone." (Marne)
It was indeed a pillar with a radius of about one meter.
It's not narrow, but it's not wide either. There were no handrails, so if you mis-stepped, you would fall.
"Aren't you scared, Yuna?" (Marne)
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared.
It's surprisingly scary.
However, thanks to my bear gear, I knew there was no danger if I fell, so I wasn't so scared.
I'd put a fence around the pillar to stop us from falling.
"With this, you won't fall." (Yuan)
"Really? Won't it fall apart?" (Marne)
"No." (Yuna)
It also had good strength.
Even if it was attacked, it shouldn't break easily.
Marne-san looked at the fence, looked a little relieved, then slowly stood up.
Marne-san held on to the fence and looked out into the distance.
It's a large forest.
I'd only seen it on video, but this might be what the Amazon jungle was like.
Author's Note
*The 12th volume of the comic will be released on Friday, August 2nd. The cover features Yuna and Noa. It is currently available in the activity report, so please take a look.
*Sorry. I will only post on Sundays for a while.
...
Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.