The view from the top of the pillar was spectacular.
You could see far away.
Marne-san looked around tremblingly.
I looked at the bear map to confirm our location.
This is when Marne-san found the herb and moved. This is where I moved when defeating the monster.
The path I walked looked like an earthworm.
So I knew the direction it came from.
Logically speaking, this was the direction the earthworm's tip would move.
"It's coming from that direction and moving towards that direction." (Yuna)
"How can you tell without Kumayuru and Kumakyu being here?" (Marne)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu were staying downstairs and watching over us.
"Well, roughly." (Yuna)
"Yuna has a good sense of direction, huh?" (Marne)
Marne-san looked at where I pointed the bear puppet.
"If we're on the right path, we should be able to see a rocky mountain somewhere." (Marne)
I squinted her eyes and look into the distance.
I didn't have the useful skill of seeing far away, so I squinted my eyes and looked there.
In the distance, something that looked like a monster was flying.
What kind of monster was it?
"Isn't it over there?" (Marne)
As I looked at what appeared to be a monster, Marne-san pointed while holding onto the fence.
I looked where Marne-san was pointing.
Although it was hidden by the trees, the rocky mountain was visible.
"There's nothing else like it, huh?" (Marne)
"I don't think there is anything to see." (Yuna)
I looked around but couldn't see anything else like it.
"Well then, it's decided that we'll go that way." (Yuna)
"Yeah" (Marne)
Now that we had decided which direction to go, I erased the pillars I made with earth magic.
"Kyaaaaaaaaa~" (Marne)
Marne-san screamed.
I picked up Marne-san in the air and landed beautifully on the ground.
"Kumayuru, Kumakyu, let's head that way." (Yuna)
I called out to Kumayuru and Kumakyu, who were waiting below.
"Kyuu~n" (Both Kuma)
"Marne-san, let's go." (Yuna)
"Yu, Yuna~" (Marne)
Marne-san suddenly shouted.
"What?" (Yuna)
"Don't make the pillar disappear so suddenly. I thought I was going to die." (Marne)
Marne-san grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and shook me back and forth.
"S-sorry." (Yuna)
I put down Marne-san and sat on the ground.
"No joke, I thought I was going to die." (Marne)
"Sorry" (Yuna)
I apologized again.
"I'm never going up there again, okay?" (Marne)
Marne-san stood up.
"So, just to confirm, is it okay for you to build such a big pillar, is your mana okay?" (Marne)
She was angry, but she seemed worried.
"It's okay" (Yuna)
"Well, that's fine. Just don't push yourself, okay?" (Marne)
Even though I put him through some scary experiences, she still worried about me.
She was a kind person.
Marne-san and I rode Kumayuru and Kumakyu and headed towards the rocky mountain we saw from above.
"Was it okay if we didn't get rid of the lost flowers? There are adventurers who get lost, right?" (Yuna)
Considering the future adventurers, it would be better to dispose of it.
Marne-san also said that there are some adventurers who are lost.
"I'm not an adventurer or an explorer. It's not my job to cut down trees in the forest. Above all, as a researcher, I wouldn't dispose of such precious flowers. Also, no monsters or animals come near there, so it's a safe zone." (Marne)
"But if they can't come..." (Yuna)
It didn't make sense.
But Marne-san shook her head.
"It's old, but there are traces of a campsite. For adventurers who know the area, it's a safe place. If there are adventurers who can make use of it, it should be left as it is. So, speaking personally, I think it's best to do nothing." (Marne)
What might be a dangerous flower to some adventurers might be a place of solace to others.
The fact that the place still exists was a proof of that.
"I understand. I agree with Marne-san." (Yuna)
If other adventurers were using it, I couldn't get involved.
Now that I understood, I headed towards the rocky mountain.
Just like yesterday, Marne-san gathered the herbs she found. While she did so, I made a pillar to check the direction we're heading.
We made good progress and reached the rocky mountain without encountering any monsters.
There was a ribbon tied to a tree nearby.
I didn't know who put that ribbon on it anymore.
But it meant there were adventurers who had been here before.
"It's here."
"There must be a cave somewhere."
Kumayuru and Kumakyu, carrying Marne-san and me, walked around the rocky mountain.
There were no signs of monsters nearby, so I could concentrate on searching the cave.
"Kyuun" (Kumayuru)
When Kumayuru cried, he started running.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu ran to a cave. It seemed that they found it.
"Is this it?"
"I think it's probably here."
The entrance was large, with a huge hole in it.
It's dark inside and I couldn't see what's ahead.
"Uh, did that adventurer really go inside here?" (Marne)
Marne-san saw a dark cave and hesitated to enter.
I used my detection skill to confirm.
"Ugh..." (Yuna)
The detection skill showed "Snake".
In other word, a serpent[1].
That wriggling creature that moved in a disgusting way.
Yeah, they're creatures I didn't like.
Moreover, a monster reaction. It must be different from an ordinary snake.
There was a snake monster in the game, but it was disgusting so I killed it with magic from a distance.
What's even worse was the number of reactions.
In this case, one black viper would be better.
Just pop the spell in its mouth and you're done.
"What happened?" (Marne)
She asked after seeing my reaction.
"Um, do we have to go through the inside?" (Yuna)
"I hate going into something so dark. But this cave is a tunnel, and at the end of it..." (Marne)
I was looking into the cave.
It's deep inside. It's pitch black.
Dig a hole next to it?
But caves didn't always lead in a straight line.
If it's twisty, you never know where you'd end up.
"Maybe, a monster?" (Marne)
"……Yeah" (Yuna)
"The monsters that live in caves..." (Marne)
"These kids say it looks like Snake." (Yuna)
"Do you know?" (Marne)
Of course, I couldn't just keep quiet, so I assumed I knew the difference between Kumayuru and Kumakyu and started talking.
"Yeah, well. Not everything though." (Yuna)
"I knew you had been communicating with these kids before that, but I didn't know you could understand their language." (Marne)
"This is all thanks to the bear's blessing." (Yuna)
When it's too much trouble to explain something related to bears, just say it's the blessing of the bears.
"The bear's blessing..." (Marne)
She looked suspiciously.
"Well, okay. But Snake, huh? I don't like it either." (Marne)
Apparently, Marne-san didn't like snakes either.
Marne-san looked at the cave and thought deeply.
"Right. Wait a minute." (Marne)
Saying this, Marne-san got off from Kumayuru. She then spread the sheet on the ground and sat down.
While I was watching to see what she was going to do, she took out some herbs and some equipment from her item bag.
"What are you doing?" (Yuna)
"I'll mix up a potion that Snake hates." (Marne)
"Can you do that?" (Yuna)
"Yes, I can make it by mixing some of the herbs I have with me and the ones I pick along the way in the right proportions." (Marne)
Mixing wasn't as simple as combining herbs A and B with one click like in a game.
In reality, it's the ratio of A to B, the ratio of mana water, the stirring time, and even the temperature.
Marne-san added crushed herbs to warm mana water and stirred it.
"How long will it take?" (Yuna)
"It's finish now." (Marne)
The clear water had turned a bluish color.
"Sprinkle this on your legs and snakes will stay away." (Marne)
Marne-san sprinkled it on her own shoes and at her feet, then sprinkled it on Kumayuru and Kumakyu's feet.
Then she came close to me and crouched down.
"Looking at it closely again, I see that it's a bear's paw, huh?" (Marne)
Marne-san sprinkled liquid on my bear shoes.
"Will this keep Snake away?" (Yuna)
"Its effectiveness has been proven. But there is no such thing as absolute certainty in this world. It may not be effective for some individuals. People also have likes and dislikes of certain smells." (Marne)
"Indeed" (Yuna)
"However, most snakes tend to dislike them, so I don't think they'll suddenly wrap around your legs." (Marne)
Even if it's only 90% or 80% effective, it would be helpful.
The only question was whether it's really falling on my bear shoes.
These shoes wouldn't get wet in the rain or get dirty in muddy water.
I couldn't see it, but it's possible that the liquid that Marne-san sprayed on me was being repelled.
Well, I'd be traveling on Kumayuru and Kumakyu, so as long as I was on Kumayuru and Kumakyuthere's no problem.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu picked up mud and got dirty properly, so I didn't think it got bounced off like my shoes did.
"Well then, let's go." (Marne)
Marne-san stood up and climbed onto Kumayuru's back.
"Has Marne-san seen Snake?" (Yuna)
"Yes, I have. It's just not a very pleasant sensation." (Marne)
I'd never seen a Snake, but if it was a serpent I agreed.
"It's smaller than the Black Viper, right?" (Yuna)
"Don't lump it in with those monsters." (Marne)
After all, the Black Viper was a monster.
"There aren't many monsters like that." (Marne)
It's rare after all.
"Now that I think about it, Black Viper materials were on sale a while ago." (Marne)
Could it be that...?
"It was up for auction, so I bought it. It was a painful expense." (Marne)
I guess that's it...
"What did you buy?" (Yuna)
"There was meat on offer as well. I bought the skin and one tooth. It was a rare material, so we fought over it." (Marne)
It's an auction so the prices would go up.
"So, is it for medicine?" (Yuna)
"Leather is a magical tool. Leather is strong and resistant to magic, so it's useful when making magical tools that need to be heat-resistant." (Marne)
Ah, I remembered the fire magic was repelled.
So, I threw the bear flames into its body and to defeat it.
"How about its teeth?" (Yuna)
"These also have various uses. Some people can carve them down and use them as weapons. I mainly carve them up, powder them, and use them as medicine." (Marne)
"It can be used for medicine." (Yuna)
"I can't tell you what effect it has, but it's valuable." (Marne)
I was a little concerned, but just because I was told about it didn't mean I was going to make it.
There might be a way to make it.
Still, I never imagined that the materials from the Black Viper I had defeated would end up in Marne-san's hands.
"By the way, how big is Snake?" (Yuna)
"You don't know?" (Marne)
"Because I've never encountered it before." (Yuna)
"They're about 2 to 5 meters long, and the thickness varies depending on the individual." (Marne)
It's a large serpent.
"If it wraps around you, it's dangerous. It will break your leg and then eat you when you can't move, so be careful, okay?" (Marne)
Just thinking about having a snake wrapped around my body made me shudder.
If I had to choose between fighting a horde of Snakes or a single Black Viper, I'd choose the Black Viper.
Hordes were disgusting. They're scary when they're big, but they're easy to fight.
Author's Note
The 12th volume of the comic has been released.
If you see it at a bookstore, please let me know.
In the activity report, we will also be revealing original illustration cards by Sergei-sensei and in-store purchase bonuses, so please take a look.
The deadline for applications for the 10th volume of the paperback edition and acrylic stand is fast approaching, on August 20th.
If you have purchased the book, I would appreciate you applying.
*Sorry. For the time being, I will be posting on Sundays.
...
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.
Translator's Note
[1] The word "Snake" uses katakana スネイク while this word is 蛇 (hebi) which also can be translated as snake. But here I use "serpent" to differentiate it.
This chapter is the first regular-release chapter that uses dynamic naming system where a page can be easily re-rendered when there is a change in the naming dictionary. You can also hover (or click) on the name (slightly different color with dotted underline) to see its original text. Here is the example Yuna.